Sometimes I like to browse eBay. Let's be honest, we all do. I try to avoid the toy train stuff though and usually end up in Other Classic Cars. There I can look at oddball motor vehicles while not straining to stop myself bidding.
A few days ago though, I spotted a Poncin VP2000 Amphibious car. What a cracker!
Created by Gilles Poncin in the 1970s and based around a Citroen 2CV engine, this was the first in a line of rugged, off-road, vehicles.
Now, I have a garage full of broken Beetle so I don't need a real one, no matter how much fun it looks, but how about a model version? One that worked on the water?
The worst thing is that the listing even included a plan.
Being angular, the build shouldn't be too hard? The challenge would be to find suitable wheels and tyres. They aren't ornamental, there is no propshaft, as far as I can see on YouTube, the treads provide drive in the same way paddle wheels do. Or even the Nikko Vaporizer.
But no. I have too much on the go. In fact I really must stop looking at websites showing this car. I leave all this to someone else.
Go on, you know you want to. Why not start here?
5 comments:
Those wheels look amazingly like the Lego deep dished rims available for a quid or so on ebay, tyres may not have the correct tread, but.......
(Sticks fingers in ears) Nah Nah, can't hear you. Not going to be tempted. Not going to be tempted...
OK then - don't be tempted - you've said it, Phil!
Joking aside, I could see something like this being a bit of a nightmare to build.
Obviously, I've never modelled RC boats, so I don't know the first thing ... but, to me, it looks more like a boat than a car.
Sealing the axle holes might be an issue - but the wheels and tyres used to drive the model probably would not. A lot of "1:10 scale" RC trucks and offroaders have similar tyres.
I also can't see the drive on a model being particularly efficient - certainly not in water - the wheels / tyres look rather like paddle wheels creating ridiculous amounts of turbulence for each other, because they're so close together.
However, I'm sure that stuff like this could be made to work by anyone who's really interested - you only need to see that Salvage Squad repeat (on Quest) about a Stalwart, to see that it can be done.
Saying all that, I won't be building one - I've always been more into land transport, especially the sort that runs on steel rails.
Talking of model railways, I still haven't managed to find time to do any serious work on the RMweb "build-a-loco" challenge - so I certainly don't wish to allow myself to be sidetracked by other modelmaking, however many technical challenges this might offer.
I think I'll just have to pass on the amphibious car model - probably just as well in the circumstances.
Phil, You'll remember the UFO (or was it Space 1999?) "Moon buggies" that were R/C models of the Amphicat
Yes I do. All things Space 1999 (First series) are etched on my mind. Thinking abut it, I wonder if anyone ever produced a kit for the Moonbase Buggy that looked like it? (Not the Monagram thing)
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