Hiatus

The Toylander porject is currently on hiatus for the summer. A girl has to drive her truck sometime. The plan is to play with it and enjoy it this summer and then it will be back in the shop in the fall for accessories and upgrades- lights, horn, brake, motors, tall the fixings a girl could want!

Rolling Chassis!

I have assembled the axles and we have a rolling and steering chassis. After a few pushes in the yard, it is official that we need to get some motors. This thing is heavy. Axel assembly went well, I'm still procrastinating the brake assembly.

Love the giggle in the video. Again, still looking for a videographer...

So, hoping to get the brake on the truck in the next few days and then it is off to accessories.

Paint is done and time for steel part assembly

I finished painting the tub and am now ready to start assembling the steel parts that will be the axles and brake. I plant set this up with the hand and foot brake as a push car and then add the motors down the road.

I sealed the car with Kilz, primed it with automotive primer and had the pastel green matched as best as I could.

In hindsight I would have done a color match for exterior household paint and gone that route as the automotive paint is more time intensive and just more work. I did 2 coats of paint and did add a rattle can clear. Not sure that the rattle can clear was worth it. Between coats I wet sanded the finish to make it as smooth as possible. The Preval kit was helpful as I think using a compressor and HPLV gun would have been too much for me. Although I did go through a few refills and had to mix reducer with paint.

Here you can see the rear axle lined up and getting ready for mounting. I missed the pilot hole that was to be drilled in the floor panel in the instructions, but with some emailing with Toylander I was directed to page 8 in the manual and had the correct measurements. Next up will be the front axle install and then the drilling and assembly of the brake. When assembling the tub I installed the panel with the holes for the brake incorrectly so I filled them with wood fill. I will now need to re-measure and re-mark them on the tub.

Progress

The third box was located this past week and we now have all the accessories to get the tub assembled and then to get the body work done.

Filled all the holes and wing panels with wood filler. I chose wood filler as it is easier to work with for me than Bondo and smells less. Originally used a tube of wood filler that was sandable and all that- ran out of that after a few minutes so switched over to a tub of wood filler and the same spreaders used with Bondo- much better application. Since I didn't have sand paper for my palm sander I was hand sanding- takes forever. I switched the paper on the belt sander and the sanding went faster and looked much better.

I have been researching online and at different paint stores the best way to seal and paint the tub. I sent photos to my Rover auto body shop and they sent back an estimate of $700-$800 to spray the tub. With that price in mind, I am going to be painting it myself. Originally I was going to do Tangiers Orange but I've since realized this is actually Tegan's truck and not mine. So, I was between white and green- both age and model correct colors. We voted on the pastel green. I found the color codes and headed to the auto body paint supply store with my scrap piece of Medex MDF. After searching and cross referencing we were finally able to locate some colors in a book that were correct Rover colors. Although none had the name Pastel Green and none of the color codes I found were a match for the store. We finally selected a color and had it mixed up. Originally I was going to have them make me aerosol cans of the paint and that would be it. That turned out to be cost prohibitive so the nice guy at the store showed me the Preval system. With this set up you get the almost equivalent of a HPLV sprayer with a disposable system. I'll take notes and we shall see how it actually turns out.

The general consensus online has been that I need to seal the MDF with diluted wood glue before I can prime and paint the tub. After talking to a few folks around here I have decided to use Kilz primer to seal the tub, gray automotive primer and then color. There will of course be sanding in between coats to make the finish look as smooth as possible. The thought was that we live in a dry climate and the car will have minimal exposure to moisture so the multiple layers of sealer, primer and paint should protect the body. I have been very diligent in my spraying of the Kilz to ensure adequate coverage of the seams and cut sides of the MDF.

On the underside of the tub I did use silicone to seal the cut edges of MDF as well as any seams and gaps between pieces. I then applied two coats of Kilz and sealed it with gray primer. The silicone didn't leave as smooth a finish as I would have liked but I don't think it's obvious unless you are really inspecting the underside.

My plan is to paint the underside of the tub with flat black and then use the color on the top and interior. I found a graphic artist to print out the TReK decals to scale so that I can apply those to the hood and doors.

