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This is my build thread for my first projects for this group build. I'll be building the two Humvee rovers, Mars 1 and Moon 1, operated by NASA and the Mars on Earth institute. They were driven across the Northwest Passage to Devon Island where the Haughton impact crater is located. This is the most Mars-like place on earth and is used to test procedures and equipment for future Mars mission. For some really interesting information about this project, here is a link to their site; http://marsonearth.org/

The rovers are both modified M-997 Humvee ambulances and have been fitted with both tires and Mattrak systems for driving across the ice. I think I will be doing one with the wheels and one with the tracks. For this build I will be using the Revell 1/25 scale snap tite Humvee kits. One is the customed version and the other one I bought the other day is the newer release military version. both will require a lot of cutting to work.

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I'd started modifying one of these kits already with the thought of making a Humvee brush fire truck. All I had done so far was to cut the roof and remove the rear doors. And I also cut open the front grill/lights and the hood grill.

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I hope to have some more progress on the first one soon. I am thinking about totally rebuilding the chassis since the snap kit is VERY crude and overly simplified to be used like a toy. Not sure How I want to proceed on that though.

Thanks for looking,

Bill

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Very interested in this build as I would like to build a regular ambulance on the Hummer, I have a box full of Jurassic park Hummers looking for completion. Here is a Johnny lightning and the Revell snap that I have done. Hope you can share your dimensions on the body.

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greg

Edited by GLMFAA1
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Very interested in this build as I would like to build a regular ambulance on the Hummer, I have a box full of Jurassic park Hummers looking for completion. Here is a Johnny lightning and the Revell snap that I have done. Hope you can share your dimensions on the body.

greg

Great job on your hummers GLMFAA! I would be happy to share my dimensions with you. I found some drawings online that matchup with Revells kit so they may not be perfect but they worked for me. I'll see what format I can put them in to get to you.

Thanks,

Bill

Edited by niart17
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here are some shots of the progress I made over the weekend. This is the box built up and mostly sanded down. Still have to fill the seams and have to figure out the best way to get the rivets on it but for the most part I'm happy with it.

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Comments, critiques and suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,

Bill

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...I'm lookin' forward to seeing the Mattrak version..

Pete

Me too. I have modeled the Mattraks in Solidworks based off of photographs and information from their site. I may take that model and break it into the major components to have our laser cutters cut it out of thin sheet metal. Then I'll just have to source-out or print the wheels and figure out how to do the rubber track itself. The reason I might go to such trouble is hopefully a much bigger and better project might spur off of these builds. If it pans out I'll announce that later.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Bill

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No picture update yet but I decided I'm NOT going to use the red H1 kit that I started with. The main reason is the doors. They don't have the "X" pattern on them or the added armor around the windows. I started to try to sand off the raised detail that's there but it's just too much work when the newer Revell military Humvee kits have the correct doors already on them. So I did the chopping last night on the first one and I'll need to go buy another kit for the second. I think I'll do the Red one with the tracks and it will have the integrated space suit docks on the back with the robotic arm etc... The yellow one I will do with wheels and perhaps open up the back doors. We'll see how it proceeds. Thanks for looking in and get to work on your builds...WE NEED MORE MODELS HERE! :woot.gif:

Bill

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Some preliminary 3d modeling of the Mattracks. I mainly wanted to do this so I could figure the darn things out. Pretty cool devices. Not sure HOW I'm going to make them yet but I've thought about a few options like laser cutting the main components and 3d printing the wheels. (That main "squirrel cage" looking wheel looks like a nightmare to create and this is a very simplified version of it) Or just start cutting some sheet plastic and go for it old school. (and make 32 identical instances of some components by hand...probably won't do old school. <_</>/> )

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Also, this is a rough chassis I'd started making when this was going to be a fire truck. Now that I'm going to use a different kit, this chassis won't fit as they've modified a bit of the undersides. SOOO I'll either live with what's there (very toyish), modify and detail what's there or build another chassis from scratch. I'm leaning to the center solution and trying to work with what the kit has. Anyway...

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The fun continues!

Bill

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I made a little progress this weekend by adding the basis for the two rear integrated space suit ports. Here is a picture of them mounted to the back of one of the humvees not painted in the current schemes. I don't know if this is the same vehicle as one of the two I'm doing, but it probably is. I do know they've had these two type mounts on the red Mars-1 rover so that's the one I'm putting them on.

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And here is my attempt at them. I'll add the back panels with all the detail later once I get all the details worked out. They still need some cleaning up and filled in seams.

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I've also checked the size of the wheel/tire I'd printed a while back for the fire truck build. Luckily it's the exact same tire used on the yellow Moon-1 rover so I'll probably make some resin copies for that. I'll just need to come up with the correct rims.

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And an overall to check the sizes. Notice I am using the tan military kit. Much better and closer to the rovers.

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Thanks for checking it out. Any comments, critiques or comments are solicited....no really.

Bill

Edited by niart17
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ok, guys. I need some suggestions/ideas. Below are some pics of what the snap-tite model's chassis looks like. It's not horrible but it's also pretty basic. I have several options about how I can spruce it up, like total rebuild, detail etc.... Plus it rides a little high so that needs to be addressed regardless how what detail I put. So what do you guys think? How should I fix this toy? Has anyone ever seen a detailed or super detailed build of the Revell Humvee kit that could render some ideas of a good fix? Anything?

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Overall showing ride height.

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Thanks,

Bill

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I wouldn't worry at all about the look of the chassis. Unless, you were gonna show the vehicle tipped over on its side after a Martian encounter.

To my way of thinking, if nobody's gonna see it, why bother? By that same token, I've shown un-see-able details on my models just because I wanted to ... and I know they're there.

