RG33 SOCOM AUV

[Stickframe]

Hello model builders,

 

A few years ago, I built a model of this truck - I really like its looks, am a bit of a truck nut, and appreciate that it's a big tough 6x6!   My attempt at building this came out reasonably well, but I think I'm a better model builder now, and want to try again. 

 

This GB seems like a good place to do so! 

 

Unhappily, no unboxing of instructions and parts to share, so instead I came up with this snappy graphic to illustrate what we'll be getting after:

 

The image on the bottom is the RG33 SOCOM AUV (armored utility vehicle), which is a big - - 8.8+ m long, 2.7 m wide, six wheel drive, a four door crew cabin, flat bed, and rolling in at a heavy-weight of 74,000 lbs! (33,500kg!). 

 

I'll start with parts from an RG-31 for the fundamental elements of the cab.  As you can see though, the RG-31 is a much smaller truck than what I'm building, so the cab will get widened, and surprisingly shortened.  Meanwhile the chassis (which is a blast resistant hull rather than conventional two rail frame) will get longer.  I'll also use some parts from the M1083 kit, which is a 6x6 cargo truck.  I don't know exactly what of this kit I'll use, but my sense is, it will be good to have handy.   While the M1083 is also a 6x6, I don't know if the rear suspension is right for this truck, which uses something that looks very similar to a Hendrickson walking beam, but will know soon enough.  I'm hoping the axles will be fine for what I want to build - fingers crossed 🤞 😁 !    And, this project will require plenty of styrene and my (mercifully) deep model building junk box! 

 

I am waiting for some supplies to arrive, so can't start just yet, but when I do, I'll start posting.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick 

 

 

[JeroenS]

I think you forgot an image of you scratching your head in the equasion 🙂 

 

Cool project!

[Robert Stuart]

Looks like an interesting, if complex, project - just changing that radiator grill, and the exposed pipe-work would worry me.

[Stickframe]

Hello gents,

 

Well....hoping it works!  and yes, this will include lots of head scratching, and plenty to worry about 🤪   

 

Last night I went back to look at the version I built about ten years ago.  I "wisely" glued the model to the dio base - that was a good idea....well, not really.  Thinking in the present, I pulled the kit off the base, managing to successfully pull apart most of the front axle and whatnot (not in just one piece), some body parts, and about half of the rear suspension.  So, task number one was to rebuild the previous version.  The rebuild was probably a good step as it forced me to carefully look at what I built.  While my construction quality leaves a bit/lot to be desired, the overall concept for the build seems reasonable.  Unhappily I have practically no recollection of the nuance of the build, or why I did what I did along the way.  I also concluded that I was a brave model builder back then - relying more on enthusiasm than ability.   When the materials I ordered arrive, I'll begin this project.

 

I also took a look at the sprues in the RG31 kit, and was surprised to see how many extra parts came with the kit including a hull, two axles, and all sort of various bits - as to the grill, which it turns out I won't use anyway, came with the end snapped off, and the remnant part was not in the wrapping - weird?  must have broken in the factory - which would be annoying if I was planning to build the kit OOB.  

 

So, hoping to start posting some construction in the next week or so - 

 

Cheers

Nick 

[Stickframe]

Well guys, we have started.  Unhappily for me, I am still waiting for some materials, but I have enough here to at least get moving - including some construction and some studies - first up, the reality of what Jeroen @JeroenS mentioned:

 

 

After gracefully yanking my first attempt at this building from its comfortable resting place, and then repairing it, I went ahead and identified some of the highs and lows:

 

 

 

Right - the good and the less good (bad).  This was a pretty helpful exercise - and in conclusion, yes, still think the basic concept is good to use, but as you can see above, a variety of elements need adjustment, including proportions, omissions, and details - ha - I guess that includes about everything  - lol.   A different comparison:

 

 

Right....(again).  In this case though, the first build is correct, in that the cab from the donor kit is indeed too narrow - and, as such, the new model will also get widened and shortened and so on.

