JennyMo

Yes, those deep-dish 1.9 RC4WD wheels really are for much larger/wider tyres - for example I have some Axial BFG All-terrains on mine which are 120mm diameter and 45mm wide, which fit well... I can imagine trying to fit a more narrow/sub 100mm diameter tyre you might struggle to get them to sit well. It's worth looking on Ebay for those [regular width] stamped steel wheels too - you can get a 'copy' of the RC4WD 8-spokes from China, although they tend to sold in sets of 4 of course, and are almost always a 6-stud pattern too unfortunately. Whatever you do, it's going to look awesome I'm sure! Jx

Ha - I LOVE this! ...what a cool idea! - and the crane mech is inspired! I was just thinking about your wheels - did you say you'd got six of those deep-dish RC4WD ones? - because you can always mount the hubs the other way around to reduce the offset (as long as they clear the steering knuckles of the TLT axle of course) - it's what I ended up doing to narrow the track width (approx 5mm per side) when using them on some portal axles: That way you could narrow the track at the front, but keep the deeper dish at the rear? Looking forward to seeing this develop - rust it! Jenny x

Don't forget you can always increase the offset using slightly wider hexes - although there will come a point (around 10mm) that you'll probably need to use the 'widener' version with barrel wheel nuts - which is what I did on my narrow RC4WD axles with those Gmade wheels: I'd also recommend the Yeah Racing 'Claws' tyres (link here) they are slightly smaller diameter than the Vanquish VXT tyres, but softer and grip well - I have them on both my Capra and the TJ Jeep. Jx

More Powwwwwwerrrrrrr! I thought I might dust this project off and see if I can't give it a little more performance to go with it's looks... To recap, this was always meant to be more of a scale [detailed] build than a serious runner - but other than it's overall weight (which is pretty considerable!) and relatively high centre of gravity, the suspension feels really plush, and currently woefully under-used due to the rather Heath-Robinson transmission I'd installed... You see in an effort to give this something approaching a decent top speed, I'd forfeit any reduction gearbox on the motor, and just driven a 2:1 transfer-case directly with a prop off the back of the motor, then to the pair of RC4WD K44 axles - factoring that those differentials already had around a 2.64:1 reduction (as I recall). To mitigate the potential lack of torque, I'd used an old 70T motor - although even that struggled to pick things up off the line unless the surface was smooth and flat - certainly no wheelspin rooster trails from this truck, which was kind of disappointing really. Now I'm sure those of you who know more about this stuff will be shaking their heads in recognition already, but I think I've realised that what is actually needed is some kind of primary gear reduction (ie. a pinyon and spur gear) to multiply the torque of the motor, then adjust the overall wheel-speed using the gearbox/transferbox and ultimately axle ratios. Consider this my enlightenment moment*! *note. I came to this conclusion having recently installed a 13T 5-slot motor in my Capra with a standard 3-gear transmission driving the same pair of axles - and it's an utter rocket in comparison - certainly acceleration wise! So first of all I swapped that original 70T motor for a [now spare] 55T I'd taken from the Capra, which ought to give me a little more overall RPM (although this may still not be enough, we'll see), and will install a new 3:1 planetary gearbox in place of my non-reduction motor-mount shown in the photo below (cobbled together from parts of a 5:1 reduction gearbox, without the planetary gear section installed)... Ultimately this will all be hidden by the scale engine cover as before: ...and I will either replace the transfer-case with a 1:1 version (currently 2:1 ratio), or should that not offer enough wheel-speed, could even flip the current transfer case upside down and essentially use the output as an input, and have a 1:2 - ie. gear up the final drive, although that may well result in a similar lack of performance as I currently have, other than having now tripled the initial motor output torque of course. Wish me luck! Jenny ps. I've also added a pair of traction boards bungeed to the rear cage - because, Baja.

