Dragon 1/6 SAS 4x4 Desert Raider

[Tom22]

Hi

My name ist Tom and I'm from Germany.
Having built several Rigs from 1/16 to 1/6 before, I was able to get a good deal on a Dragon Desert Raider Willys Jeep kit.

The basic idea was to make a civilian version out of it, but during the build I decided otherwise and stick to the desert type.



Actually, I hadn't expected such a huge box...

At the same time I was able to get a chassis from ebay UK that had been built to suit a similar project.
But after it arrived, I was totally shocked about the terrible way it had been made. Also, it broke during transport.





The frame was made from some undefinable material the had the characteristics of wood..., the leaf springs were made from circuit board material, the rest - see for yourself...
Fortunately I was able to negotiate a reduction due to the damage, so the money was well spent for the Bruiser axles, motor, etc. which I could all use for my project.

So I did.


Since this would become a scaler which wouldn't be used in rough terrain I wanted to stick to the kit frame which would later be strenghened a little.
I replaced the leaf springs with some from the original bruiser - which are a little too short, but I think it's barely noticable - and also used the wheels that came with the chassis and werde already modified to fit to the axles. Also, they werent as "wobbly" as those from the Dragon kit.
The rest was easy play and a first testrun was very satisfying...

to be continued...

Tom

[Tom22]

I wanted to realize a few technical gadgets...

First was the ilumination of the dashboard. Since the old willy's gauges are not iluminated from the back but from top, I simple shaped out the dummy lights of the kit.



Next came the steering wheel. I wanted it move together with the steering (the driver's head will later also move in the direction of the steering... ). so I placed a micro servo directly behind the place where the steering column is located.



I glued a hort piece of brass tube into the steering wheel an in that a 3mm threaded rod of the correct length.
I also used the original steering column and shaped it out so the 3mm rod could go through it.



I then drilled a hole in the center of the servo so I could simply screw the 3mm rod tightly into it. First tests have proven it ro be secure and moving just the way I wanted it.

To be continued...

Tom

[Tom22]

Next was to beuild the Jeep itself which was e real joy.
I was particularly fond of the great detail it has.

Here are some pix of it with only its base color. Also, the crew is not the final one yet, they are just "test sitting"







To be continued...

Tom

[Tom22]

Having had so much fun building the kit I decided to wait with the rest of the technical details and continue with some details on the vehicle.

I enjoy aging my vehicles, so I started with some parts.

Her are shovel and ax:



One of the seats:



The dashboard:



The dashoard iluminated (I used yellow colored LEDs to give it a warmer look):



That's about all for now. Check back in a couple of days, I'll post new pix as soon as there's progress...

Tom

[danmac]

Awesome build so far man keep it up you going to do a scale vid when your done

[Tom22]

Thanks for your nice words... (I hope there are more of you interested and this doesn't remain a "one man show"...)

I'm not so much of the technical guy but prefer the more creative work.
Anyway, I had to get going with the steering and other technical aspects, which I've done yesterday.

Since the knuckles of the old Bruiser axles don't withstand much force, I made new ones from brass profiles. Now it's sturdy enough.



Placed the steering servo directly behind the radiator without having to cut too much away.





Having done this, I'm pretty much done with the technical side. There's enough room under the hood for all the other electronics.

This means I can now focus on what I like to do most: painting, aging, adding detail.

More to come...

Tom

[HillbillyCrawler]

Looking clean man. I like it. Im thinking about getting a dragon also. Have the 21st body and like it a lot.

[Tom22]

Originally Posted by HillbillyCrawler

Looking clean man. I like it. Im thinking about getting a dragon also. Have the 21st body and like it a lot.

I looked at your Jeep. Like it a lot.
I also have one of these from 21st Century Toys and am thinking about converting it to RC as well. Only problem is, mine is in mint condition, never been played with and still in the box, so I'm a little hesitant to cut into it to make RC components fit...
But with your solution there isn't much cutting and if I use MOAs I might get around cutting altiogether. I'll see...

In the meantime here are some new pics. Managed to finish the chassis and have been aging it, together with the wheels.







To be continued...

Tom

[Tom22]

Next was the driver. He should be able to move his had together with the steering.

First thing was to open the torso of a Dragon figure (tough job...).
Then I took a micro servo an glued it in the opening using hot glue. Looks ugly, but works...



Next was to glue two servo horns on top of each other in order to place the head high enough above the body. I drilled a small hole in the lower horn and screwed a tine screw in it so that I can fix the head later to the servo.



The arm that holds the steering wheel needed to be VERY flexible, so I seperated all the limbs and connected them losely with a piece of wire. The whole assembly was then fixed with another piece of wire to the torso using hot glue again. Now it moves absolutely freely.



Head connected to the body...



... and dressed. Bingo!



More to come...

[Tom22]

Ooh, I just hope, there is a little more interest for my project and I don't write all this for nothing... .

In the meantime, here's a short video of the driver.



Tom

[TriggerMan]

I think it's pretty kick a$$ myself. Keep posting the updates dude. I think this thing is cool!!!

I'm thinking of trying to pick up the European Theater model myself. I probably would have never thought this stuff up on my own...lol

[chopperfkr]

You have my attention! Very cool

[KJ10]

Just found this thread but, so far, I'm loving the build. You seem to have a good eye for detail and I can't wait to see where this goes.

[DVS]

I'm really liking this build.

[Diesel-tech]

Very nice attention to detail...moving head and steering wheel..why didnt i think of that.

Keep up the great work masterpieces like dont go un-noticed, just have alot of jeleous people behind the scenes

[Tom22]

Thanks!

Here are some more "teasers"...







To be continued...

Tom

[Brandon]

Looks great, nice job on all the scale details.

[BigSki]

Great build, I like how well the Bruiser axles look under the jeep.

[super mud]

Sick! how did u get the metal finish under where the paint is worn through? Is the body steel or plastic?

[Tom22]

Originally Posted by super mud

Sick! how did u get the metal finish under where the paint is worn through? Is the body steel or plastic?

The body is plastic, of course since it's a Dragon kit.

The car was painted using spray paints. First a basecoat with primer, then the base color (RAL 7002).

The weathering was done using powder colors of various yellow and brown shades as well as rust color, applied with brushes and sometimes bare fingers.
Everything was then fixed with a VERY light dull clear coating.

Finally, the metal effect was done using Valejo "Chain Mail" applied with the dry brush method, i.e. VERY slightly with a small dry brush over edges and so.

Tom