22 replies to this topic

[Dave Larsen]

I thought it would be nice to share some pictures of the Riggen semi truck for those that have never seen one up close

My rig is not pristine... I'll say it's in excellent condition. The decals are in nice shape without a lot of the sploching that Riggen decals seem to do from back in the day. It could use a nice detailing but it's OK for now. Mill's tire juice has brought the tires back to life.

Out of all the HO rides that I have, this rig is one of my favorites.and is a nice example of what was made back in the day. I'm sure that there are some of you that have these in your collections and have some input to add along with some pictures... Please do!

Philippe will know all about these trucks that were made and I think it would be fitting for him to add to this topic of the "HO TRUCK" that was all over the track.











"Keep on Truckin".

[One_Track_Mind]

Hi Vitter,

How does the cab attach to the trailer?

Cool truck for sure!

Happy New Year to you and family!

[Dave Larsen]

Hi Brian...

How the heck are you doing, fine I hope?

A happy New Years to you and your family.

Brian, my trailer is joined to the tractor via a steel pin, as shown in the following picture...





... That I do believe (I use this term very loosely) to be the first version? I have seen other rigs that have plastic pin molded into the bottom of the trailer and it pushed into the fifth wheel of the tractor. Or this could be the other way around? I'm not knowing

I wonder when Philippe wakes up?

Later, Brian.

[One27ray]

Hey Dave,

Interesting rig , did they ever make just the truck/cab pieces ? Would make for fun racing them.
i-ray

[TSR]

Dave,

Indeed your truck IS the first version and you need the white cardboard box with the slanted red, orange and black graphics for it. Might be difficult to find.

This came just as I was leaving the company to pursue a foolish pro-racing brief spell. The later versions with the plastic insert are from Gayla Industries.

The chassis is the second issue with the larger hole at the bottom for the motor. I tried to talk Al in lowering the motor to be flush with the chassis but he would have no part of it because of the hypoid gear situation. I built one and it worked just fine with the stock gears, but that was not satisfying him.

[RichKraft]

Wow, Dave, that is a cool HO rig. I have never seen one and didn't know they even existed.

Have you ever run it around on a track? It looks like it would be a cool nerf machine. Four of them cruising around would be a blast to watch.

I did a hardbody Chrysler 300 for Ed that was a bear to pass, and could launch most attempts from a couple lanes over. Not that Ed would launch someone on purpose, but he did always have a smile on his face racing that beast.

One of these trucks would definitely be fun. Nice, clean Riggen truck. Hopefully a box will find you a home to park this truck.

[sidejobjon]

Vitter, did you try Ron from Riggen.com?

Dokktor, any scans of your drawings? Also were can I find '70s Parma catalogs??

Thanks all.

[TSR]

John,

One I have on file is this one below, the others I never scanned because they are too large.



Also here is an article I did of the Riggen HO prototype. Al Riggen fashioned the brass after drawings I made. This car is a bit different from production as I wanted to use wire clips to hold the body. Al later modified that to stamped square holes in the body that fitted over little protrusions on the shaker pan. Just like the Dynamic Bandit...



I don't have much on the trucks, Al and Dick "Magoo" Megugorac did most of that, all I did were the box graphics.

[sidejobjon]

TSR,

Here's a modifed Riggen, that I won on eBay, that was raced at Parma Raceway.



Great job, TSR, keep them coming. Is that your signature bottom right of chassis?

Vitter, I'am in need of a Vitter HO build fix.

Thanks.

PS: Anybody have scans of '70s Parma catalogs?

[Dave Larsen]

Yep...

It's a cool little truck there, Ray and Rick, that's for sure. I knew there were two versions... I didn't know there were two different decals on the trailer. I have seen a blue tractor once many years ago; mainly I see brown ones when they pop up. I went digging and found a one-page article in the 1971 June issue of M.A.R.



... And an ad from Riggen in the same issue...



Well, Philippe, I take it that this is the box I'm after, and I want to thank you for your posts and input on the topic ...



... Not this one...



Heck, Philippe, I'll just keep a eye out for the correct box and not trip on the end flap denoting what ride came in it...



A "fix" ... That's a different way of putting it there, John... That's funny maybe I'll start with the Riggen that Ron gave me to build in the mail about three years ago. Then I can talk to him about a box. I never said I was fast, I build them when I feel like burning my fingers.

[TSR]

Dave,

The cardboard box with the little window is the one I did. I am pretty sure that the clear plastic box was introduced after Riggen sold to Gayla, because I do not remember ever seeing one than.

The first truck box is like the cardboard box but larger, and then there was an all-clear formed celluloid box with a card insert. What Gayla did, I don't know.

Is that your signature bottom right of chassis?

Yes. Below is a picture of Dick "Magoo" Megugorac at the 1971 Chicago Hobby Show. I am the dude on the right with the glasses. The girl was a rental, and the other guy was a journalist from Car Model and I cannot remember his name.



Please note the three-lane track and the prototype of the racing set on the wall. What you do not see are the magnet-traction prototype cars that I brought, in an effort to convince Al Riggen that it was the way to go, but he would have nothing to do with them, and so we had a dispute and I left the company.

Here is a survivor of those magnet cars, the world's first really, with the Bowman cars shown two years later in Car model and of which the idea was purchased by Oscar Koveleski of Auto World.



