Sometimes I want to build something different, something that I have no idea how to start. I got it in my head recently to build a scene that involves a couple of vehicles. I don’t even know where to start when it comes to building cars, I’ve never done it. Luckily I had a resource for showing me how to build just what I needed: YouTube.

This particular journey started with a picture on flickr.

This little van by De-Marco came across my radar a month (or so) ago. I showed it around and filed it away. One thing that stuck in my mind was that the description contained a link to building instructions on YouTube.

I don’t use YouTube much. I just don’t have much interest in that kind of video content. The thing is that there just aren’t many sources for non-video building instructions, but there are a ton of amazing builders sharing their models as videos.

So then I found myself wanting to build a couple of cars and I realized that De-Marco’s YouTube channel might be able to help. A quick browse though and I found a police car that would make a great base for the first vehicle.

This car was based on some kind of Eastern European model, but the basic shape and color blocking would be perfect for my needs.

My version is more like a Sheriff’s cruiser. It has some problems and there are a few parts that I didn’t have in the right colors, but I’m very happy with the results.

There was quite a learning curve, building this way. The original builder has a very different style than I am used to and it took a couple watchings (and many pausings) before I managed to piece it together.

For the second vehicle, I needed a commercial vehicle, so I went back to where I started.

Once again, I swapped some colors and made a few adjustments.

This time, the process went a lot smoother. De-Marco’s videos are recorded from LDD sessions and I found that pausing every few parts, I could recreate everything at my own pace.

By using these instructions, I tackled the most daunting aspect of my project easily. There is still some polishing to do on each model, but now I can get to work on the real focus. When I do show off the model, I’ll make sure to give credit to De-Marco for the vehicle designs. Credit where credit is due!

Though I don’t think that I’ll be spending too much time on YouTube, there are a lot of cool resources there. I’ll be reorganizing the resources page of this website in the near future to include my favorite building instruction channels.

Keep building and enjoy!