I just had the wierdest day dream. thought about a full sized, fully taxed, fully insured and road worthy APC.

Imagine that turning up to in every convention.

Damn..............

_________________
Sgt C. Kee-McParlin
A05/TQ1.0.02160E1

13th Regt. 1st Batt. 'Freebooters'

Although it won't be street legal, someone has something in the works. Updates to come shortly no doubt.

Well I have a plan.

And those of you who know my work, know what this means

Only problem is making it happen. My wallet is still limping from the P-5000 idea I had last time so this time around I'm thinking things through a bit more.

Here is the gist of it:

-Build a 1:1 replica of the exterior of the APC, in essence a big empty shell that can be taken apart into smaller pieces for ease of transport.
-Customfit a lawnmower tractor into the above shell, so that the steering column can be used to steer the front wheels of the APC.
-Working access side and top hatches and gun turrets manipulated by volunteer marines inside the shell. essentially a 3 man crew plus driver.
-Small cheap videocams inserted into the build to help driver check blindspots for safety.
-Portable soundsystem built into the fframe to help create a "mood"
-Various other details like soundproofing the tractor and exhaust redirection to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning of the crew.

Now for the financing:

This one can actually be attributed to Sgt Beaudoin and I think it's a great idea.

I just want to have fun building the sucker so is anybody up for a raffle?

Yes you read me right here is your chance to WIN YOUR VERY OWN APC !!!
I still have a lot of number crunching to do on this one but I figure it will end up being in the 3000$-5000$ bracket.
So to finance it I figure the raffle system could be broken down into one of the following: (in the case of the 5000$ scenario)

100 tickets at 50$
165 tickets at 30$

or in the case of the 3000$ scenario

100 tickets at 30$
150 tickets at 20$

Those are the minimum amount of tickets people would be required to pledge for me to go ahead with the project.
The draw would be held at Dragon Con 2011 (coincidentally the 25th anniversary of Aliens) where the vehicle would be handed over to the winner after we present it as a group in the Parade and display it over the weekend.

Any money left over after the building and transportation of it could be transferred over to the winner to help him or her transport it back home, or give it away to charity.

That's about it, let me know what you think about this.
Maybe we could do a poll to see how many people would be willing to buy some tickets to see if this idea can fly.

Martin

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Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

Sounds intresting... I was looking for plans because I had an ideal to build one too. My build was going to be a bit more. Hydraulics get costly

_________________

A12/TQ1.0.22137E1
PVT. Schmaus, Christopher J.
2nd Batt 6th Regt
USS Tahoma

Another working on my own build.

If it wasn't so dam complicated to work long distance i'd suggest we split the work into teams, someone could take care of the turrets while someone else could work on the drive unit while another could work on the shell itself.

If we have detailed plans of the build maybe it could be an option.

I offer to make those plans, i can make a 3D model as detailed as it needs to be, in metric or imperial, although i find metric to be way more precise when it comes to recreating something, plus the tech manual has the dimensions in metric.

_________________
Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

I think the raffle is a great idea, and a terrible one at the same time.

I am pretty sure everybody can figure out the good....


The Bad:
Drawing it at Dragoncon. This would quite honestly keep me from purchasing tickets.
Going to Dragoncon is taxing financially and while I would love to have the APC,
as would anybody here, but now the winner has to scramble to find a shipper.
I assume it will weight A LOT so therefore the winner has to have enough
fluid funds to be able to set some aside in case they do win. I think it would
be more appropriate to have the drawing 6 months before the con, so they could
make arrangements for delivery, and can collect it at the con.

_________________
If you accept pocket lint as a currency well I'll take it all!

At the $30 range, I'm down for two tickets. If I win, I'll give it to Derek Smith... seeing as he lives so damn near to the DCon area.

That's a very good point thanks for bringing it up

Anyone else see elements of this plan that might not fly very well?

Now's the time to clean it all up

_________________
Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

I love the idea and the raffle is a great idea also.

