Aaronw

Thanks, the MEK has only made small amounts kick but it did work really well to thin the resin. I dumped out the excess resin and refilled the molds with MEK, after a short time the resin was really thin so I could get most of it out, then washed and dried the molds. At the least this has worked for 3 of the 5 molds I had filled with resin, the remaining 2 may be a lost cause because they are have small openings so I can't really scrape the resin out, I squirted some MEK into the molds with an eyedropper and will hope for the best. Of the last 2 one was an early mold which I should redo anyway, the other is a fairly new mold but not something critical, so if I end up losing 1 of 4 good molds and 1 old mold oh, well. I also use a polyethelene board for casting on to protect my work table, I used a little MEK to clean off the sticky uncured resin that spilled and the MEK cleaned everything off it, silicone blobs, old resin etc, it looks brand new. So at the least your tip saved me 2 brand new never before used molds, 1 little used mold and now I have a really clean working surface. Thanks

So the MEK will cause the rest of resin to solidify? Two of the molds are pretty open so I can get alot out, the other two are closed molds which will be a pain. I realize what I did now that I look at the bottles, I couldn't get the part B open so I used a new bottle of part B (figured I'd plan a big casting session and break the lid off the other part B later). Now looking at the label it says Now new tan color, the old part B was white resin, they must have changed their formula and I used the old part A (white) with the new part B (tan) and I guess they don't work together. Oh, well I guess its just one more thing to learn, don't mix resin batches. :roll: Thanks

I've been casting for a couple of years but just ran into a problem I haven't had before. I poured the resin into the molds and it won't cure. How do I get this sticky mess out of the molds?

Well finally got some progress on the stakeside at least I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the wheels yet, I had a set of resin duals I had planned to use but they are too wide. I noticed some of the trucks in the photo I am using for reference have single rear wheels so I ma stick with the kit wheels, I also have a set of single truck wheels for a 1930's International heavy truck which I may end up using since they are a bit beefier looking.

I haven't seen his work in person but he is on another site I belong too and seems to be a pretty nice guy, he really helped me alot with tips and techniques when I started my dabbling in resin casting. He seems to have a decent selection of stuff to offer but I can't help with the actual quality.

You could, Opel and Chevrolet basically have the same chassis, but there are also a number of sources for resin frame and chassis parts (springs etc) which miht end up being cheaper since the Italeri Opel kits are getting kind of hard to find. Spalding Trading and Shipping and American Industrial Truck Models would be good places to find quality resin parts you might find helpful in the conversion. The LRDG used the Canadian built Chevrolet 15cwt 1311X3 (3/4 ton) trucks and Ford 01 V8 (1940 Ford 1/2 ton truck) as pilot cars (scout vehicles) until replaced by the Jeep. The Chevrolet was 2wd the Ford was a 4x4. The Canadian built Chevrolet 30 cwt 1533X2 (1.5 ton) truck was the primary patrol vehicle (the 30cwt is the one the Tamiya kit represents). You could modify the Revell kit to make a 1311X3 pilot truck pretty easily, or with more work (kit bashing, resin parts or scratchbuilding) could make it into a 1533X2 Patrol truck. You could also use one of the variations of the Monogram 1940 Ford pickup to build a Ford 01 pilot truck too if you wanted some variety. The AMT, Hasegawa and Italeri make 1/25 jeeps which might be helpful for 1/25 guns. You might have some luck on the wheels from a desert racing aftermarket company. I don't think the Blitz wheels would be right, too narrow and the LRDG didn't mount dual wheels on the pilot cars or patrol trucks but I don't know of any sites to recommend. There are several good websites on the LRDG that might be helpful. http://www.lrdg.de/main.htm http://www.lrdg.org/ http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/lrdg/lrdg.html http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/j...man/sasjeep.htm Osprey has a good book on the LRDG as well in their New vanguard series. Neat project, I hope to see some pics when you get started. I'm currently working on a 1/35 Panzer Models Resin Ford 01 V8 LRDG pilot car and have the Tamiya kit waiting to go.

The water truck looks good, I prefer plastic but when the only way I can get something is diecast then metal is just fine. What did you use for the tank?

The DD Alpine green is kind of a bluish green anyway, yours is a bit bluer but its not too bad, those Oshkosh trucks take a beating, the owner probably touched up the engine with some Ford blue paint How are you liking the kit, I have seen a couple of interesting contract water tenders built on that chassis and think about getting one every time I go to the STS site.

I hadn't thought about a diorama. Normally firefighter figures are hard to come by but in the 30's pretty much any "labor" type figure could potentially work, protective gear back then for wildland firefighters was jeans, boots, long sleeve shirt and a hard hat, G scale railroad stuff might work for some people. Good idea, I might not do anything with it, but thanks.

