Aaronw

The Meng Ford F350 kit has a modern Ford / Navistar diesel engine in it. Other than that not much out there other than large truck diesels. There are some Detroit Diesel 6-71 engines available in resin, not sure the caster possibly more than one. The 6-71 is an inline 6 cylinder diesel that has been around since the late 1930s and was manufactured at least until the 1970s. In addition to trucks and buses it has been a popular marine and industrial engine. It was used in pairs to power some WW2 tanks. An unusual choice for a hotrod but it would have been fairly easy to source for a builder with a thing for diesel power. The 6-71 is probably a bit much for a hotrod, but it also came in 2, 3 and 4 cylinder versions (2-71, 3-71, 4-71) which would better fit a car chassis and not be terribly difficult to make from a resin 6-71 (just lop off a couple cylinders). Even the full size the 6-71 is fairly small by diesel truck standards with a displacement of 426 cubic inches (each piston is 71 cubic inches).

So you want it to actually light up? I have no experience with working lights on a model but... It looks like the 1-1 has approximately 1x1" squares (50" lightbar with approximately 100 LEDs in 2 layers), so even those 1.8mm LEDs are about 1.8" in 1/25 scale. I bet if you look around you could find something out there with 1x1mm squares, maybe some kind of packing material, small disposable fruit baskets etc. You could put that in front of the LEDs with clear plastic for a lens to give the impression of the lens, and maybe use some C channel from Plastruct for the body of the bar and a place for the LEDs.

I won't have photos for 4-12 weeks, but I placed my order at Modelhaus for their '64-66 Chevy 2 ton truck, '59 Chevy truck, '64 Dodge regular and crew cab trucks and '59 Ford truck. Figured I better bite the bullet and order them while I can still get them, food is highly overrated anyway.

The last reissue they were $50-60, and that was probably 5 or 6 years back, so $100 on ebay isn't surprising.

Typically I try to do something simple and more or less as it came in the box. I have this habit of complicating things and then getting stuck and losing motivation. The last two I did were Revells snap Jeep Rubicon and a Diecast Tahoe (and just try finding a current Tahoe in plastic). Quick, fun and best of all I finished them.

Yeah it turns out to be easier than I was making it. I just wasn't seeing that rear cross member on the sprue so thought there must be a different piece on the tractor. I parted out the stake bed sometime ago and thought it must have gone with those parts. The problem really comes to vision and taking the time to really look over the sprue. Thanks, its all good now.

Yeah, I've got the kit from the first post with the white truck on the box. It has the tractor parts, but it doesn't show how the short frame goes together. I can figure out the front, but the back end is unclear. The last piece shown is in with the stake bed parts so I don't believe should be used on the tractor. That second link doesn't show the tractor chassis, that is the longer chassis used on the box truck. I got several of these kits cheap a few years back, and since they included the parts for a tractor I never bothered to get one of the tractor only kits...

Thank you, very useful.

I've got one of the older stake truck kits which includes the parts for the tractor. Unfortunately it doesn't show how to assemble the frame. Anyone have a copy of the instructions from the tractor that they could scan or post a photo of? Basically just need to see how the cross members are supposed to go in and how to do the 5th wheel. Everything else should be pretty much the same. I know there used to be a site with a bunch of instructions on it but I am not finding it. Thanks

I don't know, looks like Porsche thinks somebody will buy a 4 door sportscar. http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/panamera/ I've never seen that Corvette kit, but now I want one.

Those are the highlights, I've spent quite a bit of time in far less photogenic places. Based on some of the other photos on here, I'm not the only one who gets to see some spectacular scenery as part of the job. I spent the last two weeks working logistics for several fires here at home. We were getting shipments of supplies in nearly every day and I think you have some idea how that stuff gets around, so thank you for what you do as well.

To date, my toughest assignment, a 21 day severity detail to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii (aka the big island). South point, southern most part of the United States, more than 3000 miles of open ocean to landfall in Australia. Sunset in Kona, HI Akaka Falls Mauna Loa's active crater same crater at night Sunset from summit of Mauna Kea (13,796 feet)

Thank you, today is my first day off since July 27, although I have been home at night for a change. We don't put quite the same kind of miles on as you guys, but we do see a lot of ground. Sunset near Page, Arizona and a little later Sunrise near Winthrop, Washington Diablo Lake along Hwy 20 in northern Washington, the bright green color is due to minerals in the water Columbia River along Oregon / Washington border Columbia River near Wenatchee, Washington Near Burns, Oregon Crossing through Yosemite (again), taking a break at Olmstead Point A typical summer day in Southern California (near Santa Clarita) Night burn in Yosemite Valley

Near Stanley, Idaho Sawtooth range in the background Some old mining thing near Bishop, CA (off of Hwy 395) Pelicans in the surf near Lompoc, CA

Lake Tahoe Hwy 50 near Placerville, CA. Passing a wagon train, part of an annual event following the path many early settlers took crossing the Sierras into California. Somewhere in Idaho Following the Snake River in Idaho Fire camp in Stanley, Idaho, Sawtooth Mountains in the background Dust Devil at Craters of the Moon, Idaho Potato field at sunset, somewhere in Idaho We got the complete Idaho experience, at one fire the sleeping area was in some empty potato cellars.

