Studio Scale Sandcrawler (ANH)

[marvin]

I just started a "new" project: the Studio Scale Jawa Sandcrawler. It will be recreated to its original Star Wars (A new Hope) configuration as it was at the time of filming in 1977. I think I will end up making it RC too, just like the original.

I started out by creating a 3D model accurate to the original. I did flatten some panels out, as the original has panels had slightly warped over time. Or maybe because during production the crew took turns riding it....



Different layers in the 3D plans that i distilled from the 3D model: 12mm MDF in brown, 3mm coated MDF in orange, 2mm MDF in yellow and styrene in white.



Made the structure sturdy by finally applying some university knowledge and creating box structures. I also put in cable guides for future lighting and RC.



After getting the parts lasercut it only took about three hours to get to this stage:





Next up skinning with styrene and getting panelling cut.

[Satazius]

Damn that is sweet. So the top layer paneling will be cut parts, as opposed to scribing? Extra cool.

[marvin]

Yep there's no scribing on the original. It's all seperate plates. Some a little bit bent and crooked. I guess riding across the Jundland wastes for 80 years will do that to a crawler.

[3phase]

Very cool mate. Would this be the only scratch build of this model besides the original

[Guy Cowen]

Loving it mate, looks really well designed, cant wait to see this come together now .....

[JAWS]

Oh man this bad boy is high on ny list!

[Ralphee]

Can I get a ride along mister? Looking great Marvin, the first, quite huge step!

Lee

[Turrican]

Looks like a good start.

[marvin]

(06-11-2017, 09:53 AM)Ralphee Wrote: Can I get a ride along mister? Looking great Marvin, the first, quite huge step!

Lee

Hahaha thanks Lee. I really want to enjoy this weekend abroad but i can only think about getting the first layer of styrene on now actually ?

[Ralphee]

Yeah I know how all that feels. You've done great mate, seen it through to this stage very well.



Lee

[marvin]

Thanks. I'm still working on that first layer of skinning. Ran out of styrene and finally have my new styrene in so hopefully I can finish it over the weekend.

In the meantime I could use some help. I'm having trouble identifying the long flat pieces in the following pic. I thought they may be parts of trailer, but can't be sure. Does anyone have any idea about these parts?

[Ralphee]

Looks like Plastruct clapboard maybe mate?

Lee

[Ralphee]

The adjacent angled panels also look Plastruct, siding sheet.

Lee

[KrokoHunter]

Pretty sure the adjacent ones are done by hand glueing on strips of styrene. Same with the ribs running from top to bottom on the sides of the hull .... As some of the ribs seems to have been torn off

[Ralphee]

Yes Niels, was talking to Marvin earlier, and he said the same, can't say I've looking much at the model so was just a pondering, but yes it is very non uniform now i look, cool beans buddy. Its looking quite fabulous too!

Lee

[marvin]

Yessss.... haven't found a detail pic yet thats allowed me to measure the spacing but im sure i have one

[marvin]

So the basic skinning is done. Next up starting with panelling and detailing section by section...

[RSWillett1]

Those long pieces look like they could be from the AMT Kenworth Cabover possibly?

[marvin]

Yes it is.... i got that hint recently and checked so you are right!

[marvin]

(06-09-2017, 09:21 AM)3phase Wrote: Very cool mate. Would this be the only scratch build of this model besides the original

Well I know Eric from Korea was building one years ago, but I'm not sure if he ever finished. It was a great build too!

[marvin]

So the first section is basically completed. Others have been plated too. The profile looks a bit narrow but that is because sh'll get 1mm plating on each side of the face next.

At first I had a sheet of styrene laser cut to get me quick panels. But honestly it didn't look good. Too straight, too uniform. So I ended up cutting every plate by hand and trying to match the variations in panel spacing of the original. Mine is still somewhat neater than the original, cause I just couldn't get myself to make it as wonky as that.

[Ralphee]

Wonderful mate, really wonderful. The plating looks great, not too wonky, not too neat. I think one can obsess too much at times Marvin, in any case this is superb work.

