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JennyMo started following Fun car?, Issue or not? Not bottoming out., From the Dept. of bad ideas!! and and 3 others
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In the real world you certainly want your shocks to bottom out before the chassis hits the ground... so I'd say you're fine.
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A quick update now that I consider this one finished... Refinements and finishing touches While this seemed to run just fine (and with a surprising turn of speed) with the stock Ascent 18 motor and gearbox driving the hugely oversize wheels and tyres - not only much larger diameter being 76mm vs. the original 60mm, but also the additional weight of the steel 1.55 wheels as well - I felt I might be on borrowed time with regard to the longevity of both the motor and the plastic prop-shafts, so invested in the complete replacement Injora transmission (with a lower 24:1 final drive compared to 13:1 stock) together with their 48T 'Pro' brushed motor (the stock Redcat motor is 58T apparently) to reinstate a little of the lost wheel-speed. Having tested it over some quite challenging terrain, I can attest that the lower gearing makes a significant difference to the torque characteristics, and ought to prevent this ikkle biddy 180 size motor from burning out quite so readily under duress. photo. in for a penny, in for a pound - I'd already invested in the metal high-clearance links for the suspension and steering, so might as well go the whole way and replace the prop shafts with stainless steel too! Otherwise the remaining updates were all really cosmetic... While I was adding Injora stuff to my cart (note if you buy direct from their website, there are any number of other options and parts not always listed on Ebay for example, and most of this stuff has to come from China anyway - fortunately they ship quickly and efficiently) I saw a set of 3mm front and rear LEDs for an SCX24, and felt this would be the perfect way to add some running lights to the lenses I'd already installed: photo. super bright LEDs needed toning down with convoy [light] caps, despite having painted these white LEDs with translucent orange. photo. ...similarly at the rear, the stock LEDs were super bright without these convoy covers in place. Installing the LEDs was simple enough to do - remove the lenses (which had been glued in place using the moulded pin in the centre, which now needed to be removed anyway) and buzz a 3mm hole though the body, insert the LED and secure with a dab of hotglue - then carefully glue the lens back on around the edge with superglue. However, it turned out these were SUPER bright LEDs, even with a few coats of Tamiya translucent orange and red on them, and not only were they almost dazzling, but would effectively wash out the pre-coloured lenses too! Thinking laterally, I felt it would be appropriate to cap these dome shaped lenses with a crescent shaped cover - essentially the same principle military vehicles would employ when running in convoy at night - and found that the end of a cylindrical X-acto knife bade container was the perfect size for the front lenses, while a similar tube for 1150 size bearings worked for the rear - bingo! photo. ends of the container tubes cut off and in half, glued on and painted to match the body (note they also had to be painted with a couple of coats of black underneath to stop the light from shining though - I told you these are BRIGHT lights! You might also notice I've replaced the [non working] rear work lamp with a traditional style radio antennae - and while it's unlikely to prevent any damage were the truck to roll over, I like the way it wangs around as the Jeep chugs along on rough terrain... photo. metallic grey steel wheels were also painted (and rusted) to match the body. While the Olive Drab paint was out for the lamp covers, I also decided to colour-match the wheels to the bodywork too (as you'd traditionally see on a military Jeep), again used the salt and layering technique to chip away the top coat to reveal the red-oxide base which was then further enhanced with some Modern Masters real-rust paint & activator solution. photo. crusty deterioration ought to further develop over time. Note I also replaced the previous chrome scale wheel-nuts with some lower-profile black versions. The finishing touch was of course the custom license plates - GREMLIN because I feel that is the perfect name for this little monster, while Utah and 'C90 Adventures' is reference to Ed March and his 'Mini Willy' Jeep project on YouTube, which an inmate over on the Scale Builder's Guild referred to as the project was originally taking shape. So I'll sign off with a few final detail and overall photos of this project... It's been a huge amount of fun (and money!) to put together, and while I'd concede that buying an RTR and then ending up replacing most of it simply to support the much larger body and wheels & tyres has been not that cost effective, it ultimately did lead me down another side path with the Lil' Ripper project pictured above (which was very rewarding, if not also very expensive!); and that ultimately while this build is still slightly smaller than my usual 1/10 size fleet, I've really enjoyed the opportunity to focus on more realistic weathering and detailing again, even if the overall build - particularly with Kelly Furiosa at the wheel) is still somewhat cartoonish. photo. a lot more scale than a typical Wild Willy, and arguably a lot more capable