Time to update and upgrade this little runt I feel... Having played mix-and-match with a number of motor and transmission components in various models recently, I felt my BJ40 Retro Desmond would ultimately sit better on more scale accurate Yota II axles - so swapped these for the more chunky K44s under that build, which in turn means you can now appreciate the additional scale detailing of the K44s since the Capra has exposed axles, plus the [performance] benefit of having CVD shafts in the front steering knuckles - win win! I also swapped out the previous 9Kg shorty steering servo with a far more powerful 35Kg version, and the RC4WD 55T 3-slot motor with a 13T 5-slot Holmes Hobbies 'Crawlmaster Sport' motor - although with such few windings in comparison*, this is perhaps a little too fast - and more of a rock-racer than the crawler now - still, the smooth pick-up of the 5-slot motor and comparative light-weight of the Capra means it still seems to crawl at slower speeds very well too. *for those unfamiliar (as I was) as far as I can ascertain from t'internet - a 3-slot motor has twice the number of turns as a 5-slot motor for a given speed - ie. a 35T 3-slot would be similar to a 16T 5-slot... so in this instance, I've made a huge jump from 55T to 13T (ie. x3) with essentially 50% more speed than before. I also understand that a 5-slot [brushed] motor has a far smoother pick-up (so ideal for very slow speed crawling control) compared to a 3-slot motor, so must confess I am at a loss as to why you might run a 3-slot at all? - I can only presume that a 3-slot offers more torque, and/or will not get as [heat] overloaded as quickly under strain perhaps? - hopefully someone can enlighten me! Anyway, all I know is the Capra is an utter animal now, and can't wait to get it out on the trails! photo. I've also replaced the original all-black aluminium bead-locks with these more fancy Raceline versions from RC4WD. note. You may also notice that I've currently retired animated Beavis from driving duty, and will fabricate a more simple interior plate to hide the transmission and electronics. There will still be some semblance of a driver and seats in future, but ultimately I want to keep this build as more of a rough-and-tumble runner, although I do have a plan for an alternative set of bodywork which ought to add a little more exterior detailing too. More soon! Jenny

I'd say once you get to a certain price point (around $300/£300) there are no bad options, just what you personally prefer (if you're buying it because of the included body shell) and what is readily available in your particular country (although online/international ordering/shipping these days makes things a lot more simple in that regard)... Certainly both Traxxas and Gmade offer most of their kit parts as spares if you ever break anything, and as a base chassis for a custom build all of these 1/10 ladder chassis are effectively the same - live axles and 3/4 links and shocks front and rear - normally with a chassis mounted steering servo too - so tweaking the link lengths and swapping shock tower locations and axles etc. is a pretty straight-forward affair if you want customise the donor further. That TRX4 Sport is an excellent platform, and the supplied body can be made to look like a pretty authentic Tacoma style overland truck if that is your want (including a number of included moulded scale accessories) - if you're on a more modest budget, it's probably the best [specification] of the builders' kits out there to get you up and running. Jx

Happy to help! - don't worry, if you have the budget (and oh if I had the budget!), the Pro is probably the best kit you can buy [from any manufacturer] from a running point of view... if you can raise the funds, get one, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. You will be spoilt for anything else however ;o) As you say, the truck-cab Scout style body is really nicely proportioned too - it is Lexan of course (which I personally don't like), but can be painted in all sorts of realistic ways... it's also worth noting that Vanquish sell the Pro/Ultra body set separately if anyone wanted to mount it on a 313mm wheelbase chassis. You can always add the DIG at later date, and it's worth noting there are still options you can add to the Pro kit (such as the aluminium shock towers - either standard or extended height) to trick it out further... I'd also look at their range of aluminium wheels, as the kits come with plastic bead-lock wheels as standard - good quality of course, but not quite as stylish as the pukka Method or KMC aluminium options they offer. Welcome to the money-pit! Jx

Ha ha - of course, although the Pro and Ultra kits are very expensive, primarily because they include their CNC aluminium axles which are around $500 a pair on their own! In comparison, the Phoenix kit has moulded nylon/plastic axles (still very high quality, the same material they use for the chassis cross braces etc.) which has significantly reduced the overall kit cost... while the VS4-10 chassis set is exactly the same as their higher end kits, and the new VFD 'Twin' transmission* is actually an evolution of the previous version, which includes the DIG and selectable front overdrive ratios as standard - essentially you can run it in 4WD, or RWD or even FWD if you wish. *note. The Phoenix (and Ultra) vehicle kits uses the regular VFD transmission set you can buy seperately (to upgrade the older Vanquish chassis and 3-gear trasmission kits), while their 'Pro' model kit includes some metal upgrade parts in the original VFD transmission - although all those optional parts are available separately, and fundamentally of course, currently only the Phoenix kit has the new 'Twin' version of the transmission which has the selectable overdrive and DIG built-in. I'd echo what other people have suggested above, the Element Enduro is a good builder's platform - increasingly flexible (with a IFS option, albeit for another $100) and with plenty of aftermarket support these days... however, the Vanquish stuff really is another level - I've built two vehicles based on the VS4-10 platform now - my original Ghetto Vanquish (4Runner) which I featured in the builds section here, and my latest project which is based on the Phoenix kit, but with my own modified Jeep hard-body fitted. photo. Vanquish VS4-10 Phoenix chassis. photo. my own twist using a modified Injora JK Jeep hard-body, rather than the supplied Lexan Toyota FJ40-esk shell. Ultimately, if you build a VS4-10 chassis with 90mm shocks and straight axles, you'll get some really impressive articulation (as per my Ghetto Vanquish), while with the 80mm shocks and portal axles (you get on the Phoenix and Ultra) it's not quite so much, although still very capable and impressive. The main thing is how composed (and strong) these vehicles are when crawling and trail-running. Jenny x

Get a Vanquish Phoenix kit ($499 - if you can find one in stock) - much nicer than the Axial offering - better quality plastics, Currie portal axles (plastic), and the new VFD twin transmission which is very versatile... lots of body mounting options too, plus a killer rear cage assembly if that is a route you want to go. Ask me how I know ;o) Jenny x

This is very sad news. I'd always hoped to one day meet up with @Shodog and drive some trails and chew the fat... his work was always inspirational. Jenny x

Hee hee - I've found the solution is to just build a whole new one, on a Vanquish Phoenix chassis... ... although admittedly the battery tray location in the Vanquish also means you have to compromise on that original moulded interior. fwiw. I think hiding the battery in some kind of box in rear is the way to go if you can't squeeze it in behind the dash like I did with my JK 2-door as you mentioned. Jenny x

0-200s bikes & quads 300s are the cars 400s are lightweight/SSV (although if there are more than 100 cars entered, some of those might be given a 4xx number too) 500s are the trucks Jx

Ha - funny you mention those on the list, I've had an idea for a shorty Holiday Buggy for a good while now, and similarly, a HiLux ought to be reasonably easy to achieve too. Maybe I need to buy another WR-02 chassis... Jenny x

cont... I'd been waiting for a nice low-profile Hobbywing 1080 to arrive in the post (my go-to choice of ESC these days) so that it might fit in the existing tray above the servo and motor - only to find that the bonnet wouldn't quite close on top of the power leads (note. you could probably squish them down if the bonnet was held on by pins or a catch, but I wanted to use magnets). However, a bit of lateral (or is that horizontal?) thinking, and shifting the shorty Lipo battery slightly to the right, and I could mount the ESC inside the front driver's side wheel-arch, much as I'd done with the TJ Hooker - and indeed it turns out there was plenty of room for a slightly fatter 1060 ESC I had been using to test another build, so that is in the YJ now, and the 1080 will go in the new vehicle when it's done. photo. a quick mod to the inner wheel-arch/battery tray assembly, so that the shorty pack sits offset to the right, and there is a flat panel to mount the ESC vertically inside the left wheel-arch, with easy access to the power switch too. photo. it's not especially tidy, but then neither is the under-bonnet layout of a real YJ! Still, I was really pleased to squeeze a 2S shorty Lipo, ESC, Receiver and remote winch controller (plus a feed for the LED lights) under the hood of a Tamiya YJ... along with the steering servo and motor/planetary gearbox too of course! photo. working hood hinges - these were trimmed down and dress-pin heads used as rivets. I've since painted them in dirty white to match the existing bodywork. So there we go! - the evolution of the Daydream B'Leafer continues - together with a full depth open interior and no doors (and the tidying up of the original wiring under the chassis) there is almost no indication this is an RC truck. Best of all, I no longer have to remove the body each time to access the battery or perform any minor servicing... Hope you like these latest mods! Jenny x

Quick update to this one... Ozzy's been back in the workshop this week... Having converted all my other crawlers to LiPo now, I thought I'd revisit this build and see if I can't revise the battery layout in an effort to make battery swaps far easier in future than it is with the current hidden NiMh installation. The problem with this particular [completely open] vehicle and battery location [under the hood/scuttle panel] means the body has to be removed each time, and unfortunately that is a little more involved than just four sill-screws as the harness seatbelts locate on the shock-towers, which themselves protrude through the rear floor... With the NiMh battery, I just left it in place, and charged it via the connector accessed inside the front wheel-arch, but with a LiPo I really ought to remove it, which would be more of a pain each time, and particularly if I wanted to swap batteries halfway through a longer trail run. The solution turned out to be more obvious/lucky that I imagined - in that in this instance, the body is mounted quite far back on the chassis, and coupled with the low[er] profile motor and planetary gear transmission, means that once the hood was removed, a shorty 2S hard-case pack can be slide in and out of the existing battery tray (and secured with velcro straps as before) while the rest of the body remains in place - result! Having measured more than once, I cut around the hood carefully with a thin Dremel wheel, and will now replace the moulded hinge detail with scale working hinges so that the hood lifts up to reveal the battery and other electronics, and be secured at the front (above the grille) with a pair of magnets in a faux radiator shroud. cont...