Project "what am i doin?" Hummer Pickup
 

Well, this is my first time playin with styrene and cutting up plastic bodies. Been itchin to do a scale build and couldnt wait for my SCX10TR to hurry up and get here so I took my tired Tamiya Hummer and started messin with it. Im terrible at this but Im learnin and havin a blast so far! Im startin to get the hang of cutting and glueing styrene as well as build the proper parts. This build wont have much to do with the chassis, itll prolly stay stock but I wanted to learn the basics and give the hummer a make-over. If you have any tips or tricks, throw em out there! Lemme know what you guys think!!!

The tired beginnings, had plenty of fun with this truck when i first got it years ago...hence why its still around i guess. Dont mind the wheels, I used to run these for fun. Original Hummer wheels are on it now
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/019-2.jpg

Notice the front lower valence missing...it gets somewhat fixed later
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/022.jpg

Matt

Tapin it up for some cutting! Thats right, 2 door pickup, not 4!!! Im excited now!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/024.jpg

I was skeptical...but it actually works. String cutting FTW!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/025-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/027.jpg

The look im goin for. Cant find very many pics at all but Im doin what I can. I doubt itll be perfectly scale to the original, but itll look good and be fun to drive and thats all I care about.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/028-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/035.jpg

Now its time to start puttin it back together. More to come shortly!
Matt

Ok...now that ive learned the beauty of cuttin with string, its time to play with Styrene. All I can say is this stuff is AWESOME!!! Im learnin as I go and lovin every second of it. Any tips and tricks would be appreciated. ANYways, here we go...

First I wanted to fix the hole where the turret used to be.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/037.jpg

Cut out the shape in cardboard then transfered it to Styrene...did I mention i love this stuff?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/042.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/038.jpg

Once that was done I moved on to closing off the back and making a rear window.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/047.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/048.jpg

Again, i had a hard time findin pictures so I used what I could and made a back window. I noticed they are bigger than on the 4 door pickups. May not be 100% accurate but Im happy with it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/049.jpg

This is where I started to scratch my head...time to make a drop bed...well, as deep a bed as possible. It wont be a full drop, more like half way bit itll look good. This is what I came up with at first.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/057.jpg

BONDO TIME!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/060.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/061.jpg

Fixed the front valence...we'll see how long it lasts this time lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/062.jpg

Mounted the body and drove it around for grins...and Im not entirely happy with the way the bed was shaping up...so out it came...and this idea came to mind. Im thinkin ill throw a spare tire in the middle...that is if I can find one. Somehow I lost one of my stock hummer wheels do I only have 3 lol, gotta get a couple soon.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...print6/066.jpg

Thats where it sits as of tonight. Im hoping to finish smoothin out the sides this week and start again on the bed. Lemme know what yall think so far.
Matt

Looks like a cool project. Its fun working with styrene! You'll love it and especially appreciate having a body you had a hand in making. Makes it special.



http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/a...1&d=1178688482

http://www.lynchhummer.com/Used.inv....3/p976.700.jpg


http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHI....1-300x189.jpg

Never saw the white pic, thanks!!! Im havin too much fun. Again, itll prolly stay stock so its nothin special under the body, but it was fun enough as it was. Im hoping to learn a few things before tackling a scale crawler.
Matt

Not alot of progress today, had to work late. Sanded a bit on it and sprayed some primer to see the high and low spots. Still needs alot of work, but its gettin there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/002-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/003-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/004-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/001-2.jpg

If I can Ill lay another layer of bondo to fill in the low spots tonight and try to get it where I can move on to the bed later this week.

Matt

its gonna suck but try this, remove all the bondo you put on there and cut out some thin pieces of styrene to build up the recessed areas. build up the low spots with styrene then lightly skin the top with filler. the less filler you have the stronger and longer lasting your body work will be.

Sad thing was I WAS goin to do that in the first place but I guess I got excited when I was doin the roof. Im thinkin I might change the rear window a bit, make it lower and a little thinner top to bottom. Ill prolly dig into the rear doors and do a better job. Its gettin chilly in the garage so everything is taking longer to dry :evil: Guess its gonna force me to be patient. Thanks for the info, hopefully Ill have some more tomorrow!
Matt

styrene kicks serious ass

http://www.dirtnewz.com/events-06/ba...-2006_1836.jpg

http://hummertruckworld.tenmagazines...ages/25116.jpg

http://teamhummerstorm.com/images/Ba...M%20042095.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...3D240%26um%3D1


thanks google!
good luck on your build!!

Thanks Image tag!

This is an interesting build, I'd say to take the bondo out of the doors and fill it with styrene. Bondo will crack when it's that thick. Especially if you hit a rock or something.

I'd also recommend to do the drop bed as low as the opening in the tailgate so it matches up. You can always box in the wheel wells to mount the shocks.

Thanks for the pics!!! I love the front bumper and lights! Im gonna go back and re-do the back window, the rear doors and the bed. Ill def. drop the bed down to the tailgate level now that its half open, and the side boxes will probably go all the way to the cab and act as wheel wells. I wanna make sort of a support vehicle for my crawler, somethin with tools, tires, tow straps etc. Ill probably keep it Olive Drab Green and put some better tires on the Hummer wheels. Keep the advice comin, its only gonna make this thing better and me better at workin with this stuff!
Matt

This looks great. Keep it up.

With some inspiration from a similar build and the pics and info ive gotten from a couple of yall I decided to start over with the rear doors. I had already tried to smooth them with body filler, and pickin it all out so I could skin it with Styrene wasnt gonna happen soooo...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/001-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/002-2.jpg

...I cut em out and will be cutting some replacements out of styrene to replace em.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/003-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...int6/004-5.jpg

Thats as far as I got tonight, been workin late alot lately and dont see any relief in sight, but Ill work at it little by little when I can. I do have a question tho, what thickness styrene do most people use to build their parts? Thanks guys!
Matt

I am just learning to work with styrene myself. From what I've read, most use .060 - .080 thick styrene. Or you could use thinner styrene and build it up.

if you're filling in that gap try to find styrene the same thickness. its best if you match up the back sides/surface so you can lay some reinforcing across the entire door and beyond so the joint isnt a weak spot.

if you can't match the thickness, start with whatever you have thickest and insert it so the back surfaces are flush. then run a wide strip across the entire thing and as far beyond the door in either direction on the back. Then add thinner layers on top till you're just thicker (or flush) with the front. then sand.

The hummer has come to a bit of a stop with the SCX10 and CC01 coming in and taking priority, but I keep lookin at it and wantin to get back on it again. Im learning the weakness of cutting and adding styrene when you abuse it first hand and figuring way out to strengthen accordingly. Im gonna get some thicker stuff and try your method as well Pantablo!

Matt

Ah, hadn't noticed the date of your last post a month ago, lol.

When I built the Forestry crew cab I ran a thick strip inside the cab to support two seams in the cab (just behind the door and another 1/2" behind that).
You can see it here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...oot/0002-3.jpg

since then I've taken to adding a strip along the bottom edge all the way across. I saw that I kept banging the body on rocks at the spot where the seams were and wanted to beef that up.

good luck!
p-

That pic is awesome, you can tell someone a million times, but a picture makes it all come together. I cut my Nikko Hilux in half :oops: and now I want it back together, glued it and went on my merry way. It hit the first obstacle and broke in half LOL. Now I know what Im gonna do to fix it! I dunno what Im gonna do with this hummer...might keep it up, might just use it as a learning experience.
Matt

i like seeing something other then a toyota or wrangler. looks great so far.