off-road too! photo. Furiosa Kelly adds a comic element, the completely open-topped vehicle being the perfect platform to showcase her unique features! photo.interior was modified to fit around the Ascent 18 platform transmission (Injora metal gearbox with low-range gears and their 'Pro' brushed motor installed), gear lever and dash panel modified Wild Willy components, fuel cell relocated to footwell to cover battery on the chassis below. photo. not THE War Rig, but still a war rig of sorts... FMS trailer custom painted (and suspension flipped for more clearance) to match the Jeep. photo. perfect for beer can or burrito deliveries! photo. a few accessories - Hi-Lift jack on the hood, tow-rope in the bed and shovels on each side of the body add scale detail... and while it's not a 'true scale' build as such, it has still been a most satisfying project to complete! Toot toot for now! Jenny x
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fwiw. I think you're along the right lines with a TL-01 chassis - it's nice and narrow, so would fit inside the cigar shaped body of those old style trials cars, and you could always mount the battery longitudinally on top of the chassis under what would be the bonnet, and note that since a lot of these vintage cars have bonnets which fold up from either side, you could make it easy to access the battery for swapping/charging too without removing the body. It's also easy to make the TL-01 rear wheel drive by simply removing the centre drive shaft. Oh, and they are cheap as anything! So all you'd really need to do is find (or print) some suitable spoked wheels, and perhaps use drag car front tyres if you're looking for something tall and skinny - in fact you might well find that the 1.7 tyres from a Tamiya Semi-truck would be close to the size you actually need? There are loads of width and tread options in that size.
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Scissor Sister (2WD F350 with I-Beam front suspension)
JennyMo replied to JennyMo's topic in The Builds
Thank you - and yes, I did see Horizon were selling the I-Beam kit off incredibly cheaply (wasn't it half price or even less?) before Christmas, but as you say it's back up to $99 now. For info. and I touched on this in the description above - the IFS2 kit is actually pretty comprehensive including the rear trailing arms, so all you really need to complete the front and rear suspension is the AR44 axle kit from Axial for the rear end, then you can use the included front knuckles and bearings on the IFS. The only other things required are a pair of upper links for the rear end, which I assembled from my stash of rods and ends - although as far as I'm aware, if you are converting an SCX10 II chassis, then you just re-use the stock upper links with the new trailing arms, together with your rear axle and front knuckles of course. However, if you are scratch-building one of these (as I did) its also worth noting that while you get new [twin] shock towers for the front with the IFS kit, presumably they expect you to re-use your existing rear shock towers (since it was primarily designed as 'conversion' for an existing SCX10 II chassis) - so you'll also have to factor in something there with a custom build - and which is why ultimately I went for the cantilever set-up (which I robbed from another project). -
Scissor Sister (2WD F350 with I-Beam front suspension)
JennyMo replied to JennyMo's topic in The Builds
Ha ha - I don't know what you were expecting... (or rather I do - hence the quantifier in brackets ;o) Clearly it couldn't be anything other than the scissor style suspension'd sister to the Baja Blazer of course, ahem. -
January 2025: A little update to this thread... Although I initially built this back in 2020 (in the midst of Covid lockdown) with the intention of taking it to the annual RC4WD 'scale challenge' weekend, that event was subsequently cancelled and never reinstated - so, it's never really had the chance to shine but instead has simply sat on a shelf until later last year, when I dusted it off to take to the ProLine By The Fire event in California... photo. can you spot it? - I hope so, since I put it on a box to make it easier! ...and I'm delighted to say it won one of the top prizes in the concours on the Saturday! photo. not sure what 'most ProLine fan' means?, but I'll take it! I was also surprised how well it ran (got it nice and authentically dusty now in genuine Californian desert sand) on what are now pretty ancient NiMh batteries, and feel that the revised motor and gearing have given this all the performance such an elaborate model ever needs... for the time being though, I feel it is probably safest back in the shelf! photo. pride of place... however, I may revisit this one and convert it to LiPo too in future. Toot toot for now! Jenny x
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Scissor Sister (2WD F350 with I-Beam front suspension)
JennyMo replied to JennyMo's topic in The Builds
