Aaronw

You could probably make the Dodge work if you are just looking for a frame and some misc parts, but it was a much lighter weight truck than a 60 series Federal. The wheels are probably undersized, it does not have air brakes and has a Dodge V-8 which is nothing like an engine you would have found in a Federal. There really isn't a proper engine available for the Federal, but most used a large inline 6 cylinder engine from Hercules, Continental or Waukesha.

Nice looking rig! I like the look of fire apparatus built on heavy commercial trucks.

This is very cool, the worm drive axle that I thought the part was looks nothing like the one you are building. I must have seen an aftermarket axle for a regular Model T truck to mistake it with whatever it is on the sprue. Thank you for taking the time to build a second wormdrive, I now have another future project as time permits.

There isn't much out there that will be a great donor. The Federal is a heavy truck from the 1940-50s, and pretty much everything we have as a kit is 1970s and later. The Diamond Reo is probably as good as anything being one of the older trucks available, and readily available on the shelves right now since it was recently reissued. It also has a Cummins diesel. While not the right type for a truck as old as the Federal, the Cummins 855 has been around a long time so you could probably back date the kit engine into something appropriate, or just call it a later re-power.

SICARD with all the modifications you are doing I have to wonder if it wouldn't have been cheaper and easier just to start with an AMT 1960 Chevrolet pickup kit. Vince are you looking for the Ford N which is very similar to the GMC B? Motor City Resin Casters has a very nice Ford N600 cab. I got one recently, it is very nice and arrived in a reasonable time frame (about 4 weeks as I recall). http://www.motorcityresincasters.com/63n600.htm

So will you be changing your moniker to Quincy? Out of curiosity how is an investigator for the Coroners office different from a Homicide detective? Just cause of death and pass it along to the police if potentially a criminal act?

So I've run across an odd one. Apparently the Vancouver, WA fire department ran several Ford C super pumpers powered by a "350 horse power Detroit". The only Detroit Diesel I know of being offered in the C cab is the 8.2 liter "fuel pincher" from the 1980s and there is no way you are getting 350 hp from that for long (170-230 hp was standard for the 8.2). A CAT 3208 wouldn't provide 350hp either even assuming the author got the Detroit part wrong. All I can think of is a custom job installing an 8V71, but I'm not sure how they would have fit that in there. That is a lot more engine than anything offered in the C, even bigger than the Ford Superduty big blocks. Anyone else have any ideas or know of similar high powered C cabs?

Arnd, the Cat came from a Revell snap kit. Both the Peterbilt and Kenworth kits have it. Pretty nice detail, not what you expect to see when you hear snap-tite. The tank has been my hold up, but I think I've got that figured out now... the heat and squish wasn't working for me, I guess PVC can handle 212 degree water just fine because it barely softened at all. On to plan B.

That will look really nice with a matching tractor. I'm not familiar with that trailer, with 6 axles it must be a beast of a trailer.

I don't know of a late model Dodge, but I'd look at diecast for possibilities. While it isn't a Dodge you might be interested in SSB resins Ford F350 LA County Squad. http://ssbresins.com/

I've dealt with the carpet monster and the bouncy tile corner creeper. I can't say one has a clear advantage over the other, although a nice low nap carpet definitely beats shag and has less bounce than tile. Carpet tends to hide bits, but they will be close to the LZ, tile is nice and flat making hiding seem unlikely but parts can get some serious travel from the bounce and still have a way of finding corners, table legs, under the refrigerator (I had tile in a kitchen based work table) to seek cover.

Vague, uncertain, indefinite, nonspecific, indistinct, ill-defined. Sorry not familiar with "The detailer" but sounds like it might be a prepackaged paint wash?

I expect the two kits would not match up well. I was hoping to use the AMT Louisville with the Italeri LTL to make a daycab LTL. There was probably a 3/16" gap where the hood would meet the cab. Plaskit's LS / LTS hood is very nice as is everything I have bought from him.

I've noticed there is a chrome piece in the kit that looks like a worm drive for the rear axle. I'm not sure that is what it is, but it isn't used and based on photos I've seen of the heavy duty Ts it looks the part.