Whitney Portal (trailhead to the summit of Mt Whitney, tallest point in the lower 48). The trail starts at 7800 feet, the summit is 14,505 An occasional perk is getting to cut through a National Park (another perk has been getting to work in a National Park) Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite National Park (elevation 9,943 feet) Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park Overlook of Yosemite Valley from Hwy 120. Death Valley

This is my typical view on the road, I often think of the Waylon Jennings song, Are you sure Hank done it this way ("I've seen the world with a 5 piece band looking at the backside of me"). Hwy 49 near Reno. Near Weed, CA, Mt Shasta in the distance I think of my engine as a big truck until I park next to the real big trucks...

The open grill looks good. A small detail that often gets overlooked on these trucks is the area between the upper grill and lower grill is the body color on most of these trucks, a pain to paint but adds a lot in my opinion. This photo shows what I'm talking about http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/1941-chevrolet-series-ak-pickup-2.jpg For the wrecker boom if you do a google images search for Weaver Auto Crane or Manley Wrecking Crane, there are a lot of photos and drawings out there. These are examples of common wrecker booms from the 1920 into the 40s and not too hard to scratch build.

Eduard has reboxed a few kits from others, but the bulk of their models are original to Eduard and they tend to be very high quality, particularly those from the past decade. I've not seen anyone refer to an Eduard kit as "sub par". You must've missed Eduard's Profi PACK straight re-box of the Academy Kingtiger Last Production. The Academy kit qualifies as sub-par when compared with the Dragon KTs. Check out the armor modelling forums for reviews and comments on this one. Eduard doesn't even provide additional PE or resin parts and the "Octopus" camo ring decal sheet from the original Academy 13229 is not included. This re-box costs $75, 20-35 bucks more than the original offering. More Profit than Profi. How does one reboxed kit equal all they do? Tons of original Eduard aircraft kits, their F6F Hellcat is pretty universally considered the best available.

Eduard has reboxed a few kits from others, but the bulk of their models are original to Eduard and they tend to be very high quality, particularly those from the past decade. I've not seen anyone refer to an Eduard kit as "sub par".

WM300 were quite rare which is odd they seem quite appropriate for the work. Most of the Dodges I've seen were the W series although cant say for sure what was under the hood. These trucks did have to be highway capable as well as roaming forest roads. Even back then it was not unusual for a truck to go to a fire at the other end of the state every year. I like I-6s (have a '52 GMC and '69 Land Cruiser) but they are not the happiest freeway cruisers. Or maybe just a general attitude of mo cylinders, mo betta regardless of actual numbers. All I know is most of the older US Forest Service Trucks I've seen have a V-8. Even now they tend to opt for the bigger engine option even in basic vehicles. All the Ford Rangers I've driven had the V-6 which is in my opinion way over powered for those little trucks, I actually find them a bit dangerous for the roads we drive. The USFS used to be a very decentralized organization, so the people on the ground had a lot more input than in most government organizations. If the user "needed" a V-8 they only had to convince their boss, a guy they actually saw on a regular basis, not some bean counter in DC. So for modeling a '56 use a '57 with a '55 hood and '57 emblem, or is it more complicated than that?

Eduard offers a lot of their aircraft kits in three levels: Weekend builds - plastic parts, no aftermarket, one decal option. Profi pack - includes the most popular aftermarket items made by Eduard for the kit (generally some PE parts and a few bits of resin) to add detail beyond the basic plastic kit level, plus 3 to 5 decal options. Royale - Pretty much all the aftermarket items made by Eduard for the kit and a load of decal options Royale kits are limited, not something offered for every kit they sell, most of their kits are available in either weekend or Profi packs. No reason this couldn't work with model cars, although the cheap skate reputation is a legitimate issue. Aircraft and armor builders seem to be much more willing to part with their money, and it shows in the kits offered to them.

That one is a '59. The hood emblem and what you can see of the fender badge is the giveaway. I don't think they are the same truck. The one you posted is not a Napco, but a standard 4000/6000 truck. The badge on this one that is below the model emblem is a V8 badge. Somewhat odd for a government vehicle. Why is that odd, was the V-8 a large expense for the time? These trucks carried 300 gallons of water and a crew of 5, plus a couple hundred pounds of tools. I would think weight was probably getting to be a bit of a load for the I-6 if you were in any kind of hurry to get somewhere. Fords were much more quite commonly used in the 40s than Chevys and they had V-8s. The later 1950s and 60s are much more evenly divided between Ford, Dodge and Chevy who all offered a V-8 by that point. Oddly GMCs are quite rare, maybe GM prefers to bid Chevrolet on government contracts? Also I was wrong, it is the 4400, in one photo it looked like it said NAPCO, but other photos it is clear that it is just the 4400 at the end of the side spear.

Those are neat, but I'd hate to try and back one. I have enough trouble with just one trailer. What is the point of the mud flaps in front of the tires? I notice they all have them.

I agree with Brandon, if you look closely you will find most Ford C fire engines have a fuel fill (or small door covering the fuel fill) right behind the rear wheel. This is a 1963 or 64 Ford C950 / Seagrave pumper You can see the fuel cap behind the rear wheel