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Custom Pierce Enforcer 1750 pumper


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Work continues.  I took the interior tub from the Trumpeter ALF kit but had to do a lot of cutting and adjusting to get it to fit.  The Trumpeter kit doesn't include interior door panels so I have made some up and put some 0.020" spacers in so that I can sandwich the clear glass in the doors and the sides.  The dash is completely different as well so that had to be cut apart and be rebuilt.  I found a gage cluster from an old AMT cabover Pete that looks close so I put that in as well.  It needs a bit of tweaking but not much.  

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The cab is sitting on the ALF chassis but it will need to be lengthened about 12 scale inches to be right.  That's a way off though.  Still a lot to do to the cab to get it done, both interior and exterior.  

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The grill is painted gloss black in anticipation of shooting some Alclad II onto it.  But I have seen some tests where it is shot over a bright blue and it looks a much lighter shade of chrome.  The black gives it a nice luster but it is dark.  Anybody ever see ordinary graphite from a lead pencil rubbed on gloss black?  Neither had I until I was doing some internet hunting for chrome paint and saw it demonstrated.  I rubbed some on a very smooth graphics pen cover and the effect was amazing.  Again, however it was a dark shade of chrome.

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The fender flairs came directly from the ALF kit.  I cut them off the ALF cab, smoothed up the edge and glued them in.  I think quarter round would be hard to work with because you would have to bend it first to make sure the stress was out of it.  Another way of doing it would be to make the flairs out of a thick piece of sheet stock drawing out the curvature you want, and then cutting out the radius that fits against the cab.  After that cut away all of the excess material leaving just the strip.  In that way there is absolutely no stress for things to pull away and you are guaranteed a nice smooth curve all the way around.  

I could put together a quick how to if anyone is interested.

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I don’t remember where, but I too have seen great results with Alclad over bright blue. I agree, the standard gloss black generally gives it an ever so slightly darker chrome effect - pleasing and effective, but possibly not the brightest it could be.

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I decided to do the tutorial on making fender flairs.  This is a hand drawn sketch of how I would make them if I had no other source for them.  In 1/25 scale the front fenders of the Ertl ALF kits can be used for them as well.  They just have to be trimmed to get rid of the excess width.  The trimming needs to be done so that it ends up right at the edge of where the chrome trim plate would be glued on.  Getting back to the hand crafted way here we are.

You will need the following tools to make the flairs.

A ruler, a drawing compass, Xacto knife and preferably a Dremel with a sanding drum.

Start with a sheet of 0.080 thick sheet stock.  Actually, in thinking about it,  0.100" thick stock might be better.  If you don't have a thick sheet, laminate two or three thinner sheets together to get the thickness.   Measure the outside radius of the flair that you want and with the compass draw the outside curve (R-2) on the sheet stock.  Then reduce the compass radius to R-1 and draw that in.

Next remove all of the excess of the sheet stock shown as #1 in heavy black lines.  Be careful when going around the outside radius R-2 by leaving just a bit of the line work.

Then remove all of the sheet labeled #2.  Where you cut will be the bottom of the flairs.  You will end up with just the outside curve roughed in and a shape like half an orange.  Now carefully sand the outside radius R-2 along the line and then begin to sand the edge like quarter round as shown in the cross section #3 below.

When that is done and smoothed up remove all of the shaded excess material #4.  Leaving that to last makes it easier to handle the sheet stock during the shaping process.  Start by rough cutting the material away and then use the Dremel and sanding drum to finish up.  Work carefully so that the two radii remain concentric.  The flair needs to be even width all around.

Once this is all done glue the flair in place.  BUT before you do, make sure the curved part of the cab and the flair touch throughout.  Sand away the high spots so that the joint is smooth and neat all the way around.  Glue the flair in place from the BACK!!!!! and let the glue fill in the joint.  The back surface of the flair should be flush with the inside surface of the cab.

If anybody wants to give it a try let us know how you make out.

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The Trumpeter kit has many nice features but some of the engineering leaves one to wonder.  The wheels are snap on much like the old Monogram 1/32 scale kit wheels.  For such a large vehicle, even if made right out of the box they are flimsy both front and rear.  So I'm changing that not only to strengthen the axles and wheels but to make the fronts to turn.  The back axle will be a one piece solid brass rod that will run from one set of wheels through the differential to the other.  Here is the front axle so far.  I had to pull the axle in about 3/16" to get the tires completely inside the wheel wells.  I very much dislike tires sticking outside the flairs.  Some tie rod brackets will be added to the orange pieces that will be glued to the brass axle extension.  The wheel will be held on with a small screw and washer inside the chrome wheel.  Then it will be capped.

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Below is the axle housing made of square tube stock.  Only a bit of sanding was necessary on the kit axle to slide the square tubing over it.  Holes were drilled in the top and bottom surfaces and a brass tube was run through and soldered top and bottom.  Then portions of the square tube were cut away including the brass tube that was inside. This left a place for the small piece of tubing next to the orange backing plate to fit in.  The smaller brass tube to the side slides in from top to bottom locking the backing plate and axle in place.  Vertical tubing will be cut off eventually to the proper length.

