Firebuilder Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 This will be a fire investigation unit , the box is a resin unit I found on eBay. attempting to build the cab from scratch, will see how that goes. The frame is from amt pumper kit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Dom: that is going to be a nice unit. Can I make a suggestion to you? I notice you are going to have to fill and sand the cab corners quite a bit. If you can get a piece of PVC pipe (3/4" diameter) you can slice it length wise into quarters and it will make a nice round corner that will be the same on both sides and you won't have to fill and sand to get smooth. Will be watching your progress! Looks like a lot of fun! If you check out the Pierce Tower in the WIP section you will see what I mean about using the pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 Thank you for the advice, I am going to try the pvc pipe out. I was not satisfied with the curve of the cab corners. Hopefully the 3/4 pipe will give me more of what I am looking for. I am also wondering if I can modify the trumpeter eagle grill and headlight assembly to fit this cab, any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Chastain Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Cool project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 4 hours ago, Firebuilder said: Thank you for the advice, I am going to try the pvc pipe out. I was not satisfied with the curve of the cab corners. Hopefully the 3/4 pipe will give me more of what I am looking for. I am also wondering if I can modify the trumpeter eagle grill and headlight assembly to fit this cab, any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Any particular cab that you are making? Replicas and Miniatures makes a lot of photoetch truck grill stock that you might use. I think it would be difficult to modify the Eagle grill and headlight assembly because of the curvature. The AMT LaFrance kit has separate headlight surrounds you might use. They are not square but still might work. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Nice start. I am always happy to see fire apparatus being made. I have an E-One cab that has been on my stalled project list for so long that it has ended up being used as a bench top storage bin... Anyway a tip that I was given back then (mid 2000s) that I used on it, was to back up the corners to be curved with square stock so I had enough meat to sand out the shape of the corners. The interior corners are mostly under the dash and above flooring so will not be visible once complete. I have used Charlie's PVC pipe idea on another build to provide rounded top corners on a body. The ends were going to be left open for draft hose storage so I needed them to be of a set thickness. That also worked out quite well. I used smaller diameter styrene tube, rather than PVC pipe simply because that matched the curve and thickness I needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 hour ago, Chariots of Fire said: Any particular cab that you are making? Replicas and Miniatures makes a lot of photoetch truck grill stock that you might use. I think it would be difficult to modify the Eagle grill and headlight assembly because of the curvature. The AMT LaFrance kit has separate headlight surrounds you might use. They are not square but still might work. Charlie Here's the Pierce cab with the PVC corners 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 This is the cab which I am trying to copy as. Lose as I can get it . Still a long way to go, picked up the 3/4 pvc pipe, and will also be using a few other ideas from Charlie. Never thought to use solder for window trim. Thank you all for the positive comments and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Dom: I checked out the Trumpeter ALF grill. It looks like the ALF headlight cluster would work for you. Difference is that the grill is not right. I'd cut the headlight cluster free and look for a new grill that would resemble the Ferrara. They would have to match the PVC radius so some adjustment might have to be made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Thank you Charlie , I pulled out one of my trumpeter kits and will start working on the cutting the headlight bezels off and trying to figure out a grill. Work on the cab has been slow, did not get much done this weekend, except for sanding off the excess putty on the seams and cutting off the corners. Have to cut the PVC pipe today and rebuild the front. Will post pictures when I get all the completed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 I took Charlie’s advice and replaced the front cab corners with the 3/4 pvc pipe. The corners are much cleaner now, just slight sanding and filling. The Top of the cab at roof line also worked out much better. Just a little more filing to refine the curves. I am thinking of attempting to resin cast the trumpeter grill, so I can make multiple headlight bezels and won’t ruin the grill to the kit, which I can still use on that cab. Trying the resin casting will be another first for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Progress continues, very slowly. A lot of trial and error, mostly error on the cab interior. I am Trying to figure out a dashboard , but so far I have scrapped most of what I have come up with. It’s More complicated than I thought it would be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Chastain Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Love to watch you guys scratch build, good progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Are you using photos of the Ferrara interior? Any resemblance to the Trumpeter ALF interior! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockford Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Looks great to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Thank you everyone for all the comments , they are much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Good morning Charlie, I am working off photos only, no actual measurements. The interior is completely different than the Trumpeter interior. The other problem with that is , I didn’t even think of using that as a base until you suggested it and I looked at your photos of modifying it. The cab was already built and is about 1/4 inch narrower in width than the Trumpeter and the wheel well openings are also off. I found some better photos last night and see a few other spots I need to correct on the floor and dash area. How do you make all of the light switches and other detail items in the Control panels? Thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Look in your stash for old truck dashboards that might have some butterfly switches. I also use common pins for push/pull switches. I drill holes for them wherever they are to go, paint the panel and then insert the pins. The monogram 1/32 scale CF Mack dashboard has a line of switches. They are small but if put in the right place would be ok. The speedometer and tach dials along with oil, temp, fuel, water, etc I do with decals and then surround