An electric toy created with a programmable engine sound
By Roger Lacey
Photographs: Roger Lacey, Grahame Hawkes
A key is put in the ignition and turned. After a couple of cranks, the engine bursts into life and settles to an off-beat idle. Forward gear is selected and the accelerator pressed. The revs climb, and out of the garage appears the smallest Series II Land Rover you have ever seen. Driving the vehicle is its builder Graham Hawkes, whose grin is in complete contrast to the size of the car.
Graham unfolds himself from the driver’s seat, steps out and lifts the bonnet to show, not a miniature engine, but a couple of sealed, gel-type car batteries and a maze of wires. Two electric mobility scooter motors power the car and the engine sound comes from a programmable sound-generator hidden in the engine bay and directed down a stainless steel exhaust pipe.
Miniature
The miniature Land Rover is called a Toylander and two lucky grandsons in Australia will soon be taking delivery of a toy that most kids only dream of. Toylander is based in the UK and sells plans and kit sets for a variety of vehicles. Graham came across their website and bought a set of Land Rover plans on impulse, thinking he could knock one up for one of his grandson’s birthdays.
Rather than being a quick job, the project got under his skin and became a bug that has seen the house renovations put on hold, the new shed delayed, and a couple of birthdays slip by in the year and a half it has taken to complete.
Although the Toylander plans are comprehensive and highly detailed, Graham’s version has gone far beyond the basic instructions. It incorporates many unique features that have taught him new skills and stretched his imagination to come up with solutions that satisfy his attention to detail.
A fitter and turner by trade, Graham has also turned his hand to carpentry and built several houses from scratch.
He now works as an operator at the Huntly power station, working four 12-hour shifts every four days, leaving plenty of time for other pursuits. However, even this diverse range of skills incorporating steel, wood, and electricity did not mean that all parts of the project were straightforward.
Challenge
The first challenge was the front guards, which are laminated from two sheets of 4 mm plywood. Soaking the pieces in boiling water, clamping them in a vice, and bending them over a former created the curved sections. A couple of hefty cobblestones were used to hold them in position overnight. The process was by trial and error, with one sheet snapping under the load when Graham tried bending it too quickly.
The English plans call for an aluminium bonnet but Graham made his from laminated strips of 8 mm matai flooring timber. The spray painter who painted the car for him subsequently refused to paint over the beautiful grain of the timber on the underside, so the craftsmanship remains on display.
The Toylander’ monocoque chassis is made from 12 mm plywood. However, not content with the flat panels in the foot well, Graham used photographs of an original Land Rover to help him fabricate a realistic-looking transmission tunnel and firewall.
The plywood tunnel was formed in the same way as the guards to achieve a smooth 180-degree bend. The modification is not just cosmetic, either. He has used the transmission tunnel to direct cool air from a fan at the front into the bay containing the motors and control box.
Making the sides of the tray thicker to suit an aluminium capping rather than using the specified angle extrusion has been another modification to help satisfy Graham’s attention to detail.
Wreckers
Graham has gone to great effort to source equipment that looks the part and has trawled the local wreckers’ yards for bits to suit the project. The accelerator and brake pedals are cut-down pedals from a Mini, the gear stick, handbrake, and bonnet catch are Toyota, and the PTO hole at the rear is a Holden frost plug. A rare, genuine Land Rover, 85 mm-wide rear badge was tracked down in the South Island, and the front badge is from a key ring.
Trade Me
The steering column has been fabricated from stainless steel pipe-reducing sockets, welded together, and polished, and the indicator switch bought off Trade Me looks like it was made for the job. The front bumper is fabricated from stainless steel box section, and the rear bumper over-riders are computer drawer pulls. Door handles are cut-down passage door handles, and what looks like custom-made bonnet hinges are stainless steel plates with the real hinges hidden out of sight. The fuel filler is a detail he saw on a web forum and even the domed button holding the tailgate chain has been made from the head of a coach bolt, drilled and tapped to fit rather than using a plain nut.
