My G-Made Sawback 4LS build

[khyzersoze 269]

Well it's been a while since I've spent any meaningful time in this forum.  I got back into this hobby because of my Tamiya and Kyosho nostalgia with all the re-released kits.  This in turn opened my eyes to the world of crawling and the other brands that mostly fill out that spectrum of the hobby.

I started off with the G-Made Sawback 4LS kit as my first foray into the scale/crawler world.  I've got plenty more lined up behind this truck to build in this genre too.  I've got a thread on another forum that I forgot to update here...

This is pretty much my first scaler/crawler type R/C.  Pretty average normal build and nothing crazy like some of you more talented folks out there.

Follow this build on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnWfHyV3LtMBL94b2Y9BSpTH1aFcEuuaO

 

Kit and Parts

G-made Sawback 4LS Kit
Hobbywing 1060 Brushed ESC
Power HD 20KG waterproof servo
GoolRC 27T Brushed motor
G-Made Aluminum CHub
G-Made Zero Ackerman Knuckle
G-Made Zero Ackerman Steering Links
G-Made Rock Sliders
G-Made Brass weights
G-Made Long CVA Kit for Sawback 4LS and Komodo
G-made 20031 Shock Spring 19X58mm Soft Green GMA0020031
1/10 Tow Shackle for Off-Road Trail Rock Crawling
JunFac 80012 Heavy Duty Rear Bumper for G-made Sawback
Boom Racing Aluminum Servo Plate

I always forget to take pictures while I'm building.

Chassis pretty much built

A look at the Zero Ackerman Setup

A look at the electronics & motor have not started to clean up wiring yet.

Started paint on the body

Masked with masking tape only to find out later that the light kit included light masks!!! Grrrrr :x

Test fit.

Started applying decals.

Started wiring up lights

As it sits right now.

My first flex shot.  Am I doing this right?

More to come.  Sliders and brass weights are arriving today.

I have some ideas of what figures I want to use for the driver.  Trying to decide if I should cut out a footwell so the figure will fit.

Also plan on getting scale accessories for the vehicle as well.

 

[khyzersoze 269]

These just came in the mail, but probably won't have time to put them in until later.

[khyzersoze 269]

So I got around to installing a few of the other things.  And ran into some hiccups.

Installed the G-Made Rock Sliders

Installed the G-Made Brass Weights in the front and rear.

Was on my way to installing the G-Made Long CVA kit for the 4LS but.... ran into issues.  Apparently the CVA's I got were equal in length for both CVA shafts.  Works just fine on the left side of the axle (driver's side), but too far out on the right side of the axle (passenger's side).  It stuck out too far for me to put the knuckle back in place as the screw holes wouldn't line up anymore.

Not sure if this is because I am using the aluminum CHubs and zero ackerman knuckles.

I even took Jeepiac's recommendation of using Versachem!

Pictures of G-Made Long CVA Kit for 4LS

Anyway, put the dog bones back in and I'll wait for the GPM versions of the CVA's to get in.  They should be in by the end of the week.  Hopefully those work out just fine.

the 12mm / 6mm Wheel hubs I bought are also going to be held and used for my Sawback Sport kit.  Apparently the 4LS uses 12mm / 10mm wheel hubs.  So I guess I'll need to order the 10mm width ones now.

[khyzersoze 269]

Got the G-Made CVA's to fit!!!

Thanks to some information to try it again from malickie....  They fit this time around.  When I first tried it again, they still didn't fit in all the way.  So what I did was force rotate the drivetrain/axle a little and that did the trick!

This side always fit in just fine.... you actually have to pull it out a little even though it can go in even further.

This was the problem side... I wasn't able to push it in enough to have the knuckle screw holes line up to secure the knuckle in place.  Know it's all the way in and secured.

[khyzersoze 269]

Alright,  got my GPM CVD's in today.... and now I have to figure out what I want to do.

These GPM CVD's are for the Komodo which is same as the Sawback 4LS.  Notice how the 2 CVD shafts are different in length?  I think this is how it's supposed to be.  The question is do I take the G-Made ones back out and use these instead?  Or do I just leave as is and be happy that I finally got the G-Made ones to fit.

I would feel better with the GPM ones in there though, since the G-Made ones give little leeway on the passenger's side, and I'm afraid of possible binding at full steering angles.

[khyzersoze 269]

How it sits right now with the rock sliders on.  Have not gotten around to taking comparison pictures of the different CVDs and dog bones yet.

Next steps are to start adding some scale accessories and a driver.  Still contemplating if I should cut that footwell for a driver.

I also want to get a rear bumper.  Any good idea for a rear bumper anyone?

[khyzersoze 269]

These parts came in this past week.

G-made 20031 Shock Spring 19X58mm Soft Green GMA0020031
1/10 Tow Shackle for Off-Road Trail Rock Crawling 

[khyzersoze 269]

Test Driver #1: Lego First Order Storm Trooper

[khyzersoze 269]

Test Driver #2: Lego Scarif Storm Trooper

[khyzersoze 269]

Made a video of my rookie crawling.

[khyzersoze 269]

New parts.

JunFac 80012 Heavy Duty Rear Bumper for G-made Sawback

[khyzersoze 269]

Took it out for a little excursion again.  More video footage of my rookie crawling.

 

 

[khyzersoze 269]

Just installed the Boom Racing Aluminum Servo Mount.

 

[khyzersoze 269]

Testing out the new kicks.

[Kingfisher 1175]

That's a great looking crawler. Nice work.

[khyzersoze 269]

Took the good old Sawback 4LS out for the hill climb today.  It's definitely not as capable as everything else I have lol.  The tires were smaller and the foams too soft, so got snagged quite a bit.  The Sawback also had trouble breaking over ledges.  I had the battery in the original rear position today.  Maybe I'll spend some time with this rig to see if it can't get any better.  

I'm pretty sure I need to change the foams to something stiffer in the rear, and stiffer springs in the rear as well.  I'll also need to revisit moving the battery to the front.

I don't expect it to be as good as the others, but I know it can do better than it did today.