My ultimate FAV build

[jonboy1 3755]

11 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

Heresy! I suggested no such thing! 

Why are you dragging these guys into it?

Fake news, that's what I say.....

[jonboy1 3755]

the new printed parts arrived yesterday, so the evening was spent tinkering, mostly....

I swapped the servo horn for the hop up version as it gave a bit more clearance for the turnbuckle at full extension.

I also fitted the new hubs and uprights, which have fixed the funky angle I had on the top arm. You may notice there are now extra 1mm spacers in the lower arms - these were added to give the damper a little more clearance on the damper mounts - they weren't touching but they were very close.

All in all, I think the front end has got to a point where I'm reasonably happy with it.

Oooh - forgot something:

I modelled a couple of little brackets for some spotlights. I made them so I can still fit a brace across the struts - don't think I'll need at as it all seems pretty solid, but it's good to have the option.

Onto the back, where things are not so good:

The uprights came out really nicely. I had realised earlier that I'd fitted the gear diff inner drives instead of the ball diff ones, but forgot to allow for the fact they would now be a couple of mm further in when I designed these, so my dogbones are just too short now. It all works ok with some compression on the body, but at full extension they could pop out. I'll try and rework these so I can fit the cvd's instead.

My big issue though is camber wobble. I think I know what the issue is, but if either of you have any ideas I'd be very grateful.

What I'm thinking is that, if you look at the back square on:

Although the upper and lower arms (looking at the ball joint only at the bottom) are pretty much parallel they aren't exactly, and because I have the lower outer pivot stepped further up, I've basically got a trapezoid instead of a parallelogram. The effect I'm getting is that there is tonnes of movement in the camber plane, from this:

to this:

 

My head is telling me I need to raise the upper arm hub mount. Does that sound right to either of you two? 

[jonboy1 3755]

Moving on to better things.

I didn't want to keep the big "ammo box"? (I guess that was what the big lump behind the driver was meant to be?) so rather than just cover over the top of it I thought I'd try and make it more of a design feature:

and test fitted:

think it'll look ok all painted.

[jonboy1 3755]

The other thing I wanted to do was find a use for the 2 holes on the side of the rear cage, which again I think may have been intended for the heat sink if using a mechanical speed control. On my previous version it was used for a nitro tank, but I decided for something more practical on this one:

I'm not sure about the rear light there, think I need to ponder on that a bit more.

[jonboy1 3755]

If you are wondering about the driver, I found I didn't quite have a big enough piece of plasticard to cover the interior panel with, so that's on hold until I can get to the LHS.

And so onto the wheels.....

I've made a mistake, and ultimately added to my overly large collection of spare wheels and tyres, again!!

In my head I thought they'd look great, but they just look too.... it looks like it's a £79.99 RTR buggy, you know?

It's a shame, because I love the wheels on their own, and the buggy without the wheels, but together they just look wrong:

It looks better from some angles:

see?  

I think they are just a bit too big, so will need to do some experimenting and no doubt further add to my wheel collection.

So, got some painting to do, try and figure what to do about the rear camber issue, finish the interior, fit radio gear and route the wiring, design new rear hubs for the CVD's (although I think they will need redesigning for the camber anyhow) and find new wheels and tyres. 

Getting there though, slowly, hopefully!! 

[jonboy1 3755]

So is anyone else finding they aren't getting notifications of thread updates? 

I've done 2 updates and no comments! There must be a glitch on the website, that's the only possible explanation.

Did anyone else hear that tree fall down? No? Just me? oh......

Well, for posterity if nothing else, I have an update.

I was looking at my rear hubs and I think I see where I made a mistake, and it's a really rookie one. Normally I wouldn't want to admit it in public, but as it's only Posterity reading this I'll let it go.

Basically, I've been really stupid:

I've been working out my geometry based on the upper control arm needing to be parallel with the ball joint of the lower arm (the two dashed purple lines.) But that isn't right at all. The angle the ball joint sits at is completely irrelevant. What is important is the angle between the centre of the ball joint pivot and the bottom hub pivot (shown as being offset by 2.5mm.) So to get them parallel the upright of the hub needs to extend upwards to the 46.5mm dimension. I stuck all this in a working mechanism, and sure enough, it tracks equally. 

Anyway, no major issue, as It gives me an excuse to rework the outward position of the hubs so I can use the CVDs which are a bit longer than the dogbones I currently have in there.

In other news I got the plasticard and have started cutting a new interior panel. I also got some more paint and have been detailing a few things. The wheels are actually starting to grow on me. I popped the interior back in and it actually made the wheels look better strangely. I wonder if they just need the bolts detailing to make them look less plasticky?

