Fire Apparatus Model Forums

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-22T22:38:46

Amazing work! Cant wait for the next update.

Statistics: Posted by PFR60 — Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:38 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-11T21:50:05

I started putting the blade assembly together. Here you can see the pins I am making out of Evergreen round strips. They will eventually be cut flush, and touched up with paint. When the dozer is transported, the blade is fully angled to the right. I will leave it this way, but it will function as the real blade does, including full tilt.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:50 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-11T18:32:36

Over the weekend, I got the major sub-assemblies painted. Back to work on the chassis now. I have cut a new high sprocket axle out of brass tubing. I filled in the old axle holes on the lower wheels. Once dry, I will drill them out from the other side, with holes just big enough to let the small HobBits screws go through. The paint I used, is the new Cat color, that I had mixed quite a few years ago, from Tower Paint. It really matches the paint on the wheels pretty closely. I didn't paint the wheels.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:32 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-04T19:39:43

Troy wrote: ↑
Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:25 pm
Ouch! I'm pretty sure all of us here have done the same thing once or twice.

Yep

Statistics: Posted by JoeO — Mon Oct 04, 2021 7:39 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-03T19:25:49

Ouch! I'm pretty sure all of us here have done the same thing once or twice.

Statistics: Posted by Troy — Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:25 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-03T15:16:36

Oh, boy! I have come close to doing that myself! I have a chair on casters and it swivels as well so if I drop something before I move the chair I look around and if I don't see what I dropped I rotate out of the chair and look again before moving it. I've avoided some serious parts damage that way but not before actually doing so!

Statistics: Posted by Chariots of Fire — Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:16 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-03T13:18:01

No shutdown. I dropped the blade while I was getting ready to wash it and prime it. To make things worse, I rolled the chair over it, reaching for it. I broke off part of the top that I made. Its repaired, and will get primer today. We had a few days of humidity again, but think that is gone now.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:18 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-10-03T03:36:38

Did the dozer factory get shut down due to Covid?? Patiently waiting for an update.

Statistics: Posted by Troy — Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:36 am

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-21T17:20:48

Thanks Charlie, I am trying to get some of these multi-year projects finished up.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Tue Sep 21, 2021 5:20 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-18T03:51:14

That's really using your resources! Nice work on that grill piece to find the materials and massage them into what you needed.

Statistics: Posted by Chariots of Fire — Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:51 am

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-17T13:00:55

I wanted to have a brush guard on top of the blade, as shown in the first photo. However, I did not want to scratch build it. It would involve building a jig, and a ton of cutting plastic strips and trying to get it all aligned. I kept looking at photo etch parts, and all sorts of plastic parts from various models. Then it hit me, some H.O. scale buildings have fence and railing parts. I found two pieces of ornamental iron gates that I thought might work. They are from an H.O. scale accessory kit. I cut off the portion that protrudes from the bottom rail, and glued them together. I let it dry for a few hours, then went to work measuring. I found the center point on the dozer blade, and measured out to where the taper is. I cut them at this height. Once it was cut using a razor blade, I measured the taper, and cut both ends. When it was cut, I lightly sanded all of the cut surfaces. I added .020 styrene strips to the top and taper, and sanded smooth when dry. I was going after the look, not and exact piece. I think it will work just fine.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:00 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-14T21:47:15

A few years back, I ran a sheet of photo etch parts, that had dozer stuff on it for another project. With a bit of trimming, one of the engine covers I did fit really well. So I used them on each side. I have also added the mounting pads for the (ROPS) roll over protective structure. That will get added after final painting. I also got a coat of primer on the body and chassis today. Very little touch up sanding needs to be done.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:47 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-11T20:48:04

While other sections are drying from putty or glue, I have started on the cab and deck. I did not like the looks of the D6 R or D6 H decks. Neither one looked correct. I had another 1:64 scale dozer, more of a generic toy, that looked pretty good. I had gotten it for the blade for another project. So I added some .020 styrene to the rear to make it a little bigger. I had to add some to the top to straighten out an angle. I milled just a bit off of the inside, where it was just rough from the casting. I also milled a bit off of the D6 R cab, so that it would fit inside. I had to add a little plastic to the corners of the cab due to the way it was cut. The cab fits down in the deck recess very well, and the deck fits really well on top of the body. Some filler work and final sanding has been done on the top and rear, in preparation for primer tomorrow, if the humidity stays away.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Sat Sep 11, 2021 8:48 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-09T14:29:56

It took many attempts to get the chassis and body to match up. I had to make a few cuts in the body, and keep moving the body to the front and then to the rear, to get the look I wanted. Once I was satisfied with how they would mate up, I cut new notches in the body to accept the axle for the high sprocket. Both models had the sprocket too low and too far forward for a D6 M. Once I got those cut, I measured the angle of the exterior walls of the body where it meets the chassis, and cut new plastic sides. You can see in the photo that the new walls will hide all of the work on the body where it would meet up with the metal chassis. There is still some metal to metal contact, but not a lot. Once I got the side pieces in, I sanded off the top, and started notching out the rear. I also drilled out the holes for the high sprocket axle. This morning I started the final sanding and filling of gaps. Still a long way to go.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:29 pm

Re: Caterpillar D6M dozer conversion

2021-09-09T14:25:24

Time to get back to the body. As I noted earlier, I wanted to use the D6 H body, with the D6 R chassis and cab. No easy feat here. As you can see in the comparison photo, I had to mill off all of the decking, and part of the area around where the cowl and engine cover meets, to get the right shape for the cab. I knew I had to add to the cowl, and the D6 H gave me a better starting point than the D6 R. It took several days to do all the milling. I had to go in steps, taking one section at a time, and making sure it all lined up with the cab parts.

Statistics: Posted by Rich — Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:25 pm