JennyMo

Not wanting to be a pedant, but I know my Daihatsus... I'm specifically talking about the Fourtrak / Rugger (also sold as a Toyota Blizzard) - introduced in the mid 1980s the boxy body with leaf-sprung live axles (although they changed the chassis in 1993 to IFS and a coil sprung rear axle, and added wider wheel-arches to the original body) and a 2.8 litre diesel engine (also a 2.2 petrol in some years). It came in two wheelbases, 87" and 100" - although both bodies were only 3 door. The SWB came as a hard-top van, passenger and soft top versions, while the 100" was a 5/7 seater (with two jump seats in the boot) hard-top passenger version, although technically the rear [fibreglass] roof section could be removed, and in some markets it was also sold as a soft-top (mainly Asia) and a commercial van with no glass in the sides. Someone scratch-built a nice SWB one over on the SBG (Scale Builders Guild) Here a while ago, and there is another thread on there where someone subsequently appeared to get a copy/commercially available? (although I've never seen it advertised) that they showed on a CC-01 chassis Here - which is what prompted my original comment about it possibly being suitable for the CC-02 perhaps? In comparison, the Feroza was the 'Sportrak' in the UK (introduced in 1990 to compete more directly with the Suzuki Vatara/Sidekick) - a smaller and slightly more rounded shape, always had IFS and stuck with leaf springs on the rear, a 1.6 litre petrol engine and a removable hardtop (also sold as just a basic soft top in some markets). The Taft (which was also called a Fourtrak in some markets) was the previous generation to the Rugger - ie. late 70s/early 80s - and a much smaller vehicle, similar to Suzuki's LJ80 series. I'm both ashamed and also slightly proud that even thought it was over 25 years ago now, I still know all that without having to resort to wikipedia. Jx

The Shogun (Pajero) looks great! I do hope that when Tamiya release the CC-02 chassis, they do it with a range of hard-bodies like this one; and perhaps some other classic Japanese 4x4s - Nissan Patrol, Isuzu Trooper, Toyota Land Cruiser, and my personal favourite - the Daihatsu Fourtrak too... with proper licensed 'retro' bodies, they could own the scale SUV market if they wanted. Jx

Finally mounted my rear winch on the HiLux : Jx

Rear-end re-think... Happy with how the front end was coming on (I can't really do any more under the bonnet now until I get some more epoxy and fill all the joints and sand etc.), I decided that the rear end also required 'no compromises' after all, and that fundamentally the winch needed to be mounted to the chassis is some way, so that it would be a legitimate 'working' installation. photo. Styrene rear panel removed, and original chassis cross-member cut down to fit between rear wings. Mixing and matching various rods, spacers and brackets meant I could position the aluminium cross-member/bumper at exactly the right distance to fit inside the moulded corners, and some further mixing and matching also saw the tow-bar reinstated by mounting the brackets behind the cross-member so the drop bar is now flush: photo. I'm pleased with that - it's like it was meant to be! The only thing I wanted to address was the fact the tapered ends of the cross-member didn't quite like up with the bottom edge of the bodywork... Now I could have trimmed the body panels of course, and indeed I considered that tapering the rear wings upwards at the rear to meet the taper of the cross-member would look suitably 'sporty' (and something I would certainly do if I was building a 4x4, or off-road biased truck)... however, this is essentially going to be a working rig, and since I also want to incorporate the Trailfinder II rear side marker lights into those panels, I would actually prefer to retain the squared-off rear end, particularly as if I mounted the cross-member the other way up, it fitted perfectly flush with the bottom of the body panels. So the simplest thing to do was to flip the cross-member over, and fill in the gaps [which were now at the top] with some Quik-steel - and to simplify this process, I 'shuttered' the corners with some styrene off-cuts and tape: You'll also notice I drilled four holes in the cross-member, and also cut a section out of the underside, as I decided the simplest (and indeed most realistic) way to mount the winch securely to the chassis was to turn it 90° and bolt it through the cross-member, and mount the fairlead on the lower pair of bolts - making for a very neat and compact installation. photo. note the winch motor/wires only just fits against the chassis extension bars on the right hand side - if I'd chosen a winch that was any bigger it would have to be off-set, which would have been a shame. While I purposely chose the red colour on the winch body (as it reminds me of an old Superwinch Husky for example), I thought it made the fairlead look a bit cheap, so it was out with the oven cleaner to strip off the anodising: photo. leaving it in for an hour or more, the cheap tin-pot metal meant the result was actually some very effective weathering too! photo. I reassembled the fairlead using M2 button head screws rather than the original socket-head screws (which were rather chunky), further adding to the scale appearance... photo. That is pretty tidy! (note. I also swapped the oversize tow-hook that came with the winch for a shackle - and the hook now has pride of place on Ta’Mater's crane cable!) I have to say, I'm actually tempted to leave the tail-gate off this build now, as I really like the open deck look (and could always fit a tail-gate net too of course)... however, before I make that ultimate decision, there was one thing I wanted to try: photo. Yes, those are actual teeny-weeny (doll's-house) working hinges! More soon! Jenny x

