JennyMo

Hi Mad Ax - I can't really help, other than to agree with you that generally speaking, RC bodies and especially the 'crawler' market have scales that are all over the place - not least as the manufacturers tend to make the bodies to fit their [predetermined] chassis/wheelbase length, rather than the other way around... A classic example is the Land Rover Defender Ninety of course - which in 1:1 size has a 93" wheelbase, which ought to be 237mm or thereabouts in true 1:10 scale - but is typically on a 275mm or longer [RC4WD] chassis, and hence somewhere between 1/9th and 1/8th in size (sorry, I'm not that good at maths to be spot on ;o) - while the worst offender is their FJ40 Body (which is huge compared to a real SWB FJ Land Cruiser) - proportionally it looks even bigger than the D90! In that regard, I've built both of those with larger wheels and aimed for an overall larger scale to keep things in proportion; and that would be my suggestion - match the wheel & tyre diameter to the body you want to use so that it looks 'right' - and adjust wheelbase and axle width/offset with spacers and different rod lengths etc. to keep everything dimensionally correct overall? Jenny x ps. conversely, when I was building the Baja Blazer recently, I wanted a slightly smaller body to fit around the Twin Hammers cage, so bought a genuine Clod Buster shell - only to find that while the wheelbase and overall length was similar to the RC4WD K5 Blazer body, it was far smaller overall - the Clod being based on the longer wheelbase K10 pick up of course - so more like 1/12th scale when you look at the size of the doors and the cabin... ultimately I ended up extensively butchering the original oversize RC4WD body to make something that worked proportionally closer to 1/10th with the rest of the chassis and driver etc. - although it is far easier to achieve successful surgery with a hardbody rather than lexan of course.

Well that's another job done! Originally I had planned this to be much more of a basic runner - strong chassis and running gear, topped with a simple body... however, as with all these things, the longer I took to pull it all together, the more ideas I wanted to incorporate - including a detailed full interior, two occupants, and along with the front winch, well - this is kind of what you end up doing too: photo. rear winch and bumper mounts in exactly the same was as it does on the front of the chassis, although I did end up drilling to alternative/extra holes in the sides of the plastic fuel-tank crossmember to position the screws closer to the end of the slots. photo. some careful guestimate marking out before Dr Dremel was employed once more... photo. Yep, I'd say that works pretty much how I envisaged! photo. nurf-hoop carefully removed, leaving just the stubby bumper as a suitable winch mount - plus will be secure enough to add a tow-hitch drop plate if I wanted (and you know I want to!) The overall effect kind of reminds me of those demountable winch carriers you can get for 1:1 vehicles, so I may end up adding a couple of handles and Warn stickers too. I'd say this one really is getting close to finished now... all that is left to do is wire the rear winch via a two way switch [mounted in the cabin] to the wireless remote receiver - that way I can select which winch is powered from the same key-fob remote. Once that's done, I'll aim to photograph the finished build in detail and add it to my showroom too! Jenny x

Ooooh, look what the postman brought me... But I've already got a similar front winch and bumper on the 4Runner: I know, but this one is going on the rear! photo. the winch bumper will fit the rear of the chassis in the same way it does at the front, and with the stinger hoop removed, the winch itself will be recessed into the rear tailgate panel. More soon! Jenny x

Fun project! The trick to getting clean window rubber lines it to use masking tape - put it over the whole window area then press the tape against the edges of the raised surround, and trim it with a sharp knife... then you can just paint the rubbers with a brush and peel off the tape to leave a straight line: Jx

