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JennyMo

The Fro-Sco returns - as Willy's new desert beater!

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Hot on the heels of my recent project to build Willy a new ride (See 'The Stumpkin' in Monster Trucks), I thought I'd continue the theme of a beaten up old motor for Willy to hit the desert in!

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To recap, I originally built this car back in 2008 before the re-re Sand Scorcher was announced, and at the time I thought it was the only realistic (and affordable) way to get a Scorcher for myself... I started out with a Frog (actually a Brat) chassis, fitted Frog wheels and a shell from a Blitzer Beetle - all new parts that I got through ebay. As I always wanted this to be a runner, I wasn't going to be precious about keeping things authentic, and I love the way the Frog chassis works...

Since then, it steadily evolved as I got more and more inspiration from all the great Scorchers on Tamiya Club. Having initially gone for a retro colour alternative box-art style paint job, I then set about customising the shell - typically every time it got damaged while running! If you'd like more info, please check out my showroom to see the evolution over the years: http://www.tamiyaclu...om.asp?id=25648

The current incarnation was basically a rebuild and restyle, after my nephew had crashed the car while I'd been away on holiday (that will teach me for leaving both the battery and the controller in the cupboard with the car!)... with the front end repaired, I removed all the old graphics, and set about distressing the body in a similar way to the STUMPkin - rust and dirt, and in this instance, a few dents in the door and wing.

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At the front, I have cut down the front wings and trimmed them in aluminium self-adhesive foil to look like metal panels, and cut a slot in the bonnet to mount a spare front wheel.

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The front tyres are my latest mod - I was not happy with the stance of the car on the Sand Scorcher or Rough Rider diameter wheels, and having watched a you-tube clip on how to narrow tyres, thought I'd give it a go on a set of rear Rough Rider tyres - cutting two rows of tread out of the middle.

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At the rear, I wanted to try and hid the fact there is a distinct lack of engine on the Frog! - so cut the engne cover off and repositioned it as a scoop/vent, with a mesh insert.

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I had also modified the rear wheel arches to emphasize the fat rear end and highlight the suspension.

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I also cut the rest of the door frames and windows out, and replaced the rear windows with more aluminium - to make it more of an authentic racer.

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The overall effect I was after is that of a beat-up old class 5 desert racer?

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The larger diameter front wheels certainly improve the stance of the buggy!

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And Willy is very happy!

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I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed building it!

JennyMo xx

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Looks great!! Are you using Monster Beetle bodymounts in it, or something completely different?? (I have a couple of Frogs, and a couple of Scorcher-shells lying around you see, lol).. :)

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Looks great!! Are you using Monster Beetle bodymounts in it, or something completely different?? (I have a couple of Frogs, and a couple of Scorcher-shells lying around you see, lol).. :)

Hi Gozone! - initially I used the original Blitzer/Monster Beetle holes, together with some generic Tamiya body mounting posts I had lying around. As I recall I had to slightly reposition the front post on the chassis to get everything to line-up, and used a pair of spare body mounts horizontally on the chassis above the rear shocks to locate though the BB holes in the sides - the shell sits a little high at the rear like that, but needs to be like that to clear the battery holder, and also to allow the rear suspension to fully compress without fouling the arches.

When I mounted the spare wheel in the front, I had to move the front mounting post back a little further and drill a new hole in the shell - there is a description and photos of what I did in my showroom pages... hope that helps! Jx

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I like the spare wheel sticking out like that, looks cool. And original, not seen that done before.

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Thank you! I have to say, it is hard to come up with something truly original when it comes to modding Sand Scorcher shells - it seems someone somewhere has always done it before! - but then that is what I love about Tamiya Club - you can get great inspiration, then roll with it in your own way? Jx

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Thats where it would be on a 1/1 beetle but with the baja kit, the bonnet is shorter so you lose the space for the spare tyre so It looks quite scale.