Ok, time to finish off the inner wheel-arches... photo. more cardboard templates... On the right hand side (from the driver's perspective of course), the inner arches needed a cut-out to fit around the twin batteries - ultimately it's cosy with regard to tyre clearance, but everything clears even on full lock and compression - however, I will elect to leave the corner of the battery visible inside the arch, rather than try and box it in - and actually I think that will add an nice 'hidden' detail too? photo. double checking everything fits before cutting the final pieces from styrene. The left hand inner wing was far more simple, although you might notice there is a tiny gap in the corner just by the air-filter - this will need a an angled piece cut to fill, before all the joints are beefed up with Araldite (or the US equivalent, not I've run out of my UK stash - I need to go shopping). photo. styrene sections cut, and tacked together with superglue. photo. I was pleased with how these turned out - rather than try and heat/bend a curve in the arches, I felt it was actually more appropriate to have these styled as if they were fabricated panels (I may end up either covering them in aluminium foil or checker-plate, complete with rivets), since the vehicle itself has had an engine transplant with a huge V8 anyway? photo. twin batteries fit perfectly... coolant/washer-bottle tanks made from the ends of an X-acto knife blade box - will have filler cap detail added too. cont.

cont. photo. my scratch-built brake servo... this is a random angled Tamiya chassis part and shock spring seat, together with the end of a clear tube that a set of 1150 bearings came in. The 'reservoir' section will ultimately have a cap too of course and the whole thing painted. photo. mocking up the radiator fan cowl, and making sure there is room for the scale batteries. photo. the idea is to mount the ESC and Receiver on the back of this bulkhead, which will be hidden by the interior footwells once the body is installed. photo. additional bracing for the rear inner arch sections and bottom of the radiator fan cowling. Love super-glue! photo. the complete bulkhead and inner wing assembly (other than the final trim sections that will be required to fill the space behind the headlight buckets). photo. twin batteries mean they do encroach slightly into the wheel-arch on that side. More soon! Jenny x

Having taken a break from this build (not least to assemble a temporary distraction - a new cage crawler Willy's Rocker) over the past couple of weeks, I've had time to work out a few things with regard to the engine bay, together with assembling a collection of scale accessories and details to incorporate... photo. custom cage (made from a bent coat-hanger) to hold propane tank. photo. fuel-filler neck cut from alloy tube and glued on (I have a moulded filler cap to fit after painting). [Inner] winging-it... Moving on to the engine bay - unlike most of my builds where the front end is crammed full of all the electronics, the idea with this build is to have a fully detailed engine bay and try and hide all traces of 'RC' ness under the bonnet - I'm aiming to mount the vehicle electronics in the narrow space between the engine-bay bulkhead and the interior footwell/bulkhead - and indeed have an opening/removable hood (which I intend to hold on with hidden magnets) so that the vehicle can be displayed and even run with the engine in full view. photo. the V8 engine motor cover is exceptionally well detailed already, and I hope the addition of some ancillaries will really lift this build to the next level. Along with the scale engine motor cover I'd already purchased, I've bought and fabricated some additional ancillaries which will be mounted on a custom bulkhead and inner wings - including a pair of ProLine batteries, a K&N style air filter and hose for the front of the engine, a scratch-built brake servo, and a pair of fluid reservoirs for coolant/washer fluid. I also plan to utilise the now redundant fan from the motor cover as an extra detail behind the radiator, complete with a custom cowling. First of all, I needed to design and cut a vertical bulkhead for behind the engine, and decided to incorporate the rear section of the inner wheel-arches too: photo. Cardboard Aided Design used to full effect here... photo. cut-out to clear gearbox, while the inner arch sections will be angled backwards to more closely follow the line of the wheel-arches. photo. with the bulkhead in place, the inner wheel-arches either side of the engine could start to be constructed (note the whole engine bay assembly will be secured using the front shock top bolts, and will stay in place allowing the main body-shell to be removed easily as required). photo. inner wings angled to allow tyre clearance underneath, and various ancillaries to be mounted either side of the engine itself. note. I actually like the shock towers poking though, although equally it would be possible to box these in with more styrene of course. photo. it's coming together! I've decided to keep the final layout simple, with essentially one ancillary in each quarter - the air-filter to the front right, the brake servo will be mounted rear right of course... then the fluid bottles on the panel rear left, and finally the twin batteries front left - balancing everything out. cont.