cont. So with all the fabrication complete and the various accessories amassed, it was time to prep the body and paint it, before the final assembly could begin - not least as certain elements such as the bed sides would have to be glued in place to the cage, so everything would need to be painted beforehand. photo. I used a mix of Tamiya paints - TS-26 (Pure White) as the base all over, before masking and painting the roof and bed side tops in TS-44 (Brilliant Blue), followed by the stripes in TS-86 (Pure Red). It's worth noting that if you wanted to replicate the original Rough Riders paint scheme more closely, you'd probably want to use a slightly darker blue, and that in this instance since I used a coat of grey primer under the red which effectively made it darker than if you'd simply painted directly onto the white base coat... were I to do it again I'd use a white primer (or none at all) under the red. photo. a few 'sponsor' stickers help compete the look - not least the hooge ProLine decals on each flank (and the bonnet) in an effort to influence the judges at the ProLine BTF event concours competition... spoiler alert, it didn't win! (on reflection perhaps it could have been construed as a bit too obvious ;o) Note the V8 badges and 502 race number, because it's a Ford of course. photo. I've had this sticker for years - goodness knows where it came from - but it finally found an appropriate home here! photo. despite being only rear wheel drive, the suspension offers an impressive amount of articulation with 80mm shocks all round. photo. fuel cell in place on custom mount with aluminium diamond plate sides. The open bed is perfect to show off the cantilever rear suspension. photo. I also added some last minute extra detail with these fuel lines - made from bent coat-hanger wire covered in heat-shrink. photo. fully assembled (two days before Proline BTF) - we're just waiting on the crew! photo. "permission to come aboard" - I've bought any number of action figures for drivers (and passengers) over the years - mainly TV or Movie themed - and felt that Spock and Bones would be perfect in this instance... I-Beam me up Scotty! photo. ready for the off... The return... Suffice to say, the F350 was a huge hit at the event, and although ultimately it didn't win a prize in the concours, it was a great opportunity to shake it down on some real dirt, and see where any improvements could be made... photo. my line up for the event (I also brought a couple of Capras, plus my JK Jeep as another runner). photo. while the F350 didn't win, turns out my Baja Blazer did win a top prize after all! I'm sure the cardboard plinths helped them to stand out in a field of hundreds of contenders! Certainly one thing was abundantly clear once I'd got this truck on the dirt, and that was it's somewhat pedestrian performance from the current motor/stock SCX10 gearing combo I'd installed. While it would easily spin it's tyres off the line (in dirt at least) and bop along in a realistic way for photographs perhaps, it really didn't have the outright speed befitting an actual race truck, and certainly not an abundance of power to really make this thing fun... Now that is probably not a bad thing from a protection point of view, particularly with a heavy hard-body on a top-heavy softly spring chassis, and no differential in the rear axle (I had managed to roll it over a couple of times already on tarmac), but I felt it really needed more of an edge to be a truly entertaining 2WD runner. To solution was straightforward enough - replacing the original 540 13T 5-slot motor with a 550 12T 3-slot, immediately upped the rpms and potentially offered around 50% more wheel speed, and coupled with a lower ratio/overdrive rear axle crown and pinion (24/8 vs. 30/8 originally - ie. +20%) that gave the truck all the speed it needs now, while still being sprightly off the line. In fact on paved surfaces it's almost too fast (for it's size and weight), which is kind of what I wanted, particularly as that motor/gearing still seems to offer more than enough torque to spin the tyres on loose surfaces too as desired. Fitting the slightly longer can motor did require some chopping of the interior floor - fortunately still hidden by the drivers right leg when in place, and I took the opportunity to add a few more scale details which I'd not had time to incorporate before leaving for the event... photo. fire extinguisher on the centre console (this is held in place with some tiny shock preload clips, so can be removed if desired), and Spock has a bottle of Coke in his hand now! photo. I changed a couple of decals too - Hobbywing reflecting [some of] the electronics installed, while both the front bumper and rear bed cage assembly are from RC4WD... got to keep sponsor stickers appropriate you know! The main thing I'd not had time to do before the show was to include any kind of rear running lights, so that was addressed using four individual LED lamps mounted directly to the roll hoop, with the lenses painted in appropriate colours for high-level dust lights (similar to what I'd done on the Baja Blazer too). photo. I'd already robbed the sand ladders from the back of the Westworld JK Jeep at the event to add a little more detail to the bed... photo. ..and also added a third hose (for the fuel tank vent) - something which I'd left off initially. So that is basically this project right up to date now... I trust you can appreciate it not only from a technical point of view - the suspension being the most convoluted and unnecessary set up I've ever assembled, but it was huge fun and looks great! - but also has a homage to the original Tamiya F150 Baja race truck, which as it happens, was the body shell I used when I first got back into this hobby way back in 2008 (mounted to a TL-01 chassis), prompting me to join TamiyaClub in the first place! photo. live long and prosper! Toot toot for now! Jenny x- 11 replies
