Image Thread 26

[classicdrogn]

So, here's a petro-rabbit that's been jumping up and down on my head for the past few days. It was particularly annoying because there are only a few sets of 1972 Ranchero pictures to be found online, even less from useful (dead-on front/back, side, and especially top, angles) zero technical drawings I could find aside from a single small diagram of screw locations holding on the chrome, and only a single 3D model I could find, well into the "hahaha NO!!!" range at $199 USD. Normally I'd just jump in and start working on it in Blender, but with how rare the things are in the US actually gettin gmy head around the shape took some doing, and eventually tracking down a Hot Wheels version - one that has almost the same paint colors, coincidentally, if not the same stripe pattern and the wheels of a size and in positions that could only come about through extensive structural modification. It did the trick and let me grok it enough to do this collage version, at least -- now the question is just whether I'll maintain enthusiasm long enough to get a semi-decent car shell made, and then cut it up and work out the inevitable bugaboos of translating what seems quite workable in 2d into a functional 3d assembly.

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I think I'll call her Jillaroo, as while the ute may not be a completely uniquely Australian vehicle they are noticeably more popular there than most other parts of the world, and like her alt-mode she's a do-anything generalist who can shoot straight with her pistols or near any other weapon you care to name, haul cargo, track quarry on foot or through slicing datatracks, set demolition charges, repair an ally, tinker up an improved (or just improvised) piece of equipment, mix fuel, fly a shuttle, prospect for energon and minerals, compose or crack a coded message, cook for a mess hall full of hungry organics, explore unfamiliar planets, tell a tall tale, and yes, even tie fancy knots, in cable or neckties. She might not be the best at any of it, but she can at least do it well enough that some other bot doesn't have to come and fix things immediately. Stats would be six to eight out of ten across the board, firepower and rank low (her usual weapons are just a pair of pistols, and you don't move up so much when you spend most of your time moving around) while speed and tech are high (in front of that cargo bed she's a bonafide muscle car, and you don't get to be a skill monkey without being good at skilled tasks.) Her bodywork is in the height of 70s fashion as well, with "ivy glow" bright green metallic paint (brighter than the picture at top left, that's closer to her seats' color) decked out in cream stripes and dark (avacado-rind) green upholstery, and groovy bell-bottom leg styling.

As for the Ranchero itself, the '72 model was based on the Gran Torino, and available with up to a 429 cu. in. engine (conservatively rated for 350hp in its initial 1969 stock configuration, with enthusiast tuned versions cranking out over 500hp) to really put some pep in the pedal and some heft in the haul with a 5000lb rated Class-III trailer hitch also available.