 

I have made some progress:

 

 

As you have likely gathered, most of the base kit will get cut up or modified to make this build work.  First to go under the knife is the hull.  The lower portion of the door frames are attached to the hull - but, as the cab will be widened, and the hull won't be, I needed to cut them off the hull, and then glue them directly to the cab.  You can see the area removed in the lower right (shaded blue), and you can see the hull with this area removed on the lower left, though it's not that obvious in the pic.  Also went ahead and built most of the front end.  I went ahead and made the steering posable.  The kit suggests that it should be posable, but once you attach the pitman arm and draglink - well - it's not.  So a guy went ahead and cut up and drilled out all the heim joints, and added thin bits of wire CA'd in place, and now, it's posable! 

 

As to that giant photo of PE.  A distinctive attribute of this truck are the vents/louvers on the front fenders - last time, well, I tried....this time, if, nothing else works, I want those to look better, and I think this material will help.  Speaking of those majestic front fenders:

 

 

 

So, in order to get these proportions right this time, I've been looking carefully at how this works in real life, and how I might translate the materials I have to get close to the real thing with the build.  Above, you can see I superimposed, an inverted and elongated line drawing of the kit's right rear fender, over the real truck's left front fender.  You can also see I couldn't help but add an image of the PE louvers - which I like!  

 

An important part of this figure is the vertical dashed red line, showing where the cab lines up relative to the rear shackle of the front leaf spring pack.  And below, I superimposed the parts I have over the same base truck drawing:

 

 

This includes the front end shown above (with a tire and wheel used on the first try of the build) and the cab.  For reference points you can see where the dual shocks, shackle mount, and driveline align, and how the fender might work.  And below, a stripped down version of the same:

 

 

 

Please note, the red vertical line, showing the cab and shackle mount, and how far back the cab will need to go.  You can also see where I need to cut the cab to add another door, and the area inside the red dashed oval, where those projections will be cut off and sanded flush.

 

So, thanks for having a look - as materials arrive, I'll keep going - 

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Ahh, the headscratching stage! Looks very important, better to get everything straight in your head before doing some serious cutting. So far, looks like you're on the right track 

[Stickframe]

Hi model builders,

 

As part of said head scratching, it became apparent that the task at hand was to begin building the rear suspension.  It looks eerily similar to a Hendrickson walking beam, which as luck would have it, I recently scratch built one of.  From this two questions emerged - first, exactly what is under the real kit and what could I cobble together to at least represent it, and then, how would I set the correct ride height.  It turns out, the answers come simultaneously, in that neither the RG31 or M1083 base kits have the correct parts, so time to mix and match and make something that is close.  This process led to the realization that as the parts I have at hand are not the same as the real truck, the hull would need to be cut to allow for credible clearance - so, out came the knife:

 

 

By this time I had already glued two hulls together to get the correct vehicle length, which happily is a strong bind - because the cutting was hardly gentle!  The hull material is thick.  I filled the gap with evergreen.

 

With this resolved, I made up a jig to hold the rear axles at the desired height:

 

 

This little jig works to both set axle height and to keep things square.  Believe it or not, I measured and made the walking beams while the axles were installed in the jig.  While not exactly easy, it went well enough, and remained square - which would have been hard to say otherwise.  Next was to add some brackets and tabs that aside from below, is hard to believe anyone will ever see again:

 

 

This was not a pleasant task- the tabs, all 8 of them are tiny, and the brackets are small and oddly shaped - ideal.  You can also see in the pic above how I mixed the RG and M1083 axle and diff parts, and why I needed to cut into the hull.

 

Finally - the big test:

 

 

Not exactly high tech - but, you can see the ruler sits level spanning the front spindles to the rear axles, so a small victory!

 

On we go 

 

Cheers

Nick 

[JeroenS]

Nice work Nick, some real progress. I use jigs as well when I'm scratch building chassis, your setup for this particular case is quite clever and I will store that in the bag of tricks. 

