Aaronw

I imagine you are correct, it looks like the lower rear portion of the front fenders would have to be scratch built.

So obviously aimed at those who have already built the Moebius Prostar kit. How much effort would it take to build a basic Prostar without the aerodynamic fairings under the cab, just exposed fuel tanks. Is it as simple as leaving those parts off or are they fairly integral to building the kit.

Are you sensitive to the specific chemical used in the Testors red tube or it is a general chemical sensitivity? (BTW always thought the tube was orange ) Looks like Testors uses Toluene and mustard oil as the main ingredients. I primarily use Plastruct Bondene which uses Methylene Chloride and Methyl Acetate, some model glues are based on Methyl Ethyl Ketone. All model glues are likely going to include hazardous chemicals but maybe there is something out there that won't have the same kind of impact on your body.

Love the re-issues, still waiting on the IH 2476, 2575 and Paystar to re-appear on the shelves. Round 2 doesn't currently have much reason to bring out a modern trailer, they don't have any modern trucks to put in front of it. On the topic of new, I'd love to see a set of 28 foot bottom dump doubles, or a fuel truck pulling a 28 foot fuel trailer would be nice too, much more common around here than a semi with a 48 foot + tanker trailer. I've long thought they could get a lot of mileage out of a 2 or 3 axle tanker truck. With nothing more than a sprue of optional parts and a big decal sheet they could get a fuel truck, road construction or race track water truck, fire department water tender etc.

Slightly off topic, but seems like a lot of VW fans here. Any suggestions for an industrial VW engine? They were used for running pumps, generators, compressors and such until the 90s. I was thinking about using the Tamiya bug engine, although the new Revell kit seems to have a decent engine as well. I am assuming the engine you are all looking at is more of a performance engine, not a basic motor appropriate for pedestrian uses like powering a pump. I'm thinking about something like this (not looking to build this specific pump, but something similar).

Thanks for the explanations.

What is the point of the micro balloons? I have heard of people using it with a glue for a filler, but don't really understand the benefit over just using epoxy, thick CA alone or in place of a 2 part filler like bondo alone.

Yes, I got a pack of probably 100 plastic 2oz cups at a Hobbytown USA several years ago for $3.49. They go a long way because I can often pop the cured resin out and reuse the cup many times.

Epoxy is good for putting different materials together like metal or resin parts to plastic particularly when you want a little working time to line things up. Super glue can do most of the same job, but it usually sets up faster than epoxy which is not always helpful. I've never used it as a stand alone filler but do use it to fill gaps between parts.

Stick your arm on a copy machine and photo copy it. Copy the copy and adjust size for the model scale. Cut the paper down until it will fit on some painters low tack making tape and cut yourself a mask. You can either mask directly or put it on some decal film and paint it onto the film (which may be easier since it is flat). If you go with the second method you will end up with a decal you can put onto your model.

I prefer a laser, but the differences are not that big and an inkjet is a smaller investment and slightly smaller learning curve. Inkjet you need to give it some time to dry before coating or you make get some streaking / smudging, but the printing is straight forward. Laser you have to tinker with the settings to get a good print on the decal film, but it is a dry ink so less prone to mischief once you learn the setting combination that works for your printer.

Do blackberry bushes grow as vigorously on the south side of an abandoned junker as they do the north side?

No it was primarily regulation, in 1981-82 the US Dept. of Transportation issued specifications for ambulances under the standard KKK-1822. This spelled out payload requirements, warning devices, and minimum equipment carried among other things. The old professional car ambulances were for the most part unable to meet these standards and were phased out of use. Modern emergency medical services is quite young in the US. In 1966 a research paper was released, Accidental death and disability, the neglected disease of modern society, and it changed the way emergency services were run. One of the interesting points in the paper was that at that time 50% of ambulances in the US were operated by funeral homes. In 1966 the US DOT began to issue standards for medical training of ambulance personnel, basic standards for service, equipment etc. Amazingly enough the equipment hasn't changed all that much from the days of Emergency! except to get smaller, more efficient and more capable. The first portable defibrillators weighed more than 30lbs, a modern defibrillator weighs less than 15lbs. Many separate pieces of equipment are now combined. A large part of the bigger medium duty truck based ambulances is planned life expectancy. The life of an ambulance is hard. A light duty truck or van based ambulance in a busy system may be on a replacement cycle of 3-5 years. A medium duty in the same system may last 10-15 years. Twice the price with 3x the life, can make them more economical over a period of time. The large ambulances also have room for additional equipment, rescue or firefighting gear which make them useful where they may have multiple jobs such as a fire department run service. The van based ambulances are still rather common particularly in rural areas where their smaller size makes them better able to maneuver on narrow, poorly maintained roads.

Very nice work. Any idea what the deal with the drum is? That is a peculiar feature.

With that vintage of van, extending the wheelbase is optional. In the 70s ambulance regulation was pretty lax, if you could fit a gurney in the back you could call it an ambulance. Once you get into the 80s the rules started getting stricter which was a large part of the reason you saw the large station wagon style ambulances go away.

Many of these are available from Duplicolor. Krylon has both old and new Cat yellow as well as several other tractor colors (John Deere Green, Massy Red etc). You can find several brands of paint offering "equipment yellow" which is simply a licensing avoidance new Cat yellow. Fleetrite offers several engine colors. I have their Cummins Beige and International Blue, got them at an IH dealer. Kimball Midwest offers quite a few engine and equipment colors in their Ultra Pro-Max line of paint. They do a US Forest Service Green as well. I've seen some people recommend Tamiya Tan for Cummins beige, and British Interior Green is a decent match for DD Alpine Green particularly if you are going to get the engine dirty and oily anyway.

Agree on the radial engines. Not many left but I love working with the Neptunes, two 18 cylinder Wright 3350 radial engines each providing 3700 hp. The sound they make is felt almost as much as heard. Shot this in 2007 on the Zaca fire outside of Santa Barbara. Sadly this aircraft was lost with the crew about a year later.

Detroit Diesel 8V71, had one in the first engine I worked on. That is what a fire engine should sound like.

He also does an amusing variant of Public Enemy's Harder Than You Think.

A little different take on NWA's Straight out of Compton Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer The original song being covered violates many of the boards rules on language so you are on your own to find it.

Hmmm a hobby shop / deli...

Neat idea, and great weathering. I doubt many would think of a VW microbus as an apocalypse cruiser, but they are very simple and rugged vehicles. There is a local event known as the Shasta Snow Trip. It usually sees a couple dozen pre-1968 VWs driving 500 miles of mostly unpaved mountain roads through Northern California. They come right by my station and your van looks like it would fit right in.

That is great to hear those are Ben's wheels and tires. I ordered a set from him a few weeks ago for the water tender I'm building, they look even better on your truck than on his website.

That looks great, very nice job. Are those wheels from SSB? Seems like an odd detail to notice with all that truck to distract me, but those wheels really look good, and I could find a use for them where ever they came from. I have one minor quibble, you need to secure that water cooler. Maybe add a little strap to hold it in.

Great job on the jeep, the color is a nice choice too. I really liked this kit and look forward to the upcoming Raptor. Yes, it is a bit light on detail, but I think the quality is there for those who want to add their own details or to customize it. Out of the box it is a great slump breaker to help get over model builders block. I'm hoping Revell will come back to this one and give us a hard top or maybe a long wheelbase 4 door.