June 2020 update: Inspired by a new coil-sprung Jeep Wrangler project I'm working on (don't worry, that will have it's own thread too eventually ;o), I thought I'd also experiment and make a quick update to this YJ build... now that summer is here, I reckon it's time to take the doors off Ozzy! photo. a tale of two Jeeps... photo. Oh no, what have you done Jenny?! By carefully cutting along the door seams with a fine Dremel wheel (and scoring the radius corners at the bottom with a sharp knife), I was able to snap out the doors leaving a pretty clean edge. I'd actually always had this option in mind when I first built the body, so had made the sills double thickness both for strength and potentially as a more realistic detail should the doors ever be removed (while the doors themselves are double thickness too, having sliding windows inside)... photo. a quick clean up of the edges with a sanding drum on the Dremel, and the trail-beater style of this truck means it's not really essential to touch in the paint either. photo. I was temped to leave the passenger door attached, and just put the discarded door in the load-bed like a real junker! photo. ...but ultimately decided to remove both doors - which having done neatly, I can always reattach with scale working hinges, and have the pins free so that they can be taken on and off just like the 1:1 doors! Hope you like the latest mods! Jenny x

The boys rolled into the garage last night, and what do you know... The rear cage is easy to remove being secured with four M3 screws through the top of the bed sides... I think ultimately this is probably the way I'll keep this as a runner (not least for easier access to the rear battery compartment, and to show off that lovely Method Roost spare wheel ;o) - and perhaps incorporate a smaller piece of net behind the cab as a nod to Boba Fett's cape? Jx

The problem with having the battery there is there isn't really any way to mount pedals (in the same way as I could with Hopper's HiLux for example) - I like to think he uses 'the force' to propel this one ;o) Jx

A few more details: First of all, as I was writing my summary of the build yesterday, the postman actually delivered my Method Roost wheels (I ordered them in silver this time) - so now I have a 'matching' spare: Of course now I'm also going to have to order a pair of proper matching tyres too! I chose the silver version this time (which I probably would have done originally had they also been available at the time) to see the difference... in comparison to the matt black on the vehicle wheels, the silver appears to be more of a semi-satin anodised finish, but similarly nothing like the quality of the clear-coat you got on the pukka Vanquish version (now discontinued). They would make a great base for painting though, and I am tempted to blow over my existing wheels in metallic bronze at some point, to more faithfully replicate the 1:1 Method Roost wheels you can get in that colour. I also added an RC4WD 'patch' to Dustin's hat while the body was off recently - you can't really see it when he's behind the wheel, but I'll know it's there... and now you do too! And finally, I've also shortened the battery cable to the ESC so it is better hidden inside the passenger front wheel arch. I made this concession [to scale appearance] to make the battery connector easy to access (ie. without needing to remove the body each time) to charge the main vehicle battery in situ. photo. also note that the bracket for the scale battery detail was the perfect size to mount the ESC on/off switch too - again, for easy access as this truck is still primarily a runner rather than a full scale model. Hope you like the latest updates! Jenny x

Hee hee - yes, the three-point belts were something I've wanted to try for a while now - having amassed quite a few spare buckles from the various Yeah Racing harness seat-belt sets I've incorporated in various builds over the years, not least as I've only ever assembled those with 4 rather than 5 straps, so there has always been a few buckles left over... I was inspired to give it a try again recently having seen someone else use a zip-tie as a seat-belt buckle (on a bench seat as I recall) - and felt I could improve on that concept further by milling a slot in the top of the zip-tie to insert the T buckle for the actual belt, which was then secured in place by filling the hole in the zip-tie with epoxy glue. This makes for a very strong third point mount, although I guess the ultimate incarnation would be some kind of buckle which actually released, oh and a sprung inertial reel to keep the tension - although I found I can fake that quite successfully using the ribbed ribbon snug in the slots of the buckles. Another option would be to perhaps use a length of 1/4" elastic for the belts instead if a little more tension was required. I keep saying I should build a more simple vehicle for trail running - and this Vanquish VS4-10 chassis is the perfect platform for that kind of rig of course - but once I'd decided on the 4Runner body, the associated opening bonnet meant another detailed engine bay was almost inevitable, together with the possibility of a viewing a full interior through the open door apertures, simply by not buying the separate door pieces in the first place! Once I'd realised there would be enough room inside for two figures, then the focus quickly changed to what other new scale features could I incorporate this time round too! So glad you like it! Jenny x

