Antarctic Snow Cruiser

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Antarctic Snow Cruiser; a funky vehicle for the snow
Topic Started: Jul 27 2006, 11:10 AM (248 Views)
T-force1	Jul 27 2006, 11:10 AM Post #1
Worthy of the Trax! Posts: 93 Group: Contributing Member Member #97 Joined: July 1, 2006	Since I'm getting a blizzard any day now... I remembered this funky vehicle I found on the net for arctic exploration. It would appear their was at least one R/C model made of it! Snow Cruiser



jwrape	Jul 27 2006, 01:03 PM Post #2
Swayed by the Trax Posts: 23 Group: Member Member #80 Joined: May 19, 2006	I wonder where that thing is now. Did they disassemble it? is it in a museum somewhere or what? I would think once they got it to the Artic, the 750000 pounds was a little too heavy for the ice.



spoon37	Jul 27 2006, 01:15 PM Post #3
Trax Master Poster Posts: 602 Group: Admin Member #11 Joined: December 14, 2005	cool! wouldnt be too hard to make in terms of RC's.... the body isnt that complex, the only really difficulty would be getting the scale and dimensions right...so that it looks correct next to another vehicle of the same scale...



T-force1	Jul 27 2006, 04:01 PM Post #4
Worthy of the Trax! Posts: 93 Group: Contributing Member Member #97 Joined: July 1, 2006	Toward the end of this article (one of the many links off the first one), it says it was abandoned, assuming they would return and use it one day. However, the ice shelf eventually broke off and drifted out to sea. I presume it got to warmer waters, melted, and it sank into the ocean somewhere. I seem to remember reading that someone found tires for it in a junkyard somewhere that were in suprisingly good shape. I'd have to check the drawings more carefully, but it seems the E-Maxx might have the right wheelbase to width ratio, if one weren't worried about scale. Getting a flyable RC airplane to sit on top of the proper scale might be difficult!



spoon37	Jul 28 2006, 03:28 AM Post #5
Trax Master Poster Posts: 602 Group: Admin Member #11 Joined: December 14, 2005	yeah, an E-maxx would work, I was thinking clod axles myself but any monster running gear should do just fine, then all you really need to do is match the wheels, in thos pics they look pretty slick to me so you could use narrowed clod foams, or something like Tamiya mammoth dump truck tyres which are already pretty slick, for that look you would have to round off the edges tho...the mammoth tyres are very square in profile... also maybe those Nylint 1:6th tryes would almost work, they are about 6.5" diameter and quite narrow, only problme is the deep tread ans sidewall tread that kind ruins the look for a snow cruiser... the body dont look too tough tho, if you use strong running gear like an E-maxx or similar your may be able to use stuff like plywood, it'll be heavy but its prolly the easiest and toughest way of making it... damn you got me thinking now... just when got the parts to make my maxx spares into a roller maxx...



EC	Jul 28 2006, 05:20 PM Post #6
Making Trax! Posts: 244 Group: Moderator Member #9 Joined: December 13, 2005	This is the vehicle looks a lot like the vehicle that big foot 5 took the wheels from. A land train made for the US millitary in 1950



WhiteWolf McBride	Jul 29 2006, 10:46 PM Post #7
Making Trax! Posts: 196 Group: Moderator Member #15 Joined: December 15, 2005	Hmmm... Well, I think the beast was designed to float if it cracked the ice. Note the sealed wheel wells... Reminds me of an not-so-great idea of the LARC (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo) the successor to the WW2 DUKW. It was for transporting supplies to the beaches from supply ships. There were various sizes, from the LARC V to the XV to the LX aka LARC 60 or BARC. Many V's are still in service as safari vehicles, and some of the BARC's are in museums, as they could carry more than a WW2 LCM-3! Here is one page that has data on all three: http://www.woodtech.force9.co.uk/avh.htm I'd rather have a LCM-3 than a BARC, even if the LCM can't drive up the beach! As for the land train... that last image reminds me of the 'Wagon Trains' that Patrick Tilley used in his Amtrak Wars series... Book 4's 'Blood River' cover is almost identical, 'cept the train has more cabin atop it. They've changed the covers for the reprint, if anyone wants to see a pic, I'll use my new cam to try for a shot of my book cover.
	*WhiteWolf McBride* CEO, TaskForce Technologies Inc. Ottawa, Canada


Supreme Reign	Jul 30 2006, 02:59 PM Post #8
Making Trax! Posts: 134 Group: Family Member #77 Joined: May 7, 2006	I am diggin' that land train.
	DestinyYou cannot destroy my destiny!


WhiteWolf McBride	Jul 30 2006, 03:29 PM Post #9
Making Trax! Posts: 196 Group: Moderator Member #15 Joined: December 15, 2005	Hmmm... How about Tamiya Mammoth rims & tires on semi front axle for the unpowered ones, and on TLT axles for the powered ones? Are all 4 Mammoth rims powered, if so, rigging 'em to free-wheel on a semi front axle might be interesting. Should ask Joe in the RC Truckers group, he has one.
	*WhiteWolf McBride* CEO, TaskForce Technologies Inc. Ottawa, Canada


spoon37	Jul 31 2006, 03:56 AM Post #10
Trax Master Poster Posts: 602 Group: Admin Member #11 Joined: December 14, 2005	the Mammoth is basically a juggernaut 2, I would therefore suggest the rims are driven by 5 round lugs just like clod/jugg wheels. also all 4 are driven... this is mainly why I like the idea of using jugg/clod gear as the mammoth wheels bolt right on.... plus with some custom 'hub caps' it would look like the real things pretty easy.. a big rig front axle may not be as wide as TLT axle tho.... I dont have a big rig to compare with tho... certainly the rear axles on the rig are narrower cuz the TLT essentialy is a rear rig axle with 2x TA04 steering knuckles grafted on adding to its width.. personally I would want 4wd for such a rig, it may not be true to scale but the design is such that it may not have the greatest amount of ground clearance and may need 4wd traction to drag it over obstacles...



WhiteWolf McBride	Aug 1 2006, 01:33 AM Post #11
Making Trax! Posts: 196 Group: Moderator Member #15 Joined: December 15, 2005	Spewn: Damn, thats right, they are Juggy axles, aren't they. Reminds me of that project someone else was trying... a HEMTT/MAN 8x8 hauler... he wasn't sure which he'd use as a cab, as both have a different axle spacing fore/aft. As for the unpowered axles, heck, widening a semi front spar is easy. Advantage is you mount it with the hump-section high, you have fabulous ground clearance. And I meant you use the unpowered sections for the 'trailer' or towed sections. You wouldn't have every section under power, that'd be a terrible waste... and as it is a train, you can put a jel-cell or a few parallel'd NiHM packs in the first trailer. Here is a wild thought... go even further, make the tail end charlie a recon carrier, and get a small 1/28 4x4 to carry... that or try to go the Amtrak Wars way, and put a 'Skyhawk' electric delta-wing ultralight on the roof. Show it to Tilley (who is pondering the last 6 books - it WAS planned for 12) and it might help push the movie ideas into action...
	*WhiteWolf McBride* CEO, TaskForce Technologies Inc. Ottawa, Canada


spoon37	Aug 1 2006, 04:33 AM Post #12
Trax Master Poster Posts: 602 Group: Admin Member #11 Joined: December 14, 2005	oh for the land train no probs...the big rig parts would work fine for all the trailers - I'm still thinking about this snow cruiser tho... prolly not gonna make one tho, its one of those things which goes on the list of too many ideas not enough time/money to make...



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