Chariots of Fire

Well,it worked! After finally deciding on using a piece of sewing elastic for the connecting loop between the engine shaft and the crank of the pump, the whole thing works as hoped for. A couple of old watch gears help grab the elastic to hold it in place. The pump engine is now built up and the next thing will be to fit the various pieces of "tubing" for the gas line, oil line and spark plug wire. The other parts of the pump also need to be made that allow it to "work" at pumping water. The odd shaped piece of plastic is one of two sections of the shroud that will enclose the gears and elastic. AND! It fits in the back of the truck but I have no idea how the crew will fill the gas tank.

What I'm hoping to do is to run the shaft of the flywheel back to a small gear or wheel. The large enclosed wheel that connects to the crankshaft of the pump would then be connected back to the small wheel with an endless belt of some sort. Turning the flywheel would then show the pump pistons moving. We'll see.

With all of the information now available I started work on the pump. The flywheel was turned on my lathe using aluminum stock. The 3 piston pump is all soldered brass. The base is various pieces of plastic sheet and strip stock. Eventually it will be painted aluminum. And yes, the pistons do go up and down when the crank is turned. An 8x10 photo of a working pump with the model pump pieces in the foreground. The dime gives you a sense of the size of the pump. A few soldering bumps along the way but all in all it when pretty smoothly. There is only one little hitch when the crank is turned but with some oil on all the moving parts, it is beginning to loosen up. Once it is finished it won't be turning that much anyway.

Ahhh,. Just make sure it's RED!

I was able to make arrangements for a visit to see the real restored pump that will be modeled for the back of the truck. And I got a personal invitation to visit the person who did the restoration. He had several photos of the pump as he had disassembled it for cleaning and rebuilding. They are a treasure trove of detail that I otherwise could not see. The actual pump is behind glass and only two sides are really accessible. So here is the real Fitzhenry-Guptil 3 piston pump that will be modeled to go in the open rear compartment of the truck. I got started this evening turning the flywheel on the lathe. It is only 13mm in diameter, a little smaller than a dime.

Coming along nicely, Robert. Will that balsa wood come out after the cowl is finished?

That's cool. Pete shorties aren't seen much around here. Might look nice with a dump body!

Nice work! Subtle weathering always brings out the best in a model.

Here are just a couple more shots of the truck with a bit more detail added. I'll be making a short trip later this coming week to get photos and dimensions of the pump that will fill the opening in the back. Then I can complete the hose load in the top. After that, DONE!!

I have always liked the snow plow kits but the one criticism I have of them is that they put the attachent points for the plow frame way out in front. They should actually be under the truck. This would pull the plow closer in and make more realistic.

Sorry about not posting sooner! Forgot all about it. The model is 1/25 scale and is scratch built with the exception of the aerial ladder itself which came from the Ertl ALF kit. The turntable is scratch built to Maxim specs. The cab is also a remake from a KW.

Just a suggestion for holding the cab in place. Glue a small tab to the inside edge of the frame rail web about 3mm square. With the cab in place glue another tab to the inside of the cab so that it sits directly over and touches the tab on the frame. Do not glue the two together. Holding the cab in place drill a hole up from the bottom through both tabs. Insert a piece of brass rod the same size as the holes you drilled into the tab that is glued to the cab. Glue that in place in the tab on the cab only. Do the same to the opposite side. The pieces of brass rods will then be directly in line with the holes in the tabs on the frame and will provide stability and alignment every time.

I assume yours will be right hand drive as seen in the photo?

SBIF! Scratch building is fun! I'm lovin' it!

I'd restore it too. That would never pass an inspection test with the driver's view so obscured by that air cleaner. Put it back on the side where it belongs. Looks like the tires and wheels need some work to make them straight and plumb.

An interesting old rig that is for sure. I did a '38 COE and found that the Yat Ming tires and wheels were good for the year I was doing. The wheels were dead on. Nice to see others doing some scratch building! A suggestion if I may. Try using some "chrome" plated wire (doesn't have to be if you are painting the grill) for the vertical grill bars. They seem to work better for that rather than using the plastic rods. Less "fuzz" and a little finer. Great work and I will be watching your progress!

They could do without all those stove bolts around the fender flairs. They do nothing for the appearance of the truck except for collecting dirt and dust.

Could it be they are saying cut out the rubber sprues 4X? But I agree. If you don't know that only 1 will fit on each front rim something is definitely wrong!

Couple of updates on construction progress. Finished making a siren last nite and worked on the pump cans today. Siren is made of turned and polished aluminum with a photoetch strip around the middle. Pump cans were made from a master of plastic tubing, thin sheet stock and brass wire for the can itself. Details were added after the cans were cast with two part resin. The cans were covered in Bare Metal Foil and "Smith Indian Pump" decals were made on the computer and printed on an ALPS.

Cliff: I don't have to repeat what everyone else has said here. But welcome. You will find a lot of great ideas and will "meet" people from all over the globe. Lots of times a simple request for a part or an idea will cause a flood of "got that--and coming your way" just as a gesture of comradery and good will. Charlie

As promised yesterday more work has been done to get a little closer to completion. Outlets have been added to each side, the cab interior is complete and the hard suction tray is done. The small red light on top of the cab is oval. It was made by compressing a section of brass tubing to the oval shape, soldering on a couple of thicker brass sheets to one side and then grinding and filing it to shape. Once completed, it was polished and nickel plated. Also completed is a tool basket topside but it has not been installed permanently.The bed under it needs hose and it will be much easier to get it into place without the basket. Not many trucks carry their spare tire on the outside these days but these rigs did! We are getting close to the time when a call will have to be made to the fire department that has a restored Fitzhenry pump so that I can measure it and get some photos for building.

Got a bit more work done. Will post pics soon!

Glad I wasn't on the truck committee Dave! So many changes!! I think it was a wise choice for the eliptical tank. It looks more like it belongs there. Can I make a suggestion for your pump panel? Try cutting a section of aluminum tubing and fit it into a hole that is sized for it on the panel. Let it stick out just a bit. It will look like a gage bezel. If you have some of those hot rod gage clusters cut one out and insert it into the aluminum tubing. Coat it will a bit of Clear and you have a neat gage. I've also taken photos of actual pump panels, printed out the photos and then punched out the gage face to put inside a bezel. Looks realistic. Naturally you have to size the photo so that the gage face is the right size.

A couple of nice warm dry days allowed me to get the body painted. Two small compartment doors were made for the rear. The hinges are made of 0.030" brass tubing with a stainless steel wire insert. The tubing was superglued to the edges of the doors. Small pieces of similar tubing were installed in notches above and below the door hinge. Once superglued in place the notches were filled in and sanded smooth. The only thing visible now is a tiny hole top and bottom to insert the steel wire in. A shot with the doors open. The middle compartment will stay open and will be the location of the Fitzhenry-Guptil pump. The rear grab bars are made using stanchions from the Yat Ming diecast. The bars themselves are polished aluminum tubing. The stanchions for the long side railings are made from soldered brass tubing and brass craft beads. After soldering and bending was done the stanchions were nickel plated. The railings are also polished aluminum tubing. The door handles are also nickel plated brass that was filed to shape. Pump cans and extinguishers will be mounted on the running boards. The spare tire is mounted on the right side of the body and 3 lengths of hard suction hose will be mounted on the driver's side. Long coils of forestry hose will be placed in the two topside compartments.