Curious old M49 fuel truck

[Paweł]

@HDN , @msgjd -thanks a lot for your comments, they help me a lot! From a modellers point of view I'm going to paint the lens black, because that's what it looks like when not lit.

HDN - I'm glad you like my work and thanks a lot for the photo of that lamp - it's easy to find a photo of the new lamp with that large amber lens, but not so with that old lamp, especially if the lens isn't supposed to be red.

I hope to post another update soon, with the tank sanded and ready for paint! Thanks again and have a nice day!

Paweł

 

[msgjd]

it's easy to find a photo of the new lamp with that large amber lens, but not so with that old lamp, especially if the lens isn't supposed to be red.
Paweł

here's the old-style housing with supercede amber glass

 

[HDN]

I notice that the old marker lamps seem to have a divot or bulge on one side of the lens. Are they supposed to be directional?

 

[msgjd]

I notice that the old marker lamps seem to have a divot or bulge on one side of the lens. Are they supposed to be directional?

they are directional in the sense that the so-called "bulge/divot" is always at the right half of these lenses regardless whether it's a front or rear lamp .. It really isn't a bulge or divot, the outer face is smooth.. What we see is a set of concentric glass rings cast upon the inside surface of the glass to accentuate the flasher bulb (and also brake). It acts like a prism

 

[Paweł]

Hello everybody!
Great references on the lights.

Recently I started wondering how to put all the inscriptions (Flammable, no smoking and water!) on the side of the tank where the hose is stowed.

Looks to me like the inscriptions would be higher, above the hose - OR - it kinda looks to me on one of the photos posted on page 1 of this thread as if there were remains of an inscription under the hose.

Can anybody give me a pointer on this one?

Thanks in advance and have a nice day

Paweł

 

[msgjd]

Recently I started wondering how to put all the inscriptions (Flammable, no smoking and water!) on the side of the tank where the hose is stowed.

Looks to me like the inscriptions would be higher, above the hose - OR - it kinda looks to me on one of the photos posted on page 1 of this thread as if there were remains of an inscription under the hose

these pics were around 1984 when i "owned" the keys to the two M49A2C's and the four 5T T&P's during "off" weekends

Was given the logbook/key to the CO's jeep here for safe keeping this particular weekend , big mistake ! .. Resulted in a weekend-long unpaid volunteer adventure of jeep fording, mudding, and rock-climbing classes for any of my trans section guys who didn't want to go home

1: Yes, lettering above the hose rack, 3/4 of the way up the tank on both sides .. Somewhere I have a TM showing the detail of marking the fuel trucks , including stencil sizes .. I didn't see any M50 water trucks during my time and don't know how the "POTABLE WATER" would be done, but likely is in the same manner as for fuel

2: In the mid-1970's and beyond, if the mogas-carrying tactical trucks ran public highways above a certain number of miles (or radius?), USDOT required the use of the reflectorized warning panels, so we had been told .. These panels were removable for strict tactical operations .. Underneath the panels you would see the normal stencil lettering on the tank in similar font .. Trucks (army) hauling diesel did not have such reflectorized signs in my experience (note the T&P diesel pods in the top picture)

3: Your model of an early-late 1960's-era M49C would not have the reflectorized panels you see here, but the font would be the same.. Your truck should have a 10" white FLAMMABLE on each side, and a 4" NO SMOKING WITHIN 50FT below that .. As for the rear of the truck, there were two variations of the 2-line marking .. One variant was stenciled across the doors , and the other variant had the lettering up above the doors

 

[Paweł]

Hello!

@msgjd - thanks a lot for the infos! If you could find that TM it would really be interesting. References for the side with the hose rack are really hard to find on the net.

And I've been working on the tank. I've soldered said hose rack out of thin copper sheet metal - your photos were very valuable reference here:



I also added other details - most tricky were those tarp hooks I made out of really thin copper wire:



And the underside is painted and dirtied up as it will soon be installed on the frame:



As soon as I have it installed, I'll start painting everything OD.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

 

[HDN]

The underside paint looks great! How did you achieve that effect? I'm getting more into miniature painting myself and trying to learn different techniques.

 

[Paweł]

Hello! Thanks a lot for your comment!
I started with airbrushing everything with Humbrol 113 - that's my favourite colour for Vietnam earth. Then I airbrushed on some patches in OD - Humbrol 66 to show the places where the mud was thin enough for the original colour to show through. Then I put on a wash - Citadel Agrax Earthshade. Then a took a little bit of a sponge and using a sponge I put on some more Humbrol 113 - and that's about it.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day!

Paweł

 

[msgjd]

Hello!

@msgjd - thanks a lot for the infos! If you could find that TM it would really be interesting. References for the side with the hose rack are really hard to find on the net.


Paweł

There should be about a vertical foot of open space between the bottom of the two end racks and the walkway portion of the deck .. Your model appears it is a bit too tight for the hose to curve underneath to lay along the top of the walkway.. Note: someone stole the (brass) nozzle and i have no spares

You are doing a fantastic job with the truck !

 

[Paweł]

@msgjd - thanks a lot for your comment, for your kind words and for the photo! Unfortunately I already started putting on some paint on my model, and I don't think I will move the rack anymore. Then again I'd say I got the top of it pretty lined up with the hose "elbow". The clearance between the bottom of the rack and the deck might be a little to small... But I'm pretty sure I will be able to route the hose right. I regret putting the nozzle holder where it is on the A2C - if I double checked your photos, I would put it more forward.

I think I will still paint the markings so that "No smoking within..." will be directly above the rack, and "Flammable" above that. I think I can make those inscriptions symmetrical on both sides of the tank. I plan to put "potable water" on the left side below the hose rack - unfortunately it will be partly obscured by the nozzle holder.

If anybody has some good references for painting the "Flammable" ad "no smoking within" in context of the hose rack, I'd really appreciate it before I start putting the decals on.

Thanks again for your great help and have a nice day - and Happy Easter, too!

Paweł

 

[msgjd]

@msgjd - thanks a lot for your comment, for your kind words and for the photo! Unfortunately I already started putting on some paint on my model, and I don't think I will move the rack anymore. Then again I'd say I got the top of it pretty lined up with the hose "elbow". The clearance between the bottom of the rack and the deck might be a little to small... But I'm pretty sure I will be able to route the hose right. I regret putting the nozzle holder where it is on the A2C - if I double checked your photos, I would put it more forward.

I think I will still paint the markings so that "No smoking within..." will be directly above the rack, and "Flammable" above that. I think I can make those inscriptions symmetrical on both sides of the tank. I plan to put "potable water" on the left side below the hose rack - unfortunately it will be partly obscured by the nozzle holder.

If anybody has some good references for painting the "Flammable" ad "no smoking within" in context of the hose rack, I'd really appreciate it before I start putting the decals on.

Thanks again for your great help and have a nice day - and Happy Easter, too!

Paweł

happy easter ! yes, i noticed the nozzle holder is in the spot found on A2's .. but i will tell you there might have been a reason it got moved on the later trucks.. The location is a pain in the butt on the old M49C's , it's almost in the way .. Especially if your muddy boot slips on the side of the tank while climbing up to stick the compartments and your leg hits the holder