sheet styrene to scratch build a popup camper

[youpey]

I have been looking on and off for years to build a popup camper plastic model, however i have had no luck finding anyone that makes it. i have come to the conclusion, that i will need to scratch build it. 

 

As a kid my parents had this popup camper from the late 70s or early 80s. it was a starcraft brand and it looked almost exactly like this.  If you look closely, you will see the aluminum (or tin maybe, i dont know the outside material) is pretty much just flat, but has these 3 lines through it. i have been trying to find sheet styrene that looks even relatively similar, but not having any luck.

 

i was thinking of getting plain sheet styrene and then gluing on top of it in thin strips, the currugated metal  https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/0401-0mm-opaque-white-polystyrene-corrugated-metal-siding

its not just 3 lines, but it looks like it lower than the rest of the metal, slightly.  any ideas on how i could achieve this. this is my goal, but if i cant get this exactly, then i will just use plain sheet and a straight edge and just cut in 3 lines evenly spaced with a razor. 

 

thank you in advanced

 

[espo]

Another source of sheet plastic would be Plastruct. They also offer a wide verity of patterns. I have used their #91519 O scale siding for interiors. Just an additional source for you to check and see if they have anything that would work for you. I'd like to see your build on this trailer when you start on it. 

[Mark]

There probably won't be anything out there exactly like what you will need.  I'd determine the spacing of the lines, and scribe a large piece of sheet plastic to create some "stock" from which you can then cut the panels.

[Exotics_Builder]

30 minutes ago, Mark said:

There probably won't be anything out there exactly like what you will need.  I'd determine the spacing of the lines, and scribe a large piece of sheet plastic to create some "stock" from which you can then cut the panels.

With Mark on that one  I have never seen anything like that.  Not having researched it yet, I guess if you have a cutting machine you may be able to use that to scribe the lines.  

But expensive and considerable research to see if doable.

The only other alternative I can immediately think about is if you can find strip plastic in the right size and shape, you could glue those onto a .005 plastic sheet to get a laminated panel.  Plastruct and Evergreen are the two biggest.

[Tom Geiger]

The stamping on your camper is slight, as you can barely see it in the photo. It would even be more delicate in scale. There are no straight bends, or flat spots. It’s a pattern of three rounded ribs, one wide, two narrow.

I am a fan of old campers, have built one and have a second one eternally in progress. So I spent some time digging..

The Evergreen product has very pronounced and deep ridges. You could strap down a sheet and take it down to near flat with an electric 1/3 sheet sander. Then add a groove center of the smaller indent area to get close. Unfortunately I cannot tell you which if their numbers this is as I got a single sheet in one of their odds and ends bags.

This is the camper that came in the old El Camino kits. Multiple ridges but not your pattern. 

The roof of same camper.. a pattern but not yours.

I also looked at the plastic camper that comes in multiple diecast pickups and it’s very toylike.  I don’t know where else to look except for the Greenlight campers but they are diecast.

Looking at your camper, the ridges are the least of the challenge.  It looks like a candidate for a 3D printing model, with all that’s going on there. At the very least, the pattern would be very easy to duplicate and someone could print you a few sheets.   Wish I found a better solution.

[youpey]

maybe i will pickup the el camino kit and cut it to fit my needs. that might be quite a bit easier for that i need. i am mostly looking to make a trailer, but really wanted to make that popup.

 

the problem, i was trying to keep it around 20 to 30 dollars, which looking at it closer, probably would not be realistic. at least with the el camino kit, i can cut it and make a trailer kit to make it look like it is being towed. 

 

thanks for the help

[ChrisBcritter]

I checked the pickup bed shell that comes with the Gear Hustler El Camino since it's a flat panel about 2 1/8" by 3 7/16", but it has the same issue (wrong number of thin ribs and the thick ones aren't thick enough). Here's a cropped shot of your trailer with the pattern enhanced:

Your closest match would be the material used for the MPC Open Road Motor Home. You'd have to sand the thicker ribs down almost level with the thin ones, but that would get you very near to perfect:

 

 

[espo]

7 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

I checked the pickup bed shell that comes with the Gear Hustler El Camino since it's a flat panel about 2 1/8" by 3 7/16", but it has the same issue (wrong number of thin ribs and the thick ones aren't thick enough). Here's a cropped shot of your trailer with the pattern enhanced:

Your closest match would be the material used for the MPC Open Road Motor Home. You'd have to sand the thicker ribs down almost level with the thin ones, but that would get you very near to perfect:

 

 

It would be interesting to find out what material the caster used for the siding on the camper casting. 

[Tom Geiger]

1 hour ago, espo said:

It would be interesting to find out what material the caster used for the siding on the camper casting. 

It’s probably kit plastic.. this camper has been out as the Model King version only the box with the race hauler body. Shouldn’t be too hard to find

[cheyenne93]

This is one I scratch built with styrene. I think if you laid it out and scribe the ribs, then use a flat or nail file, holding it at an angle , the results would be real close to what your wanting to achieve.

[iBorg]

cheyenne93....your build reminds me so much of camping with my family in the late 60's- early 70's.

[AMT4EVR]

GREETINGS,

                     May I make a suggestion about your camper siding, stop by your local hobby shop and take a look at Evergreen scale models sheet plastic, try .040 thick V-GROOVE plastic .125 spacing (1/25th) it"s just plain flat plastic with grooves, but it comes very close to small scale siding. I use that, as I also build camper models too. Hope that"s a little bit of help to you.     Good Luck with your project...