simensays

The answer is yes. Converting a LWB Wild Willy to look like a SWB is very easy - and the only thing needed is the short arms stays. Simply by swapping out these two parts, the overall stance of the WW will recemble the original version. I have done this on my WW runner (and other projects), which is built from various left over parts, custom made parts and so on. If the goal is to build a true SWB, as it was released originally, this is also possible, but the parts list is quite a bit longer, and way more of a challenge to find. Most parts are identical, but there are some crusial parts that differ the two - see the leaflet at the end of this post for a list of the parts. Personally I like the overall proportions of the first version, and see little or no point in arguing for the fact that the LWB version handles better - both versions handle like crap - or like a childhood dream, depending on how one views it. I love the handling, not because it is great, but because it is excatly how it was when I was a kid. I've even designed my own arms stays (SWB specs) for one of my WWs Naturally I have built both versions... My runner is not a true SWB... I made this some time ago, from the scans available (under vintage media) here on TC, showing the various parts that differ on the two Wild Willy versions:

If this is a flat chassis plate, you'd be better off having it CNC'ed in aluminium or carbon fibre. This will be more suitable for such a part, stronger and cheaper, than 3D printing it. You also don't need 3D skills, simply draw it in a program like Adobe illustrator, and you'll probably find several CNC services in your area.

I have encountered, and own, Wild Willys that came with a mix of parts from the SWB and the LWB version . which have a logical, possible cause of Tamiya utilising some of the existing parts from the SWB when transitioning over to the LWB version. The battery connector came loose with the kits, as it is routed through the chassis lid. I believe the bag containing the battery connector, on the early models, , have both the 7.2V connector AND a 6V connector - I might be remembering incorrect though, but I bought several of these bags about 10 years ago for my numerous WW resto projects, and all that I have left is a bunch of 6V connectors that I never used or needed. The antenna is probably simply a McGyver fix, done by a young kid loosing the original antenna tube... There is no design feature on the original chassis that can accommodate a SRB antenna. Just my 2 cents.

Just start building, play around with different materials, don't rush, and have fun! In a couple of decades you might be able to do something like this:

I have been printing my designs on Shapeways for about 5 years, and have printed some parts in the Premium Black lately, and can confirm it works well. It is very pricey though, almost double of what the White Strong Flexible Polished is. The finish is a little bit smoother on tha Premium. BTW, all the colored sintered nylon (like the Strong Flexible material line consists of) are dyed after printied and polish (tumbled with ceramic pellets).

I totally agree about the pricing. I have to pay that myself, and don't make any money off of it - I designed it, as it represented a way better method of production over scratch building it. Also, in relation to the thousands of bucks spent on my collection of the last 15 years, I don't mind the few bucks for my own custom parts. I design these parts for my own sake, not as a business idea. I do have a spare hardtop though, so PM if interested - won't cost you much I did the WW2 windshield frame in 5 min after reading your post, a very simple conversion as I have already made an exact 3D replica of the full WW body kit, as seen in the pics in previous posts. The canvas flap, was a fun little detail to make. It's double, inverted canvas, with a foam core, to give it some bulk and scale appearance. A good excuse to drag out the Husquarna sewing machine Also worth mentioning that the hardtop is not screwed together in the pics, so that's why it looks a bit loose and ill-fitting to the body.

And that makes is a poor idea, or a non viable part to design, or print IMO... Why spend time trying to reproduce something that is better in it's original form and availability - rather than making new, improved custom parts? If it's about the challenge, and paying more for something, well...

Actually, the split windscreen is not correct for the Willys M38 - it was used on the earlier Willys Jeeps. Sure, it would be a small job making a version to sfit the WW2 mounting - I can do that if you'd like. For this hardtop I sewed a canvas rear flap, instead of the rear door, just to mix it up, Since the hard top is such a big part, the price is a bit high when printing it on Shapeways. By leaving out that part, it helps a little, and IMO it makes for a cool realistic look, or at least an interesting variation. It all looks kinda bland as it is all just in primer, planning on weathering this after paint, since the navy grey will look similar to the primer... [

Been sitting in primer for a while... [/img]

I am not out to bash your design ideas, and my opinion is simply my opinion, and not in any way or form anything that you should consider - other than as constructive feedback. 3D printed parts are not an optimal way to reproduce readily available parts, but a great way to make new, innovative parts - for both old and new applications - or as replacements for parts no longer available. Again, this is just my take on this aspect of the hobby, and not meant as criticism for what you or others decide to make available on SW - the sales will speak for themselves. It's great to see more people getting into designing custom parts for these old models. For me, it sure made it easier to fulfil some of the ideas I've had for years... Regarding time correct servos, I have a big stash from various cars I obtained while collecting over the years, but even new standard servos are dead cheap.

