Revell Mack CF

[Gmatta691]

After hijacking another thread for the last week or so I’ve decided to start my own. 
To catch you guys up:

I saw what @Chariots of Fire had done with some of the monogram kits and thought I’d give it a shot. I ran down to a hobby shop and picked up a Revell kit, later finding 2 monogram kits at home. I have never worked in this scale, mostly just kitbashing 1/64 with limited success. I’ve probably asked about 100 boneheaded questions, all of which chariots answered. 
 

So far I have painted a lot of diamond plate and lights, cut the body to my liking, and most recently started filling the voids I had created. I filled the hole from the beacon with scraps from the tree, and tried my best to remove deep cuts from my dremel work. I had built some legs for the booster line, but unfortunately it wouldn’t fit so those were quickly removed. I also picked up a 1/25 scale light bar, which is a little big for my liking. If anyone knows where I can find some 1/32 light bars let me know. 

I plan to prime the body tomorrow, and hopefully paint Thursday. I have some sewing elastic coming in early next week so hopefully I’ll get the cross-lays and hose bed done soon too. 
 

 

[yh70]

looking good so far.

[Chariots of Fire]

Looking good.  If you have the guides for the other side of the hose reel, put them at the other side of the body, not at the hose reel.  

[gotnitro?]

Nice start ! 

[Gmatta691]

Well I knew I’d hit a wall eventually. My lack of experience with painting caught me. Primer went on nicely, the red was not as smooth but it looked ok after it dried. I wanted to do white over red, but ended up going with black since I didn’t want a pink roof. It was all set up for failure though as my masking tape job wasn’t good enough. I decided to paint some more silver on while I waited for the roof to dry which nearly ended in disaster. I was able to retouch those areas where the paint got smudged so the bulk of the body is ok. 
 

I anticipated this step to be a challenge, but man not like this. I have slowly been chipping away at removing the paint from the cab, and I’ll give this another shot over the weekend. I’ll check back in once it’s done barring any more disasters. Hindsight is 20/20 I would’ve been satisfied with a red cab. This is a trial though, so time to step out of the comfort zone I guess. 

Edited April 26, 2024 by Gmatta691

[Chariots of Fire]

What kind of paint are you using?

[Gmatta691]

8 hours ago, Chariots of Fire said:

What kind of paint are you using?

Testors spray enamel. Gotta say, I’m open to trying anything else. I’ve stripped the cab for a 3rd time now so it’s gonna stay solid red. Not sure if the paint isn’t beginner friendly or if I’m really this bad at painting. 

Edited April 27, 2024 by Gmatta691

[Gmatta691]

It’s done for now til I get the elastic delivered. The paint job is pretty rough, but I cannot strip and paint again. 

[Chariots of Fire]

A bit hard to see but I think you may be putting the paint on too heavy.  Best to do thin coats and let it dry between coats so that if there any imperfections you can sand them out.  Each time is a learning experience.

[Gmatta691]

I tried my best with the paint, but I do think I was a little heavy handed each time. I’ll blame some of that on my makeshift shop while I’m up in college, and the windy parking lot I attempted to paint in. After talking to a buddy he said the same thing. Each time I tried to go thinner but this paint seemed heavy. Like no matter how quick or light or far away I was, it landed hard each time. 
This was a learning experience for sure. I might buy an airbrush in the near future so I’ll be learning all over again.

[cifenet]

It actually turns out to be quite good knowing all the rework you had to go through to correct and repair the paint work. 
 

keep it up, it will only get better!

[Gary Chastain]

Looks very well done, will look good sitting on your display. 

[Gmatta691]

I ran to Lowe’s and picked up some red wire for the booster line. I had already glued the booster so the line doesn’t sit as flat as I’d like, but there’s a lot about this model I could and will do better next time. Still waiting on the elastic but I plan on building some boxes to cheat the load once it gets here. 
 

@Chariots of Fire do you have any tips or progress pics of scratch built nozzles? I’m gonna give one a shot today, but it helps to see what you’re trying to replicate. 

[Chariots of Fire]

Depends on what type of nozzles you are talking about.  If it is for either the booster line or the handline in the bed try DonMillsModels@aol.com  He has them in white metal.  If you want a larger nozzle for a 2-1/2" working line then you could make one out of sections of brass tubing.  I'll show you the white metal ones and one I made from brass.  The nozzles on this brush truck are the white metal ones that have been painted up and given a wash.  

The nozzles on the tailboard of this Class 325 military fire truck were made of brass tubing as was the nozzle on the booster reel in front of the rear tire.

[Gmatta691]

Got most of the hose put in today. I didn’t stain it this time, I tried with the paint I had on hand and it was terrible. I need to find some smaller tubing for the attack line couplings before I can finish the rear load and crosslays. Overall I’m pretty happy with it for a first attempt. I would lower the box I made for the bed and add less hose in the supply line section next time. 

I decided to fill the driver side small section of bed with some plastic tubing. These will hold some hooks/pike poles. This gives a make it work with what you got kinda feel which I love about fire trucks. I filled up some empty space near the booster with some pony lines. If I find some other cool detail pieces I’ll take em out, but for now that fills the space.

 I also tried my hand at a scratch built nozzle for the booster line. I think it’ll look better once I paint it some time this week. I also have plenty of nozzles coming from donmillsmodels for the attack lines etc. 

 

[Gmatta691]

Crosslays and rear attack lines are in, just waiting on the nozzles to glue down the last sections. The scratch built nozzle for the booster has been painted, I’m pretty happy with it. I’m sure there will be a serious margin in quality once it’s sitting next to the donmillsmodels pieces, but not too bad for a first try.

Once the nozzles are added this thing is about done. I’ve learned a lot from this and I’m excited to do it all again soon. I’m getting ready to make a 5 hr move, so who knows when I’ll actually get back to it. Huge thanks to @Chariots of Fire for all the help with this build. Can’t wait to give painting another shot with his tips in mind. 
 

edit- Checked the mail and found the nozzles, so this rig is done.

Edited May 6, 2024 by Gmatta691

[Firebuilder]

Looks good, nice recovery, and it’s good you didn’t give up on it. As for the paint imperfections that you have left, you could always use the  story that they were a little to close to the fire.

[Gmatta691]

22 hours ago, Firebuilder said:

Looks good, nice recovery, and it’s good you didn’t give up on it. As for the paint imperfections that you have left, you could always use the  story that they were a little to close to the fire.

My dad rode around on one of these in the 90s and early 00s as the departments spare. I would spend plenty of time riding around in it getting gas or playing fireman while it sat in the bay. It was a turd, rusty, worn out, mismatched eras of equipment etc. When I started this project he said I should add rust in certain spots Mack’s were prone to rust out in, chipped paint, the whole 9 yards. I guess you could call my inexperience some unintentional weathering.

There are 3 things I wish I did differently. First I should’ve gone with aluminum tubing for the couplings, or those brass coupling sections should be beat up. I also found a smaller plastic tubing to fit the attack lines, but only after one very large coupling was glued in. I probably could’ve given staining the hose another shot. The rig looks like it’s been through hell, but the hose looks pristine. It takes a little bit away from the build in my opinion.