Danno Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 In my continuing effort to demonstrate that I do actually build models, here's an historic build! If you're old enough to remember the 1958-1960 television series "Rescue 8," you may recall that its premise was the exploits of Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue 8 Squad, staffed by firefighters Wes Cameron and Skip Johnson. They were not paramedics, just first-aiders who specialized in rescuing people from numerous precarious situations and oddball injuries . . . for 73 episodes! Cameron was played by actor Jim Davis ~ later Jock Ewing on Dallas ~ and Johnson was played by actor Lang Jeffries). Another prominent star of the series was their panel truck. Always a brand new van, and always equipped with just the right tools and equipment for whatever challenges a particular episode might present. We were young and naïve in those days . . . it never seemed to bother anyone that the van had different equipment in different places every week. But, that was part of the magic of television in the 50's. The nitpickers and rivet counters had not yet arrived on the scene. I think the show - along with a couple of others we'll explore later - inspired a young boy in my household to a lifelong calling of public service (and I was an only child). Several years ago I was fortunate enough to pick up a Shawn Carpenter resin of this 1956 Chevy panel van. I had to build Rescue 8. I didn't do the internet research that would have helped me steer clear of a couple of very obvious accuracy issues, but it was still a fun build. Lighting and fender-mounted siren came from the JoHan '68 Plymouth Police Pursuit kit. The whip antenna and gutter clip were scratched from fine spring wire and plastic. The grille was opened for realism. Decals came from various kits and a railroad lettering sheet. These rigs were not used for patient transport, so scratchbuilt shelving dominated the cargo area, carrying a variety of tools of the day. This was long before Jaws of Life, defibrillators, portable EKGs, and infrared heat detectors, etc. Basic tools were the rescue tools of the day. The hardest part of the build was cutting out the rear doors and hinging them. This resin body was apparently never conceived to have opening cargo doors and I was too stubborn to not try it! A mighty K-12 saw kit, a hand tool box, first aid kit, oxygen tanks, auxiliary lighting and extension cord spool, coiled rope, block and tackle, spooled cable, bucket full of chain, chain binders, and a couple of helmets populate the shelf rack. There's another spool of rescue cord and a couple of cribbing blocks underneath. The driver has a close-by map book for reference long before GPS came to be. (The gray box on the floor behind the seat is the Motorola transceiver.) A pair of fire extinguishers, a fireman's axe, pike pole, and a halligan tool join the chain bucket at the rear. An AMT '55 Cameo kit provided the chassis and power plant. One thing that has eluded me is a picture of the 'front office,' where a detailed dash is fitted with a period-correct Motorola radio control head, microphone with coiled cord, and lights/siren switches. I'll have to remedy that. One final note. I built this rig as an exercise in therapy while recovering from bilateral carpal tunnel surgery. I was very happy with how it turned out then, but I'd build it differently today. Hope you enjoy the model, and remember, the TV series 'Rescue 8' pre-dated 'Emergency!' by almost 15 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Wow, that is pretty cool, nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrecker388 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Looks awesome Danno! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, guys. Glad you like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Very cool. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 That is really cool! Nice work on the equipment and the engine details! Great build! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Great flashback! Nice job on the rig but I'm more impressed with all of the goodies stashed inside. Too cool Danno! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 OUTSTANDING job Danno, nice detail too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris White Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 beautiful detail work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dptydawg Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Great build, Danno!!. The scary thing is that I remember watching that show way back when. it was all in glorious black and white. Butt the details are all lost in time. The scratch building on the rear doors looks good. That must have been a bit of a head scratcher. How's the hand post surgery? I've been there too and I think its working better than ever for fine stuff but have lost some grip strength. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, Mark, Sam, and John! Glad you like it. The detailing was the fun part. Evergreen plastic and general craft store stuff was the starting point for much of the equipment. No aftermarket on board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Larry, Chris, Carl, Thank you! Appreciation from peers means more than anything else! Carl, the real challenge was hinging those rear doors ~ getting the hinges to swing the doors open in a realistic motion and aspect, leaving the doors looking right in both open and closed positions was a bear ... especially since I wanted hinges that would be sturdy enough to withstand manipulation without being unrealistically oversized. It took several failed attempts before I got it right enough. The wrists/hands both healed wonderfully and life became far better after the surgeries. For a period of time, both wrists/hands were bandaged and sore. The Lovely and Gracious Mrs. B loved it, because she could 'put' me somewhere in the house, out of her way, and she knew that's where she would find me whenever she wanted me ~ ~ ~ I couldn't get up or move around without help. Fortunately for me, that only lasted a couple of days . . . but it's still one of her favorite periods of our married life, so she says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Awsome build Danno, amazing work with all of the equipment .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, Carl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalper Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Nice Work. Looks great one of a kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Danno, you say you went through a lot to construct "Realistic " hinges . Could you elaborate on the materials , helpful hints etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donb Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Great story and build Danno. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thanks, Andre, Don, and James! Ed, The resin body and interior tub are by Shawn Carpenter. I got it directly from him at a swap meet. It sat for a few years while I tried to decide what to do with it. Once I decided to do the rescue van, I knew I had to open up the back doors! The van was my first resin build. And, I had to jump right in with an ambitious project, didn't I? One issue was material. I tried aluminum tube, brass tube, paperclip rod, brass rod, even nylon RC aircraft aileron hinge material. I just couldn't get things together in small enough dimensions to look right and hold up. Remember, at the time I was a little ham-fisted due to the twin surgeries (that was back in the palm-cutting days). All of that was aggravated by two other factors: engineering and adhesives. First, the back end of the panel has a forward slope, requiring the upper hinge to be longer than the lower hinge ~ just the opposite of door hinges on passenger cars. Secondly, because of the degree of slope the conventional method of running a continuous pin through both hinges while fabricating and gluing the hinges to the doors and the body just would not work. Trying that method initially, I got doors that swung up rather wildly ("Lambo" style). I settled on two parallel planes for upper and lower hinges. That in itself created havoc for me when it came to getting the hinge pins parallel and coordinated enough to open at all. I eventually got the angles and hinge arm lengths figured out and then encountered that third factor. Adhesives. My first resin. I had settled on styrene hinges, patterned after the actual van hinges. I carefully fabbed the hinge arms and drilled tiny holes for tiny metal pins. Then I notched the body and the doors to accommodate the male/female halves of each hinge. That's when I encountered the problem of attaching the styrene hinges to the resin body. After several failed attempts with the various adhesives I was accustomed to using, I used epoxy for the first time. My first attempt with epoxy failed after a few repetitions of the open-close-open-close cycles. I realized I had made the hinge arms and the notches in the body too smooth! The epoxy hadn't gotten any "bite." So, after the van was painted, finished, and polished, the hinges gave up the ghost. So, I had to file away the epoxy, leave some filing grooves in both tiny halves and the re-install with epoxy. The 'final fix' has held up for years now. But I was never able to match the original paint finish on the exposed portion of the hinges to my satisfaction. The bad news is that T&E engineering is a PITA. But the good news is that I learned (the hard way) how to do it right the next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsheehy Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 A valiant effort Dan, very nice. Your perseverance paid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 A valiant effort Dan, very nice. Your perseverance paid off. Thanks Tom! From you, that means a lot. As I said, I'd do it differently today . . . better products available, more and better skills, and hopefully even better result. Way cool, nice work Danno! Thanks, Lee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanr Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 magnific work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Wow! Danno can build. Excellent work sir! As usual, I love all the added details. You scratched most of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks, Alan. Thank you, David. Hard to believe, isn't it? Yep, scratched together a lot of the goodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendog261 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Very nice build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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