hooknladderno1

As many of you know, ALL of my builds are "works in progress". Combined with my self diagnosed "Modelers ADD" and curiosity to try new things, I got to thinking about a rescue ambulance that I always thought was really sharp looking. It was Medic 30, the Philadelphia Fire Department's Freightliner FL series extended cab rescue ambulance. Now, I do have one of Daniel Gallioux's excellent FL series resin cabs, but I wasn't quite ready to go cutting into a $100+ resin cab. So what's a modeler to do? Well, my local fire rescue unit has an International Durastar rig with a similar extended cab. Since no one offers such a cab in plastic, I took the Jada rollback and pirated the cab and chassis. Now, you are probably scratching your head, why would this idiot try to cut apart a diecast? Well, you probably answered your own question... But, if it were easy, everyone would do it! Several trips to the fire station found the unit out responding to calls - the nerve of them! Unable to find actual dimensions, I "eyeballed it". Actually, I laid down two layers of Dymo label tape, broke out my jewelers saw and went to town! Carefully checking my progress as I went along, the process went very smoothly! The cut surfaces were sanded to remove any sharp edges. The "extension area" was filled in with Evergreen strips glued in place with CA+ for the metal to styrene joints. Styrene to styrene received the usual Tamiya Extra Thin cement. The resulting cab looks like this: Here is a glimpse of the rig with an SSB Resins ambulance body placed atop the chassis for mockup: Let me know what you think! Thanks for looking. David

Caleb, It's a fun kit. The great thing is you can go as simple as you want OR detail the heck out of it! As with many snap kits, the sky is the limit. If you are looking for some 1/32 scale detail items, Don Mills Models has several including alternate wheels! Look forward to seeing your progress! Remember, if you can dream it, there was probably one in service somewhere that looked just like it! While purists will say "only real fire trucks are red", they actually run the colors of the rainbow. Here are two of mine:

George, Great job on the Oren! I really like the bodywork and the detail on the transition between the cab and hose body.. Look forward to seeing it in primer. David

Hey Matt, I think Meng will leave that up to the creative aftermarket suppliers. It does open up a ton of possibilities! David

Justin, Don't know how, but I missed this build. Looking great! Question - what color/brand red are you using? Nice work with the BMF and hand painting on the cab! Look forward to seeing the next update! David

Adam, As usual, I've been juggling several projects. Trying to get my 30 year old brush truck completed before the truck is retired. : ) Trying to do something creative with the pump panel on the tanker. Plan to do it so no one will say "Oh, that is from the ___ kit"... Unlike Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, my Mom never had me tested...

Aaron, I hear ya! Some day I would love to be able to invest in a lathe and mill - some day... David

I don't know if this qualifies as a pickup, but here it is: [url=http://s176.photobucket.com/user/hooknladderno1/media/Hummer%20Brush%20Unit/416-08.jpg.html][/] David

Hmmmmmm... I became interested in model building at around age 8. I was fascinated by fire trucks and police cars. We lived in a small town and every time the fire whistle would blow, we would run to see what was going on. There was just something cool about it! When I was in 4th grade, I had a teacher who was an avid modeler. He even formed an after school model club. I remember being summoned to his classroom one day after returning from lunch. I had gone home for lunch (we didn't have a cafeteria) and brought back some paint thinner in an empty prescription bottle. You guessed it - the thinner dissolved the bottle and the resulting odious goo looked like something out of "The Blob"! Needless to say, my first lesson in solvents! As time went on, I gathered a kit here and there. But, no one I knew built models. I didn't really have good skills. I became involved in Emergency Services (fire/EMS) in my teens. I again gathered kits, but none were quite like the apparatus that I rode on. The Internet did not yet exist and I wasn't aware of the different specialty groups around the world. My "engineering" skills were/are nill, so I immersed myself in the world of fire/EMS. One day I heard about the Fire Apparatus Model Builder's Association (FAMBA). I was hooked! I would drive three hours each way to attend meetings. I couldn't wait for the newsletter to arrive! Model Musters were frequent back then and a great opportunity to learn and share our work. I did find that my perfectionist tendencies often got in the way of actually completing models - a challenge that continues today! I have found that when I build fictitious models that they tend to get completed faster than 1:1 replicas. I do love the feeling that I get at FINALLY completing one. As many have shared, it definitely is my creative outlet. I can immerse myself in building for hours. I do appreciate models of all types, but emergency service models are near and dear to me heart. As most of what I build requires extensive modification, I have often shelved projects for lack of the skills or knowledge to successfully complete a model. Right now I am working on a project that has been over 30 years in the making. I have made good progress on it lately and hope to have it done soon. Fortunately, the truck is still in service. .. Sorry for rambling... David

