Chariots of Fire

Hello, Jurgen: The chain I used is just some cheap necklace type chain I found in a craft store. I would have used a piece of bicycle chain if it had been small enough. A little paint and a black wash helps to make it plausible.

Got the tool boxes build with opening covers and the side rails are installed. Covers can be removed for painting as can the tailgate. That will be next.

The box was nothing more than a container for weight. Either stone, rocks, sand, or other heavy things that gave the truck traction. The two small storage bins that I have yet to build were for tools.

Yeah, They were'nt speed demons!☺️

Got to work on the body the last couple of days. This part of the build is simple but squaring it up is most important. Checking to be sure that opposite sides are the same size, the corners are square, etc. Sides, front and rear were cut of 0.030" sheet stock and then the floor of the body was glued in. The back panel was cut open for the tailgate. An interior bulkhead separates the spare tire space from the rest of the body. Next up are two compartments that open from the top. They will be located on each side of the tailgate and will extend as far forward as the long grab handles. The bottom has cross members and two stringers that run from front to rear so that the body sits on the frame. The tailgate was made of similar 0.030" sheet stock and trimmed in 0.010" x 0.080" strip stock. To make the hinges, small pieces of flexible tubing were cut on my chopper all to the same length; 3 for the tailgate and 3 for the body. A piece of brass wire was inserted into each tube section to keep the alignment and then the sections were glued to the appropriate areas. Most difficult part was making sure that the sections weren't glued to each other, the wrong part or to the brass wire. More to follow.

Best wishes on this project. I had some Monogram Mack fire truck kits in yellow and had trouble with the yellow bleeding through the primer. Hopefully whatever Ertl used will be ok. My problem was sporadic, though. It did not happen on all of the yellow kits I had.

Here's the last of the rigging that had to be done for the winch. What remains will be part of the body work. There are 3 brass turned sheaves at the back of the frame. Two center ones guide the cable when it is used to pull or tow from the rear. The third one assists in returning the cable around the corner and back along the frame where it eventually runs through the bumper for pulling or towing from the front. The rollers keep the cable in line with the slots in each of the center sheaves but allow it to move right and left during the pulling process.

Pintle hook was made of brass with two pieces. The bottom and the part that opens. Then I made a mold for the parts and cast them in resin. I did have to add some 0.010" plastic to the side of the upper part because it was too fragile for drilling. But what you see is the resin casting. It opens up. The front one is the same thing but it was made solid and doesn't open up. I finished up the rear 3 pulleys (sheaves) and they are now mounted at the back above the pintle hook. Will take photos to share before the painting is done.

Work done on the winch but with a few details to go. PVC pipe section, plastic sheet stock went into the build. Now to get the pulleys made up and installed at the rear of the frame. Will mean cutting off the top of the pintle hook bracket but that is how it was done on the real rig anyway. I found some mylar coated wire for the cable. 24 gauge. Seemed to work close enough to the actual size. Better than the embroidery thread I had used earlier.

Haven't done any real weathering on it yet. Just trying to get the basic building done. I'll do the underside of the fenders, put some dirt and dust on the back of the fuel tanks, and dust up the frame. Need to do the decaling first, though.

I had the same issue with the Monogram hollow back tires. Since I had several extras, I sliced off the front sidewalls of the spares and glued them to the back of the tires and then sanded down the edges. Made all the difference in the world on how the tires looked.

Both sides are complete now. Fuel tanks done and installed. The auxiliary transmission is in place along with all connecting driveshafts. Will have to take a pic of the underside to show them all. The cable has been run from front to rear on the left side. The winch build will be next which will take the slack out of the cable.

Well, the engine is done and has been installed in the chassis. Things are beginning to get wrapped up as far as the basic truck is concerned. The winch and body will be the next things to get done. In the meantime work has begun on the running boards, battery boxes and then the fuel tanks. The running boards are made of standard treadplate for the top. To get the treadplate on the face of the running board, I rough trimmed a piece of aluminum foil, embossed it on a piece of the treadplate and superglued it to the edge. After it was dry the edges were cut with a new Xacto knife blade. It's about the only way to get a nice crisp edge. The battery box is just some sheet stock built up. The top edge was rounded off and the same foil technique was used to round off the edge. Then the face was cut open and a piece of brass shim stock was made into a door with a hinge at the top and a pin latch at the bottom. Now it's time to finish up the other side.

Got the 8 blade fan and pulleys done today. Made a paper template of the fan and taped it to thin brass sheet stock. One cut on the long side of each blade and a cut on the opposite side of each blade did it. Ends were just rounded off. After cleaning up the edges, a twist with a pair of pliers on each blade and it was done. Pulleys were made of aluminum and turned to shape.

Glad you like it. Got to try and make up an 8 bladed fan and some triple pulleys for the fan belts.

Couple of pix to show progress in the Hercules DXFE diesel. M-20 publication has some good photographic detail to use as reference. It's no where near the perfection of a 3D printed engine that is posted elsewhere on the board but a lot of it will be hidden behind the long hood of the M-20. Still has a fair amount of work to be done.

Nice and neat production, Jeff. A unique rig that you don't see every day.

Oh, Man! What a beautiful engine. I am about to start a Hercules Diesel from the 1940's. You've moved the bar way up for me! Love what you have done.

Here's a look at it with some paint. Beginning to look like something.

That's just a film that should polish out quite nicely after the paint has really dried. Don't clear over it. That won't do any good. The polishing will remove the film and the shine will be there for sure. Been there, done that many times when painting on a humid day. Oh, yes. I use Duplicolor all the time so I speak from experience.

I use both an electric dremel on a long shaft and a cordless one for some things but when it comes to pin vise size drills I go back to the pin vise. Lots more control in small difficult areas to drill in. I use carbide drills that have a 1/8" shank for the pin vise. Very, very sharp but they are brittle so it pays to be careful when drilling to keep things lined up properly.

Welcome aboard, Mate! Nice work on the Camaro. This is a great place to exchange ideas and see all kinds of builds.

Thanks be to God for a steady hand and reasonably good eyesight!! The ALPS decal was a good alignment "tool".

Did some adjusting last nite. Fixed the passenger side windshield, added the wipers and the strip around the fenders that fits against the hood.

The cab finally got some paint and the dashboard is in place. Still work to do on the inside of the cab with seats, pedals, levers and steering wheel. The louvers on the hood sides are done and the hood is now set for latches that will hold it down in final position. Progress is slow but progressing. Windshield glass is in place but the right side piece needs to be removed and reset. Photos really reveal flaws that are not apparent to the eye!!