Thank you Grastens - yes, since the Mega-Bug is currently dormant (hence my new sig. line), I thought it would make sense to try and utilise that motor, gearbox, rear axle and some of the links and other hardware I'd acquired originally for that build... If I'd been really disciplined, I could have utilised some of the wheels and tyres I already had too (although they wouldn't be bead-locks, which really is essential on a vehicle like this) and it would have meant forfeiting the spare wheel I've now installed on the ebaYJeep of course. I also have a spare FlySky 2.4Ghz receiver kicking around, although by the time I'd bought a matching Transmitter and paid for postage, the compact TX/RX set I got from eBay was just as cheap, and the new Receiver is waterproof too which ought to be handy on a vehicle like this. Similarly, I also wanted to try the Hobby Wing waterproof ESC, and I have to say, it's really nicely made and seems to be perfect for a crawler, with a really strong drag-brake on it... for info. if anyone is unfamiliar, it's about the same size as a Tamiya TEU-105BK ESC, but made of metal and waterproof too of course. They also offer a non-crawler version (presumably with a traditional braking function rather than the abrupt stop/lock you get with a crawler ESC), so I think in future that is going to be my go-to brand/model for ESCs in future. Anyway, I'm hoping that a build like this is a good example of the kind of vehicle you can just leave in the boot of the car perhaps - so that it's always on hand for an impromptu crawling session should I spot any suitable terrain! Glad you like it! Jenny x

Ch, ch, ch, changes already... After a quick run round the garden on the rocks yesterday, I also experimented with relocating the rear shock tops to the pre-set/original mounting locations; and it turns out that while the articulation is significantly reduced, it is still very capable once it's actually being driven under power: photo. more conventional shock location - limits overall articulation [to more of the actual shock stroke length], but still works well... and arguably looks 'right' too? photo. it's not completely maxed out here, but it is close... photo. and that's still not bad after all... Ultimately, having the rear shocks mounted more conventionally gives a lot more range on the preload adjusters - with them laid down at 45° previously, the preload was maxed out, and only just sufficient to support the weight of the rear end; while now the adjusters are backed off almost all the way in a similar way to the front... Indeed, this way, the front and rear suspension is much more evenly matched, and the overall support from the springs means that the belly is less likely to sag over really rough terrain too. Time to recharge that battery and get back out there! Willy is Rockin'! Jenny x

The huggers for the front wheels look great - but equally I thought your original concept with the slammed front end, skirts and dragster wheels looked cool too! I wouldn't listen to gossip at meetings ;o) Either way, it's going to look great with some paint on there... if it were me I'd be tempted to rust it up a little and have some faded haulage logos on the doors - in a rat-rod stylee... Jx

