Masher's F-150 build

[MAXXMASHER]

Picked up some more goodies for building today. I'll probably need a little more plaster cloth to do as much as I want to, but this'll keep me busy for awhile. So far I've only spent about $60 on supplies. I had the boards and I've got plenty of paint on hand. This is the fast part of the build, I think. Putting all the finishing touches on everything will take some time. I still want to get some stuff called water effects. You brush it on and it dries clear. You can make everything from puddles to steams to icicles if ya want. The cool thing is when I put my sections together, it creates little trails that run in between the mounds. I think I may put the little talus stones on the flats to look like gravel roads. I know I could use pebbles or whatever, but these are a lot lighter and take to the glue a little better.

[Stampedekid]

Looks great! Can't wait to see more pictures of that course, whats the size of it all together going to be?

[MAXXMASHER]

Originally Posted by Stampedekid

Looks great! Can't wait to see more pictures of that course, whats the size of it all together going to be?

Yeah, it's coming together pretty well. I'm making pretty good progress. I got another section done yesterday and got the molded rocks glued down in various spots. I made a trip to the local train shop and got some more supplies. I already need more plaster cloth as I used an entire roll in one day. I'm up to about $60 in supplies so far, but I had the boards and the paint I'm going to use. I'm going to paint today and mixed up some shades of brown and tan so I'd be ready to go. After that, I'll add some talus (small rocks like pebbles) and maybe some water effects. I came across an old model that is missing some parts, so I further damaged it with a torch and added a brown wash to simulate some rust. Should be a cool addition with some brush growing up through it. I want to do at least one more section, so that'll take me to around 4'x6'. The cool thing is that I can add more later on if I want to.

3rd section done



All together





Ready for the airbrush



Scale feature

[MAXXMASHER]

This course build is going fast! I got everything painted and added the pebbles. Just have to wait on those to dry and dump off the excess. I also did steps 5 and 6 on one course and added some grass and brush to it. It's almost too pretty to use! I see how model railroaders become addicted to building their layouts! Just gotta get the water stuff and add to the section and I'll have one piece done. My buddies will all want micros after they see this!!

painted and pebbled....



Where did this junk car come from?



Lookin' pretty cool...

[MAXXMASHER]

I finally wrapped up this part of the build. At least for now. I still want to do another two sections, but this is good for now. Came out nice! The crawler shots are fakes as the glue is still setting up on everything and I still have to seal some of the stuff. On to the pics!

[MAXXMASHER]

Got out to the train shop and picked up some more plaster cloth and the water effects stuff I was wanting to get. I added the water to the courses in spots. The problem with that is I should have painted under the stuff before I put it on. When they say it dries clear, they mean it! If you weren't looking for my little streams, you'd never see them. Live and learn...I also got another section done and it'll be ready for paint tomorrow. I also found a driver for the F-150. He started life as a boring G-scale conductor, but with a little paint he now looks like badass rock-crawling thug! Once the arms are dry, I'll add some tatoos.

Added some more to the lansdcape....



New section.....



Driver ready to do some crawlin'

[FireWire79]

Dude. Nice work. I've used almost all those terrain products before. I used to use the pink construction Styrofoam insulation, which is really high density, easy to sculpt, light, and pretty cheap. I planned on doing 4 2'x2' sections with a similar modular layout. Glad to see this kind of work going on for the micro.

What did the dimensions of your scaler come out to be BTW? I am just curious as I am trying to keep the trails at about 3-3.5" in width and I want to make sure that the trails will be wide enough.

Again. Really love the work and if you have and can't wait to see more progress. Also, I think that you can add a water soluble paint to the water effect and add color like that.

[MAXXMASHER]

Originally Posted by FireWire79

Again. Really love the work and if you have and can't wait to see more progress. Also, I think that you can add a water soluble paint to the water effect and add color like that.

I got a little more work done today. I pretty much have everything done with the courses and the F-150. Now It's time to play! Thanks for the responses. I didn't think of mixing the paint directly into the glue before applying. Instead I sorta dry-brushed some light blue on the water affects that were already down and painted the blue first before putting the effects on the last section. Looks better with all four sections put together; just gotta wait for the stuff to dry on the last part. I also got the driver finished up and got him stuffed into the cab. Now for the pics....

Driver ready...



Some cab shots; Walter riding shot gun...





On the course; glue still setting up...





Courses all together...

[Stampedekid]

Looks great! Seems the F-150 already has some battle scars huh? Still though looks great and I love the addition of the crushed car, looks like the junkyard special!

[FireWire79]

Are your boards heavy? I never used the plaster sheets like that, I just figured they would end up adding a lot of weight and make it harder to move around. Love the modular setup though. Now you just need to pick up a box of trees and decide wether or not your going to flock the rest on the exposed plywood.

[MAXXMASHER]

Originally Posted by FireWire79

Are your boards heavy? I never used the plaster sheets like that, I just figured they would end up adding a lot of weight and make it harder to move around. Love the modular setup though. Now you just need to pick up a box of trees and decide wether or not your going to flock the rest on the exposed plywood.

The pieces barely weigh more than the boards themselves. The plaster sheets don't weigh much at all. There's mostly soda bottles and crumpled newspaper under the sheets, so sections are easily moved. I may add some grass flocking later on, but I'm having too much fun driving on it now. Just need more batteries....I may build some packs from rechargeable aaa batteries, since I have plenty of room in the bed.

The water effects all came out good with a little finishing touch...

[MAXXMASHER]

Nothing too new to report on the build. I am loving how this truck works and amazingly I haven't broken anything at all. Sometimes I wish for a little more steering power and I do get a bit of motor stall at times, but this thing is great fun on my basement course. I thought I'd post a few pics.....

[Stormin2u]

Masher this is one very interesting micro thread, love your crawler course it looks like it has lots lines to play on well done man.

[dockman]

Truck and course look kick ass, nice job man!

[MAXXMASHER]

Thanks! Now that I have another micro scaler to join in, it's even more fun. I also added a small section to the course after doing a little winterizing around the house. I mean, what else are you gonna do with some leftover Great Stuff?

[TexasJeff]

You need to tell your driver to keep his arm in the truck! Liable to get hurt real bad in a rollover w/ it sickin' out the window like that.

Nice work on both the Micro & the course.

[bird8oy85]

The course and the rig are awesome !