Willy's Nailer Scaler - Summer project build thread...

[Sonic0620]

What can I say the others haven't already, this is a sweet build and you have some great ideas for left over parts. I will continue to watch this for updates. Great work

[XV Pilot]

I think you nailed the snorkel. One tiny suggestion though - rather than making it enter the hood through a round hole, maybe square off the bottom of the hole level with the lower hood edge, so that the hole looks like an inverted U. Then it will look like the hood would be able to open without the snorkel having to be removed first.

[30YrsL8r]

Then it will look like the hood would be able to open without the snorkel having to be removed first.

Now THAT is attention to detail!

[JennyMo]

I think you nailed the snorkel. One tiny suggestion though - rather than making it enter the hood through a round hole, maybe square off the bottom of the hole level with the lower hood edge, so that the hole looks like an inverted U. Then it will look like the hood would be able to open without the snorkel having to be removed first.

Hee hee - Don't worry XV, I'd already considered that ;o) - all those little details will be addressed once I get the Dremel out, including a few rust holes and dents in the bodywork too...

More soon!

[XV Pilot]

Looking forward to seeing the progress!

[JennyMo]

I think I'll have to re-name this thread 'Willy's Snotter' - I've just finished painting the shell (using Skottoman's fabulous suggestion with the salt and layered primer), and boy it has lifted things to another level!!!

What a scabby old desert beater eh?!

A few details:

The salt not only allows the paint to peel off realistically, but also gives an excellent 3D bubbling effect (as can be seen around the front hinges for example):

To recap the technique, first I sanded and Dremeled the body where I wanted the main rust and deterioration to be (typically in the creases/joins in the bodywork), and put a few dents in the panelwork using a hot-air gun.

I then applied the first layer (red oxide) primer all over and let it dry, then using a small brush, applied water to the areas I wanted to remain oxide coloured, and brushed in some course-ground salt.

Once dry (after sitting it on a radiator) I sprayed all over with grey primer - being slightly more sparing over the salt areas as I didn't want too much grey to stick there.

Before I applied the top coat (Rover Sand Glow - the Camel Trophy vehicle colour), I brushed in a little more salt with a wet brush, plus sprinkled a bit more randomly over the rest of the dampened shell - dried it on the radiator again and applied the top coat.

To clean/finish, I actually used an old toothbrush to help remove the salt whilst running the shell under a warm water tap.

The result was even better then I was expecting, especially for a first attempt!

So, a few more details so far:

The left hand (driver's) side has a dent in the sill, plus a rub mark on the panel where he would typically climb in and out (I told you I was an attention-to-detail nerd!) - I have also put a first coat on the T handles on the hood, and painted the body cleats in a sort of zinc-oxide colour to more faithfully represent a 1:1 vehicle (where these wouldn't necessarily rust).

note. I'll also be painting the lower tubes of the roll-cage black, and the seat of course.

The rear off-side wing has a tasty dent in it (courtesy of the hot-air gun again) - Willy is rubbish at reverse parking it would seem!

You'll also see the holes I cut for the LED tail light units - these will have to be glued in as part of the final body prep.

The nearside rear wing is even more bent and buckled (told you he was a rubbish reverser!) - although more accurately, typically the damage you'd suffer driving an extreme Jeep trail - even part of the rear wheel arch is missing!

Similarly the lower part of the front wing on that side has suffered trail-damage, and XV Pilot particularly will be pleased to see I finally modified the hole for the snorkle to enter the hood to more faithfully represent a real vehicle.

Since I will be relocating the original fuel cell in the passenger footwell, I took the liberty to cut out a little more of the floor - this way I will actually be able to install the RC4WD LED lighting control inside the fuel-cell, saving valuable space between the body and chassis, and hopefully helping to keep all the wiring neat (there are going to be a lot of lights on this one!) - pictures of the tank in position soon, once the chrome paint is dry!

The front roll-hoop offers an ideal location for a pair of angled driving lights:

These are a pair of Axial 12mm lamps (5mm LEDs), and I mounted them to the cage using a lower shock bush from a TL chassis, plus a small rubber o-ring to keep things snug but allow them to be easily angled if/as required.

You may also note that I have painted the cage 'foam' sections in primer grey, as I wanted to replicate the grey pipe-lagging insulation foam you often see used in this role. As an exceptionally nerdy attention-to-detail (I may have to form the acronym ATD for the rest of the project), I have actually wrapped the joints between the foam padding in REAL strips of electrical insulation tape, again to be as authentic as possible!

