Pickup model

Based on a Land Rover Defender pickup.

This is not one particular car but the style I like based on lots of images on the Internet.

It is 1/32 scale with the body and chassis being 3D printed. The body is from my own designs and I modelled the chassis based on a Ninco but shortened. It fits Ninco 4 wheel drive running gear and motor from one of their RAID trucks.

I ran it round the track to make sure it was working.

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Downloads:
Defender 90 Blend file
Spare wheel Blend file
Defender 90 STL files (zip)
Licence attribution


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Defender 'Joe' 90 on the track

I wanted to get the model of Andy's Landy finished so I could give it to him as an extra Christmas present.

I just managed to complete it. We were only 10 minutes late :-)

On display at Andy's

Before I added the door mirrors I ran it round the track.

Four wheel drive based on the running gear from a Ninco RAID car. The body and chassis are 3D printed. The roll cage and a few of the details are made from brass wire.

To compare to the real thing, here are a couple of pictures of Joe.

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Downloads:
Defender 90 Blend file
Defender 90 STL files (zip)
Licence attribution

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Solder tiny brass roll cage

It's probably been 30 years since I last did anything similar to this. I solder electrical wires and components fairly frequently but soldering 1mm solid brass wire to make a frame is a different skill.

I had forgotten the techniques for using a gas torch and had to experiment. After a few failures I watched some YouTube videos.

The bit of information I needed was the flux. As far as I could see, everyone uses a sticky paste flux.

The solder only flows and sticks where the flux is applied. That little bit of knowledge made all the difference. I bought a choice of flux but started with the one that claimed to be less poisonous. I got a near perfect joint first time using that flux.

I used the same flux cored solder I use for electrical work.

I also had to buy a new torch because the pen style torch I was originally using started to leak. I ordered a posh looking but very low cost butane torch. Easy to use but a bit messy to fill. I like the piezo self igniter and the push and hold button to use.

It has a lock to hold on the flame, if necessary but for soldering small joints you only need the flame for a few seconds so I didn't use the lock. There are separate gas and air flow adjusters so I could get the flame exactly as I wanted, about 10mm to 15mm (0.5") long to the centre blue flame point but it would reach over 50mm (2") if necessary.

While looking at the YouTube videos I came across other tips. Cleaning the joint area with sand paper, I already knew. One suggestion I tried was cutting a small bit of solder and laying it on the joint, stuck in the flux. That was handy on a few joints but with some practice I found it unnecessary.

My end technique was to apply the heat to the joint. Move the flame away momentarily to add the solder, move the flame back to melt the solder, wait until it flows then remove the heat. Ideally the heat should be applied on the opposite side to where the solder is to be put on but sometimes that was not possible.

The next issue was supporting the joints while soldering. That can be tricky but pretty much anything that won't catch fire can be used to keep the bits of metal together prior to applying the solder.

Being so tiny I also had a few cases where heating up one joint melted the solder on a previously finished joint. Frustrating but using a pair of tweezers as a heat sink usually solved that problem.

The model, shown in the photos for the roll cage, is a failed 3D print I had used for practising smoothing the surface. As you can see, that was handy to offer up the metalwork without worrying about damaging the paint on the work in progress.

The last job was to tidy up the joints. That was done by filing and sanding away the excess solder.

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Thick decals

I've done a little more on the two Defender slot cars I have been working on.

I've created a decal sheet but instead of using the water slide paper, I have deliberately used normal paper.

Number plates and the aluminium checker plate used on Andy's Defender 'Joe' 90 have a visible thickness. The idea is that the slightly heavier paper will look like the thin sheets that are attached to the surface of the car bodywork.

I've fixed the paper to the model using PVA type white wood glue.

Farm jack

It's taken a few attempts to get the model right but finally I have finished a tiny 1:32nd scale farm jack for the back of Andy's landy.

I was surprised that I could get as much detail as I have especially as the whole thing is only 60mm tall and 6mm at its widest. Only one side is any good but the other will be up against the back of the Defender 90 so it can hardly be seen.

I've had to use a trick I've worked out to stop the fine detail becoming a gooey mess.  I've included a superfluous support that is a fraction higher than the tallest part of the model.

Without it the final details are all printed in one go and the plastic never has time to set. The support forces the hot print head to move away long enough for the detail to cool down.

It's hard to see in the photo (click on it to get a larger picture) but the white one on the left is a mess while the silver one on the right has finished correctly just because of that extra rectangle.

I've used this trick on several model now.

I don't have a trick for getting all the tiny holes up the pole to print. I kept having to enlarge them and the pole until they formed at all! About 0.8mm diameter is the smallest hole that did not close up during printing.

The reverse side was a bit fiddly to clean up. I used a Dremel rotary tool with a grind stone bit and needle files. There is no detail on the reverse but it won't be seen.

The handle of the jack is made from 1mm diameter brass rod.

Defenders plural

I am making two Defender 90's not just one.

One of them is based on Andy's 90 called Joe.

The other is a truck back version because Shelley said that is what she would like. I found a very nice looking one at Bespoke Cars by searching Google images.

The models in Blender are now complete and can be assembled to make variations of the station wagon from about a 1990 to 2016 and an open back pickup truck from 1984 to 2016.

There are several variations of the Land Rover Defender and its earlier unnamed model since about 1984. I've modelled some of the cosmetic differences but not all of them.

Pre-Defender 90 from 1984
Bonnet - dips down
Fuel filler cap - Rectangular just behind the right side (UK drivers) door.
Engine air intake - Left (UK passenger) side of the wing just in front of the door. (at least for the TD engine.)
Vent flaps under the windscreen - working flaps present.
Full length roof - 3 external ribs on the full length similar to the series vehicles. [Not modelled]
Pickup cab roof - No ribs. [Modelled]

200TDi from 1990 now called Defender
Bonnet - dips down
Fuel filler cap - Rectangular just behind the right side (UK drivers) door.
Engine air intake - Left (UK passenger) side of the wing just in front of the door.
Vent flaps under the windscreen - working flaps present.
Roof - No external ribs, smooth.

300TDi from 1994
Bonnet - dips down
Fuel filler cap - Rectangular just behind the right side (UK drivers) door.
Engine air intake - Right (UK drivers) side of the wing just in front of the door.
Vent flaps under the windscreen - working flaps present.
Roof - No external ribs, smooth.

TD5 from 1998
Bonnet - dips down
Fuel filler cap - Curved top behind the right side rear wheel.
Engine air intake - Right (UK drivers) side of the wing just in front of the door.
Vent flaps under the windscreen - working flaps present.
Full length roof - 5 external ribs only on the rear section not over the cab.
Pickup cab roof - 5 external ribs. [Not modelled]

TDci from 2007
Bonnet - bulges up
Fuel filler cap - Curved top behind the right side rear wheel.
Engine air intake - Right (UK drivers) side of the wing just in front of the door.
Vent flaps under the windscreen - no longer exist, just a pressed dip.
Full length roof - 5 external ribs only on the rear section not over the cab.
Pickup cab roof - 5 external ribs. [Not modelled]

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Downloads:
Defender 90 Blend file
Spare wheel Blend file
Defender 90 STL files (zip)
Licence attribution

My designs on YouMagine.com