Apocalypse Racers: The Diary
Where does the time go? That is what this page is for. To figure out where all the time is going. :-)
ON HOLD!!!
This project is on hold. I shot a lot of footage, most of which I HATE. Waiting for the sun to come back. Weill also invest in a camcorder for the car sequences next time. The 5d just isn't up to shooting action.
Don't worry its not dead, just resting.
Don't worry its not dead, just resting.
Test Shot
We finally got out and shot some test footage in the post industrial wastelands of Redwood City...
Ambulance
The Stampede and the Desert Racer are basically complete at this point although the Desert Racer could still use some foam inside its body to block stray light.
The Lunchbox is now painted white and red ambulance colors but now I need to make decals for it. I also sculpted a driver as it has smoked windows. My sculpting is pretty poor :-) Pictures soon!!! In the mean time check out these real monster truck ambulances from Russia
The Lunchbox is now painted white and red ambulance colors but now I need to make decals for it. I also sculpted a driver as it has smoked windows. My sculpting is pretty poor :-) Pictures soon!!! In the mean time check out these real monster truck ambulances from Russia
Desert Racer

Here is the Desert Racer. I don't like the way the body slopes rear wards but I think it lifts up at speed.... Not sure. Also clearly from these pics I can see I need to add foam in side the body to prevent light leaks and I need paint the spoiler and some other parts. Last night I messed with the pre-load on the shocks and gave it a nice front to rear slant which to me looks much more "dune buggy" and as a result it looks a bit better.
23rd May: Progress Report
The Desert Racer is painted and the guns mounted... and I don't like it.. it looks.. hmmmm dunno I just don't like it.
I put the Lunch Box chassis together and ran it last night. Its insanely crude and kinda hard to assemble in places because its an older model. It wheelies really easily.. I got it upside down a couple of times which is worrying. I think I 'll try swapping in the esc from the rock crawler as that should in theory give better low speed control. I may have to put the wheely bar in which I'm opposed to...
The other definite issue with the Lunchbox is it really is quite small... both the other trucks dwarf it.
I put the Lunch Box chassis together and ran it last night. Its insanely crude and kinda hard to assemble in places because its an older model. It wheelies really easily.. I got it upside down a couple of times which is worrying. I think I 'll try swapping in the esc from the rock crawler as that should in theory give better low speed control. I may have to put the wheely bar in which I'm opposed to...
The other definite issue with the Lunchbox is it really is quite small... both the other trucks dwarf it.
Traxxas Slash
The Stampede is very similar to the slash... and this is the kind of look I'm going for...
Update: Work in progress shot of the desert truck

Here is the desert truck shell before painting and the 2 canons for the roof and the bracket for mounting them. The doors and other detail are sheet styrene held on with baling wire. You can see the fiberglass reinforcements that I added to the various panels through the lexan.
Its painted now. Just awaiting final assembly and some weathering.
Its painted now. Just awaiting final assembly and some weathering.
I broke down and bought a Lunch Box.

I just ordered a lunchbox and the Ram Pace Car light set. That means I can build this sucker as an ambulance with guns... I am so weak.
Cars and slacking off
A month has gone by since my last post. The stampede guns are still sitting around waiting for paint, but the other truck now has roof mounted guns and a rear spoiler. I'm fighting the urge to add a 3rd truck to the production. That would be a Lunchbox. Its such an iconic RC and it would make sense as an Organ Donor truck... but I am/was trying to keep the budget/time down on this one....
Here is a video of the lunchbox at work. Actually I really like the music too...
I did some story boards...
Oh and I bought some pc cooling fans for the norge hovercraft. I did mention that America was invaded by Norway right? "Maybe we at war with Norway?"
Here is a video of the lunchbox at work. Actually I really like the music too...
I did some story boards...
Oh and I bought some pc cooling fans for the norge hovercraft. I did mention that America was invaded by Norway right? "Maybe we at war with Norway?"
Guns and Sounds
Weekend of 4:10:10
Ripped a large number of car and gun sounds from a variety of sources as I know I'll need these for later.
Worked on the twin spandau machine guns for the Minotaur Truck.
Ordered and received a large number of toy machine guns from monkey depot. They were having a big sale so I got a bunch of 1/6th scale machine guns, that look like 300mm aa guns in 1/10 scale.
Weekend of 4:17:10
I've added fibreglass/epoxy bandages to the insides of the lexan bodies where the guns will attach. I'm hoping these will make the bodies stiff enough. Built 2 sets of twin gun attachments for the Stampede. Need to detail them out though... Getting them both on straight is going to be a neat trick... Need to fab some kind of articulating machine gun mount for the hero truck because I'm not sure how it rides... seems like the rear suspension is really saggy but it might unwind with some throttle and I don't want the guns pointed at the sky... Another problem here is that if I mount the guns on the roof, does that mean I have to make full scale copies to go in the uhaul pickup I'm planning to use for full scale shots??
Ripped a large number of car and gun sounds from a variety of sources as I know I'll need these for later.
Worked on the twin spandau machine guns for the Minotaur Truck.
Ordered and received a large number of toy machine guns from monkey depot. They were having a big sale so I got a bunch of 1/6th scale machine guns, that look like 300mm aa guns in 1/10 scale.
Weekend of 4:17:10
I've added fibreglass/epoxy bandages to the insides of the lexan bodies where the guns will attach. I'm hoping these will make the bodies stiff enough. Built 2 sets of twin gun attachments for the Stampede. Need to detail them out though... Getting them both on straight is going to be a neat trick... Need to fab some kind of articulating machine gun mount for the hero truck because I'm not sure how it rides... seems like the rear suspension is really saggy but it might unwind with some throttle and I don't want the guns pointed at the sky... Another problem here is that if I mount the guns on the roof, does that mean I have to make full scale copies to go in the uhaul pickup I'm planning to use for full scale shots??