Chariots of Fire

I'm going to draw up a suggestion for you based on the rim you show. I think it would work for you. Here it is.

With one rear wheel made, the second one came along just fine. And they look alike!! I tried finding some small plastic cups at a craft store that would look like the moon shaped hubs for the front wheels but came up empty. But with some aluminum rod of the right diameter just happening to lie around, I turned out a hub and then made a mold. Now the front hubs are done sans dogs to hold them in place. A few pieces of small strip stock and plastic rod will finish them off. Then I can start work on the frame, springs and axles.

thanks, Jarda. You should hear the old Buda engine run! Quite a sound!

See? There is always an alternate use for some of this "useless stuff" they put in those kits. Glad to see you turned the hard suction couplings around and not like they show on the box cover. There is a "Filling the Hose Bed" tutorial on the Scale Firehouse Forum in case anyone is interested. Also one on making the hose like Jim did.

I made one wheel! No I have not made the whole truck yet. Just getting started!

This time it is a 1929 Coleman. You may recognize the name Howe-Coleman a well known manufacturer of 4wd drive axles. And they have made a number of trucks under the Coleman name since the 20's. This rig was originally fitted up with a big V plow and a wing plow setup but all of that is missing from the refurb. The biggest obstacle has been the rear wheels. Lots of different stuff needed to make up one that looks like the one in the photo. But with some castings and plastic stock the first one is done. It took 58 pieces to complete. Now to make the second one the same!!

I'm a bit surprised at the Duplicolor paint. Usually it is a real easy paint to use. I wonder if the can was shaken up enough before you started painting. It should not have come out pink one time and red the next. Don't give up on the paint. Duplicolor is a very fine paint and needs several coats to be effective. Next time try giving the first light coat a fine sanding, make sure it is clean and try the second coat. Each time the paint should end up smoother than the one before. That's a nice looking rig. Great jot on the hose load. It's tough filling up a bed of that size.

Here are a few more photos of the truck as it was being built. I wish I had taken some before paint but I did not. First photo is one of the real truck (what was left of it after having sat outside for quite a while). At the end of my visits to get photos and measurements some of the detail parts started to disappear; like the Seagrave emblems on the battery boxes. Headlights were already gone and many of the ground ladders were missing. Seagrave was kind enough to send me a blueprint of their ground ladder construction. It shows everything from a 14' single ladder to the 50' extension ladder that was still on the truck. Guess it was just to heavy for someone to cart off. I included a page out of my sketch book that shows the measurements taken and the 1/25 scale conversion for each one. This closeup really shows the poor job I did in nickle plating the front bumper! That's a signature finger print that I failed to remove from the brass before it was plated. Maybe I can chock it up to "wear and tear". And the last one really shows up the outline of the decals. Today I would do a better job of hiding the edge. Maybe better decal paper would have helped. Live and learn, eh?

No I never did a build thread on this one. I do have a few more closeup shots of the turntable area but that is about it. It was started nearly 15 years ago.

Here are some photos of the truck as it was being built. The rig was built using measurements and photos of the actual truck. That is plastic porch railing stock that I used for the fenders. The hood, doors and bumper are brass. Photos of the real truck included side views of all of the fenders. The front fenders are most unique and the rear fenders of the tractor are wider than the fenders for the trailer. So with the profile images brought down to size via computer I trimmed them out and stuck them to the porch railing stock with double sided tape. Once the profile for each fender was cut and sanded to shape the under sides were ground out with a dremel and sanding disc. It took a while for each fender and getting them to look the same while being mirror images of each other was not the easiest to do. The porch railing stock was real easy to work with, however and is quite strong. Once the underside carving was done I smoothed it up with some two part casting resin. Not only did it make each fender stronger, it made the underneath look more finished.

Easier than it looks, PeeKay. I laid the plastic glass inside the opening and then drew around the perimeter of the opening with a fine tip marker. Then each one was cut out using a dremel with carbide disk. A bit of sanding on the high spots was about all it took. When the fit was right I used a Magic Marker to coat the edge of each piece. Two part epoxy was mixed up and used to coat the edges of each opening. When it began to set the "glass" was pressed into place. Since the epoxy was still soft it was easy to get the pieces set evenly all around without the epoxy messing up the surfaces.

