Chariots of Fire

I used the pumpkin out of the Yat Ming '38 Ford, drilled out the center and slid in a section of brass tubing. Will take a photo of it for you.

Got a few more items figured out and built. The body is coming along after much debating on whether I should cut down the wheel base to 134". Glad I didn't because now that the body has some shape to it the proportions seem to be coming out ok. I'm using 0.030" sheet stock for most construction. Keeping it relatively thin achieved a more in scale look.

Here's a shot of a similar rig. I think it might be a '39 Ford, not a '38, but the layout and body style is the same.

I've been in a modeling slump for the last two months. After completing the 1938 Ford Brushbreaker I took a break and it just got extended. Happens every once in a while. Anyway here are some shots of the followup with some of the work that has been done in the last couple of days. The doors are now hinged and are in pretty good shape with the door openings adjusted and shimmed with strip stock. Some of the blemishes in the resin have been smoothed over and the truck frame has some running board supports added. The Yat Ming '38 Ford supplied the front bumper. It fits nicely to the end of the brass frame with some brass pins. The Ford emblem and V-8 emblem have been covered with BMF. I'm going to try and prime and then paint over the BMF and before the paint sets hard will remove it from the BMF. It should reveal a nice clean edge and good "chrome" look.

The hose is made of sewing elastic. You can find it in most places like Walmart, Target or fabric stores. Comes in 1/8" and 1/4" widths and is white. I stained the soft suction with some Floquil earth color that was thinned out. You have to do it before installing it however as it tends to stretch the material. Let it dry then install and it works great. Couplings are either brass tubing or aluminum tubing depending on the age of the hose.

I built this rig a few years ago using a Modelhaus resin casting for the cab. The front mounted pump represents a Darley 750 gpm unit. The portable tank is removable and folds out. Body uses a Monogram AC Mack tank that was cut short.

Very nicely done! It sits right and looks right. Great job!

Very well done! Great graphics and an ecceptionally clean build! I like it a lot!

Very nicely done! Clean, clean building!

Just a question on the crane. How far back will you have to move the body to get the crane in so it can pivot as well? Just fitting it in the space might not allow you to work from both sides. ???

I found a source for brass piano hinges that I have used successfully for a long time. Phoenix Models Development is a British company that has all sorts of good stuff. Their hinge is about 1/8" across and better than 6" long. The two parts are held together with a piece of brass wire. It can be cut to any desired length for a door such as what you are working with. Here's a look at a section of it as I soldered it to a brass hood. If you look closely at the raised section you can see the continuous hinge. And on the inside of the opposite hinge you can see the parts that were soldered to the top of the hood and the hood sides. Hope this helps.

I've used the HO scale rivet decals for my 1/25 scale trucks. They may seem small but on railroad equipment they are larger anyway. If you put them on try and limit the primer or put them on the primer then the color coat. Enough of the raised detail shows through to make it look pretty nice. The decal strips "melt" right into the paint so you don't see the edges; only the raised rivet detail.

Who made the Federal resin casting? Looks pretty nice!

Nice job, Brandon. I like the combination of the standard cab and pumper body. Great color scheme also!

Hey Chris! Will we see you at NNL in two weeks? Bring it along! Nice work!

That's neat! I never would have thought of using the Titan cab but it's right out of the 60's and 70's! Good job!

One of the biggest issues with this kit is getting the mounting points for the cab right. And unless the frame is straight it only compounds the problem. Try straightening the frame pieces before assembly by running them under hot water and applying a bit of pressure. The weight of the cab once it's built just isn't enough to overcome the warping.

The completed model is now under glass in this forum.

The cab is an old Ron Cash casting as I remember. I've had it for a number of years. Just never had a purpose for it until now.

Now that the '38 Ford brush truck is done it is time to begin its companion piece. This time it is a smaller rig that represents one of thirteen such trucks that were purchased by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation after the no-name hurricane of 1938. In 1961 I worked that summer at Shawme Crowell State Forest in Sandwich, MA. There were still two of these rigs there. I actually got to drive one to a fire off Cape. Now both rigs are relics of history and a few random photos. This is a photo of one that is similar to the ones originally purchased. They were virtually identical except for perhaps the year of the cab. The frame is done in strip brass, soldered together at each flange. The springs are strip brass also with just the ends soldered together. The cab is resin as are the tires and wheels, similar to the previous build. The grill was so bad however, I had to make up a new one in brass. Much better fit and will look good with the openings between the horizontal bars. The engine is from the Yat Ming open cab Ford of the same year. It has nice detail so it might as well be used. The cab has opening doors. I temporarily taped them in place but they will need to be hinged.

Nice looking old Chevy! Great job!

That's going to be nice, Aaron. Does the truck have aa automatic gravity dump in the rear? A portable tank?

If you decide to go with the white over red paint scheme let me offer some warning. I did that recently with one of my builds and found that the red bled through the primer. Check it out first say on the inside of the body or cab where you can shoot a test shot of primer and white. If the red doesn't bleed through you are in good shape. If it does you need to add a barrier to the red surface first before you apply the paint. Here are a couple of snap kit rigs I did.

Here is a photo of the real truck taking down a 6" pine. This was obviously a demonstration run as there is no fire as you can see.

Thanks for the kind remarks, Guys. The engine at the rear of the rig is a '32 Ford Model B. I added some things to it but most is out of the box. The head and manifold were missing so I had to scratch build those. There will be a companion piece coming soon. The State of Massachusetts purchased 13 identical '38 Ford COE's after the 1938 hurricane that left so much debris throughout the state. I have a resin cab and will begin collecting data once I find one of the rigs to measure and photograph. There is one still around that I will seek out. Will be posting as I go on this one as well.