Chariots of Fire

:) :) COOOOL!

Glad to see ya, Dave! How's weather down there in the Sunshine State?

A bit of a haul, Casey! We will be showing the trucks on a small diorama once Jeff gets his built.

I like old trucks. You've done some nice work restoring an old piece to an even older appearance!

Hah! Not me!! Wait until you see its companion piece, the AP with the cement mixers on the back! My colleague, Jeff Harper is working on that part.

Well my half is done. Now when Jeff Harper gets his done we will have two for display. His will have two cement aggitators on the back (small cement mixers) that were used on the Boulder Dam project. Here's what the dump looks like with some dirt and grime on the body. This has been a fun project and it's going to be even better when the mixer version is part of it. We plan on setting both up on a small base of that red rock that lines the canyon walls.

Maybe I can make up a Workstar out of this one! Got new project in mind!

Just an update now that the chassis and cab have been weathered. Still got the body to go but you get the idea.

Nice job, Mark! If you are looking to fill the hose bed check out a sewing shop that carries 4mm wide white elastic. It's good for synthetic hose. If you have 3M brand colored tapes, use the yellow 3/4 inch wide and fold it in 3rds. You can lay it in or stand it up, either way. If you want to see a tutorial on making hose, go to theScaleFirehouse.com and check out the tutorial section.

I think he scooted! That is a well executed and clean build! Great weathering and highlighting!

Just an update on progress so far. It's not quite finished but it's close. The driver's crow's nest has been added and the Winslow air cleaner is now on the right side. The seat and dash are now glued in place. Still to add are some mud guards and fender braces and a brace for the crow's nest underneath. Once the construction is finished it will be slightly weathered with pastels to show the reddish rock dust of the Boulder Dam area.

Now why didn't I think of that! Nicely done! Is that a livery that would be typical in your part of the world?

I could tell you how I did the cab and all and give you some basic drawings. That's about it. (What sort of parts?) Here is a pic of the whole thing in paint. Plenty of detailing yet to go.

Glad that you chose this option to narrow the axle. I assume you still had room enough to get the springs to set correctly once you narrowed it up. Did you pin the axle halfs?

Front tires are resin castings also. When I did the 1928 Pierce Arrow I made a master of the diamond tread tires for the rears. They seemed appropriate for the fronts on the AP since their tires were a similar diamond pattern. Tom Coolidge of Denver, CO cast them for me.

Just a couple of pics since the truck was painted. Better shots to come!

I used clay I purchased at Michaels when I cast the fenders and headlight pods for my Mack AP. It comes in a block and has to be kneaded to soften it a bit. Once that is done I used it to set up the masters and then poured the outside half of the mold. When that was done I turned the mold block upside down and pulled out the clay from the inside. It came out very clean unlike the cheap stuff they sell for kids ot play with. Then I was able to apply mold release and pour the second half of the mold. No problems at all.

We got the information we were looking for from the Mack Museum today and it looks like we are going to have to repaint the wheels. Documentary evidence says they were dark green. Anyway, here is a breakdown of the parts so far for the AP dump truck. There are plenty of "widgets" to be added once the painting is done for what you see here. The entire frame, cab and hood are to be Mack dark green. Accents will be included but will be mostly subtle like drybrushing to bring out highlights and the use of powders. We'll also show some caked on red dirt in the tire treads.

James II: Believe it to be 1/32 scale if it was a snap kit. That is a super clean build. Very nice work, Jay!

Here's a bit more progress. First pic shows an actual Boulder Dam being loaded with rock. Second pic shows the hoisting mechanism that was used on the first series of AP.s They underwent some changes during the time they were at Boulder and later on at two other dam projects. Third pic shows how beefy the undercarriage and body are.

That's some extraordinary work, Tony. Your brass work is as neat as a pin. I've done a bit and can appreciate the results you got. Fantastic!

Not lookin' to show anybody up. I just like old trucks. There is something about their openness that shows all of that beefy working iron that I like. When they don't make them in kit form what's a guy to do?? 8^))

Here are a couple of shots of the AP Engine. It's made from two blocks of the Monogram AC with a bit of detailing including wire, aluminum tubing, solder wire, and parts from the parts box.

The delrin chain and sprockets are easy to come by. They are a bit large for most uses but fit right in here because the trucks were so beefy. The chain can be made any length just by adding or taking out links.