The Zombie Apocalypse (Part 1)

At this point, I think a lot of my readers know that I really enjoy my job and my work.  However, with the economy still in the toilet, work can be hard to come by, and I have to make sure that I am still good at what I do, and I have to find a way to pass the time.  Usually, I do this by creating rooms or buildings – something to show my design and rendering abilities.  However, every now and then, I take a different path by endeavoring in more creative pursuits.  Up until now, my non-architectural creations have been relatively small; Workbench, No. 3 and the Modern Art Gallery featuring several original art concepts.

I also keep myself busy by creating various vehicles such as the Raptor and Rabbit aircraft concepts, along with the “Low Rider” aircraft that will be featured in a later post, but here is a sneak peak:

The Low Riders over New York City

So, during some recent downtime, I decided to design a new vehicle for the zombie apocalypse – strap in folks. First, a congrats to Allie and Sami for correctly guessing the answer to the “Snapshot” posts – yes – the new vehicle is a mobile command center. 

Of course, during the ZA, it’s not like Detroit is going to be pumping out any new custom cars or trucks, so a vehicle is going to have to be salvaged and converted for its new found mission: transporting survivors through the never-ending hordes of the undead.  Before I can convert a vehicle into a zombie killing machine, I first must design a vehicle to be converted, but what to convert? A bus, an RV, how about a large SUV?  Eh, it’s all been done before.  So, I had to create a “civilian” (non ZA vehicle) first; that is, a vehicle that you might see on the road today, and then from that, create the ZA version. 

I drew my inspiration from my father-in-law, Daniel Doyle.  This is a guy that has busted his butt as a highway paving inspector for, among other companies, the Arizona Department of Transportation.  This is not easy work – the pavement can get upwards of 150 degrees at the surface along with 110 degree ambient air temperature.  On top of that, he needs site plans, maps, his cell phone, a 2-way radio, soil and asphalt testing equipment and a myriad of other paper work that he has to have by his side.  Currently, he does all of this from a cab of a stripped down F-150 – what a pain (and clearly inadequate for any kind of zombie killing application).

A standard "no frills" Ford F-150 Pick Up Truck - Dan's current mobile office.

Enter the ADOT Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV).

The ADOT MCV.

This vehicle can hold a 6 person crew, all the maps and charts that he would need, computerized work stations and a tool garage at the rear of the vehicle with ramp access. 

Map and chart room.

Workstations and central light table with overhead monitors.

Rear storage and access ramp.

Rear bay tool shed.

The entire vehicle sits 3 feet off the ground and features a liquid cooled floor as well as a commercial grade HVAC system.  It would be designated as a “wide load” vehicle, meaning that it is 10’-0” wide, allowing for plenty of room to work and move around.  It also features a left and right side drive along with multiple video cameras along the hull to make it easier to drive in tight areas as well as construction zones.  The vehicles oversized tires and chassis height allow it to go just about anywhere, and its massive flood lights allow work to continue at night, when in general, it is cooler to work.

Left and right side driver seats.

Oversized tires provide additional clearance.

An abundance of high powered floodlights provide the ability to work at night.

The MCV also boasts a massive exterior storage rack on the roof with additional tires, a water tank and a compressed air tank.  Toward the front of the vehicle on the roof, there is a collapsible antenna that can link up to the Internet and the ADOT intranet for fast access to changing and updated plans.  The smaller antennas are for local communication between work crews and maintains a streaming real time feed for work progress, including GPS updates to show the exact position of the vehicle and how much road has been paved each day.

Roof rack with collapsible antenna on the left.

Roof rack with water and air tanks on the right.

This is the base vehicle that was created for the ZA – thanks, Dan. 

Next up, the conversion – stay tuned!

PS – there will be more images of this concept posted on my website in the very near future – check it out!  www.lonewolfdrafting.com