Black Mesa Jeep

[chainerxj]

I'm new to the forums here, I was just looking for some ideas on any other stencils or tidbits to add to my Jeep Cherokee's paint job and for general feedback on it. :cheers:

Some ideas I have are a vehicle number on the bumpers (like most military vehicles have) and/or kill tallies on the door for enemies like striders.

Well heres what I've done so far.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7475.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7476.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7477.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7478.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7479.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7480.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7482.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7484.jpg

Yeah, one stencil is crooked, I'm going to have to fix that soon.

Painted desert tan and flat black. It's got 3" lift and 31" tires. Built everything myself. :)

[Stormy]

Strap a gauss gun on the side.

[Naudian]

That is a fine crowbar.

The Jeep is nice too.

[Barnz]

Cool. I'd put logo on doors, but that's okay too I guess.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6250/19400633.png

[Lone Wolf]

Awesome, the crowbar is a great touch.

[Krynn72]

Thats pretty freaking awesome man. Loved the crowbar. I'd say make a holding rig for a magnusson device. I'd also say to make an actual magnusson device, but in todays thoroughly fearful society, people may think its an actual bomb. I like the idea of strider kill tally marks too.

Also bullet hole decals **** yeah!


EDIT: Wait what the hell? Is that an ammo crate in your trunk?! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!

[selizabeth]

holy crap. that is a sweet jeep.

[chainerxj]

Cool. I'd put logo on doors, but that's okay too I guess.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6250/19400633.png

Thats an actual model from half life? I can't recall ever having seen it before.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

I'm thinking for a vehicle number doing C-17 prefixed with a lambda. So it would be ?C-17, what do you guys think? If theres any other numbers that would work as a game reference, like an ID badge number for someone, let me know.

For kill tallies what creatures should I use? Has to be big things like striders since I can't fit 400 hash marks for headcrabs. :p

[zombieturtle01]

Damn you! I was going to put the Black Mesa logo on my car!

Anyways, nice job!

Edit: TBH, I think you should just stick with strictly Black Mesa Themes. No reason to clutter it.

[Barnz]

Thats an actual model from half life? I can't recall ever having seen it before.

It's from PlayStation 2 version.

[chainerxj]

Damn you! I was going to put the Black Mesa logo on my car!

Anyways, nice job!

Edit: TBH, I think you should just stick with strictly Black Mesa Themes. No reason to clutter it.

Go for it, we'll get a whole fleet of them. :P

[TheAntipop]

I'm with ZT here. It works best in subtle elements that aren't eye-catching to everyone whereas kill tallies or something else generic WWII fighter plane features (or something) are to society on trucks and other 'badass' vehicles. Well, that's not to say theres millions of people driving around with tallies and the like, but there's even less going around with Black Mesa logos. It works nicely as something that isn't going to jump out to everybody, won't make you look like a psychopath to everyone else with tallies or bullet holes but will drop jaws of the odd HL fan every once and a while.

Like the license plate idea, too, but I really like it as it is. Awesome job, man. :thumbs:

[lefty]

That is freaking sweet dude.

[Polaris]

Great job! Crowbar and military supplies are really nice detail. Black Mesa moved to MI?

Don't forget to buy this thing! A must have for your car.

http://www.corti.com/sascha/pictures/black_mesa2.jpg

[chainerxj]

Thats pretty freaking awesome man. Loved the crowbar. I'd say make a holding rig for a magnusson device. I'd also say to make an actual magnusson device, but in todays thoroughly fearful society, people may think its an actual bomb. I like the idea of strider kill tally marks too.

Also bullet hole decals **** yeah!


EDIT: Wait what the hell? Is that an ammo crate in your trunk?! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!

It's a grenade ammo can I believe, it's strapped to the stock spare tire mount to keep it stationary. It's my gear box, extra oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, armorall, duct tape, rags, and first aid kit, that kind of thing. Also has some road flares strapped to the side of it, they come in handy when pulling people out of the ditch in the winter. It's hilly where I live so tossing one up by the top of the hill gets people to slow down and not hit you.

The green bag is a tool bag, which has been employed while away from home more than was convenient, but hey thats why I have it.

I'm not sure enough people would get the magnusson device reference with just a holder, and I think it would get in the way a lot, but I like the idea.

The numbers weren't for a license plate but for spraying on the bumpers like military trucks have. I'd at least like to include the lambda symbol on there somewhere, I'm just not sure where.

As far as bullet holes, I actually thought of building the bumpers with a piece of steel I used for target shooting once, go for the real deal instead of a stick on. :P

I've still got to build a roof rack, the stock one died when being removed to paint, then I'll put the crowbar on that.

[chainerxj]

Great job! Crowbar and military supplies are really nice detail. Black Mesa moved to MI?

Don't forget to buy this thing! A must have for your car.

http://www.corti.com/sascha/pictures/black_mesa2.jpg

I keep forgetting to mention the little things. I was already planning on the parking pass, I just don't get paid until Friday. Actually I almost bought one long before painting my car but valve never got back to me on whether or not I could get an aperture one with matching numbers for my future wife.

I'm with ZT here. It works best in subtle elements that aren't eye-catching to everyone whereas kill tallies or something else generic WWII fighter plane features (or something) are to society on trucks and other 'badass' vehicles. Well, that's not to say theres millions of people driving around with tallies and the like, but there's even less going around with Black Mesa logos. It works nicely as something that isn't going to jump out to everybody, won't make you look like a psychopath to everyone else with tallies or bullet holes but will drop jaws of the odd HL fan every once and a while.

