Willy's Nailer Scaler - Summer project build thread...

[Grumpy pants]

Jennymo, I can't add anything that hasn't already been said, but all the comments about this fab build and thread are right on the money.

Really impressive stuff and its has been a pleasure reading your posts and looking at your photos and progress.

[JennyMo]

Willy is ready for his close-up! Or rather his car is at least... Helmand Willy still needs a few finishing touches (and not least his feet reattached!) before he gets to ride in the Nailer... so, in the meantime, a few details and general shots with the accessories fitted:

Rear winch:

This is the WW2 winch part glued to the cut down bumper support from the Mini Recon - it is actually the front bumper part, as I swapped the front and rears over when fitting the bodyshell lower. You can also see the adjustable alloy shocks (1:10 scale, needed to support the weight of the body on the 1:18 scale Recon chassis). The licence plate surround is from a Sand Scorcher 2010 kit.

Front winch:

I was particularly pleased with the paint on the front winch, including the dirty oily cable... this part was from a Mauri Jeep body kit I picked up off ebay in the US earlier this year - it is similar in style to the 1:1 Warn 8274 winch.

Headlights:

Another view of the winch, together with the trio of 18mm diameter spot lights (5mm LED bulbs) I used instead of regular headlamps. These light buckets are from the Axial accessory kit, as are the side/running lights that use 3mm LEDs. You can also see just how effective the salt crystal trick is for realistic rust and corrosion to the bodywork - I love it!

Loadbed:

I decided early on in this build that I would reposition the fuel cell (into the passenger footwell), freeing up the loadbay for various scale accessories - and replaced the hole in the floor with a section of bonnet (hood) from another WW2 shell - oooh the decadence! On the right hand side I've fitted a camping water jug... nerds will notice that I have even drilled a hole in the spout together with painting the tap detail.

On the left side (for the moment at least) I fabbed up a coil of tow-rope - simply using a length of parcel string, and a short length of heat-shrink tube on each end, then put a dirty colour wash over to weather it. Note you can also see the vertical rear light detail - again parts from the Axial lighting kit, this time with 3mm red LEDs inside.

Sand ladders:

You'll have noticed from the previous pictures that I have decided to mount the sand ladders on the hoop directly behind the driver afterall... they sit nicely on the horizontal cage stays, keep the weight nice and central, and allow easy access (and view) of the rear load bay once I get a few more accessories in there. The fire extinguisher is again the regular WW2 part from the rear diagonal cage stay, a section cut to fit onto roll hoop, and the slot filled once in position (as were many of the other joints on the cage, using off-cuts from the hollow rear stays and spare door bars).

Fuel cell:

The fuel cell is glued into the passenger footwell (having been painted in chrome/aluminium paint first, and weathered) which meant the gear levers had to be repositioned onto the bulkhead. The steering wheel is from the VW Camper kit, and you'll see [compared to previous posts] that I have also filled the hollow slots in the door bars (and rear cage) as I wasn't happy the slots could be seen in the cockpit area particularly - and have painted the cage 'pads' to represent the grey plumbing insulation foam you get in DIY stores... as mentioned before, the tape is actually real electrical insulation tape, cut to length and with the ends stuck with superglue to stop them unpeeling.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that I used Theibault's tip to great effect - having coloured the red wires from the LEDs with a black sharpie permanent marker pen - it really helps hide the wiring... you'll also see that Willy's map is a genuine section of British Ordinance Survey Landranger, suitably folded to appear more scale.

General overview from above:

There is plenty of room for a lot more clutter, I mean 'accessories' in the load bay I feel... and possibly the inclusion of a roof net - I have some perfect scale net in olive drab! I also intend to fit a Hi-lift jack across the scuttle panel in front of the cockpit.

From the front:

The snorkel was also constructed from spare parts that were part of the Mauri Jeep kit - the top cap is a (yes, you guessed it) another spot light bucket from the Axial selection.

I also intend to fit an 'interior' rear view mirror in the central screen mounting hole (the side holes have been utilised to mount the pivoting driving lamps of course) - I may end up carving something out of a piece of plastic/filler, although it might be nice to use a genuine piece of mirror glass in it?!

Left profile:

Driver's side features dents in the front wing, sill and rear quarter panel - created using a heat-gun and pushing in with a finger or end of my craft knife... I also used the Dremel with a fine tipped routing tool to create the corrosion holes at the base of the front wing and around the edge of the rear wheelarch.

Right profile:

Features a little more damage - the front wheel arch is coming away from the body, there is a large dent in the sill, while at the rear it seems Willy bottomed out the rear corner on a rock and even ripped off part of the wheel arch!

I painted the body cleats in matt silver to represent zinc coated hardware that has dulled and suffered a bit of oxidisation over the years...

You may also notice that the snorkel provides an excellent upright to support the short (2.4GHz) receiver aerial.

A few more views from above so you can appreciate the details as a whole:

Yes, I know the white [sand Scorcher rear] wheels look a bit too shiny still... I'll get on that in due course x

And finally, with the lights on:

Watch out! Willy's coming!

