I am interested in getting started in scale RC.

[JonBailey]

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: