The rollcage (minus the cab shell) looks great! I always wanted a 4X4 rollbar dune buggy car for Sci-Fi and "Mad Max" purposes. Too bad no one makes one as a kit.

Great job!

Sweet lookin rides... I can almost taste the dust while flying thru the dessert!!!

hi Model builders - thanks for having a look -

Todd - thanks very much! glad you are liking the way this is going! Below, I include a picture of both kit boxes. They're both pretty easy to find -

Hi Peter - glad you like that chassis! I think we've emailed about these before - I did some heavy duty kit bashing on an Industria Mechanika dune buggy.

If I wanted to develop a more straight forward, 4x4 frame with a rollcage for either Mad Maxx or Sci-Fi, I'd start with almost any short wheel base 4X4 (like a blazer or bronco) in 1/25 then add whichever body suited my purpose.

The rollcage might not need to be as elaborate as what I've done here - you could build a 6 point cage onto the basic 4x4 chassis, but drop an auto body over it - if you want to go with 1/35, I'd start with any soft skin 4x4 (even WWII vintage) and drop a 1/32 auto body on it. While not as straight forward as a kit, my bet is with your experience, you could make it pretty easily....

Hi Matt - yes, the dust is flying! I've got to say, that
Chevy was fun build, which went together much more smoothly than I imagined it would.

At this point, I'm making some progress with the Ford:





From above you can see the two bodies are now more or less the same length - and next up, get going with the chassis, and parts for the rollcage:



Above you can see the key parts for the cage. Most of the material will be the evergreen, but there are key places for the others. The plastruct is wire, coated with styrene, so, just like a real rollcage, I'll bend it into the shape of the basic four point cage in the cab. The aluminum tubing, like the plastruct, is fairly strong, so I use it to bridge places that I know will be under load (mostly during the build - which sometimes requires some forcing or pressure).

Some connections are just butt joints, but some include using the evergreen as doweling between aluminum. All this, plus a rat-tail file for shaping joints, drill, saw, knife, etc and you're ready to go!




Above are the two base kits - Ford and Chevy two wheel drive pickups.

As to the build, as I noted before, there was something not quite right with the Chevy front suspension - granted, none of this is done with drawings, plans, or machine tools (that is, you get what you get!) but, I need to adjust something on the Ford - so, I looked at more pics:







and mine:



So, I won't say that I really messed this up, but will say that I can try anyway to make it better! First, the lower control arms should be thicker! I used two sheets of aluminum riveted together on the original, but it still looks thin.

Next, look at the way the wheel attaches to the lower control arm - the spindle should be almost flush with the lower arm - mine is up about 1/8" I think that's why the body of the truck looks high, but the chassis doesn't look as high as it could up front. Or, not...haha!

Ok, thanks for checking it out! - Happy holidays and New Year!

Nick

Hello fellow model builders, and Happy New Year!

I've been going at it on the Ford - like the body, strange problems - the really tricky suspension went together relatively easily...the roll bar (not chassis, just in the cab) - was a non stop pain in the A$$!!!

OK here we go - first, a detail of the rear end WIP:



OK - these Dirt Modeler parts (brass) are cool - they allow lots of room for creative model building!!



Another chassis WIP...and, more or less ready for paint:







Above, I think this front end is closer than the Chevy was...who knows - but, I think it looks better!





At least the center line is more or less straight!





I'm trying something different with the tires/wheels - hope it works out!!



The body has now been primed, a bit more putty, sand prime etc -and getting there -

Thanks for having a look!

Nick

NICK;
Are yu sure you don't have a PACK of Keebler elves in an assembly line manufacturing parts!!!!! DUDE your lightning fast on construction. No doubts here, the chassis looks GREAT!!!!!
LOOKS Mechanically correct with these calibrated eyes,
Todd

Hey Todd - thanks for checking it out! well, there's just one big elf: Me!....building things....yes, in a way it's the alter ego of my job....I'm fairly senior where I work, so these days I spend more time administering things, providing data for reports, implementing new policies and so on than designing or building things!

By the way, if any of you are interested in what these trucks are about, search on Youtube for something called:

"Robby Gordon 2009 Baja 500 First Five Race Minutes"

As the name implies, a view of a race event, from inside the cab of a trophy truck - I encourage you to pursue FULL volume for the full effect a 750-900 HP racing engine opening up!

So - I finished the Ford, take a look:







After the Chevy, I wanted to try something different with the paint - this is acrylic metallic black - whoa - strange color - it is black, but when it's in the cup of your air gun, silver metal flake can be seen floating in the mix - a bit like oil and water, but it does go on pretty evenly.

