My Silly Project: The Paxtonmobile

[Paxtonmobile]

The Paxtonmobile Project: the truck and Dorothy from Twister

First off, let me say hello, and give some backstory. My name is Justin, I'm 23, and I work on at BNSF. Let me say before I get into my project that I have no intent on doing the things they did in the movie Twister- I have no plans on getting THAT close, driving into a tornado, or actually trying to put something into a tornado.

The backstory is that I grew up on Cosmos, and Twister- Twister introduced me to meteorology. I instantly fell in love with the weather, and gobbled up everything I could as a kid on weather, and pretty much anything science in general. I was planning on going to Oklahoma University for a degree in meteorology, but things in life changed that, so I joined my other job idea career thing, the railroad.

And now for the actual project!

I've always wanted to replicate the truck and Dorothy from Twister. It's like the #1 thing on my bucket list. I plan on chasing with it, filming and taking photographs, and I have no illusions that I'm out there doing a pro's job- I'll be hanging out way back there while letting the pro's do their thing.

I decided to move ahead with building the Paxtonmobile (what I affectionately call the truck) after my dad was diagnosed with several forms of cancer early 2014. He told me to start building this, as "you've been dreaming about that thing since you were little, let's make that dream a reality to keep us busy!" And so we shall.

I know I'll probably catch some flak for building this, and for my silly little plans for it. I don't really care, this is a childhood dream I'm building. I'm not going chasing with this until I've researched safety tips and taken first aid- I will NOT be "that guy" that turns around from being a first responder to victims, nor "that guy" that barrels down a muddy road at a ridiculous speed trying to get a shot. Safety on the railroad is #1, I've always been a safety oriented person, and so I'll be as safe as possible while out chasing.

I do plan on refilming bits of Twister, as I live ~350 miles away from all of the filming locations. My friends have created computer-generated particle systems that replicate the tornadoes from the movie (pretty much CGI) so I'm all set.

I began my hunt for a 1994-1996 Dodge Ram 2500 V10 4x4. And after a lot of searching and frustration, I found it. I flew to Nashville, TN to pick it up, and drove it home to Kansas City, MO. I had the cab lights installed, and I drove the truck down to Norman, OK to go on a tour of OU and the NPC/NWS. I also measured one of the Dorothy's there, to make my replica. And I also made a stop at Wakita, OK, to see where Twister was filmed and see the movie museum.

Me and a boilermaker friend of mine from work are going to build the frame, instrument mounts, and possibly some of the instruments themselves. I had a metal shop build the barrel and pieces that are welded to the lip of the barrel. The frame should be done by March, and it should have all the greeblies/lights/sound by June/July.

I look forward to the day I pass Reed Timmer, in his Dominator, while I'm in the Paxtonmobile. Call it a stupid little dream I have, haha.

In March, I'm meeting Cary Elwes, the actor who played Jonas, and in September I'm going to Wakita, OK, where a good deal of Twister was filmed, for the 20th anniversary party, and possibly meeting Bill Paxton.

Now, pictures! This is my childhood dream coming true.

 

[Skip Talbot]

From a fellow Twister inspired chaser, welcome to Stormtrack and thanks for sharing!

This is awesome. I really hope to see you out there, as I'd love to get a picture next to that especially under a storm. Reshooting Twister or doing a fan remake sounds like a blast too. Brindley, my chase partner, is also a Twister-inspired chaser and we quote about 90% of that on any given chase.

The Twister party sounds like an amazing time. Is that open to the public or the rest of us slob chasers?

 

[Skip Talbot]

This reminds me a of a story too. In 2010 I was in Childress in a big chaser convergence awaiting initiation.

While waiting, a woman showed up with her two kids, one sporting a "Future Storm Chaser" t-shirt. After getting his picture taken in front of the van, the mom had him tell me what his favorite movie was: "Twister," what he wanted to change his name to: "Bill," and what he wanted to drive: "Dodge Ram truck... red." Amazing, I hope my kids turn out just like him. I asked the mom if they were chasers and she said, no, she was just out to find the storm chasers for her son. "Today we are chasing the chasers!"

http://skip.cc/chase/100422/

I can only imagine how ecstatic that kid would have been if he saw you bring that truck in.

 

[Justin Wilcox]

I dont think you'll catch any flak at all for this. The difference between you and everyone else is you own what you're doing. Nothing wrong with it at all. I commend you for that and hope to see you out there. Good luck buddy.

 

[John Gnuechtel]

I thoroughly solute your decision to go with the V10, and the hilarious gas bills you will rack up with the package in the bed. Watch out that you don't create your own chaser convergences of people wanting to take their picture next to it.

 

[Mike Marz]

"Jonas Miller. He's a nightcrawler. We all started out in the same lab, but Jonas went out and got himself some corporate sponsors. He's in it for the money, not the science. He's got a lot of high-tech gadgets, but he's got no instincts. And he doesn't have Dorothy."

That looks pretty much just like the movie. I agree with everyone, it would be cool to see you out there next to a storm. It's just too bad Philip Seymour Hoffman is gone now, it would be fun to meet him at that anniversary party. Good luck to you.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

I love seeing a well done movie inspired replica vehicle. Can't wait to see the finished product. Good luck!

 

[Jeff Duda]

I appreciate your levelheadedness in recognizing your limits as a human being and storm chaser. Props to you for understanding that!

Certainly there are those who will think you are silly, but I see nothing at all wrong or troubling about what you are doing. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in accomplishing your goal.

 

[Adam R Davis]

That's kinda cool. I'd rather stop and grab a picture with that than with other vehicles roaming the alley *cough cough Dominator cough*. I know where both the waterspout causeway and hailstone hill's filming locations were. Maybe if our paths cross in one of those regions we can make a photo op of it. XD

 

[Joey Ketcham]

That's a pretty cool idea, and looks great so far. Can't wait to see the frame after it's done. Keep us updated, with pictures of course

 

[Paxtonmobile]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

The party is on September 19th, of this year. I was told to invite everyone I can, and that storm chasers are more than welcome to show up.

The mileage is indeed pretty low at about 12mpg, but it's worth it to me. When I was driving the truck home with the barrel in the bed, I had some people pointing and taking pictures.

I plan on refilming the segments of twister next year,maybe even a few scenes this year.

And I really look forward to hopefully meeting you all out on the chase someday! Maybe even see some of you at Wakita for the party. There is no guarantee that any of the actors will show up, but I've written Bill Paxton to tell him about it.

I look forward to having this project done and seeing the reactions of the public.

You can keep up with the project at Facebook.com/ thepaxtonmobile.


.... I may also listen to nothing but Van Halen's Humans Being and the Twister score in the truck.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I'm not going to lie....At first, I thought this was pretty silly. After thinking a minute, I realized that since this is really your life long dream, then it's not so silly after all. Life is too short to not be happy, regardless of what others think! Carry on!

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Are you going to incorporate replica sensors in the barrel with a top that you can open? Not sure how exactly one could replicate the sensors, would be kind of hard but would be cool if you did add replicas down the road.

 

[Shane Adams]

We never miss the Wakita/Twister celebration. See you in September.

 

[Paxtonmobile]

I will be making replicas of the sensors, and I plan on having one layer of them in the top, with maybe a cooler hidden underneath it. Or a popcorn machine. Something cool.

I just need to find the siren, and find the spinning lights. I know the model of the lights, I just can't find them.