Chariots of Fire

A man after my own heart, Tom! I also appreciate redoing old builds. There is something about resurrecting one that is a lot of fun. This L-700 was a gluebomb at one time. The glue was so dried out it literally came apart by itself. I added the body and crane after the cab and frame were put back together.

That does look nice! There was a local construction company that used a lot of them with the chain drive. When I was a wee lad I used to call them "ching ching" trucks because of the noise the made when you let off the gas. Think I might have to get one!

That is pretty! An exceptionally neat piece of work and a great color. What Greg said! It's a fire truck!?

Fantastic work! Thanks for showing!

A fine piece of work, Tom. Congrats! Seeing it through is sometimes a difficult thing. A bit like climbing a mountain. Hardest getting to the top and then it's more like a coast on the way back down. When you do the Gradall don't forget that the bucket on the end swivels as well as curls!?

Suburban part was a resin casting. I used the p/u front end and blended it together. Tailgate opens top and bottom.

I wanted a modernized version of the '50 Chevy to haul a trailer with a 5th wheel so I created the red one on the left. The suburban on the right is like a 1949 Chevy my dad used for his survey work.

In case you are wondering what an M52 looks like here is a photo of the model prior to adding all of the fire fighting details. The fenders have been "bobbed' because of the way the sides were ultimately built. Originally the fenders had a vertical section at the rear that dropped to the level of the running boards. This happens to be a 1957 Diamond T that was originally a tractor with a 5th wheel.

That has been one fantastic build from the first pic to the last. Congratulations, Tom! One question. Did you ever take a count of the total number of pieces of plastic that it took to do all that work? ? PS If you ever decide to the M54 don't use the Renwall 1/32 one to scale up. It's not even close. Let me know if you need dimensions, however. I kept a complete set of notes and sketches of the one I built and I have some reference materials from the technical manuals for the truck. I'd be glad to share them with you.

To each his own. I was expressing my opinion based on things I have seen. Personally I still like the hands on approach to scratch building and will continue to do so. Those who are into 3D printing and like the results, have at it. No problem as far as I am concerned.?

Until the layering of material can be done in such a way that fine detail can be represented without the layering being noticed, I don't see it being of great value to model car builders right now. That is not to say it won't be since all of these kinds of things tend to get refined over time. I have had truck tires 3D printed with excellent results but you sort of want a rough surface on such as that anyway. The plastic is very hard and difficult to sand. Smoothing it out so that it could be painted like a plastic mold injected car body would take a lot of time and effort. Just my 2 ? worth.?

Hey, Tom; Just a hint on those gaskets. Use a Magic Marker to do the black after you paint. You don't have to do the whole thing, just the inside edge and a bit of the flat area. The marker helps you hold a nice straight line around the perimeter. You might have to go over it more than once but the effect is worth it. I used one on the trim around the windshield on the IH Loadstar.

Stretched frames are not hard to do and can be done with plastic strip stock. But it is something you will probably have to do yourself. There are plenty of examples in the section of work in progress that you could use for reference.

Being in on the real stuff definitely helps. It's those little details that make the difference and sometimes being on the inside is the only way to know about them. I found that works on building fire apparatus. Where stuff goes and how it is supposed to function goes a long way. Fine piece of work, Tom!?

Just adding my thoughts also. That is really nasty. ?No thought or concern for anyone else or his work. I hope you are successful in finding all of the parts. Know that we all feel for your loss in time and effort that went into all of that great building. ?️

Looking real nice, Tom! Good to see your progress.

Take a look at the photos again. The flairs on the tractor are probably around 4" in width. So if you start with the Danbury Mint diecast and add the fender flairs, that will add an additional 8" to the overall width. Then use this as a basis for the front tire track width. Make sure the tires and up inside the fender well like is shown in the photo. You would probably have to modify the width of the front axle to gain the added spacing. Add the width to the center of the axle and back it up with a brass or steel pin drilled in to secure it well.

Now there is no need for that. What a total disregard for other people and their hard work. You have your work cut out for you but they do look repairable. Be patient and go easy. Keep us informed of your progress.

That is nice work. Realistic weathering and wear on the body!

You want fries with that???

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but I hope not to see any of the single cab D or W 300's or 500's out there. I sent my masters for someone else to cast from over 2 years ago and when I did I asked them to be returned to me once the molds were done. I have not heard from anyone since concerning their whereabouts.

Just a suggestion. Try a bit of Novus polish without the clear and see if that doesn't protect the paint. It really looks good this time around.

? Surely you guys jest!! Trying to share it as I go!? Truly there are many good ideas out there that lots of people have posted. And it does not depend on the nature of the build. I have been "encouraged" by my wife to build her a model of the Canadian schooner "Bluenose". Some of the things that are basics to truck and equipment building actually work there as well. Your own experiences are the best teachers because you know from first hand knowledge what works and what does not. Maybe we should all collaborate on that book! ?

Here's a suggestion for the rubber window gasket. First remove the one you have (or start with your new cab). Next take a piece of 0.020 plastic sheet stock larger than the windshield opening and place it against the opening to where you can draw a pencil line around it onto the sheet stock. Best if you can slip it inside the cab for that purpose but make sure it is larger than the opening as much as you can get. Now take the sheet stock with the pencil line on it and draw parallel lines around it far enough away to represent the gasket width and just far enough so that it fits on the outside of the window opening with no gaps. A little trial and error here may be necessary. Once you are sure you have the right size run a sanding stick around the outside so as to round of the outer edge. Once that is done glue the whole thing to the cab on the outside. Make some pencil lines on the sheet stock line up with pencil lines on the cab to make sure it fits right. (Do this before you trim anything). Now cut out the inner portion of the sheet stock leaving the inside pencil line outline so that you can see it at all times. If you did this right you should end up with a small shelf on the inside of the cab that you lay the glass against. Round off the inner edge of the sheet that is left and you should have a nice small gasket around the windshield. Here are some pix of the one I did for my International before it was cast. The inner line is the one you want to save. The outer lines are what you will trim the sheet to. Note also the lines on the back of the cab that will line up with the same lines on the sheet stock. In this photo the gasket is glued in place. If you look closely you will see the lines drawn on the sheet and similar lines on the cab. That is to make sure that when you cut out the inside you will have the remainder centered on the opening in the cab. Here is the gasket cut out. I could have made this one smaller and more rounded both inside and outside. On the inside is the self I was talking about. The glass fits up against it and leaves the surface nice and clean from the outside. The last thing you can do to minimize the thickness of the gasket is to use a black Magic Marker to color it. Just do the main surface and inner portion before you put the glass in. Let the body color be a bit of a filler around the outside edge. Hope this helps.?

Hey, Tom! Here's my pickup model and the real one under it. It's a lot of fun but a certain amount of headaches as well. After all the truck is 90 years old!