Chariots of Fire

After working on several detail parts, I did some priming and lots of sanding of the completed cab and body. This is one time that it's all incorporated into one. The hard part was knowing that inside that rear bench seat area I needed to still paint it red. Rather than try and spray a lot of paint around inside I opted to paint with some Model Master Insignia red that is a close match. It is a flat color and goes on good with a brush. That way any overspray from the outside will blend with the part inside that is already painted. I may add a bit of clear gloss inside just to take the curse off it but all in all it looks ok. The photo shows the work to date and is a lot like the real rig might look having just come out of the paint booth.

That's quite a workshop it's sitting in! That in itself is great! Pat: If you want to know where you can get some stainless wire for the hinges (for next time) let me know. We have a guy not far from us that has all sorts of great scratch building materials.

I can see you not only know what things look like but you can do it in scale! Impressive! Great work!

Been plenty of those around our area over the years. They just seem to be the right combination of truck and mixer; well balanced and a real hard worker. Nice job! That's a keeper!

That is some truck yard you've got! Quite a fleet of all kinds! I'm lucky if I get one or two done a year!

The fiddly stuff is sometimes real tedious like the headlight pods and bezels. I made the pods from Renshape and epoxied them to the fenders rather than with superglue. That way I could adjust the location while the epoxy was setting. With the superglue it would have been one shot and that's it. Too critical to take that chance. And one of the bezels is now done using the brass tubing in the photo. After the bezel was shaped and cleaned it was plated. There is still a hint of the brass showing through so I think it will need another soak.

Looking good towman! Great job on the hose load!

Very nicely done! Love the tires! That's what a working truck should look like. Mirror brackets are always one of the things that can be improved with very little effort. Putting them more in scale does so much for the overall look of the rig.

If you want to replicate the rivets check out Micro-Mark. They make a sheet of decal rivets for HO and O scale trains. I've used them to represent riveted cabs and bodies. They slide on just like regular decals. I put them on after priming so that they don't get completely lost in the color coat.

Punching the pin out can be done. If it is a brass one replace it with a piece of stainless steel. Much stiffer and easier to put back in place.

The hinge you are using is very similar to the one I used on the Maxim project. I left the hinge pin just a bit long and made up two small pieces of brass strip stock with a hole in each one that was the same size as the pin. I notched them into the radiator shell and firewall so that they are barely visible and so that they line up with the hinge pin when the hood is in position. When it is ready to install the hood in its final position after painting the pin ends will be given ever so slightly a drop of glue to hold it from sliding out Maybe you could do the same thing here.

Ok, Tom! Ya got me! I try to be on the right side of divine intervention even though I know I truly fail at it all the time. Thank God for His generous mercy! As for the devil? No way you can serve both at the same time! I have been accused of having a shrink machine but there is no truth in that rumor either! There is no big secret to making things that are small. I've been blessed with a steady hand and reasonably good eyesight even for an old timer like me! Working with brass is a big help but it is nothing I could have accomplished early in my modeling career. They say that experience is the best teacher and I buy into that. A pair of mini vise grips is very helpful in holding pieces of brass while I am working with them. Definitely not possible just by holding it in my fingers. The other part of it is just that I enjoy working with different mediums to get the final result. Nothing sacred about any of it other than if it works, use it! I'm glad if it makes you feel younger! Maybe I could package it for sale!

Did a bit of work on the second door today and got the latch mechanism finished. Just have to do the catch for the door opening. After that was done I made up a front bumper and the two door handles. Of the various options open to me for making the bumper and door handles chrome I settled on plating with nickel solution. I picked up a plating kit which includes the solution, a power supply, wand and a clip to attach to the bumper and door handle pins. The bumper and handles were made from brass, filed smooth, sanded, polished and then plated. It was a pretty simple process and the results I think are better than Alcad, Bare Metal Foil or chrome paint pens. Here are the results.

That's one of the BIG boys! That is going to be super! Will be following along here without a doubt!

Here's a pic of the inside of the doors. I made up a mechanism that will move when the outside door handle is pressed down. In turn the latch moves inward away from the catch in the edge of the door opening (haven't done that part yet). It's kind of fiddly stuff but fun when it works out! In the photo the half door is the first one I tried years ago to see if i would work. The door at the right is one of the doors for the model. The opening will be covered with 0.020" sheet stock once everything is in place and checked to make sure it works ok.

Let me see if I have a spare one.

And here are a couple more after both doors have been mounted. They are still removable by pulling the stainless pin from the hinges. Once they are painted and ready for final attachment the pin will snipped for each hinge. 020 x 020 plastic stock surrounds each door as well as forming a drip edge at the beginning of the roof curvature. One additional piece will be added to the rear of the roof beginning at the body and working its way around to the other side.

Began work on the cab doors today. The outside panels are cut from thin brass sheet stock. There will be an interior panel similar to the white plastic one to the right in the photo. I'm working on a mechanism that will be fit inside the door that will allow a latch to work by moving the outside door handle. Some wire rod, cams and spring will do the trick. The hinges came from Micro-Mark with half of them soldered to the inside face of the door panel. The other part of the hinge is glued and pinned to the face of the door jam. After all the fitting is done a trim piece will be glued to the cab surrounding the door. Maxim was not particular about the doors having a smooth fit against the rest of the cab sheet metal so they let it overhang the door opening and cleaned it up with the outside trim.

That's looking right fine! How would the tank from the AC Mack or Opel Blitz fit? You wouldn't have to worry about the shape with either of them. Minor adjustments would take care of dated things like the fill covers on top.

Well Methusaleh lived to be 969 years old so there is still hope!

More progress on the little things. Trim is added to the windshield opening. It is just slightly smaller inside than the original opening so that the glass can fit right against it. The trim was made of 0.020 sheet stock so it is thin and will represent the rubber gasket. The engine finally got an exhaust system and the wheels have been painted and trimmed in a gold stripe and chrome lugs. Still to be added to the wheels are the covers over the screws that hold the wheels on the axles.

Awesome! What great building info that is! I just might save that for a future build I have in mind! Also an R190!

Wow! That's as good if not better than Alcad!

Things are continuing to move along with some additional progress on the cab and hood. Openings for the doors are done and reinforced on the inside. The spaces under the floor are for tools on the left and for batteries on the right. Hood sides were opened up as well and photoetch mesh was soldered to the inside.

Looks like real progress is being made. What did you use for the rear step? Looks nice!