I have some experience in the past with various RC "toys" (tanks, boats, race cars, even a semi truck) as well as an attempt at RC planes that failed miserably years ago. I had some success with an RC sailboat I built and sailed a long time ago on a city pond.
My renewed interest in this hobby now lies with scale commercial trucks. By the way, I was a fleet diesel truck mechanic in the army. I am well-versed in the world of American-built real military vehicles. My grandfather was also a union Operating Engineer hard-hat by trade and that also fuels my passion for "Big American Diesel". My passion is American over the road trucks as well as construction vehicles as cement mixers. I could build a semi truck model, or a dump truck, but that seems all to common.
What I have in mind now as my first project in RC commercial trucking (garden trucking??) is an authentic scale American on-road cement mixer with a classic Kenworth cab and hood.
I don't yet know what scale I should even consider to model the cement mixer in. I have heard about Tamiya, but they don't seem to offer anything in classic Kenworth W900.
I am wondering where and how I should get started. I may have to buy some kit, some aftermarket parts and also "mod" some custom parts. I am not the best model painter in the world and have no welding or machining skills. I am not even aware if there are any kitted scale American cement mixers with a Kenworth W900 day cab included. Here is a worksheet I made of some ideas for an RC truck I have in mind as follows...
Truck Features for Build
___ scale
Kenworth W900 day cab and hood
precise scale build
correct Kenworth hood and grille badges
correct scale vehicle ride height
rechargeable battery electric power
detailed cab interior with steering wheel and opening cab doors
driver figure seated at steering wheel
custom paint and decals
this cement mixer is to be for the fictitious "American Concrete Company" in pretended R/C construction
provisions for loading mixer as a scale cement plant tower
clean material for pretended concrete as plastic hobby gravel
realistic scale concrete mixing apparatus mounted on chassis
Truck Functionality
radio with enough channels for remote operation
digital-proportioned steering
precise speed control
directional control, forward, reverse
sound effects: including engine revs, starting engine, stopping engine, air brakes, horn, back-up warning bell
working lights: headlights, running lights, flashers, cab marker lights
multiple speed transmission
motor
speed controller
folding/moving discharge chute
rotating concrete barrel with directional and speed control via radio transmitter which barrel can be loaded through the hopper and discharged through the chute with dry pretended concrete
functional spring suspension
6x4 drive line with anti-spin differentials, front axle is not driven
Here is a diagram for paint and styling I photo-shopped:
