Willy's STUMPkamper - part 3 - illuminated!

Feb 2015: With the paint-scheme decided (a combination of an ex-Dakar Rally race truck at the front, with an ex-military radio box body on the rear - to help tie-in with the original Wild Willy theme), I applied the salt technique between the various primer layers and top coat colours, before washing off the salt to reveal the distressed paintwork - which was further weathered using Tamiya dry powders and a dry-brush dirty wash to add further contrast to the flaking paint and moulded body details.

The graphics are a mix of original Wild Willy 2 decals, together with a custom set of 2011 edition Dakar rally-car stickers (from ScreenPrint Digital), who at my request were able to modify their 1/10th scale sheet to fit the smaller 1/14th scale bodywork better, and also change the race number from 303 to 503 to be appropriate for a truck. Ultimately the stickers were lightly sanded with 1200 grit wet&dry paper to add suitable weathering too.

Body detailing included using self-adhesive foil to cover the cab door and rear body locker handles (again sanded with 1200 grit paper to dull the shine and replicate wear), blacking-in the window frames with ultra-matt 'Rubber Black' paint, and fitting the windscreen and side windows - the driver's side wound part the way down as a further scale detail.

I also fabricated a suitable winch fairlead mount to fill the gap between the body and the front bumper, while the radiator/s are protected by custom made metal grilles - created by forming aluminium mesh into the recess, and then trimming and reverse fitting them into the apertures to give a proper 3D effect. The final detail at the front was a perfectly sized FORD decal I had in my collection.

On the roof I wanted to include a selection of scale accessories - the four fuel cans are Fastrax, that have been painted in olive drab and weathered using the same techniques applied to the bodywork, while the welder and cooler box are Pro-Line accessories, to which I added suitable scale stickers from my collection. A Hobby Gear oil-drum/beer keg was also suitably enhanced with a dirty wash, and everything is held in place to the custom roof rails (made from bent coat-hangers!) with scale bungee cords.

The lights themselves are a mix of Axial housings on the rear (the twin lower tail lights mirroring those on the original STUMPkin) while I also included a pair of high level fog/dust lights as is appropriate on a racing truck.

The front lights are a six-lamp set from Pro-Line - that comes complete with both a 4 and 6 light roof-bar frame. The 4 light frame was perfect for the width of the cab, while I chopped the ends off the 6-light frame to create the headlight brackets on either side of the bonnet, above the front wings.

The 12 LED lighting loom was a custom assembly by Model Lighting Solutions (who also made a simpler version for my WBO2014: Tow Mater truck), and in an effort to minimise the size of the holes in the bodywork, I further cut and re-soldered the loom to install the forward lights and hide the wires as neatly as possible - using the black Sharpie pen trick to further disguise the otherwise red wires.

The truck itself is now essentially finished - however, I know I really ought to weather the wheels to match the body more closely, and I also have plans for a dedicated driver (complete with animated head!) - and quite possibly a co-driver too...

One thing I can confirm is that the weight of the body shell hung out the back means this little fella wheelies at the slightest twitch of the throttle... it certainly is HUGE FUN!!!

Jenny xx