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Road Pirate Chevy

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by Owen Top

Scale: 1/25

Hundreds of years ago was the Big Bang; the final, tumultuous, apocalyptic war when a great civilization tore itself apart and gave birth to The Wastelands. No one knows why they did it, no one really cares any more. There are more important things to think about; food, ammo, fuel, survival and who to vote of Wastelands Idol every Friday. It's not an easy place to live. The last scattered remnants of civilization are plagued by all manner of adversaries and... well plagues mostly. You can't leave your fortified outpost without running into Wasters, Raiders, Rad Chickens and of course, Road Pirates.

The Road Pirates prey upon the convoys which run between industrial outposts and Armoured BusStop Armageddon, the de facto capital of the world. They rampage around in a random collection of busted up pre-Big Bang cars, they yell “Arrr!” a lot, and they have very, very bad personal hygiene, although surprisingly no parrots (they were all wiped out in the great Parrot Plague of '009).

This then is the background to Apocalypso! A rather tongue-in-cheek post apocalyptic RPG I spend my spare non-modelling time developing, but enough with the fluff, on to the model!

This model has a long and noble lineage; it's actually the first car kit I ever bought. I got it on special and decided to turn it into a Post Apocalyptic Custom. It was built mostly box stock, painted blue with a cheap rattle can, featured a spear gun and a lot of spikes. That was ten years ago. Last week I decided it was time for a makeover. Mostly because I'd been thinking about Road Pirates. I took stock: The model was unbelievably dusty, the super charger had fallen off and been lost, the spear gun was gone, a lot of other stuff was loose or gone.

First off, I took the body off and separated it from the interior. The chassis was pretty much fine but I removed the side pipe exhausts as they looked a touch silly. The engine was also okay, but it needed to become much dirtier. I pulled the chrome parts from the engine, stripped them with Easy Off oven cleaner, and repainted them in dull, weathered metallics. I then rusted most of the engine by using an old, round brush and stippling Citadel Vermin Brown on lightly.

The main problem I had with this kit was losing the Super Charger scoop. Eventually, I replaced it with the air-cleaner from a Mustang (I hear the Ford fans baying for my blood...) because it was the only thing which looked right.

The wheels where still chrome, and very well attached. I didn't want to risk breaking them, so I hand painted them black, drybrushed on steel and then rusted them as well. Meanwhile the body had been stripped of all of the various spikes and roll cages which inhabited it and bathed in a generous spray of Easy Off.

I decided to try out a technique for beaten up panels from a car modelling magazine on the boot. I cut the boot out and then formed a replacement out of a disposable thick foil baking tray. This was then bent into a suitably beaten up shape and glued into the hole left by removing the boot. I bent the bumper to match by heating it gently over a candle flame. Further dents and dings where added to the body by heating it up and pushing things at it or hacking into it with a knife. I also removed the grilled completely and replaced it with fly wire mesh.

I wasn't happy with the old spear gun look and I'd lost it anyway, so I built an autocannon from various 1:35 missile launcher bits. This was attached to the roof and I made some spare magazines from jerry cans with carefully modified styrene rod for the shells to go on the back seat. I also replaced the outboard headlights with machine guns made from plastic tube.

The interior didn't need much work. I detailed it up a bit with some paint tricks I'd learned in the last ten years, repainted to coke cans on the passenger seat and removed the toolbox. I added some 2000AD back issues and a copy of the 'Car Wars' rule book to the back seat.

The original model had anti-grenade screens made from fly wire with big plasticard frames glued onto the outside. I liked the screens, didn't like the frames. I replaced them with internal screens which looked much better and also allowed more of the interior to be visible.

Finally, the body was given a good spray with Citadel Chaos Black. This, naturally, looked a touch boring so I drybrushed it with a very, very dark grey to get some definition and texture. I then went and stippled rust all over the place.

And with that my revamped road pirate was ready to take on the pride of the Armageddon Armoured Bus Co. See you on the highway.

Image: Arrr! Me boot be banged up!

Image: This be a side view

Image: This be a big gun

Image: Arrr! This be the interior

Image: This engine be filthy!

Image: And so be this chassis!




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This page was last updated 8 October 2007. © 2007 Starship Modeler