2001 American La France Pumper

[hooknladderno1]

Hi Guys,

I thought that I had posted this earlier, but couldn't find it. So, here goes... As my fictional fire department has several support units and smaller scale apparatus on the roster or "on order, we need to start "purchasing" some larger apparatus. Currently being "built" is this American La France Eagle pumper. The graphics will be similar to this Ventura County Fire engine:

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSHlGkTntpNef88fVtIEdrTKL4qKtXXoqmhldBO0Ouc-zkBXGJj

The project began with the Trumpeter kit. I wanted to make roll up doors instead of the standard swing out doors provided in the kit. Careful removal of the doors and replacement of the frame material was built up from Evergreen styrene strip. The recessed style roll up doors were created from Evergreen v-groove sheet.

Note that in many of these photos, the body is just tacked together with masking tape for mock up.

[hooknladderno1]

The paint separation line was lowered, and added with Evergreen half round strip. The kit's upper paint break line was sanded off, sealed and primed to prevent "ghosting". All chrome trim was masked off with Tamiya tape for later Alclad or BMF application.

Attention was now turned towards the pump panels. As many of today's apparatus have black gauge panels,I sought to replicate this look. I had stumbled upon this process and thought I would give it a try. I applied BMF to the areas that I wanted chrome or painted instead of the black.

For the textured black areas of the panel, I used Rustoleum Textured paint.

This is how the panel looked after the texture coating:

Some time, q-tips, fine microbrushes, andTamiya fine cotton swabs and small amounts of lacquer thinner revealed this:

Still have to remove the paint from the officer's side panel:

I also modified the area above the pump panel, cutting out and filling it to contain a hose reel.

Future updates will show the hose reel and modified area above the pump. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking!

David

[slusher]

Some real nice work. Lots of detail and looking great already..

[Jim B]

Your ALF is looking great. I really like the modifications you've done.

[csxfan2001]

Love It !!!

[Harry P.]

Very nice so far!

I bought this kit a long time ago, never actually have gotten around to building it!

[English Jules]

cool. always wanted to get this kit, but kept forgetting (i do have the AMT/Mbox Pumper). Anyway where did you find reference pics online? look forward to seeing this as it gets done

[Jim B]

This might help: http://www.trucksplanet.com/catalog/model.php?id=1166

[kilrathy10]

Excellent work on the doors, Man.....Very nice work on the panels, too...Nice technique.....I see you got to one of those ALF's.....I've gotta get to work on that Simba kit you gave me....Totally gonna build it, soon....

[hooknladderno1]

Thanks for the kind comments! @ Jules, I have been involved in emergency services for 30+ years. Thanks Jim for the link. Jules, you can Google "American La France Eagle fire trucks" for reference photos. Here is another little update:

Cleaned off the officer's side panel. Still need to touch up the area where the water tank level lights are.

Here is the modified top area of the pump panel.

The hose reel was made from AMT ALF hose reel ends. The ends were sanded to a much thinner thickness, as from the box they are way too thick. The ends then had Evergreen round stock applied around the outside. The inside ends were filled with dissolved sprue, allowed to dry and sanded. The insides were then sanded flat. The hose reel frame was constructed from Evergreen stock.

Still have to decide on Alclad finishes for the diamondplate. I want to complement the colors and other metallic finishes. I appreciate your comments. Thanks for looking!

David

[Danno]

Very nice work, David.

[English Jules]

I like the extra work and detail your doing. looks spiffiing old bean :-)

[tbill]

wow, very nice work! love the roll up doors, and the bmf trick is pretty neat as well. looking forward to seeing more of this.

[Trailking120]

Very nice I like the texture look on the pump panel.

[hooknladderno1]

Hi Guys,

Another small update. Slowly painting panels and parts and mocking things up together. Decided for a little different look for the wheels. Stripped off the chrome on the caps, and painted them Vallejo "Dark Blue". This is almost an identical match for the color that the striping and graphics will be on the truck. Brings a little variety into the look as well.

While viewing the ladder rack of the kit, it looked too generic and bland. In an effort to dress it up a little, I took the following steps:

The open areas around the aluminum tubing will be filled in. The rectangular areas at the top of the ladder rack appear to be a storage compartment for a folding attic ladder. I plan to wrap this with diamond plate. Thanks for looking!

David

[Chariots of Fire]

David that is some great work! To those of you who might not build a lot of fire apparatus, what you are seeing is the work of someone who has an eye for the details that set off his model from run of the mill stuff. At the same time he has updated a rig that is now several years old. Trumpeter did a pretty decent job on the kit so that it can be built box stock with good results. But David has made the leap to the next level with his work. I love it!

[hooknladderno1]

#OneStepForwardTwoStepsBack,#BeenThereDoneThat... Actually, I have never used hashtags before. I am SOOOO frustrated!!! While applying a gloss gray Krylon undercoat for my Alclad, I got a very uneven finish. Don't know if the surfaces weren't clean enough, bad can of paint, or operator error... Shook the heck out of the can to make sure it was mixed. Not looking for reasons why. Needless to say, the offending parts are now in the Purple Pond. I know that all the trim pieces will need to be re-applied and puttied, lots of repainting and masking... So much for having it done for an upcoming show... Stuff happens. I know we've all been there...

David

Edited November 6, 2014 by hooknladderno1

[freightshaker]

It's frustrating but we all have been there. This is shaping up to be one heck of a model tho man... Really looks great. Keep it up!

[Chariots of Fire]

Did you prime the plastic before applying the Krylon? I can see some swirls that sometimes occur when hot paint is applied directly to the plastic.

[hooknladderno1]

No, Charlie I didn't. In the past when spraying Krylon Black as an undercoat for Alclad I didn't, and had no problems. A HUGE reminder to remember the BASICS...

David

[hooknladderno1]

Here is a little update.  The rear body is glued together and the roll up door panels have been secured in place. Working on a hard suction hose. Roughed out the outlining of the windows with a custom mixed Vallejo "rubber" tone.   Lots more to do!

Edited November 12, 2015 by hooknladderno1

[gino]

nice work !  the details are great !

[Danno]

No, Charlie I didn't. In the past when spraying Krylon Black as an undercoat for Alclad I didn't, and had no problems. A HUGE reminder to remember the BASICS...

 

 

David

A modeler's variation of the old fire service credo:   'Try before you pry.'

 

 

[Tesla]

This is looking real nice Dave!

[gatorincebu]

 

    Dave,

           This is an awesome build. You obviously know your subject. And you attention to detail is impressive.

 

 

 

    Be Well

    Gator