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looks great, and that spare out the hood is awesome :)

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I like it! Especially the "unfinished" look with the black nose. It looks like Willy scraped together enough money for the Baja kit, but couldn't afford to paint it. You see a lot of them in that state, so it's very realistic. :)

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That looks awesome,, i bet willy loves his new baja.lol,

What does it drive like which motor do you run

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Hi Mr Nice! The motor is the stock one from the Brat re-re kit, so a Tamiya RS540SH (I had to look at the sticker x)

The car drives very nicely now on the new front wheels, although I've noticed the centre of gravity is higher than before as it can lift a wheel when cornering hard on tarmac, especially if you throttle off at the same time - in fact I rolled it over twice yesterday, which never used to happen on the Scorcher front wheels...

The Frog/Brat chassis does seem very compliant over rough ground though, and it jumps really nice and level over crests - I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one! Jx

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Quick update, and a few photos of the body mounting post positions:

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I revised the rear mounts this afternoon, as since the roll overs yesterday, I found the body would shift without the rear clips in place to hold it on - so I've fitted slightly longer posts (the cranked ones were exactly the right length to not stick out further than one hole) and moved them back a few mm compared to my original rear mounts (you can see the original holes in the chassis):

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At the front, as part of the spare wheel mounting, I flipped over the original Brat mounting post, and cut a new mounting post to the correct height, which I drilled very carefully and screwed in from underneath, adding a good dollop of super-glue for good measure:

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Note the post had to be moved into this position to allow me to fit the spare wheel in front of it.

So with the new rear mounts, the body now sits really well on the lip of the battery mounting:

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And from underneath - it's as if those channels in the sills were cut especially for it!

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I have to say, these latest mods have really firmed up the shell mounting - so I hope that helps anyone else wanting to fit a Beetle body onto a Frog chassis!

Toot toot!

Jenny xx

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I find my ranger spends alot of time on its roof due to permanent locked rear diff when blasting on tarmac, as these are ment for sand and loose terrain that is how they were built.Does your fro sco have rear diff locked as this could be the cause of tipping on solid ground.

I found out the hard way and got some serious deep scrapes.

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The locked diff isn't the reason SRBs like to roll over on tarmac - it's the swing axle suspension.

Just like a chevy corvair, the side loads can cause the outside rear to "tuck under" and make the car trip over itself.

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Does your fro sco have rear diff locked as this could be the cause of tipping on solid ground.

Hi Mr Nice - no, the diff is the standard open one on the Frog, although I found one side was slightly tight (which might have had an effect corning in a particular direction) so have stripped it and re-greased it last night and it's much smoother and balanced now... I also adjusted the toe-in on the steering out a few turns, so hopefully it won't load up the front in the same way - and it seems much better now... Jx

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I like it! Especially the "unfinished" look with the black nose. It looks like Willy scraped together enough money for the Baja kit, but couldn't afford to paint it. You see a lot of them in that state, so it's very realistic. :)

Hee hee - you seem to know Willy too well x

Also, you see a number of [particularly light and/or metallic painted] vehicles and 4x4s that are used in the desert with matt black bonnets, as it helps to cut out the glare from the leading edge when driving into the sun... not so import on a Beetle of course as the nose drops away so abruptly, but I wouldn't want Willy to have to wear shades... actually, that has just given me a new idea for another Willy driver! Jx

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Dont know about that swing arm business as most vehicles have swing arm.I still reckon its defo the locked diff as i locked up the ones on others to see how i could adjust / fix problem...Any way sorry to hijack thread about diffs.

Willy is a lucky little man lol, im looking to convert my hornet (when it arrives) to baja bug with scorcher body set when it all arrives but what to create is the hardest part.Yours is truly fab..im jealous!

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been thinking .. i got 2 willy heads spare after the jeep sooooo .. i might bung one on a drivers body in my lexan bodied baja frog i have had for ages .. hmm thanks for the insperation jennymo !

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July 2014: Time to dig this one out of the toy box (I mean my display shelf of course) for an annual revamp...

The Fro-Sco was my first attempt at weathering (along with the original STUMPkin) using a heat gun to create dents, and painting in 'rust' as best I could using a mix of acrylic colours and fine brushes. The effect (as you can see at the beginning of this thread) was pretty realistic, although subsequently I've seen weather taken to a whole new level using the technique of applying salt between coats of red oxide and grey primer, before ultimately applying a top coat...

