This is one of those on and off projects which took years to work on. It all started when a LHS had some 1/35 Academy Humvee returns which contained extra runners in place of the missing ones. So, I bought those kits as spare parts which when I came back home, I had an additional 2 more but that will be another story.
The idea for this came naturally when I was mulling on converting some vehicle to have at least 6 wheels. So, this 6-wheeler would be used for raiding, transport and whatever you use a 6-wheeler for. Because of the kit’s design and my unfamiliarity of the Humvee, all I can say is that the owner has modified it to run in reverse, had it’s base lengthened and yeah, the driver seat is at the back. The rear set of wheels would drive the vehicle while the front 4 would be for steering. I kinda want to give the impression that it was a very fast RWD vehicle and needing a lot of wheels to turn corners.
The photos here would be a little disjointed and maybe missing since I suspect some of them were on my older PC which at the moment, cannot be used. Also, since this is an on and off project, I am recollecting this from memory.
6WD 001: The Surgery
The first thing I did was to carefully remove the front segment of the original vehicle but also to leave the bottom lugs so that it can still mount to the chassis frame later.
6WD 002: Frame formation
I cut both the original and spare chassis frames so that it looked as if the owner welded them together. It took quite some time to plan this since both the chassis and the upper body must match. In the end, I had compromised a little and the vehicle ended up a little longer then planned. I cut some plastic strips to ‘fill in’ the void there since it looked so empty.
6WD 003: Engine Preparation
Of course with the modifications, I had to make sure the engine parts also line up.
6WD 004: The extra piece
I forgot what this is supposed to be but it’s to be glued underneath the chassis somewhere.
6WD 005:
Still no clue. Darn. This is the problem when I put down the project and picked it up months later. I tend to forget that I had done, needed to do and so on. More so when this type of project is a free and easy where you just cobble things up together to look nice and with minimal logic.
6WD 006: There’s something abotu rubber/vinyl tyres
There is one thing which made me worry. See the two lines on the wheel rims? I think it is the rubber tyres reacting to the styrene plastic. It happened long ago when in the early 2000’s where the plastic wheels of a Limited Edition Merkava reacted with the rubber parts and they literally melted/warped. Later, even if I sprayed a later of black primer, I felt that these wheels were too small for what I needed them for.
6WD 007: The first test fitting
Test fit of the wheels to the chassis and man, they looked so damn good! But I would still prefer the four wheels to be closer, maybe about half a wheel length closer. At this point, I still have no idea on what to do with the front mandibles and also, the vehicle’s total front end.
6WD 008: The Abomination
OMG! This looked so horrible! The original small Hmmwv wheels really made it look like a toy! Anyway, I added more plastic details to make it look as if the owner welded metal plates to cover the gaps.
6WD 009: The Fuel Tank
While looking all over for the replacement LAV wheels, I decided to play with the vehicle’s interior. These are some parts given to me by the late Frankly Lim some time ago. They are the three fuel cans glued and painted together. So, I am going to call this the vehicle’s additional or maybe, primary fuel tank and secured it with a simple metal cage. I will have to make some kind of piping and fuel pump system later, to make it look more convincing. Of course, the Humvee’s original seating arrangement would have to be modified too as this vehicle is now moving forward in reverse.
6WD 010: The Driver’s Box 01
This is the top view of how the Driver’s area would look like. I want it to be open like those Mad Max vehicles yet still more or less protected from the elements, etc.
6WD 011: The Driver’s Box 02
Another look from a different angle. Now I see that the caps for the fuel tanks have seam lines and I have forgotten to do the piping…
6WD 012: Protecting the Driver
The roll cages took me some time because these Evergreen plastic rods are so thin, I have to slowly expose them to heat. And there was a lot of test fitting and drilling of holes for the plastic rods to pass through too. Taking the doors and shield from the original model kit, they are use to protect the Driver. I purposely left the front open as I can maybe add some pouches or other stuff later on. To put in another door would make it look so ordinary.
6WD 013: Detailing the Driver’s Box
These are the details inside the Driver’s box. There are the normal dial and so, but I might want to given it some cathode tubes (for GPS) and some random wiring too. After taking another look, it does seem that the Driver is not protected form front assault though.
6WD 01: Fixing some pigments
The vehicle does look better now, with the replacement LAV/LAV II wheels from Trumpeter (no. 06607). I sprinkled some pigments and fixed it. I wanted to have a lighter pigment but this was what I had on hand because when I bought it, I was thinking of rust.
6WD 015: Wheel sizes
Here is a size comparison between the original HMMWV (left) and that of the LAV (right). The difference is quite noticeable. As an afterthought, I wanted to double the pair of rear tires but this would make the whole vehicle look even more cartoonish.
6WD 016: More Pigments
Anyway, this is the progress so far before I shelved it. The figure is not going in there but just to give you a sense of scale. I am not too happy about the weathering on the front as I wanted to make it look used, scraped and well, rusting. However, I have read that the Humvee’s body is made of aluminum, there is no point in rusting, so its more to do with paint scraping and maybe, some burnt marks.
6WD 017: New Fender for benders
The front view of the vehicle now looks OK because of the new fender. But do take note that the driver would have a hard time looking forward since the view is mostly obstructed. So, maybe, I would need to mount a few periscopes later on.
6WD 018: That sexy undercarriage
I managed to take the shot of the chassis as the model has not been glued yet. This is the top part and well, looked kinda OK to me.
6WD 019: Not detailed enough
This is the bottom part which I still need to redo the fuel tank and also, work in the exhaust. There will be some wiring for lights though ans they will be hanging if I can help it.
6WD 020:
I can’t see the joint where the two chassis mated as it was done so long ago. I vaguely remember that there was a reason why I could not shorten the gap between the four front wheels. Maybe it was because of the difficulty in cutting the downward angled parts near the wheels, making the joint weak.
6WD 021: You cannot Weld Aluminum
To make the Vehicle look more plausible, I glued some ‘metal’ strips and proceeded to rust them. I was so excited that I forgot to add in some nuts and bolts to the joint since I don’t think it was possible to weld both steel and aluminum together.
Anyway, I first masked the area with masking tape and also Mr. Masking SolR. Then I sprayed it with brown. I then mixed in a very thick Hull Red and did some close splattering since at this scale, salt technique is not convincing and (my Wife was cooking Dinner).
6WD 022: Let’s leave it at that for now.
Just for some texture, I sprinkled with pigments and then let them soak with the pigment fixer. One day, I would need to get a lighter rust pigment.
