Wayne Calder's starting point was Ertl's discontinued 1:50 scale Cat 988 (#2435). The cab is from Matchbox's Cat Landfill Compactor from their Mini Power Machines range. The wheels and tires are off a Cat loader exclusive to KMart (made by Toy State Industrial). These massive tires are the correct size. The ones on this model in Photo Gallery 53 (were too short and way too narrow). Wayne based the tire sizes on the probability that when Cat builds this loader they will use the same size tire as the current king of loaders - the LeTourneau 2350. The engine is a detailed Walther's EMD unit. The rest is scratchbuilt or detailed with all kinds of odds and ends! Wayne says he built it mainly to get a size perspective of how big such a loader will be. Shown here beside the Classic Construction Models Caterpillar 992G loader.

Posted April 18, 2003