cont. So while it's not 100% finished yet, it is currently close enough that I felt some showroom style summary photos are in order - not least as I finally got the wiring finished yesterday: photo. this is actually a [extensively] modified loom from RC4WD for the [Killerbody] LC70 body - all I actually needed was a pair of 5mm white LEDs for the headlights, a pair of 3mm orange for the side markers, and a pair each of orange and red 3mm LEDs for the rear light buckets. I ended up chopping a number of the strings to minimise any bundling, and that essentially the whole loom just runs along the passenger side of the body shell. photo. RC4WD '85 4Runner hard body - bobbed rear bed and custom half-height doors. The main shell gives you the majority of the vehicle, and I added the bonnet, windscreen and dash sprues, and fabricated the interior floor from styrene. photo. rear cage (removable) is cut down from an Axial Blazer. The camo net was incorporated to replicate Boba Fett's cape. photo. bonnet and roof paint a homage to Boba Fett's helmet. photo. Proline 18mm spot lights as headlamps, Axial side markers and the RC4WD tail light lenses in a custom o-ring mount. photo. modified Axial SCX10-III motor cover and additional engine bay detailing - ProLine battery (and custom cables using servo wire), styrene inner wings topped with checker-plate and a grab-rail repurposed as a suspension brace. I also detailed the moulded air filter with mesh and chrome paint. photo. Ebay radiator almost the perfect shape (and would be with the stock headlights in place) - all I had to do was cut down the hoses on each side a little. RC4WD Warn 9.5CTi winch has wireless remote, and dedicated battery in the fabricated load-bed tool chest. photo. custom made half-doors from 1.5mm styrene - heated and bent to follow body curve, and capped with thin aluminium checker-plate. I also dented the rear wing using the heat gun and my thumb too. photo. tailgate net removable (spring hooks repurposed from scale bungee cords). RC4WD light lenses really require the separate [chrome plastic] backing surround - however, I was able to use some thin o-rings superglued in the recess, and backed the buckets with aluminium self-adhesive tape as a reflector. photo. spare wheel will ultimately be replaced with another Method Roost alloy, and I'll need to fabricate a suitable bed-mount/spinner. I'm still in two minds about the cage & roof netting - I like the overall look, but the rear cage does make it more difficult to access the tool chest. photo. VS4-10 chassis, aluminium axles, stainless steel Husky links and Gmade RSD shocks - all ought to perform well on the trail. photo. driver Dustin was fixed in position using superglue and his articulated joints filled and repainted to match... photo. ...meanwhile I left Lucas the passenger figure articulated, so he can always be displayed in or out of the vehicle as desired. photo. VS4-10 chassis offers impressive articulation from 90mm front and 80mm rear shocks. photo. 115mm tyres on matt black Method Roost alloy wheels. I added scale hex hardware and centre hub-cabs too. Arches needed to be cut away to allow clearance at full articulation. There are still a few more things to finish off - I'm waiting on some more Method Roost wheels (from Ebay) so I have a proper matching spare, before fabricating a bed-mount for that... plus I'd like to incorporate some kind of bumper below the rear body panel, perhaps also including a rear winch too. I'd also like to experiment more with the front suspension - the rear feels really dialled-in with the canted 80mm shocks and their stock springs; but I'm aware that some people complain that these Gmade shocks are a bit too stiff for crawler type terrain, and although I fitted the alternative 'soft' springs in the 90mm front end, I still think some even softer springs would help to drop the nose a little, and offer more balanced articulation with the rear. It's also tempting to add a few sponsor decals on the rear flanks - as you'd typically see on a trail rig (particularly one driven by two teenage boys ;o) - but at the same time, I don't want to detract from the overall Boba Fett paint scheme either... so this is probably something that will evolve over time and after a few trail miles and inevitable damage. But for now I'm calling this pretty much done... What started off as primarily a [simple] truck for trail driving, has become much more of a scale and detailed build... however, I'm confident that it still has the core attributes that will make it perform well as a runner as much as a show piece - not least that excellent VS4-10 chassis and metal axles and transmission. I do think I probably ought to change the thread title though, as I've lost count of actually how much this has cost me now! I trust you've enjoyed the journey as much as I have! More soon... well, soon-ish. Jenny x

