Desperado Mk.2 (Pics)
 

"Desperate" + "Silverado" = "Desperado" If you've got a better name for this, suggest it! I'm also *VERY* open to color suggestions, preferably bright!

Ok, this is part 2 in "Making a Chevy Silverado body visually suck less." In part 1, I took a stock body and made basic Off Highway Vehicle mods so it looks more like it can hold it's own, very nice but still a bit homely. Rather than directly continue part 1, I'm starting off with a fresh body shell, and going a bit more radical. I'm not really sure where this body is going, goals are vague. Don't wanna plan, let's just get to work and figure it out in the end.

Step 1, Make truck naked.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ingleCab_1.jpg

Step 2, :eek: :eek: :eek: Break truck. :eek: :eek: :eek:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ingleCab_3.jpg


Hmmm, *WHAT* could I *POSSIBLY* be thinking? :D

(Step 2 WAS going to be "Make truck totally naked" but I didn't have the right solvent for paint yet, so that'll come later. Probably as Step 3, no sence fixing it too soon only to have it ruin your work as you progress.)

Step 2-B, Break truck further, the mockup to check fit

Ok, nobody with an opinion around here? If nobody is following along or wanting to know how to do this, I'll stop and maybe just post the finished.

Making a Single cab Long bed seemed like it'd be extreme enough mod to get a reaction. That's the major part, here are the minor bits:

- I'm going to throw in a bed, or give it a truck cap, or a camper shell ***VOTE***
- Definately a rear window,
- Probably ditch the LED lights,
- Maybe an interior if I think it's worthy,
- Might open hood and have an engine there,
- Changing headerpanel (possibly a Ford Lightning)...

I'm kinda leaning toward Blue, Yellow, or Silver with some kind of graphics. *VERY open to suggestions*

Come on guys, I'm trying to get some interest in this project so the boards won't be quite as dead (Thus making me quit and move on to BitPimps like I should have about a year ago). It's just practice before I get into hacking on a body I like, throw out some ideas if you got any, I'll probably use yours!

Glued in back of cab, and bed rail filler pieces, rough cut in rear window, removed rear door handles, removed Bowtie and argent bar from grille. Still haven't added a single piece of plastic, only added glue and relocated existing body.

Seperate bed from cab like a real truck, or go for the one piece look the Mini-Trucker's like?

alright, I guess this project is just going to be continued on BitPimps board...

Way to go Frizzo!!!! :D

Hmmm, yes. Dark side have I joined.

You were right man, the Pimps are way more active and there are a ton more of them them than the Tiny's.

frizzen,
Personally I think the seperate bed and cab idea rocks! That is quite the attention to detail, not to mention I don't think that has been done yet, so also very original.
It's true these boards are a little slow, but remember; there is more to zips than flashy rims, paint jobs, and bling. I mean, do you want to play with your zips or put them on a shelf to look at. IMO, tiny has much more valuable information to be had. I gave up on pimps after reading about 10,000 threads about paint jobs and changed rims (a monkey could do this). It's all the same and good information is hard to come by.
With that said, I hope you continue your project here...OH and don't forget, I vote seperate bed-cab!:D

I looked at it for a while, and knew seperated bed and cab was the only way to go. That line had been cut in with a file and the windows had been cut down when I realized nobody seemed to care, so I didn't post that here. However I did NOT actually cut cab and bed apart, I just cut in deep body lines, I'm lazy and actually cutting apart won't work on chassis without more work than I want to do. If somebody cares, I'll mirror the buildup here too. I like Tiny and when I joined it was THE be all end all board for these, but Pimps have people that reply there and they took most of our more extreme modders.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention during the "make naked" part that I hacked out the stuff the LED board fastens to in cab. That's why you see the white lines there. Not absolutely nessicary, but I felt like it. Plus I didn't really want to go to all the trouble of putting in a rear window just so you could see wires.

I also filed the tail lights down so they aren't that ugly lumpy thing, some chopping on header panel. With any luck, this will become more of a Ford Lightning single cab, or atleast not a Silverado.