So for now, this is where I'm up to - the main shell is essentially finished, just got to touch in a few details - then get to work on all the detail components and get those fitted before the final assembly:

The confirmed detail parts I'll be working on next are below:

Steering wheel (from the VW bus), gear levers, NOS bottle (of course!), a water jug (for the rear loadbay), and the Warn 8274 style front winch (the rear winch is already fitted to the rear skid plate)... you'll also see I've already painted a Sand Scorcher licence plate* surround in chrome - gotta have one bit of bling on this old nail eh?!

More soon!

Jx.

*PS. I've been messing around with some silly licence plate numbers this afternoon - I'll post a few up later x

[Skottoman]

This is so great Jenny! I'm very happy the paint technique worked for you, it's truly amazing!

Your dents, and location of rust/corrosion are just perfect!

While it's perfectly awesome as is, if you decide to add more weathering, there are 2 more steps you could try.

- Super watery diluted water based black/green paint mixed, and washed over the corrosion parts will add dirt and detail.

- Crushed pastels in brown/black/yellow, and applied with a large make up brush.

Just a little goes a long way, especially in crevices to make them look old and dirty!

Still a spectacular build that keeps getting better!

Cheers,

Skottoman

[XV Pilot]

Looks like it is really coming on well - most impressive!

[JennyMo]

Sooooo... I've been pretty busy this afternoon!

First up, the scale licence plates I mentioned above - similar to the plates on my Fro-Sco, I made these up using the Nevada DMV website (you can type anything in there, but it will only display a reg that hasn't already been allocated to someone), printed them out the correct size (approx 3cm wide) and 'laminate' them between two pieces of sticky tape - works for me anyway...

I also got busy painting all the components so I could start to assemble the body:

I am particularly pleased with how the front winch came out - I primed and painted it with a sliver enamel spray, then added detail with acrylic 'chainmail' (a kind of gunmetal), while darkening certain areas and putting a dirt wash in the creases and details to highlight the edges.

As mentioned above, I also glued the painted fuel cell into the passenger footwell, which provides the ideal location for the RC4WD LED control unit - in this photo only the front side lights and tail lights are connected, but ultimately the driving lamps and trio of headlights will also be wired up...

The lighting doesn't really show it, but I have also started to put a dirty wash over the body, particularly in the rear loadbay:

At the front, the winch fitted and lights working:

Close-up of that winch!

The fuel cell, and repositioned gear/transfer levers on the bulkhead... as mentioned before, the steering wheel is the variant from the Willy VW Bus kit...

Detail of the snorkel - I filled and sanded all the superfluous holes, plus painted the mounting screws (including fitting a third one directly into the roll hoop) matt black to hide them - don't worry, I'll be fitting the top cap once I've finished bolting the rest of the cage together x

The final job tonight was to fit the rear licence plate - although only the Brits are likely to get the joke...

So I'm getting much closer to finishing now - just got to do a few more details on the 2nd and 3rd roll hoops, finish painting the NOS bottle, and sort out the rest of the wiring for the lamps... for now I'll leave you with this:

More soon!

Jenny xx

[30YrsL8r]

The final job tonight was to fit the rear licence plate - although only the Brits are likely to get the joke...

That's the one I chose from your collection. Nice build.

[Wild Willy Speed Shop]

Loving those rear tail lights, great details as well, nice work

[Skottoman]

WOW!

Well, as a US resident, I don't get the plate, but you create them exactly the way I do as well. Print, and sandwich between packing tape.

It's really coming together as a whole, and I can't wait to see the front light bar you put in. The winch is phenomenal with the wash and detail.

Super impressed, and makes me want to start another project.

Keep it up!
Cheers,

Skottoman

[30YrsL8r]

MoT refers to the Ministry of Transport road safety test that's required annually to confirm it's fit for the road (mine is being tested tomorrow). The name is a hangover from years gone by; it's now the Department for Transport and the test falls under the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), an executive agency for the DoT.

[IBIFTKH]

I'm really enjoying this thread, just when we think everything that could be done with a WW2 has been done, you come along and prove us wrong. So many great ideas and details, really inspiring work.

Looking forward to the next instalment...

[JennyMo]

This project is taking over my life!

So this afternoon, having painted most of the detail components, I got on with the task of wiring up all the lights - all nine of them!

Fortunately, the positioning of the LED control unit* inside the fuel cell in centre of the car, directly above the receiver, means the short connector wire is long enough for me to remove the body and stand it upright like this to gain access to the battery and other electronics without having to disconnect from the receiver each time...

A close up of the wiring routing:

Fortunately I remembered I had a handful of these little self-adhesive cable-tie pads kicking around, and used them to good effect to keep the bundles out of the way of the body mounting posts etc.

Now I know I could shorten each wire to the correct length, and tape everything, but life is a bit short for that I fear...

* Also, an interesting observation regarding the RC4WD LED controller unit... I couldn't work out why my existing (Axial and Fasttrax) LED strings wouldn't work with it... I changed the polarity round just incase, but still nothing.

