Bel Geddes "Doodlebug" Refueling truck - Brengun 1/72nd resin + P.E. + vac

 

 

The completed model post is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/05/bel-geddes-diamond-t-doodlebug.html

Norman Bel Geddes was a pioneering industrial designer that produced a revolution in the shapes of vehicles of all types. He is known mainly for the truly futuristic cars he created, of outstanding aesthetics and functionality. Texaco commissioned a fuel truck and the result is this “Doodlebug”, a remarkable design milestone of the times. Geddes largely contributed to put the words "Streamlined" and "Aerodynamic" in the common parlance.

I owe the discovery of this kit to friend and fellow modeler Tim Nelson (an exquisite model builder), who recently completed one that is a veritable joy to contemplate.

The "Doodlebug" body was built on a Diamond T chassis. This was a contemporary truck company and the origin of the small "diamond" logo with a "T" in front of the tanker (that is, neither for the Texaco company nor for "tanker"):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_T 

The Heil Co. truck manufacturing also had a hand at the construction of the body.

This resin kit falls into the “paradoxical” category. On one hand, the subject is delightful, truly beautiful, unusual and relevant, and will make an excellent companion for a Golden Age plane in a diorama or simply posed along it. The cast sharply captures the volumes and detail; the driver’s space is fairly depicted, and there are two vacuformed windshields (one with the windows marked and the other smooth) plus a photo-etched set for the many details. The wheels are attractively rendered, and the other remaining parts flawlessly cast, no bubbles, no deformities. Decals are also provided, complemented with (succinct) instructions. The contents come in a sturdy box, which is appreciated. The underneath of the chassis is convincing, replicating some of its elements. 

BUT: Removal of the parts from their casting blocks is quite the challenge, as are the “wafers” that join the parts with the block, which are anything but “wafer thin” or even conveniently thin like in some other resin kits (SBS Model excellent standards come to mind), AND the fit of the two main components, body and chassis, is really bad. After two hours of trying to improve it, the results still leave quite a bit to be desired, and much filler will be needed at a later stage. Reviewers and builders report this particular issue, so Brengun clearly could have made a much better job in that specific area. The clear vacuformed parts that make for the windshield are not a great fit either, the rest of the parts not causing major problems. A detail that could have been improved is the lights, which are provided in the same opaque resin as the rest, not as clear parts. I will replace mine with home-made clear lenses, drilling the “cups” of the lights to accept them.

So, a beautifully cast kit of a superb subject, with nice detail and accessories, and somewhat of a headache to prepare the parts, not to mention the very poor fit of body and chassis. If that wouldn’t have been a problem, this would have been a magnificent 10/10 kit. 

I found on the Net this article that some nice person posted:

 From other sites on the Net...

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/doodlebug-down-under-baps-own-streamlined-tanker-truck-of-the-future/

...come these photos of a similar vehicle in a different guise (according to sources between six and seven Doodlebugs were made). This one (maybe a copy) belonged to the British Australian Petroleum Company:

This looks to be the Texaco vehicle, but many details differ (absence of brand letters, light on top, ladder on the side, etc.) and yet the T diamond logo in relief is seen at the front:

Warned by the previous builders, I started tackling the two main parts of the kit, body and chassis. As commented above, removing the casting blocks from both is more challenging than usual, requiring time and care. As you may notice on the photo below, there seems to be a "lining", a thicker area that looks like an insert (you can see the edges on the wheel wells and drivers cabin). This thicker area is the source of most of the fitting issues, not allowing the chassis to go all the way down. Bad planning? bad casting? Both parts had to be sanded, repeatedly, for a couple hours, trying as you go the fit:

Then some blemishes on the body were removed (the only “faults” on the surfaces, besides some nicking on the chassis):

 

and the windows cleared, the two front windows easily, the rest dealing again with quite unnecessarily thick walls. The front lights were hollowed to receive home-made clear lights replacements. 