I still retain the original drawings of what was going to be the Riggen HO magnet car, and the Chaparral 2J body mold was actually made by Gordon Brimhall (and survives to this day), but it ended right there.

But Cox was eventually the first company to produce a magnet car, even ahead of the Aurora Magna-Traction.

[toybaron]

Hey Vitter! Happy New Year. I haven't forgotten that ol' collection of parts I sent you--can't wait to see what you create from them!!!! I am a patient guy!

Here's something neat:



more details--and way too much information on the Riggen Trailers is here:
http://www.riggenho....gentrailers.htm

Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year!!!

[TSR]

Ron,
Indeed there was a cardboard box. It looked the same as for the cars bit was wider and had a longer window. I think that I MIGHT have a "flat" one somewhere in my old files. I think that the clear acetate/celluloid box came very quickly after.

[toybaron]

I would be grateful for a picture of that, flat or otherwise!!!--and as well as more from the amazing Toy Fair Riggen display. What a time that was, Here is commentary about Tyco's Toy Fair efforts from the perspective of Pat Dennis:

My first Toy Fair was in 1969 and Tyco's showroom was quite small, just a sales office that we crammed our products in. This was because Tyco was just entering the toy field. The space was so small that we could only display one small operating roadrace set. Everything else was just packages mounted on the walls. Even the train sets were what we referred to as "linears", A narrow shelf with enough straight sections of track to hold the complete train - Locomotive to caboose.
As the TycoPro line escalated in sales, the showroom was expanded (actually adding another, larger office down the hall) making it more than twice as large. Tyco had now really entered the toy business.
Toy Fair was a much more elaborate affair, much like a Broadway production. The entire staff was busy in the weeks before the show started. Model makers feverously building the many samples required. There were the all important "Looker/Workers" (samples that looked identical to and performed all of the functions of the production product, but entirely scratch-built) and the "lookers" which non functioning, but cosmetically correct (these were primarily used inside the comp packages. They usually built at least 3 looker/workers and 6 lookers. They frequently pulled several all-nighters to finish these up. The product managers were writing the copy for the catalog, data for the price sheets and the scripts for the demonstrators (we frequently employed professional stage actors for this). The final step was placing the products and signage in the showrooms and rehearsing the demonstrators. We usually kept the model makers company through the last few nights I should note that the new products and lines for all major customers were conducted by the product managers, the demonstrators handling the others.

More back story here:http://riggenho.com/...opro&Itemid=255

Thanks very much for sharing this.
Ron

[TSR]

I met Pat for the first time at the 1971 Chicago Hobby Show. The nicest man... he showed me and let me drive one of the sidewinder/angle-winder prototypes he was working on, with the cut-down Fleischmann train motor. It was very good, handling superbly on the Tyco display track that had two very long straights and a banked turn...

[chaparrAL]

Happy New Years Guys!

[Dave Larsen]

Ron...

That is one very cool tanker.... Dig the Blue tractor! Philippe, thank you for the postings and your history on the Riggen line of HO's! Al.... A Happy New Years to you my friend Al.... I'm going to build Ron a Riggen ride just like I did back in the day when we all raced at Kenny's house ( If you see him say hi for me) front independent front end,KEMP style front pan with wipers/pin and they flew the mail and walked away from the KEMP style A/FX!

It's said though Al that this will be my last post here on the blog! this due to a moderator tring to hack my computer, the last three times I have logged on here I have got a warning that my computer is being attacked! I have a friend that is .....Just lets say a programer for a very big company and was hooked up to my computer when I logged on the third time and watched what was going on when I logged on that third time. This can only happen when one is watching when someone logs on to a site. Once your IP address is caught and watched with the hardware that the hackers use ....They are in your computer! my friend laughed though at their hardware as it is about ten years behind the times He caught the hackers IP address and it dose come from this site!

It's sad Al that this is happening ..... The hacker is wasting his time on my computer it is up to date with numerous fire walls and programs set up by my friend to see who is hacking my computer. he told me it goes both ways.... A hacker tring to hack into your computer and the hackee seeing who is tring to hack into one's computer. I can only hope that this "MODERATOR" will stop with his games.... Because he is playing around with the wrong guy

Until this propblem is taken care of, I will not be posting here!

[Cheater]

Dave,

There is simply zero truth to your claim that "someone" at Slotblog is "hacking" your computer.

If you want to email me the IP address you are concerned about, I will be glad to investigate the matter. Slotblog's software logs the IP address of every visit, member or guest.

[sidejobjon]

Is Vitter coming back? We need some more HO builds.
What happen?
John F

[TSR]

John,
"The Vitter" (whatever that means) has apparently vanished. Was he run over by a bus? Did he fall off from his Harley and was not wearing adequate protective headgear? Is in rotting in a jail cell for dealing in interstate slot car parts contraband?
No one knows...

Film at 11.

[Race O' Rama]

I liked that

[Dave Larsen]

I'm here, John!
 
I've been in BOGIE LAND   for awhile.  All the above comments from Philippe have no merit.   I've taken a break from slots while I was in exile. I'll be posting here again John and building HO rides and 1/24 rides also.

[sidejobjon]

WELCOME BACK