Chariots of Fire

What they said! Great job!

The hose in the bed is sewing elastic that was given a wash of Tamiya light tan acrylic thinned with water. It comes in two basic sizes, 1/8" and 1/4" and is white. The hard suction on the left side of the truck is plastic tubing wrapped in masking tape and painted flat black.

You seem to have got pretty good coverage over the red plastic. Not an easy thing to do.

Just a question. Did you use decal paper that is made for ink jet printers? I think it works without running although I've never tried it since I use an ALPS.

That's going to be very nice! PM me Dave.

It's been a few months now since this project started. It had its moments but we got through them! The hose bed has been filled, and all is ready to go. Thanks for all of the comments that were received during the building process. It has been fun, even with the glitches along the way.

Working the old stuff can be more fun than building something new, especially if it is a unique rig! Nice combination of parts from different sources.

We're closing in on the last details of this build. Except for completing the hose load on the right side and making up a cover and small hose load over the walkway to the rear of the cab we are done. So here are some photos of the building progress to date. That little gadget in front in the first photo is the "Official Door Opener". Instead of using a finger or tweezers to open the doors and taking a chance on marring the paint you can use the opener. I decided to fancy it up a bit with an eagle on top and some gold leaf trim.

The latch also attaches to the cover itself so that when you lift the latch the cover opens with it.

We are continuing to add details. This time the windshield wipers are done, rear handrails are on, ladder brackets and ladders are in place. Also the extinguisher and axe have been mounted. The cross mounted railings at the rear are temporarily in place. It will be much easier to load the hose and covers with them out of the way. Once all that is done the railings will be mounted permanently.

Good paint combination for Mayflower Moving!

I like your shop! Agreed! It looks like the crew just left for lunch and will be mounting the bumper when they come back! That's cool!

Hey, Pat! It's the widgets that count! Details like what you are doing go a long way toward making a model a cut above the rest. Keep up the good work!

One more photo. Yesterday I worked on making up a siren and mounting for the left front fender. It is turned aluminum with a photoetch mesh around the middle. I drilled out the front, fillled it with clear epoxy and then painted it with Tamiya clear red for a lens. The aluminum polishes up quite nicely.

Cheshire, CT...that's ok. It's still in the east!! I will be going to Meriden, CT in July for a small show called FireFest. Mostly for diecast enthusiasts but they put up with a model builder or two. Usually there are two or three people who will remember Maxims of that vintage and will tell a few stories about them. Tell Tim next time you see him that his "brother" says hello.

Where'd that come from, Cheshire, MA? If it did it's a long way from home!

That is some nice work! Looking forward to seeing more!

I think they look nice white. Any graphics going on them?

Today I finished up the engine by adding an air cleaner, the radiator hose and filler cap, some widgets on the firewall to connect some loose wiring to and plumbed the carb. There are also two small lights on the firewall to aid in seeing things after dark. These trucks usually ran a bit hot so the operator could open the hood, crack a valve and take water from the pump and direct a portion of it to the radiator to help with additional cooling.

How big do you need? KS makes brass hex head nuts and bolts down to #90 size. There is an outfit that makes fake ones that look nice but don't work.

For a while now I've been wondering how to adequately secure the hood with latches that look like the real ones. Working in 1/25 scale has its limitations but after a fashion I found that it is possible to do a latch that looks realistic enough. I used some bright pins that I could solder together to form a "T" for the latch and with some brass 1/16" square tubing and 1/16 angle I was able to form the mounting points for the latch and the receiver that is on the hood corners. I soldered a piece of very small brass tubing to the bottom of the "T" and drilled holes in the square tubing after I had removed one face to form a "C". Then I drilled holes in the sides of the "C" and in the back face to solder a pin. A small brass rod was inserted into the holes in the "C" and the brass tubing to hold it all together. The rod was crimped on both ends to hold it from falling out. Now the hood can be opened and it firmly secured with the latches.

Will the grill from the White Road Boss fit?

The work continues. With the details now being added it is looking more like a piece of fire apparatus. The steps on top of the rear fenders are pieces of aluminum folded in a small bending brake and covered with aluminum foil embossed over a piece of Don Mills Hobbies treadplate. The embossing is done with a soft pencil eraser. The opening above the rear step is for the booster hose reel. It will be mounted to the frame when the body is permanently fixed. Still much to do so it will have to wait until other things are done. And they require removing the body from the frame for now.

If there is enough shine on the paint so that the decals do not ghost, I'd leave it alone. Looks good the way it is.

The color is great! Use some BMF on the grill! Headlight surrounds too!