Chariots of Fire

To cut them free from the sprue you need some photoetch cutters. Ordinary cutters are not sharp enough or tough enough to cut the material. Try your LHS or Micro-Mark for special cutting tools for photoetch. They will certainly help. You can use 2 part epoxy for gluing also. It takes a bit longer to set up but it holds well. White blue or even CA doesn't do well on photoetch materials. An option to either one is Testors clear gloss lacquer. Again it takes a while to set and you may need more than one coat to make it more permanent.

Here's the latest. The grill in front of the radiator is done. A bit of a challenge getting all of the bars straight and spaced the same. But it's done.

Made some slight adjustments in the cab sides. The small door opening should have been slanted at the back. So I soldered in a sliver of brass to make it so. Next was to build the bumper and get it attached to the frame. L shaped brackets on the inside of the frame support the bumper.

More done on the cab. The sides of the cab are curved so it made sense to use brass for that. Plastic would tend to creep over time. Don't want that. There are more parts that go on the inside of the panels but now that they are in place it will be easy to add them. It's beginning to take shape! And I got tired of trying to pose the tires and wheels without them falling over so the rear hubs got painted and the wheels were glued on. I can still take the whole works apart by backing out the screw in the center of the hub. That will be done when the frame gets painted.

Work has started on the cab and radiator. The shape and size of the cowl and cab were taken from a 1:35 kit cab of the Diamond T tank hauler. The measurements of the kit pieces were increased by 1.4x to 1:25. Came out reasonably close to what I was able to get from the Walkaround and TM9-811. The radiator was made of several pieces and had to be modified slightly to fit the frame. Distance between cowl and radiator is now close so that some work on the hood pieces can be started soon. The cab portion is raised up about 2mm in order to fit the height of the radiator. It won't make a lot of difference in the look (I hope!).

Got some painting done on the engine. Some wiring left to do and to permanently mount the air cleaner but that will have to wait. I want to be sure there is clearance under the hood. The radiator and cowl need to be constructed first and then the hood sections.

Two strips of electrical tape, Jeff.

One more pic with the fan belts and twin oil filters in place.

More pix of the engine. Air cleaner is done and the oil breather is added. Plug wires are strung from the distributor through the tube to the plugs. Only temporary as the engine will need to be painted before final installation. Next up will be to turn some double pulleys for the fan and water pump.

Got the engine started by going back to the scrap yard, parts bin and some other odds and ends. Photos from the TM and on line have helped a lot. There's plenty left to do but it's coming along bit by bit.

I've still got some of the round door locks and the square ones as well. They would be easy to cast. A molotow pen would brighten them up.

I think you hit on one thing and that is trying to paint the parts before assembly. If part of the issue was getting paint into hard to get places I have found that brush painting in those places with a paint color similar to what I'm spraying (I use rattle cans almost exclusively) is a good way to eliminate too much paint. I let the overspray of the can blend into those places and the results are pretty good. You had a good start with the green on the cag and from what I could see the box came out pretty good as well. But sometimes I have found that no matter how hard I try to get pins and holes to line up they just don't. That's when I cut the pin off and simply place the part where it needs to go and ignore the "directions". Hope things go better for you next time.??

What did I tell you, Danno!? Ray: What was the issue with how it was going together. Others who have the kit might be interested in knowing.

Here are some update photos on the Diamond T. Still working on the frame, tires and wheels. I got some Tamiya "rubber black" TS-82 yesterday and tried it out. I like the color. Frame work is nearly done. Every time I go back to look at the Walkaround for the Diamond T I see more stuff! Top view of the frame to date. Here's the front end with the steering arm in place along with shock absorbers and finished tires and wheels. The back end has a lot going on. Tonite I finished up the pintle hook and the additional frame supports for it. The bumpers are made from annealed brass formed over a Renshape buck. Doing them this way really helped in getting them to look alike. The rear axles without the wheels and tires in the way. All rear outside wheels have been modified with fusion beads and wire for lug nuts similar to the front ones. Makes a real difference. Each wheel is a resin casting and the cast in lugs don't always come out good. If I used a pressure pot to cast them it might have worked better but removing and replacing them assured a clean and uniform look for each wheel.

That's the size! The one I remember had a doghouse on it at the control station.

Thanks, Terry. It's been a while since I saw those. The one I was referring to then is about twice the size of what you have shown. Will have to find a photo to post.

We had one of those parked near the river not far from here. Too wide to travel down ordinary streets. There were some smaller versions as well that were more the size of the old DUKW's. As to it being a truck?? More like a "troat" I think.?

I have Phil Jensen's book from way back when. Some good stuff there. Nice photo, Greg!!

Work continues on the frame of the Diamond T. It's widget time for the rear axles as well as around the front. Here are some update photos. The rear axles are essentially done. All of the torque rods are complete and in place. LIttle things like bolt heads, brake cans, the driveshaft between axles have been added. The rear springs float on top of the square axles and pivot about the center. The front axle is glued to the springs and with wire U-bolts. The Pitman arm, and steering rod have been installed. Stops have been added to the bottom of the frame just in front of the rear spring shackles. Everything is in place and the tires can be temporarily set on the hubs. A check was made to be sure that the frame sits level. It does. There are sections of 1/16" tubing that connect the front springs to the shackles. These will eventually be trimmed to be independent. For now they just help keep things in place for fitting. Using those fusion beads again for lug nuts. They stand out nicely, even when painted. They are held in place with pieces of brass wire acting as the studs. Top view of the frame and axles. An unusual feature of this build will be the engine. It is offset to the right so that the oil pan will clear the front differential housing.

What is it they say, Danno? One person's trash (truck) is another person's treasure???

One more pic of the chassis from the rear. All of the components are finally there and the front axle is mounted to the springs but still removable for final fit.

I've still got one of the Jordan Ahrens Fox's and a ladder truck. The ladder was pulled by an AC Mack. They also made a Model A woodie all in HO scale. Perhaps there were others.

Most likely humidity. No problem, really. Wait until it sets up good and then polish the dullness away. It will be fine.

Up on all 10's. Well, almost. Things are just sitting in position with no permanent connections. The front axle and wheels are mounted but the axle is not connected to the springs yet. Same for the rear axles. The wheel hubs are now attached with tubing plugged with plastic rod and then drilled out for the small screws and washers that hold them in place. Pretty solid but turn smoothly. Now it's on to the torque rods and their connections that will hold the rear axles in position with the springs floating on top.

I did a short tutorial on making hydraulic cylinders a while back. They may be still in the how to's.