AMT Surf Shark (my version): WIP

[GLMFAA1]

6 minutes ago, David G. said:

Hi Greg, thanks for posting the list. My guess is that the one I'm working on is a resin copy of the one from the Rescue Van kit. There are still some of those kits in circulation, I think I will try to see if I can get ahold of one.

I have yet to build a van, hmmm...

Thanks again,

David G.

The cot from the van is worse than the cot you have. The casted cot looks like mismatched parts off of the JoHan cot. If I'm up to it I'll post photos of the cots later.

greg

[David G.]

8 minutes ago, GLMFAA1 said:

The cot from the van is worse than the cot you have. The casted cot looks like mismatched parts off of the JoHan cot. If I'm up to it I'll post photos of the cots later.

greg

Thanks Greg. If it's no trouble,  I'd certainly like to see that.

-D-

[mustang1989]

Man this is COOL!!! Will be following along Dave! 

[dwc43]

4 hours ago, David G. said:

Hi D.W., thanks for your comment. The gurney I'm working on is rough to say the least. It would probably easier for you to resize the one you have than to invest your money, time and effort in making one like this work. I certainly don't feel that this one is worth what I paid for it.  But, I did buy it just to be used in this build and it will... suffice.

I even considered building my own gurney. When I built my Ecto-1, I built a set of proton packs and the rack to hold them. The rack is essentially a repurposed gurney, presumably remnant of the Ecto-1's ambulance origins.

 

You may want to consider just waiting for the AMT's reconfigured release of this kit. Had I known when I started this build that they were planning to release a true ambulance version of this kit, I would have waited for that and done something else with the Surf Shark.

As I was planning and working on this build I remember thinking, "I really wish that AMT would release a version of this kit without all the Ghostbusters equipment in the interior." 

I guess that means that I have two wishes left.

-D-

Hi Greg, thanks for posting the list. My guess is that the one I'm working on is a resin copy of the one from the Rescue Van kit. There are still some of those kits in circulation, I think I will try to see if I can get ahold of one.

I have yet to build a van, hmmm...

Thanks again,

David G.

Thanks for that info. IT helps. Love the build so far. Can't wait to see it finished.

[GLMFAA1]

So here are the cots. I don't have the latest from the 59 Caddy.

greg

[dwc43]

I have the gurney in the first two pics. I wished I had the one in the 3rd and 4th pics. That one looks to be the narrowest one of them all.

[David G.]

9 hours ago, GLMFAA1 said:

So here are the cots. I don't have the latest from the 59 Caddy.

greg

 

 

Wow, thanks for taking the time to do that Greg!

I love the diorama set-up and the figures too.

It looks like the JoHan cot is the best of the three with the MPS Ford van cot as a close second.

I think the one I got from Three Inches Under is a modified recast of the Ford Van cot, which with some minor modifications does fit into the back of the Surf Shark.

Of course all of that is moot since AMT is retooling the interior of the Surf Shark into that of an actual ambulance and adding all the appropriate equipment... Including a cot! 😮 

I can hardly wait to get my hands on one (or two) of those.

Thanks again Greg,

David G.

[David G.]

21 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Man this is COOL!!! Will be following along Dave! 

Thank you Joe!

18 hours ago, dwc43 said:

Thanks for that info. IT helps. Love the build so far. Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks for your replies D.W. I'm glad the information is helpful.

9 hours ago, dwc43 said:

I have the gurney in the first two pics. I wished I had the one in the 3rd and 4th pics. That one looks to be the narrowest one of them all.

As I'm sure you know by now it looks like AMT will be granting your wish for a good gurney when the ambulance version of this kit releases later this year.

 

As always, I do appreciate your interest and your comments.

Thanks,

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Here's the next update on the ambulance conversion.

The gurney doesn't fit into the ambulance quite the way I want it to. For one thing, it's too tall. The wheels are the first point of adjustment. I've started cutting them down and will likely just end up removing them entirely.

 

 

The fit is a little better now but it's still too tall. Now it's time to see if I can adjust the tilt angle of the head section. This will involve some cutting and repositioning of the already assembled head section. 

 

 

I've entirely removed the wheels and got the head section to lay down a little more. That's as much as I can do without a complete restructuring.

 

That's it for this phase and I'm glad to be done with it.

As always, thanks for taking time to look and please feel free to share your thoughts.

David G.

[dwc43]

Cut the floor out and drop it down to the level of the jump seat. That would put it on the floor of the chassis pan but it would lower the gurney down without changing anything else. There's a guy on Ebay that has wood grain floor for an Ambulance too. You could use that along with a very thin piece of sheet plastic to replace the thick plastic floorboard with. 

[GLMFAA1]

greg

[David G.]

22 hours ago, dwc43 said:

Cut the floor out and drop it down to the level of the jump seat. That would put it on the floor of the chassis pan but it would lower the gurney down without changing anything else. There's a guy on Ebay that has wood grain floor for an Ambulance too. You could use that along with a very thin piece of sheet plastic to replace the thick plastic floorboard with. 

 

Thanks for the suggestion D.W. but that's way more work than I'm willing to do on this build.

I have another project I'm working on that's based on this kit and I can tell you that cutting into the interior on one of these is a lot of work.

 

21 hours ago, GLMFAA1 said:

greg

 

Thanks Greg. I actually just ended up knocking the wheels off and that gave me enough clearance.

I even thought of adding a collapsing scissor frame and some smaller wheels in the space under the bed. Then I realized that once everything is put together no one would be able to see it, so I didn't bother.

 

Thank you both for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights.

David G.

[dwc43]

More than welcome. Yeah, it can be a job to cut all that stuff out. I'm getting to where I want to challenge myself to do more mods like that just to make things work the way I want them too. But I get it. 