I've been repairing CNC machine errors this week too. I installed the long interior pieces to complete the sides of the tub and then used 1/4" round to give the rounded edge effect. The screen piece is on and the errors from the CNC machine have been filled. The dash has been modified to be LHD but I have been struggling with filling the RHD steering column hole. I may need to start over on that part but I am not great with cutting and that has a 20 degree angle on the front. Giving the wood filler a few more days to set up and see what happens.

This week-end left something to be desired on the build. I did glue the wing caps onto the wings and tried to cut the bulkhead to a 7.5 degree angle. Made a mess of that, I should have done it when it wasn't installed so I could have ripped it on the table saw. Since I didn't I used the sander and a rough grit to get a decent angle. I was able to glue the screen panel in place with the help of the windscreen hinges. The plan now is to supplement that with wood filler and be done with it.

Still waiting for the Fed Ex man to deliver the bonnet so we can complete the body build. Then I will drill the holes for the brake and axles. After that it will be wood filler in the holes, sanding, sealing the MDF and then primer and paint.

The tentative plan is to create a Series version of the 2003 Land Rover TReK Challenge truck. Orange truck with black decals. I think I may have found a decal company that can scale the decals down so that I don't have to paint them myself.

Since the 2003 TReK Challenge was here in the great state of Colorado the truck has a cool mountain scene on the side. Not too sure how many of the sponsors are going to make their way to the Toylander but at least the orange and black color combo will, the mountains, Colorado and probably the hood black out with the TReK logo.

Arrivals

The Fed Ex man delivered joy yesterday in the form of 2 packages. We have a third on it's way but two made it. Apparently even an erupting volcano can't stop us now!

The wheels arrived and so did the axles, lights, mirrors and other bits. The bonnet and radiator grill are still on their way but this week end should have the tub finished since the wing caps are here and the filler applied and sanded. Once the bonnet arrives and is attached we will be ready for primer and paint.

Finally

I was struggling with lining up my inner wings and outer panels to make the front end look correct. Finally after a few hours online at the http://www.toylanderownersclub.com/ forum I was able to get some ideas that seemed to work.

Issue #1: I know this seems like common sense but a level work space. Do not assume the two saw horses you are using are creating a level workspace. In an ideal world it would be a large flat surface like the dining room table. Another idea is to clamp and level a large board to your saw horses- something that fully supports the truck base and keeps it level. I used cardboard to shim out the base and get it as level as possible once I started (again).

Issue #2: Make sure the bulkhead is where it should be. Using the wrong pieces for the inner fenders pushed my bulkhead back and created havoc. When putting this all back together I decided to use screws first and no glue. Saved me a lot of headache in separating and adjusting panels.

Basically I removed all the front panels and started over. Once I was able to loosely attach the front inner wings I then clamped the outer panel to the rear tailgate panel, bulkhead and clamped it to the floor. This allowed me to level the panel and mark the bulkhead so I knew where it should be attached. I then attached the inner wings- making sure they were aligned with the outer panel. After that I attached the outer panel, wing top and then front light panel.

I repeated these steps on the other side making sure the wing itself was level and that it was level with other side. Front end looks nice- both wings are level and they are level with each other.

When I attached the front radiator panel it was a much better fit this time around. I was also able to finish the seat base and the rear tire well panels, and the seat back.

I am awaiting the hardware (hinges, accessories, etc) as well as the bonnet, and wing caps from the UK.

The scaled badges arrived so I have taped them on to see what they will look like. Not too sure on the front badge, will have to see what it looks like with the grill.

Repeat...

So, I thought I was cruising along with this project and when I went to get the front end all buttoned up I was unpleasantly suprised by just how out of whack it all was. After searching and staring and scratching my head I realized my error. I had mistakenly used the rear tire well pieces as part of the inner front fenders. Also accounted for why I didn't have the correct panels for the rear. This photos shows the two panels- the top panel being the part for the front inner fender and the bottom being the rear tire well.