[Re-Bugged 11952]

Looking good mate, funny you mention about notifications I normally pick up on threads in the activity thread but I don’t recall seeing anything from here? If I’ve commented on a thread, updates usually show up through email, but that’s been a bit sporadic lately?

I think the wheels will grow on you more, but a darker colour might help them blend in too.

Glad you’re getting the rear uppers sorted as before I got to read the last post I was thinking how I was going to explain basically the conclusion you’ve come to anyway 👍🏻

Carry on there good chap and I’ll endeavour to be more vigilant for future updates 😉

[jonboy1 3755]

1 hour ago, Re-Bugged said:

Looking good mate, funny you mention about notifications I normally pick up on threads in the activity thread but I don’t recall seeing anything from here? If I’ve commented on a thread, updates usually show up through email, but that’s been a bit sporadic lately?

 

So bizarrely, it isn't just me then?! I never got any notification that you had replied.

Maybe a word in the direction of @netsmithUK is needed so he can thump the server?

 

[JimBear 1305]

Regarding the rims, I think they look too clean ... weathering or running them in the mud for a bit? Or paint them black, picking out the bolts in metal perhaps.

[ad456 549]

This is some cracking work, the FAV/WO is one of my favorites. 
 

Is it the rim diameter that’s a bit big? I feel like the look is right but the size is ever so slightly off, do the tyres need a touch more sidewall? 

[Re-Bugged 11952]

10 hours ago, jonboy1 said:

So bizarrely, it isn't just me then?! I never got any notification that you had replied.

Maybe a word in the direction of @netsmithUK is needed so he can thump the server?

 

Well I'll be blowed, just logged in on the Mac that just sits in the corner gathering dust these days & a section pops up in the notification section to enable notifications for threads I'm not even active in!! 👍🏻

In any case my replies are coming from halfway round the world to you so maybe typing a bit louder so you can hear it might help 🙃

It's probably more my ignorance in the settings more than anything, but since my phone did an update I can only seem to be able to copy & paste YouTube or Photo links to comments, website links won't work for some reason? Odd.

[Re-Bugged 11952]

Getting back to the wheel dilemma, I seem to have a bit of a thing for painting in around the rim to tone down the wheel size a bit.

Blackfoot’s yellow JCB wheels being one and as lush as the Aluminium Turbo Scorpion wheels are, the rears were, well, a lot of aluminium if you know what I mean…

[JimBear 1305]

@Re-Bugged - on the way with my first cup of coffee for the day, and looking a bit too quickly on the photo above ... I just saw a tractor in there.

[jonboy1 3755]

On 6/20/2024 at 1:16 PM, JimBear said:

Regarding the rims, I think they look too clean ... weathering or running them in the mud for a bit? Or paint them black, picking out the bolts in metal perhaps.

I definitely think painting them will be needed. I didn't want to unless I was 100% certain about it, as these are quite rare now. I was wondering about maybe just trying a flat clear coat and some detailing in the bolts to begin with?

22 hours ago, ad456 said:

This is some cracking work, the FAV/WO is one of my favorites. 
Is it the rim diameter that’s a bit big? I feel like the look is right but the size is ever so slightly off, do the tyres need a touch more sidewall? 

Thanks! It's one of my FAVourites too (see what I did there??!! )

So I got my measuring stick out yesterday and was very surprised....

Those tyres measure, in the rear, 87mm diameter,  in the front, 78mm diameter. I then measured the Sand Scorcher wheels and they are 85mm diameter in the back and 72mm diameter in the front. So a gnats' whisker different in the back and only 6mm in the front.

So, it isn't that the wheels I had on there to begin with are actually too small, they just appear smaller because the rim diameter is smaller. Isn't perspective wonderful?

13 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Getting back to the wheel dilemma, I seem to have a bit of a thing for painting in around the rim to tone down the wheel size a bit.

Blackfoot’s yellow JCB wheels being one and as lush as the Aluminium Turbo Scorpion wheels are, the rears were, well, a lot of aluminium if you know what I mean…

 

I think this might be the way forward, in a manner of speaking at least. I'm going to paint the lettering on both sets of tyres and try a bit of detailing on the bigger rims and see how it looks then. I've got a couple of other options I might try again with the same process.

Will update.

Thanks guys!  

[Grumpy pants 5551]

Very clever jonboy, cool project too.

Like the others said before me, bit  of weathering, paint and detailing those wheels will be just right 👍 

[jonboy1 3755]

just a little update,  but nearing completion on this project now, so getting exciting (for me at least!)