I do agree the drawing being prior to DC would need to be done to organise shipment etc
I'd be up for a few tickets for sure.....mainly because I'd love an APC myself and now have the room to store it too

I'll keep my eyes on this thread

_________________

I know just enough to be dangerous, and I gotta say, you've got your work cut out for you.

At 1:1 scale... that APC was WIDE, man. I don't know how you could fit it on a trailer. As for being able to take it apart, unless you can somehow make it very lightweight, that will be tough, too. The lighter you make it the less stable it becomes.

I had mentioned on a different thread how a van might work (steering wheel is already in the right spot), but the wheels, man. I don't know how the hell you could get the wheels to work.

Of course I'm thinking fully functional and roadworthy. A display type of thing is a different story.

Then again, no doubt better minds than mine are hard at work on this and I'm going to be in awe as I eat my words. I wish you all the luck in the world in getting this done. What experience I have is at your disposal; please just ask if you'd like my thoughts on something.

At any rate, I salute your ambition for even considering this project. Believe me, I've been there! Once you have it complete though... there's no feeling like that in the world.

I hope to see an APC in 121 days!

HUMVEE Driver

Lol that would be 2 years and 121 days

_________________
Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

Having a fully registered one of these would certainly make it easier to get through traffic. I suppose you could get hold of a surplus aircraft towing vehicle and start from there.

Being very new at all this, does the original still exist or are there any good copies of it around?

_________________
"I saw Avatar last weekend, it was so awesome, I wish the whole world was in 3D"

I think the problem with having a road worthy APC is all the jumping through hoops required to get those permits and whatnot, where as if we think of it as a parade float then it usually falls upon the parade marshal in question to manage such things and simplifies things.

As for the actual structure being broken down for transport, my profession as a stage builder has granted me a few secrets in my toolkit, I built enough tour sets and actual parade floats in my years to know that I can make it work, and fit inside a small cube van, maybe even a 12 foot utility van, that remains to be figured out.
As I mentioned earlier this is all number crunching I still need to do.
My real questions is whether or not the idea for financing it will fly with everyone on here, or enough people to make it happen anyway. I understand if people have reservations about it , and they are quite reasonable too since I don't really have any sketches drawn up yet.

So far we have two takers:

- Sgt Beaudoin - 2 tickets
- CplTony - ? tickets
-

_________________
Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

I'm in... Heck.. Just to have one that looks good to get some photos...

_________________

A12/TQ1.0.22137E1
PVT. Schmaus, Christopher J.
2nd Batt 6th Regt
USS Tahoma

Hey man, I never thought you'd be able to turn a pickup truck into
the HUMUNGUS vehicle. So if anyone has first hand experience in
making the impossible, possibe... it's you.

Russ

_________________
"A writer needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." - Orson Wells.

http://www.rookscastle.com
http://www.alchemyarms.com

Hey, thanks!

About making it fully functional and drive-able, the laws are clear, but it goes state-by-state as to how strictly they are enforced. In Michigan, they are pretty lax about it. (We have all the car cruises where people bring out their crazy vehicles.) I'd ask local cops about their own states. I looked into all of this before I started making my Machine.

As for the laws, you NEED brake lights. No ifs, ands, or buts there. Headlights, at least for show, are good, too. But if you're not driving at night there's no need to make them functional. Turn signals; you could get away with hand signals, but inside an APC that's not going to work so you need them. You need a windshield but you could get away with not having one if you wear goggles (like a motorcycle). But of course the APC has a windshield anyways. Seat belts go state-by-state but are never a bad idea. Even if they are just on there (as in not safety-tested) a cop may see them and just let it go. You need side mirrors, too. You have to be able to see all around you. Which brings me to field of vision...

Your field of vision is going to be a killer for an APC. Ya gotta be able to see other drivers, pedestrians, etc. An APC just has the one narrow front window, right? You MIGHT be ok if you set up some video cameras to point all around. At least then your friendly neighborhood policeman might see that you made a solid effort to keep things safe.

I would think that if you just brought this thing on the roads for parades and car cruises that you should be ok.

