Planet Exploration Module 2000

[fsn]

I'm not great at modelling* but I do enjoy the experience. Lately, I've been inspired by the YouTube Bill Making Stuff to try and convert household waste to wargame gold.

My latest project was kicked of by the Co-Op selling individual cutlery sets in a snazzy little box (£3). This obviously sent me ...

... and it became obvious to me that I needed an overlarge people carrier with far too many overlarge wheels for a return to Eric. Thus, the Planet Exploration Module 2000 (affectionately known as Pam) was conceived.

I had some tea lights that I had bought years ago for ... reasons. I had some screw cups that would make excellent mounts for a ball turret ... but no beads for the turret themselves. So off to B&M for a unicorn shaped box of assorted beads for £2.**

I was going to use matches for the axles, but ended up using small nails and I only used the fold back clips for some detailling on the hull... but here was my assembled materials.


I made the wheels by inserting one tea light into another thus making a solid wheel. One tea light was fully empty, the second was set alight until the wax had all melted. Thus, when I pushed them together and the was cooled I had a fairly sold wheel.

I used some spare packaging materials for the chassis on which the hull rested. I put a large bead at one end as a sensor node.*** I wanted the other end to be a drone station. My efforts are somewhat chunky and may not survive the final cut.


What colour to paint? I considered a plain white, but thought that it may show up the many, many flaws in construction. in the end, since the Planet Exploration Module 2000 was destined for Eric, I decided to go grey - but wanted to break up the shape of what would be a 120' long by 30' tall vehicle, using three shades.

(Unpainted crew member for scale.)

I post this now, as this is as good as it's going to get. The next stage is to add the details. The wheels need some weathering, I want to add some colour to the sensor node, and the guns need to be coloured. Then I should add some windows, and perhaps some markings before giving the whole thing a dry brush. My palms are sweating 'cos I know that this is where I'm going to muck it up. I do not rule out giving the whole thing a repaint.

Wish me luck! 

 
* i.e. making models. I am hot in front of a camera.
** It was the last one in the shop. I had to fight a six year old girl for it. She was small, but scrappy.
*** My concept of sensor nodes being shaped by the golf balls in RAF Fylingdales - which also reinforces the 1960s aesthetic

[Orcs]

Looks pretty good to me.

how about using a hole punch to make windows to stick on from black or coloured paper. Round windows would go with the design of the model.

Good luck

[Raider4]

Looks great so far. Paint the 'tyres' a much darker colour. Maybe not full black, but definitely a much darker shade.

Then you'll have four shades of grey. Only forty-six more to go . . .

[Ithoriel]

Looking good so far.

Personally I'd paint the treads and rims of the wheels black or dark grey, as having rubber tyres. Buy maybe that's just me. 

[fsn]

how about using a hole punch to make windows to stick on from black or coloured paper. Round windows would go with the design of the model.

I like it - port holes.  Thank you.

Looks great so far. Paint the 'tyres' a much darker colour. Maybe not full black, but definitely a much darker shade.

Personally I'd paint the treads and rims of the wheels black or dark grey, as having rubber tyres. Buy maybe that's just me. 

Thanks both. Black I think they shall be - or Vallejo Black-Grey.


I have replaced the "rotor" on the drone with the small metal disk that nestles in the heart of a tea light.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Really great so far Nobby

[fsn]

OK, so I put the portholes on the wrong end.     Not happy with the drone. That's coming off and something, something, something.  I do like the gallery window in the side. Totally impractical, but I like it.

I need another coat on the tyres. They're not different enough yet.

Thanks for all the kind comments.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Looks ace mate!

[pierre the shy]

lovely work fsn 

Your PEM 2000 reminds me a little of a SF series I read back in the 1990's about a post-apocalistic earth where one faction rode around in huge "Land trains" made up of many linked vehicles similar to the PEM 2000. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the series or the author, but may have been Jerry Pournelle? not sure.

Keep up the good work, your Traveller journeys are well done. 

[fsn]

Your PEM 2000 reminds me a little of a SF series I read back in the 1990's about a post-apocalistic earth where one faction rode around in huge "Land trains" made up of many linked vehicles similar to the PEM 2000.

Odd you should say that.    Today I bought another set of cutlery and was thinking about the bendy-busses which plied their trade in Sheffield when I was a student there in the early 1980s.

For the life of me I can't remember the name of the series or the author, but may have been Jerry Pournelle? not sure.

Could you mean The Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley?

[pierre the shy]

Yes thank you fsn, the series was indeed Amtrak Wars.

In that series they catapulted microlight aircraft off their land trains, while the PEM 2000 uses drones....technology advances!

[Techno 3]

Most impressive, Nobby !  

[fred.]

This is a fun build, that is looking good.

I'm always impressed when people can see a unique model out of some random parts.

[fsn]

PEM Mk 1 was fun. A test bed; a learning experience.

However, I had another case, and so led astray by Mr the Shy, I went back to the drawing board. Well, I don't actually have a drawing board, or a plan, it's more a case of "let me stick stuff together and see what works."

This is where I am at the moment. PEM Mk1 (PEM1) has been stripped down and the chassis strengthened. The tail end of it has been stripped of anything useful, so it can accept the collar to join on to the second PEM (PEM2). I also found some spare turrets from ... something, which look a lot cooler than the ball turrets I made, but they also looked far too modern. In my brain, PEM should have a 1950's/ Thunderbirds aesthetic, so ball turrets it is.

I've also re-painted PEM1 black. I do like a  black PEM. I am now contemplating painting PEM2 black. They're destined for Eric (which is grey), but the PEM is basically a scientific machine, so doesn't need to be camouflaged. 

I've also shelled out £2 for some Tumbling Dice 1:600 de Havilland Vampires, and painted them red to be drones. For scale, I've added a couple of crew under the collar.



Next steps:

• add turrets (including a missile turret), portholes,  etc to PEM2.
• Paint PEM2 black.
• Contemplate other colour schemes.
• Detail the drones.
• Paint PEM1 and PEM2 in the final colour schemes.   
• Probably go to 3
• Paint details - portholes, sensors, weapons 
• Add markings ... maybe? A big number "1" or "2" feels very Thunderbirds.
• Weather as appropriate
• Probably go to 3

Also, I have another case. Do I go for a PEM3 to link to PEM2? Or ... I actually have 2 more cases so I can do a duplicate PEM 1 & 2 or a train of PEM 1,2,3,4.     Probably the former. A train would be nearly 40" long.

[pierre the shy]

But all I did was mention Amtrak Wars 

Your PEM 1/2 is really coming on well, like the Vampires as drones.

FAB fsn 

[Last Hussar]

Does need Thunderbirds style numbers!

[fred.]

Cool stuff - its going to be a big bendy beasty

The vampires as red drones is cool

[Techno 3]

Looking excellent, Nobby !

[d_Guy]

Things coming along nicely, fsn.
You say you are just sticking stuff together to see what works. I recall, vividly, the HBO series called "From the Earth to the Moon. In the episode about the design and construction of the lunar lander ("Spider I think it was called) the design team was making models out of bits of cardboard, wooden shapes, paper clips, etc to play around with ideas. Your process seems to be in the best traditions of engineering.   

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Looks great