Creeper Jeeper

[CTRuckus]

First Post!

I thought I'd start with a splash. Three weeks ago I decided to scratch build a scale jeep body for my Creeper. I'm new to rock crawling (and to some extent, RC's in general) but decided I would see what I could do without any past knowledge or skill in working with styrene. Boy have I learned a lot!

My first decision was what Jeep to build. As I kid in the 70's I built a CJ7 "Renegade" model that I have never forgotten. However, after scouring Jeep pics for ever, I decided on a CJ8 Scrambler. Here was my inspiration:



The following posts will chronicle my adventure to date...

[CTRuckus]

My objective was to build a scale body, but still run it on my comp crawler. Of course this posed certain build issues, primarily maintaining articulation under a scale body. My goal was to make it as scale as possible while still keeping the creeper a creeper. (I'll build a true scaler another day.)

Judging by the actual dimensions of the Scrambler, and comparing it to the wheelbase of the creeper, I settled on a 1/9th scale. Width and length should look good on creeper at that scale.

I then set out finding as many accurate pictures of the scrambler (photos and drawings) as I could to get measurements of every angle.

I then started building:

Can you guess what this is?


I wasn't sure how to build the curves of the hood and was most intimidated by it, so I started there. I decided to build a skeleton frame with .08 styrene and skin it with .015. My belief was that the .015 would bend easily around the frame I was building.







Not a bad start, I thought. However, I was soon going to learn the flaw of my design.

[CTRuckus]

I launched right into the hood and began the skeleton frame. All went spoothly, but something didn't look right?



Looking over my work, I quickly realized that my hood dimensions were off. With all my prep, I failed to notice that a CJ8 hood had an arc along its length and wasn't a straight line.



I was at a crossroads. This was pretty early in the build to have trashed my "scale" desires. If I wanted it scale, I'd have to start over. If I kept going I'd know I wasn't truly scale.

After days of indecision I came to the conclusion I would just go forward accepting that my Jeep was going to be "scale-inspired". Yeah, a copout, but it kept me from giving up!

With that behind me I skinned it. Laying the skin was a very slow process as I could only glue an inch or two at a time and the sides of the hood, with the sharp arc, was a bear. However, after wanting to quit repeatedly, I persevered and felt success.





However, you can see next dilemma...the skin bowed.

[CTRuckus]

Again, I had thoughts of failure and the desire to give up. It was just too hard, and I was just too much of a noob!

Then, inspiration struck!

As I was looking at more Jeep crawler pics, I saw this bad boy:


It was "jeep inspired" yet looked cool, AND gave me an idea of what to do with my bowed hood sides. If I attached these rock crawler fenders directly to the hood, I might be able to force them straight.

I went ahead and designed three different styles of fenders and let my son pick the one he liked best. (Fortunately, I liked his choice!) I then started gluing on the fenders. Like the skin, it was a slow laborious process necessitated by the need to correct the bowing.





But it worked! (In that last pick you can see I started to form the iconic CJ grill.)

[CTRuckus]

Next was starting on the side panels.



And then the roll cage.



After beginning the roll cage, I had to test fit it and then partially build it, but complete the build after installing it.





I then spent time fortifying the hood and roll cage joints.



In the above pic, you can see that my initial supports were just a tiny strip of styrene next to the roll cage. I later realized that using right angle styrene pieces would add much more stability.

[CTRuckus]

Then came strengthening everything up and adding some finishing touches.

Hood details:


Roll cage details:


A little back tot he body:


A little bondo, trim for the dash, and trim along the tops of the doors:

[CTRuckus]

So this is where we stand:



Wondering if people have any comments or suggestions...

I don't know what to do with the doors? Carve them into the side, paint the outline on, do nothing?

I don't know how far I'm going with the details. Put in a dash? Interior? door and hood hinges? the list goes on and on. I now understand how some people go to such lengths with their scalers. It's hard to know where to draw the line and IT'S FUN!!

