Oldmopars Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 I joined the Air Force in 1993, served till 2007. During that time I was a Crew Chief on the C141B and the C17A. I spent 11 years at McChord AFB in Washington. During the winter months we got a lot of ice and a little snow, but rarely more than a few inches. However every time there is ice or snow the planes need to be deiced. I spent many hours on the flight line each morning sitting in a Ford C800 FMC deicer truck. It has been my dream to build a replica of one of these great trucks. Many fond memories driving these. I started with the cab. Because these trucks were all 80's models I had to update the cab. I removed the emblems on the front, then I cut off a set of fenders from a spare cab and added them to this cab to make it a post 74. I also removed the windshield wipers because in the later trucks they were mounted differently. I will add a blue oval style ford logo to the front and use parts box wipers. I also opened the vents on the side of the cab and added a window in the top like the FMC Deicers had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmopars Posted March 7, 2020 Author Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) I needed some different tires than the kit had and different wheels. The kit wheels are 5 spoke and the C800 uses 6 spoke. I purchased several kits from a fellow member here and in the lot of kits was a Italeri/RoG truck that had 6 spoke wheels, he also sent me the nearly correct military lugged tires. I had to slightly modify the wheels as they had holes all the way through for axles. Parts box extras fixed them up right nicely. I also had to change the wheel base to match the FMC trucks. A bit of internet searching landed me an Air Force manual for the truck complete with drawings. I scaled one of them up so I have something to measure from and build off of. At this time I have made a "bench" seat for the cab and started working on the box/tank for the back. I have a huge amount of work left to do, but it is fun to build something that I used to use all the time. BTW the last picture is a Landoll, not an FMC. Almost the same, but slight differences. Edited March 7, 2020 by Oldmopars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khils Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 17 minutes ago, Oldmopars said: I joined the Air Force in 1993, served till 2007. During that time I was a Crew Chief on the C141B and the C17A. I spent 11 years at McChord AFB 1st of all ........^^^^^ Thank You!! ^^^^^ And second.... l like your project idea....will be following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbeard Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 You have a fantastic project you started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincen47 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 A unique project, and a great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Must have been fun doing the de-icing during a snow storm!!? Good scratch building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Scott, Thank you for your service ! Great subject for a model . I see you are well prepared to talke this task . I will be looking for further updates ! Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Great start on a great project!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince66 Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Thanks for your service my brother was an AF staff Sargent based in the Philippines in 1969 heavy equipment was his game. Will be interesting to follow this build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leafsprings Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Wheels and tires look great. Your one your way to a super realistic build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermann Kersten Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Great project, and nice to see the scratch build of the box/tank. Hermann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmopars Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 It seems that my pictures are always a little behind what I have actually done. I have more done, but this gives an idea where I am at. I have the "Box" together, however it is still open on the top. I am working on other details that I need to and so the top will remain open for a little while more. This does give you an idea of where I am going with it. I have made some adjustments to level out the truck. I may still lift the front some. I have added some vents and made a hose reel, but those will be in the next pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotnitro? Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Awesome scratchbuilding !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckrigger Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Extremely nice work! Keep the updates coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Retired in '89 and saw a few of these in Korea, Ohio, Oklahoma, and even North Carolina. Didn't pay a lot of attention to them, my job was inside the aircraft, working avionics. Really like where you are going with this one. Going to be fun to watch you doing the scratchbuilding. One thing I noticed in the pictures is a lack of stabilizers. I sort of thought those were required on any highlift vehicle. I know when I had to repair the HF antennas on C-130's and B-52's, those had to be extended and in place or QC or Safety would ream us a new one. Looking forward to your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatMan Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Nice project! Great fab work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmopars Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 10 hours ago, TarheelRick said: Retired in '89 and saw a few of these in Korea, Ohio, Oklahoma, and even North Carolina. Didn't pay a lot of attention to them, my job was inside the aircraft, working avionics. Really like where you are going with this one. Going to be fun to watch you doing the scratchbuilding. One thing I noticed in the pictures is a lack of stabilizers. I sort of thought those were required on any highlift vehicle. I know when I had to repair the HF antennas on C-130's and B-52's, those had to be extended and in place or QC or Safety would ream us a new one. Looking forward to your progress. Funny thing is, they do have stabilizers, but they are "Spring Locks". The was a switch on the control panel that caused these locks to come down on the springs and lock them in place. So, even when they are deployed you can't see them. I may try to replicate them on this build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) That sounds logical. But if I am in that bucket and going to be spraying the T-Tail on a C-141 I would want extended stabilizers. You are doing an excellent job with this build; looking forward to updates. Edited March 12, 2020 by TarheelRick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 On 3/6/2020 at 7:26 PM, Oldmopars said: I spent many hours on the flight line each morning sitting in a Ford C800 FMC deicer truck. It has been my dream to build a replica of one of these great trucks. Many fond memories driving these. Most of my fond memories of the flight line were in a bread-truck with a bunch of other avionics maintenance people cruising around during launch to perform any minor repairs needed. Played many a hand of spades and pinochle in those trucks. I have often thought of trying to build one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotnitro? Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Awesome work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmopars Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 On 3/12/2020 at 5:30 AM, TarheelRick said: Most of my fond memories of the flight line were in a bread-truck with a bunch of other avionics maintenance people cruising around during launch to perform any minor repairs needed. Played many a hand of spades and pinochle in those trucks. I have often thought of trying to build one of those. I spent many hour in the same trucks. We just called them the "Expiditor" truck. Most of the ones that we had were 90's Chevy van fronts with a box on the back with a side man door. I may build one of those someday too. Early 2000's when the GSA contract was in force, we got Gruman bread trucks. They were every color made. They were bigger, but I liked the old Chevys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Your doing a great job...excellent scratch building!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseeJerry55 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Firstly thank you for your service. Second this is a great idea. I’ll be watching and I will be picking your brain on the buildup as I want to eventually do a C Series cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Looking Great from what I see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Thank you for your service! I don't think anyone who hasn't done military ops in a cold environment can really understand what it takes. I was a KC-135 pilot at Wurtsmith and Fairchild and remember some bitter cold(well below zero) preflighting an aircraft or sitting cockpit alert. The cold just went right through you even when you had the proper cold weather gear on. Working in big aluminum tube at -17 degrees was just crazy and I didn't have to stand in a cherry picker when the wind was blowing. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the guys that worked on the planes in those conditions. There was just no saying no. They had to go. Oh and while I am at it, I will mention the security patrols. Those poor guys, slogging around the alert aircraft in the middle of the night in a foot of snow and 20 knot winds blowing, with an M16 never got the love they deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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