Hello gents - after my recent adventures with various off- and on- road racers, I decided it was time to take on something reflecting a different circumstance - that is, barely running!

To do so, I picked the Revell, 1966 Chevy Suburban. Plan one was to really trick out the suspension, throw in a big block and make it into a bit of a rat rod, desert racing pre-runner - I opted for plan two - more along the lines of:

guy 1: "yeah, I have an old suburban"

guy 2: "well, I just rolled my Chevy long bed 4x4, but the axles, leaf springs, drive shafts, and transfer case are pretty good...."

guy 1: "ok, I'll get us some beer and tools - we'll have it running in no time at all...."

And there you have it...I did start this by ordering some resin leaf springs....sorry - when they arrived....they looked out of scale and like something from a toy: NOT good - so, I built my own:








Evergreen and odds and ends save the day! - yes, I filled the big gap in the rear axle!

And surprise of surprises, it sits almost level:









As seen dry-fit above - I like the look of this old beast! a junker that means business!

but, still a junker:



Some grime on the inside, and the start of rust and dirt on the outside:





I use acrylics, so this process takes layers to build up to the right look....







So, it's getting there - the plan, is to go from this:



to this:



The bummer is, before it gets ugly, it need to look nice...so far, the top half is painted shiny white - I plan to paint the lower portion blue tonight....then, let the decrepitude begin!

Cheers

Nick

Excellent project Nick, that will be a tough looking old rig for sure! Great start on the underside, as usual your scratchbuilding work is spot on!

Definitely following closely on this one.

Cheers, D

Hi D - glad this old beast caught your interest! I think I remember you saying one of your chevy's was going to be a barnyard find convertible, rusted etc - and I'm looking forward to seeing that!

I've started work on the body. I painted it as a two tone, then painted on some trim, then began my rust and decrepitude approach.

Just like what I've started on the chassis, this involves building up various densities of paint - starting with what's mostly paint, a dark grey here, then adding on many layers of my own rust concoction which is a mix of burnt umber, dark earth, orange and white, applied in densities ranging from almost straight paint, to very faint washes - over and over, mixing intensity as I go.

Progress from last night:















So far so good. I need to pay more attention to the roof, and then clean up, or blend some of the wash that just looks obvious over the "original" color. After that, I'll add a wash of light dust over all of it, and come back for some splash around the fender openings, and finally, some really dark pin wash here and there. I might add some pigment to represent mun inside the fender wells - or not?

Ok - thanks for having a look -

Cheers
Nick

Nick,
Now that's impressive to say the least. I know absolutely nothing about trucks, Rods, customs, and off road anything. But I do know rust, dirt, grime, wear & tear, and of course seen way better days.

The chassis looks like it's seen way better days even tricked out. And the interior. Looks like literally a ton of guys spent a lot of time in there. Those seats are sweat stained with plenty of dirt and grease mixed in. They really look the part.

I do like your scratching out the suspension, especially the leaf springs, and clamps. Very well done.

I'm pulling up my favorite model watching rocking chair, and will be right here for the full show.

Joel

Simply outstanding as usual.

I really need more hours in the day, the bench is a mess from having to re-arrange the shop to find a home for the printer. UGH

Hi Joel, Matt,

Thanks for dropping by. Yes Joel, the rusty grimy goodness - something I enjoy doing and am better at than high gloss, mirror like finishes. In fact, Matt and I have been comparing notes on this subject for some time now - at one point, we collaborated on the scratch build of a big piece of heavy construction equipment - he was nice enough to 3d print some super nice parts, which I received, attached, and heavily rusted!!

OK, on to the old 4 x 4. I was planning to include some process pictures - showing the steps required to get this finish - well - this build doesn't seem to have garnered too much attention, so, I'll just cut to the photos and call it done:












And if you prefer a more ominous ambiance:





And finally, this was interesting. All of these pics were taken within about 15 minutes of one another. As the clouds came and went, so did the color of this truck - as you can see in the last photo, it sure looks to be blue:



Thanks for having a look -

Nick

Beautiful work Nick, as always. Your rust technique really does look realistic and you have done a great job in keeping it "random" across the body of this old rig. Something that the human brain struggles to cope with deliberately.

It would be great if you could make some notes in the Auto Weathering thread when you get a chance. I'm sure a lot of us would get benefit from your skills there.

Cheers, D