WC-54 Ambulance

[Chariots of Fire]

With the Chevy Suburban done I wanted to get back to one more military vehicle that would have been used with the Red Ball Express during WW II.  The WC-54 Ambulance is what I have in mind.  It is not a soft top truck but is built on a 3/4 ton Dodge chassis with a metal cab that is heavily modified.  So far I have made a bunch of castings since the front of the ambulance is exactly the same as the WC -52 and WC-63 which I have already done.  So here is the collection of goods that will begin the build.

The red cab in the back is a former 1/25 Dodge pickup and the engine in front of it is the same T214 that was used in most of the WC series.  Tires are 9:00x20's.  The axles are done and the steering knuckles have been made of brass and tube stock, both square and round.  Front fenders are castings as are all of the white pieces you see in the photo.  Those were made previously from Renshape masters and then cast.

The two pieces in the the foreground are the sides to the box that is behind the cab.  The extra cutout in the one on the right is for the spare tire.  I did the same to the right side one but that was a mistake and had to fill it back in.  Oh, well.  "Misteaks" happen!  Now I need to get some material to make the frame.  Brass is an option but I need to select a good piece for the web to solder the flanges to.

[NOBLNG]

I’ll come along for the ride Charles.🙂 I really like your scratch building skills and use of brass for high stress components.👍😎

[bobss396]

20 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

I’ll come along for the ride Charles.🙂 I really like your scratch building skills and use of brass for high stress components.👍😎

Brass is good stuff to work with. I need to get into soldering sooner than later.

I did a lot of soldering at work using torches and hot plates for the most part.

[Chariots of Fire]

I have a small butane torch and an iron that has an adjustable heat control.  Both are useful and at the same time have their limitations.  It has been a lot of fun getting to know how to use them as it opened up a lot of building possibilities that I would have not seen otherwise.  Brass work can really come out nice and clean to represent certain parts of a model where that clean detail is really important.  One example is the brass steering knuckles shown on the photos.  Will visit the local hobby shop on Tuesday, however, to replenish my supply of Evergreen.  More sheet and strip stock are needed for the build.

 

[Chariots of Fire]

Been working on this for a while.  Lots of little things to adjust a long the way.  I found that the line drawings are not that reliable regarding shape.  The dimensions don't always measure out right.  For example it says that the total height is just over 90".  Taking away the height of the ventilator shroud it is about 86".  But the drawing does not scale, even when the image is adjusted for the correct wheel base.  It is what it is, however. 

I'm working with a diecast cab as well and that accounts for some of the inaccuracy.  The rounded top will be a challenge to get right.  Right now thinking is that it will be shaped on the outside to fit and then to make a slush mold for it so that the inside will be thin like what is in the photos.  We'll see.

[Bainford]

Cool project. Lovely work so far, Charles. The chassis is super nice, and excellent work on the grill guard. That must have been a chore.

Looking forward to watching this one come together.

[Chariots of Fire]

Not too much of a chore.  The outside of the guard was bent to shape first.  Then the bottom and two sides next.  They were then soldered together.  The individual vertical pieces and those in front of the headlights were individually placed using a template laid down on a flat surface.  A hot iron was used to coat the edges with solder so that the brass wire would adhere.  It took a while but was easy to do.

[GLMFAA1]

Why is the theme of M.A.S.H. running in my head when I went through this thread?

Years ago I gave my boss a diorama of the Peerless 1/35th model of the ambulance with it customized with the company's color scheme. Lost in a fire.

greg

[Chariots of Fire]

Good old Renshape!  What you see will become a master for a slush mold for the top.

Ta Da Dit Da   Ta Ta Ta...

Ta Da Dit Da    Oh Oh Oh...🤣

Edited yesterday at 03:16 AM by Chariots of Fire

[Big Messer]

On 8/3/2025 at 4:14 PM, Chariots of Fire said:

I have a small butane torch and an iron that has an adjustable heat control.  Both are useful and at the same time have their limitations.  It has been a lot of fun getting to know how to use them as it opened up a lot of building possibilities that I would have not seen otherwise.  Brass work can really come out nice and clean to represent certain parts of a model where that clean detail is really important.  One example is the brass steering knuckles shown on the photos.  Will visit the local hobby shop on Tuesday, however, to replenish my supply of Evergreen.  More sheet and strip stock are needed for the build.

 

There are also soldering materials that melt at different temperatures that allow to solder things on top of previous assemblies without disturbing them.

[Chariots of Fire]

Today I made a slush mold and cast a  top for the WC-54.  The Renshape top was used as a master.  After the mold set up I poured in some two part casting resin and sloshed it around the surface.  It took about 5 such applications to completely get the sides to a reasonable thickness but now the interior has the shape of the outside and I can detail the interior of the body.

[Bainford]

Interesting technique. The roof looks great.

[meechum68]

This is shaping up to be incredible! Your work is impecable! 

[slusher]

 greatLooking, build you have have going awesome!