As soon as I saw the movie ‘MOON’ starring Sam Rockwell and of course, the six wheeled  ‘other’ star of the film the Moon Truck, I had to create a kit.

Purchasing a copy of the film, which I highly recommend for all Sci-Fi enthusiasts, gave me an opportunity to study the vehicle. Then a friend supplied me with a CD of images of the filming model  and I had all I needed to create an accurate model. I chose 1:35th scale which gave me an overall length of about 5″. 1:35 is also a popular military modeling scale which will allow customers to accessorize the vehicle or create a nice diorama with plenty of after-market items. ( not much call for brick roads, dogs and bicycles for the lunar environment however)

 

After creating a set of working drawings, I started with the chassis box.  This allowed me to check the wheel centers in relation to the rest of the vehicle, and I could adjust this if there were any issues and not impact other areas of the truck. You can see below that the chassis has a series of triangles and circles that had to align properly as well. These were great land marks to check against the filming model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once satisfied with the chassis, I could move forward with the rest of the vehicle, construction moved quickly……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wheels for this truck were an intricate and complicated design. Luckily, they were not a flexible tire, but a rigid wheel and all six were the same, so that helped a bit. Once turned on the lathe, I could proceed to decorate the exterior with the many shingle-like treads. I used one wheel master for all six.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I had a wheel, I could complete the suspension, which was a simple one. A large shock tower behind each wheel to carry a brass rod for the axle, and a center cap to hold the axle in place and help take the weight of the truck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I intended to build a full cockpit, so that was next. There was a major issue with creating this in that, the filming set interior did not match the model. The main issue was that the filming model has large under-cuts under the cab to allow for the left & right wheels and suspension. The filming set for the actor did not have these under-cuts, so there was room for the actor a steering wheel and all sorts of dial and levers that could not fit in the filming  model. The solution was creative license. I had to represent that basic components, seat, steering wheel and some of the major equipment boxes. The steering wheel just barely fit inside the model to match the interior set. Another issue was the height of the ceiling. again, plenty of room on set but not so much for the model. I fit what I could inside the model while being true to the set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the ceiling panel in place..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cast the console in clear to allow it to be lighted and show some dials and a display screen, if the customer wishes…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The master parts to the truck;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the kit parts, minus 5 wheels;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a total of three trucks used in the film and each had one main difference, they carried a different payload on its bed. The first truck had no payload, the second had a crane and the third had what I call a generator on its bed.

 

The crane was first..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The assembled crane kit;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generator payload;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the assembled truck kit on display at Wonder Fest;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see awesome customer build ups of this kit, visit this page of the website.

To order this kit and Its accessories, visit this page.