Toot toot!

Jenny xx

[SteveU30]

Loving your work as always Jenny

[Cooltoys]

Lovely work on the willy!!Nice scale work on the details. This has inspired to do a willy..

By the way great photos too..

[njmlondon]

As you can see, the 160mm wheel base of the Mini Recon is perfect for the Willy shell, as was the 178mm track width... I chose the Recon for a number of reasons - mainly that it was 2.4 GHz RTR, and had a separate receiver - that also includes a 3rd channel so I can fit lights to it easily... The Suspension was also really plush, and it would appear relatively easy to convert the mini axles to larger 12mm Hex-drive (although I decided to ditch that idea and go for the Paddletraks as a homage to the original Willy).

Although the pin drive axles were only 3mm (compared to Tamiya 5mm), I was able to make some adapters using K&S aluminium tubing, and cut a slot in the back of each SS wheel for the pin, so the wheels mounted up perfectly.

I also extended the body mounts to the correct height for the shell, using more K&S tube - the 4mm fitted into the post mounts, the 5mm sleeves it, and the original 4mm mounting posts fit into the 5mm sleeve (hope that makes sense!):

Am loving this project Jenny. You have done an amazing job. The attention to detail is just fantastic.

Quick question for you though... I do not know the Recon and I am trying to work out how you put the SS wheels on... do you have any photos to show what you describe?

[JennyMo]

Am loving this project Jenny. You have done an amazing job. The attention to detail is just fantastic.

Quick question for you though... I do not know the Recon and I am trying to work out how you put the SS wheels on... do you have any photos to show what you describe?

Hi NJM' - thank you for your kind words!

Regarding the wheels/conversion - basically the Mini Recon has pin-drive axles but being a 1:18 scale model, these are smaller diameter (3mm vs 5mm Tamiya), and the Mini Recon wheels have a slot in 'hub' section that locates on the pin in the usual way.

Therefore, if you wanted to run 12mm Hex wheels, then all you'd need to do is sleeve some regular 5mm Hex's - eg. use K&S alloy or brass tube that slips inside of each other - 5mm & 4mm will give you the 3mm internal diameter required* (see note below).

For fitting the Scorcher wheels, I basically combined the two ideas - first I cut a slot in the 'hub' part of each wheel for the pin to locate in (note because of the diameter of the Scorcher hub vs. the length of the drive pin, I also had to put a ring of heat-shrink tube around the hub to stop the pin sliding out).

I then cut short lengths of 4mm and 5mm K&S tube to create a sleeve for each wheel hub - *note that the Mini Recon axles are actually stepped: they are 4mm diameter where the pin is, stepping down to 3mm for the wheel nut, so the 4mm tube had to be slightly shorter that the 5mm piece to sit flush on the outer edge when you do the wheel nut up. Meanwhile, the 5mm tube is exactly the same length as the width of the Scorcher hub (to offer maximum support to the wheel on the axle), so I also cut slots in the inside end for the pin to locate through into the wheel itself.

I'll post up some photos later to help avoid any confusion!

Jx

PS. I was amazed how well the 1.55 diameter Scorcher wheels fitted onto the Mini Recon, especially around the suspension and steering knuckles - its as if they were made for it!

[JennyMo]

Sand Scorcher (or similar) wheel modification to fit Mini Recon axles...

So this is the Mini Recon stub axle - the main shaft is 4mm diameter and the threaded part 3mm diameter - it uses a drive pin similar (although slightly smaller) to a regular Tamiya or other 1:10 RC car:

In the rear flange of the Scorcher wheel, I cut a slot for the pin to locate in, plus put a ring of heat-shrink tube around to stop the pin sliding out:

I then cut two lengths of K&S tube to make the spacer bushes - these effectively reduce the axle diameter of the Scorcher wheels (5mm) to fit the axle of the Mini Recon - 4mm stepping down to 3mm. As you can see in the photo, the 5mm diameter tube is 11mm long (with slots cut in to locate the drive pin), the 4mm diameter tube slightly shorter at 8mm long to support the wheel on the threaded part of the axle:

The two sleeves in place on the axle:

The two sleeves inserted into the wheel:

Everything then bolts up nice and snug - although I admit these bushes were my first attempt/prototype - if I were to do it again, I would cut the pin slots in the wheel hub section before I actually assembled the wheels and be more accurate/consistent with the depth on each one (I would say 2mm max) - obviously they only need to be as deep to give sufficient clearance for the wheel hub not to rub on the bearing/suspension upright when the wheel is bolted up.

Hope that helps!

Jx

[Skottoman]

What an absolutely spectacular vehicle! Love all your continued detailing, and your solution to mount the wheels is amazing.

Quite a unique vehicle. Can't wait to see Willy driving it!
Cheers,

Skottoman

[kontemax]

Hi Jenny,

nice solution for the wheel adapters but don't know if the wheels will support a great amount of torque. What kind of motor do you mount on this chassis?

Anyway great job!