I'm thinking that as much of a PITA as it'll be, I've probably got to put in a bed. A truck cap or a camper shell would probably be easier, and I've yet to see either of those done yet; so I'd like some feedback there too.

frizzen--
Good to see you made the body look seperate. I was also thinking If you ever made the truck articulate, having the cab and bed acually seperate could produce a really cool effect. Mounting the body peices could take some ingenuity though (as well as making it articulate).
I think putting a bed in the body would look really cool if there is enough room to make it a 1/4" or so deep. Any less would be kinda pointless. Then again, a cap or camper shell would look pretty original as well. I saw a post on RCMod where someone made a RV shell for their zip, but a camper on an existing body I have seen not. ;)
If it were my truck, I would probably put in the bed and finish it off with a "Rhyno Lining" look alike, then build a cap/camper for the truck seperate so it can be dropped in and removed whenever you want (more like a real truck). A ball tow hitch made out of a small bead or bearing and a thin strip of bent plastic or metal might look pretty cool too! :)


edit: just look at the pics again, and realized that to put on a tow hitch, you would also require a rear bumper. Depends on how far you want to take this project I guess. It's just an idea. :)

Having cab and bed articulate seperately would be kinda trick, though not too realistic. Might look into that for a future full articulation truck.

The bed depth is limited to around 1/8" (see original Desperado thread) because of the PCB cover. If I were to use thinner styrene stock for the bottom of bed, or ditch the PCB cover and rework the motor clip section, it could drop farther. But I don't really wanna. I do know I'm NOT putting a tonnau cover on after doing this much work.

I got the camper shell idea from seeing an RV a guy built up on a semi chassis over on Pimps board. It could be kinda cool, several windows, a little door, maybe white led inside... Truck cap was kinda the step between the bed and camper, but it'd be more likely to be seen on a trail truck than a camper would. I also considered putting in a bed toolbox so I wouldn't have needed to stretch out the bed rails like I did for doing a full bed. I'd been thinking of making a bed and having the shells removable, but I'm a bit stumped on a secure non-permanent method to hold them in place for driving that also won't look really bad with them removed. -Edit- Maybe drill the slots in bed rails that are used for putting up side stakes/tie down points, have pins mounted in caps that drop into holes. -/Edit-

A trailer hitch could be pretty trick, but this is probably gonna be a ZZ-M body (so the bed has depth and the truck is more useful), so the hitch would be around 1" up. Plus it'd have to be burly enough to pull a trailer or another zz-m in a recovery situation. Possible, but hard to do scale. I do have a rear bumper but it was removed in the "Make naked" step so it wouldn't be harmed during extreme mods or painting when I get there.

Still in Progress
 

Shaved chrome bar, cut in air holes in bumper cover, cowl hood...
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_10.JPG

This is a way to get a tiny bit more bed depth, the PCB cover is actually the floor for the front half.
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_11.JPG

Double cab or Single cab
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_13.JPG

Still a few more things for this, but if I were only cutting down the cab, it would be more than ready to have been painted by now

http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...eCab_smash.JPG

With a guide coat of paint.

Oh yeah, and it's gonna run over this Homie because he's so dorky looking. :eek: Homie go smash!

Hey thats reazlly nice but wht are you using, is it body filler? Is there any special kind I should use and where can I get it?


Thanks, Greg

Thanks man!

Body filler is the scraps I hacked off the body, CA, and Baking Powder or Talc soaked with CA.

If you use THREAD to cut the body, you have a very tiny kerf. So you can pretty much just flow in some CA, let it flash, flow in a little more if needed.

For the deeper mods (shaving the rocker panel line on the bed and such) again prep to bare plastic, place Baking Powder or Talc where you want to fill, flow CA, let flash, shape, repowder and CA if needed.
-
I use CA with a thixotropic agent because: 1. it will NEVER shrink like most fillers. 2. it works better at model scales than like automotive fillers. 3. it is much lighter. 4. it's been a modelling secret for many years, and I wanted to let a whole new audience know about it. 5. bondo sucks. 6. it takes detail better.

Ok, so I cut the back of my body off and glued the back window so now its an 8 foot bed truck. and I am not sure what to use for it. I am probably going to use the bed cover upside down for the bottom of the bed, but I think you said something about the whole bed not fitting so maybe I could use the part of the bed that I cut off for the sides but what do you think?

Thanks greg

Edit: oh yea, and for the super glue idea do I really need the thickiner stuff or will it still work with out it.

Why not just make a new Tonnau cover for it? Much easier than doing a real bed. Or a truck cap, or a camper shell, or...

When did I say anything about bed not working on a truck?

http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_11.JPG
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ilverado_5.jpg

Dropping a bed won't work on either of the CAR chassis, but on a TRUCK chassis, it's all good. In a post on BitPimps, I went into how much depth you could get in the bed this way vs. the way I did on "Desperado".

You don't *NEED* anything. Having the thixotropic agent gives a faster buildup than applying CA in thin layers, or applying think enough to be risking curing issues with it. It's a bit more structural with a thickening agent than without, but again it's your ride do it your way. If you need extensive changes, or have gaps that don't want to fill easily, you'll definately want to try it.

