custom firetrucks

[Clong]

They are not finished yet im waiting on decals and stickers but here we go.

first the 4x4




next the trailer



next the rescue boat





next the heavy rescue





and finally the ladder truck

[bonniebeth]

They look soooo great, babe!

All these were primed with Krylon Fusion white, which covered over the red very nicely, and then the green color is Valspar, simply because they had a better color selection. The Valspar has done very well as far as not scratching or chipping. I don't know how well it would have adhered directly to the plastic, because we didn't try that. But it adhered to the krylon base coat beautifully.

[playmofire]

Thanks, Chris, they do indeed look great and that green is very effective.  I think Monterey had a similar colour when I was in the States in 1980 or 1982.

Thanks for the technical info, Bonnie.

But there's another one to come isn't there, Chris?  Not solely a repaint but a full blown custom?

[basilsdad]

The paint job is immaculate, Chris.    Thanks for answering my questions on how-to before I even had to ask them bb. 
Joe

[playmofire]

But there's another one to come isn't there, Chris?  Not solely a repaint but a full blown custom?

No, there isn't!  I've just looked more closely at the fire station photos and it's an optical illusion that makes it look as if there is a 4x4 front grafted onto the fire trailer.

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy289/bonniebeth2/Chris%20customs/100_0585.jpg

[Wolf Knight]

Excellent paintjob, Chris!!!   Looking forward seeing them with ther decals!!!
So, there are lime green fire engines in the States?

[bonniebeth]

Yeah, fire trucks come in all kinds of colors around here. Here in our city, there are three different fire departments, each with a different color trucks. One has a beautiful dark red, one has white with blue striping, and the other has a yellowish green not to different from this color. I have heard in Hershey, PA, they used to have chocolate brown, and I've even seen a pic of purple ones! They can be ordered to whatever color you want.

[playmofire]

In the UK, in England and Wales the government department responsible for the fire brigades will only permit red, although Cleveland have red with a white front which looks very smart:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/4735740403/

Northern Ireland also sticks to red.  However, in Scotland they have red or white aplliances, and the white looks very smart indeed:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryansairlinepictures/6226463359/

In the past in the UK green, yellow have also been tried while Newcastle and Gateshead brigade used to have a red and maroon livery:

http://www.fire-engine-photos.com/picture/number26439.asp

[bonniebeth]

Yeah, it's not so regulated here. There are even some pink breast cancer awareness firetrucks in the US. Blue is also used sometimes.

[playmofire]

I did hear of one FD in the States which used black.  Apparently the Chief found some statistic showing black vehicles were less likely to be involved in accidents than any other colour.