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I thought you might be interested in another recent project (built for the ProLine By The Fire event in California last September) and although the underpinnings are Axial SCX10 II based, since this build uses a Tamiya F350 [Juggernaut] body, I feel it's also appropriate to summarise it here too on TamiyaClub... First of all, it wasn't my intention to build this specifically for the ProLine event, however as the project evolved over the summer and fundamentally since it used the ProLine I-Beam front suspension and trailing arm kit, it kind of made sense to use that event as my deadline... and as usual it went right down to the wire (the driver and passenger figures arriving in the post the day before I had to leave for southern California - phew!) It was always my intention to build a 2WD (rear wheel drive) 'Baja' style trophy truck using the I-Beam front suspension kit that ProLine launched at the beginning of 2024... however, since it was almost immediately out of stock for a number of months, initially the project sat like this on the bench for a good while: photo. This bitza was initially somewhat ugly and mis-proportioned... I think we can do better. Since the I-Beam kit is designed specifically to fit the Axial SCX10 II chassis, that is what I started with, together with an RC4WD cage-back bed (left over from another project which soon evolved into something else) and the Tamiya F350 cab - mounted to the chassis using some 'universal' brackets from Ebay. Once the I-Beam kit was back in stock, I snapped one up, installed the suspension, together with a genuine Axial 3-gear transmission, and also fitted an RC4WD tube bumper originally designed for the Mojave/HiLux body, but which turns out to work well with this F350 shell too - particularly if you forfeit the original chrome bumper/grille assembly which was always my intention anyway for a race truck. photo. this bumper ought to be perfect... well, once the bonnet has been stretched forward to fill the gap of course! (note. the overly large wheels were just a placeholder at this point). photo. I-Beam front independent suspension is complicated and convoluted... looks kewl though! photo. it's getting there - although I wasn't happy with the overly large (and heavy) rear cage... and the wheels were really too large too. It was at this point that I decided to try and make this much more of a 'race' truck - change the wheels and tyres for something more appropriate, and also reduce the hight and bulk of the tray-back style rear end... The solution was surprisingly simple, if somewhat drastic - Dremel off the rear cage stays, and also stretch the bonnet forward +20mm to fill in the gap to the front bumper - the result being the vehicle started to look a lot longer, lower, and leaner. photo. I'd initially fitted traditional vertical rear shocks, however I felt this particular build would be perfect to show-off my custom cantilever assembly. Note. those mocked-up front wheel-arch extensions are actually from an Injora Jeep JK body - we'll revisit those in a minute. photo. original 120mm diameter BFGoodrich tyres on deep-dish steel wheels were replaced with a set of Injora aluminium wheels (with Locked-Up RC scale hardware) and 114mm diameter tyres. photo. bonnet stretched by cutting in the centre of the wheel-arch and along the rear of the bonnet/scuttle panel, and infilling with strips of styrene. The side panels are the original Juggernaut bed hacked up, and which also turned out to be the perfect length for the RC4WD cage assembly to support! Rough Riders Suddenly this was looking a lot more balanced and proportioned, and since this was a Ford Baja race truck, I felt it only appropriate to paint it in a homage to the Simon & Simon 'Rough Riders' team, which Tamiya also used on their original Ford F150 kit too of course: With that decision made, all that was left to do was get some suitable electronics installed, and then put together a few scale details to complete the look. photo. since all the electronics (including the battery) would be mounted up under the cab, it left the rear bed completely open and free of any 'RC' components - so ripe for some additional scale detailing (note this is a mocked up fuel cell for now). photo. mid-mounted motor/gearbox is towards of the rear of the cabin, so should not encroach on the space too much - potentially allowing for a fully detailed interior too. photo. the front end was detailed with a pair of RC4WD Baja Designs LED pod lamps, and a radiator assembly from a Vanquish VS4-10 kit. Yes I realise the twin fans are technically mounted the 'wrong way' round, but I preferred the additional detail they offer. Note the wheel-arch extensions are now a slimmer tube style, rather than the larger ones previously fitted... photo. ... meanwhile those original front arches were then modified to fit as rear 'step side' style, in conjunction with dove-tailing the bed side to fit more closely to the cage support behind. photo. the result being the angled front arches are effectively square to the face of the tyres, while tapering with the rear of the body tub to create a unique rear end. Insider dealing With the exterior bodywork essentially finished (other than some filling and sanding here and there), the next job was to try and create a full depth interior which would fit around the central transmission, and which would fundamentally allow just the cab portion to be lifted on and off (for battery changes and access to the electronics) while everything else remained attached to the chassis. photo. the compete chassis assembly, including transmission, battery (shorty hard-case 2S Lipo) and steering servo... the only