Lindberg Dodge L-700, Flatbed Trailer, and '40
Ford
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Introduction
This is a 3 kits-in-one box release combining a semi-tractor, flatbed
trailer and a 1940 Ford sedan. The Dodge L-700 was originally issued by
IMC in the early 1970s. The L-700 was Dodge’s answer to Ford’s
C series trucks and it matched the C series rating for rating. The cab
was adapted from the A series of Dodge cab over pickups with a new fender/floor
pan to accommodate its use as a tilt-cab. Available engines ranged from
the ever faithful slant six up to a 440 cid V-8. I have built 8 of these
Dodges since its first release, with two conversions underway and more
to follow. I just found some neat pictures of L-700 chassised fire apparatus,
so time for lots of sheet styrene!
The flat bed trailer in this kit was also originally issued by IMC shortly
after the L-700 kit came out. It represents a generic medium duty semi-framed
flatbed of the period. This trailer has always sort of bothered me as
it appears to be a composite Trailmobile/Fruehauf/Great Dane/Kentucky:
not really any of them, but similar to all of them. Overall an acceptable
unit for this use.
The 1940 Ford Sedan is the old Lindberg release, very nice and not much
to say. In this kit it is intended to be a dilapidated load to place on
the flatbed.
The Kit(s)
The Dodge L-700 comes molded on 7 sprues of white plastic, one each
clear and chrome plus the cab and floor pan. Considering the 35+ year
age of this kit there is remarkably little flash evident, a definite tribute
to the quality of the mold steel used by IMC. This model is somewhat typical
of kits produced by IMC, as it has numerous working features (hinged doors,
poseable steering) that are actually close to scale and therefore quite
delicate.
The Flatbed trailer comes molded on 4 white sprues, one clear, and the
two sections of the trailer deck. Again, 35+ years old with negligible
flash, high quality tools. The tires for both the tractor and trailer
are solid vinyl stuffed into a separate bag. They claim to be 10.00X20
Goodyears on the sidewalls, but scale out to more like 10.00X24.5.
The 1940 Ford comes molded on 4 white sprues, 1 clear, and 1 chrome
sprue plus the fenders and body. This is the Lindberg release from a few
years ago and is inundated by flash on all parts except the chrome and
clear. There is also noticeable warpage on the fender unit, which I hope
will be easy to correct. If not, it will definitely be built more dilapidated
than the kit instructions recommend!
Accuracy
The Dodge L-700 is spot on to published Dodge truck literature from
1972. The door and tilt hinges are close to scale and not obtrusive. The
engine is a Dodge small block HD truck engine which could be 290, 318,
or 361 cid. The transmission is a 5 speed Clark driving a Rockwell 2 speed
rear end. The only downfall of this kit are the wheels and tires. As mentioned
above, they claim to be 10.00X20, but scale out to 10.00X24.5 and just
look wrong to me. Always have, always will.
Since the trailer is of no particular prototype, I cannot vouch for
accuracy here. It looks OK for the late '60s and early '70s so call it
good for the purpose
Conclusion
Overall, I am glad to see the L-700 and Flatbed Trailer back. Several
recent books I have obtained contain neat pictures of Fire apparatus on
Dodge L-700 chassis. I can get enough to build them all. If you take your
time, these kits build up into reasonable replicas. Have a little fun
with some classic kits! My thanks to J.
Lloyd International for the review sample.
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