Chariots of Fire

Well, here's the result of the do-over. The holes have been plugged and are ready for new ones to be cut. and the radiator has been set where it needs to be. Now things are beginning to gel some and look like they should. Next up will be to fabricate the windshield from brass tubing, angle and sheet stock. The grill guard is made of 1/64x1/16 brass strip with some brass wire for the inside pieces. After a bout with a balking soldering iron I went out and bought a new Weller and what a difference it made. The grill went together slick! If it looks lopsided that is because it has a blackout light only on one side.

Been struggling with this as of late. Trying to get too precise in some things just doesn't work sometimes. Had some issues with the location of the radiator so the front engine mount had to be cut away. Then trying to locate the body on the frame in the right place I forgot that the outside of the body is about 6 inches longer than the inside so it will need some patches on the front to be blended in. Then the insets for the reflectors and tie down hooks were too big and sloppy so I covered them over and skim coated them with some putty. When it thoroughly dries, I'll sand the sides smooth and cut the insets again, this time using a bit more care. The old adage; "haste makes waste" is right. I need to slow down a bit and think things through!?

Duplicolor primer filler is good. Gray is what I use. does not attack the plastic. Works over putty and resin just as well.

Ah I should have mentioned that, eh Peter?! It does make a difference.

Been using sunnyscopa laser waterslide decal paper for a while now. Clear 8-1/2 x 11 sheets. You can find it on line.

I just watched the video on how to do the hose. I've used that method for a long time only using sewing elastic and either brass or aluminum tubing for the couplings. Not sure where a rolled up section of hose is supposed to go, especially with the nozzle on it but they probably have made a place for it. All in all a bit pricey. Here's my '37 Seagrave aerial. Scratch built. Just like Greg's Mack aerial scope was scratch built.

Noticed you used Krylon Short Cuts paint. I've used a couple of them with pretty good results. Takes a bit longer to really set up but when it does the finish is very good.

SAE 30 would be too thick. SAE 10 would probably be about right!? And I use thin water in the radiator.☺️

What is the little blue dot with a symbol in it that seems to pop up now in the avatar? Haven't seen it before.

Hey, Greg. Sorry to be late in responding back. No, I don't have one in my back yard. I use photos and detail information available from technical manuals to work with.

I use etching primer. But honestly I don't think it does much for it. So I just try and keep it from being marred or scratched during construction. Once in a while a bit of touchup is required at the edges.

Here's a look at the engine now that it is painted. Still some detailing to do and some weathering to bring it to life so it will "run"!

Here's how the fan was made. First drawn out on a simple CAD program to get shape and size. Then the image was printed and taped to a piece of thin brass sheet. Then a long cut was made along the left side of each blade to the printed circle around the center hole. After each long cut was done a cut was made along the right side of each blade intersecting the first cut above the circle. Then the ends of each blade were rounded off and smoothed up around the shorter cut. When all was done each blade was given a twist with a pair of pliers. Easy peasy, as they say. A thin cutting disk was used in my Dremel for the cutting and finishing. The unfinished blade that is taped to the brass sheet below is what I'm using for this build. This photo was of the WC-52 build that is now finished.

More pix of the work in progress with quite a bit done on the engine. A gas tank and fuel line and fuel pump were added to the chassis. The sediment bowl is a piece of aluminum tube, plastic tube and an amber clearance light from an Ertl truck kit. Fan belt is a strip of electrical tape.

Those beads are great, Bob. They are ceramic so they can't be squeezed or they shatter. But I have used them for a lot of different projects. Can't say as I can go along with a red paint job, though! It would be a real big target out in the field for German 88's!

A few more pix of the work completed to date. The chassis is nearly done. A few more things to do including the gas tank for installation. Then it's on to the details of the engine and connection to the transfer case.

That's part of the fun of building these older trucks. Finding parts, making up new ones, checking out how things should go together. Keep up the good work, Jacobus! I'll follow along.

You only need to flatten the end for a short distance. Ok. Put a piece of electrical tape on the jaws of the vice, assuming that they are not smooth to begin with. Use a block of wood shaped to the thickness of the oval you want and put it inside the tube and squeeze. Easy peasy!

Now back to the WC-63. The tandem axles in the rear of this rig have a lot of action tied to them. Torsion bars, axles, springs, trunnions etc. These have all been made of brass stock. Not only does it provide for some strength but the axles can move up and down as well. There is a special fitting on the top of the front axle of the tandems where the drive shaft for the rear differential fits in. This allows the the differentials to rotate a bit while maintaining continuous drive power to the axles. The photos don't show this feature yet but future ones will as I added the connector tonite. The rear wheels are shown in position with the front hubs. The hubs will hide the screw and washer that will hold the inner wheel portion and the tire onto the axles. Below are the inner wheel bushings that slip onto the axles. The odd shaped piece in the middle is the connection from one side of the trunnion to the one on the other side. The loop allows for the driveshaft to get to the rear differential without interference. A look at the springs and trunnion that allows each axle to pivot. The torque rods keep the axles from rotating. The two rods in the middle will be cut off eventually. For now they just help to hold everything in position. Most difficult part was making the torque rods the same length so that the axles stay parallel. The springs only float inside the square open boxes on top of each axle. They are done that way so they can move while the axles go up and down. Thank goodness for the Tankograd publication that shows a closeup of all of this work. Without it I would be lost!

Hey, Marc! Welcome to the "club"! If you are a Cobra guy drop by Factory 5 in Wareham some day. They build cars that are patterned after the Cobra as kit cars. They also do a hot rod version of a '32 Ford. Good stuff. Their shop is right off Interstate 195 and 495,

Find another one, make a mold of that part of the body containing the script and then cast a new section to go in place of where the script was removed.. Only other option is to create decals.

Wasn't the DM800 hood longer than the one that shows the truck with the lowbed?

Nice crisp decal work. Will be a nice looking rig when it is finished! I'll be checking in to see the progress.

Amen to what others have said. Good clean discussion, great modeling tips and lots of neat stuff to see. Thanks, MUCH!

That is quality craftsmanship! Well done!!