Dingo Body needs.... something.....???

[cogfounder]

I allways try to make the best out of the bodies that come with the kits.
But Ill tell ya, this Dingo shell out of the box is one ugly looking truck!

Thats why I decided to throw some ideas and styrene at it.
I wont know if I like it untill its done, put it looks promising so far.

I love the durability of lexan bodies, but they can look a little
cartoon-ish without some added detail, especially compared
to the hard bodies out there.

Im kinda ruff on my rigs once they are built,
so I cant see myself spending a ton of money and time
on a hard body, when I can just dress up a tuff lexan
body to look passible.

Besides, its fun to make all your own detail parts!
And I have had good luck on some of my other scalers,
all with cheap old lexan bodies, and home made details...

 

[cogfounder]

And I dont build shelf queens either LOL!

Here is a vid of me washing off the Ford "Southern style" 8)

axiailwatertest - YouTube


Plow truck is not just for show either....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9HCkOMd0R4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIfI_Cn1RQQ

Unimog inital crawl test, full droop setup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Wfx8mrKPc

Ford poser pics, and an off the line holeshot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xlB_AD7NQE

 

[Solitaire]

Very nice display of trucks, cogfounder. All very pristine. I especially like the detail of the snow plough.

Oh, and somebody likes their FlatIrons. :mrgreen:

 

[mrkrinkle]

top look's right at home on there! nice styrene work.

 

[cogfounder]

Very nice display of trucks, cogfounder. All very pristine. I especially like the detail of the snow plough.

Oh, and somebody likes their FlatIrons. :mrgreen:

But.. but...but.... I have RipSaws on the Dingo! :lmao:

 

[cogfounder]

I got a little bit more done on the Dingo build,
but nothing spectacular. I am at that stage where there is
a lot of fit and finish work which is kind of slow going.

I ordered an Integy 8 light/string LED control box set from Tower
which turned out to be defective. Tower sent me another
and that damn thing didnt work either.

Its the Integy # C23601 unit, and I sure cant recommend them
after this situation. Typical Integy GARBAGE!

TowerHobbies.com | C23601 Integy Complete LED Light System 1/10 w/Control Box (8)

It set me back in the build because I didnt want to start cutting holes in the body for light buckets untill I was sure what lights I was actually going to be able to use. Only 4 out of 8 sockets on the Integy light control units work, and two of those are very dim. I would have to use both of the faulty Integy units to get all the lights I want to put on, and might still go that way, but I dont trust them much....


Anyway, I got a support ladder brace set in to stabilize the fender wells.
I can use it as a plate to secure the wires going to the lights too.

Then I decided it might be a neat idea to elevate my Rooster Crawler edition ESC on a platform, and cut a square hole in the bed so it would show through the body after its painted.

Kinda looks like a giant ignition box, or a huge radio amplifer heat sink.

This elevated my ESC to a point I can forge 5" of water before it even gets wet, and will certainly help keep it cooler. I can make a small snap-in cover for it if I drive in the rain. I just wanted to do something diffrent than stuffing it in a Radio Shack project box again.

Past that I made some splash plates for between the fender wells that screw into the holes that hold on the rock sliders. They just help keep stuff from splashing up inside the body shell.

I didnt get the support bracket or splash plates painted up yet,
but they show up in the pics better that way for now...

 

[cincycrawln]

excellent work

 

[cogfounder]

I got a little side tracked with a project I have wanted to take on for a long while, but since my Dingo is taking on an expidition truck look,
I figured I should get it over with....

I am frabricating a military gas can in a fashion that I can make another mold, to punch out a bunch of resin copies.
Because nothing says long-haul like a shit-ton of gas cans! :lmao:

NO WAY IN HELL would I buy a Proline or RC4WD etc. gas can,
and make a mold of somebody elses work to pop off copies!
Thats just WRONG, and I aint INTEGY! ROTFLMAO?

Soooooo, I had to try and make my own,
plus, I wanted to do it in a way I could copy them in a one-pour-mold,
VS. a two part, or split mold like the PSP plates.

Here is what I have so far. Its going in the mold top-side-down.
I have sanded it as much as I dare before the Plastruct wet glue has a
chance to fully dry, or I will end up with fuzzy seams where they dont belong, and will have to "correct" the cast after its done.

I still need to fabricate the forward handle support,
but I wont be putting the handles on the master.
They would get trapped in the one piece mold just like the holes
in the PSP plate, which is why that needed a two piece mold.
The handles will be glued onto the gas can after it is cast,
and will allow me to use a one pour mold for this piece.

Dont be offset by the squareness of the edges,
they ALL have to be rounded down like their 1:1 counter parts.

While I am waiting for the wet glue to cure,
I am going to run down to my LHS for some materials.
I got it in my head that this build needs some custom fabricated
OEM Land Rover Type bumpers, but with light guard bars.

They will be along these lines, like the ones I made for a Hummer body way back when....

