Chariots of Fire

Seen that one before, eh?

Hey, Tom G! Like I said it's been a while since I had a serious inclination to do any complex project. So rather than get fancy with something that wouldn't keep me really into it I decided on something simple! The last rig I did was a complete scratch build and when it was done I was ready for a break! I like your avatar! Would be a good substitute for the two wannabe's that are currently running! At least Yogi is "smarter than the average bear"!

This is just a snap kit but when you need something quick just to keep the juices flowing sometimes it is just the thing. A gray primer with Duplicolor bright red (#398) on top is the paint. Computer generated decals ALPS printed. BMF for the chrome body trim. Light bar came with the kit. Not counting the time to let the paint dry, a couple of easy nights' work.

MIll City Replicas is right. I did up one of those as well. The resin grill was no good though so I ended up making a new one from brass. i used the Yat Ming partially damaged open cab Ford for the headlights and front bumper. Minor flaws in the casting but not enough to really criticize.

Thanks for the information! I guess that is why most of the resin castings you see today in the model world are based on two part molds. I know that is how Tom Coolidge did his castings and they came out flawless.

Having worked with it, Bill, how did Mike end up with such a smooth exterior? Did he coat it (the mold) first with a thin skim coat and then build it up a bit at a time?

Yep, better get crackin' JT! Now that it's done I think I should have tried to blend in a more modern fleetside body. Somewhere I have pix of the trailer that goes with it. Will have to dig them out.

That's a '66 Chevy fire tanker I was working on at the time. Holthaus resin cab. Here are some pics of it. (I know they belong in the big truck listing but here they are anyway!).

Weathering has to be subtle to be right. Yours is right on! Just where it ought to be. Rust stains are perfect. Excellent work!

Did this one a few years back by bashing the 1950 Chevy with the 1999 version. Cab was extended and the grill and front end were modified using the 1999 front bumper. I use it to haul the trailer and a fixer-upper.

NIce work Jeff! Will be watching progress!

Here's a cab that started out as the AITM cab but has been heavily modified. JeffH is doing the work. Many changes were made along the way and the frame and accompanying details are all scratch built. But as you can see he did not change the vent window. Perhaps not officially correct but not enough to take away from all of the other details. (IMHO)

Dave: Glad to hear from you. I've got some ideas for building the nose of a 2010 Workstar that would fit the Prostar cab. There is one here locally that has been built into a brush truck that is on my plate to model. Are there any good sources for line drawings of the Workstar front end other than the usual sales brochures that could be used for obtaining measurements, etc?

The one thing I never understood about the Quantum is that they never matched the lines of the front wheel wells with the rears. The front lines probably would have looked hideous on the back so it would have meant some kind of compromise, but hey........... what do I know!

Say hello to Tim for me, will you? We met years ago at a MassCAR show back about the time he ventured into a new modeling mag called "IN SCALE". I still have the one and only first issue.

That's what I was looking for! Nice build for sure!!

Looks pretty nice, Ken. Any front views?

Nice clean build. I like it a lot!

Browsing through some old S..... A... Mags (that other model mag) I ran across this article in the Model Firehouse section by Tim Bongard. April 1990 issue #66. To bad the photo is so poor but the written part is clear enough.

AJ: Thanks for posting your Detroit Seagrave! Where did your info come from, Matt Lee's books? Really nice work! David: that would be an awesome build! I'm studying the trailer and some of the details I see there. The trailer I did for my '37 Seagrave is almost identical except for the series of compartments along the sides. The way the rear fenders and front fenders of the trailer are laid out are exactly the same and the aerial looks similar. If you ever want to give it a try let me know. I have photos and dimensions of all that stuff.

Hey, Guys. Anybody else out there have any info about Mike Eisbrenner and his Seagraves? There must be more examples using his castings.

Hey, guys, this is getting a little bit heavy to handle. I appreciate your kind comments, I really do. But I want you all to know that if God gave me any talent it was meant as a gift to be shared. I love modeling and have since I was a young boy but there is joy in sharing it and passing on to others things learned about building models over quite a few years now. In and of itself, model building is not very important; in fact in some ways it is a complete waste of the time that we have been given. But in other ways it is a means of passing on to someone else blessings that have been conveyed upon us. I know of One who in his brief life of 33 years here on earth worked many of those years as a carpenter, a master craftsman and builder who worked with His hands. I hope many of you know of whom I speak. I know that some of you already do and He can change your life in an instant. God bless.

I'm glad you posted yours, Greg. It confirms what I remembered that the second edition castings were numbered. The photoetch "Seagrave" came as a package of three originally and were known as McKeans Miniatures. There were two larger ones for the sides and a smaller one to use in the grill. Don Mills picked up the McKeans line years ago including the treadplate that he still sells. McKeans also produced the American LaFrance script and maltese cross in photoetch.

May as well go all the way, eh? Here are some photos of the second River Edge piece. This one was done based on Seagrave drawings and some help from the River Edge FD, Co. 2. When the model was delivered I got to ride the actual truck! Awesome experience! The hood on this one is hinged brass. Nose is covered in Bare Metal Foil. The hose body is slightly higher than on the first model and more closely resembles the modifications that River Edge did after a few years on the job. Initially it had white rims and a standard height body. See? I actually did build two! River Edge insisted the model had to have the American flag flying from the radio antenna. You can see it in the last photo. With the opening hood I was able to open up the horizontal holes in the hood sides and put a piece of material behind them which is prototypical and a detail I left out of the first two.

The initial ones were fiberglas I think. But the second edition ones like the two I built definitely were not. As far as the builds go they are really no different than working with plastic bodies. You just have to put a lot more into obtaining all of the other stuff that finally gets it done. Mike Eisbrenner can be thanked for giving us the opportunity to turn his castings into models. Without his efforts there might not have been any. As I indicated to Danno I think Mike worked for either GM or Ford and was aided at least in the beginning by some of the craftsmen to get his molding started. Maybe Greg can verify that. Hope he posts his rig as well!