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TurnipJF

Turnip turns a "Bear Hawk" into a Blitzer Blackfoot

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Things are coming together! The body has been polished, stickered and assembled:

2022-01-16_02-55-04

 

2022-01-16_02-56-50

 

I like its stance:

2022-01-16_02-55-41

 

However putting the body together and placing it on the chassis revealed a potential issue. I didn't have the front grille/bumper moulding installed when checking clearances, and with it in place, there isn't a massive amount of clearance between the tyre and the end of the bumper. When turning, the tyre hits the bumper end before reaching full steering throw:

2022-01-16_02-59-42

 

This may not be an issue as I usually turn down the steering rate on my models, so I may not need full steering throw anyway. However if it is, I may need to reconsider my wheel/tyre choice. There is something else I can try first though. In stock form, there is a lot of camber on the front wheels:

2022-01-16_02-57-53

 

If I fit a DT-02 turnbuckle set, I ought to be able to dial some of this out, setting the wheels more upright and increasing the clearance between the bumper and tyre. I'm quite sure I don't need this much camber!

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2 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Things are coming together! The body has been polished, stickered and assembled:

2022-01-16_02-55-04

 

2022-01-16_02-56-50

 

I like its stance:

2022-01-16_02-55-41

 

However putting the body together and placing it on the chassis revealed a potential issue. I didn't have the front grille/bumper moulding installed when checking clearances, and with it in place, there isn't a massive amount of clearance between the tyre and the end of the bumper. When turning, the tyre hits the bumper end before reaching full steering throw:

2022-01-16_02-59-42

 

This may not be an issue as I usually turn down the steering rate on my models, so I may not need full steering throw anyway. However if it is, I may need to reconsider my wheel/tyre choice. There is something else I can try first though. In stock form, there is a lot of camber on the front wheels:

2022-01-16_02-57-53

 

If I fit a DT-02 turnbuckle set, I ought to be able to dial some of this out, setting the wheels more upright and increasing the clearance between the bumper and tyre. I'm quite sure I don't need this much camber!

That looks the 🐝 knees and the 🐕 ️ combined. If ever there was a model that Tamiya should have made this is it. Great job, hope you sort out the steering issues without having to alter the look too much.

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That does look awesome mate, nice work!B)

With the clearance issue, hopefully the camber will help a little. Could you also raise the body up a touch? Or perhaps mod the bumper ends by cutting out a section each side and move the ends closer to the centre - would require respray I imagine.

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It looks like adjusting the camber has sorted the clearance issue. At full lock, the tyre clears the end of the bumper. Not by much, but it clears:

2022-01-21_08-55-02

 

The chassis looks a little better too IMO, with shiny metal adjustable upper links rather than fixed plastic ones:

2022-01-21_08-56-29

 

There was nothing wrong with the camber at the rear, but it got adjustable links too, purely for aesthetics:

2022-01-21_08-57-20

 

I think the reduced camber improves the looks too, making it appear more monster-truck-ish and less like a failed JDM wannabe:

2022-01-21_08-55-55

 

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed by now that the adjustable upper links are not of the turnbuckle type. This is because I have two DT-02 buggies, one of which received a turnbuckle upgrade not too long ago, and has been receiving envious glances from its non-turnbuckle-equipped sibling ever since. To prevent squabbling, I fitted the turnbuckles to the second DT-02, so now they each have a set. Thus, with one purchase, I have two upgraded vehicles:

2022-01-21_08-58-20

 

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Nice one @TurnipJF! Good to hear it was an easy fix and it's got some more upgrades now too!B)

We need a dead straight on side shot when you have time, will show us how she's sitting with regard to the wheel arch and wheels etc. Looking spot on from what I can see though mate. Have you taken it out for a proper run yet?

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On 1/21/2022 at 11:47 PM, Kol__ said:

Nice one @TurnipJF! Good to hear it was an easy fix and it's got some more upgrades now too!B)

We need a dead straight on side shot when you have time, will show us how she's sitting with regard to the wheel arch and wheels etc. Looking spot on from what I can see though mate. Have you taken it out for a proper run yet?