[Stickframe]

Hi Jeroen,

 

Thanks.  I must say, that simple jig turned out to be very helpful and easy - some styrene sheet, four holes, and tape!  I've kept working on the rear suspension:

 

 

There is a lot going on under there.   I used the shock absorbers to mount the axles to the hull.  I needed to extend each, and decided to run metal pins out both ends, which I could then plug into the axle and hull, to get reasonably strong connections.   The torque arms are from the M1083 kit - I used metal pins for the connections, but didn't glue them until after the central bracket was glued to the hull.  This allowed me to swing the arms easily onto their resting points on the diffs.  The bump stop towers were a challenge.  They have a sloping base, and taper to the top!  

 

The base for the suspension are two big brackets, one on each side.  These have a lot going on, and at this scale....well - they tested my patience!

 

 

 

 

This process was a bit draining - in terms of making the parts and then installing them.  But here you have it - this still needs to be cleaned up, and I need to add bolt heads, but the toughest part of this suspension is done.  Also, if you look  carefully at the last picture, you'll see I added back the "V" shaped hull, over the area I removed it before.  The hull needed to be cut to allow clearance for the differential, which is fine - but, once done, I just didn't like seeing the gap.  Funny thing about this, and much of what we as model builders do all the time - much of this will never be seen!! 😁  But, I feel better knowing it's been addressed!

 

As to where we are right now:

 

 

 

Happily, the time spent dealing with the high tech jig was worth it - all six sitting flush - no space between the tires and the ground!  Oh - and if you look at the hull in the last picture, you can see where I filled in the "V" - again - not that anyone would ever notice!  

 

I think I'll take on the front body work next.  It and the cab are both daunting in terms of the amount of cutting and pondering involved, so neither is really easier per se - 

 

Thanks for having a look 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Awesome work. Like you said, a job in 1/25 so doing it in this scale... great result, it looks proper tough. 

[Stickframe]

Hello gents, 

 

I had some time this week so worked on the front body work of the truck.  The basic idea was to use some parts from the RG31 kit, and modify them as needed, which I did.  But, the modifications became pretty substantial.  I started with the fenders:

 

 

As you can see above, I started with two fender wells, and spliced them together, as shown by the red arrows.  Then, as shown in the upper left, I went about cutting them up to match the real truck.  This was a complex project - and it took time and lots of styrene to make work.  I thought about cutting out the area behind the louvers on the sides, but obviously didn't pursue that.  While doing the rest of the reconstruction I added several brackets within to support the upper parts - in the end, not worth cutting into it. 

 

Next up, the basic hood/bonnet assembly, which was another handful, as it slopes, tapers, and has two big vents:

 

 

 

 So, just like the fenders, this piece is not flat, so I added a few ribs which I could hang sheet material on.  Leading us to the hood/bonnet itself:

 

 

This is a monster - it's big!  and complicated, but I went about it methodically.  The silver material is from the top of a San Peligrino soda can, and is very close to the non-slip surface on the real truck.

 

Now, on to the really tedious part...the grill:

 

 

Unhappily, I didn't take photos along the way.  But, how hard could it be to set 15 or pieces of photo etch material, set at a slope, in to a styrene frame?  Well, it was not easy.  It worked out, but took a long time, a lot of patience, and no coffee!  

 

And where this beast sits today:

 

 

It's funny, in this picture, all of this looks pretty simple.   As of now it is still square, sits level, wheels are centered in the fenders, and it looks like it's supposed to.

 

On we go!

 

Cheers

Nick 

[JeroenS]

Nice work! Man, that is a beast, if the front is already this beefy, it will be huge!

[dnl42]

That's some serious construction going on! And it looks to be yet another beast of a model. 

