Happened upon GHQ website and their line of HO scale vehicle kits. The finished model photos look impressive and appear to be cast metal? Would appreciate comments from those who've experienced GHQ kits
Thanks and regards, Peter
I have several of their kits and love them especially the Ford tractor. The castings are clean and well made but some of the small parts are a pain to attach to the model. They require a lot of patience to assemble but I think they are well worth it. Jim
This is one of their wheel loaders, I like it very much, and wasn't that hard to construct.
Built one of their tractors. Nice kit. The hardest part was painting the driver.
Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, COClick Here for my model train photo website
I have made their manure spreader and hay bailer for tractor dealer on the Bootbay Railway Village layout. I agree with the quality of the kits and the castings. There are always some fiddley small parts, they often include extras in case you break one.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I see a number of people have already responded.I have assembled 5 of their kits over the years - two Bobcat Skid Steer loaders, two Catepillar V80E forklifts, and a utility trailer (modified with raiings and a "wood" deck.The castings are very decent, but as always make sure you have some sort of putty/body-filler to fill voids, and sanding film, sanding sticks, and jewelers files to provide a good finish.Also, sharpen up your masking skills, particular for 1 piece hud/wheel-tire castings.
2 images of my 2 GHQ Skid-Steers and 1 of the Cat V80E forklift, hanging on a paper towel (sorry, I did this on the fly). Slightly delayed because this Forum's software's editing functions stink on ice...
I think GHQ were selling Bobcat decals I used, IIRC a year after I emailed them and asked if they knew where I could get decals, and they responded they had no idea. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted those decals, since they saw a sales opportunity. The Catepillar on the forklift was done using Testors inkjet decal film, which for once actually behaved.
Once again the forum members have generously provided knowledgable product reviews and modeling tips. With the added delight of seeing some really, really nice models and scenes!
Thanks to all for your time, regards, Peter
P.S. Ordered a GHQ log loader today.
I recently built one of their 3-bottom plows. I liked it a lot, and plan to build more of their farm equipment. Basic tools, x-acto and fresh blades, sanding sticks, CA and Goo, or epoxy are all I needed. For paint, using acrylics worked well for me.
Alvie
I've built their 3-bottom plow and their hot rod kits. Very nice looking models when assembled and painted but be aware that the metal is very ssssooooofft! Use care when removing the smaller parts from the sprues as it is extremely easy to bend them into pretzels. I would also recommend studying each part before doing anything as it is easy to mistake a molded on detail for casting flash. Fortunately, this metal will withstand a few straightenings before it breaks. I used acrylics to paint my models and am happy with the results.
Hornblower