other electronics will be the ESC and Receiver, plus the wiring for the headlights - all of which will be mounted under the bonnet... photo. which effectively leaves the whole of the cabin interior free - CAD (cardboard aided design) used to create a simple seat-box/floor and front and rear bulkheads, which will remain attached to the chassis while the shell lifts on and off, being attached with two screws on either side. photo. due to the hight of the body mounting brackets below, it wasn't really feasible to create dropped footwells in this cabin, so the occupants will have to have their legs out in front of them - but in practice you'd like have the seats mounted low in a truck like this anyway - and as Patsy said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "It's only a model!" photo. some of the interior and bed details - the seats are from a Gmade GOM, the belts (which you need to assemble) are Yeah Racing, the dash is from the RC4WD Mojave/HiLux (which fits perfectly against the base of the F350 windscreen!) and the aluminium fuel cell is from an Ebay seller - complete with tiny scale hex bolts! A few other details before paint and final assembly: photo. I cut this skid plate from 0.5mm aluminium sheet to follow the profile of the tube bumper - and was epoxy glued in place. photo. rear cantilever suspension assembled from various rods and eyes, together with a pair of rockers (from a Vaterra Twin Hammers as I recall) and 80mm Gmade shocks with firm [Vanquish] springs installed... it's worth noting that the extra leverage of the cantilever knuckles means you need a much stiffer spring than you might use on a traditionally mounted shock. photo. the ProLine I-Beam suspension kit comes complete with these dual-shock towers - although being plastic they are very flexy, so I added an aluminium rod as a brace between them. The front shocks are a mix of RC4WD Gelande II coil-overs (80mm) and some no-name internal spring shocks (with the springs removed) as additional dampers. photo. because the rear of this truck is very open, I elected to fit these disc brake hexes for added detail. Note that the chassis rear cross member included a towing receiver, so I cut down the drop hitch and shaped the end to accept a shackle for rear recovery. It's also worth noting for anyone interested in building something similar using this ProLine I-Beam kit that if you buy the Axial AR44 axle set, it comes with both the front and rear knuckles and bearings etc. so you can build it up as either end; and since the I-Beam kit is designed primarily as a conversion (using certain components you'd already have with a complete SCX10 II) - in this instance you do need the steering knuckles and bearings to complete the front I-Beams, so it's a cheap way to get all you need if starting from scratch. photo. one other detail I included to finish off the front end was to assemble an intercooler using an off-the shelf radiator (modified using a 1/24th shock eye as an angled hose fitting!) and the outer sleeve of some 12 gauge wire for the silicon hoses. cont.
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Dynahead 6wd non scale crawler build thread....with a twist!
JennyMo replied to Losi XXT-CR's topic in The Builds
Inspired idea to run it backwards! fwiw. There are a number of benefits in running the Fusion SE (or Pro) over a 1080 & motor combo - along with more simple wiring and less clutter, it’s also IP67 waterproof; but the main benefit I’ve found is you have the ‘cruise/crawl control’ (I forget what Hobbywing call it*) function of the ESC - where you can hold your throttle lever at a set position and the vehicle will crawl at that same speed regardless of the resistance/grade. Makes crawling in technical terrain very smooth. *edit. I think it's referred to as the FOC system. -
cont. So by all means give it a go of course - just keep in mind that it's likely to end up costing you a lot more than the initial cost of a 1/18th scale RTR platform to get it to actually perform (and potentially not detonate!) once you load up that little chassis with more weight and larger wheels. In fact in that regard, while I was putting this Willys project together, I ended up going even further down the mini crawler rabbit hole - and it turns out there are a number of alternative bodies available that remain closer in size and weight to 1/18th scale (typically for the Traxxas TRX4m platform, but increasingly this Redcat 18 too) from Injora - including a hardbody HiLux, a FJ40 cage back, and even a full-on cage buggy called the 'Tarantula' (very much in the style of a mini Axial Capra) - which I suspect would be a far more budget friendly way to get more performance and and alternative style from a typical 1/18th RTR truck chassis? There are also a number of alternative [hard] bodies from Traxxas for their TRX4m platform (Land Rover, Bronco, Chevy and Ford pick-ups), plus I see that Redcat have just released a mini version of their Scout II body on the Ascent 18 chassis too now. Or if you really want to go crazy - take a look at the Meus Racing stuff - they make all manner of machined aluminium transmission and axle parts (including a tiny IFS front end), and a couple of really nice nylon plastic body/chassis kits - one being based on the 'Funhaver' style Baja Bronco, and the other the [Vanquish] Ripper... Which admittedly is what I've ended up buying as well... ...my excuse being I needed something to use those now redundant 1.3" wheels and tyres on of course. ;o) It is a slippery slope, even in 1/18th scale!
