Chariots of Fire Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Tonite we got the last of the chassis work done. The front and rear outer wheel pieces are now ready for installation and the chassis is painted. Still having issues with trying to find a good OD color in a spray can. I may try one of the auto parts stores to see what they have. The newer model paints are too dark for this vintage vehicle. Anyway here we are to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 (edited) Nice work! One can really pick out the chassis and suspension details, and just enough weathering on the exhaust and engine to add realism, nice! As for the spray cans, a local autobody supply shop should be able to mix up a custom spray can for you, I've had it done. I like the one in this picture, "Pasture Green" as an example Edited July 22, 2021 by hct728(Bob) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Boy....that is coming along really well. All the detailing looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Thanks, Bob. Will check those out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 Work begun on the body. Basic construction is with .030" Evergreen stock. The inside of the bed came from the '41 Chevy pickup kit. It was exactly the right width and only needed to be shortened about 1/4". The raised center part of the tailgate and the front of the body raised portion were made using 0.040" half round stock. Small strip brass was used for the hinges and the upper latches. Each of the tail lights and side lights on the body are indented. So far the back ones were done by opening up each area and using a rat tail file to make the opening round. Then a piece of sheet was glued to the inner face of the body. Finally a drop of casting resin was put into the opening. Surface tension kept the resin up against the outer portion of the opening. When it set it looks like the edges are beveled. Now to begin some work on the front fenders. If it looks like the body is extra wide compared to the rear wheels it is. The track is only 63" while the body width is 82. Maybe in the design they were expecting to use double wheels in the back but this is how it is. The front fenders are just about the same as the Power Wagon that came out after the war. There have been several done as diecasts; Danbury Mint, Matchbox and Ertl to name a few. Below are a pair of resin cast fenders that were done using the Danbury Mint model as a master. The shape is good and surprisingly it is the right scale and width. However, I'm finding them too thick for my taste so using some masking tape I covered the surface of them and then trimmed the tape. The tape was lifted off as one piece and laid flat on some brass sheet. I'll cut the outlines, bend to shape and solder on the tapered edge. The results will be a much finer fender line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 Since the last post I have made an executive decision to switch to Ren Shape for the front fenders. Having done one fender in brass the decision was easy as there is much more control over the shape. Once a set is made a mold will be made to cast two sets. One set for this one and one for the next one when it comes on the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Payne Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Hope you can show a few pics of the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 Here are the pieces carved from Ren Shape for the fenders. With this work completed the next task is to give them a coat of clear gloss to seal the pores and then they will be ready for casting. The block in the background of the first photo is the Ren Shape. The outline of the fender was drawn on one face and the fender was roughed out on the band saw. then the outside curves were sanded to the line drawn. Then the final underside was sanded out using a Dremel and sanding disk. In one fender I had to add a small sliver of Ren Shape to the inside but it is sanded smooth. It takes CA glue nicely. The inner fenders will be done separately to fit on top of the frame. Once the fenders are cast the inner fender pieces will be glued to the fenders themselves. This will strengthen the castings and keep them from possibly sagging later on although that was not an issue when I did the fenders for the Class 325's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Such a neat job done on that body! Love the chains and hinge detail. Fenders look good too, ready for casting. Wondering if the brass ones could be formed over a wooden buck and then duplicated, never worked with brass sheet before though. Think it would be cool to use the TV show fender shaping techniques on a model! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 3 hours ago, hct728(Bob) said: Such a neat job done on that body! Love the chains and hinge detail. Fenders look good too, ready for casting. Wondering if the brass ones could be formed over a wooden buck and then duplicated, never worked with brass sheet before though. Think it would be cool to use the TV show fender shaping techniques on a model! I'm not a good tinker, Bob! I've tried it several times, some results not so good, others ok, The most difficult part is getting the bend at the outside edges. I tried soldering a thin strip to the fender once it was curved but that meant having to bend the strip in two different directions. Even after annealing it was not easy. So I just went with what worked before. Besides I am doing two of these rigs so making a mold meant killing two birds with one stone. Or in this case casting two sets of fenders with one mold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Payne Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Great work with that renshape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Reaally nice work so far.