Iron Hammer chassis

[ad456 93]

Anyone seen this yet? Expensive but looks cool. I fancy one(so much I may be in the process of a preorder)for a TXT or Clod build. I know there’ll be a few thoughts here about this. Suggestions?

[bRIBEGuy 956]

I think it looks rad.  I've been trying very hard to ignore it.   

My biggest concern with it would be RC4WD's hit-or-miss product quality.  That, and the fact that all of the parts/accessories are 3D printed Shapeways items, and not IM plastic or CNC aluminum.  A 3.3lb chassis with monster truck parts seems like it would make short work of 3D printed should mounts and such, IMO.

Personally, I'd probably buy it sans accessories, and try to just fab stuff up as required.  I think a build with LMT or SMT axles would be great, as spares/options are plentiful.

Luckily shipping to Canada is almost $50usd, so I doubt I'll be getting one soon... 

[ad456 93]

Sooo, massive willpower failure and Rc Bitz will have one on the way as soon as Martin has them in.

Rc4wd can be hit or miss indeed but hopefully it'll be the hit side of things. I'm likely to fab up what i need from delrin and alloy once the designs are prototyped in PLA on the printer, shouldn't be anything too complicated with any luck.

Onto the tricky bit now, what running gear? Clod is the B plan i think as the TXT/Jugg will look way more scale. Not sure i want too use the original transmission as the thing is huge but i'm not great at gear ratio stuff so anyone have any ideas on an Axial or Rc4wd clone that would work and not kill the budget even more!?

I'm looking at trying those Michelin MegaXBIB tyres and really fancy the Ignitor headlocks too and the body is yet to be decided. I want to make a decent effort at a scale build here but not to the point I'm scared to run it.

[87lc2 1888]

For a scale build it looks cool, will definitetly be top heavy being made from steel.  If you want to run TXT axles the Axial trans will work well.  I run that trans in one of my TXT-2s and it runs great.  I love TXT axles and they're quite durable so that would make for a cool build. 

The MegaXbib tires are a bit on the smaller side as far as diameter, but they look nice.  I have a few sets of the Ignitor beadlocks and they're very nice looking wheels, but I dont use them anymore since they're way too heavy for racing. For scale looks though, very nice.  

[ad456 93]

@87lc2 thanks, I’ll get an axial box ordered up and see what I can come up with. Might even use some brass to even out the CoG. What motor do you run in the TXT?
I was a bit wary of the size of those Michelin ones so I’ll hold off just now and see what looks right out of the rims and tyres I have already and see if the smaller size will look right  

I’ve been searching for a picture of a built chassis and can’t seem to find one so far to get a gauge of size for body/wheels etc. 

[87lc2 1888]

I haven't seen one built either but I know a few guys who have bought them.  If any get finished soon I'll post some pictures. 

I run a 4700kv 3660 motor in that TXT-2 with the Axial trans.  It's geared pretty low (around 11/56 I think) and it moves pretty good.  

For tires I think the JC Firestorms or Golden Years are the ticket with this chassis.  I have'nt seen one in person but being 1/8 scale it will probably be pretty big so you'll want a larger tire for it to look right.  

[ad456 93]

So its now here and I like it!!!

Robbed the axles etc from another build to have a quick and dirty look and it's nice. Super chuffed with it and props to RC Bitz for getting it to me fast even though he was on his holidays!

Definitely 1/8 scale, my Bedlam body is way too small for it! I'll hack up my sad looking USA-1 body later and see how that fares. Crawler bodies are probably going to be the ones for this thing. 

I'll get better shots with wheels etc later on once my "apprentice" is in his bed

[bRIBEGuy 956]

That looks really good!

[ad456 93]

So the red links were PLA printed from rubbish filament as a test for another build, were 40/60 and breaking so i fitted some ESP Jugg links to it and threw some B&H tyres on Brawler rims. The links are 10-20mm too long for this and I'm printing rough suspension brackets at the moment.

Front

Comparison with a stock Clod.

[87lc2 1888]

Looks great with the top loader axles.  Only problem with the chassis design that I can see are the shock mounts, you really don't want them straight up and down like that.  I'd say extend the wheelbase, but looks pretty long as-is (looks like 15" now?).  I love Proline shocks, but never had much luck with them on a solid axle truck, springs are way too stiff.  

[bRIBEGuy 956]

On 8/18/2022 at 1:26 PM, 87lc2 said:

Looks great with the top loader axles.  Only problem with the chassis design that I can see are the shock mounts, you really don't want them straight up and down like that.  I'd say extend the wheelbase, but looks pretty long as-is (looks like 15" now?).  I love Proline shocks, but never had much luck with them on a solid axle truck, springs are way too stiff.  

I would think it depends what you are going for.  Most 1:1 monster trucks have near vertical shock placement, so if the goal is to do something more scale (which I feel is the intent of this particular chassis), then I think it's fine.  Sure, it won't have the performance of an angled (or link mounted) shock, but it may not matter.  I went with near vertical 120mm shocks on my SMT10 build, and I think it handle great for what I do with it.

