Sandcrawler project

[artoodeeto]

My cat Tiger decided to help out the other day by keeping my seat warm:

I've made a little more progress - added some more stuffs to the rear roof area and the recessed roof area toward the front (note especially the strategic use of bendy and straight straws). I also started on the detailing of the front section roof, it's looking a whole lot more interesting. The couple of chrome pieces in the front corners had the word Ford on them, so I scratched that away. Although the sandcrawler probably does look a bit like some Fords from the '70's.....

[artoodeeto]

Finally got the last cast piece on the model this morning! Tonight I'll be working on detailing the back section and hopefully finishing off the roof. If I'm REALLY good I'll get the hinges covered too. I thought I'd put some comparison shots in this post, and a couple new ones at the end. I began planning this project in April 2007.

First, front views. I'll edit this later to include a new shot of the front, the most current one I have from a similar angle was taken back in November.

Taken June 30, 2007:

Taken January 18, 2008 (major difference is openings on roof for fans):

Taken November 12, 2009:

And rear views, this is where the differences get REALLY obvious.

Taken July 28, 2007 (that's the old 2nd crawler on the left):

Taken July 1, 2009 (yep....2 years later, major difference is I'd just rebuilt the tank treads and underside):

Taken February 2, 2010:

Taken today, February 3, 2010, shows the addition of the final cast piece on the back:

And the other new shots:

The rear fans opened up - note the pipes and such glued to them that help (when they're shut) to disguise the fact that they open for wiring access:

[artoodeeto]

I forgot to add comparison shots of the computer itself. You'll see a general trend from really messy to really not messy:

Taken May 17, 2007, still in the old 2nd crawler (with the posterboard mockup of the 3rd one on top, I had nowhere else to keep it):

Taken June 9, 2007, same computer system, but now in the 3rd crawler:

Taken June 25, 2007, zoomed out version of above photo:

Taken May 9, 2009, still the base and treads from 2nd crawler, but much neater computer now:

Taken October 23, 2009, this is what it looks like from the outside now:

Taken January 8, 2010, I'm going to remove that paper funnel and turn the CPU fan around so it's not blowing hot air into the PSU...

[x88x]

Very nice. The second rear mold piece looks like it came out nicely.

All you had to do was join us and suddenly you make lots of progress...hmmm

[artoodeeto]

Very nice. The second rear mold piece looks like it came out nicely.
All you had to do was join us and suddenly you make lots of progress...hmmm

Thanks! Yeah, it's hard to tell in the photo, but the first rear cast piece has almost as much detail as the second - because I did the first one in resin, it's totally clear and the detail is harder to see. Should look fine once painted though.

And yep, it's amazing what happens when you suddenly have an audience. Of course, my relatively breakneck pace the last month or so is due to the Rods n Mods show next week, I want at least the outside finished by then. Should be do-able, I'm fully expecting it to be ready to paint by Saturday. woo hoo!

[Waynio]

Coming along nicely and like the progress recap shots , all worklogs should do this every so many pages .

[artoodeeto]

yeah, I like going back through every now and then and looking at the old photos. For the Rods n Mods show, I'm going to do a screensaver showing the build history, and I think I may group the photos first by angle of view, then by date, so you can see its development over the years from successive viewpoints.

Last night it took a surprisingly long time, but I got the remaining large areas covered with posterboard. In a lot of ways I wish I'd thought to use thin sheet styrene instead, but in one way at least I like the posterboard - I can fold it over corners. Can't do that with styrene, and it really helps smooth out rough edges. As the following photos show (newly covered areas are the rear lower panel, the middle-most removable roof piece, and the raised ridge forming a horseshoe shape 'round the rear-most roof). Tonight's tasks include finally getting the dang hinges covered, and adding detail work to the areas I covered last night. And with that, I do believe the exterior will be done from a construction standpoint. Well, ok, there's a few things I want to try and add to the outside of the front loading door. THEN it'll be done.

[Loki]

Love it love it love it!! I didn't knew you were working on this project for so many years!! and I must congratulate you for your perseverance and constancy!!!

[artoodeeto]

Thanks! It's been about 10 years, going back to the first crawler model I built. This one here is the 3rd. It's been a long trip, this build, and I'm very ready to be done with it. More updates tonight or tomorrow...

[Trace]

Can't wait to see this