TOPIC:

Index:

Page 1: Introduction, Matchbox models, scale comparisons, front & rear axles, chassis start, seat
Page 2: card bodywork mockups I & II, fake engine build, vibro unit & fan pulleys
Page 3: engine: fake carbs & velocity stacks, exhaust headers, gearbox alteration, test fit; card bodywork mockup III, chassis reinforcement, tyre decals
Page 4: Bodywork top in styrene


Introduction
I could/should finish the painting on the Hagglund, + reassemble & do all the wiring, but that really is something that can be done in the colder months. Most likely times to snow here (for that "finished" photo ) are mid December and early February, so I can put that off for a bit.

I "should" also do the electrics in the Pumpkin Lowrider, but again, that's something I can do when the weather is no good for spraying.

The parking enforcement trike that was supposed to be quick and fun - i have no enthusiasm for that & I'm thinking it really needs a much smaller chassis.

I have ambitions for other big and/or complicated builds, but this should be a bit simpler - and it's the one I think I'm most likely to complete.





The basis of the idea is to build something with the best features / styling of both the 1972 Matchbox Mod Tractor (the pinky/purple one here) and the 1973 Matchbox Superkings Mod Tractor. Features are basically a small tractor with a big engine  

Chassis will be homemade, the front end will be Scorcher front tyres on modified wheels with a beam axle, rear will be the rolling rigid axle from a Lunchbox. I've done that before with the Fiat 80DT tractor, but although this will be about the same size, this will be a bigger scale - 1:6, hence the Action Man pilot figure. Some facial hair & a few mods will turn him into Paul Hogan's Stuntman alter ego, Leo Wanker

I have a 5.5T brushless combo burning a hole in my spares box, that & 2S Lipo should give it a bit of pep The Lunchbox rear wheels/tyres are not ideal in terms of a scale look, but given there's only 2 options for gearing (wrong, and worse), although I'd like the larger Monster Beetle tyres/wheels, I think the gearing would be just too tall. Smaller rear wheelarches also mean showing off more of the enormous banana seat


Ford Purple Velvet Metallic sounds like a the perfect paint, but from using it before, it's far too Cadbury's Dairy Milk so I've got some much lighter "Proper Purple" instead - which i'll admit, does have a whiff of lavender about it

   

 

 

OMG I forgot about Leo Wanker, haha I loved the Paul Hogan show..  I had one of those tractors when I was a kid, I had 1 sometimes 2 new cars every week so had pretty much all of the matchbox collection and the Super Kings. Lost them all when we moved house, Someone broke into the shed we had at the old house while we were moving our stuff and stole everything in there including my cars. They would be worth a fortune now.

I am looking forward to seeing this build !  There are some small exhaust pipes on thingy verse for the lunchbox you can 3d print called Zoomies. They're not big enough for what you want though. Saying that, they can be scaled up!

TL;DR Did some maths, wheelbase will be 305mm



After a few days of feeling increasingly better, I've gone downhill a bit - but still wanted to make some progress. 

I measured the wheels/tyres of the smaller, metallic pink "Superfast" model as 12.5mm OD x 7.5mm wide (F), and 22mm OD x 11mm wide (R), and a wheelbase of 35mm.        


Scorcher front wheels/tyres are 73mm OD, a multiplier of 5.84. Width is 21mm (a multiplier of 2.85), but the proportions are so different I dropped that figure. 

Lunchbox rear wheels are 108mm OD x 70mm wide, multipliers of 4.91 and 6.36 respectively.

Monster Beetle are 130mm, using them would mean a multiplier of 5.91.

Multiplying the wheelbase by those figures would mean a model wheelbase of 172mm, 204mm, 207mm (the same as a stock Lunchbox/Midnight Pumpkin), or 223mm.


The same exercise for the "Superkings" (bigger, blue) tractor would be equally tedious to read, but gave results of 168mm to 238mm. 



A seat of the pants placing of the Scorcher fronts & Lunchkin rears gave an "ideal" wheelbase of 230mm - halfway between the two upper limits, above, so I'm happy I'm on the right track there. Or at least I would be, for 1:10 ish scale model, with for example a Wild Willy Driver.


However, the Action Man "pilot" figure is 12" (300mm tall), so 1:6 ish scale. The 230mm wheelbase above looks like a ride on mower in comparison. 


The "Superfast" (pink) model is nominally 1:52 scale, and the "Superkings" (blue) 1:45 scale. This means multipliers of 8.66 recurring and 7.5 respectively, wheelbases of 305mm (pink) or 408mm (blue).


408mm just looks silly with the size of wheels I'll be using, though plausible with the size of the driver. 305mm is a much better compromise though, so that's what I'll go with.   


 

I have the matchbox challenger yellow feom matchbox. One of my favourite. If you make one one day, I'm here

All these scale figures are fascinating but totally confusing for me at the same time lol  Still looking forward to how it goes. 

Rear axle/gearbox:




Working on the front axle - multiple layers of 3mm sheet + 1 of 2mm, all bonded together flat on one side, and the other tidied up with the Aldi bench belt grinder for speed (I hardly ever use it TBH), then 1mm sheet to stop it peeling in extremis.  








Progress so far, everything is just balanced precariously rather than fixed, apart from the gearbox to the back of the plate. 

Stock rear springs will intersect the driver - or at least the seat - so some finagling will be required.

Progress on the chassis ... shorter rear shocks mean less suspension travel, but there's only 5mm of movement on the front. Lots more bracing to do, but it's the start of a chassis rather than the floppy mess it was before

   

Been some time since I touched this ... I drew the shape I thought would look good for the side of the seat on light card,  then drew it again a bit narrower, with a lot off the bottom and the top. 

I then made the basic shape from cereal packet, which led to some more changes. I scanned that, then made some changes to a copy to allow for seat bolsters, cut out the results on the plotter. The smaller "inside" pieces needed 1.5mm removing off all the edges apart from the bottom. 

I used my biggest step drill to make holes to the outer pieces, completely exhausting the drill battery.  Theoretically there's some weight saving here, and it improves how well the two layers are bonded, but TBH it was more about adding some 70's funkalicious texture to what would otherwise be large, dull, flat surfaces.

Loads more to to, I've just done enough for it to hold it's basic shape

Mini L brackets fitted & shock support bits reshaped, seat (has been completely boxed in but needs lots more work) fitted. Self adhesive closed cell foam sheet & 10mm flat, red bootlaces (for seat cushioning & seat belts respectively, not shown) arrived today

Next step will be a card mockup of the bodywork, so I can work out the sizing for the fake engine.