PostApocalyptiBuggy (introduction)

Consider this the introduction to my first attempt at creating a Work In Progress (WIP) series. Massive Voodoo is running a contest and asking people to create their dream vehicle to survive in the post-apocalyptic world.

"Imagine yourself in the far future.
The economics of nature died long time ago in the final hour of the planet. Earth's death is unavoidable, the heavens burnt after a nuclear disaster, it's just a matter of time until all will be gone.You were born in these days and everything you have is a car with power, riding down the deserts, 200 miles an hour singing YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRR!!!!"

- Massive Voodoo, Read their full contest details...

So in this vein, I'm going to create a vehicle that I'd be happy to call my PostApocalyptiBuggy. However, here's the twist and how you benefit:

• After a couple months keeping things simple with the Back to Basics series, I'm ready to get detail oriented.
• I'm going to show methods to avoid getting overwhelmed on large projects, including how to break them down into smaller sections.
• There's going to be A LOT of modding going on with descriptions of the creative process as gears turn within my mind.
• This will hopefully include some serious out of the box and inspirational thinking.
• I'm going to show you my progress during the whole time I'm working on this project, with updates as soon as I can after each session.
• I've never done WIP's before, and prefer to present everything as one concise tutorial.. due to the size of this project, I don't want the blog to be deserted, and I'm curious to find your reception of many WIPs vs single Tutorials.
• TheWife may join in, and periodic updates of her work will also be featured here.

You can follow along with the "WIP" tag, or on my Step by Step page.


If you're looking for your own kit, they come in multiple difficulty settings.

#1's are easy, snap together and most parts are already coloured.

The other levels require both glue and painting, and I guess get more complicated as you move up.. most of the hobby stores seem to carry level 2 kits.

 Look at all the cool stuff!

And yes, those are rubber tires.

 You're actually supplied with clear plastic parts to create the windows and such.

Careful not to scratch these, although for this project, not really a problem.

Since you can't spray clear plastic, you'll need to prime with Gesso or use a thicker paint like Games Workshop Foundation.

Art stores carry translucent paint for airbrushes if you want to tint the windows another colour. Washes might work.

Some may also want to just paint over the windows, but be ready to paint reflections, sun spots, etc. (Though this will obscure interior detail)

 Chrome coated parts are also supplied. A buddy of mine once built a motorcycle fully chromed that he showed off at a bike show, to show how terribly gaudy chrome is. People loved it.

This isn't just silver, it's a little reflective. You can buy chrome spray paint if you want this effect on other car parts, but I've never seen a paint-on version. For this reason, be careful when scraping, cutting, etc. (including removing mold lines)

You will have to scrape chrome off to glue it, since plastic glue needs direct contact with the plastic.

 Decals are provided, if you're into that sort of thing.

You can use them as guides when painting things like the dashboard.

 Lookit all that stuff!

Every part is numbered, so you may not want to cut everything out all at once.

If parts do fall off, or you cut them out by mistake, fold some masking tape around them, and number the tape.

 Instructions are simple to complicated, but at least they're detailed. On certain pages, they'll show other angles and number steps if you have to do anything in order.

I seems that there's no plan in the numbering of parts or placement on the sprues. That means lots of hunting.

Take a look over all the plans and get an idea of what order you need to work on things. Try and plan so that you'll have a bunch of larger parts that can be glued together later. (This could be tricky when assembling a vehicle)

Make sure the bags are empty before throwing them out!

If you have the room, might as well keep the bags and box around juuuuuuust incase.