I haven't had much time to build lately but I finally got a little building started. I've decided to do a two part build as I find I do better with more than 1 build at a time. I am building a pair of US Forest Service fire vehicles, a 1937 Ford Stakeside crew truck and a 1934 Ford forestry pumper. This is my inspiration I am using Revell's '37 Ford and Lindberg's '34 Ford. The stakebed is modified from the Ford C600 kit, I shortend and narrowed it for the smaller truck. The photo is a little dark but I'm using Krylon Fusion's Hunters green, it is not black like it looks. The white sheet plastic on the side of the stake truck will be a sign for the forest / crew identification.

I think MTFAco used to have one so you might check AITM http://www.aitruckmodels.com/ It is not currently listed but if you email him, he can tell you if it will be available. He has been re-doing the old MTFAco molds and many are not ready yet but will be eventually. MTFAco also had alot of good fire apparatus detail parts which I understand are available just not listed on the website.

That motor is looking good, this is a good kit to spend time on the motor too, the tilt cab actually goes up enough to show off the detail. I started one of these 2 years ago but stalled at the motor, I'm using the CAT diesel from the Ford Louisville which proved more of a difficulty than I expected. The Ford C was one of the most popular commercial cabs used to build fire apparatus for almost 40 years, pumpers, ladder trucks, rescues etc. It would have been easy to do a Mack version (N?) of the kit too. Guess I better stock up on a few more while they are still available, I'm getting a number of ideas.

A fire engine Oh, well one can always dream, this should have been a no brainer for them since AMT makes both the Ford C and ALF kits. Note this was not my build, it was built by a friend of mine using parts from the ALF pumper and Ford C kits.

The kit has been out in various forms, my guess is the first time around it was a C800. Ironically the only other Ford C currently out is a C900 tractor with dual US Mail trailers. :? Hey but thats a great kit and it looks like you are getting a good start on it. Not positive on the engine but I have been told it is a Ford 534SD 8.8L (534 cid) gasoline engine

Spalding Trading and Shipping has alot of detail stuff for trucks, both parts and reference material. http://www.stsmodeltrucks.com/

I have a couple of the Lindbergh (old AMT) 1934 3 in 1 Ford truck kits that include parts for a wrecker as one of the options. I'm just wondering how late that style wrecker would have been used. Would it be reasonable to use the parts with a 50 Ford or Chevy? I don't have a specific project in mind I just have several of these kits and at best I might do one as a wrecker, looking for ideas for the other kits parts. Thanks

RMR has a 1970's Dodge Bighorn listed. I don't have his email handy but I'll try and dg it up if someone else doesn't post it first.

Well to follow the others theme I was 2 when this thing rolled off the assembly line Since you would have to be a big fan of the Iron Pig to really get the year, I'll give you a hint, the truck is almost a 70 (and its not a JEEP!!!!! :twisted: )

Looks very nice. Just one more kit on my wish hey would re-issue it list. :roll:

I think MTFACO had one, so you might check with AITM http://www.aitruckmodels.com/

Wow I don't feel so bad some of you have as many "in progress" projects as I do. I probably have 20 or so "car" models in various states of completion and another 20 or so military models. I have the attention span of a gerbil when it comes to models. Here are a few of the fire apparatus builds I have going, I probably have tripled this since I took the photo and none of these are done although I did recently get going again on the 55 chevy and with any luck I will get it done soon.

Wow, thats alot of truck.

Well it makes sense that STS has some trucks I can use since I got the 6-71 from them, I've just been waiting for AITM to finish the updated Fleetstar so thats another good place for me to use the 6-71. I agree ebay s a great place to find pics of trucks, you need patience sometimes but there are eventually photos of almost anything you could want when it comes to vehicles. Thanks

I've got a resin 6-71, but I'm not really sure where I can use it. I know it was available in some American LaFrance fire apparatus and some busses but thats about it. I've tried googling it but I mostly find info on 6-71 marine engines, great if I decide to make a tug boat but otherwise not to helpful. What would be helpful would be when it was introduced, commonly used, fell out of use which trucks it would typically be found in as an option anything else that you know of that would be helpful regarding using it in a build Its not that hard to track down a truck and find a motor to use but it doesn't seem to be very easy to do it in reverse. Thanks

White!!!! :evil: now what am I supposed to do with the Cummins beige I finally found. :cry: Nice pics though, I have the AMT 359 and I'm just waiting for inspiration to build it, thse will help. (like I don't have enough projects going :roll: )