Chariots of Fire

I know what you mean about the tires. The fronts have no backing. I used to take extras and cut off a sidewall and glue it onto the back of the tires to fill them in. Took just a bit of sanding at the corner of the sidewall and tread to make it look right. Other than that the rig looks pretty nice.

Well here is the pump nearly complete. I'm waiting on an order of HO scale freight car brake wheels that I can use in making a few valves to add. Other than that the pump portion is about done. Just a bit of touchup also with the OD paint.

And here it is in primer. Got a few more widgets on it. But I may do some adjusting. The top of the pump sits just a little high so it may come off so I can file down the discharge volute that sends water to it. That should help.

Working on the pump for the front end. I turned the blank out of aluminum and then made a mold for casting.

I'm with you guys on the Travelall! Dave: Put me down for one! I can see that added to the Department fleet!

Modelhaus made a C60 Chevy truck kit in resin a few years ago. You would have to check on e-bay or post a request here to get one as Modelhaus is no longer in business. Here is a tanker I made from the casting. Scale is 1/25

No doubt about it. A fine piece of work! The "on the beach" scene is great!

Just some more work done. The bumper and frame extensions are brass strip stock soldered together. I drilled out the ends of the extensions and the main frame. The holes in the main frame were tapped for 00-90 screws to secure the extensions. Biggest problem was getting the bumper to sit at the right height and to be straight and square. It took a little adjustment but it's there. Hood hinges were made from strip brass, brass tubing and common pins. Headlight buckets are resin castings from a turned aluminum master. Molotow chrome paint was used for the interior. Lenses still need to be installed. Running Boards are made from 0040 sheet stock. Ribs are 0.020 x 0.030 strip stock. After gluing them in place they were sanded and rounded off. A master was made and resin castings were used on the model. 0.040 x 0.060 strip stock was used for the edges.

Truck is now in primer. Much of the cab work is now done. The primer does bring out some flaws that have to be cleaned up. Just a few pin holes in some of the resin casting but they are minimal. Much of the work today was in making up some details. Running boards were made and cast. Hood latches were made from brass strip and small brass tubing. Headlight buckets are done and ready for installation. Cab interior will be next.

When I first looked I thought it was the real thing that you were showing as an example of the model. That is about as real looking as it gets! Fine work!

If you are still concerned about tires check out Shapeways. There are several tire options there. I have actually had some designed for specific projects and got them printed. I buy a couple, one for use as a master and the other as a backup. Then I make a mold and cast up as many as I need. Less expensive that way.

With the doors scribed and removed the hinges were set in place. Positioning was marked on the cab prior to scribing so that the brass hinges could be set correctly. They were glued and pinned in place on the cab side and the door jam. The hood was similarly hinged but it needs to be altered slightly after doing some study of photos of the real thing. Only one place on the right door had to be built up with some 0.010 strip stock to close up the door openings. Scribing with a sharp Xacto knife did a good job of keeping the opening closed up nicely. The hinge pins are long for now as the doors and hood will have to be removed for painting and other detailing. When they are ready for final assembly the pins can be cut off. Next up is to establish the headlight location and get them prepped for installation after painting is done.

I like your work! Nice color combination. Engine and stack is really neat! Looking forward to seeing this one completed!

Using the two part resin from Micro Mark. They make a 300 series and a 600 series. This happens to be the 600 series that takes a bit longer to set up. It is mixed 50:50 unlike the alumilite that is mixed in a 10:1 ratio (I think).

Here are the results of casting the front fenders. The two originals are in the mold box ready for pouring the mold rubber. And here is the first pop from the mold. They are a bit sticky which makes me think the mixing of the two part resin was not up to par. So I will mix up another batch and try again. I'll leave them in the mold overnight to be sure they have fully set and cured before pulling them out again.