[slusher]

If the wagon was longer to the back of the seat would help….

[David G.]

21 hours ago, dwc43 said:

More than welcome. Yeah, it can be a job to cut all that stuff out. I'm getting to where I want to challenge myself to do more mods like that just to make things work the way I want them too. But I get it. 

Thanks for understanding D.W.

When I started back into building models years ago, I was interested in pushing to see what the limits of my skills and talents were. In my first few years I built a number of highly detailed and modified models. In doing so I was able to expand and hone my skills and also learn their limits.

Doing this gave me a good knowledge base to draw from when it comes to deciding when to quit pushing and start pulling.

21 hours ago, slusher said:

If the wagon was longer to the back of the seat would help….

Thanks Carl. Yes it would. I think not having all that Ghostbusters equipment in the back would help. AMT's newly reconfigured '59 ambulance should take care of that problem.

And they'll supply the gurney too! 

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

After getting through the disappointing experience of the gurney, it's time to move on to something that will actually help to give me a more positive feeling of progress.

I've used Silly Putty to mask off the grille assembly so I can paint the headlight surrounds in the same color as the rest of the body, as was the case on these 1959 model year Cadillacs. This feature is often overlooked during the building of these particular kits.

 

 

The grille assembly masked and painted with the DupliColor Cardinal Red that the rest of the body will be painted in. 

 

 

After the masking is removed, I'm wondering if it was worth the effort. I should be able to get it cleaned up well enough, but maybe brush painting would have been a little more efficient. Before masking and painting the red, I also gave the assembly a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. This helps the red paint to adhere to the "chrome" trim better and adds a good base coat for the next step.

 

 

I applied some blackwash to the grille recesses to give it some depth and visual interest. After I've completed the detail painting, I will spray the entire assembly with some Tamiya Clear coat to bring out a little more shine in the chrome bits.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment or two.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Here's another update as I begin to move more to the core of the build.

The first round of detail painting on the dashboard. Yeah, I made the numbers on the speedometer visible. Because... details!

 

 

And here's the whole mess in test-fit mode. I've painted and detailed the steering wheel, got some of the basic interior paint scheme started and managed to get the gurney to fit satisfactorily.

 

That's it for this round. Hopefully, I'm done with the side missions and can get on with the rest of the build.

Thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[slusher]

Really nice grill and dash detailing, friend…

[GLMFAA1]

Looking good. You might want to scratch build a switch module that would go on top of the dash. A two way radio would be optional or a CB radio as around 59 2way radio was just getting around to being used.

 

greg

[HotRodaSaurus]

On 1/18/2024 at 11:15 AM, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

After getting through the disappointing experience of the gurney, it's time to move on to something that will actually help to give me a more positive feeling of progress.

I've used Silly Putty to mask off the grille assembly so I can paint the headlight surrounds in the same color as the rest of the body, as was the case on these 1959 model year Cadillacs. This feature is often overlooked during the building of these particular kits.

 

 

The grille assembly masked and painted with the DupliColor Cardinal Red that the rest of the body will be painted in. 

 

 

After the masking is removed, I'm wondering if it was worth the effort. I should be able to get it cleaned up well enough, but maybe brush painting would have been a little more efficient. Before masking and painting the red, I also gave the assembly a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. This helps the red paint to adhere to the "chrome" trim better and adds a good base coat for the next step.

 

 

I applied some blackwash to the grille recesses to give it some depth and visual interest. After I've completed the detail painting, I will spray the entire assembly with some Tamiya Clear coat to bring out a little more shine in the chrome bits.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment or two.

David G.

Quick question, is this the same grill as from the Ghost Buster Ecto1 with the emergency lights in the grill or have these been eliminated. 
Cheers, John.

[David G.]

On 1/20/2024 at 4:39 AM, slusher said:

Really nice grill and dash detailing, friend…

Thank you Carl.

On 1/20/2024 at 5:23 AM, GLMFAA1 said:

Looking good. You might want to scratch build a switch module that would go on top of the dash. A two way radio would be optional or a CB radio as around 59 2way radio was just getting around to being used.

 

greg

Thanks Greg, I guess that great minds think alike.

I have an AMT Police Interceptor that, years ago I built as a daily driver.

 

I dug its leftover radio head out of the parts box that should fit nicely between the bottom of the dashboard and the floor. It's in the Purple Pond having its chrome removed at this very moment.

 

13 hours ago, HotRodaSaurus said:

Quick question, is this the same grill as from the Ghost Buster Ecto1 with the emergency lights in the grill or have these been eliminated. 
Cheers, John.

Thanks for your question John.

This edition has the grille with four slots for clear dog-tooth style lights, which are included.

Thanks,

David G.

[slusher]

Greg is a big help I know he builds really nice emergency kits…

[David G.]

4 minutes ago, slusher said:

Greg is a big help I know he builds really nice emergency kits…

Yes indeed. But mine won't be quite as detailed as that.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Just a quick update on the ambulance.

This is the final detail work on the dashboard. It includes a blackwash to bring out some of the details, several coats of clear acrylic on the instrument cluster and some general cleanup. All I need to do now is finish up the radio head and mount it after the dashboard is in the car.

 

As always, thanks.

David G.

[HotRodaSaurus]

10 hours ago, David G. said:

Thank you Carl.

Thanks Greg, I guess that great minds think alike.

I have an AMT Police Interceptor that, years ago I built as a daily driver.

 

I dug its leftover radio head out of the parts box that should fit nicely between the bottom of the dashboard and the floor. It's in the Purple Pond having its chrome removed at this very moment.

 

Thanks for your question John.

This edition has the grille with four slots for clear dog-tooth style lights, which are included.

Thanks,

David G.

Thank you.