Aaronw

I think that is the same blower I used. I mounted the blower on the back with a 1" spacer.

I should be able to get at it this weekend.

You mean the V shaped sander that slides into the dump bed? I have one around the corner from the station that has been put away for the season and is hanging from a rack all by itself if you need any details.

As far as being safe for plastic I put a part into my vat-o-Castrol Superclean to strip some paint and forget about it for six months. The plastic was unharmed and there was no trace of paint left.

The roads department at work has a Ford snow plow similar to the AMT kit. I took some photos today and posted them here. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45511&st=0&gopid=484151& I hope these will be of some help for you.

PTO and hydraulic pump

Sander and plow

Fuel tanks and other under cab detail

Snowplow similar to the AMT kit, I thought it might be useful for detail.

How much of the model has to be scratchbuilt to qualify for #3 vs #2, 50%, 75%, 100%? Depending on the answer I hit 3 or 4 or 4 of 4 based on subject and mood. I build a lot of vehicles with scratchbuilt bodies and kit cabs. Everything behind the cab was scratchbuilt. Windsheild back was scratchbuilt except for the wheels which are resin Most of the equipment in the bed was scratchbuilt, wheels and emergency lighting are resin.

Very nice and you have just confirmed for me that this method can work. I recently had a similar idea but using different sizes of plastic sheet to make the finned air cooled piston body of a small 2 stroke motor.

I've used Plaskit before, Daniels stuff is great. Unfortunately those wheels won't work. I'm need non-dually wheels and wheel style is wrong anyway (need plain steel wheels). Thanks though, I'm warming up to the idea of making my own.

Me too.

I saw Ryan's wheels and they do look good, but I don't think they are quite right for a 1950s truck in the 50s. They would probably be fine for a restored 1950s truck since many people replace the split rims with more modern wheels / tires (a big part of the reason I had trouble finding photos of the correct wheels). The Opel Blitz wheels are great for the wheels on 1 1/2 - 2 ton 1950s trucks (except for the lug pattern), but they are too large for a 1 ton (19.5", 20"?), and the wrong style. I did find a site that sells 1-1 reproduction vintage truck tires which will be very useful for tread patterns and dimensions. http://www.stausaonline.com/tire-site.html

Kind of what I thought, oh well guess I'll try making my own, how hard can it be. Thanks for confirming that they should basically look like the 3100's steel wheels.

Anyone know of a source for 1950s Chevy 1 ton 17x7.5 wheels? If there is nothing I'm thinking of making my own but I'm having a hard time finding decent photos of original wheels. I think they are just steel wheels like in the 1950 3100 1/2 ton kit, just a bit larger / wider with more lugs? (15" or 16" vs 17", 6" vs 7.5" and 5 lugs vs 8 lugs?) Thanks

You have to be careful which clay you use with resin casting, many of the modelling clays are incompatible with silicone and can cause it to do bad things, like not cure. I use Jolly King which the place I get my casting supplies from carries specifically for use with silicone. A 1 lb block costs around $5 and that is plenty of clay for most any project.

I ordered from them for the first time last month, I was quite happy with the service. Wish this sale was going on a bit longer so I could take advantage of it, but I just stocked up recently and don't really need anything.

I've got a paint shaker I really like, http://www.micromark.com/Paint-Shaker-110v-AC,6781.html if it is a paint that has been sitting a while I can toss it into the shaker for a minute while I work on something else. For really stubborn stuff I'll chuck an L or T shaped piece of sprue into my Dremel.

As far as I know the only difference between green and white Squadron putty is the color. You probably don't run into the problem because you use the putty correctly, building up the gap with styrene or other filler, and applying multiple thin layers, allowing each to cure before applying the next. It takes 15-20 minutes for a thin coat to cure, but back before I knew better I discovered a 1/4" blob of the stuff can take days to harden and who knows how long to fully cure. It can also eat through styrene if too much is used, discovered that by using Squadron putty to weight the nose of a plane when I was a kid. I use both types because the regular putty is so much handier for fixing small stuff, but the shrinking issue is real if you use it for the wrong job. The two part stuff is much better when you do want to slobber the putty on.

I printed out the instructions you posted so I could try building one for myself, but you didn't include the basic measurements for the block, pullys etc. Could I get you to list those? Thanks

I use the two Bondo putties. The shrinkage issue most people run into with single part putties is caused by using too much. It is only intended to fill minor gaps and scratches, not trenches. It also needs to be layered on, not done in one shot. Fill the scratch, let it cure, sand, then repeat as neccessary. If you are filling a larger area or doing a lot of reshaping the two part stuff is a much better way to go.

I use it all the time. There does seem to be some debate, but this is what works for me. Put down a good primer coat then let it cure for at least 24 hours. Put down color coats in light mist coats, a new coat every 5-15 minutes until you are happy with the coverage (I find 3-4 coats usually does it). I prefer the regular Krylon (indoor / outdoor) paint, but Fusion works too.

I don't think you could get $5000 for a 1-1 Brat, my wife bought one just before we got married (12 years ago) for $500. Cute truck, but it probably wasn't even worth $500, she gave it to one of her brothers when we moved to California because it had a bunch of problems and never would have made the trip.

I've never had an issue with Krylon, Rustolium, Plasticote, or Duplicolor primers. You definately want to prime the plastic though, you don't want to use these paints (other than the primer) direct on plastic. I've had good results with all 4 brands, but I prefer Krylon because it dries very fast, I can usually handle the parts in 10-15 minutes. I've had Rustolium still be tacky after 30-40 minutes. I've had really good luck with Tamiya, but with a can less than 1/2 the size, and twice the price I only use it for colors I can get otherways.