M-20 Prime Mover

[Chariots of Fire]

Been working on this project for a while now.  Slow in coming as there is a lot of underside detail to do.  Lots of castings, brass soldering, etc.  But it is fun to do.  Will be posting in progress pix from now on.  The M-20 is a Diamond T 10 ton tractor used to pull a 45 ton Rogers trailer.  They hauled tanks and also heavy supplies to the American army as it progressed inland from the beaches of Normandy.  Trailer will be done after the tractor is finished.

 

[Rockford]

Just fantastic stuff! Brilliant. 

[Gary Chastain]

Wow, Charles, your builds are always at a high skill level, love watching. ?

[bigred63]

This is my 2nd favorite Tank Transporter of WW2! I will be following your build! 

[Warren D]

1/25 scale?

[Chariots of Fire]

1 hour ago, Warren D said:

1/25 scale?

Yes it is.  I have a 1/35 scale kit of the same rig but 1/25 is the scale I prefer.

[yh70]

sure is gonna look Awesome

[Modelbuilder Mark]

They looks great so far! 

[Edward Gore]

I'll be following along on this one

[gotnitro?]

Excellent fabrication! 

[hct728(Bob)]

That's quite the suspension, what a beast! Amazing you made all those parts, with such accuracy too. The castings look good too, many skills at play here!

[cifenet]

Incredible and massive!

[Chariots of Fire]

Here's the latest work on the M-20.  Front springs are done along with shackle components.  I found some soft 1/8" brass craft wire that comes in a coil but which is easy to straighten.  Pieces were cut to length and soldered at the ends beginning with the short ones first.  The front axle is soldered brass stock as well.  Spindles a finished and the wheels are all set for tie rod connections and the steering arm.  The gadget in the right front is a template for making holes in the wheels for the lug nuts.  It fits the center of the wheel and it is easy to locate each hole for drilling and the spacing is even.  Can't do it to the remaining front wheel.  The hub is glued in so the locations for drilling have to be by eye.  Oh, well.  Live and learn!!  The universal joints are 3D printed from Down Range Productions.  They sort of snap together but need to be modified for the drive shafts.

Edited May 6, 2024 by Chariots of Fire

[redneckrigger]

Unbelievable! As usual........!  Fantastic work Charlie. Where do you source the NDT tires?

[hct728(Bob)]

Such neat work, with no detail overlooked! Nice to see those 'healthy' springs, nice to know they exist, as I got some flak when I made similar ones for my Futurliner, and gave up. I didn't really have good reference photos anyway. Guess they were often seen on heavy military trucks, wonder if GM made something similar

You are using wire for the shackle bolts? Do those glass hex beads work as fasteners here or are they just for lug nuts

[Chariots of Fire]

Hey, Bob.  The hex nuts are on the ends of the shackle bolts but are hard to see.  I use them for all sorts of stuff.

17 hours ago, redneckrigger said:

Unbelievable! As usual........!  Fantastic work Charlie. Where do you source the NDT tires?

I had a master done in 3D by Down Range Productions.  Then I made a mold and cast what you see.  All I did was send a photo of the tire with some basic dimensions and they did the rest.  12:00 x 20's are good size and much larger than anything else I had.

[Firebuilder]

Wow Charlie , looks amazing, another masterpiece in the works.

[Chariots of Fire]

Got it standing up on all 10's now (temporarily at least).  Working on the steering arm for the front end as we "speak".

[Chariots of Fire]

Progress has been slooooowwww!  So many little wrinkles to work out.  Some things have just been done over and over.  Finally making some progress.  Front and rear suspension is done and work has proceeded with the radiator, hood and cab.  Adjustments are in the works to make sure all of it fits where it is supposed to.  I had to shorten the cab some, adjust the hood length and make a small change in radiator location but we are getting there.

Lots of different materials at play here.  Evergreen stock of all kinds, sheet and strip brass, Renshape, resin castings just to get where we are at.  Craft wire and #15 hex beads dress up the wheels as lug nuts.  Paint is Testors OD and Tamiya rubber black so far.

[Rockford]

Just brilliant work. I'm lost for words. 

[Gary Chastain]

Impressive 

[gotnitro?]

Incredible fabrication

Too bad its gonna be covered in paint 

[Edward Gore]

Nice. Brass fabrication is not easy to do and you're making it look easy ?

[Chariots of Fire]

44 minutes ago, Edward Gore said:

Nice. Brass fabrication is not easy to do and you're making it look easy ?

HAH!  Not so much sometimes!!?

[hct728(Bob)]

Bodywork brings it to life! Neat work on the grille and the curved hood, that's a long one! Triple hinges on the door - there's a lot to replicate, more than meets the eye in the photo, at first glance it's a simple truck, but no. I see lots of louvres in your future too, Boldly Go!