Max

[JennyMo]

Hi Jenny,

nice solution for the wheel adapters but don't know if the wheels will support a great amount of torque. What kind of motor do you mount on this chassis?

Anyway great job!

Max

Hi Max!

The motor in the Mini Recon is a 370, and I have to say is a sprightly little bug*er - but obviously doesn't have the grunt of a 540 or a hi-turn crawler motor...

The way I've mounted the wheels (essentially just slots in the plastic wheel for the drive pin to locate in) is the same as the stock HPI wheels, although admittedly the Scorcher tyres are getting on for 50% bigger diameter, so there will be more torque loading on the slot where the pins locate... I'll have to see how they hold up - I don't intend to run this model particularly hard, although I have to say it is a whole heap of fun to drive, and is frighteningly fast for something with such a small motor, together with a heavy bodyshell and short wheelbase!

Jx

[kontemax]

Hi Jemmy, I would like to suggest you a little modification to help the wheels in strength.

You can replace the heat shrink you put onthe inner side of the wheels with a brass tube. It will help the wheels to be more strong. Obviously you must cut the pins.

This is the first solution about torque that came on my mind now, on the fly.

Anyway a 370 motor will not be so torquey imho.

Max

[JennyMo]

Hi Jemmy, I would like to suggest you a little modification to help the wheels in strength.

You can replace the heat shrink you put onthe inner side of the wheels with a brass tube. It will help the wheels to be more strong. Obviously you must cut the pins.

Thanks Max! - I like the sound of that idea, I'll try and incorporate that as part of the wheel refurbishment (or more accurately dis-furbishment, as I intend to dent and rust them too) - I certainly want to remanufacture the sleeves to be more precision...

For now though, there is a little fella who needs his overall's painting!

Jx

[Yonez]

Just an amazing build. Would love to see a wideo of this! :-)

[SteveU30]

On the wheel idea that Max suggested, something like the springs that come in the Tamiya High Torque Servo Saver 51000 would be ideal.

On a side note can I ask what you do for a living Jenny?

[Wild Willy Speed Shop]

Action pics coming soon?

[JennyMo]

Action pics coming soon?

I'll see what I can do once Willy is behind the wheel! - I'm about halfway though finishing Helmand Willy (I'm also painting up his cousin for the Stumpkin at the same time) - here is a teaser for now:

Following on from Hang Loose Willy (see page 1), I thought I'd have a go at modifying another hand - I don't have the facilities to cast my own parts, and to be honest enjoy seeing what I can make out of the existing components anyway), I Dremeled various fingers, glued them into the new positions and filled the gaps with P38 body filler (my goop of choice) - then sanded to shape... more soon! Jx

[JennyMo]

On a side note can I ask what you do for a living Jenny?

Oh I love it when people ask me this, I can trot out a line from my favorite movie: "I race cars, I play tennis, I fondle women... but I have weekends off and I am my own boss..."

Jx

[SteveU30]

You're a millionaire playgirl?

[IBIFTKH]

A girl called Arthur....?

My daughter's current favourite -

Capt America - "Stark, take away the (Iron Man) suit and what are you?"

Tony Stark - "Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist..."

Back on topic, enjoying every update, constantly amazed at how you can cram so much detail into such a small vehicle. More maestro, please!!

[JennyMo]

You're a millionaire playgirl?

I wish!

Far more mundane unfortunately...

In the meantime, while I finish off Helmand Willy's new outfit, I've also been busy with cousin Ciggy Willy, and updated the Stumpkin a little more too: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66900&page=2#entry509443

I just love that rust technique!

Jx

[JennyMo]

OK, so I seem to have been juggling so many projects at the moment, I'm surprised Helmand Willy hasn't got three heads, all in different colours! - but finally, here he is!

As you can see, I went for the dirty Military look after all - desert fatigues (not camo, I'm not that talented!) and olive coloured seatbelts, and thought it would be fun [if not slightly ironic] to have him giving a peace sign...

...of course to anyone following, it gives a whole other message [insert winking smilie here x]

Face details include teeth, a cigarette stub, and a scar above his right eye - I was particularly pleased how the lips/mouth turned out?

I also used the idea that BigGameHunter suggested to hold on the helmet net (see post #21) - that is actually a real strip of inner tube, albeit from a mountainbike! I also ended up having to dab a spot of superglue over the joints of the net to hold it in place on the helmet, otherwise it tended to ping off...

cont.

[JennyMo]

So with his passport photo done, it was finally time for him to take his seat in the Nailer!

Fortunately, since I haven't fitted the dashboard to the Jeep, it means the steering column can still slide up and down sufficiently for me to fit Willy in and out as required (that sounds really rude!)

He seems to be enjoying himself!

A few detail shots:

And finally, full frame:

Lights:

Ready to go!

It's been a lot of fun! - and has inspired me to re-vamp (or re-'Jen'erate as IBIFTKH put it) the Stumpkin too - please check out that thread in Monster Trucks too!

Jenny xx

[30YrsL8r]

Fantastic result. Well done

[SteveU30]

Simply awesome!

[XV Pilot]

Looks great!