In the end, I went with a set of resin "big-n-little" whitewalls from the Modelhaus, coupled with a set of steel wheels from AMT's '49 Ford. The tires were sitting in my parts box for years, forgotten. When I found them, I knew I had to use them on this project. The wheels are painted with Rustoleum Rusty Metal primer.
The frame and running gear was sprayed flat black for simplicity. Detail painting of various components (shocks, radius rods, etc.) will follow at some point. I added a set of finned Buick brake drums to the front, while the rears received the brake drums from a AMT '68 El Camino. The engine is in place so I can test the fit of the belt assembly in relation to the radiator. It's pretty tight, but it should fit with a little massaging.
To answer a few questions about the engine: Cuhail, the distributor was stolen from a Revell '32 Ford kit, although I scratchbuilt the new front cover with some styrene tube and epoxy putty. Robert, I'm not sure about wiring it. If I thought I was able to just wire the distributor, and leave everything else alone, I might. But that rarely happens...
Out back is the shortened bed, with an extended Moon tank for the fuel. The tank was scratched from a piece of drinking straw, sandwiched between the two ends of a chromed Moon tank from an AMT '40 Willys kit. The gas cap is from Revell's '40 Ford, with a small bit of styrene rod for the filler neck. The bed wood has been weathered, but the tank has not (yet). Taillights will follow.
Getting the front and rear tracks to match up was a bit of luck, but it all looks good from up top. You can really see the weld bead on the visor, along with the not-so-subtle weathering on the roof. Also notice that the width of the tank allows the mounting legs to line up with the bed floor rails, which was a detail I overlooked the first time I put the tank together (oops).
Oh yes, the decals. After I finished the paint, I thought the truck looked too plain, so I decided I would spice it up a little. The artwork came from a sticker that I scanned into MS Publisher, reduced and then printed on decal paper. I actually made mirror images, so the driver's side and passenger's side images match (the woman has her leg pointing to the front of the truck on both sides). They were a little thick for my liking, but a few coats of Dullcote after application evened things out.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the model. If I were to build it again - and I just might if Revell ever reissues the '37 pickup kit - I would make a few minor changes. But as it stands, this one is a few more hours of work away from completion.
-YL