cont. Enough already - what about the actual paint scheme Jenny?! Well, as I've hinted already - these two kids are typical sci-fi nerds who grew up in late seventies/early eighties, and while initially I did consider they might be simply 'hunting Demogorgon's in their naily old Toyota, I felt that was a bit obvious perhaps (although you can get a really cool 10" tall Demogorgon figure in this series which would have been fun to have chained up in the rear load-bed for example?)... However, having bing-watched the whole Star Wars saga recently [whatcha gonna do in lock-down eh?], it hit me - there's two of them right, in a two seater cockpit... but again, the obvious is perhaps a little too obvious, so why not mix it up and make it his nemesis instead? Boba Fett would be perfect - mainly silver, and fundamentally with tatty worn paint over the top! Right then - this I fear would require some pretty accurate masking, so I elected to buy a reel of the Tamiya tape, and I can see why people say this is good stuff, it is! photo. after a base coat of aluminium silver was applied, the interior and exterior were masked while the hood, roof and [fabricated] half-height door panels were salted, and blown over with a couple of fine coats of Tamiya AS23 (light green Luftwaffe) which is a matt finish typically used for aircraft models. photo. 2nd stage masking, to paint the red (Tamiya TS33 dull red) surround to the windshield and either side of the bonnet bulge - essentially to replicate the edges of the visor on Boba Fett's helmet. photo. close-up of the bonnet before the final [satin black] coat - I took care to try and ensure the salt was not knocked off between each coat, so that the chipping extended across the different colour layers, rather than simply being blocked for each separate colour. note. I also received my custom licence plates - yes I know it's spelt Fett, but I like to keep with seven figures for the main licence number - note also. while the Baja Blazer was 'Best In The Desert', I felt this twist on the tag was more appropriate for the infamous bounty hunter... oh how we laughed. Here's Lucas showing off the finished hood - well, prior to chipping and weathering the centre section: photo. the idea is that the hood and windscreen will replicate Boba Fett's helmet. photo. Dustin is very excited! note the half doors (fabricated from 1.5mm styrene and heated to form the curve) were also painted in green to replicate Boba Fett's other armoured panels. photo. windscreen surround masked and painted Tamiya 'rubber black' (XF85 acrylic) - note. Modern Masters rust effect paint used sparingly to add further weathering and deterioration. Another colour detail that perhaps only Star Wars nerds will really appreciate, was this detail along the passenger side - to help break up the otherwise monotonous silver: photo. a base of light tan, followed by some chrome yellow I had left over... The idea here is to replicate the stripes on Boba Fett's helmet, and also as a nod to the bar-code style decals you see on a lot of the droids in Star Wars (I know, kill me now!) You might also notice I have attached the cage I was experimenting with earlier in the build - deciding that ultimately it worked best as just a simple rear cage over the bed, complete with a camo net which I feel ties in rather well with Bobb Fett's green cape? And ultimately, this whole cage remains quickly removable with just two screws on each side should I want to run it as a regular pick-up, and not least to make it far more easy to accessing the second battery in the tool chest. cont.

cont. So with those potential logistical nightmares sorted, it really was time to make a start on the main paintwork... As I mentioned above, the idea would be to try and incorporate the bare metal 'raw' look, but at the same time have some colour on there, if only as an easy way to contrast the weathering and chipped paint effect which I particularly like. photo. initial base coat of 'aluminium' semi-metallic silver. photo. the interior floor and transmission tunnel was also painted silver and left bare, with the addition of some checker-plate floor mats, and the base of each sill painted in satin black (as this is exposed where the metal sliders fit over the top, below the body shell sills). Similarly the fabricated tool chest (which doubles as a second battery compartment) was sprayed silver: photo. note larger hole drilled through floor for battery cable to connect with winch remote receiver under the passenger seat. ...and more checker-plate panels cut to fit and glued on: I also repurposed the pair of draw-bolt latches I'd fabricated for Hopper's HiLux originally (before replacing those with working external latches from Killerbody): photo. I also used a small T washer (spares from a servo mounting kit) as the receiver for the bolt in each side panel. And of course no trail-rig would be complete without a sticker-bomb headlining would it?! photo. these are all individual stickers, from my ever increasing collection over the years. cont.

