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Many thanks to Scale Trucker who helped me out with the Paystar front bumper! Now to decide which upright components of the bumper will stay, and which will be removed... I fabbed up a piece of diamond plate to span the gap from the front of the truck to the inside of the bumper. I would like to either retain the outer uprights and/or convert them into vertical corner markers(not sure what the correct term for them is) on the front bumper. I also fabbed up a prototypical radiator guard for the front of most vocational Mack conventionals. Interested to hear your thoughts... Thanks for looking! David Note - Everything is just mocked up with Blue Tac for demo purposes.

Sam, Will you be keeping the green, or changing the color(s)? David

As a suggestion for the future, if you are trying to achieve that effect again, place some bare metal foil down first. Then apply your paint. Once fully dry, go back with a solvent for that type of paint and carefully remove the layer of paint. I will add pictures to show what I mean when I get home from work. David

No, Charlie I didn't. In the past when spraying Krylon Black as an undercoat for Alclad I didn't, and had no problems. A HUGE reminder to remember the BASICS... David

#OneStepForwardTwoStepsBack,#BeenThereDoneThat... Actually, I have never used hashtags before. I am SOOOO frustrated!!! While applying a gloss gray Krylon undercoat for my Alclad, I got a very uneven finish. Don't know if the surfaces weren't clean enough, bad can of paint, or operator error... Shook the heck out of the can to make sure it was mixed. Not looking for reasons why. Needless to say, the offending parts are now in the Purple Pond. I know that all the trim pieces will need to be re-applied and puttied, lots of repainting and masking... So much for having it done for an upcoming show... Stuff happens. I know we've all been there... David

Tamiya Fine White Surface primer is my "go to". As it has worked for me, I haven't tried the other methods. David

JT, Another AWESOME build! Your build is clean, your paint is flawless! You are an inspiration! David

I too have yet to get one. Still trying to recover from being out of work for 8 months... My fictitious fire dept. can always use another ambulance, brush truck, support vehicle or AARF RIV for the airport! When I do get a little "disposable income", Both the Meng kit AND Danny's wheels/tires will be on my shopping list! David

Nice! Only thing missing is some Alka-Seltzer for Santa's indigestion after all that milk and cookies... Great concept and execution! David

Great job! I had an '88 Bronco - was the best vehicle I ever owned. Bought new, only had to let it go as we started a family. Tought trying to lift a car seat out of the back!. The '88 didn't have the passenger seat that slid forward. Did a similar conversion with a '92, but put it away when I got Pinecrest Scale Models resin Broncos. Really nice! David

Danny, Your side view photo just screams "cut me down to a regular cab and build an ambulance body to place on the back"! A perfect type l ambulance or fire rescue support vehicle! Photo credits to the original photographers. David

Hi Guys, Another small update. Slowly painting panels and parts and mocking things up together. Decided for a little different look for the wheels. Stripped off the chrome on the caps, and painted them Vallejo "Dark Blue". This is almost an identical match for the color that the striping and graphics will be on the truck. Brings a little variety into the look as well. While viewing the ladder rack of the kit, it looked too generic and bland. In an effort to dress it up a little, I took the following steps: The open areas around the aluminum tubing will be filled in. The rectangular areas at the top of the ladder rack appear to be a storage compartment for a folding attic ladder. I plan to wrap this with diamond plate. Thanks for looking! David

Brandon, Don't know how I missed this on your initial post. Wow! Love your engineering on this! Very clean building style. I like the top mount operator's panel. What did you use for your gauge bezels? Any updates? Thanks for sharing! David

Hey Guys - Work continues! A little update. Attempted to scratch build an extended front bumper without much success. Hoping someone can find one in their spares box that they might be able to donate...(Please, please, please) I also made a radiator guard. I began putting diamond plate on the compartment tops, mocked up the hydraulic port-a-tank mechanisms and holder. The tank holder and "ladder board" will most likely be remade. Still kicking around ideas for the pump panel... Lots more to do! Thanks for looking! David

Bruce, Sorry for your loss. This is a great tribute! This Mack kit is basic, but can be detailed to the moon if desired. As Charlie and Jim suggested, some great tips! Over at "The Scale Firehouse", there are many great tips as well. I believe at the top of the "Tutorials" section is a "Correcting the Kits" area that lists members suggestions for correcting the majority of fire kits on the market(past and present). - Here is a "what if" in progress. The original company was disbanded in the early 1980's. David

Adam - Fantastic job! Great creativity AND execution! I plan on getting a Meng F350, shortening it to a regular cab, and making it into a Type l ambulance. David

David, I have added Simple Green to Future as mentioned on Swanny's Models website. It did a nice job! As with anything, practice on some scrap just to get a feel for how it handles... David

Hi Gang, Thinking of a few ideas for vignettes and full blown dioramas. As a former firefighter, many of these revolve around smoke and fire. A firefighter on a ladder rescuing a small child perched at a second floor window, a helicopter or plane dropping a load of water or retardant on a forest fire... Also a helicopter hovering over a lake while refilling it's tank. I have seen a few great examples of smoke and flames, but scoured Youtube without finding much in the way of "how to". Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. David

I love Unimogs! I have a few of the Revell of Germany ones, but wish to build this: I purchased two 1/24 scale Schuco diecast as the basis for these. They were offered by American LaFrance several years ago, but don't know how many - if any were ever sold.I may do one as the "concept" vehicle above, and one in my fictional fire department's livery. David

I am appreciative of Dave's 386, but wish he would have made vacuum formed headlights... The BMF and Tamiya clears just don't do it justice... I do not say this to offend, as my talent is no where near Tim and Dave's. David

David, Here are some great articles and a video for you: Soldering Brass for Modeling http://scalefirehouse.com/sfh_brd/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2912 Frames http://scalefirehouse.com/sfh_brd/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6637 Springs http://scalefirehouse.com/sfh_brd/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4473 Great Video Hope this helps! David

Does anyone cast/sell these? Appreciate any leads. Thanks! David

Although they're "pre-motorized", I think they would still be considered "trucks". The elusive Revell American Firefighters Series horse drawn ladder truck and water tower. Neat little kits for their day. David

Hi Gang, I have long thought about adding water streams to one of my fire apparatus displays. I have viewed many videos on Youtube about modeling water, but have never seen anyone "shape" a stream of water as pumped through a fire hose or monitor. Here are a few photos of what I mean: Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance. David

Ken, Seeing your thread for the first time. While no expert, I can offer a few suggestions. As far as removing the oxidation on the larger portions of the body, larger hobby sanding sticks or nail files can help. Switch to finer grades as the oxidation is removed. Once clean, wash with a degreaser and rinse well. Dry immediately to prevent further oxidation. I don't know if you have "self etching primers" available in the UK. Application of one as soon as possible after the above step would be ideal. This primer actually binds itself to the metal for excellent paint adhesion. Depending upon your desired color(s) use either Tamiya Fine Surface Primer or automotive primer. As for filling gaps, you can use epoxy putty or my new favorite - "Perfect Plastic Putty". If the gap is large, back the area with some thin styrene super glued in place. If you have any other questions, PM me. HTH. David