Chariots of Fire

Work continues on the frame of the Diamond T. It's widget time for the rear axles as well as around the front. Here are some update photos. The rear axles are essentially done. All of the torque rods are complete and in place. LIttle things like bolt heads, brake cans, the driveshaft between axles have been added. The rear springs float on top of the square axles and pivot about the center. The front axle is glued to the springs and with wire U-bolts. The Pitman arm, and steering rod have been installed. Stops have been added to the bottom of the frame just in front of the rear spring shackles. Everything is in place and the tires can be temporarily set on the hubs. A check was made to be sure that the frame sits level. It does. There are sections of 1/16" tubing that connect the front springs to the shackles. These will eventually be trimmed to be independent. For now they just help keep things in place for fitting. Using those fusion beads again for lug nuts. They stand out nicely, even when painted. They are held in place with pieces of brass wire acting as the studs. Top view of the frame and axles. An unusual feature of this build will be the engine. It is offset to the right so that the oil pan will clear the front differential housing.

What is it they say, Danno? One person's trash (truck) is another person's treasure??😆

One more pic of the chassis from the rear. All of the components are finally there and the front axle is mounted to the springs but still removable for final fit.

I've still got one of the Jordan Ahrens Fox's and a ladder truck. The ladder was pulled by an AC Mack. They also made a Model A woodie all in HO scale. Perhaps there were others.

Most likely humidity. No problem, really. Wait until it sets up good and then polish the dullness away. It will be fine.

Up on all 10's. Well, almost. Things are just sitting in position with no permanent connections. The front axle and wheels are mounted but the axle is not connected to the springs yet. Same for the rear axles. The wheel hubs are now attached with tubing plugged with plastic rod and then drilled out for the small screws and washers that hold them in place. Pretty solid but turn smoothly. Now it's on to the torque rods and their connections that will hold the rear axles in position with the springs floating on top.

I did a short tutorial on making hydraulic cylinders a while back. They may be still in the how to's.

Been working on the frame and axles of the Diamond T. Slow progress but it's there. No time limit on this one. Axles are done as far as basics are concerned. Working now on the steering for the front end. They are made of soldered C section and tubing. Wheels have been given the Fusion bead treatment up front. The front axle has mounting points and the wire U-bolts are ready. Next up will the the finished axle with the steering knuckles in place, steering arm and tie rod done.

Wish I could, Vince. I only took one completed photo of the rig when it was built several years ago for the son of a paramedic who worked at the hospital. The only labor involved, David, was for the one I did it for. He was slightly challenged, and it was a gift.

This was built a few years ago from photos of the real truck. Added fender trim, bug shield, push bar,light bars, scratch built body, Don Mills slam locks, aluminum foil trim, and home made decals.

If all you need are the bolt heads you can make your own with some hex rod and a chopper tool. Just adjust the blade and stop on the tool for the thickness you want the bolt head to be and chop away. Hex rod comes in a variety of sizes. Smallest I have by Plastruct is 1mm but I can make hundreds of them. Another alternative is to use wire and ceramic hex beads. #15 ceramic beads by Fusion Beads. Drill a hole, slip in a section of wire, drop the ceramic bead over the wire and superglue them together. Snip off the wire and you have the look of a lug nut for a wheel.

Exceptional! Nicely done!!

That looks good to me, Brian. Hard to see the slight difference in color. Nice work!

Just a suggestion: Take a piece of brass tubing with the inside diameter the size you want for the disc. File or grind the outside edge so that it forms a sharp inner edge and use it as a punch. You will probably have to "sharpen" the edge as you use it as it tends to roll over when you tap it on a hard surface. But it works!

Agreed! That Interior is well done indeed! I like the color as well. Nice job.

I have a vacuu-form machine as well. I would sit the buck for the windshield right down on the grill so that when the softened sheet drops over it the rest of it gets pulled down evenly all around. Having the buck raised off the grill may be your problem.

I like it too! Nice color combination. Larger tires and wheels make a nice difference.

Same number of coats on the cab and hood? That happened to me on a small build recently. I should have painted both with the same number of coats on each one. I doubt that the resin has anything to do with it if they were both primed the same and had the same basic starting surfaces. It's looking good though, in spite of the slight shade difference.

That looks nice, though. Are you going to cut through the decal at the door line? Use a fresh blade and then hit it again with Micro-sol.

Try Micro-sol under the decal before you lay it down. It might help with the wrinkle problem. Another bit of it on top afterward is ok too.

Well, "Leaf", those would make ideal images for creating them in 1/25 scale via 3D printing. The only thing you would need to change would be the tire size from 10.00-22 to 9.00-20 for this build.

Progress has been slow on this build but that is ok. I'm in no hurry. It has been somewhat of a challenge, especially for coming up with appropriate springs because of the lack of brass strips of the right size. I have some 1/8" x 1/64 strip stock on order for the fronts but the 5/32 stock just is not available so plan B went into affect. The springs came from another truck kit but have been modified to fit this build. For the front springs I added a short strip of brass with tubing soldered on the ends. That way I can set them in the spring brackets with some strength. The rears will sit on a bracket that is mounted on the center pivot point and with the flat portion of the springs sitting on each axle. Now it's on to the axles themselves. Those "b" shaped brass pieces next to the rear springs are what the torque rods will attach to once they are mounted on each axle.

I have a 1/35 scale kit of a Diamond T tank hauler pulling a trailer. Lots of parts, great tire assortment and all. But I'm sort of stuck on doing one in 1/25 scale!😎

Would be nice if it was, Brian! Wish I had a stretch machine that would go from 1/35 to 1/25 scale!!

Maybe I'll build one body of each and switch them off now and then!!😆