CR01 Unimog build

[neverfollow 599]

My latest build comes in the form of Tamiya's CR01 Unimog. I've always loved this vehicle and wanted to build a crawler. I know there's many others out there that are better, cheaper, and more capable, but I'm die-hard Tamiya. I'm sure with the right hop-ups, it will be more than enough for what I'll be using it for.

I've been gathering hop-ups from across the globe. Seems like some parts are becoming scarce for the CR01. I still have a handful more to be delivered, and I was becoming impatient. So, I decided to start on the body and wheels.

I chose RC4wd's Mudslingers and 3 piece alloy bead lock wheels.

Assembling these wheels is a very time consuming task. I think I've assembled a TT01 in less time

A view of the Mudslinger's aggressive tread pattern

[neverfollow 599]

And on to the body...

Before trimming

Trimmed...a keen eye can see what I did differently

When I make an interior for it, I will be using these seats

Masking

Black applied

Gun metal paint, by popular demand

Decals and trim pieces applied

[neverfollow 599]

These are the seats I will be using. They're actually cell phone holders that clip onto your car's heating/air con vents

Grinding the rear portions is necessary because of the humps for the clipping attachments

A little bit of styrene trimmed to fit the seat backs

Here's the original wheel/tire that I will be using as a spare tire

And the hop-up bead lock ring

Spare tire mount from RC4wd

So, by now I guess you've figured out what a did differently to the body...I cut out the bed and made a drop bed out of styrene

Not mounted yet, just mocking up

Subaru Brat style

I added a second sheet of styrene for added strength and rigidity to support the weight of whatever ends up in the bed (also to hide the glue marks)

And painting the bed

That's it for now..hoping the remainder of my parts arrive this week so I can get cracking on the chassis.

Thanks for viewing!

[emory70 153]

Love it so far. Were it me, I'd get a matching spare.

[neverfollow 599]

Love it so far. Were it me, I'd get a matching spare.

Thanks Emory! If they weren't so expensive I would! Maybe down the road, but as of now, my pockets are empty

[Tamiya1/10 382]

Like it. Which sets of seats you will be using for the interior?

You must be happy you have an electric screw driver.

You are going to be drained, if you go bonkers with hop ups and add on detailings.

[neverfollow 599]

Thanks Tamiya 1/10...I'll be using the ones in the pictures. I had them in the bed just for a silly laugh.

I believe I have nearly every Tamiya hop-up for it. I wanted some from 3racing or GPM for the suspension, but most are discontinued. Integy has all the parts, but I never hear anything good about Integy. So I may leave the suspension alone except for the Tamiya barrel springs and Tamiya dampers.

[emory70 153]

"Leave alone" famous last words on TC

[neverfollow 599]

"Leave alone" famous last words on TC

:D

[Sonic0620 2]

Look at Junfac for hop up parts. I used them for some of my up grades. But I got rid of the cantilevers and made my own shock mounts. Good luck these are fun trucks.

[neverfollow 599]

Thanks Sonic, but everything on Junfac's site is either sold out or discontinued..

[Wez-li 1790]

Excellent idea with the recaro seats.

[neverfollow 599]

The last couple of days I've been working on the Unimog's interior. I again chose the Axial wraith kit, this time in clear. A lot of trimming was necessary to make it fit, and I had to trim and flip the dashboard so that it would sit correctly. Also being clear, I had free range of color for it. I'm still waiting on the seat belts and may possibly throw in some scale accessories in before I finally mount it to the body.

The kit as I received it

After trimming

Decided to go with a two tone interior

Keeping with the theme, I went with gun metal/black

Luke Skywalker will be driving this one

I had some gauge cluster decals that I used to fill the interior, I didn't want to use Axial's decals again this time. I also painted the gear levers, steering wheel, and steering column

[neverfollow 599]

Seat belts arrived today and I was able to mount the interior to the body.

[StrokerBoy 772]

Love it. Big 'mog fan. Looking forward to the rest.

[Yonez 180]

Incredible work!

[neverfollow 599]

Ok, so I waited until I completed the build to update this thread. My Unimog is all together and I took it for a spin around my basement. I'm really looking forward to getting it outside to see what it can do. This being my first crawler, I am very excited.

Without further adieu, here are my build pics...

Many hop ups going into this build, some not pictured..I couldn't wait any longer, I started before they all arrived

High luster frame rails vs. original frame rails

Parts laid out

Starting on the suspension/cantilever system

Ready to install the side frame

Carbon mechanism deck

Frame and deck fitted together

Axles and differentials

For the rear axle, I chose to go with the locked differential, the front is open-but packed with a lot of grease

Comparing the hop up hardened shafts vs. original

Front differential packed

Open vs. locked

[neverfollow 599]

Moving on to the axle and suspension mounts

Going with 4 wheel steering-hop up servo beds, Kimbrough servo savers, and Savox water proof high torque servos

Hop up servo bed, servo mount, and turn buckle tie rods

Servos mounted to axles

Next up, the hop up dampers

Front and rear bent lower arms

Shocks and arms

Upper links

Fitted to axles

Mounting to chassis

Springs installed (at this time the barrel springs hadn't arrived)

Dampers and cantilever turnbuckles fitted

[neverfollow 599]

[neverfollow 599]

Hop up front and rear hardened propeller shafts

Assembling the gear box

Motor installation

Hop up heat sink/motor plate

Motor together with transmission

And with prop shafts

Hop up skid plate

Original vs. hop up

Skid plate attached to gear box

Fitted to chassis

[neverfollow 599]

3Racing alloy cross member

Front bumper fitted

I went with the TBLE-02 esc and a TLU-01 basic lighting kit

Fitting the battery (Venom 2s Lipo) and electronics

The radio I am using is from RC4wd, and is designed for crawlers. The 3rd channel can be used to alter steering operation.

Hop up battery holder

With the Castle Creations 20A BEC for those power hungry Savox servos

Mounting the spare tire carrier

Some scale fuel tanks

Sanded down

And painted yellow for diesel fuel

Testing the lights

[neverfollow 599]

At this point in the build, I had been waiting for about a month on the hardened wheel axles and barrel springs. I wanted to get the wheels on so I could set the body, so I went ahead and installed the original axles.

Some more hop ups

And all fitted

Wheels mounted, as well as the magnetic body mounts

Fitting the body

Some flexing ;D

And just so luck would have it, after installing the wheels and axles, the remaining parts showed up the next day (all but 1 part)

Hardened vs. original

Original spring

Barrel spring

[neverfollow 599]

Here's a quick video of its initial test run, fresh off of my workbench last evening. I'm really impressed with the switchable steering.

[neverfollow 599]

Thought I'd share the recent progress.

I thought the bed was looking a little dull, so I decided to add plastic strips to it, like the original had before I cut it out.

Before:

Positioning the strips:

Painted and secured with double sided tape:

I also added a few scale accessories.

A high lift jack:

A pair of tow shackles:

Shovel, axe, and pick:

An engine oil cooler:

A pair of exhaust pipes:

And a tool box:

And with the spare tire back on:

[bromvw 744]

Very impressive build Sir . Great choice of hop ups and scale items too . When will we see it getting down and dirty ?