Hi Speedy - yes, I did consider fabricating a box/chest to contain the battery and covering it in the checker-plate (and I also have a fuel-cell box that would work in a similar way) to hide the battery... the problem is any additional weight on the rear makes the suspension sag too much, and not rebound properly - it's right on the limit as it is with the shocks canted at the angle they are. Ideally I would rig up some alternative location for the top of the rear shocks to mount to (as I mentioned in the introduction, the stock shock mounts are one of criticisms of this cage chassis with regards to suspension performance), but without actually welding some new tabs onto the frame itself, I'm not sure the rear could support any more weight than it does currently - although at least with this current set-up the rear articulation is immense! However, over time I'm sure this build will evolve further, just as all my other models seem to do ;o) Jenny x

cont. Less is more... You might have just noticed in the photo above that I'd installed the battery on a flat panel behind the gearbox assembly (high enough so that the rear linkage arms still clear the underside on full compression travel) - and recovered the rear side panels of the now U shaped styrene assembly with self-adhesive aluminium foil... photo. I thought the new battery (particularly once held in place with two large zip-ties and some servo tape underneath) actually looked rather like a luggage bundle or trunk? However, I wasn't entirely happy with this revised look - while I like the industrial nature of the bare aluminium panels (and this effect looks great with a few stickers/decals on too of course), something about the bodywork at the rear seemed a bit clunky compared to the slim carbon-fibre nose perhaps? So I removed the side panels entirely and cut a simple shelf (from slightly thicker styrene) instead: photo. again, self-adhesive carbon-fibre was employed as a simple and cost-effective finish. photo. now personally, I feel that is 'more better' as the saying goes... photo. I also super-glued an M3 nut to the top of the motor, to secure Willy in place (the torso style driver having a screw hole through his left arm) - this will need to be beefed up with some Araldite or similar epoxy. photo. Ready to rock! So there we have it - by hiding all the wiring in the nose-cone and under the driver figure, and hiding the battery itself in plain sight as a 'trunk covered with a tarp' on the rear shelf, I feel I've created something that while obviously still an RC rock-crawler, at the same time has a number of scale elements that enhance the overall look towards a real 1:1 Moab style rock-buggy... well, other than Willy's big ol' head perhaps! In that regard I'm going to run this for a while now, in an effort to obtain some genuine patina, and then consider a degree of weathering and some further scale detailing - perhaps to the extent of stripping the cage itself (it needs some of the welds beefing up with either solder or at least filling with quick-steel anyway) and letting it rust naturally? Hope you enjoyed this little distraction as much as I have! Jenny x

Nosing ahead... So with all my electrics assembled, it was time to sort out a proper (solid) battery mounting tray, and try and hide the wiring the best I can in this otherwise open chassis/body vehicle. Initially I'd hope the battery would tuck in neatly under the bonnet, but on closer inspection, it really was a little too wide to fit inside the fender/side panels I'd fabricated to fit between the cage rails, and especially once I'd glued the sides to the [battery] base panel: However, all was not lost, as actually the small 2600mAh battery didn't weigh all that much more than the ESC and Rx unit together, so I factored I'd just put all the electronics under the bonnet/inside the nose cone, and have the battery in the rear instead! photo. I covered the styrene nose cone assembly with self-adhesive carbon-fibre, and also cut a panel of aluminium checker-plate for the underside. photo. the electronics compartment - note the side fender panels are the original ones I'd cut, just trimmed slightly and glued to the curved base panel, before being recovered in the vinyl. photo. ESC held in place with servo-tape. plenty of space in the nose for the Receiver and connector wires. photo. all the electronics in place, and the original bonnet panel fits over the top. photo. The bonnet is now held on with two zip-ties around the front cage cross-bar, allowing it to hing forward for access to the wiring if required. cont.

Compact 6-cell 2600mAh NiMh battery - physically much smaller than I was expecting: photo. comparison with traditional 6-cell stick pack. ...and it fits perfectly under the bonnet of the Cage Crawler - result! Jenny x

Sweet! - the new battery just arrived, and it's a lot smaller than I was expecting too! photo. 2600mAh 6-cell NiMh battery - I was expecting it to be six full-size cells in a square formation (the same as I've got fitted in Desmond), but it's actually much smaller... In fact this is the PERFECT size to fit under the bonnet of the cage without any need for modifying the panels at all - all I need to do is create a base plate/under-tray for it to sit on: There is even enough room in the nose to still mount the Receiver there too if I wanted - I'm liking that a lot! Jx