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Kevin, This is awesome! My squad ran Caddy's from the '30's until the early '80's. I joined in '79, having the pleasure of riding in two of them. I have a few of the Johan ambulances. I have long wanted to build a few of them to represent my squad's rigs. I have thought of doing their '76 using a Modelhaus Coupe de Ville. Your technique looks like it would be adaptable for such a project. I dreaded the thought of having to buy twoModelhus bodies to do this... Any thoughts on the feasability of something like this? I appreciate any feedback, as I am "engineeringly challenged". Thanks

Here is what the embossing powder looks like once applied. On this particular project, I was trying to match an interior on a 1:1 vehicle. The craft store where I bought my embossing powder had only a few colors. So, what is a determined modeler to do - but buy the white and make it work . The seats had already been airbrushed with Tamiya flat blue. I applied Elmers glue with a microbrush, and allowed it to set for just a minute. I then sprinkled the embossing powder over the surface making sure to cover it from all angles. I then set it aside to dry. Once dry, lightly brush away any loose powder. Any extra was returned to the container. The next day, the seat was airbrushed with more of the Tamily flat blue. The airbrush nicely applies the paint without damaging the surface. I guess rattle can paint would work as well. Hope this helps to show the results. You could go crazy if you want, shadowing and highlighting with various shades of the base color. David

Hi Guys, Unfortunately, I was unable to make the NNL East. But, I did see in one of the photo albums on-line that Dave is offering a back dating kit for the Monogram Mack AC Bulldog kit. It includes a set of wooden (style) spoke wheels(YES!!!) a new engine cover and cowl, and an optional chain gear protector. It is not on their site as of a few days ago, but I can't wait to order some. Have three of those kits waiting for be made into fire apparatus...

Looks good Chuck. It is hard to tell from the photo if the lines are correct. I don't mean to be critical, but having been the owner of an '88 Bronco and my fire department had a '92, I am used to seeing them. Pinecrest Scale Models(long out of business) made some great resin Broncos. Here is one of their later versions that I am working on: Back in the day, I believe that they ran around $40 for the kit which included body, interior bucket, seats, chassis plate, and 4x4 suspension. Don't know what ever became of the molds. The owner was a nice guy to do business with... David

Donovan, I can vouch for the quality of Ben's two hole Budds. I have a set that I am using on a project right now! Man are they SWEET!

Ben and Jamie - one word "AWESOME!!!"

Dave M. - Fantastic save! Great work and many thanks for your commitment and follow through! Dave C. - Put me in for a pre-order! I can just see my fire department's next tanker! Thanks guys!

Leo, Love the 377AE daycab and the cut down tanker! 1. Any tips on how you did the daycab? 2. Is the tank a cut down R of G Beal, or a New Ray 1/32 elliptical? With a little compartmentation, You've got yourself a fine fire tanker! Maybe for the Blue Ridge Fire Dept? Either way, GREAT JOB!!!

Josh, This is brilliant! I have a "home-raised" Snap-Fast Chevy duallie that I combined the prior to the kit being released. I was thinking about building a 4x4 version of a brush truck based on the SS454 cab and a long bed chassis. Now, I may just have to "borrow" your idea. Obviously, I will have to lengthen the Tahoe chassis. What a great idea.!!!

I have seen some great build ups of this kit here. I have two of these kits that I want to eventually convert into fire service tankers. I do have the SAE article from several years ago that lists the suggestions. Any feedback on how they are to build, or any tips? All comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Edward, Decanting also allows you to use the airbrush to control the amount and pressure at which the paint is applied. Especially if you have fine detail or a multi-color paint scheme. I have done this several times with Tamiya synthetic lacquers without a problem. I believe that they actually have a tutorial on thier website. They recommend a little longer gassing out period, but as others on the board can attest to, it is not really necessary... HTH.

Here is an Oshkosh P-19 ARFF that I have begun. The original photo credit goes to Chuck Madderom. My version will be in 1/25 scale. It will be 100% scratchbuilt. I am struggling with the tires/treads/wheels to get them accurate. Will post progress in a separate thread as the project proceeds...

A possible technique for lining them up may be to take a small piece of Dymo label tape, and remove the backing. This will expose the tenacious adhesive. Place the adhesive on your forehead or other oily part of your body to remove/reduce the adhesion(to avoid pulling off the paint). Lay the Dymo tape just under where you want to place the script or transfer. Finally, take a pair of fine pointed tweezers to place the transfer. Remove the Dymno labe tape and Voila! If by chance there is any oily residue from your skin, use a mild soap and water to remove. This technique works great for making new panel or door lines, or other straight lines on unpainted surfaces(minus removing the tape). Here is an example HTH.

Sadly, I have a similar situation where I bought a unique resin piece that no one else had cast. The caster pre-primed it and promptly went out of business just after it arrived. So, I have a sticky, oily $70.00 cab just sitting in the closet. I bought the MEK that AaronW spoke of, but never seem to get around to trying it... Maybe one of these days.

Anyone know what year the Lowrider represents? Looking to do a conversion of a 76 Cadillac ambulance and can't see buying two Modelhaus resin Caddy's only to cut them up... Thanks.

