Jawa "Sandcrawler" from the movie "A New Hope"

[dirkpitt289]

While the Vulcan sled shuttle is being "De-warped" (Hey I made up my own word, HAHA) I decided to start another build. This time I decided on a Star Wars build. This one is one I found that has very little representation in modeling at all. Yeah, I'm talking to you AMT-Ertl and you Bandai. There were some resin kits available for some time but they were very very expensive.

For those that don't remember the Sandcrawler, it was a massive roving "chop shop" for errant droids and other machines abandoned in the desert wastes of the planet Tatooine. Operated by the diminutive Jawas, the 'crawler was slow, ponderous but tough enough to withstand the brutal conditions of this unforgiving world.



This kit comes on three pages, 29 parts.

 

[dirkpitt289]

I started the build with the chassis of the Crawler.

 

[dirkpitt289]

Next its tme for that big body which comes in three parts

 

[dirkpitt289]

More of the body of the crawler

 

[dirkpitt289]

Part 2 of the body or in this case "The HEAD"

 

[dirkpitt289]

I had to assemble the head piece in segments. First I glued the top to the main body and let this dry. Once it was secure I was able to fit it to the rest of the body

 

[dirkpitt289]

Now its time to build the third part of the body or in this case "The BUTT" heh! Like with the head piece, I attached the top seam first and allowed it to dry. Once dry the rest will be glued in place

 

[Revell-Fan]

Wow, you are fast!

 

[zathros]

If you want these models to come out the best way possible, start cutting off the glue tabs that are printed with the model, and make your own. This will allow the pieces to line up with the edges, and you will have no white lines showing at the seams. You then use a piece of paper stock to push the glue tab you made back to the thickness of the paper so when you put on the side, the seems are flush.

Like this small 9- degree tab is the one you make and attached before you assemble the model. you let it dry first: : for curves, like this:

 

[dirkpitt289]

Next its time to turn our attention to the underside of the crawler. We are going to start with the entryway in the middle

 

[dirkpitt289]

Now the caterpillars

 

[dirkpitt289]

Assembly of the track assemblies

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

This looks really good!

I can see that there is a great deal of greebling potential.

 

[bigpetr]

Nice build.
So fast, soooo fast. I wish I am so fast too. I could do all the models I want then.

 

[zathros]

I cut those tracks out for a member and made the separate bogey wheels and attachments. I wish I could find the file!! It was a smaller scale though. This could be done afterwards. Greebling the tracks to appears as they function rather than a flat graphical representation makes this model pop. You do work fast. Slow down a little, concentrate on those seams. This is coming out very well though. You will get to understand paper, and why most of the top modelers remove that tabs, and eve separate panels that have folds, it is called accrued intolerance". Try and find a marker to match the color of the white seams to really seal up the overall appearance. You are doing very well. You can be one of those modelers that produces models way over the top, and raises the bar.

 

[dirkpitt289]

I cut those tracks out for a member and made the separate bogey wheels and attachments. I wish I could find the file!! It was a smaller scale though. This could be done afterwards. Greebling the tracks to appears as they function rather than a flat graphical representation makes this model pop. You do work fast. Slow down a little, concentrate on those seams. This is coming out very well though. You will get to understand paper, and why most of the top modelers remove that tabs, and eve separate panels that have folds, it is called accrued intolerance". Try and find a marker to match the color of the white seams to really seal up the overall appearance. You are doing very well. You can be one of those modelers that produces models way over the top, and raises the bar.

Thanks for the kind words

 

[lyter1958]

I cut those tracks out for a member and made the separate bogey wheels and attachments. I wish I could find the file!! It was a smaller scale though. This could be done afterwards. Greebling the tracks to appears as they function rather than a flat graphical representation makes this model pop. You do work fast. Slow down a little, concentrate on those seams. This is coming out very well though. You will get to understand paper, and why most of the top modelers remove that tabs, and eve separate panels that have folds, it is called accrued intolerance". Try and find a marker to match the color of the white seams to really seal up the overall appearance. You are doing very well. You can be one of those modelers that produces models way over the top, and raises the bar.

this it?? good thing i keep stuff where i cant find it

 

[dirkpitt289]

Time to attach the tracks to the track assembly. When attaching the tracks you need to align one edge of the track to the BACK of the assemble, this will give you the proper amount of over hang on the front side. But before attaching the treads I had to do a little prep work. Taking a gray crayola marker I colored the white edges and then half of the back side of the track. This way the underside would be the same color as the topside. I then attached part of the track to the top of the tack assembly and let it dry before wrapping the rest treads.

 

[dirkpitt289]

Now that the treads have been secured to the drive housing we can wrap and secure the rest of the track. Next it was time to add the spacers for the tracks and the door way to the underside of the crawler

 

[dirkpitt289]

Being relitivly new to this hobby I make mistakes, lots and lots of mistakes. One of the things I know to do is something I failed to do. That is to color the edges of the paper prior to assembly. So I tried to play catch-up and color the white edges. For this I choose to use brown shoe polish. I places some in a cup and applied to the edges with a brush. The decision to use polish was because the polish could get into locations that I would never reach with a pencil, marker or pastels. I made a mess of it but live and learn. If you squint just the right way the mistakes look like additional weathering. HAHA!

I also put a few of the tread assemblies in place to get an idea of how this will look