Fire Apparatus Model Forums

After gaining confidence on changing the Sutphen Demo Engine to a Black over Red, I thought I would do the same with the Milwaukee Heavy Rescue. I do take the models I am repainting off the base.

Using a exacto knife you can remove the bottom of the base to expose the screws holding the truck to the base. This can be put back on later. Once you remove the 3 screws you can see the underside of the truck. I know some people have does this to display their trucks in cabinets.

The underside cabinets were attached to the chassis and body so they needed to be removed. From there I found six screws holding the chassis to the rest of the truck and removed them. Once you have the screws out you need to remove the chassis. I ran the exacto knife along the edges to make sure there is no glue holding the chassis, it also helps loosen the chassis, this does take time and it will come out on the first try.

Once the interior is out I start removing the windows a gentle push from the inside will push out the none glue corner from there I use the exacto to gently remove the rest. After that comes the grab bars, mirrors, lights etc. using the exacto knife to just pry or loosen the parts these are not glued really heavily so brut force is not needed.
I taped off the parts I don’t want painted, really I leave everything on and tape around it. After the paint job I now have a Black over Red truck and will use decals to cover mistakes and or add features like door trim back on. Not super hard however if you do this you just need to be willing to take the risk on an expensive model.

I was trying to find the right size decal to cover the white strip, I started with InQuarters decal sheet and went with the black, size was ok then I found the Yellow White Yellow (FDNY), and liked it better. Working my way down to the rear I measure and cut them to fit.

Using some customs decals that were produced by InQuarters for a fellow kit basher I found a department for the truck. This is not a replica because that departments rig is White over Red, however the color looked great on the Black. Once the decals were on I put all the parts back on. Not something I would recommend for everyone, however these are fun to work with.

Fantastic looking truck!

Thanks for sharing

Wow Joe, it came out great!!

Michael

Great job

Excellent work Joe!

Awesome work!

An inspiration to all of us that dabble in the fire models. Thanks Joe.

OUTSTANDING, perfectly done! Thanks for sharing.