Trolley tyres
Graham has even made a trip to the UK to visit the owner of Toylander and to purchase parts such as lights, dashboard, and instruments that were proving impossible to obtain locally. The miniature tow-ball came from a company in the Netherlands that manufactures trailers for towing surfboards behind a bicycle. Wheels and tyres are off some disused gas-bottle trolleys Graham found at his work. The tyres had been flat for years and looked like they would never hold air again, but once pumped up they have never lost pressure.
Sound
Making the rolling chassis to such a high standard was only part of the job. The electrical wiring has given Graham some serious challenges. After seeing a clip on YouTube, he was inspired to fit a sound generator to make the engine noise. The programmable device starts a cranking sound when the key is turned then settles to an idle. When the engine is switched off, a timer slowly winds down the engine sound. The speaker directs the sound into the box Graham made in the firewall which, in turn leads to a stainless steel exhaust pipe and out the back of the car. The horn is also operated through the speaker.
Motors
For the two drive motors, Graham purchased a locally made programmable controller designed for a mobility scooter. Unfortunately, an unknown quirk of the controller made its operation erratic until it was traced to an indicator bulb he had installed. All the testing and subsequent delays have meant the project has taken months longer than anticipated.
The gear stick activates proximity switches to select forward or reverse. A switch activated by the handbrake turns off the speed control, but a separate circuit for the sound generator still allows the “engine” rev when the accelerator is pressed.
Brakes
The mobility scooter motors have internal brakes that lock when the power is off so no mechanical hand brake is required. The controller has been programmed to operate at half-speed “learner” mode. A discreet switch under the bonnet selects full power mode in forward gear for when the boys get older or when the adults want to have some fun. An advantage of the Toylander design is that the seat backs can fold flat, allowing extra legroom if grownups want a turn.
All lights and indicators work and a cooling fan mounted behind the radiator grille starts up if the engine compartment temperature exceeds 35 degrees. A digital readout on the dashboard displays temperature. Attaching the spare tyre to the bonnet is one of the few small jobs required to finish it off.
Workshop
Graham’s workshop where the Toylander was constructed is a dilapidated single garage with a workbench along the left-hand wall. Most of his tools are hidden away in case it gets broken into but the toolbox he has open has a padded recess for each tool. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” he says.
A bench saw in the centre of the space is currently being used as a temporary table and an old but sturdy Dycoband saw lurks in the back corner.
“A while ago I bought a brand new Tanner bandsaw but it came with cheap plastic wheels and I wasn’t happy with it,” Graham relates. “I saw a single-phase Dyco for sale in Wellington, got it shipped up, and sold the new machine to pay for it. My wife thought I was crazy.” He has plans for a large garage and workshop on the back section once the Toylander and home renovations are completed.
The Toylander will soon be ready to be crated up and shipped to Graham’s grandsons in Newcastle, Australia. He was rather hoping the boys’ father who works for the Royal Australian Air Force, would despatch a Hercules to come and pick it up, but unfortunately, it will have to go as regular freight. However it gets there, the Toylander is sure to be a source of great excitement for two young boys and their friends.
Now the model-making bug has bitten him, Graham is mulling over whether to build a second Land Rover(this time with opening doors), a trailer to tow behind it, or a Toylander Massey Fergusson model tractor he has spied on their website.
He also has plans to develop a V8 sound generator for a Model T Ford kit he picked up a while back. His wife may want the delayed house renovations to take top priority but sooner or later the computer-generated sounds of another engine will again be coming out of Graham’s shed.
SPECIFICATIONS
Wheelbase: 965 mm
Length: 1625 mm
Width: 740 mm
Height: To the top of the steering wheel (approx.) 750 mm
Turning circle: 5400 mm
Total weight: Approximately 105 kg
Batteries: 2 x 12 Volt, 33 Amp/hour gel batteries
Running time: Approximately seven hours, depending on load, terrain, and battery capacity.
