Jesper, thank you my friend! Truly, the only bad thing about this build is that it keeps reminding me how bad most of my other kits have been. These 3 Jeep kits have built up easily and I can highly recommend them if you are looking for a change of pace.
Cheers, D
There is lots to be happy about. Never thought about thinning Tamiya paint with water.
Did you dab or brush the thinned Tamiya paint on?
Thanks Ryan! I picked up the tip on brushing Tamiya acrylics thinned with tap water years ago from a club member who used it to paint figures with great success. I use about 25-30% water in the mix and load the brush up and brush it on. Give it about 15 minutes to set up then go over it again if necessary for opacity.
I don’t usually use it for large areas where I can airbrush, but for small or difficult areas, or touch-ups, it works well.
Cheers, D
D,
Excellent progress on the Fire Pump truck.
I’m with Ryan about thinning Tamiya acrylic Lacquers with just tap water as it came as a complete surprise to me. I’m going to give a try as I’ve been using their Yellow cap for years to thin it for hand painting, and it does give me a headache after a while. But it does have way better coverage then true water based acrylics for me.
joel
Thanks, like Joel I will have to give that a try.
Experimenting with the ladder wood work. Base coat of Sand Yellow, random light patches of Dark Brown, filter and wash with thinned Industrial Earth oil, then after a couple of days to cure a couple of thin coats of clear orange.
Working on some of the the smaller details today, more updates shortly!
Cheers, D
Ok, now we are getting to the sharp end of the build!
Wheels are on, crazy blue disco light is on, hand-held extinguishers have been detailed (dry fitted here), spare wheel is on, tail lights and front guard reflectors are on, horns and wipers fitted to the windscreen frame, exhaust system and bash plate fitted underneath, and finally battery, relay box and horn fitted to engine bay.
Some more touch-ups and detail painting next, then the final few parts to be fitted and a light PLW to tie it all down.
Cheers, D
D,
WOW 
I’m just blown away with those 3 ladders. just super impressive as is the whole build. Great subject which peaked my interest from day 1.
Can’t wait to see it finished and proudly on display.
joel
@Joel_W thanks mate! I’m very happy with the way the ladders came up. I might give them a light sand and Dullcote before I glue them in place.
The Farm Hack has moved forward a bit as well, the body and chassis are now Dullcoted to lock in the chipping against future weathering and ready for assembly. I decided to do the radiator assembly in semi gloss black to show that the farmer has replaced it recently.
I forgot to take some photos of the various stages on the wheels, but here are a couple of progress shots.
Cheers, D
The fire jeep is just awesome. Love the work on the ladders and the details really make this build work. Looking forward to the final shots. And good to see the old farm hack, looking well used, making progress too.
cheers
Michael
@cosimodo , thanks mate, much appreciated!
A bit of CA time tonight and the Farm Hack major assembly is done! Wheels are dry-fitted here. I will leave them off until all of the mud and crud is thrown at the underside.
Brother Fireman stuck his nose in for a look . . . .
And Grandad Sergeant Major just had to check the progress . . .
Cheers, D
D,
The farm hack is really coming along quite nicely. Excellent job on the wheels as the rubber really looks like used rubber.
Glad to see that the family got together for a quick family group picture.
joel
Hey team. Apologies for the lack of attention here, work has had me running lately!
I’ve managed a little bit of bench time to inch the Fire Jeep closer to completion. I have added the front manual spotlights to the frames, fitted the driver’s side mirror, fixed the ladders in place, and touched up and mounted the hand-held extinguishers on the back. I also added the radio antenna to the relocated mounting frame on the passenger side. This was not actually meant to be used in the Fire Jeep build as the mounting bracket should be where the back extinguisher base is, but it looks great and I found a bare patch of side to add it to.
The last couple of items to finish the Fire Jeep are the hold-down brackets for the ladders (which are painted and curing), paint the rubber buffers on the hood, and a light pin wash to give it a lightly-used feel.
I also did a little more on the Farm Hack, I used a spring clamp to hold it vertically on its nose and gave the instruments a drop of Aqua Gloss, and once that was cured I gave the dashboard a light filter wash with Tamiya Brown PLW. I will clean this up and refine it a bit with some white spirits later.
I hope everybody is keeping well and getting some bench time in!
Cheers, D
D,
I was getting concerned for a moment as not seeing you around nearly everyday is certainly out of your character these days. Glad that it’s just pesky work once again.
The fire truck is turning out to be one of your all time best builds. Everywhere and anywhere I look, I see details highlighted and brought out with washes or various paint techniques. Even the Gloss Red paint is among your finest paint jobs IMHO.
That’s not saying that the farm hack isn’t in that class as well, as it’s weathering has certainly been kicked up several notches, and more and more looks the part of the story you want it to tell.
joel
The fire jeep is coming along great. All the colors look spot on.
Thanks so much guys, really appreciate the feedback!
I decided to knuckle down tonight and get the Fire Jeep completed. It only took an hour or so to knock over the last few tasks, plus I used the Tamiya Weathering Set to tone down the black a bit more on the tires with some grey.
Completed Build #6 for 2022 is now in the display cabinet!
As an aside, Completed Build #7 for 2022 left the bench tonight, also a car, a 1/72 Austin Tilly by Ace Models out of Ukraine which I built as part of my Short Stirling nostalgia project.
Cheers, D
Awesome looking Jeep, D. Very well done. Now I want one!
Jim
Wonderful Fire-Willy, D! Love it! It’s so unusual. Congrats on finishing already 6 models this year! I stand at 2 finished and 2 in the pipeline … 
Torsten 
Jim, Torsten, many thanks for checking in and I’m glad you like the latest build here!
@jimb , go out and track one down mate, it was a really nice build and a lot of fun. Highly recommended!
Cheers, D
Looks amazing D. It’s incredible how fast you can build and still keep this level of quality.