cont. So with the driver figure sorted, it was time to get some paint on the actual truck - and I trust the nerd sci-fi obsessed occupants will be a huge hint at my final theme, as it unfolds in a serious of muted colours and masking tape... First of all, the interior (the dash set from the RC4WD 4Runner body) was masked where I wanted the vents etc. to remain black plastic: photo. this dash panel is not quite as highly detailed as the Trailfinder II Hilux perhaps, but sill has more than enough detail to be authentic. photo. I blew over the whole dash with a matt 'Nato' brown (Tamiya TS62)... photo. ...which I would ultimately use on the centre of each seat too. note. I had to widen the shoulder section of the driver's seat since Dustin's jacket was so bulky - allowing him to sit lower and further back in the chair in a more realistic pose. photo. Workshop mech Louis checking out the almost finished interior - note the RC4WD dash sprue included the steering wheel and gear levers, plus the column stalks, but frustratingly not the actual steering column itself! I elected to use a length of 6mm diameter M3 threaded rod, and drilled out the thread in one end so the steering wheel can be dropped in and out as required. You might also notice in the photo above that I have installed a pair of 3-point seatbelt buckles. Rather than resort to the typical 4/5 point harness seatbelts with this build (not least as there is no obvious mounting location for the shoulder straps, since there is a tool chest directly behind the seats), I thought I'd have a go and fabricating traditional 3-point inertial reel style seatbelts for the two occupants. The buckles are made from a pair of zip-ties, painstakingly Dremelled so that the metal clasp (spare parts from Yeah Racing 5 point harness seat belts I usually use) can be inserted in a realistic way, and the tang from the zip-tie highlighted in red as the release button. The Yeah Racing seat-belt sets also include a series of triangular buckles, which I could use as the anchor on the other side of the seat base, and also as the shoulder strap buckle above the inertial reel: photo. upper seatbelt B-pillar mounts fabricated from styrene. Now admittedly these haven't actually got inertial reels inside (although I did consider some kind of screw as a belt tensioner at one point), but factored that using Grosgrain ribbon as the seatbelts themselves, the ribs would have enough 'grip' in the buckles to remain suitably tensioned once the initial length was set... The only issue would be that because the upper mounts are connected to the [removable] body-shell, while the two lower mounts were bolted to the interior base plate (which stays in place when the body is removed), I would need some way to disconnect the the upper mounts before removing the body... The solution was surprisingly simple, if a little fiddly to fabricate... I glued in a 1.5mm thick piece of styrene to the B-pillar, allowing me to drill and tap in a short button head screw, coupled with a T slot in the base of each inertial reel. This way, there is enough slack in the seat belt to allow the B-pillar brackets to slide up and be detached, before the main body is removed - while the passengers remain in their seats and held in place by the lap belt - result! cont.