What wheelbase are you going for @ad456?

[ad456 93]

I’m in a bind on this one, got “writer’s block” on the running gear. It’s got a 15.1” wheelbase jus now and I’d like a tilt on the shocks of maybe 10ish degrees front and sideways if that makes sense. I’m currently messing around with shock mount designs for the axles and the frame on the computer and nothing was really clicking in style or choice so I’ve left it for a minute in the hope I have a “ahh, yeah” moment. 

The easier and lazier thing to do would be to just transplant my USA-1 onto it but it has its own issues, the main one is that I will drive it like I stole it

The shocks are GDS but no doubt a clone of Prolines, only being used as they are the longest I have. Depending on what pans out I was looking at Traxxas UDR rear dampers as a possibility. 

I think I’m gonna end up having to make compromises at the cost of looks. If I stretch it to get the shocks right then it’ll end up too long for the wheel size IMO, I think I’ll work on finding a body and a gearbox as it’s coming near the day my boss graces me with more rc budget.

[87lc2 1888]

 Always a tough balance between looks and function with these solid axle trucks, I think the main issue is that the chassis is so big its hard to find bodies that will work with such a long wheelbase.  Mounted vertically you can still get shocks to work, but you'll need something very soft.  I've had really good luck with this on my Challenger class and Ultra Mod trucks but I can use 90mm shocks on those.  At the moment cant think of any spring over 100mm that would be as soft as I'd like.  

[bRIBEGuy 956]

The RC4wd "King shocks can be found in 100 & 120mm lengths and can be set up pretty soft as can the CPE cheapy ones.  I have the Kings on my SMT10 with 5wt oil, and the CPE ones on a SCX10 MT I'm building, and both have no issues settling down about 50% of the way thru the stroke with the softest springs. 

The Iron Hammer would weigh WAY more, so I'd think there would be zero issues, even with a firmer spring.

15 WB is big!  

I think if it were me, I'd try to move the upper shock mount inboard of the mounting "beam" in the shock hoop, and then see if you could move the lower shock mount to the location of the link mount on the axle.  Just a thought/idea...

[ad456 93]

 

Big ya say?!

In all seriousness though the ones I'd seen for the UDR were kinda like a powder coat yellow which was why i took notion for them, typically i can't find them again which maybe a blessing. I'll probably go with the Manticore body as it can be easily made to look like a Ford F-something-50 with the right paint job and is likely the body this was built for. the USA-1 body is even too small for this.

Edit:

Got on with sizing out some interior bits tonight as well

[bRIBEGuy 956]

I love how those giant Jumbo Kongs look!  Such a cool tire.

I went to Monster Jam over the weekend, and had a riot.  It's always crazy to me now how SMALL the tires on a real MT look.  As the RC stuff has gotten a little "cartoonish" in proportions sometimes, it's interesting seeing how long & low a real MT looks... and how little a BKT seems in scale.

[ad456 93]

So I found some shocks i liked the look of, took a chance and i think they'll work, they came with 3 spring sets each so some adjustability to work with. 

While they came in the post I did some homework on the looks of a real monster and messed around with a second hand printer that was broken and a few(6+) iterations of parts and now have this. I also grabbed a Manticore body and got it on. I'm reasonably pleased with the results.

I bought a cheap Maverick gearbox to see what's what until I learn about what 6mm gearboxes are out there and then what shafts i need to go to the axles. Its a bit of a myriad as I was toying the idea of 2/3 Speed or just single and there's a ton of different shapes etc so a bit lost there but I'll figure it out.

I'm now cooking up a fuel cell and containment seat in Blender and found a nice radiator on Thingiverse. I also found a V8 to use and while its a great start, it needs a lot of remodelling before I can use it.

Also got some sway bar bits coming home but the seller took about 10 days to even despatch them.

[bRIBEGuy 956]

That's looking good!  What shocks are those?

The Manticore body looks like a pretty good fit!

[ad456 93]

@bRIBEGuy those are an Aliexpress/Ebay special. No brand but come in 90-120mm flavours as far as i can tell and have some hose to put between the reservoir thingy. I'm toying with rotating the tops 90 degree for mounting and running some 5mm brass tube instead of the hose but early days. Got all 8 for about 55usd so cheap enough but not tried them for leakiness yet!

If they suck then they go on the clod and look good there instead

[bRIBEGuy 956]

On 10/17/2022 at 2:01 PM, ad456 said:

@bRIBEGuy those are an Aliexpress/Ebay special... Got all 8 for about 55usd so cheap enough but not tried them for leakiness yet!

If they suck then they go on the clod and look good there instead

Hopefully they hold oil!  There is nothing worse than building up nice shocks and having them just leak leak leak.  The Axial shocks on my SMT10 were THE WORST for that.  Built them one night, and came down to find pools of oil under the truck the next morning.