Flatbed brush trucks

[David G.]

Looking good!

David G.

[DrGlueblob]

It looks RIGHT to me so far. Fun thing about fire apparatus is that most all of them are bastard children.. A mish-mash of factory stock, ALF-etc add ons, local dept. necessities.. Must be heck to judge at a contest.

[explorer2770]

Thanks guys. This is slowly progressing along. I was able to pick some stuff up 2 weekends ago and have been busy ever since, mainly working on copying and improving the front suspension for future builds.

As far as judging goes, two years ago they picked up the models to check the chassis detail. I about fainted because I had a pickup bed full of semi-loose equipment. That's what I get for the "I just threw it in there" look.

[race06]

Awesome work my friend!! Where did U get the deck plate at?

[explorer2770]

Thanks Tracy. The deck plate is Plastruct 1:100 diamond plate, the newest release that you can find in the LHS or their website. If you have a Hobby Lobby nearby, check to see if they have they are getting rid of their JTT Scenery Products, as JTT sells single diamond plate pattern in 3 scales: 1/100; 1/48; and 1/16 scale and double diamond plate in 1/24 and 1/16 scales. I have some of the JTT double diamond plate in 1/24 scale that I picked up on clearance, which I consider to be too big in size for my builds, but will use up eventually. I used up 2 sheets of Plastruct to make the 2 flatbeds and wish I had found the JTT sooner as it is a cheaper than the Plastruct product.

[kymdlr]

pretty sweet built, This is the first ive heard of the duplicutter. I could use one of those.

[martinfan5]

Brandon, very nice work so far

About the diamond plate, check out Don Mills, he offers diamond plate, and from my understanding, its more accurate then everyone else, and his price is not to bad

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plastic-Diamond-Pattern-Treadplate-by-Don-Mills-Models-/321332627553

[explorer2770]

There is no truly accurate 1/25 scale diamond plate on the market. The DM product comes closest in pattern, but it is 3 times as thick as the Plastruct and JTT materials.

If you have a project that already has diamond plate on it, such as the AMT LaFrance or Trumpeter LaFrance kits, you can copy that pattern using aluminum foil and epoxy. Burnish the pattern into aluminum foil and gently apply epoxy to fill the holes. Wait for the epoxy to fully dry before you handle the pattern. Once it is dry, cut to desired size and then use a little more epoxy to glue it to your build. That way, the pattern matches what is already there.

We each have our own build styles and products that we frequent, so finding what works best for your style is a must. DM, Plastruct, or JTT all make diamond plate. I recommend starting with the JTT since it is the cheapest, and if you screw up a cut, you don't end up wasting a lot of money. But that is my own opinion on the matter.

I'll get some updates once I get back from break...and the weather finally warms up enough to paint.

[Duntov]

I like your approach to scratch building with sheet styrene---nice work!!!

[explorer2770]

Well, here's where my extended cab's chassis work is currently:

The helper leafs didn't turn out well, but after 6 tries, I finally just went with these. Rear axle is a resin copy that I made of a Dana 60? with a 1/8 metal shaft, then covered with 5/32 tubing to accept the rear axle from the AMT Silverado 3500 dually. The shocks came from the Revell snap-tite Peterbilt and I used paper clips for the U-bolts. The fuel tanks are scratchbuilt from styrene and have gone through 3 iterations to get the right look. Not perfect, but all 6 tires sit nice and level.

Now to focus on the transmission...what was I thinking trying to make these AWD?