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Hi Nikko - glad to have been some inspiration! - just keep in mind that depending on which chassis/platform you have is going to dictate how much work, and fundamentally which other parts you might to buy to make it all work with a much larger and heavier body... Certainly I ended up going down a rabbit hole with this project - even though I chose the the Ascent 18 chassis precisely as it has metal rails, good axles (full bearings) and plush oil-filled shocks - plus the electronics are pretty smooth for a budget RTR model too. However, I immediately had to replace the stock plastic suspension and steering links with metal ones (with adjustable rod-ends) for both strength and to tweak the wheelbase - mainly so the front wheels cleared the arches. It's also worth keeping in mind that most 1/18 crawlers are around 130mm wide (unless you get one with monster truck wheels & tyres perhaps), so even the comparatively small Wild Willy body is nearly an inch wider than that - and even with some wider brass hexes fitted, and wheels with more off-set and wider tyres (more expense) I still ended up chopping a chunk out of the body to narrow it. In this instance, I also had to buy larger wheels and tyres - initially 1.3" rims and 70mm diameter tyres, and even those were a little small for the 1/10 or 1/12 scale Willys body - so ultimately I bought a set of 1.55" wheels and tyres, which in turn needed some custom work to fit on the smaller diameter axles. Another issue with fitting much larger diameter tyres is that the final drive gearing is now much higher than it was before - not insurmountable by any means - there are plenty of aftermarket options from Injora and the like, but certainly with these heavy steel wheels and 76mm diameter tyres, while it seems the stock motor and gearing can pull it around reasonable well (in fact its almost too fast now!) - I'm going to be investing in a replacement low-range gear set (actually the whole gearbox) together with some metal prop shafts as I feel the stock plastic ones are on borrowed time with this much torque required to turn the wheels, while the motor is going to struggle when trying to crawl at slower speed over more technical terrain. cont.
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cont. Wheelie good! Despite this project coming together nicely, a couple of things were still bugging me - the first being the wheels still seemed sightly too small (note these 1/18th 'mini crawler' chassis typically use a 7mm hex/wheels on smaller diameter axles than a traditional 1/10th vehicle), and that realistically while the suspension articulation meant these tyres just cleared the bodywork, I felt it really needed '1/10th' scale wheels which would require some lateral thinking to mount them to the smaller axles... photo. 1.55" wheels with 76mm diameter tyres - sightly oversize for this body perhaps, but proportionally better - plus the added weight down low would help what was now a comparatively top-heavy build with this body. The solution was to use some standard 12mm hexes (9mm wide to increase the track width) together with some 'top hat' shaped spacers - spare brass bushes from an RC4WD axle as it happens!) together with some M2.5 thread barrel nuts - sounds convoluted, but is rock solid! photo. new wheels mounted, and bodywork flashed over with red-oxide primer (as a base rust coat) and Tamiya TS28 'Olive Drab 2' - being the official Wild Willy 2 colour of course. photo. some masking required for the aluminium silver fuel tank, and brown seat (Tamiya TS62 Nato Brown), plus 'real' rust using the Modern Masters iron-filling paint and activator solution. Driven to distraction While I'd decided to go with the more traditional military themed Wild Willy paint scheme, in a moment in inspiration I realised that this completely open-topped vehicle would actually be the perfect platform to display a separate side-project I'd been working on for a while... Again, with my nostagia hat on, some of you may recall that ever since @ToyKid came up with the inspired idea to mount a Wild Willy head on a Jack Osbourne action figure (and in turn his Moto Willy driver was born) all those years ago, that I too embraced the Osborne family in it's entirety - not only as static pit/workshop crew, but suitably modified as actual drivers in various vehicles too: photo. Jack Willy and Wild Wanda - still doing stirling service as the SRB Cage Racer pit crew... photo. Jack behind the wheel of my D90 Defender (his upper torso glued to a set of Wild Willy legs so he'd sit properly in the Land Rover cabin). photo. Kelly in the SRB Cage Racer (with a Sand Scorcher helmet)... note her left arm is animated - connected to the steering servo via a working column. photo. Ozzy in the YJ Jeep 'Daydream B'leafer' - some minor leg surgery was required. photo. similarly with Sharron, both her legs and also her left arm needed reshaping to