In the "remake" of *The Wages of Fear*—a reimagining of the 1953 film—the heroes use two German Man trucks that have been converted into civilian vehicles... Here, we'll be using the Hobby BOSS model kit for the eight-wheeler...
...And two Revell 6x6 trucks to build the second eight-wheeler (in the meantime, the Revell 8x8—which had been impossible to find or prohibitively expensive—is now back on the market at a normal price)...
Step 1: The chassis. The yellow one is from the original 8x8; the second one has been lengthened...
This project is not recommended for beginners. It's not easy to adapt all the components to a new chassis that wasn't designed for...
Documentation is very important in these cases...
Two driver figures have been modified to more closely resemble the movie's heroes. The interiors of the cabs will then be painted before the windows are installed and the roof is glued on. Evergreen spacers are glued on to recreate the truck tarps, which no longer match the originals...
Laying down the paper sheets impregnated with very runny wood glue (a delicate task!), creating ventilation blocks on the roofs...
The tarps are shorter than those on German Army trucks and are not the same shape. Rectangular spotlights are mounted on the front of the vehicle above the windshield...
Someone stopped by to check the condition of the tarps...
Someone stopped by to check that the tarps were in good shape...
The vehicles are airbrushed with army green, then dry-brushed with Humbrol 87 (bluish gray) and white to soften the finish...
Dust and various effects were created using Humbrol paint (drybrushing), followed by pastels for the finishing touches. Before that, the windshield was coated with clear matte varnish using a mask to simulate dirt on the glass...
The second truck...
The figurine of the heroine walking from the cabin into the rear compartment was modeled after a still from the film and painted—using Winsor & Newton oil paints for the skin and hair, and Humbrol for the clothing...
The license plates on the trucks in the movie are copied and scaled down for use as props...
The license plates on the trucks in the movie are copied and scaled down for use as props...
The turntable
The Meng brand produces excellent, highly detailed kits. In the scene, the trucks are being chased by pickup trucks driven by local terrorists—the action is supposed to take place in the Sahara...
Step 2: A driver is assigned to the vehicle, and the entire vehicle is painted before closing time...
The rear support bar of the kit is removed, and the gunner, with his machine gun, is positioned...
The rear bracket of the kit is removed, and the gunner, with his machine gun, is positioned...
The car was painted in the colors of one of the vehicles from the movie...
The machine gun harness is made of lead sheet...
With everything in place, the car is covered in pastel powder...
Another view...
Vehicle positions for the skit...
The Setting
The diorama is 70 centimeters long, so is the background. The desert is drawn in pencil and then masked off for painting...
Painting the sky and clouds with acrylics. Airbrush & paintbrush...
Painting of the hills and mesas in the background...
Painting of the central table and the floor in the foreground...
Finishing up the close-ups...
A close-up of the finished panel, showing the base in the foreground that will hold the vehicles in the convoy...
The models are glued to the extruded polystyrene base—which has been painted with acrylic paint—using wood glue...
