Vette_lover2004 Posted December 9, 2023 Share Posted December 9, 2023 Just got back into model cars, and decided I’d start with my most favorite subject matter…Monster Trucks. Especially Bigfoot. Here’s some photos I’ve taken over the course of the build. Started 3 weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 11, 2023 Author Share Posted December 11, 2023 Did some more work on these two tonight…worked on getting rid of the dreaded cab lean, and am building a center console for Bigfoot 3. I found a YouTube video where a morning show had a woman drive Bigfoot, as a request…Bob Chandler filled that request. During the video there are some in cab shots of the center console, shifter location, RII box, and gauges, as well as gauges on the dash. So, I’m tackling that now. The kit interior is pretty crammed, so I’m having to do the best I can with what space I have available. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 They are looking good so far Joseph!👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 11, 2023 Author Share Posted December 11, 2023 11 minutes ago, NOBLNG said: They are looking good so far Joseph!👍 Thanks much. As you can see, I'm not starting with an actual kit for Bigfoot 1...ebay folks want $400 for sealed kits and parts aren't much better in price. So, I'm kitbashing this one from a 78 Super Stones, the second release Bigfoot, USA-1, and some parts I got in a model car junk yard years back. The engine is from a Bigfoot 10 reissue, heads and valve covers are from a 55 Juke Box pro mod, and I of course had to correct the fenders myself. There will be some detail master engine stuff going on soon enough. Just correcting all the wrongs first. I honestly don't know why people are asking $400 for those kits. They are not that great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Nice! Love these! Need to get hold of this model as well. Í have the #10 but no decals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 12, 2023 Author Share Posted December 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Mattilacken said: Nice! Love these! Need to get hold of this model as well. Í have the #10 but no decals. If you do, best to start with the 78 Super Stone frame, and a USA-1. That will give you the basic frame and driveline and a cab and bed. The parts that will be difficult to source will be the grille and winch bumper. USA-1 in later reissues, have the fender flares and part of the rollbar with round lights. I actually used the second release Bigfoot, for the bed interior and bulkhead. Then, I just made the bedsides from the 78 fit by sanding the bulkhead sides until they sat vertical to match the cab. This gives you the somewhat correct wheelwells, and a place to mount the rollbar for the Bigfoot 3 kit. The Bigfoot 1 truck actually uses that rollbar now, with the round lights. The hardest part about this so far has been adjusting the fenders forward. I’m also using the Bigfoot 3 interior tub complete. It allows the cab to line up exactly where it needs to, and if you want to flip the hood, it has the required firewall to accomplish that, while giving the hood a place to rest while closed, that resembled the real truck. Bob has stated that Bigfoot 1 isn’t even the original truck anymore, and hasn’t been for a very long time. The truck has also gone through quite a few changes over the years, so you have a lot of options on how you want the truck to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 12, 2023 Author Share Posted December 12, 2023 Worked on Bigfoot 3 center console some more last night. Just getting the basic shape and making sure it’s somewhat symmetrical. The large trapezoidal piece will have gauges placed in it from detail masters, little round gauge faces, #3227. I’ll mark out and drill holes to place them into, to replicate the gauges Bob had in the 1:1 truck. The shifter I’m using is from the Bigfoot 10 kit, and will have to be inset at about the front corner of the drivers seat, and an RII box will be a modified plow control box from a moebius 72 ford ranger plow truck. I’m still working on what I want to do for the console arm rest just behind the shifter. Anyone know a good source for scale wood grain decals? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 Another update to Bigfoot 3…not much to report on Bigfoot 1 First, the interiors center console is looking much more like one would expect…a few shots in the perspective of looking through the cab glass, rollcage in normal position…at this point I’m satisfied with its basic shape, and will now start sanding it to final form, then lay out my gauge holes, and inlet the shifter box…then start building the bracket that holds the RII box…for anyone curios what an RII box is, it’s a Remote Ignition Interrupter…you can shut the truck down remotely in case of runaway, or bodily injury is imminent. Bob claims to have developed this technology for the safety of the sport, so I’ll include it in the cab, as seen in previous photos. If anyone happens to have some good pictures of Bigfoot 1’s interior, that would be most helpful. Second, I think I’ve finalized placement of the engine and radiator in BF3…the frame places it too far forward, causing the hood to sag… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Update… Console is sanded to a more final form, and shifter has been inletted into its home base… The driver seat is encroaching on the shifter box, but I’ll remove the seat tabs and place them where they don’t look so pushed to the center of the cab… I also corrected the radiator hinge pin issue, which will cause clearance with the hood on final assembly…as you can see in the pictures, it has quite an offset, and was causeing me to scratch my head when things were not lining up quite straight… With my mock hood, and now a removable pin for the pivot, I was able to see if the hood would now sit level with the bumper…as can be seen, it’s quite good… The bumper has also been modified, as well as the front portion of the frame, to allow the bumper to tuck in close to the hood, while still allowing the flip open to occur…anyone who has built these kits, knows the bumper is about a mile away and looks plain awful hope you guys are enjoying the build so far…the motivation for these is strong, and I hope to keep bringing cool and interesting updates… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 15, 2023 Author Share Posted December 15, 2023 Update… decided to fix an issue tonight that has been bugging me about BF1… the torsion bars were parts box pieces I had, and they were equal length. This isn’t correct for Bigfoot, on any of the springer trucks. So since I had a USA-1 kit with unused ones available, I cut the other one off, cleaned up the affected areas, and glued the new ones in place. I think it looks much better, and more prototypical to the real truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Nice progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 32 minutes ago, Mattilacken said: Nice progress! Thank you…been a project I’d wanted to complete for a long time. I think now I got it. Even pulled out the old badger airbrush and air compressor for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurfTwice Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Awesome looking build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 18, 2023 Author Share Posted December 18, 2023 8 hours ago, MurfTwice said: Awesome looking build. Interestingly enough…your stuff, when I was just lurking on here, before joining, is what pushed me to do these. So, in essence, you’re the one who pushed me back into this wonderful hobby. So, my hats off to you my friend.