 

These areas need to be cleared of resin, to receive the axles and transmission (The instructions mention the wheel axles, but not that you have to remove material from the underneath axle coming from the engine to be able to insert it into a hole in the transmission box on the rear wheel axle):

The "cockpit", well detailed (a P.E. control wheel and stick are provided). This is in one hand a practical solution, but for those modelers that wish to detail-paint in various colors the area it will be a little challenging:

The clever P.E. Set and small decal sheet:

The very clear windows, spare provided, good thickness, fit needs a little help:

Well represented wheels. Their casting blocks are big, though, and mar the otherwise nice threads on a large area, try to position those areas in contact with the "road". The bulkhead (on the background) also needs trimming down considerably to fit:

Pity the casting gates are so large and thick, and the fit in a couple areas so bad, compared to other resin manufacturers.

Dry fit of the replacement lights:

The brand letters section is cut off from the P.E. fret, and rolled on several layers of soft thick cardboard, checking that is the same curvature of the tanker sides:

To be able to cut the individual letters, the fret is mounted on a wooden dowel:

Once separated from the fret, the small attachment burs are sanded, taking care not to straighten or over-bend the letter:

The work on the chassis proceeds:

The letters are mounted on tape attached to the same dowel to be painted white:

The driver's cabin is completed:

Note: you may see that in kit's box the small "diamond" logo at the truck front is painted white, which is inaccurate. This, as explained somewhere above, was the logo of the "Diamond T Co.". Here are some online examples:

 The green field in those logos was in fact a ventilation mesh in the truck .

A license plate is printed on thick paper:

White is airbrushed in preparation for the red:

Airbrushing the red:

The two transparencies provided are separated. The clarity is spectacular, the thickness appropriate:

I opted for the one without the window frames. The fit as mentioned needs adjustment, and I had to remove a "U"-shaped section at the roof part the part to be able to follow the contours of the body shell properly:

The fit problems persisted, as you can't get the driver's cabin flush with the body shell, even trimming back the transparency almost to the window openings. The bulkhead as noted before had to be trimmed back quite a bit to accept the chassis.

And to get the chassis and driver's assembly together you have to sand down both where they meet:

So again, a very beautiful, well-detailed kit of a wonderful subject let partially down because of fit issues, some of which cause frustration and may affect the end result.

Personally I think it's worth the extra effort, head-scratching and bitching, as the subject is really nice and appealing. I only wish they would have taken care of the fit issues before releasing the kit to the market. I don't have much experience with Brengun products, but some things (like overly thick and prominent casting blocks and attachment points) seem common, while other good resin kits manufacturers don't have this problem.

After masking the body the chassis is painted mat black, and then dry-brushed. Wheels hubs are also masked and then tire black airbrushed: 

Note: the decal sheet -and the instructions- provides two different options of decals for the vehicle, located back and to the sides of it. The fireman helmet corresponds to the prototype and perhaps early decorations on some of the vehicles The prototype differed from the kit in some details (it had a small vent above the driver's cabin and did not have position lights over the fenders or above the windshield), so I will be using the Sky Chief decals for the kit.

The wheels and home-made lights are glued. Still a long way to go:

Looking for images of the refueling truck I ended up finding an online archive of publications from the company that commissioned the truck. This company, Texaco, had many global interests, among them apparently mining in Africa. Look at this piece of memorabilia...and draw your own conclusions. Massive Global Corporations...don't you love them? I am sure "the natives" do too...

One of the many "pieces of wisdom" on that publication. Who do you think these words apply to, the "natives" or the company executives?

Red break "lights" are made for the rear of the vehicle. Decals are applied. They are of the full-carrier type, so you have to cut and then trim back each subject. They were in perfect register, applied easily, and conformed well. The color density was fair:

 The photo-etched mirrors need some volume on the outside, so you either drop a little blob of white glue, or punch and push on soft cardboard new ones:

Adding the letters with slow-curing glue so they can be slightly re-positioned for alignment. The "mirrors" are painted red on the outside together with their PE supports:

 A couple of minor touch ups are needed, but otherwise the labor is complete:

The completed model post is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/05/bel-geddes-diamond-t-doodlebug.html