Lee

[marvin]

Thanks mate. Yeah you have to draw the line somewhere. Can’t risk heart failure by copying the original exactly and can’t go to neat. This is where I ended up.

[Apophis]

that is really cool! i like it!

[marvin]

I'm stuck on one ID to finish up this section. If anybody has any idea where these tie-downs come from? Should be 1/72 or close to that.

[Tsophika]

Airfix Scammel.

[marvin]

I had discounted the scammel actually. Thought the round shapes looked slightly different. Will have a look again later. Thanks friend!

Checked! And you sir are correct. The extra flash on the kit part made the legs look longer than mine and I guess i didn't look close enough. Thanks, now i can finish up this section completely!

[marvin]

So the front two sections are done, except for one missing ID: the binoculars. Haven't been able tot find the right kit they're from. 

There's a lot fewer parts on here than you might expect. I'm recreating the original 1977 version of the model as much as I can and there weren't that many parts on these front sections back then. Many were added here for the Special Edition. Probably in part because there were more frontal shots in the SE. But you can also see the model got a good hit somewhere on the left front corner, so it may have something to do with repairs too. No where else did they add parts for the SE, only replace broken or missing parts.



Here's the ID I'm still missing. Obviously binoculars, but havent found the exact right ones. If anyone is able to help that would be greatly appreciated!

[Ralphee]

Menacing. Looking good Marvin. Still keep coming back to Rust on the initial basecoat for this. You'll have it painted for the next Comicon I'm sure 

Lee

[marvin]

Thats a great deadline to set! Yeah when you look at the non hero side especially you can see the splot hyness of the paint application. You can still see the light grey primer, the orangy brown, the dark brown, the almost black in layers.

[Turrican]

Wow, looks superb and so clean.
Really nice work on that panel lines.
I always hate to do this, as it's a pain in the ass to get these looking right all the same way.

Do you use any special tools for this?

[marvin]

Thanks! A knife only. They arent panel lines. Each one is a separately cut panel and then glued on with varying spacing between the panels.

[marvin]

So here's a small in progress shot of the detail application on top of the bridge. Should have som nice update of the whole forward section a bit later today.

[Ralphee]

Mate that's some clinical work. Can' fathom your attention on this, hat tip haha.
Hope you can bring it along to a Con soon buddy.

Lee

[Guy Cowen]

This needs to be done by March , looking great Marvin really living this build and your design work going into it

[Satazius]

Are those pics in B&W so we don't cry looking at the orange hatches? ;-)
Amazing work there. Really exciting to follow.

[JAWS]

Excellent

[marvin]

Thanks guys! I think I'll have her "mostly" done by March, although I've some travelling between now and then so who knows...

[marvin]

These pics show where I am now (front sections all done). there's a few more on myfacebook page.

[marvin]

I have a few ID's still missing. If anyone can help out that would be greatly appreciated. Here's what I'm missing in these sections:

[Ralphee]

You'e flying along mate.

Lee

[NS4]

Sorry I cant help with the ID's.
Just wanted to add my admiration to the thread  - the build looks amazing!
Really fantastic work.

[RU41]

That’s a great build. So clean and precise. Sorry, I don’t recognize any of the missing parts but I will keep my eyes open.

[marvin]

Small update as another section is done. This pic is missing the last three parts, but they are on their way to me. They'll go on this week while I continue on the next section.

[Satazius]

Terrific work there Marvin. The starter kit is a real beauty. So great to follow this build.

[Turrican]

That looks super clean.
Great work Marvin

[peza]

Sweet work marvin this is beautiful! TOP JOB
Keep it up tayta!

[marvin]

(05-13-2018, 08:39 AM)Satazius Wrote: Terrific work there Marvin. The starter kit is a real beauty. So great to follow this build.

Thanks man! Can't wait to see what you'll do with my Starter Set!

[marvin]

THanks Guys. It's going a lot slower than I would like, but it's a big build, so I guess it's to be expected.

[Satazius]

How are you approaching leaving space for the tracks and drive mechanism? i.e. what do you plan to do with the non-hero side in the middle?