AMT Christie Steam Powered Fire Engine 1/12th Scale

This is for davedork:
If you haven't gotten to the decaling stage for your Christie thought I'd pass along the difficulties I've run into while doing mine.
1) The decals are very thin and hard to apply, especially the "gold" and white pin striping. Being so thin they also have a tendency to tear so handle with extreme care. They did respond well to Micro-Set and Micro-Sol.
2) I resorted to cutting decal #18 in half after having a devil of a time positioning #15 on the carriage frame. I put half of #18 on the frame, let it completely dry and then applied the other half carefully aligning the pin striping with a needle chucked into the handle of an X-Acto knife. I then brushed on Future and while it isn't the greatest decal job I've done, I guess its passable.
I also cut decals #33 and #36 in half before applying them to the fenders.
3) The "gold" tends to blend into the red paint job and comes out looking almost green.
I thought I'd run into difficulties while decaling other projects, but nothing compares to these. The wife says I've invented new expletives while attempting to get a decal on properly.
To top it all off, I'm building up this Christie for a cousin who contracted for it and I'm attempting to produce as close to a museum quality piece as possible. I know he plans to hand it down to his two grandsons so it will remain in the family for quite a while. Since we're both originally from Colorado, and I made the mistake of uncovering a picture of a Christie in front of the City Hall in Denver, circa 1916, he decided he wanted it built up to represent that one. Making the decals for that is another story (also another thread under the Decal Section).
All in all the Christie is coming along nicely, or as nice as I can do it, and should be halfway presentable when completed. At least I'm not having any diffculties with the oak base I'm making for it!
Dick McC

I'm still cleaning seams and pin marks so I haven't looked into the paint colors yet. I seemed to end up with too many projects at once so the Christie build is a bit slow for now. The last fire engine I painted was done 4 times until I decided on the color. Red is a tricky color. I settled on a mix of Humbrol enamels but I didn't keep the formula. Good luck with your search.

I have had pretty good results with the Fusion paint. I used it on the truck in my sig and it looks great. All I did to it was put on a primer event hough it is made for plastics, I noticed that if no primer was used it looked a bit transparent. and then a gloss coat of future. I have seen people use automotive paints on builds and it looks great when done right also.

For Dave,
I received the Christie last week and have started construction; once I cleared off a large portion of my workbench! I've done a bit of research trying to come up with a correct "fire engine red" paint to use without much success. Before I make a trip to the hobby shop, what kind of red paint are you using? I have even considered of going to the local fire station to see if anyone down there had any ideas. Thinking along those lines has anyone ever tried using automotive paints on scale model cars/trucks? My fear is that some might be destructive to plastic. Any thoughts?
Dick McC

Dick McC

Hey Dick McC, I've been watching davedork build his. I'll try and take some pics when he is done with it. I think it will be on permanent display in my basement.

Replaceing the chrome would probally look better with Alcad anyway. i have gottent o where I redo as much as possible of the kit chrome on everything. Just always looked to toyish to me.

Dave,
Thanks for the input. I thought that large chrome piece would have a seam which would have to be addressed. Getting off my payment for the Christie today and anxious to get started on it.
Thanks again,
Dick McC

No problems as yet. Some large seams and push out pin marks to clean up. I'm unsure how to clean up the seam on the large chrome parts, ie, steam dome. Will have to probably have to rechrome with alclad.

Glad I could help Dick. I lost out one the other day, guy out bid by 50 cents with less than 10 seconds left on the auction. Was going for less than $20 too. Let us know how the bnuild goes, especially pics, have not seen one actually built yet.

I certainly appreciate all the assistace everyone has provided in this endeavor to find the AMT Christie. My cousin finally made up his mind, what little he has left, and decided to have me build it up for him. Thanks to Dave and lizardqing for pointing me to e-bay for the kit, bought it this a.m. While it is pricey my cousin can afford it and will be thrilled when I get it completed and delivered to him. Thanks again for everything.
Dave,
Have you run into any difficulties with your build?
Dick McC

Dave,
Certainly appreciate the data re. dimensions. So much for my computations using dividers and calculator! Guess the guys in the photo I measured weren't close to 6' tall. Maybe at 16.5" long the Christie wouldn't be too big for my cousin who is contemplating having me build it for him.
Thanks again,
Dick McC

Am in the middle of building it now . If I hold it together its about 16 1/2" long. Unsure how tall but the large rear wheels are 4 3/4" .

Appreciate the response. Sweltering in George? Come to Florida and our hurricanes will blow that swelter out of you.
Dick McC

It is between 19 and 20" long best I know.