them with photoetch bezels. Use clear lacquer to secure the bezels. The clear will look like a glass face. A lot of it is getting it to look right and not necessarily with every switch and dial there is. Once you enclose the interior bucket there are only so many things you can see, unless you intend to open the doors. That's another story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Charlie , Thank you again for the great advice. My dashboard stash is limited, but I will see what I have . As for the rest of the dash, I am not looking to make it exact, I just want the proportions to look right. There are a lot of compound angles and curves from what I can see in the photos . So far what I have built either looks to big, or just does not look right. The angles seem off. I agree with you ,once enclosed, Not much will be seen, so I won’t go to far with details. Lol, and no, I am definitely not having opening cab doors. Maybe on future cabs once my cab building skills have improved! It sure would be nice if a new kit, maybe with an aerial device was produced, there is only so many models you can build with the amt and trumpeter kits before getting bored with them. The few resin kits out there are expensive, and trying to find just a resin fire cab is nearly impossible. I have seen some 1/25 scale 3D printed cabs, but the cost of the cab at $400.00 plus, is what led me down this road trying to scratch build my own. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Chastain Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Char Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Chastain Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, Firebuilder said: Charlie , Thank you again for the great advice. My dashboard stash is limited, but I will see what I have . As for the rest of the dash, I am not looking to make it exact, I just want the proportions to look right. There are a lot of compound angles and curves from what I can see in the photos . So far what I have built either looks to big, or just does not look right. The angles seem off. I agree with you ,once enclosed, Not much will be seen, so I won’t go to far with details. Lol, and no, I am definitely not having opening cab doors. Maybe on future cabs once my cab building skills have improved! It sure would be nice if a new kit, maybe with an aerial device was produced, there is only so many models you can build with the amt and trumpeter kits before getting bored with them. The few resin kits out there are expensive, and trying to find just a resin fire cab is nearly impossible. I have seen some 1/25 scale 3D printed cabs, but the cost of the cab at $400.00 plus, is what led me down this road trying to scratch build my own. Dom I was on EBay yesterday and someone had listed a fire engine cab, not sure if that would be any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I know of no one who is making modern fire engine cabs. Not a lot of call for them. I've built two custom cabs from scratch, both Pierces but other builders cabs are quite similar. Not sure if manufacturers are still putting out line drawings on their calendars or not. They used to do one for every photo that put on the calendar face. Great information there. The cost of 3D printed cabs would be a lot and I'm not convinced the quality is there yet. Surfaces of most 3D printing still is rough and it takes a lot to smooth them out. The amount of effort to do that on top of the initial cost makes me lean to the scratch built option. Keep doing what you are doing. I think you will be surprised at the final results. The one thing you have not commented on yet is how you are going to do the windshield pieces. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 I have no idea yet on the windshield, I read your build thread and see you made a buck , and then vacu formed. I can make the buck, but not sure if I should do it in a one piece or two piece windshield. I don’t’ have anything to vacu form with, and I still have to research how to do that at home if possible and what would be needed. I did see a vacu forming machine on micro mark, but it’s a big investment for maybe just a few windshields, and I am not sure that is what would work for this . If I make the buck out of a block of wood, would it be to much grain? I found some Ren on a website and was thinking of ordering it and using that if it would be smoother. I also saw how you used that to make your grill, which is something else I have to tackle. I did make the mold for the trumpeter grill and lights, just waiting for the hobby shop to get in the resin. Once that is cast, i will cut the bezels free from the grill. I hope mold I made came out ok, it’s the first attempt at making a mold and casting a part. For now I am going to wet sand the cab, ending up with 3000 grit and then Get a coat of primer on and see what needs touch up. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebuilder Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Thank you Gary , I will check it out, for this build a cab won’t help, but for future projects it may. I also keep a look out, and when I see one at a fair price I pick them up. But most on EBay that I find are older cabs, nothing 2010 or later. SSB resin shows up once in awhile with a more modern rig , but those are full kits, and hard to buy multiples. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, Firebuilder said: I have no idea yet on the windshield, I read your build thread and see you made a buck , and then vacu formed. I can make the buck, but not sure if I should do it in a one piece or two piece windshield. I don’t’ have anything to vacu form with, and I still have to research how to do that at home if possible and what would be needed. I did see a vacu forming machine on micro mark, but it’s a big investment for maybe just a few windshields, and I am not sure that is what would work for this . If I make the buck out of a block of wood, would it be to much grain? I found some Ren on a website and was thinking of ordering it and using that if it would be smoother. I also saw how you used that to make your grill, which is something else I have to tackle. I did make the mold for the trumpeter grill and lights, just waiting for the hobby shop to get in the resin. Once that is cast, i will cut the bezels free from the grill. I hope mold I made came out ok, it’s the first attempt at making a mold and casting a part. For now I am going to wet sand the cab, ending up with 3000 grit and then Get a coat of primer on and see what needs touch up. Dom The secret with making a buck for vacu-forming is that it has to be super smooth for it not to pick up the image of the buck. The only thing that worked for me was to glue down a piece of thin brass sheet over the buck and then polish it out really smooth. That kept the clear plastic smooth and clear after forming. After the grill mold has cured well take some photos of it so we can see how it came out. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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