Chariots of Fire Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 I built this model starting with photos and measurements back in 2000. Finished it up 2-1/2 years later. Amazing part of this build is that all of the original gold leaf that was done by Seagrave in 1937 was still intact. So I photographed it, scanned it to the computer, cleaned up the details and printed them out on clear decal film. So the lettering and gold leaf designs you see are as they were more than 75 years ago. Tractor has a brass hood and cab doors. The windshield frames, tiller tub and front bumper are also brass. Fenders are carved from plastic porch railing stock. Rest of the tractor is plastic. Trailer is all plastic stock. Ground ladders are basswood. Tires and wheels are from an AMT ALF kit. Headlights are from a Ford Vicky kit but with the lenses turned backward so they would be flat faced. The grill is aluminum wire surrounded by the "sweetheart" portion trimmed in bare metal foil. The engine is scratch built following the V-12 that was in the actual truck and from photos in Matthew Lee's book of Seagrave history.
Chariots of Fire Posted June 19, 2015 Author Posted June 19, 2015 Here are the photos of the engine. Not enough room in the first post. This one shows the engine installed in the tractor. At first I thought it was too small but with the radiator in place and the hood on the engine compartment got filled up real fast. The engine from the left side. It has dual ignition with two distributors and wiring for 24 spark plugs; two per cylinder. Engine from the right side. Those heat shields above the spark plugs help dissipate heat from the exhaust manifolds that are between the carbs and plugs.
Petetrucker07 Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 WOW! Absolutely amazing work. You have some serious skills man. You have the Fire thing down!
towman1271 Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Speechless!!!! That's scratch building at its highest level.
olsbooks Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 I think some of us glue bombers just got taken out to the woodshed.... Got to be one of the best ever seen. Outstanding! Peace
truckabilly Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 My chin dropped down and I cannot get it back. Wow, this is one of the best builds Ive seen. Congrats to such a beatiful thing. Very nice indeed.
Guest Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 I've had the chance to see this in person on a few occasions, to say that it's impressive is really an understatement. I can also vouch for the model in Charlie's avatar as well.
Tesla Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Your builds never disappoint and this one is no exception...excellent work Charles!
fractalign Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 That's awesome, Seagraves were a really cool looking truck, so good to see one built up as a model.
GLMFAA1 Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Charlie, Thanks for sharing this in this forum, To all the forum users you could swear you could stick ignition keys in Charlie's models and they would start. I have seen his works for years and here is a real master. Very proud to be able to call him friend greg
gatorincebu Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Charlie, Thank you for sharing the photos of that model. That one is a piece of art! Be Well Gator
wayne swayze Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 You have amazing skills! Beautifully crafted model! Always a pleasure to see the work of such a talented builder.
Harry P. Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 I don't know what to say. It's so good, it's beyond words.
Russell C Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 So when the first photo fools a guy (me) by having me think it was a photo of the full size vehicle and the rest are the model photos, that's an indicator of a mighty good model.
Danno Posted June 20, 2015 Posted June 20, 2015 Amen to Harry's comment. I've seen this spectacular model in person and I've studied it in detail. It is truly spectacular.
Chariots of Fire Posted June 21, 2015 Author Posted June 21, 2015 Thanks everybody for your kind words.
kilrathy10 Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 That is just too flippin' cool.....Awesome job, Man.....Awesome job.....
Silver Foxx Posted June 22, 2015 Posted June 22, 2015 This is an awesome build , a lot of great work in this , well done .
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now