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Chuck Doan
Fireman
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 Posted - 04/23/2005 : 11:34:57 AM
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Marc Reusser’s recent truck project inspired me to do a write-up of the tow truck I built for my Red Oak Garage diorama. I neglected to take in-process photos, but here is my best recollection:
I started with an old Wheel Works ’34 Ford pick-up kit, and a resin WWII German Ford truck from a French company called “Gaso.Line” (kit # 50053). I ordered mine from Squadron Mail Order. These kits are kinda pricey and only available sporadically. It would have been easier to start with the Wheel Works long wheelbase ’34 Ford stake truck kit (maybe still available from Berkshire Valley), but I couldn’t find one at the time. I used the front section and cab of the ’34 Ford, and the chassis and beautiful resin wheels from the French kit. This combination would make a 1 ˝ ton version of the ’34 Ford truck (same fenders, hood and cab as a pick-up, but a beefier chassis and larger wheels).
Research
I borrowed a great book from my Dad, “Ford Trucks since 1905” by James K. Wagner purchased from Classic Motorbooks. Lots of photos of different truck styles, including cab interior views. I also searched the internet for tow rig ideas.
Cab and frame
The 34 Ford kit had a one-piece cab floor and fender casting. I cut off the rear frame and fenders just behind the cab, and grafted on the resin frame from the military truck. I cut the frame length to match the shorter 131 ˝” wheelbase available in 1934. I installed the front axle from the French kit, and made 34 Ford style radius bars from styrene.
The soft metal cab and top of the hood were a bit fiddly to assemble, because of the many pieces. I glued the rear cab wall onto the cab floor, using a square to keep it aligned. The roof and front cab wall were attached next. Then I glued on the radiator and the top of the hood. Once assembled, I found I had to file the front of the cab roof to line up with the front wall, which meant losing some of the rain gutter detail. The top of the hood also required sanding to line up to the cab front, which removed some raised trim. I replaced these raised details by gluing on .010 x .020 styrene strips with super glue. Then I carefully sanded the styrene to merge and blend in with the remaining detail. The hood side panels were sanded for fit and then glued in place. It was starting to look like a truck!
I added door hinges cut from brass wire, since I decided to omit the doors. I sanded in a few dents and nicks, bent up the soft metal fenders, and then it was off to paint. I masked the fenders and frame and painted the cab and hood with a spray can of Floquil Reefer Orange which left an awful “orange peel” texture. After a few days of curing, I wet sanded the cab with 1000 grit sandpaper and thinned down the finish until it was “barely there”. I used a sharpened toothpick for nicks and scratches and I also rubbed it along the edges of the louvers on the hood to remove the paint. A wash of Hobby Black (and a thorough rinse) darkened the underlying metal. (This all sounds pretty straightforward, but I came close several times to just soaking it in Acetone and starting over! Fortunately, it turned out OK in the end!) Once the cab painting was done, I brush painted the fenders and cab floor with Polly Scale (PS) Engine Black. More toothpick nicks and rubs were done and then a Hobby Black wash. The exposed rear chassis was given a preliminary spray coat of Floquil Roof Brown.
I cleaned up the dashboard and drilled out the gauge holes. I glued in some 1/48 scale acetate aircraft gauges and then painted and installed the dash. I added some pedals made from scrap box bits and a steering wheel from a Mackenzie Fordson, mounted on a brass column. The seat casting was painted with PS Dirt which was stippled on with a stiff brush for a bit of texture. After mounting to the floor as per the kit instructions, it looked too low, so I built a styrene riser and it looked a lot better (I think the gas tank was under the seat?). The riser and pedals were painted with PS Engine Black. The resin wheels from the French kit were cleaned with a file and I drilled and filed out the front wheel slots. I sprayed them with Floquil Roof Brown from a can. When dry, I brush painted Floquil PS Reefer Orange on the wheels, and picked and rubbed the lugs and other high points with a toothpick to let the Roof Brown undercoat show through. The tires were brushed with PS Engine Black and mounted to the chassis. Almost done!