The only thing is...this isn't a scaler, only "scale inspired" (whatever that means).

Love to hear your thoughts...

[RiderZ]

Very nice.Youve got skills.Keep it up!!!

[CTRuckus]

Today I added some rock sliders.

The beginning build:


To bend the tubes (successfully), I inserted a 1/8 rod into a 3/16 tube, and held the combination near the coals in my wood stove until soft. (I suggest using fireproof gloves if you try this at home.) I then skinned the bent bar with the .015 styrene sheets I used on the hood.

Attaching them:


Above, the left slider is just glued on by the skin. On the right side of the pic, the slider is being more firmly secured. Using heavier duty styrene strips I created an "L" that wrapped around the inside of the body to the underside of the slider skin.

Finally, this is what they look like:


The sticky is my todo list.

[hobolarry]

Great job! how many hours do you think you have in the body itself?

[scrounge]

Ove Gloves are awesome. Can't wait to see the finished artwork. Looking good so far.

[CTRuckus]

Originally Posted by hobolarry

Great job! how many hours do you think you have in the body itself?

Boy, it's hard to say because I've worked on it in lots of short stints like before going to work or while home for lunch. I also spent weeks researching jeep styles, dimensions and images. Since I don't own a Jeep there was a lot of knowledge I needed before beginning. Anyway, I'm guessing I've put 20-30 hours just in the actual building process.

Originally Posted by scrounge

Ove Gloves are awesome. Can't wait to see the finished artwork. Looking good so far.

Thanks Scrounge. I wish I could tell you, "wait until she's painted, she'll be gorgeous!" But in reality, I think I'm stronger at building than finishing. When I'm building furniture for my wife the deal is, I'll build it if she'll finish it. I just don't like sanding and painting and all that. I'd much rather use the power tools and hand tools and execute designs.

Oh well, I promised myself I wouldn't start another body (for my son?) until this one is built, painted, and riding happy on the trails. I hope my finishing work lives up to RCCrawler standards!

[savage wraith]

it looks great! keep it up cant wait to see action pix of it on the trails

[romulus22]

If I may make a suggestion that might help if you choose to go with a different cage design.

Solid styrene rod bends real nice with a little heat and will have good flowing bends instead of pie cut corners.

[CTRuckus]

Originally Posted by romulus22

If I may make a suggestion that might help if you choose to go with a different cage design.

Solid styrene rod bends real nice with a little heat and will have good flowing bends instead of pie cut corners.

Definitely know where you're coming from, Romulus. That was my initial plan but I couldn't find solid rods with a large enough diameter. Not only would they look smoother, but they would undoubtedly be stronger. the only weak point in in my build is the roll cage joints. Unfortunately, the only rods I could find at any LHS within an hour's drive was 1/8 inch and that was more narrow than I wanted. In the end, due to lack of supply, I went with tube larger than I wanted. Oh, well.

I plan on giving it a bikini top so that will cover parts of the roll cage. I'm hoping scale accessories will help the look immeasurably.

[CTRuckus]

Spent some time the other day figuring out how to mount the body on my creeper. I thought I'd just drill holes through the body sides like the stock body, but didn't like that idea for a variety of reasons.

Instead, I decided to build tabs (slots?) to the inside of the body and then cut the side mount posts to the exact length (width) of the body. These would pop into the slots I created and hold the body in place. It worked REALLY well!





They are rock solid and I can pick the creeper up by the body and it holds tight. When I need to remove the body, I can just pull the side out slightly and the shell comes right off. Success!

[CTRuckus]

I spent a little time this weekend fabricating a front bumper and adding supports to both the roll cage and various other parts of the build.

Here is where she stands now, mounted on my Creeper.


Here is a close up of some of the cage supports I added.


And lastly a closer look at the front bumper and the supports I added behind the front grill. After painting I will likely add a winch and bumper bar to protect the winch and the grill.


Now for a little overall sanding, a good wash and I'm ready to prime!