Coming along nicely. It is starting to look like a Jeep.
Well, it looks like the kits are actually Ford GPWs, not Willys MBs. Not totally correct for post war Jeep CJs, but close enough.
On an actual chassis.
Willys MB tubular front cross member.
Ford GPW flat/upside down U bar front cross member.
Henry’s “F” script mark that he had stamped on most parts to ID it as a “Genuine Ford Part”.
D
Just coming on board and catching up … some mighty fine detail work and building.
Peter
Thanks for checking in Gino, I did pick that up after you pointed out the differences. The instructions say that the Fire Jeep is ex-WWII US army.
It looks like Hasegawa have the proper Willy’s MB, this is the front end of the chassis on the one I’m giving a rework. I built it to about 80% done many years ago, but the paint job is rubbish. Now I have spare decals from the Italeri kit it will be nice to bring it up to a better standard.
Glad you’ve joined the shenanigans here Peter, hopefully a fun ride forthcoming!
Cheers, D
The base for the fire truck is looking great. Lots of interesting info on the build as part of the blog which adds great colour to the build.
cheers
Michael
D,
Excellent basics on the chassis and body. You really nailed both big time. Gotta admit that seeing a non Chevy build on your bench is a rare sight these days. Certainly it will be one for the books.
joel
I’ve managed to get the Fire and Civilian Jeeps both assembled to basically the same point now. These kits are a dream to put together compared with my other recent builds! Very little clean-up required and really neat fit. Just a couple of small parts with no real positive locating points but still not a major issue.
I’ve also been putting together some of the sub assemblies for the Fire Jeep and dry test fitting them. Once again, no issues to be found (yet).
I will spend some time going over them both to clean up a few very fine mold lines and some minor flash on the edges then they will be ready for primer…
Cheers, D
D,
Both Jeeps are looking darn good in another one of your duel builds. Progress as usual is full steam ahead. 
joel
D
Terrific progress on the Jeeps and so nice to see a dual build keep pace with both kits. Looking mighty good
Peter
Bro,
D’s a master at multiple builds. We struggle with just one kit, and 2+ is D’s usual style. Must be the Aussie Shrimp on the Barbie. To bad you’re allergic to all shell fish these days. Just leaves more for us.
joel
JA
Sure wish I had D’s abilities as I’m working as hard as I can on just one kit and making a boat load of rookie mistakes. I’m thinking of taking another series of allergy tests to see if anything has changed about my allergies. Would be nice to eat shell fish again.
Bro
This is a great dual build Damian. I always admire your organisational skills and patience with all these different combo builds on the go.
cheers
Michael
Don’t be fooled guys, it’s absolute chaos and piles of mess around my bench at the best of times, but that’s just how I like it!
I took a step away from the new builds today and spent some time masking and repainting the old Hasegawa kit.
I took it from this horrible over-dry-brushed mess (that I did about 15 years ago) . . . .
To this . . . .
Everything here is loosely dry-fitted at this stage. I went with Tamiya acrylics to do this, XF-62 Olive Drab to start, thinned with about 60% MLT and light coats building up to the opacity I wanted. I then added a drop of XF-57 Buff to the paint left in the cup and randomly patterned the upper surfaces to fade it a bit.
I will give the whole thing a super light mist coat of the Olive Drab to unify it a bit more. The seats are still scary bright, but I will dull them down with some filter washes during the weathering process. I will be using oils for the filters and washes after I’m happy with the colour and decals are redone, and everything is locked in with a clear coat. The tires are rubber on this kit (plastic on the other 2 kits), so I will just use the Tamiya weathering pastel sets to age them.
A productive and enjoyable few hours, although I did manage to break the windscreen bracket on the driver’s side and knocked off one of the headlights, so a minor setback or two.
Cheers, D
Looks really nice. Great recovery of an old kit.
Bro,
Now there’s a really good idea. If you’re not we’ll be over for your 1st Shrimp on the Barbie test run.
Bro #1
D,
Wow!!
The old Hasegawa kit’s facelift looks fantastic. Can’t wait to see it with it’s washes and filters.
joel
There’s a facelift worthy, of an aging Hollywood star. Love the worn effect, of the Olive drab.
Hi folks. Not much progress to speak of, with what little bench time I have lately I’m still tinkering with cleaning up and test fitting on the Civilian and Fire versions.
Hopefully some airbrush time this weekend to throw down some primer.
Cheers, D
They are coming along nicely. They look to be nice, clean builds.
D,
Still progress is progress. Looking forward to seeing these two gems wearing some of your primer.
joel
After turning it over in my mind and trying to work through the potential hazards, I decided to assemble the frame and install it on the Fire Jeep prior to priming and painting. My main concerns were ease of access when airbrushing and detailing the interior, and getting CA everywhere if I went with installing the frame after paint (multiple small fixing points and my hamfistedness).
Test fitting the frame showed that access to the interior is still fine for airbrushing and hand painting, and installing the parts.
So here we are, all framed up!
And with the bonnet, windscreen and tank loosely dry fitted.
The black spots are sprue goo filling some sink marks and holes where items aren’t required for this version.
The Military Jeep got its markings all sorted last night as well. I will give them some time to fully cure then a good flat clear coat for protection before I start the weathering.
Very happy with the way these builds are progressing at this stage!
Cheers, D