Having used this technique myself on the Nailer Scaler and STUMPkin, I thought I would revisit my original 'beater' build and refresh it for 2014.

I felt there was no point in stripping the body back to plain plastic - rather just add more layers of paint as would be realistic for a 40 year old car that had been raced around the So Cal desert for the past ten years...

So, just some primer and salt in the worst of the 'affected' areas - typically body creases and panel joints, and where dents and damage had occurred:

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Close up of the salt application:

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Initially I Dremelled some of the joints to create more unevenness and decay, then sprayed a red oxide primer to replicate the base layer of rust.

Next I added water and course-grain sea salt to the areas I wanted to leave red, then sprayed a second coat (or two) of grey primer, adding a little more salt between coats so that when it's washed off, the result will be a flaky finish revealing both the red base and the peeling grey...

Finally I decided to do away with the original two-tone paint scheme, and just go for an all over VW orange:

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It is currently a bit too shiny in places, so I'll flat that with some 1200 grit wet&dry paper to replicate having been sand blasted in the Mojave desert over the years.

I've also got some new stickers I'd like to incorporate, plus will have to refinish all the window rubbers, wipers and other body details too of course... the big reveal of it's latest incarnation should be soon I hope!

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Jx

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Temptation... too... strong... could... not... resist!

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Yep, my first order from Shapeways - from Toykid of course!

I've wanted these VW steel wheel covers for ages (particularly as the Fro Sco runs Rough Rider size wheels) , and the revamp has been the perfect excuse!

The peak is just to dress up Acid Willy and make him more Glamis ;o)

Jx

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Well, I've been busy pretty much all day today with this - thank goodness the warm weather means the paint dries quickly!

So, first a few 'how to' shots of the rust technique - I know this is old ground for some of you, and again I must thank Skottoman for inspiring me to try this technique in the first place - it really does lift 'rust' to another level!

The rear cowl - with it's top coat and layers of grey and red primer underneath, together with the salt:

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Salt washed off under a running tap, and I used an old toothbrush to agitate the salt off too, without chipping too much of the paint away:

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Finally, a bit of dirt weathering in the chipped paint, plus some matt black spray to replicate exhaust soot and oil mist from the air-cooled engine working hard under pressure ;o)

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Another technique that I thought was awesome was SteveU30's heads-up regarding painting window rubbers both neatly and quickly...

You can see both first and final stages here - first cover the window aperture with masking tape:

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Then press the tape as tightly as you can against the window trim detail, and scribe around with a sharp knife:

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Once you have removed the centre section, simply paint with black (I actually use the Tamiya XF85 'Rubber black' which is a greeny/charcoal matt black, more realistically rubber coloured)... let it dry, then remove the rest of the tape for a neat finish!

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The result is very effective!

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So, a few more detail shots of the latest bought of weathering...

Rotten windscreen surround and dirty windscreen - '67 tax disc was actually from some Monte Carlo Mini repro graphics:

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Dremel used with a pointed tip to gouge out various panel joints to replicate rust eating away:

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Scuttle panel corrosion - that's going to fail an MoT:

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Note. Aluminium self-adhesive tape used to create chrome body trim strips along each side, and for door cappings and handles.

Door frame damage on passenger side created with the Dremel again...

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And on the driver's side, a heat gun used to dent the door, then salt/rust effect used to replicate the paint blistering off:

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That filthy rear cowl - exhaust and oil mist, and lots of rust...

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...fine aluminium mesh used to fill in space between body and cowl, and heating vents blacked in for depth... Nevada licence plate a custom print onto paper and laminated between sellotape - the overall effect is pretty realistic I thought?

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You may notice too that I also removed the rear lights and trimmed the arches in a similar style to the STUMPscorcher...

And finally - the whole shell is finished!

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I'm just waiting on the new Knight Customs' steel-wheel covers to arrive from Shapeways - which in this instance I will of course suitably distress too!

Toot toot for now!

Jx

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Great work Jen, this is still my favourite creation of yours and it just got a whole lot better!

Thanks for the mention too, don't think I've ever had a mention before (not for a tip anyway).

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