Chariots of Fire

I'd take you up on the steak if we did live closer, believe me! Been at it a while so experimentation has been part of the process over the years. I'm always looking for things to see how they might work to my advantage. When I do find something that works, however, I tend to stick with it. No sense in re-inventing wheels. Casting them works though.

Front and rear axles are now done. Last things will be tie rod and tie rod ends, steering arm, etc. before attachment to the frame. A slight issue with the frame not being quite level with the ground but that will be addressed by adjusting the shims between axles and springs.

Nice piece of work! Well put together!

A couple more pix of work in progress. The rear axle is up temporarily on the rear springs. U-bolts and plates are in place. They will be permanently attached after the frame is painted. Still some minor adjusting to do. Tolerances between tires, springs and U-bolts are quite small so a shave here or there will make a big difference in the long run. The front axle has to be cut to put the pumpkin off center. Then the hubs can be made up for front steering.

Got some more work done on springs yesterday and today. Here are some pics of the latest . Springs are individual 1/64" x 18" brass strips soldered at the ends. Brass tubing soldered to each end and then cut off. 1/16" tubing temporarily holds the springs in place. Eventually the tubing will be cut off for final assembly.

Ertl did one also but slightly smaller than the Matchbox version. Both were pretty well done. I had a green one in 1/24th scale. The Ertl one was red with black fenders. Made a nice brush rig!

Here are the parts so far. Tires, wheels, hubs and trim rings are all resin castings. So is the hood and hood sides. Just finished up the two rear spring clusters last nite. Now to get them detailed and with some ends that can be attached to the frame!

A few weeks ago I received a 1/35 scale Merit International model kit of a Diamond T M19 tank hauler tractor and trailer. Looks like your kit has the same level of detail. The box says M19 but the walkaround that I also have says that if it has the front bumper open for a winch cable it is actually an M20. Box art of the truck shows the M20. Nice soft military tread tires for the tractor and many, many smaller standard tread tires for the trailer.

Who says you don't?? What kind of model work do you find most satisfying and rewarding?

Attachment points for springs have been added since the photo above was taken. Waiting to go to the LHS on Tuesday to get my stock for making the springs. Then we can set the axles and begin the wheel hubs etc.

I use mine in a pin vise and in very thin metals like brass and aluminum. They work in plastic too but if you are doing deep drilling, chances are they will snap. The slightest off center pressure will do it. Nothing worse that having one snap in a hole you are drilling and the broken piece is just inside the hole where you can't get at it! Can't push it through and can't pull it out!

I agree that just filler alone with still allow the ghosting to show through. Small plastic strip stock applied to the scribing area is best but use glue sparingly, especially ACC as it gets real hard, more so than the plastic and will cause uneven surfaces to sand. Use as little filler as possible to reduce shrinkage as well.

Micro-Mark does have it. I am not sure if ordinary silicone spray would work or not. I have not experimented with it.

You can also make them out of aluminum tubing and can cut the tubing with an S&K tubing cutter. Drill out the hole for the tubing and slide it in. Use some plastic as a filler and then add the gage. Coat with Testors clear afterward to seal it all.

Better yet make two with the one you have and you will have two clear lenses! Just make sure you use a good quality epoxy that does not yellow over time. Craft stores sell a clear resin that works well also.

Micro-Mark sells 50:50 two part mold making RTV. it is easy to mix and sets up well in about 4 hours. Not cheap but you can get quite a few nice molds from one package. If you do two part molds you would need to purchase some mold release agent as well.

What Art and Peteski said. Agree wholeheartedly.

Go to drill bits unlimited.com. They have all sorts of very sharp and very small drill bits that have 1/8" diameter shanks. They are very brittle, however, and it is not easy to use them in a power driven drill. You can start a pilot hole with one and a pin vise and then switch to a power drill to do the final drilling. You can get complete sets or you can get multiple drills of the same size if you have one or two favorites. They are very reasonably priced. I use them all the time.

I would not clear coat it at all. Just rub it out. It will not be real glossy like you see some paint jobs but it will look smooth and almost in scale for shine. Duplicolor is a hard paint and if the prep is good the finish coat will be smooth as well. Several thin coats work the best as the paint itself is very finely pigmented.

When you scale the frame down to size in most cases the plastic version would be far too flexible and subject to warping as various pieces are added. To be sure the cross members help but one cross member slightly longer or shorter than another can warp the frame out of being straight. The brass is a solid foundation to base the rest of the build on. There is also the strength factor. What it all comes down to is personal preference I guess. In cases where a kit frame works I'll use it. But when the truck is unique and you can't substitute a kit frame I like the brass.

One more piece in the works. Today I got the second frame rail of the frame soldered up and then made up some temporary cross members to control the frame width. I took three components from the '41 Chevy kit to secure the front portion of the frame and to give the engine some support. Next up will be to prepare the mounting points for the springs. Here are a couple of photos of the brass frame and the kit frame for comparison. Very little adjustment was needed to fit the plastic kit crossmembers. The only concern was where to place them within the frame length. The frame photos helped to solve that part of the puzzle.

Rivets are just 0.020" plastic rod snipped off. The raised area is a piece of 0.010" sheet stock cemented on 0.040" sheet stock behind it. I didn't necessarily have to use 0.040" thick stock for the basic sides but that thickness came close to being the same as the cowl sides that they will be against.

The hood and hood sides having been done I will be starting on the frame next. I have drawings to scale and will use the Revell kit frame for some of the front end curvature. The main part of the frame that is under the cab and body is nearly 8 inches deep and runs straight back to the rear.

After making a trip to New Jersey to see a real Class 325 I was able to get some drawings put together for the hood and side pieces. My first attempt was to sculpt the entire hood piece from Renshape but then I realized that the only difference between the civilian and military versions of the hood was the front third. I think Chevy just cut off the front of the civilian version and welded in a new piece that would compliment the grill guard. So I took the existing hood and cut it at the length where the change was made and glued on a piece of the Renshape. Then it was sanded into shape. The next step is to make molds for the hood and hood sides. After the side pieces are cast they will be scribed in the back and bent outward to follow the hood contour. The louvers in the hood sides are made from 0.040" quarter round strip stock.

Looks like a LOWstar to me.