hooknladderno1

Mike, Don't give up - you've done a great job! Don't know exactly what fit problems you are having, but you could use some thin Evergreen strip to "shim", or Tamiya tape to hold things together to correct them. I noticed that you had a regular nib Sharpie. I don't know if an ultra fine nib would allow you to get "all the way into the groove" as you mentioned earlier. Just a thought... David

Can one of you PM me with who is selling the decals? I am working on a '79 Power Wagon that my fire department used to run. All I need are the "Power Wagon" scripts. While these say "150". ours was a "200". Thanks! David

Great job Mike! I really like the '23 Model T kits. I am working on a few converted into ambulances. I really enjoyed following your step by step photos! Excellent weathering! David

For those doing an AC Bulldog, Dave Natale at AITM offers a great set of spoked wheels to build a little different looking Mack. It's not on their catalog, but looks really sharp! David

Wayne, Great suggestion! I'll have to give that a try! Thanks! David

Dan, Fantastic project! Coming along great! Look forward to seeing the paint scheme! David

Why not have fun with it! Let your imagination take you where you want to go with it! Another option would be a fire department tanker/tender or heavy rescue truck. The massive hood and fenders lend a "workhorse" type look which would be pretty cool! I have one in my stash and plan to make it into a fire service tanker David

For the Ford grille, I like model master "anthracite gray metallic". You can use a semi-gloss or flat over it to dull the finish if desired. Here is a photo: David

My new favorite putty is Perfect Plastic Putty by Deluxe Materials. It is a very fine grained white putty which is unique in that it is NOT solvent based! What does that mean - no damage to surrounding plastic, loss of fine details, no noxious odors, and it dries quickly. It sands like a dream! A great feature is that because it it water soluble, as it sets up, you can smooth it with a finger dipped in water. There are some great video reviews on Youtube. Google Perfect Plastic Putty and you will find nothing but positive reviews. I have no interest in this product or company other than being a happy customer. A 40 ml tube costs $7-8.00. Any hobby shop that deals with distributor Horizon Hobby can get it for you. Check it out! David

Thanks for the kind words! Greg, I used non-acetone nail polish remover on a Q-tip. Work slowly and patiently and it usually works well. Interesting note, the wheels are plastic. I tried several substances including the nail polish remover, and non was able to remove the tampo printing on the wheels. We had both a 1922 and 1927 American LaFrances. Both were delivered with very plain wheels. Later photos of the '27 show it with silver painted rims. As I was unable to remove the wheels, I mixed up a color as close to the body color and just painted over the"gold leaf" on the wheels. Here are a few updated photos after removing the fill pipe, rear angle irons, and painting the wheels... *Note - the top hard suction hose will be glued down, as well as having leather straps fabricated to resemble the original truck. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking! David

As an ongoing project of trying to reproduce my hometown's fire apparatus in miniature, I wanted to do our 1927 American LaFrance pumper. Only a few photographs exist of the original truck I began with a Yat Ming 1/24 diecast. I began by removing the tampo printed "gold leaf" lettering that the vehicle came with. This was replaced with more appropriate custom designed "gold leaf lettering and numbers... Chromed fittings and nozzles were repainted a more realistic brass color. Hose was washed with a brownish/yellow. The technique was applied a little too heavily and will be removed and re-applied more subtly... The fill tube just behind the tank will also be removed, as well as some of the "gold leaf" embellishment on the rig, as it did not exist on the 1:1 truck. I may also paint the rims to more closely resemble the real truck. Still lots more work to do! Thanks for looking! David

Martin, First off, thanks for the instructions! They will be printed out and put with the kit! Got a "few" projects to finish up first... Making GREAT progress! Great job on the body conversion! David

You might want to check out Dr. Cranky's Youtube channel. He is the king of all things rust! Good luck! David

Casey, I'm not a big fan of beadlocks, so I sanded them flat. I plan to cover the sanded area of them with Bare Metal Foil. They will go on my fire-rescue version of the Rubicon. It will feature some unique modifications. Look for it soon in the "On the Workbench" section. David

Thanks Martin!

Cary, Did you order directly from CTM's, or a distributor? Curious the best way to order from them from the US? Thanks! David

Anyone have a copy of the directions? I purchased a 1970 1/20 MPC ambulance version a while back, but the directions were so deteriorated, they kept falling apart any time they were handled. Any help would be appreciated! I would like to build my Squad's rig. Thanks! David

Hi Gang, Though I don't have any photos, my father-in-law took some peg boa4d and wood and made me a simple yet very effective storage system for my Evergreen strip,rod and tube stock. The peg board was rectangular, about 3' x 5'. He got "fancy" and routed a groove for the peg board to sit in and rounded over the outside edges. I used peg board hangers from the hardware store and organized the stock by size such 0.010, 0.015, 0.020, etc... Sadly they were mounted to the wall and we left them for the folks that bought the house when we moved. David

Has anyone else used Simple Green in their Future? Though I used it several years ago, I don't recall the Future to Simple Green ratio. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! David

Good eye Chuck! Yes, it's the original dark green release WITH Satco tires. As with many of my projects - it needs to be finished... Here is a mock up of another one that I added side moldings to: David

Good eye Chuck! Yes, it's the original dark green release WITH Satco tires. As with many of my projects - it needs to be finished... Here is a mock up of another one that I added side moldings to: David

Very sharp Chuck! The Expedition kits build up nicely and leave room for lots of detailing. Here is one I've been working on intermitently for a while... Hope to finish her up one of these days... David

I had pondered a similar question to replicate my first fire company's GMC carryall. I though about this diecast to use with the resin body that I bought a few years ago(R&R?). Didn't know if it would fit/work... David

Hi Gang, Just received this Crown Premiums 1/24 scale diecast 1950 Ford Stepvan to replicate my hometown's original "Emergency Unit". As you can see, the diecast has 2 sets of horizontal raised bars that need to be removed. Any suggestions on how to do so without damaging the surrounding areas? Thanks! David

Jon, It depends on what era you're looking for. In addition to the excellent sources mentioned above, Daniel at Plaskit, Jamie from SSB Resins, and Howard at Kit Form Services offer excellent types of emergency lights. I don't know if Dave Panek is still making custom lights, but his are also EXCELLENT! You can reach Dave at wcltdnut@yahoo.com. Good luck! David