Firebuilder

Well done, nice detailing!

I found a Ford F150 friction toy for $5.00 and the grille and headlight assemblies were much closer to what I need. So I cut it apart and modified the resin cab headlight openings. I also cut apart the rest of the toy and will put the fender flares , mirrors and wheel tubs to use on other projects. The scale for the toy says it is 1:28, but it matches the resin casting which is 1:24 perfectly. The rear bumper was also finished. Work goes on…….

Charlie, Amazing work! the bezels look great. I am waiting for the resin and mold silicone to arrive. Then I will get started on my bezels. Dom

This build has been sitting on the bench for awhile. So while waiting for items I ordered to complete another build I thought I would get some work done on this. The kit started off as an SSB resin 2005 E450. It was the best I could find for the build. I need it to be closer to a 2022 cab which is why the project stalled while I tried to figure out a more modern grill. Then the resin box I was going to modify, just wasn’t cutting it, so I decided to build from scratch. Dom

Thank you Charlie! I will definitely follow your instructions , I appreciate the time that you have taken to post step by step instructions. Your help has advanced this project, and also my skills. Dom

Than you!

Thank you!

Some work on the AMT pumper chassis has been started. I am using Moebius rims and tires . After building many of the AMT pumper kits, I started to replace the plastic front axel shafts with metal tubing and rod. I had way too many wheels break off because of the weak plastic axel shaft. I also replaced the rear axel with heavier rod. The original rims and axel are much thinner, The Moebius rims have a wider axel hole which needs the heavier axle. Started to mock up how the cab and box will sit on the chassis.

Thank you, as always your help and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Scott and Greg, after doing a little research, this kit is modeled after an approximate 1990 to 1999 wheeled coach ambulance. I did not find any roof pictures for the diamond plate. I do know that SSB was pretty accurate with most of the details though so it may have been there. Through out my career(now retired) in the fire/ems service, I have been in and driven many Horton/ VCI rigs and many other brands as well. Dom

Charlie, I learned that the hard way when I made the first mold and had to cut the bezels out when the mold halves became one solid piece. The second Attempt ,The mold worked but the results are not to promising for the bezels. I don’t know if I need to put less clay , or try to do it in a one piece mold. I am open to suggestions anyone has for molding the bezels. I did make a mold for some seats I will need and was very satisfied with the results. Dom

Nicely done! I like the colors and details

Finally got some primer on the cab, will leave it alone for a few days and then sand it and prime again. Started building the bumper. Work on the chassis needs to get done while waiting for primer to dry.

Charlie, Thank again for your guidance, I have the wood bucks made up, just need to pick up the brass at the hobby shop. I Will let you know how. It comes out once completed.

Steven, Thank you for the information, I will check out eBay and see what I can find. It may be a solution to the windshield problem. Dom

Nice build, great details!

Scott, Looks great! Nice and clean work. Being a NJ native this hits home with me. Dom

Charlie, I do plan on following your advice, the top left corner of the cab curve separated from the front panel when I was cutting the hole for the bezel. So I had to re glue and putty it. While I had the putty out I filled a bunch of the imperfections you are talking about. The grill is filled and being sanded again to. Then a wet sanding and on to primer finally. Then as you said more sanding and priming. Here are pictures at the 2nd attempt making a mold for the bezels. It was easier to make without the grill attached and came out much better than the first total failure. I used a different clay to pack out the back side of the bezel, and not as much clay as I did with the first mold. I have to pour the 2nd part of the mold, any suggestions before I do? The Alumilite instructions are not clear on what to do before pouring the 2nd half. Dom

Very nice, clean and sharp details Dom

Greg, That is a SSB resin E450 ambulance. It was listed as a 2005. It took me about 18 months to find it on eBay. They don’t show up there to often and I lost a few bids, But finally found one with a buy now option . It is a work in progress duplicating a rig for someone I know. The cab is older than what they have now, being it’s a 2019 model, but this was the best I could for an E450 right now , I am contemplating building the box from scratch, originally I was going to modify the resin box that came with the kit, however after roughly marking it out, I have to change just about everything on there, including the roof line to match the existing rig. Dom

Thanks Bob, much appreciated.

The mold for the entire trumpeter eagle grill came out terrible. I am not sure where I went wrong with it, but the modeling clay I used to pack out some areas, stuck to the silicone. So I cut the light bezels free from the grill , and will attempt to make a new mold for just the bezels. Hopefully my second attempt will go better. I cut out the openings for the light assemblies and the grill. After some more research on this cab, I noticed they make several different grills for their apparatus. I went with one that was not to hard to build out of evergreen stock. I just need to find some scale grill mesh now.

Very nice, the attention to detail is amazing. I Will be following this build.

Looks great, really like how you weathered and aged the unit Dom

Awesome build! The shot of the 3 together is cool! Dom