Chariots of Fire Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Now that the initial Class 325 US Army pumper is done and delivered I've been working on a second one; this time it will be sent to Belgium to a WWII army vehicle collector. He has the real one in restored condition so this one will be a replica of that particular piece of apparatus. There will be slight differences between the original one and this one; mostly in the markings and some of the equipment that is carried. In fact some of the equipment may not have been original GI issue. But this is the way it is now so that is how the model will be built. Notice the blue ID numbers on the hood. Also the blue around the star on top of the hood. This is not unusual as the army did use blue paint on some of them. Supposedly the blue was harder to see in black and white photographs. The number on the hood and bumper are the ones to be used on the model. An early parts gathering. Lots of resin castings including the hood, fenders, axles, tires and wheels, Indian pump cans, stacked buckets and the main pump housing. The housing in the photo is the aluminum master. The completed truck frame and front wheel assemblies. The small screws go into the ends of each axle and hold the wheels in place. The screws will be covered at the end of the build. Cab and front mounted pump in position. The cab is held in place by two screws that attach to the floorboards and a frame crossmember and small screws that go through the top front corner of the hood sides into the sides of the radiator. The grill guard is all soldered brass strip and wire pieces. The pump with all of the various pieces that are attached to the main pump housing that was cast from the aluminum master. Elbows are made from solid plastic rods that were heated so that they would bend. Craft wire represents the flanges. HO scale brass freight car brake wheels are used for the discharge and intake line gate valves. Fusion beads are used in several places along with pieces of hex rod to represent bolt heads. The gage bezels will be given decal faces after painting is complete. The completed pump is mounted to the truck frame. Frame extensions were used on the real truck as well. Small screws hold the extensions in place and small pieces of brass angle were soldered between the main frame and pump frame to hold it rigid. The back side of the pump and the Chevy engine. I have to relocate the bottom radiator hose! A piece of heavy solder will do just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Outstanding Charles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmodelbuilder Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Looking good Charles. Never tire looking at your builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbeard Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 outstanding and great craftsman ship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Got a bit more done the last few days. With the pump basically done I turned attention to hinging the doors using some small "H" hinges from MicroMark. They are temporarily held together using stainless steel wire. The wire is stiff enough to keep the hinges in alignment while they are being installed. After first securing them in place with superglue I then drilled out the holes in each half down into the plastic and inserted small brass pins. The pins are also superglued in place and then the heads are ground down nearly flat so that the hinge will close without binding. I used the back of an Xacto knife to scribe out the doors. This takes out the least amount of plastic and leaves a relatively clean edge between the door opening and the door itself. Very little shimming has to be done to keep the opening even all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren D Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Absolutely amazing work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckabilly Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Fascinating. I should go take some lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 14 hours ago, landman said: Fascinating. I should go take some lessons. What he said!! I need lessons too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 On 1/2/2019 at 7:46 AM, landman said: Fascinating. I should go take some lessons. This is the only school where tuition is free! There's no diploma or graduation exercises however. The learning never stops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckrigger Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 On 1/3/2019 at 12:37 PM, Chariots of Fire said: This is the only school where tuition is free! There's no diploma or graduation exercises however. The learning never stops! Charlie, your builds show you have gone about 47 levels above Doctorate and are still climbing! Awesome work as always sir! Thank you for the unending inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 Thanks for the compliment, Tom. Glad to share all that I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Deja vu! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TECHMAN Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Absolutely FANTASTIC fabrication!!!!! Will definitely watch this close!!! DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Awesome! Especially brass chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiN Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 wouldn't this have a flathead six? Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Nope. Chevy BV-1001 engine as shown in one of the tech manuals that I have on these rigs. It had overhead valves. Exact same engine that is in the Revell '41 Chevy pickup kit. The oil pan is slightly different shape but that is the only difference that I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Work continues. The cab is done except for the interior details including steering wheel, shift lever, hand brake, hi/li range lever and pto lever. Then the seat will go in permanently. There are some instruction plates that go over the windshield also. Body has been started but not much to show yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 With severe cold weather my work area has been somewhat on the chilly side. But lately I got back into things a bit with some additional details. The cab interior is done, windshield wipers and hinges added and the pump is complete with the priming valve in place in front of the grill guard. Work has also started on the body. One of two hose reels are ready for installation once the body is painted. Still plenty to go before we can call it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Very realistic accessories you have there, they add a lot to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Thanks, Bob. The stacked pails are really once resin casting that I added some wire to for the top of each one plus the handles. The pump can is also a resin casting. Have to cast one more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneckrigger Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Charlie, that is simply fantastic! You continue to set the bar for so many of us to strive toward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermann Kersten Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Very interesting project, the details on the pump look very realistic. Hermann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Thanks, Hermann. When it is finished it will be going to its owner in Belgium! The body got painted last nite. I also worked on making a long handle pointed shovel out of brass. After a couple of tries it came out pretty nice. Will take some pics shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLMFAA1 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words I can not write the words to satisfactorily praise your work. I am extremely fortunate to have you as a hobby friend. Have you heard from the veteran in Hawaii that got his model? It would be great to see a photo of him with the model. greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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