Tow rig
Evergreen styrene channels were added to the rear frame, and attached with U-bolts bent from brass wire. I first made this a logging truck, but I was later persuaded to convert it into a wrecker. I located some C.H.B. model gears and a pulley for the boom that looked right, and set about designing the winch and boom, using “seat of the pants” style engineering. I started with a thick styrene base plate. I used a file to make jagged edges, to represent a torch cut plate. Evergreen styrene channels made up the winch frame, while brass tubing was used for the boom. The boom is supported by brass wire rods and styrene brackets with NBW castings applied. The winch was made from a length of brass tubing, with the front wheels from a Jordan Products H.O. Fordson glued onto the ends. A brass wire axle mounted the winch and crank pinion-it’s hard to see in the photos, but there is a crank handle bent from brass wire on the far side. The winch was rigged with 40 L.P.I. chain and an old C.H.B. hook. (I’m thinking there should be some kind of stabilizing device to keep the car from swinging on the hook, but I haven’t found any clear pictures of a vintage rig). Several applications of PS paint was built-up with a sharp brush along the winch frame joints to simulate welds. The boom and winch were then wash painted with a mix of Polly Scale Rust and Roof brown.
Final details
The toolbox was made from styrene and H.O. hinge castings. The mirror and taillight were made from scrapbox bits and brass wire. The license plate is from a Renwal ‘32 Ford sedan kit, sanded thinner. The headlight (1 missing) and the horn came from the Wheel works kit. The soft metal headlight rim was polished to represent chrome. I made a gas can holder from styrene and installed an old and excellent Gemini Models Jerry can casting. Window glass was omitted; I figured it had long since been broken out. I mixed up some fine powdered dirt and diluted white glue into a thick paste and dabbed it on the frame and tires to represent dried mud. Final weathering was done with various Bragdon powders. I made a particular mess of the banged up fenders, running boards and cab floor. Lastly, I mixed up some Floquil engine Black and Roof brown and applied an oily wash around the differential, rear leaf spring mounts and along the bottom of the hood. Thinned Floquil High Gloss was applied to simulate an ongoing oil leak (doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in the garage boys, does it?)
FYI: I use several types of glue in projects like this:
Loctite 454 Gel (surface insensitive, excellent hold, but brother you had better get it right the first time!)
5 minute epoxy for things that need aligning
Thin and watery type super glue (mostly to follow up already glued joints.)
Tanax 7R or Testors liquid cement for plastic joints
Sorry to be so wordy! A few pictures follow (some have been posted before in other threads.)
Chuck D.
I designed the winch and boom using a 3D design program called Solidworks. I later decided to use a smaller winch gear than this one.
Hard to get a shot of this side
http://public.fotki.com/ChuckDoan
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Edited by - Chuck Doan on 04/23/2005 1:00:42 PM
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Country: USA
| Posts: 1067 |
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Rick
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 11:55:46 AM
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Chuck, thank you for the how you did it and the pictures. Outstanding modeling and photography.
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___________________________________
All the things that others want for me...
Can't buy what I want because it's free... |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 12134 |
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NickO
Fireman
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 12:29:18 PM
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Chuck ,
Thanks for posting the photos and text on how you built your wrecker , I am going to find them very useful as I have asperations for building one for myself . Feel free to be as wordy as you like . I just checked on Valley Model Trains' website and they stock both the long wheelbase and short wheelbase Ford stakebed trucks , and are both best sellers . I know I'll get one next time I'm ordering from Pat .
Keep them photos coming , we can't have enough ,
NickO
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Country: United Kingdom
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MikeC
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 2:03:48 PM
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I am just blown away by the realism again, Chuck! Everything, right down to the mud on the tire edges, is right! Nothing overdone, nothing underdone.
Thanks for the mini-tutorial. It's a big help to those of us who want to improve our own skills and abilities. (BTW: I concur with your comment about the Loktite gel. I've used it and Loktite's "Stick 'n Seal." You definitely have to get things aligned and right because you get only one chance with that stuff. )
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Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man. I have a railroad to run.
Visit the Central Missouri & Southern
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Country: USA
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Drew
Fireman
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 2:45:43 PM
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WOW!!
Oncw again, I'm just blown away by the level of modeling skill exibited on this forum!