Well my body looks the same as yours in the 3 picture in the thread. I am ordering a black styrene sheet size .080 for the bed, some athearn motor brush springs, tamiya basic putty, and ca glue because I ran out of mine. I am not sure what size styrene I should get though, .08 is 2mm and Im not sure if I should get it smaller or not.

Thanks, Greg

Why did you pick 0.080 styrene? Any reason, or just becase 80 thousandths seemed like a nice round number?

I've got to try out those motor brush springs, maybe I can make it out to a hobby shop sometime next week.

Good luck with the putty, I've already spoken about putties multiple times. Hope it works out for you.
-

Fogged more paint, needing to block sand it a bit. Soon to be painted final color.

Why did I pick .080 thickness styrene sheets? becuase that is 2mm thick and I thought that might be good but I cant decide if I should go thinner or not. remember, they are measured in inches. What to you think? what do you use in your truck?

Thanks, Greg

Edit : never mind I just ordered it cause I didnt want too wait any longer. I'll tell you how it is when Im done probably next weekend and Ill try to get pics. And once I see how the putty and super gule work I might make a nascar truck series silverado cause I like chevys the best.

damn frizz, that things looking REALLY nice... I like the roll bar. Did you say you soldered it?

just that 0.080 is pretty thick. I use 0.060 and 0.040 for most of my stuff.


Nasphere, if you look closely that was Desperado I was just showing some bed depth. Rollbar is paperclips and CA (because I was too lazy to solder).

WEll WTF! If you think thats pretty thick why not tell me! especially if you dont feel like responding in almost a frickin week. And I asked you what size you think would be good in the first place. Jesus McBesus!

Dude, I didn't because it doesn't really matter.

80 thou is thicker than I'd probably go for a non-structural thing at this scale, we both know on these that the bed is mostly superficial. I did it as a weight saving measure, plus the body is about the thickness of plastic I used. I don't have a micrometer handy, so I can't give you real numbers.

You could use 100 thousandths or thicker and have it still be fine. You could use plastic down to like 5 thousandths, it'd be more of a pain, but it would still work. If you think the plastic you use will be too thick, just put some sandpaper on a flat surface and rub a chunk of your plastic in circles on it. Amazingly it gets thinner. If you think your plastic is too thin, laminate it. It's like women have been saying for years: Size Doesn't Matter.


Yeah, it took me a while to respond. I have other things going on in my life which have been making customizing a truck body seem incredibly insignifigant. Hopefully I'll have more time to blow on this after H-ween, but kinda doubt it. I'd love to be caught up on all my micro rc projects I'm working on, but it's just something I do to relax from the things I have to do.

YEa, now the bed weighs the same as the truck body its self, I did ask you in the first place. I mean this stuff it really really thick and I gotta put all these noches in it and sand and its a huge pain.

But whatever, thanks for the idea your truck is really nice, Ill be sure to post pics when Im done probably this weekend.

Greg

http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_15.JPG
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...ngleCab_16.JPG

Still needs a bit of touch up and detailing...

Sweet paintjob. I cant copy you oin that one :cool: Im just gonna keep mine black, I think Ill have mine done by tomarrow night.

Edit: Oh yea and how exactly did you make that cowlhoad? That things real nice.

Thanks man, I did that one as a kandy paint, and it does a colorshift depending on the lighting, it's a bit darker than it looks there.

Good luck with black, you might want to do a primer or atleast a guide coat first. A gloss black will show EVERY little surface imperfection that could possibly exist. Don't want to discourage you, but it's really bitten some people.

A cowl hood was very easy. Take paint off the truck hood in the area you plan to attach it so it'll really bond well later. Grab a chunk of your sheet styrene, I think mine was like 1/4 x 3/8" when I started. Since I wanted a more Aero look I starte by rounding the leading edge corners. Then I came in and did a flat bevel along what becomes the top surface (so in real life this would start at about 1" and go to maybe 4-6" cowl). Next I beveled the side edges so it all flowed pretty smoothly. Once I was happy with that, I gently curled the cowl slightly so it would match contour of the hood.
***LOTS of test fitting, make sure you are happy with the look and style.***
You'll probably want to center the cowl on the hood and make some reference marks so gluing is easier. Then I applied CA to the cowl, placed on hood, let it flash. If your cowl is slightly off center or whatever, come in with a needle file and fix it. Flowed another tiny bead around the edges incase there were any gaps, came back in with my vixen needle file to make sure everything was block sanded smooth. blah blah blah, frizzen just never shuts up!

There are lots of styles of Cowls and Scoops and Snorkles that you can make, my truck just shows a rather mild aero styled one. Do a search, look at lots of them before you pick a style.