I'll take some more pics and include a side-on one. In terms of arches, the rear axle is centered on the rear arch, the front one is well towards the front of the arch, kinda like this fullsize example:

ford-in-deep-mud-run-4.jpg

 

I took it out for a run around the Postal Racing track before the body was done, but I haven't taken it out since then, and I told myself that it will only get its first proper offroad run when it is fully complete. I am using this as incentive to get myself to finish the driver figure. :)

 

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Make sure that drivers seat belt is secure I think he’s in for a heck of a ride 😃 

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4 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

The driver is looking a bit poorly...

2022-01-22_08-19-52

 

Haha! So he is, what the **** have you done to the poor *******!?:lol:;)

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I think the driver is just a bit nervous about getting behind the wheel. And no surprise, it looks wonderful!

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5 hours ago, Kol__ said:

Haha! So he is, what the **** have you done to the poor *******!?:lol:;)

So far, just a sprayed coat of primer and a brushed coat of "flesh tone" acrylic. Not sure which morgue occupant they used as inspiration when concocting their "flesh tone" paint!

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The final day of the current round of postal racing gave me the push I needed to finish the driver figure, which was the last item I needed to tick off in order to call the model finished. He is painted and installed, which means the truck is done!

Here he is, with purple hair and goatee to match mine:

2022-01-30_05-09-49

Not perfect but he'll do.

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Looking better than ever mate!B)

Have you managed to get it out for its first proper offroad run now it's fully complete?

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That looks amazing. As I am a fan of the Bear Hawk I wasn't so excited when I read this would be a resto mod. But it turns out perfectly. The stance is great and the Blackfoot livery proofs again that it is a class of its own which looks good in every way. Love it.

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14 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

 

Here he is, with purple hair and goatee to match mine:

 

Wow, a mental image I have of you was more a wise kind of pipe smoking Sherlock Holmes figure of a man, never in million years would I have thought you had purple hair 🙃 😉

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4 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Wow, a mental image I have of you was more a wise kind of pipe smoking Sherlock Holmes figure of a man, never in million years would I have thought you had purple hair 🙃 😉

Holmes? Nah. My look is more Watson-esque. Bowler and cane rather than dearstaker and pipe. 😁

2022-01-31_12-16-52

 

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Looking good there Mr Turnip 👍🏻
 

Seeing as Ron has more hair than I do, I gave him shirt like one of mine instead,

0394886C-9474-4754-B34A-A6D53DBE2320.md.

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PROJECT SUMMARY

With the model complete and tested, I think I can call this build thread done. It has been a fun one, taking a very battered chassis and bringing it back to good-as-new status, then giving it a different look by adding non-standard wheels, tyres and bodyshell.

This is my first experience with the Blitzer chassis, and I am rather impressed. I found it interesting to see how the chassis design that originated with the Falcon has been reworked and transformed from a rather delicate thing into a rugged runner. The bulkheads seem solid, the gearbox appears to be built to last, and now that it has bearings and a steel pinion installed, it should be good for many many runs to come.

I was very pleased to see how well the Blackfoot shell fitted the chassis. The Blitzer Beetle front mount is the perfect height and location for the pre-moulded hole in the Blackfoot bonnet, aligning the rear arches perfectly with the rear axle. The rear mounts are in a good position too, and just need extensions fitted to be able to reach the loadbed.

I am also very pleased with how well the wheels and tyres fit with the whole ensemble. Fitting big wheels and tyres to a model always runs the risk of too long a roll-out, but the 13t pinion and Torque Tuned motor combo copes well, giving decent runtimes, normal running temperatures and enough torque to lift the front wheels when accelerating from a standing start.

My misgivings about the clearance between front bumper and tyres turned out to be groundless as one doesn't need full lock when driving. Even on the tight Postal Racing course, I turned the steering rate down to 75%. The reduced camber was probably not even necessary to increase clearance, as there is plenty at 75% throw.

The completed vehicle looks the part, and test driving shows that it acts the part too. The low, wide stance allows one to throw it around with abandon, not having to worry unduly about rolling it despite the relatively heavy ABS shell. I was able to corner far faster and more confidently with this than I could with my ORV-based Monster Beetle with its similarly-weighted ABS shell for example. Off-road manners are good too - the suspension seems more than capable despite the relatively high unsprung weight of the big wheels and tyres, and it jumps and lands nice and flat.

All in all I think it is a resounding success, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this combination of chassis, shell, wheels and tyres to anyone else who would like to build such a model themselves.

 

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