This is an example of inovative use of surplus military hardware. The pictures below are of American WWII Halftracks converted to fire fighting duties after the war.
The pictures above were posted by members of Scale Firehouse. When I saw them I knew I had model to a "Fire Track".
For this project I used Tamiya's U.S. Halftrack 81mm Mortar Carrier M21 (kit # 35083-1800) in 1:35 scale. The idea here is to make a truck used to fight brush and forest fires. I am not a fire fighter, so I will rely on pictures to build the bed. The model, while inspired by the pictures above, is purely from my imagination. To begin the project I built the Halftrack "from the box", leaving off everything from the cab back. The picture below shows this stage of the build.
I've made some progress on my Firetrack. First, I have completed the skid unit. This was made using the tank from the Italeri Fire Jeep, the Pro Art Hemitt Fuel Pump set, and some solder and Evergreen square tube. Here's a picture of the unit.
Next, Ive made a start on the bed. This is made with Evergreen rod and Diamond plate from Don Mills. As you can see the bed is not complete, but it's getting there.
Well, thanks to all the help from the guys at Scale Firehouse this model is completed. As always, comments and ideas are welcome.