Still sorry I didn't give you enough help choosing styrene thickness.

Nice job dude!!

Well I dont thik Ill make a cowl hood because thats just too much work for me for a tiny rc truck. Im not giveing it a whole new paint job, Im just keeping my truck black so all I have to paint is the small spots and edges where the putty is. so far all I have is the bottom, yes only bottom of the bed in. Its glued in on the sides and thats good enough for now. Im not doing a cowl hood or completely puting the whole bed in because I am very busy working on a huge tree house (which I might add is 13 by 15 feet) with my cousin, for the last few weekends that pretty much all Ive been doing on my spare time.

Thanks, Greg

Cowl hood is a hell of a lot less work than making a single cab. Just you'd gotten upset with me before because I didn't give enough help, so I went and spelled out every tiny little step. Afterall, you asked how EXACTLY I did it....

Would you have preferred: "hack out piece of styrene, glue onto hood, paint"

Thanks Nasphere, it's nice to get a complement out of someone with your talent!

Umm its isnt alot of work? Ok well whatever lol im just busy and dont have allota time.

Thanks, Greg

P.S. I am really surprised at this thread, me and nasphere are the only ones that have showed any interest in your really nice body work. I cant beleive how inactive these forums really are its rediculous.

*shrug* More work than just slapping on a new body, but less than doing as radical of a chop as making a single cab. If you want one, and plan to do a real paint job, don't be afraid of it. If you're just going to spot-paint the areas that need it, you may want to hold off until the next body you DO plan to paint.


By the way, about the level of inactivity about my body: Tiny is dead, I've accepted that and moved on, thanks to Nasphere I joined another forum which is undead. But I had to keep updating it on this thread since I hate seeing stalled out projects that you'll never see finished. Besides, back in the day, Tiny was **THE** absolute be-all, end-all authority on any and all mods to ZZ and Bits, (however, TTTT was and always has been owned by germans). Now days, there are like a dozen members left here, but I've still got to give respect to what Tiny once was.

Here's the same thread in "Undead Format"
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...pic.php?t=6527

http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...b17_edited.jpg

That compare I promised

nniiccee that thing looks factory. How is it so smooth on some parts is it the baking soda and super glue? Also I am still not comletely sure how to use the baking soda and super glue.
Edit: oh yea and where can I get an interior from for mine because I the windows arnt the best looking part of this body.

Thanks, Greg

Thank you, but I was hoping for a bit better than factory ;)

The smoothness is mostly skill laying down paint. (ok, once I was happy with bodywork, I lightly roughed up the entire surface of the truck so it wasn't shiney anymore. Masked. I did a guide coat, fixed any issues, a mist base coat, base coat, mist color coat, color coat, color coat, spot color coat for areas that looked thin.) I did a Kandy paint scheme, so it's more labor intensive than just a straight color. The file I used for 90% of the work ended up leaving a surface about like 180 grit sandpaper would have, kinda rough so the paint will stick well, but not too badly gouged.

Once I get the details added, I'm going to clearcoat, then after a couple months (so everything can outgas properly) I'm probably going to come back and wax it for a truly pimping gloss.
-
Powder and CA is a "Body Filler" and is used for large build up that wouldn't work well JUST using CA. I used it for the door lines, door handle, and deleting the trim line on the bed. I used just CA for areas that I needed to build up that had to stay clear (headlights), and areas that didn't need to be raised more than about 1/32". If it's already smooth, don't do anything to it!

Ok, after you've prepped the area (removing paint as you NEED to go to the clear plastic for it to really stick), put your thixotropic agent (baking soda, talc, whatever...) in panel lines (or whatever you're trying to get rid of), push it in a bit, flow some CA (super glue, don't use a Gel it'd be a pain in ass) over the powder, soak it, make sure you get some area outside the panel lines. ***Set aside to flash*** After the CA is VERY hard and doesn't smell bad anymore, you can come in with a file or whatever, and block it down to the contour you want. If there are low spots, apply more powder, soak with CA, let harden, file again.

Interior: hit a toy store, diecast car section. Hotwheels, Matchbox, Majorette, Muscle Machines, Import Tuners, Jonny Lightning... My seats were from an Import Tuner car. My windows are probably going to be made from ZZ packaging.

Or do you like a Ram better?

http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...eCab_Twins.JPG

The Dodge RAM was less than a day from stock to this point.

Nah ima chevy guy but the ram is still a pretty nice body.

I'm not really Mopar or Chebby, but these are what I've got to work with, and nobody else has done and posted pics of theirs yet. So, I had to do a Ram too.

nice:D