WPM Model Snow Cat Drivers

Of course there has to be a driver in an RC snow cat, otherwise it would be kind of a ghost vehicle. Fitting figures in scale 1:12 are available at Pistenking or also at doll stores. At the beginning we had to use dolls, but they are not featuring the right clothes for a snow cat driver. Therefore one has to ask his better half to take care of this. My wife Gerlinde made nice winter clothes with lots of dedication.

Another problem is that the regular shoes of these dolls look nice with a tuxedo, so a change was necessary as well. We are hard-core fans of the VANS brand, and therefore our drivers had to have the same shoes. We choose VANS Sk8-Hi MTE with a PistenBully-red stripe, which are suitable for winter conditions. For the season 2013/14 the drivers also got new anoraks from VANS.

I made the VANS Sk8-Hi by hand with putty which can be hardened in an oven (left). Afterwards I made a mold with silicone, and then reproduced the shoes with white PU-resin. Finally they were painted (right).

These are pretty sure the smallest VANS shoes on the planet.

Of course there has to be a VANS sticker on the snow cats as well, which was reduced to the correct scale and printed.

www.vans.com

At right one of our first drivers can be seen, he drives the PB600 Polar of Albert. My wife made the pullover and cap out of an old sweater.

Below left is our first driver ever, he got a beanie but otherwise he was left unchanged.

The driver of Fabian’s PB600 polar was taken care of by my sister Claudia. She made his Quiksilver outfit. (Picture below right)

I did a new approach for the driver of the PB100 by using an action figure. One disadvantage of real fabrics is that they always seem stiff and voluminous. An action figure with its joints can be nicely positioned and looks much slimmer and thus more realistic. A disadvantage is though that they mostly have equipment which is not suitable for a snow cat driver. And also the joints are clearly visible. Below left the starting situation can be seen: I removed the sheen protector and filled the joints with hot glue. In addition he got of course Vans Sk8-Hi MTE, by the way exactly the same as I wear.

Naturally action figures are from well known movies or series, and ever Star Wars fan will know immediately who it is: Ezra Bridger, hero of Star Wars Rebels, has like every juvenile fun driving a PistenBully for a change. Of course his signature light saber has to be with him, just in case he has to defend himself against a Wampa attack (mid picture above). ;-)

In the same way, the new PB400 Level Red also got a driver from the Star Wars family, none other than Han Solo (at a young age).

Below you can see how I filled the knee joints with hot glue. To stretch the fingers, I briefly dip them in boiling water, and then Han has to hold a thick drill for a while so that they cool down in their new shape. This means they fit around the joystick.

Of course, Han also has winter-ready Vans Sk8 Hi on his feet.

I was able to recruit Cassian Andor as a driver for the new PB800 Simply Red. After running out of cast Vans Sk8 Hi, I searched the internet and purchased usable Vans Old Skool print files. These must obviously have been 3D scanned because they are absolutely the same as the original.

Our drivers are die-hard snowboarders, and therefore a snowboard is always carried on the platform when shaping the park. Thus a quick run in the park can be done after work.

In fall 2021 the company Public issued a snowboard in cooperation with VANS, which our drivers (and me included) had to have. This was quickly designed as a 3D-printed part. The bindings took a bit more effort, and I also made a fitting mount which is bolted to the railing. This made the rather thick fingerboards history which I had installed there earlier.

I printed the decor and glued it on and finally sealed it with clear paint.

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