[Stickframe]

@JeroenS and @dnl42,

 

Hello gents, and thanks for having a look.  Ha -I  appreciate both of your observations, as this is indeed turning out to be a beast of a model.  I'm using quite a bit of sheet styrene (well, actually a lot of styrene in general! 😁) as thin as .010" and thick as .040".   I'm using the thicker material to prevent sag and twisting, like on the cab which is well underway, and also big and boxy. 

 

Making this at least somewhat precise, I was able to obtain some key dimensions, and while not comprehensive, many of the measurements are included, like wheel base, axle spacing, width (s) and height (s) which have been very helpful.  So as big as this looks, so does the real thing.  

 

I'll post an update in a few days, 

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

[Stickframe]

Hi model builders, 

 

I was able to get some work done, so decided time for an update.  I did more work on the front end and the cab, so this gets bigger and more boxy:

 

 

So, quite a titan - 

 

 

And more and more styrene!  From the side you get a better sense of the mass of this - I'd say scale but, as there is nothing to compare it to, well, you'll need to take my word for it...it's getting big:

 

 

Just keeps getting bigger and chunkier 😄  The cab has been widened and modified - extra doors, different length, and so on.  There is a modest interior, but I'm going to keep this closed up.  A few more:

 

 

 

I've added a few of the heftier details, but am holding off on the fine parts, as this is hard to handle, and wont the chance to break them off later 😁

 

On we go,

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Wow Nick, you're flying with this build man!

[Stickframe]

Well guys, I've been working on the big truck

 

Sticking with all that has come with this build, the truck keeps getting bigger - in addition to personnel, you can now see how this truck might carry some cargo, in an appropriately big and hard to build bed:

 

 

The bed features modification to some key parts from the M0183 kit, and an abundance of styrene....good times.  

 

Unlike a normal truck, and like the cab, the bed sits a atop the "V" shaped hull, and not traditional chassis rails, and as my donor kit is not intended for this use, I built a substructure for it to rest on.  It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the substructure is tiered with two layers of underdeck framing.  I have some pretty good pics of all of this so at least a fundamental understanding of what this is supposed to look like.

 

 

The bed also features these snappy tool/hardware boxes - which I'm glad I finished, and more glad that only the left side box gets the extra brackets and the two steps. 

 

While this would be tricky to build in any event, it was really a challenge (headache!) because construction had to happen with the bed mounted on the truck.  Why was this a headache?  Well, the truck is big and awkward to hold, and these boxes feature several small, oddly shaped, and fragile parts that need to be installed perpendicular to one another.  A joyous time indeed.  Adding to the styrene adventure, you can see I went ahead and used some PE for the steps/rungs.  I managed to get them cut to fit correctly, and to add some support, hung them on metal rod, which worked pretty well. 

 

As for some of the nuance of some of the real shapes, and making a better "T" shaped handle, well - this is as close as I'm going to get it.  I was running out of patience on this!   I might hit the little "T" handle with a sharp knife, and tidy up the edges, but might not - lol 

 

 

You can see the kit bedrail parts pretty clearly, and how I went about cutting them up to use for my purposes.  The bed-deck was shortened, so the rails needed to be shortened too.  So, first cut out and then install the central post on the modified bed, then cut the left and right side rails and install them.  This would have been pretty easy if the rails were flat panels.  As they were not, well, time was spent measuring, making perpendicular cuts, and trying to keep any peripheral damage from occurring while cutting - like a wobbly, or wandering blade pattern. 

 

This must sound obvious enough, but to get this to look right along the irregular surface required some patience and restraint - that is, to not happily jump in with a file to clean up any irregularities, because overdoing this, would result in a bad fit.  As is, I only managed a pretty good fit, and I am not excited about the prospect of adding putty to fill the gap, which in reality, I might not do.  Added putty would be hard to sand off (tight fit) and might look worse than the thin gap.  

 

 

And the back?  mostly bare bones for now - this still needs plenty of work.  I need to make two more tool boxes, for the other side of the truck, will then come back to the rear, then on to adding details, and finally, adding an abundance of small bolts!  So, plenty has been built but we still have a long way to go.

