Dave Ruther’s SPV from Captain Scarlet part 2

Back to part 1

One of the unique things about the SPV, is that it has 6 sets of large twin wheels and 4 sets of smaller ones. By pure luck, I found a bag of tyres, in my local model shop, exactly the right size! These are used as fenders for model boats. I again had to cut these to make one tyre from two. And as this was the only bag of tyres in the shop, I had to make another latex mould to cast the remainder from resin.

Next job was the rear caterpillar tracks. The original studio models featured tracks from a Japanese tin toy. I couldn’t obtain one of these, so I had to make do with what I could make/find.

I patrolled the model shop and bought a Tamiya tank kit, which featured tracks very similar to the ones I wanted and virtually the exact size! I found a wheel, from a model kit, and cast 7 copies from resin, which would form the bogies. With the aid of photographs, I built up the rear section from widgets, brass, tubing and plasticard to provide the entire caterpillar assembly.

Turning my attention back to the SPV itself, I marked the position of the doors. I decided that I wanted both doors opening, with a detailed interior. The doors were then cut out, using a drill. The edges were filed flat and the doors repositioned. I slid thin pieces of plasticard into the openings around the door and then applied generous amounts of filler. The plastic card was there to prevent the doors from being sealed back in place. I certainly didn’t fancy cutting them out again! Once the filler was dry, I simply prised out the doors. A bit of sanding and touch up filling, provided a nice snug clean fit for both doors.

I then started on the interior. This involved making two seats from plastic card. One of the advantages of having a computer is the ability to freeze DVDs and create printed screen grabs – invaluable for making plans. I made the seats out of plastic card with strips of half-round rod for the cushioning. I made up one of the parachute assemblies, which fits to the back of the seat and then cast a copy from resin. These were then super-glued in place and both seats painted.

The front lights of the SPV were then marked and cut out. The insides of the holes were filed flat and lined with plasticard. The seams were then filled.

To save building a box section for the chassis, I cut down the one that was fitted to the toy lorry mentioned earlier. The axles for the larger wheels were fitted through drilled holes and packed with foam, to serve as suspension. The axles for the smaller wheels were simply glued onto the bottom of the chassis. The wheels were fitted onto the axles and capped off, to enable them to spin and prevent them from coming off! The hub caps were made a combination of ping-pong balls and resin casts with elongated holes drilled in them

I was now desperate to get paint on the model. The entire model was first sanded with wet and dry sand paper to get a smooth finish. In order to achieve the panel lines which cover the SPV, I did the same trick I had done on my Maximum Security Vehicle. This was to apply thin strips of tape to where the panels would go. Generous coats of filler primer were sprayed over the model. When the paint was dry, the tape was removed, leaving perfect lines. Much better than scribing in by hand!

The model was then gone over with wet and dry sand paper once more and the SPV was then painted, using cellulous car spray.

Decals were colour prints stuck on using spray adhesive (note, the adhesive ate into the decals, so these will need replacing!).  Chrome trim was added using aluminium foil tape and the red and black stripes were trimline tape.  And there we have it. A replica of the SPV.

However, there’s more to come. The vehicle looks like it’s just come from the showroom and is going to need some dirtying down. Front and rear lights are needed, as well as the side windows and aerials. Also, apart from seats, there is no interior, so stay tuned.

Dave Ruther