I've seen several with people getting stuff 3d printed and a lot of debates for how the technology will change the hobby, but haven't noticed any specifically talking about the process itself. I'll take a look around though, if it is already being talked about that works for me. Thanks Joseph, like DIY decals, and resin casting this seems like a really neat additional skill to develop.

Based on notes I have from old brochures, yes, the 8V71 was available in some models of the Ford L series.

Lowering and an engine swap is not so bad, I thought I remembered more external changes being necessary. Thanks

For the lights I went with track lights and LED bulbs. The track lights are easy to install and you can move the lights around on the track. I've got 16 feet of track and 12 fixtures, about 1/2 spots and 1/2 flood, when I want more light I can move them all right over my desk and I have enough lighting to film a major motion picture on my bench. The LEDs are not cheap, but they are supposed to last 20+ years, they are instant on vs a couple of minutes for full brightness with CFLs. They are even lower wattage and have practically no heat. I have the equivalent of nearly 800 watts over my bench, but draw less than 100 watts. If these were all incandescent lights I would roast like a rotisserie chicken. I also bought a set of LED under cabinet lights which I put under the bench. They are great when I drop a small part on the floor.

So this definitely seems to be an up and coming technology useful to modelers. I know there are a few out there who are using this technology to prototype parts for resin casting. I've been playing with the 3d design program Sketchup, and am getting the hang of it. have managed to draw up some tires, and some misc parts. I was hoping perhaps some who have made that next step might be willing to start a discussion here to help people like me make that next step to actually getting a part printed. I am aware of Shapeways, but believe there are others out there who will take on print work from a 3d drawing. Any and all tips, pitfalls, encouragement or even well meaning discouragement welcome. A start to finish description of your experience getting a part printed would be very welcome. Thanks

I know I've seen this discussed before, but I am failing on a forum search so it must have been sometime ago. Apparently there are some issues with the AMT Dodge Little Red Express kit as it comes from the box. I picked up several of these back when they were $7 at Walmart, for general Dodge truck projects, but will probably do one as a LRE. If I can at least get the big issues I can stick a note in the box to help me out when I finally get to it. I'm sure I'm not the only one that could use the information as it is just a matter of time before Round 2 re-pops this one.

Coker tires is a pretty neat resource for model cars too. It can be a useful site to see what you might have found on a car of a particular vintage, particularly if you are trying to go factory stock on a kit that doesn't offer that option out of the box. My only complaint is I wish they gave a better run down on the approximate dates and uses for their tires, they appear to assume the buyer knows what they need. As far as the licensing I don't think you can really compare the licensing of a $500 tire with a $25 plastic model. From my understanding they don't change the cost just because it is an inexpensive product, so Coker might pay for the licensing fees with a dozen tires, where Revell might have to sell several hundred kits to do the same. Model cars also have the potential to include multiple licensing fees, one to the manufacturer (Ford, GM etc), one to the custom rim maker, aftermarket speed parts etc, maybe even two sets of tires, the stock Firestone tires and the Goodyear performance tires. It sure would be nice if the 1-1 manufacturers saw it as free advertising, but unfortunately most don't.

I like this, very clean job. Now I think I need to go get some ice cream.

Try Fireball Model Works http://www.fireballmodels.info/custom_pricing.htm The owner posts here as Chief Joseph. I've never used him for custom decals but I have quite a few sets of his aircraft decals and they are well done, I imagine his custom work would be of similar quality.

I've actually got a couple of model tanks that could be used, but I've got a couple of potential projects in mind and really want to figure out a way to fabricate my own tanks. I've got a couple of idea floating around my head based on this aluminum. Robert, possibly, but it is already pretty flexible so I don't think that is going to be much of an issue.

I don't think so, really thin styrene would be flimsy, something stout enough to hold up won't flex that well without some heat. The aluminum flashing is very bendable, but stiffer than thin styrene. I've had some good luck shaping brass and aluminum in the past, but nothing on quite so large a scale. It was $13 for 10 feet, so not much of a risk and I can always use it for doing repairs on my house. I've got a few ideas for shaping it, will have to see how it works out. No harm in asking the question, it was a fair suggestion. This is all experimentation at this point, ideas are always welcome.