Then I realised that each of the RC4WD lamps have their own individual positive and negative wires - and sure enough, using a single LED connected to the control it lit up just fine - so it would seem that the control unit won't drive a daisy-chain of lights, only a single lamp with the + and - return to the connector - even the 'pairs' of lamps they supply (into a single connector) still have an individual + and - wire.

So with that sussed, I wired up a third (single) white LED for the front end, and got to work - although it does mean there are rather more wires showing that I would have liked.

Looks pretty cool with all those lamps I thought?!

I also finished wrapping the roll-bar joints in tape (and sticking the ends with superglue to stop them coming undone), and then distressed the 'foam' pad sections a little to simulate wear and tear.

The way the 3rd hoop/rear section of the cage is fitted to the centre hoop (with glue) means that it had to be assembled in situ, and the joints painted over - I tacked it first with superglue, then mixed up some Araldite to fill the joints more successfully, trying to replicate welds as best I could. Although the cage is now essentially glued together, it can still be removed as one whole piece by undoing all six nuts underneath.

So enough yakking, we want to know what it looks like all lit up like a Christmas tree right?

Like this!

The seven forward facing lamps (2x5mm, 3x5mm and 2x3mm) really do throw out a lot of light - and it looks like some kind of spaceship driving around in the dark!

Left front 3/4:

I did consider putting in-line switches onto the various lighting circuits, so you could have any combination of lamps on or off, but the controller at the moment only allows all-on or all-off.

Rear right 3/4:

There are still a few details to finish off of course - the rear winch hook, NOS bottle and water jug, plus the sand ladders to fit... I'm tempted to splash out on some of the Proline scale accessories for the loadbed too (suitable weathered too of course) - perhaps the welder and and power drill/tool tray set, particularly apt for this old nailer perhaps?! I also need to source/fabricate a centre rear-view mirror, and not least finish painting 'Helmand' Willy as the driver figure.

I may also be really anal, and paint all the LED wires in matt black to try and hide them a little better?

So for now, I'll leave you with this shot... almost finished!

Jx

[njmlondon]

Just fantastic. Love your OCD! Some great ideas there, really nicely executed.

[SteveU30]

Another cracking build Jenny, can't wait to see it finished!

[Skottoman]

The *most* unique use of a Willy shell ever!

Love all the lights, and you're creating something we've never seen before, this is totally rad!

You're inspiring me... (And I've been off RC building for a while)

Cheers,

Skottoman

[Theibault]

Here's a tip for the wires. Don't paint them, get a jumbo sharpie marker and it'll look tons better than paint. Great looking project! I've been thoroughly enjoying your build.

[Wild Willy Speed Shop]

The more i look at this the more awesome it gets

[ChrisRx718]

Looks awesome!

Has the canvas roof idea gone out of the window now? Perhaps a form of netting would be better, since you would still be able to see the detail work which has gone into this?

Only thing which looks a little out of place are the perfectly-clean white wheels, they need scabby-fy-ing

[JennyMo]

Here's a tip for the wires. Don't paint them, get a jumbo sharpie marker and it'll look tons better than paint. Great looking project! I've been thoroughly enjoying your build.

Thanks for the suggestion Theibault! - I can confirm it works a treat!

I've been working on a few more of the detail touches, more soon...

Jx

[JennyMo]

Looks awesome!

Has the canvas roof idea gone out of the window now? Perhaps a form of netting would be better, since you would still be able to see the detail work which has gone into this?

Only thing which looks a little out of place are the perfectly-clean white wheels, they need scabby-fy-ing

Hi Reilluor!

I agree about the wheels, I'll certainly be doing something with them - although I'm tempted now to go for something different, I just don't want the tyre diameter to be much larger - and can't afford to spring for those lovely steel RC4WD 1.55 wheels at £90 a set!!!

As for the canvas, it kind of worked over the rear half, but I wasn't happy with it... like you say, perhaps some kind of netting would work better... one thing that does look quite cool is the sand ladders side by side on top (the holes in the them let some light through), but I think I've got the accessory layout sussed now...

More soon!

Jx

[JennyMo]

The more i look at this the more awesome it gets

Thanks WWSS - that is praise indeed!

It was always my intention to go to town on this one - not just to practice new painting techniques and detailing, but to try and create something truly unique - something that could stand up to repeated scrutiny and each time you'd see another little detail touch that hopefully intrigues and inspires others...

For my next project though, I'm going to go back to basics I think, and make it all about the driving [enjoyment]...

Jx

[30YrsL8r]

For my next project though, I'm going to go back to basics I think, and make it all about the driving [enjoyment]...

That's the approach I've taken for my WW 4x4, which is why, aesthetically, yours knocks mine into a cocked hat