Stuart Land on the US truck:

Stuart Land on the US truck:

I was brought in on Universal Soldier to transpose the conceptual painting and the blueprints of the military laboratory on wheels into a workable sculpture, then organize, hire and construct two identical big rig trucks, one as the actual working prop, the other as the stunt truck. I spent a conciderable amount of time breaking down the blueprints and painting so I could make all the pieces which would be attached to real trucks come together like a giant model kit. I hired finish carpenters to make forms for all the side and rear panels, while I sculpted the top of the cab and all the little attachements from 2 lb. urethane foam.

Next a crew of on-site fiberglass experts was brought in to cover all the parts I sculpted, then dig out the foam leaving just a fiberglass shell. I had an outside company make all the panels.

The two trucks had to have 2 inch square steel tubing welded around it, like a cage, to hold the fiberglass panels. The actual working prop truck had to have both sides expand outwards in three, twelve foot sections on each side. They had to be able to open and close without breaking the fiberglass and seal perfectly every time. To do this, every measurement had to be exactly on mark. Unfortunately, the first truck ran into some problems when the frame sections were welded into place and each section was a quarter to half in off over every four foot span, so at the end of the truck, the frame was sticking out six or eight inches. It drove the welders crazy getting everything lined up, but eventually they managed it and all the mechanical features and fiberglass fit and worked perfectly.