After taking the truck apart to practically starting over I was able to start putting it back to gether. I have the front inner spaces re-installed and I am now working on the outer left panel. I have learned that if the two panels aren't lined up properly the front wing piece that has the light in it will not sit properly and will mess up the front on the truck. The corners of both the innner and outer wing panels need to be flush with the base of the light panel as well as being level with each other so that the wing top will sit flat and look correct.

So, here we are again, starting over and getting it right. Still planning on getting the tub built up in the next few days.

Day 2

We did a test fit today after we attached the exterior sides and I think there was a vote of approval.
Spent a few hours fixing the batten to the exterior sides and then attempting to attach the sides to the truck. While putting truck on it's side on the panel helped in setting up the batten it didn't help in making the truck square. I did find using a level and clamping a bar to the front helped in lining up the panels and making the front end appear level.

Some of the panels have been cut incorrectly- front fender tops, rear inner fender tops, front apron, lower dash panel. I failed to clarify when I had the panels fabricated that I was going to do a LHD truck so the panels that were labeled LHD and RHD were cut for both and the panels that were RHD were not reversed for LHD. So far the lower dash piece seems to be the biggest issue as it has a camfered edge that will effect the assembly of that section. Top photo shows the correct position of the lower dash and RHD, second photo shows LHD position. Note the extra cut in the dash. Several pieces were done this way, there was an error of sorts in the CNC files that created this.

This is the progress from today- both exterior panels attached, and the front fender panels attached.

End of Day 1

I have about 1/3 of the tub built. It's been interesting as the instructions are a few pictures and maybe 3 sentences a page. Most of it is trial and error. I've had to re-do a few steps to get to the next step. In that I have become proficient at separating MDF and wood glue.

Some of the panels have been cut for both left hand drive and right hand drive so it was a bit disorientating setting those up. I have done the inner front fenders, bulkhead and the tailgate so far. The front fenders and the spacers were difficult to figure out as I forgot to include a piece. On the non steering side there needs to be two spacers and the angled spacers are doubled up on the steering side. I had skipped the to longer spacers and used one of each angled spacer on each side. Fortunately I was able to correct this and have both fenders spaced properly.

Aligning the tailgate was difficult and the instructions are non-exisient but I think it is fitted correctly. Setting up the side exterior body panels will reveal the accuracy the tailgate alignment.

It's time...

I picked up the panels today from the cabinet maker. Needless to say there are a few of them. After a lot of research and waiting we were able to source the correct metric screws but they were outrageous in price. I consulted with Richard (owner of Toylander company) and we are going to use a mix of 1" and 1/4" screws being careful to not allow the longer ones to punch through and sinking the shorter ones enough to get a solid connection. I did purchase waterproof wood glue and Gorilla glue as adhesives.

Here are the photos of the panels and bits all laid out. Hopefully we can get construction going this evening...

The build begins by attaching the panels and parts to the base of the body. Soon this will be a Land Rover...

Toylander Series II project

Image taken from www.toylander.com website

I have been looking at this ride on truck for Tegan for a while now. This is a minature eletric version of a Series Land Rover for kids. Much more robust and cool than the typicaly Barbie jeep, it's a Land Rover after all. After reading about them and looking at them and drooling over them I recenlty ordered the plans for the truck. Since the company is in the UK I am sure that like all Land Rover projects this will be interesting.

The book arrived as well as 6 sheets of plans. The plans are actually templates that can be cut out and either pasted on cardboard or to the wood to be cut itself. Currently I am resarching having a local cabinet shop cut the panels. There is some discussion on the Toylander forum (yes there is one of those too)that the paper plans are slightly distorted and suing the eletronic CAD plans yields better results. As a novice (as in never) woodworker I need all the help I can get.

Today we (we is Tegan and I of course) orderd the boxes of screws we need from the local metric shop, UK toy means metric. As soon as we hear from the cabinet shop we should know when this is little project is going to get off the ground.

The offical time line is still being ironed out but the tentative one is to have a rolling chasis by July. The build appears to be fairly straight forward and I've found lots of pictures to go by. First we build the body of the vehicle out of MDF. We then attach the axles, motors, and electrical components to the body of the vehicle and then were done. So simple...