Aaron, What machine did you finally get? David

Hey Gang, I have been a member here for a while. I have never had a problem posting photos until about six weeks ago. I use Photobucket, as I have for several years. My PC runs on Windows 7 Professional 64 bit(no change there either). I usually copy and paste the "IMG" code with no problem. Lately, I have pasted into the "Image" dialogue box. When I click "Ok", nothing happens. I watched the tutorials from 2012 which advises to use the "Direct" link file - same result... I have to back out of the reply, as the screen freezes. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! David

Anyone else having trouble with this address? I keep getting a "This page can not be displayed". David

Looks like my fire departments are gonna be getting some new rigs! Tons of possibilities between the long box, crew cab, 4x4, etc. Could make a regular cab, brush trucks, ambulances, rescues, Chief's vehicles... Need to start saving my pennies! David

Perhaps someone will offer the original "optional side panels" in resin. I would imagine that the cut outs for the side panels would be on the inside of the van body, unless they retooled it. Just a thought - "hint, hint, hint"... David

I must have gotten a Stylus with a bad battery. Charged and worked okay - once! Attempts to re-charge it, the tool lasted less than a minute. On a side note, when my corded Dremel died after 20 years, I did some research. and bought a Proxxon rotary tool. Only about $10-15 more, the quality, adjustability, quiet, and precision are unreal! The tool has no wobble when drilling. I also "asked for" the drill press, XY table, and vise for a Christmas present. I use it frequently. Just my 2 cents. David

Thanks Tom, The project has been on the "back burner" for a little bit. I actually have the Liquitex Ceramic Stucco, Vallejo Pumice, and regular gesso. I have been playing with all of them and am finding that each works well for different applications. I have applied some of the gesso to both the "block" surfaces to reproduce the irregular surface detail as well as to the mortar lines to fill in some of the definition of them. The prototype local building had much narrower mortar lines than the Magic Brik as shown above. David

Looking great Charlie! Do you have any close ups of the mesh? Looking for some for the intake grate on my Powerwagon project. David

Rick, You might want to try New Ray tankers. Although they are 1/32 scale, they come in both round and elliptical shapes. The ends can be removed and the tank length shortened. They are reasonably priced, and you can get two tanks out of one. They also make pup tanks in case you don't want to cut, etc. Look forward to seeing what you come up with. Here is one of my projects "In Progress" David

Charlie, She looks great! I look forward to seeing how you tackle the tapered cylindrical bodywork on the sides of the cab. I see the ingenious use of boxing in the full diameter tubing on the sides of the truck body. I have thought about doing some of the 1960's Cadillac ambulances that no squad ran "back in the day", but replicating this detail has eluded me. David

Looks good! What shade of red did you use and where did you get it? I had some custom mixed Ford Bright Red for a couple of early '90's projects (Bronco and pickup), but need to get more... David

Hi Eric, Any update on the Granite project? Also, what kit do you recommend as the donor for your KW T-800 kit? Thanks in advance! David

The details really make this! The tree, antlers, weathering, color scheme, and mix of wood and metal (nature vs. man made) are all really cool. Great job! David

Wow, that is SHARP!!! David

JT, Awesome build! Super clean and great execution! Great paint, especially the fade! Can't wait to see what will be next on your workbench? David

Jeff, The "magazine that can't be mentioned" once ran a tutorial on building one of these. I don't recall what issue it was, but it was pretty cool. Wish I could put my hands on it just for reference... Anybody have it handy? David