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 10 hours ago, Chariots of Fire said: I'm not a good tinker, Bob! I've tried it several times, some results not so good, others ok, The most difficult part is getting the bend at the outside edges. I tried soldering a thin strip to the fender once it was curved but that meant having to bend the strip in two different directions. Even after annealing it was not easy. So I just went with what worked before. Besides I am doing two of these rigs so making a mold meant killing two birds with one stone. Or in this case casting two sets of fenders with one mold! Just happened to come across an old Model Cars Mag article where you used brass, looked great but a lot of work as you say. Nice to see it again in print, thank you for your past articles demonstrating these techniques, as now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 Was that the issue that featured the USAF Type O-5 Crash Truck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 The fenders have been cast and the process of mounting them in the right place is being done. Lots of trial and error, even with scale drawings because so many different things have to match up. I did some study of the photos in the technical manual reproduction to get some information. The rest is just getting pieces cut, fit here, cut there, sand this, match that.....etc. In the background is the mold and the two Ren Shape fender masters. They were simply glued down to a flat base like the casting at the right and a box was built around them to hold the RTV. Even with the raised outer edge, the castings can be removed easily one they are set hard. It took a bit to get everything lined up. The grill guard is made of small strip brass and wire soldered together. If the winch was not part of the model the grill guard would extend down abut twice as far. But the winch and its frame do the same thing to protect the radiator from objects coming at it from the front. The fender at lower right will be trimmed as the right one that is now on the frame. Not only is it a piece of the model detail it really stiffens up the resin casting so that it will not sag. The fender has an outer edge that is thicker than the underneath part. The radiator shroud is temporarily screwed to the radiator so that things can be lined up. Once all is said and done the radiator cap will hide the screw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) On 7/26/2021 at 11:35 PM, Chariots of Fire said: Was that the issue that featured the USAF Type O-5 Crash Truck? That's the one, Aug/Sept 2012, the cover story! Lots of brass work went into that model! Nice work on this one, love the grille guard, things are really taking shape now. Thanks for the update and process used Edited July 28, 2021 by hct728(Bob) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 WOW! Does time fly! If you had asked me when that was I would have said 4-5 years ago. But 9! Must be getting old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 Second fender is now on with the left side running board. This is where the spare tire will be mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 The spare is a neat little detail! Love It! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 Got some work done on the hood in the past couple of days. It's a real bummer to have finally run out of the small piano hinges that can be soldered on. So I opted for using some of the Micro-Mark H style hinges in three places and filled in the gaps with small pieces of brass tubing. One alternative would be simply to use all individual H hinges but I think this will be ok in the long run. Now it's on to the hood sides with a similar hinge issue. But with those the entire hinge is inside where it cannot be seen except when the hood is folded back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 The basics of the hood are finished. Just a bit of touchup and the six louvers for the sides. Now it's on to a few details under the fenders and then the floorboards. The two cutouts in the body on the right side are done as well. The larger rear one will have a reflector and a tiedown hook. The front one just has the hook. Left side still to go along with the fuel filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Looking like a truck! Neat job on those cutouts. Love the chains, currently adding some to my Moebius service truck, a nice little detail, that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Going in a slightly different direction with the build. The WC has a canvas top so I began to experiment with some plain kleenex type tissue and a white glue/water mix on top of some brass ribs. Just a trial run really to see how it works out. There are other pieces that would have to be done including the piece that runs from the windshield to the top of the canvas top and a rear piece as well. The tiedowns on the body are what hold the canvas in place. Doing the ropes for that should be a lot of "fun". In the meantime a center section of the floorboard is in a cast for molding parts in resin. It will sit on top of the flat floorboard piece that is already made. Then comes the windshield. The small pieces of plastic on the sides of the hood are 0.030" quarter round to represent the vents. The round circles on the back of the body are the outside of reflectors. Once the body is painted the centers will be painted silver and toped with Tamiya clear red. The canvass tiedowns are brass wire, flattened on one end and then bent over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 Did some painting on the canvas top. Ok, but I think I can do a bit better. A piece is still needed between the windshield and the body canvas and a piece needs to be made for the back. Floorboards are done and ready for installation. Today was windshield day. It's made of brass tubing, brass angle and strip stock. It folds down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) Neat job on that windshield! So precise! I went back a page to the photo of the 1:1 and man, that top is such a sloppy fit, I don’t think it an exact replica would be believable on a model, LOL! Nice to see such progress, even in summer, guess the garden work’s suffering though! Edited August 7, 2021 by hct728(Bob) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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