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I also did the frame lengthening to get the 194" wheel base.  Since the frame was already put together, I had to decide where to make the cut.  As it worked out the best place was just ahead of the rear tires.  The rear piece had a really short piece of frame rail left but there was a sturdy crossmember there.  So I bent some 1/4" wide strip brass stock to a 90 degree angle and glued it inside the frame rail at the cross member.  This was done on both sides.  Then a second piece of plastic strip stock was glued over the top of each piece of brass at the cross member.  Then it was case of gluing the longer part of the strip brass to the front frame section on each side but extending the front section out about 12 scale inches.  Then the gap was filled in with sheet and strip stock.  Once painted the joint will not be noticeable and it is surprisingly strong.

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The only problem with doing what I did was that the rear drive shaft would now be too short.  So I cut it at each U-joint (it was still too short?) and substituted a piece of brass tubing of the same diameter but lengthened the appropriate amount.  The driveshaft was reinstalled and will be painted again.021.JPG.472d20171919794592185231cc020372.JPG

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Have at it, my Friend!  ?  I should have kept track of all of the different ways I have done the front steering.  Again, Trumpeter really missed the boat on so many little things that would have made a nice kit a great kit.  There are no kingpins on the axle ends!  Even AMT/Ertl had them on the ALF's.  And a tie rod too!  Trumpeter doesn't even seem to have that; at least I have not found it yet in the kit.  Oh, well.. What difference does it make?  The rig has them now!?  And I've added the backs of the rims.  It will help to keep the tires in place.  Next to do is to drill out the rear axle and add the solid rod to hold the rear wheels on.

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Moving right along, I spent some time with the interior tub.  With some photos of the actual truck I put together some pieces that would resemble the inside of the cab.  

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The seats came from the Trumpeter ALF.  Some minor modifications will make them look more like Pierce work.  The ALF dash was too far away from the Pierce dash so I looked into my stash of older kits and found a KW gage cluster that was close.  I also took one of the 1/32 scale Monogram Macks and from a kit I had already cut up took the additional dash controls and butterfly switch cluster.  I cut them apart and relocated them to the Pierce dash.  There was also some room for decal work that imitate the additional controls and AC unit.  The yellow tubing is the first of 5 SCBA bottles that will fit in the open back seats.

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Not a good photo but on the dash you can see the Mack gages; one small one just to the left of the steering wheel and one up on the console.   To the rear of the cab are two seats with an open netting type storage compartment with a hinged top.  The back wall of the cab will be right behind the seats and compartment.

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I also did some work on the front axle.  The wheels are now permanent with tires mounted.  I made the tie rod out of 1/16" diameter brass tubing with the next size up for the ends.  I cut a notch lengthwise in this piece and drilled it out for the bolt and nut.  An additional bracket was made for the wheel back where another piece of 1/16" tubing was soldered on.  The end was pinched and drilled for the bolt.  I soldered the tie rod end only on end to start.  On the other wheel I mounted the tie rod end and inserted the tie rod.  Using a long ruler I lined up both axles so that they were straight.  It was only then that the second tie rod end was soldered to lock it in place.  The bolts are #90 frorm the LHS.  They will be cut off and the nuts secured from loosening up.  On the bottom of the axle is a piece of strip stock.  I had to cut the axle in half and shorten it some so that the tires would be under the wheel well flairs.  The strip just adds some stiffness to the axle.  There is also a piece on top but it well hidden.

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Finally I gave the cab a coat of flat black paint inside and then masked off the windshield and side windows and gave the outside a first coat of gray primer.  Door lines have been scribed and after each coat they need to be opened up again so that the lines are not lost.  The flaws now show up and will have to be fixed before moving on.  Next up is to cut the hole in the front panel for the grill.  A radiator will be installed behind the photoetch mesh but there won't be any engine in this one that you can see.  The oil pan is there but that is all.  Another Trumpeter peculiarity.  No engine!

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Just a couple more photos of work that has been done recently.  Yesterday I was able to get a bit done with it raining steady outside all day.  We are in drought conditions here in the NE so it was good to have it for once.  The interior tub is about done with the exception of two braces that go from frame to roof in back of the AC unit.  I have to bend up some tubing for the installation.  And I got the AC unit mounted inside the cab and the hole cut in the front where the grill will go.

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On 10/13/2020 at 11:47 AM, Chariots of Fire said:

Your avatar looks like you are already grown up!  Better start soon!??

You ain't lying... At 52,? I suddenly realized I'd better get started building all these kits I've collected all these years... Otherwise, They'll have to be built by somebody else after I'm gone... Way too many to build in this lifetime... Good news is, where I'm going, I'm not going to care... Praise Jesus!!! ?

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