As the weather warms up, I’ve been busier than expected. A friend pointed me to the Miniature Tanks website recently. Much of their product line focuses on 3D printed military vehicles but there are several civilian versions. After setting the filters, I found a couple of vehicles for my 1926 layout.
I ordered a few Ford Model TT trucks and several Liberty trucks as the prices were hard to beat. The printing is a little rough and the details are not fine. But for background and to set the scene, these are a pretty good deal.
Here are the parts after I washed them in warm water with some Dawn detergent. The fenders are cast together, so those were separated. I did not separate other parts.
I set the parts on blue painter’s tape and applied Tamiya fine grey primer from a rattle can. We had a couple of really nice days so the parts dried quickly outside.
Paint color for early vehicles is always a question. From what I could find online, Ford painted the TT trucks black. For many years, production did not include the truck bed so that was often a different color. Here’s a nice image of a restored Ford model TT truck.
Here’s another nice restoration with a glossy paint finish. As I model late 1926, I don’t think my model will look as spiffy.
I painted the parts while they were on the tape. This was a lesson learned when I built some Jordan Highway Miniatures models a couple of years ago. I applied Vallejo black grey (70.862) to the cab parts and fenders. The underframe parts were painted with MicroLux railroad tie brown that I bought years ago from MicroMark. This was made in partnership with Vallejo and is basically burnt umber. The wheel rubber was painted with Vallejo dark rubber from their Panzer Aces line (306).
I didn’t have any green paint in the stash so I mixed my own. A few drops of Vallejo German orange (70.805) were blended with gold yellow (71.078) on a palette. The green mix was applied to the box parts and the wheel spokes. I had removed the box parts from the tape just before snapping the photo above.
I bought my Vallejo paints years ago and they may have renumbered and renamed some of their paint lines. The details here may not reflect their current product lines.
Assembly was quick. In fact, painting takes more time than parts prep and assembly. The company has kit assembly videos posted on YouTube. I used sparing amounts of Cyanoacrylate Adhesive (CA) in assembly. After the parts were assembled, I touched up a few areas.
I decided to add aged white paint for the headlights. Before painting, I dished the headlight areas using a larger drill bit. Don’t apply much pressure, just twirl the bit to slowly remove some material. With 3D prints, excess stress can cause breakage.
At this point I also decided to paint the window areas with dark blue paint. Another modeler suggested this for solid windows. It didn’t seem to add any contrast, maybe since the cab color is a similar shade.
But the dark blue does stand out on the back windows. Paint and assembly are now complete. I need to figure out some lettering then add weathering.
I did some internet sleuthing as this model progressed. I found the box truck version isn’t very common. At least it seems to be a version that isn’t restored as much as a flat bed or stake side version. Here’s a neat page of Ford Model TT photos and details that inspired some of my model work. The kit comes with an extra wheel but the photos on that site, and other photos on the internet indicate extra wheels were not common. I’ll save mine for another project. A Liberty truck is next up on my workbench.
This was a fun little smaller project that fit between op sessions, lawn and garden work, other household chores, and a freight car project. For the model price, this is pretty good. The detail isn’t top notch, and I’m not certain I want to add mirrors or a license plate, but it’s great for filling a background area. Check out the Miniature Tanks website to see what fits your focus. Maybe they will create more civilian vehicles for the Twenties!!
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Model Ts and TTs carried a spare rim with tire installed. The wood spoke wheel itself was hardly ever removed from the axle except for maintenance. Each rim/tire assembly was mounted to the wheel via four nuts with bolts running through the wheel’s ‘fellow’ on the T cars, and six bolts on just the rear of the TT trucks. The ‘demountable’ wheels were factory installed from about 1917 to end of production. So a model of a car or truck with a spare wood spoke wheel is incorrect, a spare tire/rim is correct but seldom scene.
The TTs were anlmost always delivered as just a chassis, the bodies were all made by various aftermarket vendors. The only possible exception was the metal ‘pickup’ bed.
Thank you for your comment, Don! Of the photos I reviewed, I had found only two with the spare rim and tire. This model has an extra full wheel and I didn’t think mounting that on the fender or the side of the box was proper. Thanks for verifying the details. Researching and modeling vehicles of the Twenties is another crazy rabbit hole! – Eric H.
Great write up as usual Eric. Thank you for taking the time to share the process, warts and all. I like the color choices.
Thank you, Bob! I’m glad you enjoyed the post! – Eric H.
Hi Eric, this site has quite a few neat vehicles! Definitely not Jordan kits but neat nonetheless.
As for the windows, you might want to paint them a sky blue to reflect the sky. Then a streak of white to represent shining sunlight. I did this with an old Magunson kit and was pretty happy with the results.
Mark
I’m happy finding vehicles to fit my 1926 focus. The Liberty trucks are a great surprise. I’m hopeful that we see something other than Ford’s and Mack’s. GMC, Dodge, and Brockway trucks would be most welcome. – Eric H.
Another option for windows is to keep the flat black base coat and then add a very thin layer of a metallic or pearlescent blue on top of that. I have an old bottle of Testors enamel (Colors by Boyd of all things) called Ice Blue Pearl that I have used with success (at least imho) in the past. And that one bottle is still ticking. You can also go with something like Cobalt Blue or, for a darked finish, something like graphite. Dry brushing with these work well too if you have a large enough surface.
And amen re the Liberty truck! Not exactly sleek but from what I understand they could haul quite a bit and were immensely rugged.
Thank you for the suggestions, Joe! I’ll give this a try. – Eric H.