So in the back of my head I'm waiting for Wasilli to finish up his APC kit and I have been thinking of what large RC car to use as a donor. Sooooo the wife drags me to this store called Tuesday Morning. Total chick store that sells leftover rugs, vases, china. etc. Basically junk to dress up the interior of your house. Well they also have a little toy isle and this huge box catches my eye on the clearance rack. Its an Ultimate Soldier 1/6 scale full RC Humvee. Lights, diesel sounds and a remote missile launcher. It uses the same size battery as the kiddie ride on electric Barbie Jeeps etc. Its huge, 30"X12"X12" weighing in about 30 lbs. On clearance for $49 bucks. My rule of thumb is anything over $50, check to see if you can find it online for cheap. Pulled out the Iphone and did a quick search on Ebay. These things are going for $175 to $225. Apparently they retailed for $200 and were discontinued back in 2008. For $49 bucks I couldn't go wrong especially since I am going to tear it up for the APC. Below is a pic I grabbed off the net as I didnt get one before the modifications begun.
I love to rework off the shelf toys to see how good I can make them look. This was a perfect candidate for a weekend project. The base color was a nice flat tan and the detailing was OK. I mixed up some tan in a shade or two darker than the original paint. As the sun fades horizontal surfaces more than vertical, I started to mist the car lightly on the top and gradually getting heavier as I went down. This gave it a good base for a desert bleached look. Next was a batch of rust brown for the bottom edges then blended that color from the bottom up. I also hit most of the recessed lines with the rust brown. I used flat silver, and a darker brown to dry brush various sections of the doors, hood and tailgate area. Loaded the airbush with a flat black to paint the front bull bar, hood vent, gas cap and wheels. I later went back over the black areas and misted them with the dark brown to give a little depth and age. I misted the wheels with a OD green to give them a little more pop and went over the lug nuts with a rust to finish them off. A lot of the pics I found online showed various straps and equipment hanging off the rigs. I took some picture hanging wire and made some 'rolls' to accessorize the outside. Found an old flat shoelace in army green and fabbed a tow line for the front bull bar. Front CB antenna is a servo rod from a RC helicopter that is long since dead. Used an 'L' bracket and rubber grommet for the base of the antenna. Finished off the undercarriage in flat black to match pics online. Battery had been sitting for years and thus was dried up. Filled with water, put it on the charger, now holding 12+ volts. Things left to do: Completely scratch build the cheesy TOW missile launcher or replace it with a 50 cal gun and turret. Make some new mirrors as these are droopier than a Cialis commercial. Ran it around the back yard playing chase with the dog. It hauls butt and the 4WD rubber tires glide over the grass. So Im into it $55 including tax and a few hours of fun. Now that Im done, I really cant see myself ripping it apart for donor parts. I think the next off the shelf redux will be the new TIE with bigger wings.
Here is the 'finished' result.
I love to rework off the shelf toys to see how good I can make them look. This was a perfect candidate for a weekend project. The base color was a nice flat tan and the detailing was OK. I mixed up some tan in a shade or two darker than the original paint. As the sun fades horizontal surfaces more than vertical, I started to mist the car lightly on the top and gradually getting heavier as I went down. This gave it a good base for a desert bleached look. Next was a batch of rust brown for the bottom edges then blended that color from the bottom up. I also hit most of the recessed lines with the rust brown. I used flat silver, and a darker brown to dry brush various sections of the doors, hood and tailgate area. Loaded the airbush with a flat black to paint the front bull bar, hood vent, gas cap and wheels. I later went back over the black areas and misted them with the dark brown to give a little depth and age. I misted the wheels with a OD green to give them a little more pop and went over the lug nuts with a rust to finish them off. A lot of the pics I found online showed various straps and equipment hanging off the rigs. I took some picture hanging wire and made some 'rolls' to accessorize the outside. Found an old flat shoelace in army green and fabbed a tow line for the front bull bar. Front CB antenna is a servo rod from a RC helicopter that is long since dead. Used an 'L' bracket and rubber grommet for the base of the antenna. Finished off the undercarriage in flat black to match pics online. Battery had been sitting for years and thus was dried up. Filled with water, put it on the charger, now holding 12+ volts. Things left to do: Completely scratch build the cheesy TOW missile launcher or replace it with a 50 cal gun and turret. Make some new mirrors as these are droopier than a Cialis commercial. Ran it around the back yard playing chase with the dog. It hauls butt and the 4WD rubber tires glide over the grass. So Im into it $55 including tax and a few hours of fun. Now that Im done, I really cant see myself ripping it apart for donor parts. I think the next off the shelf redux will be the new TIE with bigger wings.
Here is the 'finished' result.