Like the license plate idea, too, but I really like it as it is. Awesome job, man. :thumbs:

Who's to say I don't want to look like a psychopath? :P Just kidding. I'm actually rather concerned about ending up with it being too cluttered looking, but to me right now it looks a little too sparse, I just can't think of how I want to do anything.

[TheAntipop]

Well, less is more. I love it how it is, though the parking pass is another great feature.

[Warped]

Amazing Jeep, it probably could sell for some nice dough someday too

[chainerxj]

The blue book is only 800-1,200 on it. I paid 800, and probably put 1,200 into it, I essentially replaced the whole suspension, radiator, fans, starter, changed all the fluids, new gas tank, and a lot of rust fixing.

[chainerxj]

Well I've redone the switch box on my dash and angled the back half so it's mounted more firmly and no longer blocks the defroster and wired up reverse lights to the first switch. I also added a military-esque identification number on the bumpers, and took a picture with the doors off.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7485.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7488.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7486.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7487.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7490.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/IMG_7491.jpg

[DEATH eVADER]

Cool, next part of the project would be to buy a used jeep that actually has New Mexico plates :)

[Dan]

Send Gabe an email with those photos and you will get all the free shwag you can fit in your mailbox. They love this kind of publicity.

[chainerxj]

Who is Gabe?

Edit: this Gabe? http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Gabe_Newell's_FAQ
Hooray Google.

[Jintor]

That's the Gabe.

Personally my aim would be to make it look as though I actually worked for Black Mesa and so had a company car, but that's besides the point, it looks sweet as!

[alpha incipiens]

This is so awesome I can't even handle it. I wish I drove that car.

[chainerxj]

Well if you don't mind a little elbow grease it's not too hard to build something like this. I have about $2,000 invested including the purchase price of the car and all the regular parts I had to replace.

ball joints & u-joints on the front axle: $150 in parts.
brakes: $150 in parts
New coil springs (old ones we literally broken): $120 for a new set of 3" lift springs
New leaf springs (old ones we sagged badly): $300 for 2 3" lift springs
Shocks: free! (Christmas present, would have been another $120)
31" tires: $400 for treadwright retreads
wheels: $50 used
Radiator and 2 fans: $80 at junkyard.
Steering column: $70 at junkyard.
Rust repair: $30 in bondo and sandpaper
Water pump: $30
Thermostat: $7
Starter: free! would have been $60
Change of all fluids in the jeep: $150
paint and sandpaper: $50
crowbar: $7

Total including car: $2,244 for ballpark figures. Maybe add another 200-300 for stuff I forgot or isn't directly related to the car.

[Full Life 1?]

Driving A Half Life Themed Car: Priceless.

[chainerxj]

HAHA!

Also, I got an automated reply from Gabe Newell saying he is out of the office until the 29th.

[Ennui]

That is sheer awesome. If I added anything to it, it would be either moving the BMRF circle logo to the doors, or putting a big one on the hood. Other than that it looks great. The crowbar in the window is an awesome touch as well. Cheers!

[chainerxj]

Its a work in progress, so I'm not opposed to moving logos around. More paint just means it's harder to scratch through when I take it offroad.

[Unfocused]

Niiiiice!

It'll blow my mind if I saw something like this in a parking lot/on the street out of the blue.

[Ennui]

Hell yeah, I'd probably wait by it for the owner to come back so I could give him a high-five.

You should look into getting some kind of HL-reference license plate too :P

[chainerxj]

I thought about the licence plate, but it's about $80 a year extra.

[chainerxj]

Here are some semi-action shots. You can see the skidplate thats half finished and unpainted on the front and the reverse lights that were a byproduct of an entire day of rewiring stuff to the back of the jeep.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep014.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep016.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep018.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep020.jpg

[chainerxj]

Skidplate and trailer hitch painted, and the parking pass came in the mail.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep028.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/jeep029.jpg

[TheAntipop]

Too ****ing cool, man. :cheers:

[Shakermaker]

Wow, really awesome.

[zombieturtle01]

Take a trip to Arizona with it :)

[Hectic Glenn]

Wow this is a really impressive project. Great job, what other plans do you have? Wobbling hula girl on the dash?

[MorganFreeman911]

Wow, that's amazing. I love you and want your babies.

[gFrohman]

Awesome. That's sexy.

[Maestro]

Take a trip to Arizona with it :)

This is exactly what I thought when I saw this jeep.

[chainerxj]

Wow this is a really impressive project. Great job, what other plans do you have? Wobbling hula girl on the dash?

1) I'm currently wiring up an fuse box from a junkyard car to run all my relays and fuses for lights and switches.
2)Roof rack, with shovel, axe, and crowbar.
3)Brush guard, and run cables from the corner of the brush guard to the roof rack as limb risers.

[Ravioli]

Get one of these too

http://www.corti.com/sascha/pictures/black_mesa2.jpg

[chainerxj]

Get one of these too

http://www.corti.com/sascha/pictures/black_mesa2.jpg

Got one, though they are kind of crappily made. Trying to rube the bubbles out will rub off the orange. I'm going to email valve and ask for a new one, because I paid $20 after shipping for this sticker and it's unacceptable that simply applying it messes it up.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/4.jpg

I also took a fusebox from a junkyard car and made it my accessories box. Lights and switches involving relays run though it.
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/1.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/2.jpg
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu25/chainerx/3.jpg