ultimately fit in the TJ Hooker Jeep! photo. another version of Kelly in a HiLux... Now I admit that I did buy a whole bunch of the Jack and Kelly figures when they were available and affordable, and coupled with having watch the most recent Mad Max movie recently, I was inspired to use one more to make what is probably the most intricate and detailed driver figure I have done to date: photo. The Osbourne's Aussie cousin: Furiosa Kelly! - the concept was particularly apt since when you remove Kelly's moulded spikey red hair she is completely bald, and ripe for a crew-cut hairdo! As you might imagine, it was a labour of love to construct her mechanical arm from a mix of rod-ends, springs, wires and tiny scale hardware - trying as realistically as I could to replicate some of the features of the movie costume - including the double hook claw as her middle 'fingers' (made from carving a pair of Wild Willy winch hooks glued together!) and putting mesh over her index finger hook... there is also a 1/24th scale drive shaft, a nail, a split pin, a tiny spring, some M2 (and possibly M1.4?) hardware and some servo wires - plus strips of rubber to create the harness. Oh, and her shoulder cuff is made from 0.5mm aluminium sheet and an actual piece of leather. In addition, her legs were modified into a seated position (to match the profile of the Wild Willy seat), the turn-ups of her trousers turned to ragged edges, and her hair is actual flocking - a mix of black with some tan highlights for texture. Of course after all this effort you might consider it somewhat foolhardy to install her as a driver in a completely open-topped vehicle with no roll-over protection whatsoever - particularly one with such a small footprint and so top-heavy compared the 1/18th scale chassis beneath... and you're probably right! However, while I still fear for the day this tips over, at the same time I do feel a beat-up old ex-military Jeep with no roof is kind of the perfect vehicle to show her off - so in an effort to temper the chance of a roll over, I felt it would be prudent to add a trailer to this truck too - if only to stop me attempting to drive it over too challenging terrain! photo. pre-assembled FMS trailer is around $27 on Ebay - less than half the price of a similarly military styled 1/10th trailer, and actually more appropriately proportioned for this build too! These trailers come pre-assembled other than having to attach the V shaped drawbar with four small screws, and are surprisingly well detailed for the money. Perhaps more importantly, not only can they be complete disassembled (which makes painting and weathering far easier), but the axle can be swapped from leaf-under as it comes supplied, to leaf-over for more ground clearance/suspension travel, which in this instance was also much better to match the height of the tow pintle on the Jeep rear crossmember. photo. taking everything apart prior to painting... even the [plastic] wheels turned out to be bead-locked, and vented! The result is, I'm pleased to say, what I consider is one of the nicest/most realistic weathering jobs I've done recently - taking care to not go too over the top, and fundamentally to concentrate the weathering and rust in those areas where wear would genuinely occur. photo. A few Tamiya decals from the WW2 body set - interestingly that five figure 'serial number' I've used on the trailer chassis turns out to be a Zip code for Spokane Washington, where there is a large Marine Corp base - it's as if Tamiya are spying on the US! With the initial dry-brushing and weathering complete, it was time to add a few more details to finish the build: photo. 1/4" wooden capping to the trailer sides - stained with acrylic paint to represent use and oiled to enhance the grain. photo. slightly undersize for 1/10th, but perfect for 1/12 scale - I've had this old plastic HiLift jack knocking around for years - nice to finally put it to use again! photo. similarly, these little folding shovels (which originally came with a ProLine accessory set as I recall) are the perfect size for each flank of the Willys body - the mounting clips are cut from some Axial Capra cage cable brackets! photo. inside I added a random 'instructions' sticker to the glove box lid, used a piece of aluminium self-adhesive tape as a backing for the instruments, and a walkie talkie left over from my countless Stranger Things action figures I've also utilised as drivers over the years... photo. pintle towing hitch for the trailer - I also added an Axial spot/work light (non functioning) to the rear tailgate as a further detail - ultimately there will be some personal licence plates front and rear too. So what does it all look like together? photo. nicknamed 'The Gremlin', it's been so much fun to revisit that original 2013 concept 'Nailer' again and put all the techniques I've gained and practiced over the years into creating something even more fun! Toot toot for now, and Merry Christmas to you all! Jenny x