My sentiments exactly, Allen!

This is a first for me as I am usually in the truck section with some fire apparatus models. But a friend asked me to build this custom Ford of his 1:1 ride. The body is a resin casting that was already chopped. I did blend in the full size rear window as that is what his car has. The glass was also individually cut to fit inside each opening so that it would not look like it was so far inside the resin body. They are held in place with two part epoxy. Paint is a Chysler silver.

Those hinges are a pain. On the last one I did I filled in the holes in the hinges with plastic and re-drilled them with smaller holes and then used a common pin to secure them together. Make the holes just a bit oversize but not so much that the door sags or wobbles when you open it.

A 1/32 scale model is approximately 3/4 the size of a 1/25 scale model. (25/32)

Thanks everybody for your kind words.

Here are the photos of the engine. Not enough room in the first post. This one shows the engine installed in the tractor. At first I thought it was too small but with the radiator in place and the hood on the engine compartment got filled up real fast. The engine from the left side. It has dual ignition with two distributors and wiring for 24 spark plugs; two per cylinder. Engine from the right side. Those heat shields above the spark plugs help dissipate heat from the exhaust manifolds that are between the carbs and plugs.

I built this model starting with photos and measurements back in 2000. Finished it up 2-1/2 years later. Amazing part of this build is that all of the original gold leaf that was done by Seagrave in 1937 was still intact. So I photographed it, scanned it to the computer, cleaned up the details and printed them out on clear decal film. So the lettering and gold leaf designs you see are as they were more than 75 years ago. Tractor has a brass hood and cab doors. The windshield frames, tiller tub and front bumper are also brass. Fenders are carved from plastic porch railing stock. Rest of the tractor is plastic. Trailer is all plastic stock. Ground ladders are basswood. Tires and wheels are from an AMT ALF kit. Headlights are from a Ford Vicky kit but with the lenses turned backward so they would be flat faced. The grill is aluminum wire surrounded by the "sweetheart" portion trimmed in bare metal foil. The engine is scratch built following the V-12 that was in the actual truck and from photos in Matthew Lee's book of Seagrave history.

The F700 is available in resin from Missing Link.

I'm with Mr. Billings. Pallets or something like a stationary diesel generator or truck parts maybe. Don't think using it to carry another vehicle quite does it.

Jurgen: I agree with your criticisms. And I don't find them offensive. In order to achieve good results sometimes a lot of adjustment needs to be done and it does a dis-service to the modeling community not to point out shortcomings when it will help someone else avoid difficulties. Good looking models are the result of study and reflection of the real thing and the application of building techniques that will enhance the quality of what you start with so you can achieve the look of the real thing in miniature. The fact that some AITM castings are heavy in no way is a negative criticism. Look at what we would all be missing if companies like AITM did not exist! We still might be just building out of the box. We all learn from personal experience and the trials and errors of others who sometimes have solved the same problems we are dealing with. Keep up the good work Jurgen. I enjoy your work.

Very nicely done! Love the colors and the backdrop.

I put the chain on the jerry can, Greg!

Thanks, Jurgen: It did receive quite a bit of looking over in the "In Progress" section with over 5600 views since it was first introduced in early February. It's not the usual subject matter for a lot of response and that is ok. It was fun to do and it represents a small amount of local history. The company that built the actual truck in 1952 is no longer in business but it was located only about 12 miles (19 km) away from where I live. And I personally remember it from having been a fire fighter for many years starting at a young age when the truck was only 5-6 years old. At the time it was considered to be one of the better brush fire rigs around.

I did a 1966 W300 a few years ago and Tom Coolidge did the casting. Here is a photo of the model I did from the resin casting. I might have a spare grill or two in my stash of Dodge parts. I notice the grill on the trucks above is much larger, though than what is on the 300. Probably because of the extra sheet metal below the grill on the W series.