Right, stand by for a big update - in full technicolor! Yes, it took a bit of time to come up with a paint scheme [concept] for this, but bare with me as I ramble through my thought process... So having painted the Baja Blazer in a base coat of 'metal' (metallic aluminium, which when sanded back with fine grit wet&dry paper, gives a very realistic bare metal effect I feel) before the white and yellow top coat colours, I wanted to retain more of that 'raw' appearance with this subsequent build, as I felt it would be befitting of a hard-working trail rig - and allow me to rust up certain areas too of course, while not being too precious about the overall paint finish... As it turned out, who was driving would ultimately dictate the direction of the vehicle paintwork too! The Boys are back in town I'd already decided on a driver - and in this instance passenger too - for this build, having been inspired by using the Stranger Things Jim Hopper and Eleven figures previously, thought the dynamic duo of Dustin and Lucas would work well in this rig - after all, it's funny cos it's kids driving right?! photo. Dustin figure from the 7" McFarlane Stranger Things series - although the kids are closer to 6" tall to stay in proportion of course. I have to say, this really is a really well-detailed figure - probably the best of them all, the jacket particularly and his corduroy trousers, and while his face isn't 100% Gaten Matarazzo perhaps, it is still a very life like character, and overall is most certainly 'Dustin' from Stranger Things. note. it's interesting that not only is this character a fan fave in the TV show, but that these days this is one of the most expensive of all the 7" McFarlane figures on ebay now - typically selling for between $35-50, with some chancers asking significantly more than that for NIP too! It was almost a shame to chop him up... almost. photo. Dustin will be driving, Lucas will be navigating! It's worth noting that despite the perspective disparity here, the Lucas figure is noticeably physically smaller than Dustin - it means he fits in the Corbeau seat better, but he does look a touch small in comparison. Fortunately the 6" figure fitted well in the seat and behind the dash (and fundamentally there was enough room in the footwells for his feet to fit in front of the vertically mounted battery, which actually has the effect of wedging him into his seat - although a seat belt will still be required for rougher terrain running I'm sure. So all that really was required to get Dustin in a more realistic driver pose was to narrow the left sleeve of his jacket so his arm could reach across to the steering wheel, and trim some of his t-shirt so his legs could be bent closer to 90° to sit in the seat. photo. Once the angle of his legs and arms behind the wheel was decided, the articulated joints were dabbed with superglue before being filled with Isopon P38 and sanded/paint-matched using some custom mixed acrylics. photo. I felt these colours were a pretty good match - and ultimately I used a darker brown and a corse brush to more closely replicate the corduroy on his knees, and weather his jacket to blend in too. Currently I have not modified Lucas at all - his darker clothing means the articulated joints are not particularly obvious, and it allows me to decide whether he rides inside the vehicle, or can be displayed standing next to it for example. cont.

Happy to help! The RC4WD Blazer body has a 287mm wheelbase (same as their Trailfinder II HiLux), so you ought to be able to fit that on a CC-01 chassis by just extending the rear links I would have thought? Though not true scale with IFS of course, that would be a sound chassis platform to build a runner from I'm sure - although if you plan to purchase a chassis too, I would probably go for the CC-02 with live axles front and rear, and which allows for a wider range of wheelbase options out of the box as I recall? https://store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Chevy-Blazer-Body_c_584.html A quick google suggests that the Traxxas lexan Blazer body is available as a 'set' unpainted, although I'm not sure how widely available it is outside of the US perhaps? Also be aware that is a slightly bigger shell overall though, and would require a 313mm wheelbase chassis. I didn't get any decals made for my HiLux - the door graphics are letraset dry-letters (painstakingly applied), and the number plates are from a guy on ebay here in the US who makes engraved plates - while not as 'true scale' as a stamped plate of course (although he said he was going to experiment with an reverse engraving method so the lettering was proud instead), I really like the retro simplicity and finesse of the engraved style... link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-10-SCALE-LICENSE-PLATE-ENGRAVED-2-PIECES/282941465902 (and yes, those are the plates on my SRB Cage Racer in his ad ;o) I'm not sure if you're in the UK or not, but Screen Print Digital (on ebay) have always been good for repro Tamiya (and other style) decals, and if you contact them you might well be able to negotiate some custom printing. Best of luck with whatever direction you choose - based on your suggestions above, I think I'd go for a CC-02 chassis and RC4WD body, and make it work! Jenny x ps. the other option (certainly if you've got easy access to US sellers) would be to get the Redcat Gen8 P.A.C.K. pre-assembled chassis kit (currently $149 USD) which gives you everything except wheels, body and electronics - and get the Traxxas body (around $69 USD) as the PACK chassis would have the correct wheelbase for the larger lexan shell. In fact I plan to purchase a Redcat PACK Chassis for a future project too, since for $150 including a forward mounted motor/transmission and aluminium shocks/metal links/portal axles etc. it is an utter bargain - and apparently performs very well too.