Dave, What else can I say that is Positive that hasn't already been said? Thank you to you and your colleagues for believing in the truck market today! I see at least one new tanker on my fire department's roster. Perhaps two - a straight tanker AND a tractor drawn(pulling a Revell Beal Chrome tanker) .

Hi Casey, This posting was not meant to be "the be all/end all" method, but for those looking for a solution, in the right situation it might be helpful... Seemed like a creative solution...

Rick, There are as many different ways to fill seams and scratches as there are modelers. Prevention is the first step. If you know that you are scribing panel lines, use some of the old Dymo label tape. It is a hard, thick plastic tape with an adhesive backing. It will conform to curved surfaces. I also like to lay down a few layers of painter's masking tape to protect the surface. Enough about prevention. I prefer Evercoat two-partpolyester glazing putty. One can will last you a lifetime of modeling. It is available at any local auto body supply store, or on the Internet. One Internet supplier is TCP Global. As far as seam filling, two suggestions. Sand the pieces flat where they will mate together. Apply Tamiya Extra Thin cement. This is a thin solvent type glue. Squeeze the parts together, and/or apply a rubber band to hold them. The plastic should ooze slightly at the join line. Once dry, you can lightly sand to avoid having a seam to fill in the first place. Hope this helps. David

Majel, If you have some 91% rubbing alcohol around the house, simply apply some to a Q-tip, drain off the excess and gently rub it away. Use a swirling motion and keep a clean edge. It should come off without a problem. It should not dull your shine at all. I like to dip my "glass" in Future anyway. This will provide a uniform shine to your "glass" as well as make it appear thinner and hide any minor scratches. Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

Nick, Could you do a tutorial on the embossing powder? I know that many of us would REALLY appreciate it! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE?????

After some turns the blade is not more to see and the tire is cut in two pieces. With the number of sheets, 0,5 mm, 1,0 mm or 1,5 mm you can decide the high of the cut. Now the large tire half is 7 mm thick and thin half is 4 mm thick, together 11 mm. The slowly the cut the better and cleaner is the cut surface. It works only with this rubber sort to glue the two tire half’s with the Revell cement. A little cement on both tire half, press together and ready. Please use a rim to find the right position of the surface. And now the tire has the double wide, exactly 14 mm. For this new tire we need also a wider rim, it means we have to make a small extra ring for rim. 14 mm wide and the cut is not to see. Perfect tires for the all front axles. And now you should test it by yourself ! be careful ! Klaus

Hi Guys, There has been some discussion about performing "tire surgery" in the "Resin" section. It made me think of this great tutorial posted by master German modeler Klaus over on another site. His work makes scratchbuilding look easy! His techniques provide simple ways for anyone to do this "surgery". Below is his tutorial on narrowing and then rejoining a tire to fit your needs. Hope this is helpful to you. David by truckin24 on Fri May 28, 2010 3:31 pm Hello modellers, Are you interested to see how you can build wide tires by yourself ? O.K. let’s go. I try to explain with my simple words how you can do it. First of all we need a very sharp tool. A razor blade ! Well known the Wilkinson blades. The Diecast truck models made by Revell were produced more than 15 years ago and for all truck modellers well known. Down in my basement I found two of these old models and I thought to myself I change the tires. The diameters of these tires are the same as the tires in the Italeri kits. Years ago Italeri has replaced the terrible plastic shells through new rubber tires. The tread pattern of the these tires has a fine structure and is fitted for the wheels on front axles. Solid rubber, 11 mm wide, diameter 43,5 mm. Made in China and shall get the double wide. What we need is a special tool. It’s impossible the drill or to mill the tire. At first we need three sheets made of PS, two sheets are 1,5 mm thick and one is 1,0 mm thick. The size of the three sheets is 40 x 60 mm. We glue together these three sheets and we get a plate with a thickness of 4 mm. As next we put a piece of a double faced adhesive tape on this plate, see photo. Very careful we put down the razor blade on the tape and press it a little. With a PS-sheet we cover the blade. Be careful you have only two thumbs and the most of us still eight fingers. And now the tool is finished. Slowly and under lightly pressure we turn the tool around the tire and the cut will be deeper and deeper.

While I personally do not do a lot of resin casting, I do know that many of the major casters out there use the Smooth On products. They have nothing but nice things to say about it. Really depends upon how much you plan on using. Sorry that I don't have more specific information for you...

Nice job! This kit is the basis of many great conversions with a little time and detailing(don't ask me how I know).

I know what you mean! I call it "Modeler's ADD". I have more than 30 different projects in various states of construction. Most are replicas of 1:1 vehicles. I find that I tend to actually finish the fictitious ones as no one knows the difference. I model mostly emergency vehicles, and I feel that the details "Have to be right". I started building about 30 years ago, and at the time my desires far outweighed my skills. I often would research and begin a project then put it aside when I realized that I just did not have the ability to accomplish what I had set out to do. Over time, I began new projects as well as building my skill set. As time went on, my availability to find time at the bench has decreased. Working two physically and emotionally draining jobs, a wife and family, home, etc. leave little time for modeling right now. I have committed to finishing some of these projects, and am making progress! I would follow the advice that Lucas and Bob posted above. Clear off your workspace. Make up a punch list of items/steps. Then - Git ur done! Look forward to following your progress.