You could have told me these were prototype photos, & I could find no evidence there to lead me to believe otherwise!
Amazing! Simply amazing!
As someone whose just gotten into O scale modeling, I'd like to thank you Chuck, & Marc, & lots of others here, for giving me something to aspire to...Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the inspiration!
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-Drew-
"Life is all the stuff that happened while you were making other plans." |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 1173 |
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ETinBH
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 2:55:21 PM
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amazing, to be sure, and a joy to view.
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| Elliott (ET) |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 3189 |
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 4:19:55 PM
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Well Chuck....just stunning...and an excellent/informative write-up...Thanks!
...a few questions....what color of paint did you use for the tires, and did the headlight, horn, and tailight/plate frame come from the '34 kit?
....I had noticed the weld joints, and was wondering how you had done those....thanks.
...you just keep making raising the bar and making it harder for me to aspire to
Marc
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Peterpools
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 5:15:57 PM
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Chuck
Some mighty fine modeling. The details and weathering are excellent. Hope everyone checked out the tires and the worn tread. Looks just like it should be.
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Country: USA
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k27rgs
Fireman
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 5:23:39 PM
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Chuck,
It's early Sunday morning in the office, and I found this topic. My computer's have your work as desktop wall paper.
Just inspiring all round. Wish I had a closer look at this model at Santa Clara, but hope I can see it again in August 2005.
Mario
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Country: Australia
| Posts: 2547 |
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Bbags
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 5:35:54 PM
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Chuck,
As others have said that whole scene is well deserving of a Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The tutorial is excellent and even though I am in HO I can still learn from your work.
I have studied the truck for a good 15 minutes and can not find a detail that I think should be there and is not.
From the colors you chose to the extra details on the back of the truck everything is just plain perfect.
One quick question about how many hours did it take you to create this masterpiece?
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John Bagley
Modeling the Alaska Railroad in HO in Wildwood Georgia. |
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Country: USA
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k27rgs
Fireman
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 6:04:34 PM
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Chuck,
I am still looking at this wonderful work.... One thing I have decided, is to try and photograph my model's... outdoors, more often.
Just add's that extra "natural" overall look...as per your pictures.
thanks again
MArio
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Country: Australia
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/23/2005 : 8:17:42 PM
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Chuck that's sooooooooo real looking it's scary! Just plain awesome!
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Country: USA
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inspecbri
Engine Wiper
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Posted - 04/24/2005 : 06:14:34 AM
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Chuck,
I was fortunate enough to see this gem in Santa Clara. As I have told you....Dave grabbed me and said...You have to see this garage doirama in the model room...Totally blown away!!!...
You should post that entire project sheets that are floating around somewhere...or did you already. If you post it, everyone should fasten seat belts and cover faces for the visual blast!
Brian
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Country: USA
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Posted - 04/24/2005 : 06:26:55 AM
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Mornin' Banker Nolan,
Photos, and a composite explanation of most of the diorama are posted here.
http://www.rbadesign.net/TERRAPIN/CD_RedOakGarage.htm
I will snip all this info and pics, and add them shortly.
Marc...off to bed.
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Mic Greenberg
Engine Wiper
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Posted - 04/24/2005 : 2:01:18 PM
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Hi Chuck.
Sorry I missed you in California.
I notice the truck has adaptable beds you can lay on the chasis. Not a bad idea. A truck for seasons (reasons).
The missing headlight is also a nice touch. Not much night duty for this wrecker.
Regards.
Mic
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Visit my website:
www.micgreenberg.com |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 152 |
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RodH
Engine Wiper
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Posted - 04/24/2005 : 7:28:12 PM
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Hi all,
Chuch, the tow truck is fabulous. Between Mic Greenberg & Chuck Doan and all who have followed, (I won't name names because I sure to leave someone out) thank you for allowing us to know the "How to's". The modelling is fantastic.
I reckon we should get Mic and Chuck down to Australia for some clinics or two.
If Mario is reading this, do you have photos of the 7th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention to show these guys.
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Rod Hutchinson
Growing Old Disgracefully
Melbourne, Australia |
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Country: Australia
| Posts: 278 |
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