Next, I decided to add the red splotches down the side, loosely inspired by the door art on one of the prototypes shown above. This managed to go both better and worse than I expected. On the "better" side, to make this work, I cut a pattern out of frisket, and placed it on the body, over the metallic black. Next, I sprayed on a light but even coat of ivory. I realized I needed a neutral, flat base in order for the red/red orange to show over the black. Perfect!

Less perfect, I thinned the red too much....some potentially disastrous bleeding....fine - it more or less worked out!, but no, not perfect. You'll see, the brightness does not photo well out doors it's very shiny.







And you can see, with the exception of my _+#% up with the dots, this turned out to be pretty clean build....



And, I'm really pleased with the front end, and the way the suspension turned out! Less thrilled with spoke wheels...I don't know...maybe OK??





I like the two "glamor shots" above....

Finally,



So, this one came together pretty well - which surprises me to an extent, as I really liked the Chevy and worried that this wouldn't cut it.

As I'm enjoying this, next, I'm building a Ford Expedition pre-runner. These vehicles are used to review racetracks ahead of race day, in a tough, but not quite so tough truck as the racer itself. This will be similar to the Ford shown above.

And then, well, I picked up a 1/24 scale Italeri Yamaha race truck and trailer - for, $21 USD!!! new, in the box, from a hobby shop! It retails for about $100 USD.

Yes, I'll bash it so the trailer will be hauling the two Fords - woo hoo!

OK, thanks for looking!

Cheers
Nick

well - I'm still building. Currently working on the pre runner - which is a Ford Expedition snap kit. Interesting problems with this - specifically in setting the engine back to let the suspension up front fit right - not going to happen, so I'm taking a different approach with the front end. The engine is a Ford 358 crate racing motor - roughly translated, it has big heads and valve covers so it eats a lot of room.

Rearend is a bit different too - still the sway arms with 9" rear end, but I decided to tuck it all in and reorient the shock some - so far so good - take a look:













and there you have it - moving right along.

thanks for having a look!

NIck

Now that's what I call a grocery grabber!!! ... Nice!

—mike

Hi Mike - you're right - what better than this to run to the neighborhood store to pick up a little hot sauce for my rice or a bottle of OJ? This would be perfect! Thanks for having a look!

And, with the advent of NFL playoffs, I spent more time on this build - finishing up the chassis and body. There are a few parts to add to both, but they're more or less done, and primed - take a look:







You'll see relatively few mods to the body on this one, but I did have some fun with add ons - a roof rack, and a group of big driving lights! These are wood plugs, used to cover screw heads - seem pretty good for this too!

The frame moved along too - steering, shocks, complete chassis - etc...take a look:









So I suppose the fun part of this is that while similar, each of these builds has required fairly significant medications (ha! autocorrect - modifications!) to the chassis and suspension design. No two are alike, although similar in concept.

Thanks for checking it out. Next, into the paint shop -

Nick

You're builds (especially your rollcages) look great! I can imagine the Post-Apocalyptic and Sci-Fi "technical" usages for them, such as Terminator rebel vehicles.

Damn... more Ideas running thru my head...

Nick, as usual the work is outstanding!!!!

Hey Peter and Matt - thanks for the positive feedback! Glad you like what you see.

You did get me wondering though - about some sort of a Mad Max-esque battle cruiser....hmm....maybe a heavily armed sedan on a 4x4 chassis.....well, something to think about indeed. I'm considering a sedan and not truck - I've now built a few trucks, have a 4x4 conversion in the idea vault, and still want to build a hauler for the two Fords. I also happen to have a late 60's sedan in the stash....yes, the gears are turning!

As for the truck above, I'm waiting for a paint order - so, completing it will wait too...

Thanks for checking it out.

Nick

Hello fellow model builders -

The paint I ordered arrived, and I sent the Expedition to the paint shop! For a bit of variety, I decided this guy should be weathered and not quite as showroom-esque as the others. For this, I added an overall dusting with using Life Color dust II, and then, using some AK, OIF enamel, added some grime around ball joints, wheel hubs etc -

You'll see in the pics, a few are of the Expedition only, and a few for with the Ford trophy truck - at least they look like they're from the same race team!

Take a look:





























And there you have it! This has been a fun project - I still haven't mastered the use of red/orange over the black - maybe next time!

The big plan is to build a matching tractor/trailer as a tow vehicle - that's going to wait though.

I've started work on a project inspired by Peter and Matt - I'll post something in a few days, once further along -

Thanks for having a look

cheers
Nick

UH OH.... I've inspired something... RUNNNNNNNNN

Hey Matt - yes! You and Peter got me thinking....hmmm...and from that, I've been rummaging through the junk box, and anything else is fair game! Unlike these super high end racers, the next project will be, well, something else!! Sort of a drag in that now, I'll bet I could build a better trophy truck, but come on, what fun would that be?!?!

Build on! Cheers
Nick