Dodge tracked vehicle

[lordairgtar]

Wouldn't this make an awesome work vehicle or post apocolyptic machine?

Edited February 12, 2012 by lordairgtar

[Junkman]

I always wanted to make a model of a Tucker Sno-Cat, and a Ratrac or Kässbohrer snow groomer, but the problem I have not mastered is how to make the tracks.

Oh, almost forgot.

Tucker Sno-Cat:

Ratrac:

Kässbohrer Pistenbully:

Edited February 12, 2012 by Junkman

[Casey]

Great for ski resorts, too:

[lordairgtar]

Interesting. No Dodge emblem but a FLEXTRACK-NODWELL badge and a F-N 670 call out on the door.

[Kit Basher]

I always wanted to make a model of a Tucker Sno-Cat, and a Ratrac or Kässbohrer snow groomer, but the problem I have not mastered is how to make the tracks.

Oh, almost forgot.

Tucker Sno-Cat:

"Um, what do we do now?"

[Casey]

"Um, what do we do now?"

Count their lucky stars that they didn't fall into that crevasse.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Casey

[62rebel]

think what the archeaologists would say when they found those guys in a couple of millenia....

[Guest Dr. Odyssey]

The B in the circle on the doors must stand for balls.

[Junkman]

"Um, what do we do now?"

Believe it or not, they recovered it:

It still exists and is currently in a museum storage hold in Wiltshire, hidden from public view.

Here is a Flextrack-Nodwell for Dr. Cranky:

[imatt88]

This is awesome stuff!!!

Could'nt you use the Polar Lights Lost in Space Chariot for the chassis/tracks?

Just sayin'

Edited February 12, 2012 by imatt88

[Junkman]

I think the Thiokol chassis from the LIS Chariot would be a good starting point.

[Harry P.]

I never knew they used those trucks to make tracked vehicles!

[crazyjim]

Those are some really neat vehicles.

[Chuck Most]

This is awesome stuff!!!

Could'nt you use the Polar Lights Lost in Space Chariot for the chassis/tracks?

Just sayin'

Wasn't that done by Moebius?

And yes you could- the Chariot was based on an actual Sno Cat, you'd need to do some scratchbashing, but I've been toying with the idea myself.

That Dodge is way cool!

[crazyjim]

Does somebody make a kit of a tank in 1/25 scale? That seems like an easy way to get started on a build like this.

[Austin T]

Does somebody make a kit of a tank in 1/25 scale? That seems like an easy way to get started on a build like this.

I think Tamiya used to but they will cost lots of $$$$.

[Junkman]

Does somebody make a kit of a tank in 1/25 scale? That seems like an easy way to get started on a build like this.

Academy does a 1/25th scale Panther.

But tanks wouldn't be a good starting point, because the chassis and tracks are fundamentally different from snow vehicles. The latter have pneumatic tyres and the tracks are essentially a number of rubber bands joined by extruded aluminium profiles. Except the Tucker Sno-Cats of course, which marched completely to their own drummer.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Junkman

[Joe Handley]

Thos Tucker Snow Cats....were they made by that Tucker?

[Junkman]

Thos Tucker Snow Cats....were they made by that Tucker?

Nope. No relation. The Tucker Sno-Cat corporation was founded in the 1920s, still exists and still makes Sno-Cats:

http://www.sno-cat.com/

Edited February 13, 2012 by Junkman

[Junkman]

anyone have pictures of the inside's of the cabs of those Dodge based things? i'm curious as to what the controls look like

They came with a multitude of engine and transmission options. This one has a 300CI straight six Ford and manual gearbox.

They aren't Dodge-based at all. F-N apparently only bought the cabs from Dodge.

[Fabrux]

That makes sense. I've worked around all manner of tracked carries and nowadays the cabs are pretty much just boxes with no amenities at all. I can see how an enclosed cabs with heat would be useful for a snow vehicle. Standard controls for a tracked carry would be as pictured above: brake/clutch, lever for each track and the gearshift. Unless its hydrostatic like a Morooka, in which case you just have a single t-bar stick for steering and forward/reverse.

[Agent G]

I only drove a tracked vehicle, a LVTP 7A, for familiarization twice. In my day it had a hydrostatic tranny, a gas pedal, and a steering wheel. It did have a parking brake, which Is visible in that interior shot. That's what brought back the memories, I remembered thinking "why does this beast need a parking brake?"

Scratching those tracks wouldn't be hard, just tedious. They are just two rubberbands with metal bars riveted to them. The "hump" in the middle is where the tires ride. There is no need for a drive sprocket, or track guides. Ingenious in it's simplicity really.

G

[Junkman]

...and nowadays the cabs are pretty much just boxes with no amenities at all.

Not all of them.

This is the new Kässbohrer PistenBully (this is the exact spelling the company uses).

It has every conceivable amenity, including an especially soundproofed cabin, which undercuts workplace noise level regulations by 100%, a premium sound system, integrated heater outlets in the steering column for hand and foot warming, velours seat covering and the seat is separately sprung and dampened.

Oh, and it has a cigarette lighter and an ashtray. You know, the thing you light your fags with and where you put the butts in when you've finished smoking.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Junkman

[Fabrux]

Man, grooming machines are high-tech. Its a good thing drillers don't have carries like that, they'd never drill!

[Junkman]

Man, grooming machines are high-tech. Its a good thing drillers don't have carries like that, they'd never drill!

LOL, quite the opposite with groomers. You can't keep them away from grooming