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I know I've not been particularly active here on Tamiya Club more recently, although I do still like to drop in from time to time and see what's happening, and offer any advice as appropriate too of course; and while admittedly most of my focus is more towards scale and crawler based [and fundamentally non Tamiya] builds these days, I thought you might be interested in my latest project - if only for nostalgic reasons... They say what goes around comes around, and in this instance, I trust the inspiration for this build will be both somewhat familiar to some of the long-standing members here, as well as perhaps inspire new members to trawl back though some of my older build threads here on Tamiya Club. A brief history... So where to begin? - well, I trust some of you might remember this old nail? photo. the original 'Nailer Scaler' from way back in 2013... (link here) Yes, that was essentially a Wild Willy body shell mounted on an HPI Mini Recon chassis - in an effort to create a pseudo scale ultra short wheelbase Willys Jeep! At the time I did take some liberties with regard to the overall style - using a second roll-bar set to create more of an 'adventure' style cage, and adding any number of LED lights and other scale details, topped off with a crusty weather paint job in Camel Trophy yellow! Having completed the build with 'Helmand Willy' - one of my custom carved Wild Willy figures, in this instance in desert storm style military garb - subsequently once the MF01x chassis was released in 2017, I modified the body to fit on what was the shortest [170mm] wheelbase option (link here). photo. MF01X chassis was far more robust, and this little truck would actually wheelie on those Sand Scorcher rear wheels and tyres with the 540 Torque Tuned motor! Despite the time and effort in creating this unique vehicle (and not least the joy in driving the little tyke!) - ultimately, the Nailer Scaler was one of those vehicles I ended up selling before moving to the USA full time... and while I've subsequently embarked on many other far more elaborate RC projects, I still have a soft spot for certain Tamiyas (not least my perpetual half-built Sand Scorcher project which may or may not ever see the light of day!), plus the trio of runners I brought with me - the SRB Cage Racer (on an SRB chassis), Tam-Mater (on an M chassis), and the STUMPKamper (on A WR02 wheelie chassis) - and felt that what I really needed to round off my 'quintessential Tamiya collection' would be another Willy after all... albeit one with my own personal twist on it of course, and what has turned out to be effectively a Nailer Mk2 as it were! Now I'm not going to go though this build step by step here - rather feel it more appropriate to give you a few highlights as the project progressed, together with a brief description of each stage in the photo captions below: photo. the basis of the new build - a Redcat Ascent 18 crawler offered a wheelbase close to the WW shell (155mm) together with good quality components which ought to provide robust enough for some typical trail crawling even with a much larger and heavier body installed... photo. turns out the stock Wild Wily 2 body is still a little big for the 1/18th crawler chassis, even with these larger 1.3" wheels and 70mm diameter tyres fitted. photo. the solution was somewhat drastic - cutting an 18mm wide section from the centre of the shell - and the result far better proportioned overall... photo. Body mounted and running! but we're not done yet... photo. while I'd initially planned to keep the rear fuel cell in place, much as with the original Nailer I felt it would actually look better in the passenger footwell after all... (I also reduced the size of the rear wheel arches to better match the smaller wheels and tyres). photo. cut and shut fuel cell to cover the chassis mounted [mini LiPo] battery... photo. Lucas (from Stranger Things) is approximately 6" tall (being a 1/10th scale teenager, rather than full adult height), and suits what is essentially a 1/12th scale body now. photo. While this was increasingly becoming another 'scale' build, for old times sake I did also try a Willy behind the wheel... photo. another Willy option, plus I mounted a more traditional windscreen and some completely non-traditional headlights! photo. with the open face helmet and cigarette, this was very much becoming a homage to the original Nailer Scaler! cont.
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fwiw. I'd probably get a Monster Beetle... (not the GF-01 'Trail' version, although that might be fun too) - it has a decent chassis and power, plus the Beetle/Scorcher looks of course. The Pumpkin and Lunchbox are really limited to razzing around on grass - fun for kids, but I feel you'll wish it was more capable/handled better pretty quickly. Jx ps. as CMshooter suggests, another fun option might be the Squash Van?