But for this vehicle ... it looks detailed enuff.

... now after re-reading your post ... why not try cutting up the wheel linkages so that they have vertical movement, and use a spring ( from a ball point pen? ) on a strut to give it some motion and adjust the ride height.

Just don't get too bogged down in these details ... I, for one, would like to see this project finished! :yahoo:

Pete

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I wouldn't worry at all about the look of the chassis. Unless, you were gonna show the vehicle tipped over on its side after a Martian encounter.

To my way of thinking, if nobody's gonna see it, why bother? By that same token, I've shown un-see-able details on my models just because I wanted to ... and I know they're there.

Pete

And this coming from a man who not only details parts unseen, but will cut 60% of the stuff in the way so you CAN see what's unseen... :monkeydance:

Seriously though, the nature of a hummer is that a large portion of the chassis is seen. I think I will detail the front area and wheel wells as much as I can, MAYBE do something about the big holes for the screws and yes, definitely re-work the springs and control arms etc...

I think that would be good enough for my build. IF things works out I may have to do a much more detailed and possible larger build of this but I haven't confirmed anything yet so for now I will paddle along and try to FINISH a model. Just for you Pete! Thanks.

Bill

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Ok, here is the middle of the road approach. I've cut off the lower control arms and trimmed down the connection points to lower the stance a little under 1/4". I'm going to add the upper control arms and detail as much as what can be seen. I also need to level it and bring it to the height I will settle on. This will be the solution for the wheeled vehicle. For the tracked vehicle I may have to do a little more detailing since it shows the chassis much more. So here are the progress pics from tonight.

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Comparison of the old and new ride height;

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This is loosly glued in place until I work it out and level it as best as possible. I'll also need to shift the front wheels forward just a touch since trimming the arms pushed the mid point back a little. but it's closer to the right height I think.

You can clearly see how bare this area is in this picture. I think it would be obvious on the tracked rover.

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Thanks,

Bill

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Bill, great project. I do remember reading about these NASA projects. It's a shame there is no good Hummer kits in 1/24. Tamiya did 1/20 but they are getting hard to find. Anyway, like Pete said I wouldn't bother with going all out on the bottom chase. Unless, your planing to display it with a mirror under it...no one is going to see it. I will just detail the parts that are visible.

Well, great projects, so keep up the good work. :thumbsup:

Mike

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Thanks Mike. I think for these I'm just going to detail what's visible, which is still quite a bit in some ways. The upper control arms, the springs, the "drive shafts" that go to each wheel etc... but nothing that is under the vehicle per se, which would be the easy part.

The thing about these Revell Humvees, they actually are not bad kits at all except for the chassis being toy-like. The shapes look right on the money to my untrained eye and all the exterior details are there for the most part. It has the potential to be a really great model. I think if an armor guy would take it and go all out like they do for some other kits, it could be stellar. I wish Revell would recognize they have a good shell and maybe do a full on glue version with a better chassis but I doubt that would happen. Perhaps Revell of Germany would do such a kit, but not unless they get involved do I see a great kit happening.

I was looking for the Tamiya kit as well as the 1/18 scale Maistro die-cast Humvee to start with. I may end up doing another large build of these vehicles if things work out right. So these are not only builds for me, they are test subjects for a future project.

Thanks again for looking. Always looking for advice and comments.

Bill

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Pink or Red, THAT is the question. Ok, so what is you guys opinion. I have been sent some photos from Dr. Pascal Lee (Director of the Haughton Project) of the rovers as they currently look. They are "in storage",as it were, sitting at the base camp and if you notice in the picture below, as well as a few other's I've posted, the red Mars-1 rover has taken a weathered pink appearance. I am torn about what color I want to go with it. I like a used looking vehicle, but....pink? What do you guys think? Sure is umm....purty. :woot.gif:/>/>

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Thanks, (with a HUGE thanks to Dr. Lee for the help)

Bill

Edited by niart17
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Nah, its not pink, more of a terracotta ;). Now that shouldn't be too hard to match.:) I rather like these wagons, though more from the point of view that they would make excellent go anywhere campers, perfect for my run away from home wagon. :D

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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I would also go for the weathered look. It makes the whole model more interesting. I would also say that the colour is not pink more a bit like salmon. Great build so far by the way.

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Thanks guys, I know you're right and I need to do it weathered. I hope I can match the color. I am slightly colorblind with a red/green deficiency so I see it a little more pink than it probably is. I will try my best to get that color.

Here is a small update. I built the hood grill slats and surround piece and I'll need to find a good screen material to simulate the real thing. I may add a hint of radiator fans beneath it if it's visible enough with the screen on. We'll see when I get to that point. I also placed a brass tube to see how close it is to the correct diameter for the snorkel stack. Not sure yet but it looks slightly too large a diameter. I'll have to find something

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Thanks for checking it out.

Bill

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks everyone. Any suggestions for a paint to match that color? I'd prefer a spray for ease, but if I have to airbrush it that's fine too.

A small update. I re-printed the tire in frosted detail plastic so I could use that as a master. I'm no expert with making resin parts, but I think they came out ok. Could be better.

The four tires I made with the master in front.

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With a little paint on them. I'll add some lighter worn tread color and wash to bring out the details a bit more.

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I also worked on the rear tail light recess area. I used some round platic tube cut in half and then made the walls with sheet plastic. I still need to add the inside back wall and then build the lights to go in the recess. That will probably be added after paint.

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The rough texture is just residual spray glue left from the pattern. It will be cleaned before painting of course.

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And then another shot mocked up to see the tires in place. I still need to design and print out the rims.

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Thanks for looking. Comments, critiques and suggestions welcome.

Bill

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