Chariots of Fire

Hey, Brian. Thanks for the comments. The top is made of two ply facial tissue painted in place with 50/50 white glue and water. After if dried I was able to lift it off and paint inside and outside with Tamiya OD. The offsetting color is just the way it came out. Sort of sun bleached if you will. It was made with two parts; the back and sides and then the top.

The truck is finished. Now it is just a case of putting on the tools and materials. Two pioneer kits need to be made for the tool box lids. Got some "stuff" for the insides as well.

I agree. Find another primer.

I'm a follower as well. Been using Duplicolor for a long time. I like the fine spray and the hard finish. The more prep you put into the surface before the color coat the better it is. Usually takes more than one coat to cover though. I spray one on, let it dry well, light sand it down and then go to it.

That's some nice work! Scratch building takes modeling in a completely different direction. But if you want something that is not in kit form it's the only way! Will be watching with great interest!

Still making progress a little at a time. Today marked a milestone as both booms are finished and the cables have been strung. They can move the booms up or down and can raise a load independently. Still plenty of work to do but the big stuff is finally done.

We did, Greg. Quiet but nice. Got the booms done and the double pulleys at the top of each. Was even able to string one side up with the cable that raises it so that it works. Made a crank so that the boom can be raised up and down.

Got the booms done and mounted with a temporary cable just to see what it looks like. Not so sure that the booms aren't a bit out of scale but will go with them for now.

Any thoughts about widening the fenders? If so I can show how I did my F7. Yours might be an F-6? Those monuments can get heavy!

Been doing additional work on the wrecker frame. Winches are installed and awaiting cable. Working on the pulleys for up top. One is done. The other will be made using the brass materials shown. An air compressor and hose are done and go under the wrecker frame and spare tire.

Here's a look at the nearly completed frame. I still have the double pulleys to make for the top cross member and the brackets for the booms that attach to the bottom cross member. The rest of the frame work is essentially done.

Thanks, Tim. Still plenty to do so there will be more photos to come.

Here are the turnings. They will be painted OD as well but with a red top for the Acetylene and a green top for the O2.

3 cans from now, Greg. Here's what it looks like as of tonite. I turned the acetylene and O2 tanks from aluminum rod and made mounting brackets for them.

The truck body is now complete and work has begun on the wrecker frame. All sorts of things to make on this part of the build!

Gonna be a looooooooong trailer!! Great work on it. I see lots of Evergreen!

So back to the body it is. Work done on the small tailgate and the tool boxes. The tailgate opens and can be set in a flat position with the chains. The tool boxes open also with brass tubes and steel wire inside. The tailgate hinge looks big but it's not. The shadows make it look odd but it's not like that at all.

We can now say that the cab and chassis are complete. Time to get back to the body and the wrecker portion of this build.

Nice work! Love the detailing and changes you have made. Tough looking rig!

Is that an Italeri kit by any chance? LIke the headlight adjustment. Nice!

Work continues. The hubs have been added to each wheel. The body has been started and I did some experimenting with facial tissue for the top. The kind I tried is too coarse and does not look good. I found some fine tissue that will work much better and I need to find a way to get the side curtains to the right place and then cover them with the top. 50/50 white glue and water were used to "paint" the tissue. Once it hardens the top stay in shape and can actually be removed. Another detail will be the rear view mirrors. They will be turned from aluminum rod so that the faces can be polished. Then the backs can be painted OD and the arm and mounting brackets done. The "Press and Seal I used to cover the truck while doing the top I found makes a very nice rear window; just like the real one. can be polished. Then the backs can be painted OD and the arm and mounting brackets done.

I think that is about how they did it! GI's were smaller then, I guess.

The step and compartment came off without too much of a struggle. There was some rebuilding to do but it's back on the truck where it belongs. In the meantime the fuel tank and step for the other side was done and has been installed. Also I found a good looking GI gas can in my stash but it needed some tweaking in order to be cast. I need several for this build. A mold was made and castings started. After the castings set all I have to do is add the three handles and a cap. Some paint and highlighting it all it takes to set if off. And the batteries were made for the compartment on the right.

Welllll,.... not quite. I worked yesterday on the compartment and step for the right side of the cab. Got it all done, glued it in position only to find that it is the wrong shape for the open cab version of the truck! So it will have to come off and get revised. ?

The cab interior is done. The windshield latches and fire extinguisher have been added. Now to figure out how to make the soft top removable so you can see all this stuff.