1/35 HEMTT Explorer

[Rick Lowe]

I had never heard of that set before... obviously it never made it out here... no surprises there.

[Old Wombat]

Them's is BIG Jenny-Raters!

This build is definitely becoming more interesting but more outside my technological comfort zone.  

[frank2056]

Robunos over at BtS suggested using a 20 foot container for the "office" area. Luckily, I have the Trumpeter 20 foot container in my stash.  It's almost a snap tight kit - and very heavy. Here it is on the back of the cargo floor:



It looks good, if a little tall. The main problem is the weight; the 20 ft container weighs almost as much as the rest of the HEMTT shown here. With the resin tires and motors, I'm afraid that it may break the axles or the spring support attachment points (it's that heavy).

I Also printed a flat platform that sits (or will sit) level with the cargo floor.

Here's the lighter and smaller ICM "KUNG" truck box:

[kerick]

Looks like it might be possible to lengthen that truck box. It has a more of a camper look to it.

[Rick Lowe]

Looks like it might be possible to lengthen that truck box. It has a more of a camper look to it.

Agree. 

I note there are a lot of HEMTT-based campers in Real Life also - would any of these provide inspiration or ideas?
Or have you gotten there before me... ;-)

[Wardukw]

There's a company in the US that specializes in converting the HEMTT into motorhomes..they are also using the 10X10 version too.

[Jakko]

If this is for exploration of dangerous areas, then I would add a passage from the cab to the rear as well. Cut out the back wall of the cab where the right rear window is, for example, and enclose the area behind it to the right of the engine.

[frank2056]

That's the plan! the roof and rear of the cabin are just there to get an idea of heights and levels.

[Jakko]

Cool

[frank2056]

I've made progress - but it doesn't seem like it. I've been folding PE for the cockpit cabin and in general finishing it up. Here's the cabin with some of the PE installed, before a coat of primer:



I printed a small riser wall extension for the truck box, since it was too low for most of the standing figures I tried to put inside. I also leveled the "generator platform" to bring both platforms to the same height at the cabin.
I had printed a new back wall for the cabin with two hatches, but they would have been blocked by the platform at its new position. It may look like there's plenty of space where the current rear windows are, but there isn't. Instead, I used some spare hatches from the AFV Club M151 RWS kit (by itself a great source of unused parts) on the cabin:



I also swapped the box and the generator. Not sure about this layout:

[Old Wombat]

Given the complexity of a lot of PE parts, a small amount can equal a LOT of work! Well done, Frank!

[Wardukw]

Been there many times Frank...you spend hours and hours and then.."hey look ..ive made 4 parts" 

PE and scratch building yields great results but man it can take so long to get there .

As for you genny layout either way does work actually..rear mounted gives you more area for storage at the front but makes it harder to work on the genny if needed .
Mounted behind the cabin puts more weight on the front wheels which is better for traction and also not to scare ya but your gonna need a couple of spare wheels and a crane to lift em .
Hemtt wheels and tyres weight in at 600/660 lbs per.

[frank2056]

I have the wheel crane assembly to build, and two spare tires to locate in a way that they don't block the passage from the cabin to the box and still give enough room to work on the generator. The box and generator at the rear may make it too back heavy.

[buzzbomb]

Really nice Frank, the PE work looks the business, so hopefully the doors are open to see it.

The build will come together in a logical arrangement once you have all the components together so you have the option to play around with placement

[Wardukw]

I have the wheel crane assembly to build, and two spare tires to locate in a way that they don't block the passage from the cabin to the box and still give enough room to work on the generator. The box and generator at the rear may make it too back heavy.

The crane which comes with the HEMTT model might fit the bill nicely..it's compact and folds away..
You could mount the wheels on top of the shelter ..crane on one side and move the genny slightly of centre to balance to keep everything happy .
You could move the shelter further back so it over hangs like 20mm..would give ya a nice amount of extra space to play with .
Would still give you a good amount of clearance angle on the rear 😉