Why not just order a fully operational servo for the same price, or a servo shell for half the price? Sorry to say, but simply because it can easily be designed and printed, doesn't make it a good idea...

Nest project inspiration... [/img]

Check out the Mobius camera(s). Excellent size, quality, price, accessories - perfect for various RC applications. https://www.mobius-actioncam.com Big thread on RCgroups on the latest version: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2669643-The-Mobius-2-ActionCam-Support-Thread-(Key-Info-in-Posts-1-7)!

The bodies on the SWB and LWB are identical. There are a list of differences on the chassis, albeit subtle to the untrained eye. All the differences can be seen here: I have restored a few WW's over the years, and I have two "hybrid" versions - original cars that has some parts from the early SWB version, but at the same time some later parts found on the LWB version. These are probably from the period when Tamiya transitioned from the one to the other, not wanting to be left with the older parts. This is just a theory that was discussed in these forums some years ago when I mentioned it.

Completed the box art body...

Nah, it's just for fun, and something I wanted to make. Sort of an extension of my love for the Wild Willy really. I have several projects WWs, so no need to print the body either - besides, it would be cheaper to buy a stock body than print this. I've designed every single part of the body as per the original parts, so it is now easy to make custom parts right off the bat with this as a foundation. Also, I want to do some animation stuff, we'll see, but I actually didn't set out to go this deep into detail - there is a lot more work behind it than it looks

Thanks, Chris! Now if only I can make a Willy figure as good as you made for your avatar Made some tires for the projects:

Finished up the last few parts, and played around with some different colors/textures and adding some of my custom parts... All that is lacking now for the bodykit is designing the driver, but I've never sculpted a figure, but I guess it's a fun way to get that wired. It1s a great way to test out new paint schemes for future builds too

After building quite a few Wild Willys over the years, I wanted to do a different build I'm almost done designing a full, scale body kit. All the bits and bolts is included (only missing couple of parts at this point, like the seat and the horisontal roll bars, and a couple of minor decals). I might need to do the whole car now, we'll see... Here is a preview:

Long time since I posted anything, or even had time to work on any of my cars - well, Tamiya cars anyways - I did restore a 1:1 FJ40 last year. I have designed some new parts for some of my many Wild Willy projects lately, and am currently waiting for the custom parts to arrive. For fun I made a couple of pics of some of the parts combined. Some of the parts have been shown before, some and new. I've sold a lot of my excess NIP parts, and found that I needed some parts here and there for some of my projects, so I designed them, and tried to add some details etc. If you have a sharp eye you can spot them in the pics. I will update with pics when I get the parts, if anybody is interested.

copied this in , as relevant here, from a different thread of mine a while back... So, after building the GF01 chassis, with the aim of using it as a platform for a 4x4 Wild Willy, the first small parts I needed was some body mount spacers. Even though I could work with the body placement using a reversed stock body mount assembly (simply mounting the front body mounts in the rear and the rears in the front). I still wanted the body moved back a few millimetres. I plan on mounting some fairly small sized wheels & tires, so a few millimetres off point of the body is more evident than I'd were to use the commonly WW2 sized wheels. I'm not out to build a racer, and plan on using a crawler motor, so wheelies/smaller wheels issue won'y matter much with my set up . truth be said, I never liked the fact that the WW did wheelies, but still it's my all time favourite car. Not very exciting parts, but here are a few quick pics to illustrate. I haven't painted the parts black yet, so it would be easier to see the placement. Next up will be possibly doing some mods to the body, to lower it more, but need to figure out what wheels I will use first, the ones mounted are cool enough, but looks better on a scaler...

Here is my post on the question a while back.. Here is some info, with pictures on how I mounted the body (on page 3)...

Repro tires available? Please elaborate! Link, pics or both would be great - I did a quick search on eBay with no results...

Nothing more satisfying, than seeing a thorough resto job on a vintage classic such as the BB!

Cool post! I used to collect all the boxes for the cars I restored, and also did various rest work on them (the boxes). To me the box artwork is synonymous with re the respective cars, and I remember always drooling over them in the shop window back in the days.