TrailSnail
Quarry Creeper
While building my first scale rig, the Tamiya High Lift F350, I did not care for the roll bar or the visible body clips in the bed. I chose to try my hand at styrene for the first time to build a toolbox. Any future tips for working with styrene are appreciated.
I started by making a mock up of the toolbox using poster board held together by masking tape until I got the shape I was looking for, then traced out the pieces on styrene sheets and cut them out.
Supplies used:
Styrene sheet .080 thickness
Plastruct plastic weld
Hobby knife
Scissors
Metal straight edge
CA tire glue
Paint
Sand paper
Rubber bands
I used the Plastruct plastic weld to join the the styrene pieces into the toolbox shape I wanted and used rubber bands to hold them together while drying.
As you can see, my first attempt at styrene started pretty rough requiring a fair amount of sanding and filler later on in the process.
Test fit in the truck before paint and final assembly. Note I used 90 degree body clips so these can be inserted and removed without removing the toolbox.
After Rounding edges, filling gaps with automotive body filler and sanding, the toolbox was painted to match the the lower body stripe I used on the F350. The toolbox is glued to the bed rails of the truck using CA tire glue. The final step was gluing magnet strips to the toolbox and the lid, making sure to match the magnetic polarity. The magnets I used were on a roll from Hobby Lobby, a stronger magnet would be preferred.
No Body modification, no roll bar, no visible body clips = success.
Open to suggestions or advise from the pros!
I started by making a mock up of the toolbox using poster board held together by masking tape until I got the shape I was looking for, then traced out the pieces on styrene sheets and cut them out.
Supplies used:
Styrene sheet .080 thickness
Plastruct plastic weld
Hobby knife
Scissors
Metal straight edge
CA tire glue
Paint
Sand paper
Rubber bands
I used the Plastruct plastic weld to join the the styrene pieces into the toolbox shape I wanted and used rubber bands to hold them together while drying.
As you can see, my first attempt at styrene started pretty rough requiring a fair amount of sanding and filler later on in the process.
Test fit in the truck before paint and final assembly. Note I used 90 degree body clips so these can be inserted and removed without removing the toolbox.
After Rounding edges, filling gaps with automotive body filler and sanding, the toolbox was painted to match the the lower body stripe I used on the F350. The toolbox is glued to the bed rails of the truck using CA tire glue. The final step was gluing magnet strips to the toolbox and the lid, making sure to match the magnetic polarity. The magnets I used were on a roll from Hobby Lobby, a stronger magnet would be preferred.
No Body modification, no roll bar, no visible body clips = success.
Open to suggestions or advise from the pros!
Last edited by a moderator:
