Jim Groeneweg Model Truck Picture Collection


We just got a package in the mail from our Buddy and were just thrilled with the contents!! This KW is the best surprise; looks like it will be available as a die cast "dinky" toy but not sure, they come with a European trailer that is for the parts bin in the Coke scheme!

Kenworth W900L and Barrett 53" tridem livestock trailer. The tractor is an Edocar Kenworth W900L repainted. The Barrett trailer is a lengthened Lone Star trailer.

Here is a photo of the trailer I have on the go..........still needs to have some details added and I was looking around for another load...........maybe a CanFor wrapped 50' load of lumber would be truly CDN!! Or I was checking out the steel coils from Walthers that might be cool too!!

I have been working on a pair of Midland trucks; one for Doug McKenzie (FLD 120 with 48' dry box) and a Western Star with a 53 tridem reefer!!

Here is the latest on the Midland rig...........one of them anyway!!


Doug's FLD finally is ready and while the camera was out, all these others gathered at the Canuck Truck Stop!!




I figured I better give you an update on the Barrett project so you really believe I'm actually working on it!! So here they are................soon to be finished..........only 2 years later..............or more??



The totally cool Boley (MotorArt) Volvo excavator EC 210; the only things done to it were painting the grease joints back, grab handles semi gloss black, weathering the bucket and adding the Apex decals!!

Here is the R Model Mack mixer which started out as a "red,white,blue" sale from TSM, now green, grey and black!!

Work in progress. A Mack Granite Mixer to add to Jim's fleet

Here is the twin steer Granite that I have almost completed!!

I fooled around on a photo program to capture the London logo for the mudflaps!! Here is the result of that!!

Here is a quick redo of a TruckN stuff 53' trailer!! The rear doors are from a Stoughton trailer and it looks more like a Great Dane!!

You think that the road is closed and the truck stop is overcrowded?? The dreaded clean up....................why do things get dusty??

Here is what we see a lot on our highways, Reimer Express pulling mixed doubles.

Here is a shot of the bulk tanker I have been working on; it started out as 2 Kibri short tanks that were joined together and then added a section in the middle! It just came out of the paint shop!! It will be teamed up to a T800 KW; stay tuned!!

Here is the latest on the KW!! I

Here are the details on the KW and tanker!! It is of course the Dennis Aust cab, resin 42" flat top KW bunk mounted on a Promotex chassis featuring the NeWay air ride!! Resin fuel tanks with scratch built Gardner Denver blower, Promotex half fenders riding on Athearn spoke wheels all around! Other added items include convex mirrors, grab handles, bunk mounted load lights and windshield wipers! Colors are Mini white over 72 Dodge Truck blue topped with clear!

The tanker started out as 2 Kibri bulk tankers that were joined together and a mid section grafted in to give it some height, scratch built frame/fenders and all detail items (hose/pipe etc) from aluminum tubing with a photo etched cat walk (modified Lonestar) and brass ladder! It rides on Athearn trailer spoke wheels painted in a custom mix grey acrylic enamel!

Decals are from J-Bot and A-Line! If I could think of a carrier name that has decals, I would add them to it but for now its just a no name brand!!

I asked Jim to paint a Edocar Kenworth W900L in an orange color and he found this color which is just right. It is a mid 80's GM truck colour that I had on a 1983 Chevy S 10 pick up

Jim has the Peterbilt ready for the mould dept.

Some pictures for ideas of how we're going to have the step deck painted for the orange W900L

Here is the Peterbilt 378SBFA so far!!

A few shots of the 378SBFA finished up!!

Picked up a few Tonkin toys at the Seattle toy show on January 14, 2006, as Hank an I drove down to see what's new!! Here are some comparison photos and an opinion (for what its worth) as I see it!!

The Western Star: first off it should be noted that the two are slightly different models as our truck is a 123"BBC and the Tonkin is a 130" LowMax (which I beg to differ as the LowMax should have a flat hood.........no slope!! Anyway it is the 130" but has a shorter sleeper then the Italeri offering which is OK and overall the lines are represented and it does look like a Star!! The biggest disappointment was the lack of detail on the grille. Having talked to the Tonkin rep he said it was noted and hopefully corrections will be made in the future.......kind of sucks for those of us who have bought one already...........OK for those who have reject resin castings to splice a new grille section into the surround (which is good!!)

Secondly the windshield area is a bit weak but with a divider and some detailing can be made to look pretty good . The paint is a bit thick .....(a LOT thick) and if stripped off and repainted could be an improvement!! The chassis could stand some extra detail as well but if just painted and 1/4 or 1/2 fenders added would be alright!! A good set of wheels and tires and I think it will make into a nice little model!!

The biggest problem (from our point of view) would be that we cannot compete with the "roadready" version of this truck especially for the price tag it has!! So for most railroad guys, if Tonkin adds some road names (which will happen) and even for the collector I,I'm sure that most will opt for the inexpensive ready version..............after all, even I bought one!!

The Columbia: While it is being compared to the Century,I think that it is a very similar truck and a lot of railroad guys wouldn't care which one is up as long as they are recognizable and don't need a ton of work!! Oddly enough, both sleepers are the 58" configuration as opposed to the 70" found on the Siku Coronado!!

The grille is the best feature of the truck and that being important (which is more then I can say for my grille) and the rest can be worked with!! If one of our decal guys would do up some headlight decals they could be applied and that problem solved!! The side skirting is not very deep and lacks step detail but the lines are crisp enough to overcome that!! The bumper is poor and the problem is that they are a different style then the Century so technically one couldn't improvise one for the other!! Again, paint being thick, if stripped off and repainted would be better!! Mine has the Gordon colour on it and really should be redone as the sideskirting should be removed for open fuel tank version (I wonder if Tonkin will offer that variation someday) with fender extensions fabricated and the chassis detailed and painted blue..........Gordon decals and there you go!! Again. with the price these are and the work involved with a resin conversion, who can blame anyone for falling prey to the roadready pieces!!

Overall, my thoughts are this: it never hurts to have another truck model (style) out there as then, everyone can choose what they like and as long as they aren't the exact same model, the variation is what I like best, As a modeller, it still is nice to be able to take a model and rework it or change or kitbash and come up with a nice finished product.............with as much variation as found on the roads!! And that is all I have to say about that topic................well maybe I would say more, I just am not the fastest typist so it takes too long to type what I have to say!!


Here are more recent pictures of the TON Freightliner Columbia Basically the body has only minor changes to the fender (wheel arch flares) and of course the lower fender sections in lieu of skirts. The Tonkin glass was used but the divider pillars added to each piece and the rear and upper tinted. Athearn rear frame section was grafted to a Wiking front pc, Boley front wheels and Dennis Aust rear wheels, tanks and battery boxes were scratch built and were Alclad with chrome!! Mirrors are brass and plastic as well as taillight bar. The unit is finished off with a base/clear paint job. Decals are from Ken Goudy.


What started out a as Gordon Trucking idea went sideways and ended up in the familiar black/red scheme.