Revell USA Jeep WIP

minimagneto- That's because most of it is real mud! haha

Also- the display base will have to wait for spring. I live in northern New England and the ground here is frozen solid. Not worth the trouble- plenty of other kits to work on. Thanks again for all the positive feedback. Criticism is always welcomed, too.

Thanks, everyone.  Viejo- honestly, since I'm displaying it on a shelf close to the ceiling I just ignored it. I was hoping the kit would have a fifth tire to cover it up but no luck.

Awesome work. Love the weathering on the chassis and the mud looks dead real!

-Blake

What are you planning for the back?  That kit has diamond plate molded onto the tailgate.  I'm holding off working on mine until I figure that out.

Your weathering looks fantastic! The mud on the body is just right .. not covering the whole thing but clumped and spattered by the wheels.

The mud splatter looks REALLY good! Very realistic!

That's a GRAND Cherokee, though. Mine is the regular Cherokee. Kinda the same difference as that between an Abrams and and M-60. ;)

dirkpitt77

I've always wanted to do a project like this too, but unfortunately no one's made a Cherokee kit yet. Pretty bad when the only offroad stuff you can afford is the stuff for the model and not the real thing LOL.

Yours looks good so far. Nice job.  

I bought a Tamiya Jeep Cherokee kit many years ago as part of my collection of vehicles I've been assigned or crewed throughout my career.

I believe this is a photo I found on eBay of the kit I bought many years ago. I don't know if Tamiya made more than one version. I thought my kit box art was a gold colored vehicle, not black.

Haha, no kidding. You can always hope for a kit of that new cherokee-ish-looking thing Jeep is selling now...

I've always wanted to do a project like this too, but unfortunately no one's made a Cherokee kit yet. Pretty bad when the only offroad stuff you can afford is the stuff for the model and not the real thing LOL.

Yours looks good so far. Nice job.  

I still have some work left- including a small base that will be my first attempt at a diorama-style display.  Wish me luck.

Some more work on my wrangler...

I shortened the front and rear bumpers to give the front tires more ground clearance. Then I removed the moldings for the ugly kit-supplied winch. 

I painted with Testors enamels- semi gloss black. 

I "scratchbuilt" the rollcage using a combination of the kit part and heated sprue bent to shape. 

I threw a ton of mud at the body- using mostly actual mud. I mixed dirt from the riverbed behind my house with some pastels, white glue and water and went to town. I caked it up in the wheel wells and around the fenders-- just like mine does in mud season. 

I applied the mud with old paintbrushes and a toothbrush flicked with my finger to give it a spray pattern- let me know what you think. 

Actually I think your weathering looks fine. seats and body work look good too

For some reason the picture of my real jeep never came up...

The mud treatment looks fine to me, JT. I think the gloss on the body is ok as is, especially if you're going to dirty it up like the chassis; Jeeps aren't overly glossy anyways, unless they're never taken off-road.

This is my first time simulating dirt and mud so please any honest advice is welcome- also I realize the 'mud' looks a little red in these pictures, not sure why. In the real world is is a dark brown.

The body- after a coat of testors square bottle enamel semi gloss black. Can't decide on semi gloss vs gloss.

I pre shaded the seats to add depth and simulate usage.