Anyway, here are the pics of the gas can, so far.
Just remember there is a lot more that needs to be done to them yet.

You need your masters as perfect as your skills and tools allow,
because EVERY copy you make in the molds will include
ANY AND ALL of the faults!!!

MUCH, MUCH more to follow !!!

 

[cogfounder]

Thanks again for all the nice comments folks!

Im sorry that I dont respond to each one,
but when I am in the "ZONE" its:

BUILD BUILD BUILD!

post an update

FABRICATE FABRICATE FABRICATE!

post an update

SAND SAND SAND..........

post an update

I am the sort that if I get off track for too long,
I lose my train of thought,
and when I pick up the working piece,
I am like, where the hell was I???

Anyway, this is where I am at with the gas can.
I figured I better post this up because I have to round all the edges now,
and if I screw that up its into the junk pile, and Ill have to start over.

I hope and pray after I round the edges it takes on a acceptable
appearance, but its going to be a LOT of work, and all by hand and eye.

I just thought it would be neat to show these stages of progress
for people that have never tried this kind of work,
but may want to give it a shot.

 

[BubbaEinstein]

How are you going to keep the handle from getting trapped in the mold? Tank looks awesome by the way!

 

[cogfounder]

How are you going to keep the handle from getting trapped in the mold? Tank looks awesome by the way!

Thanks Bubba.

The handles are just held on with spit for the pic.
(sorry thats so gross, but its the truth.)

In the post above this one
I mentioned that the handles wont be put on the master.
They will be smaller too, these ones were just for mock-up and the pic
to give a better idea of the finished piece.

They will be glued on after the piece is cast.
The cap will be glued on after also,
because thats just an air bubble trap.

 

[cogfounder]

I also managed to custom mix some old school Rover paint today.
Its that light pale green that you would see on the series I,II, and III
Range Rovers, or as they like to call them:

"The Original Off Road Vehicle"

I think it came out pretty fair, concidering all I had to match from was pictures on the internet, and no two of those were exactly alike!

One thing I would always recommend if you ever custom mix some paint
for one of your builds is: MAKE A LOT OF IT!!!

If you need to do touch-ups, or paint accessories, or build a trailer, etc.
and want them to match the body color, you will want the paint from the same batch.

The chances of getting a second batch to match the first exactly are pretty slim, even if your measuring down to the last CC.

Its a terrible feeling to do all that beautiful, hand made, custom detail work, just to get it painted up and find that it dosnt match.... trust me


I am not dead set on useing it for this build tho.
One of the things I liked about the Dingo was the orange color they
did their box art sample in.

Only issue I have with that is, after some research, I learned that
only ONE came to North America from the factory painted orange!

Aside from that, NONE of the Defender 90/110 models come in that
old Rover pale green color either, so Im not going to be too anal about it.

I know one thing tho, if I ever bought a real Defender, first thing I would do is send it off to the paint shop to get that old school pale green
color shot on.

HA!, I think I just talked myself into using it on the Dingo :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Anyway, let me know what you think about the color.

And here is a good referance photo of the factory available colors:

 

[Arctic Fire]

I know it's boring, but i like the black and tan!

 

[BubbaEinstein]

I think the color you mixed with a black basecoat would be perfect

 

[BubbaEinstein]

Do you buy your styrene locally or order it online somewhere? There are a couple plastic suppliers locally but they don't carry styrene and at the LHS it's just way too expensive for someone like me who will end up screwing up a bunch in the learning process.

 

[cogfounder]

Do you buy your styrene locally or order it online somewhere? There are a couple plastic suppliers locally but they don't carry styrene and at the LHS it's just way too expensive for someone like me who will end up screwing up a bunch in the learning process.

I get a lot of my detail stock at my LHS because I build by eye,
and I can get my hands on the stuff to get a feel for it
and see if it will suit my needs.

On the other hand I buy a lot of basic stock from Tower Hobbies.
Things like .020 to .080 sheet, and textured sheet like the diamond
plate I cut for the hood, and anything I already know the size of
that I will be useing, or the things my LHS dont normaly stock.

 

[cogfounder]

I put in a little sanding time on the gas can today.
Still need to hit it with some finer papers to get rid of
any sanding marks, but its takeing shape.....

 

[deephis46]

Like the gas can...

 

[cogfounder]

Well, here she is in the mold box....

No turning back now!

I just hope like hell I mixed the silicone correctly,
it started setting up faster than in any other project
I have done so far.

That means it might not have flowed into the mold properly,
and may have trapped bubbles in the reliefs,
or anywhere on the surface for that matter.

Now comes the part that drives me NUTS!

Having to wait 8 to 18 hours for the silicone to cure enough
to de-mold the master and cast a piece.

I figure for the size of the mold, 12 hours should be good tho.

 

[Spidernad]

Wow, your really putting in some hours, It's gonna be worth it in the end though.