Imagine a couple of drunk mechanics wandered into a junk yard one night and found some Jeeps and Humvee scraps. Imagine them fooling around with the parts all night long.
While they sobered up the next day, all the crazy talk and ideas did not go away. And so, the Jeepvee was born….
Jeepvee 001: Upside Down HMMWV
Just recently, as I was starting to get bored of Facebook and went into Pinterest, there was one very nice car/ rod which caught my eye. It was the custom Jeep Rock Rat by Hauk Designs. I wanted to make one too, or something similar to it, depending on my suck modeling skills.
So, let’s start with what I have in my stash. Yep, a Humvee chassis, leftover from the box of duplicate parts which also gave birth to the 6RWD HMMWV. As I wanted the Jeepvee to be closer to the ground (yes, a very bad idea for a post apocalypse world) to make it look cool.
After examining the Humvee chassis, and then turning it upside-down, I more or less got what I wanted.
Jeepvee 002: Choosing the right Jeep
The next step would be to get a 1/35 Jeep. I could not find my 90’s Tamiya Ford Mutt Jeep which means I need to get a new one. Except that this time, the Jeep must be from WWII or up to the Vietnam War era as I wanted the front grill to be a full rectangle and not a trapezoid. After a quick trip to the Hobby Shop before the lockdown, I got this MB Military Vehicle by Meng.
Jeepvee 003: All in one piece
I chose this because the Tamiya’s version (#35219) was not available. Yeah, kinda miss not having a driver for that but I’ll have to improvise later. What surprised me was that the upper body came in one piece. Usually in the 1/35 models that I build, I need to glue all sides together to make the body.
Jeepvee 004: Chassis test fitting
So this is how the JeepVee would look like.
I wanted to cut the bent chassis beams so that the body can go lower but I have this fear that with my skills, the model would come out all bent.
Jeepvee 005: Assembling the Interior
Pretty much taking most of the parts for this upper body, except for the front details (A13, A32 and A54).
I was hoping the instructions would describe the parts and what colour to paint them.
Jeepvee 006: Modifying for the strech
Using a rotary saw, I separated the main body from the front section. The main idea is to stretch this vehicle as long as the Humvee chassis.
Jeepvee 007: Fat Wide JeepVee
Now, this is where the first problem came in. The Humvee’s tyres haves some slight problem meeting with the axle. So, I would have to extend it further out or else whoever sits there would not lose just only their fingers.
Jeepvee 008: This is not by DSPIAE
Using a part of the sprue, I hollowed it out and turned it into a pipe.
I had to do this manually as the powered drill kinda melted the plastic. Even then, I had to drill it slowly as I can feel the plastic walls beginning to melt and buckle.
Jeepvee 009: Making the wheel extenders
Here is a closer look at the sprue’s hollowing out. You can see a small line at the other end which is actually the whole think starting to buckle. So I had to start all over again from the other end.
I started with a smaller diameter bit before moving on to the bigger sized so that it does not destroy the whole sprue.
Jeepvee 010:
With the new 4mm pipe, I am now able to extend the vehicle’s width by about another 2mm.
Jeepvee 011: Love the sagging
I intentionally glued these new extenders at an angle to give the wheels a negative camber look. Once this is set later on, I need to figure out how to scrape the bottom of the tyres. Another idea is to let it rest naturally on a hot metal platform and let the tyres melt to the desired effect.
Jeepvee 012: Creating the Storage Compartment
With the long ‘space’ between the main body and the front hood, I am going to construct a basic compartment where good can be stored in the open. Also, I would need to make a 1/35 radiator to cover the insides so that you wont’ see anything past the front grilles.
I am using some Evergreen plastic strips and build it layer by layer from there. If course, the first layer is to ‘cover’ up the original Humvee engine. And between that, I will insert some ‘I’ beams which is to be used to hold the platform later.
Jeepvee 013: The completed Storage Compartment
All done! But without the figure, I keep worrying if the long chassis and bonnet cover would obstruct the Driver’s line of sight but I hope its going to be a minor thing.
Jeepvee 014: You can have it any colour so long as it is Black
Finally, it’s primed with Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. Once I have the time again, I will work on it further.