Getting back to making the thing, I was thinking about the wheels. They make tractor wheels that are similar in size to the APC's. If you're really lucky then you just find some that happen to have a bolt pattern that matches your base vehicle's rotors. If not, then you'd have to fabricate them. That would be tough, because the bolts have to be spaced and balanced PERFECTLY.

I'd also be concerned with the turn radius of those big tires. I don't see them turning very much before they hit the frame and stop. You're ok with the rear wheels, but the front ones might require some modification of the base vehicle's frame, which is never a good idea. But, one problem at a time. See if you can find a van that will allow you to put on those big tires.

That's about it for now. If someone really wants to get going on this, some advice: take it one step at a time. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to do it all at once. Just my thoughts.

HUMVEE Driver

*looks at HUMVEE's post*

ummmmmm yeah, I know how to put fluids and gas-ahol in my truck, am a fairly spiffy driver, can ride a motorcycle no issue...

heck, I understand superstring theory, but all that mechanic speak? yep, riiiiiight over my head, he said something about headlights.

_________________
"Chief Bartender for the Naughty Corner Bar"

Carpe Crustulum!! (seize the cookie!!)

taj, I'm going to put you in charge of finding a kanutant valve and some good muffler bearings.

I looked up the dimensions of the APC according to the Technical Manual.

Height (without turret) 2.17m = 7' 2"
Length (without turret) 8.58m = 28' 2"
Width 3.38m = 11' 1"
Wheel Diameter 159cm = 5' 3"

Yikes, eleven feet wide. But that might work out well. You get a part fabricated to fit on each rotor. A big, circular piece made out of steel. It starts out as the rotor diameter, then expands to the tractor wheel diameter. You can have it be a foot or two wide, which would move the wheels out some, which would then make the new turn radius work. Does that make any sense or do I have to explain it better?

But the cost of having four of those made, my friends... I don't even want to think about that.

HUMVEE Driver

It appears that you want the spider monkey beat down

From the look of it, even if it can be done, only locals or someone willing to rent a huuuge flatbed could realistically take possession

_________________
"Chief Bartender for the Naughty Corner Bar"

Carpe Crustulum!! (seize the cookie!!)

Hey Wookiemart..... What are you planning for skin for this beast. Any other details yet of your plan? I am still in on contributing.

_________________

A12/TQ1.0.22137E1
PVT. Schmaus, Christopher J.
2nd Batt 6th Regt
USS Tahoma

Well my plan is to make a parade float, not a street vehicle. So in other words lightweight, simple and low cost.

The skin will most likely be made of panels that can be disassembled into manageable and easy to store pieces, it could be wood, it could be styrene, I haven't gotten around to those specifics yet, I'm still at the stage of wondering if this can become reality or not. I found an existing 3d model of the APC I just need to check it against the technical data from the manual and then start building an internal structure that will hold it up nice and solid and also permit the fitting of a drive assembly within.

Hope this gives you a better idea, thanks for your interest

So the list now stands as such:

- Sgt Beaudoin - 2 tickets
- CplTony - 1 ticket
- Doc - 1 ticket

_________________
Cpl. M. Constantineau - Ordnance Technician "Baldwin's Badasses"

Feel free to visit my website at http://wookiemart.com/

I thought that was what you were going for.

- Sgt Beaudoin - 2 tickets
- CplTony - 1 ticket
- Doc - 1 ticket (more depending on cost of the ticket)

_________________

A12/TQ1.0.22137E1
PVT. Schmaus, Christopher J.
2nd Batt 6th Regt
USS Tahoma

Hell with that... I want the real thing! Of course, the Mrs. just might
take issue with that little project. It's not like she doesn't suffer enough with
the arcade games, video games and movie prop/costuming crap I do.

Sounds like a cool project guys!

Russ

_________________
"A writer needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." - Orson Wells.

http://www.rookscastle.com
http://www.alchemyarms.com

Real thing is proving to be a pain in the ass... Mostly because it's so big (too big for most of our roads) and because I'm limiting myself with all the functionalities (like passenger space) as well as budgetary constraints.

Making the Steering work is my biggest issue right now.