K2Pete Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Bill, Bill, Bill ... you are on the cutting edge of this hobby aincha? 3D printing and resin casting all in one model? ... well done laddie! And those tires look terrific! I'm lookin' forward to seeing these two Humvees come together! Stick with 'em! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Thanks Pete, I don't know how cutting edge it is but thanks. And it's still not up to the level you do by hand. But it is what it is. It is an interesting time to be modeling though with all the new-ish available resources for modelers to use. It must be similar to the feeling some guys had back when photo-etch was first introduced, or when the Mattel vacuum forming machines were first out and popular for making parts. The difference now is the technology is there for the builder to create more of their own aftermarket parts either by 3D printing, do-it-yourself photoetch equipment, vinyl cutters, ink jet decal papers etc... A lot of options to explore and learn about. But still, nothing beats good old x-acto to plastic cutting and building from hand. You have that down to an art. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) Time for another small update. I've attached the rear box to the body now and am starting to fill in all the little seams and clean the body work up some. I am thinking about possibly "skinning" the box with some really thin sheet plastic so I can get the paneled look of the real thing and add the rivets. Not sure on that yet. I've also started working out some of the markings. It's going to take a bit to get all the logos and stuff. I have to gather as many high quality photos as I can so I can reproduce the markings in Illustrator. the good thing is a lot of the markings are duplicated in many places around the vehicle in different sizes so it won't quite as bad as something like a NASCAR for example. But anyway, here are some progress shots. Markings printed on paper to check for sizing. Still have to fine tune the font on the Haughton Project logo. It's not quite right yet, but close. The interior has some logos on the cab;s rear bulkhead. These are close to right size I think but the bulkhead color isn't right. Should be a greener green. And speaking of interior colors. If you guys could take a look at this photo, what color would y'all say the interior of the cab/dash etc... is? At times it looks like it could be a typical desert tan but other times it looks closer to the green like the inside of the back doors. I'm partially color blind so I can't say. I've asked Dr. Lee but haven't gotten a response yet. Anyway, thanks for checking out. Critiques, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Bill Edited April 23, 2014 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 I wanted to check and see how it was going to look with some paint so I painted it with a desert tan color. It's a good color to check for flaws and it's close to what the vehicle was probably painted before it became the Mars-1 Rover. I also decided to cut out the snorkel area at the back of the hood. It was going to be too hard to clean up the hole where the snorkel pipe goes so I figured it's easier to just rebuild the whole area and make it a bit more accurate at the same time. Not much to show but here is something. I also started a little of the interior. I still don't know what the color is so I will have to wait to find confirmation of that. Here is what was the top of the radio unit. In the Mars-1 it's being used as a computer desk for the robotic arm control station. More on that later. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Nicely done! This is really coming together! From the photos of the interior, I couldn't help ya on the colour ... but a Tan would more than likely suffice. I mean, you don't want a dark interior colour due to the intense sunlight on Mars ... or northern Canada for that matter. Keep on keepin' on Bill. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Thanks Pete. Yup, I'd imagine the sun is brutal on Mars. And where they are up close to the Artic, it's really brutal too. That's one of the other reasons I believe they chose Devon Island to this testing. The UV exposure is something they are testing on deal with as well. But here is another picture (cropped) that Dr. Lee sent me a while back and I am pretty sure this is showing a tan interior if you look at the door brace and under the seat area. But still being color blind makes me want to confirm this so can anyone tell me, does this even remotely look like it could be green, like the green on the interior of the back door opened on the earlier show above I posted? If not I'm going with desert tan interior. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GLMFAA1 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Thanks for the plans, I did a little research and with your picture it looks like a desert tan front interior with an 'old school' medical green rear interior. The hospital green was supposedly easier to clean as the blood red showed up on the green. I went to the NASA site and it looks like they added a robot arm to the front. are you updating the project? I can't wait to see your mattracks. I'm sure there are a lot of car modelers that would love to get a set of those. Please continue. greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hey Greg, glad the plans were of use to you. Also, thanks for the input on the colors, that was where I was leaning after being convinced over and over by my wife that "that color TAN!!!!!" As for the robotic arm, on the Mars-1 that I'm currently working on it will have the robotic arm as well as the space suit ports on the back. Not sure if they used both in conjunction but it will show what the capabilities are of the rovers. I've been informed by Dr. Lee that when they are using the arm they are in simulation ops, and only use tires. The Mattracks were mainly used to get them to the camp while driving across the frozen lake. I am planning on doing another rover, the Moon-1 in yellow and it will have the Mattracks if I can pull them off. I don't think they are 3D printable very economically so I am tossing around a few other ideas. I also am considering opening the rear and remove the front doors on that one. When they drove across the ice the front doors were taken off in case the driver had to quickly bail in the case of a fall through. I'm sure that thought was fun! Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hi Bill, this is coming along really nicely! Awesome job with the tires and looking forward to seeing those caterpillar treads come to life! It's interesting to know you've got that red-green condition as I do. I see the body color as more on the pink side as well! : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GLMFAA1 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Bill: I posted a link to this thread in Model Cars Magazine forum and a car modeler remembered a thread about Mattracks This will save time http://www.shapeways.com/model/1751481/1-24-trax-units.html?li=shop-results&materialId=6 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=87297 hope this helps greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks Grag! I'd be interested to see the comments (if any) from the guys on the car site about my build. I'm sure they would have a lot of helpful suggestions and probably a good laugh as well at some of my approach. Those Mattracks he modeled are VERY nice but not the same version that is used on the rovers. They are close but not quite the same. Plus at $80 for 4 it may be a bit steep. The biggest issue I have in printing mine is the main drive wheel. In order to make it thick enough to print, it's un-realistically thick. The squirrel cage nature of it is pretty delicate. I think a combination of printed idler wheels, some laser cut frame parts and main wheel and a lot of finger crossing would be the way to go on mine. If you could maybe post a link to the thread you started on the car mag site. I would love to see what information I could get from the real car guys. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GLMFAA1 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Here ya go http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=88966 greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Awesome. Thanks Greg. 3d printed Rims are in the mail on the way. Should have them tomorrow or by Monday. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Excellent! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 Time for a small update. After living with the mostly completed box I decided that I really wanted to replicate the overlapping panel look of the real thing. To accomplish this I used some very thin strips of styrene and will feather it in to give an overlap appearance. I would love to add rivets but don't know how to go about doing that at such a small scale. I would be really grateful for any advice. I also started with some other surface details such as a roughed in rear step access panel. Strips glued on at seam locations: First seam puttied and feathered in: Rear Steps Hatch: Thanks for looking. I hope to have the rest of the panels done and a coat of the actual color on it by the weekend. Wish me luck. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ralf Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Great work so far... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Ok, finished with the paneling. I need to smooth out a few rough spots but for the most part I think the effect is convincing. Though these pics don't show it well since the white balance was off, I am getting closer to getting the correct color, I just think it needs a bit more red. Thanks for checking it out. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GLMFAA1 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Haven't seen any updates on this project, Thanks to you I finished my ambulance from your plans. I know it's not NASA but I wanted you to see it greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 WOW ... is that ever nice! Is there a WIP somewhere online? I'd love to see how you did this! Things like the emergency lights, the brush guard, the stretcher ... and everything else! Really nice job Greg! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GLMFAA1 Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 WOW ... is that ever nice! Is there a WIP somewhere online? I'd love to see how you did this! Things like the emergency lights, the brush guard, the stretcher ... and everything else! Really nice job Greg! Pete Here are pics from my PhotoBucket site http://s608.photobucket.com/user/GLMFAA1/library/EMS%20Projects?sort=3&page=1 http://s608.photobucket.com/user/GLMFAA1/library/R%20M%20Humvee?sort=3&page=1 greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 That is definitely a winner! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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