 

OK gents, thanks for having a look - 

 

Cheers

Nick 

[JeroenS]

Awesome work Nick, good to see you moving right along with this. I'm not sure which gap you're talking about which you say may need filling, I'm not seeing it so you're probably good in that respect. Just leave it!

[Ozzy]

Just catching up Nick, fantastic scratch building.

[Stickframe]

Hi model builders, 

 

I've kept after this build, and made some headway, on the rear end, and on the roof.  It turn out, there's plenty going on in both.  You'll see all sorts of materials used.  As this is largely a scratch build, nothing worked as is "off the sprue", but that has kept it all pretty interesting - take a look:

 

Starting with the rear end:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tow bar is the old Trumpeter kit, and the rest evergreen.  BTW, I've since removed and replaced the "T" handles on the tool boxes - those looked awful!  Still need to add bolts to the rear suspension  - -

 

Now, on to the roof:

 

 

It turns out, there is a lot going on up there - and as this is not a kit, well, required plenty of scratchwork and repurposing old parts - etch and otherwise - anything is fair game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it.  Believe it or not, the roof still needs more added - lol - yep, more to go - 

 

Cheers and thanks for having a look - 

 

Nick 

[JeroenS]

Nice, Nick! Looks great, to say there's a lot going on is an understatement!

[dnl42]

Wow! That's a lot of parts! 

[Stickframe]

Hello model builders, 

 

I haven't posted in a while, but have been working on the big truck.  As I mentioned, I have a thorough set of walkaround images of this, which has turned into something of a mixed blessing.  I can of course see what details need to go on, but that means I can also see what I have done wrong.  And, one of my goals for this project was to do a better job this time, than the last time.

 

A particularly sensitive subject for me is the front fenders and the louvers, which I did not do that well first time through, so I tried to build them to look better this time, and:

 

 

The image on the right is how the fenders looked until yesterday afternoon.  This was much better than my first try, but, I really didn't like seeing the flat wall plane behind the louvers.  A simple fix would be to just cut out the opening, except, what you can't see here is that there is a structural frame inside, which is used to support the overall form.  Nonetheless, I didn't like the look.  So, I carved the brass etch off, and added a separate base etch grill, then added the brass back.  While it's a but hard to see in the picture on the left, it looks much better now and I am satisfied that this part is now done.

 

On to other problems.  The first has to do with the lower hull:

 

 

As you can see above, the lower hull has a step upward, just behind the driver's door, which I didn't exactly tune in on before.  I figured out it's importance as I began detailing this area.  There is fold out storage deck (brass remnants cut up and reshaped) which went on pretty well - then on to the fuel cap door - which wouldn't fit....why not?? well, I didn't make this area tall enough for it to fit - so, now it does!

 

 

Turn out, this happens on the other side too - but, under the forward passenger door.  

 

And a variety of other odds and ends have been added:

 

 

Details from grab bars to bolts keep going on - and from the top:

 

 

The roof is now pretty filled up with parts.  And, happily along the way I faked in an engine, which in the right light, you can actually see!  

 

And the last bit of awkward construction for this post, the mirrors.  Like the rest, this turned into quite a project:

 

 

I held out some hope that I could use the mirrors and mounting hardware from the M1083 kit - which I couldn't.  I used the mirrors, some evergreen, etch and wire, and now, we have matching mirrors.  My thought on this was doing it later in the build would make it less likely that I would snap them off along the way.  What I didn't count on was that this build would wind up with so many added details, which in turn, makes it hard to hold without....breaking off parts.  So - much time and frustration later, we are calling this task done!

 

I still need to add many bolt heads and a few other bits, then, off to paint.

 

Thanks for having a look!

Cheers

Nick 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Stickframe
grammar

[JeroenS]

What a project... Super nice detailing Nick! This will look so good with paint on.

[Ozzy]

seams a shame to cover her in paint. fantastic scratch building.