I spent hours looking at wheels and tyre combinations and I think I've found something I like now. The previous ones just looked a bit too chunky and "overwheeled" for me. Anyway, the fronts I've decided on (for now anyhow) are non-hex drive wheels, so I needed to design some new hubs for a suitable shaft. At the same time, I wanted to make the front track slightly narrower, as the thinner front wheels would have looked a bit too far apart. There was plenty of material to pinch from the existing design, so this was an easy fix:

and fitted:

I've also painted the front crash bar (?) black to tie it in with the rest of the cage etc. I think it looks better like this and less toylike.

Round the back I designed some new hubs to fix the camber wobble issue I had with the old ones:

You can see how much of an error I made here!!

but boy do they work better now!

Also painted the exhaust can (not sure it will stay this shade) and I've test fitted my rear lights. I also needed to flip the jerry can so it sits above the cage as the arm hit it at full compression.

So, I'm just waiting for some outer cvd's to arrive and that will be all the mechanical parts done! The driver needs his arm painting and I think I'll redo his helmet. Oh, I also made some filler pieces for the spotlights as I'm not planning on fitting LED's but didn't like the holes in the back:

 

[jonboy1 3755]

Finished it!

(the little hole there is to give access to the hex head of the screw to hold down the interior)

quite like how the little smiley lights came out  

 

 

the motor isn't connected yet, as I need to extend the wires, but I did manage to get all the radio gear in!!

there was only one choice for the wheels in the end  

 

 

Overall I think it turned out ok. I can't decide if I should put some sponsor stickers on it or not - might cut out a few and see what I think. Otherwise, once I've got the wiring extended I think I can call this one done!

Back to the Pumpkin now to get that one looking better!

[BuggyDad 6517]

That looks absolutely fantastic. 

[JimBear 1305]

Amphibilicious (well, it does have a certain froggy flair to it, I think)!

Seriously, great work!

[Re-Bugged 11952]

Excellent choice on the wheels 👍🏻You can definitely sleep easy now. All turned out beautifully in the end 😎

[Grumpy pants 5551]

Fantastic job jonboy 👏

[toyolien 6546]

That looks brilliant. Love it. Do the Kyosho wheels fit ok?

[Anthroxoid 190]

That’s a very handsome job! Always curious to learn what others are using for their CAD time on projects and found your screenshot with the rear suspension analysis interesting. Further on that custom fab note, what sort of print creates that ‘sand blasted’ looks to the resin? It reminds of nicely cast iron work. Very cool. 
 

—XOID

 

PS—Yeah, give those red chines some detail! Maybe a sponsor decal or maybe a color accent?

[jonboy1 3755]

thanks very much @BuggyDad @JimBear @Re-Bugged @Grumpy pants - I felt like giving up half way through this, so the kind comments make it worthwhile  

On 7/12/2024 at 9:49 PM, toyolien said:

That looks brilliant. Love it. Do the Kyosho wheels fit ok?

Thanks too! Your Wild One helped inspire this so I especially appreciate your approval  

Yes and no. Fronts - straight fit onto standard old style 2wd hubs. Rear - I designed some printed adapters that convert the standard pin drive into a kinda star shaped drive that slots around the ribs on the back of the wheels:

They seem to work ok - need to get everything wired up to try it in anger, but I reckon they should hold up ok.

I got some of the friction drive hubs with the wheels and in theory, with just a very minor amount of fettling, I reckon they would work ok. However, the main obstacle is the drive axle length. I'm currently challenging @Grumpy pants for stock under the bed of universal drives, as between the dogbone length and outer hub length issues I'm positively swimming in the things and don't really care to buy any more (I lie - I have already ordered some more as a last attempt.)

The wheel hub "thickness" of the Kyosho wheels are huuuuge!!! Compared to standard Tamiya hub thickness of 1.5-2mm max these are incredibly over engineered - got to be pushing 6mm thick. Add on the extra 6-8mm for the friction drive hub and you  are looking at needing very long hubs axles. Hence why I designed a very slim-line version of my own. I've got WR-02 outer hubs on my universals and they just fit ok with a standard wheel nut. If I fitted the Kyosho thin nut it would probably be spot on. I've got some longer hubs coming so I hope they will allow the friction drives to fit - however - I think this will push the wheels out a bit too far, so I might end up sticking with it as it is and consigning some more drives to the @Grumpy pants spare pile.

On 7/13/2024 at 8:37 PM, Anthroxoid said:

That’s a very handsome job! Always curious to learn what others are using for their CAD time on projects and found your screenshot with the rear suspension analysis interesting. Further on that custom fab note, what sort of print creates that ‘sand blasted’ looks to the resin? It reminds of nicely cast iron work. Very cool. 
 

Thanks!  I use Creo Parametric for CAD stuff. The finish on the printed parts is a polyshot blast (bit like vapour/sand blasting I guess) which gets rid of all the high spots.