1:32 Machinas: Colonel Jack's Special

Done with Col. Jack's Special, the large version. It's not much different from the smaller version. The top on the 1/64 version is chopped, so sits lower, has more of an angle, and sleeks out the car a but more. And on the larger version, the cover panel over the rear wheels drops down more, otherwise, these two cars are about as similar as I could get them.

I wanted the larger version to look as much like the smaller version as possible because I like the design (it's my favorite in the collection.) The parts are my usual collection of plasticard armor plates, brass rod and tubing, and green stuff for the baggage and front wheel caps. The snorkel top is the air filter from the engine of my Fairlane.

Colonel Jack Background 

(This reprinted from when I built the smaller Col. Jack's Special, so feel free to skip it and simply enjoy the photos)

Col. Jack's Special is owned by a man who named himself after Col. Jack, a character from Mark Twain's "Roughing It," (one of the famous ancient books discovered by the Seven Hills Church.) In the book (as far as I can remember), Col. Jack, a man off the frontier, took a bus (horse-drawn) through New York City. The ride fascinated him, so he paid the driver $20 to drive him and his friend Col. John all over the city. Jack told anyone who got on the bus that he had paid their fare and that they should sit back and enjoy the ride. Jack was entertained by the variety of people he met on the ride, which continued for the rest of the day.

My Col. Jack's Special has a variety of uses. Mostly, Col. Jack serves as a low-cost charter for Wastelanders. The only drawback to hiring Col. Jack is that he is only one man with one car, so finding him is difficult. But when you do manage to hire his services, you're treated to a fine ride, indeed.

When he's not transporting folks across the wastes, Col. Jack loads his car with supplies and explores the fringes of the Known Wasteland. He carries as much survey equipment as he can (note the red/white survey rods seen on the left side of the baggage). Since he is one of the few people willing to travel far and wide to map the wastes, the Church gives him a larger fuel allotment than is usually given out.

For better fuel economy, ruggedness and torque, Col. Jack runs a diesel engine, hence the stovepipe on the left of the car. He has also discovered, on a couple of his runs, a wide but shallow river, which, for a long time, prevented him from exploring a section of the western wastes, so the car's engine compartment was sealed and a snorkel was added.

Most people in the Known Wasteland like Col. Jack, but there are still those marauders who will take a shot at him now and again, so he keeps a large slab of armor to protect his rear, and a push bar to clear barricades and other road obstructions. He also has extra armor on the wheels and the windscreen (though, I left the armor off the side windows to help preserve some of the car's original lines.) And, of course, Col. Jack mounts twin .50s, because he understands that even his gentle nature needs the support of a little extra firepower sometimes.

Col. Jack has never raced in a Church-sanctioned event (he is still called Col. Jack, after all, and not Brother Pilot.) But he is known to join in a random Waste Race now and again. He prefers more friendly races where there is more nudging and bumping than all-out shooting.