by Gary Filipiak

This is a scratchbuilt Jawa Sand Crawler model. It was made from styrene sheets with some kit-bashed detail. It is about 1/48 in scale; the dimensions are approxemently 14" x 8" x 5". This model was originally built for the "Other Guys" model contest that Starshipmodeler had, but unfortunately it was not finished in time to compete. I worked on this model on and off over a seven month period.

I began by gathering reference, then I created a blue print for the model using Adobe Illustrator. Then several mock-ups from paper were built. After working out all the angles and proportions I began building the model. First I transfered the blueprint from paper to styrene using a tracing technique. Then I cut the styrene pieces and scribed all of the panel lines using a scribing tool. Next I began constructing the model by gluing the pieces together. The pieces formed several sections each section was basically a box. The next step was gluing the box sections together. The tracks were also built from trapezoid shaped boxes with styrene sheets wrapped around them with scribed lines to look like tank tracks.

After the main construction was complete I began detailing the model by kit-bashing it. Then it was primed and painted with a custom mix of: rust, sand and red colors. The last step was several heavy washes with black paint.

This is the second scratch built model I made, it was very challenging and rewarding. If your're thinking about building a scratch built model for the first time my advice is to go for it.

Image: Right side

Image: Rear

Image: Top/right view

Image: Another