🫡 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) Small update… No work was done to the trucks today, or the previous day. I have been waiting for some stuff to show up for both trucks, to detail them. So today is a product showcase of the details I’m going to add to both trucks… The first detail will be the blower scoop hardware from Detail master. #DM-2025 Next is the little gauges, from detail master, #DM-3227 From Model Car Garage, is some flocking. I got Blue (#811), Medium Blue (#816), and Black (#805) And lastly, from Gofer Racing, #16206 coolant hose, and #16201 battery cables. Im still waiting on a few more things and I still need to buy a few more items. I’m still looking for some wood grain decal sheet for the center console. And I’m waiting on more of the little gauges to show up. The seller waited nearly an entire week to ship, and that was only after I sent him an email asking if they had even shipped. Anyway, that’s it for tonight, as I’ve been working on something else in the meantime, and will post photos of that soon. Edited December 19, 2023 by Vette_lover2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) I did forget one thing. I got some blower belt pulleys from Scale Repros Plus. Edited December 19, 2023 by Vette_lover2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) Update… Had the day off from work, and it’s cold and windy. Decided to work on BF3 today. I have the great fortune of working in a machine shop. BF3 needed some wheel spacers/planetary hubs to take up the space behind the wheel and axle combo I force matched, to have the planetary hubs, BF3 ran. So, I made some. I made two widths and settled on the narrower spacer. They came out great and space the tires just slightly wider than BF1. I’m okay with this, as planetary axles are typically wider, due to the addition of the hubs gearset housings. Next, I tried my hand at measuring out and fitting six gauge faces into the center console, made specific to BF3. Well, six gauges wasn’t going to happen, and I had to settle for five. I almost had to pull the gauge cluster plastic up to redo it, but all the gauges laid in nicely on the top row and the second row was good enough and evenly spaced, so I left well enough alone. I did try to get six gauges in there. I think it looks pretty good. It definitely adds another bit of interest when looking in through the cab windows. I still need to do a console armrest pad, and the RII box and mount. I will also need to start placing the large tach and smaller gauges on the dash. Edited December 22, 2023 by Vette_lover2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 25, 2023 Author Share Posted December 25, 2023 Small update… I decided I didn’t like the center console I’d made for Bigfoot 3…So, I started over. I made it wider, but the same height. This allowed me to add the 6 gauges I was looking to have on the upper panel. I also made one for Bigfoot 1, and decided I wanted only 5 gauges, as it is the “older” truck of the two. I’m not sure I like it. May pull it off and make a new panel…I’m struggling with the alignment because the gauges are so small, and my eyes aren’t as good as they use to be. When I drill them out with a pin vise, I think it’s off just enough as I step up to the larger bits. And to my eyes it looks off. I’m still resting on this one. Merry Christmas everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurfTwice Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 On 12/18/2023 at 12:32 AM, Vette_lover2004 said: Interestingly enough…your stuff, when I was just lurking on here, before joining, is what pushed me to do these. So, in essence, you’re the one who pushed me back into this wonderful hobby. So, my hats off to you my friend.🫡 That’s pretty cool, thanks. Your work certainly surpasses mine. I like how you took the time to move the rear wheel well forward for a true 8’ bed. I went the easy way and slid the fender flare as forward as I could then trimmed out behind the flare to give it a more accurate look. Your interior work looks awesome too. My Bigfoots 1-3 are done and I’m still working on what I will call Bigfoots 4&15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 30, 2023 Author Share Posted December 30, 2023 6 hours ago, MurfTwice said: That’s pretty cool, thanks. Your work certainly surpasses mine. I don’t think my work surpasses anyone’s. I just build what I like and what looks good to me. I feel that’s the greatest part about this hobby. Freedom of expression and a spectrum of skill sets represented by young and old. Asfar as the bedsides go, that was quite a challenge so early into my return. Motivation was high and I guess I just wanted it to appear correct to my eye. I get it wrong sometimes, sometimes I get lucky, sometimes the stars align. Yesterday, I was working a roll cage in an AMT 95 Monte Carlo Stock Car… It wasn't going how I thought it should…moved on to something else to pass the holiday free time. Moebius Ford trucks are a great way to break the frustration…glad I bought a lot of them… Especially the plow truck…great kit btw…you should give one a go if you’ve not had the pleasure yet… And a pic of Bigfoot…why not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurfTwice Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 8 hours ago, Vette_lover2004 said: And a pic of Bigfoot…why not Funny you post that picture. That is what I’m calling my Bigfoot 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette_lover2004 Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 (edited) On 12/30/2023 at 12:06 PM, MurfTwice said: Funny you post that picture. That is what I’m calling my Bigfoot 15. I need to do one of those myself. Looks good. I’m really hoping Moebius gives us a proper 73-79 F series kit soon. No camper special bedsides. Edited December 31, 2023 by Vette_lover2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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