Chariots of Fire

Looks like you've got the beginning of a great looking engine. Lots of things can be added using tubing and strip stock. I like using small bits of round stock for bolt heads for the smallest areas. some of the others can be replicated with plastic hex shaped strip stock as well. If you've got one of those Northwest Short Line choppers you can make a lot of them from the hex stock. Brass wire and even small solder wire make good fuel lines etc. I like that engine! Nice detail!

That was my thought as well.

That's been a lot of work but your efforts have been worth it! You probably are aware of this by now but patience is a virtue, eh?

I also like the color combination. The work you are doing on the model is first class!

Are you sure that is a Dodge and not a Chevy? The cab is a dead ringer for the '41 Revell Chevy p/u.

I know you spent a lot of time making rivets. Did you know that Archer makes rivet decals? They are raised dots on clear decal paper. They come in a variety of patterns and can be trimmed to any length. I used some on a previous project. They need to be placed on primer so that you don't lose the detail. They come in two sizes, HO and O. I used the O guage size (1/48) for my 1/25 scale model. They are actually made for model railroads but they work well with trucks too.

Weathering can be tricky, Tom. But with those Tamiya powders that go on so easily it has hard to make mistakes. So many models are overdone with weathering. It should be subtle and in the right places. That's why if I want a slightly worn look I use the metallic and the small sponge from the Tamiya kit and wipe it on the surface of running boards, the corners of floorboards and even the inside of doors at the bottom of the windows to indicate worn off paint. It doesn't have to be much. The grays and greens are great for bringing out highlights. Again, less is more in this regard. Here's an example of using the metal colored powder to indicate worn spots. floorboards, doors, ladder rungs and walking areas were all done with just swiping the sponge over the surfaces. Here's another one showing some wear inside the cab on the floors. And a light wash on the universal joints inside the cabinet that is open.

That is really a nice do-over! Well done! You said you had trouble with the windshield rubber. I found success using a black magic marker. Just a few swipes around the perimeter and it is nice and straight with no paint buildup.

Looks like a pretty nice kit! Wish they made a Farmall Cub!

Weathering techniques don't get much better than this. So much can be overdone to where it does not look real. Not in this case! THAT is how a well used vehicle is supposed to look. Great work!

It's on its way to Hawaii! For the second time. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and the left front wheel and tire had broken off as well as a couple of small detail parts. So it got shipped back for repairs in the motor pool. Today it went back in the mail in a different box with plenty of soft foam around it for protection. Should fair better this time (I hope!).

Warren: That's perfect!!! I remember a local trash contractor who had small trucks like this only on International chassis and he had the trash barrels on board just like you have shown! He also had a rake and shovel mounted for when things get stuck. Some nice decals on the packer body would finish it off! Great job! Don't forget to dirty it up a bit where the trash gets dumped!

Both of those are super fine! Nice clean work!

Try Duplicolor paints. They are not thick. As a matter of fact they are thinner than Testors or Model Master and flow on nicely. You should be able to find a respectable color match to Cat yellow there. Us them over Duplicolor gray or white primer.

That's the wonder of an ALPS printer. It prints in pixels of color using 4 cartridges to mix them. But any colors other than black, gold or silver need a white undercoat or as you say, they disappear into the underlying paint. That's because there are spaces between the tiny pixels of individual color. The white tends to blend them together to make an opaque background. Printing on clear decal film is done using first the white undercoat and then the colors go on top. When you cut the clear decal out only the printing shows and the clear border disappears. I suspect the same basic issue persists for an inkjet printer as the inks tend to be somewhat transparent on anything but a dense opaque background such as white. As Peteski says above, the quality of the printed image is only as good as the original. I have an old computer program by Micrographx that I use to produce vector type drawings. If I'm trying to reproduce an image from a photo I import the photo and draw over the image and insert appropriate colors. Then the image can be sized and printed on the ALPS. I'm fortunate to have an MD-1000 and an MD 1300 to print with. They are both pretty much the same with only slight differences in the format for printing.

I'm glad to hear of so many who use Duplicolor paints. I've been using it for years and swear by it. I also use the Duplicolor gray primer, either the filler or the ordinary primer. Either one works well. Several light coats of this primer works well , especially if the primer is lightly sanded between coats. When the primer is set and ready for the finish it spray on a light coat of color just to get it to cling to corners and at edges. Then I lay on several coats until the gloss really stays. One thing about Duplicolor: If you paint in humid weather expect the surface to dry flat. However, the flat can be polished out. Duplicolor works well on resin castings as well. Here are two examples. Both are AITM castings primed and colored with Duplicolor.

Depends on the paint and the type of polish. If you use model paint the polish has to be something that will not react with it and make it soft. What has been said above is correct. Wait a few days before trying to polish it. On the other hand I use Duplicolor paints. It dries quickly and hard. It can be polished almost immediately after it sets up. Sometimes less than a day. Novus polish works well. So does Turtle Wax if you let the paint dry two or three days.

Got these few with some modifications here and there.

Well, it was complete until I was asked to add one last detail. And that was the bridge weight placard. The 6 refers to the GVW in tons.

Blade treatment is spot on. I think the tracks could use the same. Great job though.

Hi, Tom. I've found that using acrylic washes over oil based paints works pretty well as the acrylics wont attack the base paint. It's just a matter of finding a good consistency for the wash. Micro-Mark also makes a good set of weathering powders and Tamiya makes small sets of similar materials that can be swiped on with the sponge and small brush they supply. The Tamiya set that has the silver in it is great for creating worn edges and places where the paint would be worn off like on floor boards, running boards and such.

Three thumbs up! Great job, Brian. Wasn't there a marketing ad: "Built Ford tough!"? Fits it to a T!!

That would make a beautiful model, Warren! The wrecker portion would actually be quite easy. Lots of simple pieces that could be fabricated in brass and then painted.

I like Ben's second suggestion but I would go a step further. Drill some holes in the door where the mirror bracket would go and insert the bracket into the holes and secure it with a TINY amount of superglue. Paper clips are good for the brackets since they are already chromed. You could also use brass stiff brass wire and then coat it with "chrome" using a Molotow chrome pen. Glue the mirror to the bracket top and bottom.