re re bruiser

[nde63h 48]

hi i am new to this forum and i bought a re re Tamiya bruiser recently. the build is fun and i would like to share some pics and thoughts.

let's start

grease, grease, grease, ..

the most difficult part of the build. you need to align not only the positions but also the orientations properly..

the main shape emerged..

shocks..

the gearbox is not so difficult to assemble as i imagined before..

slipper clutch..

insert a paper to adjust motor position. old school method..

the mechanical parts finished..

i didn't cut the shift servo saver as i run 1st and 2nd gear only..

i am not good at painting so i leave it unpainted..

go outside to have a ride..

thanks for watching..

[Nitomor 2122]

The Bruiser is such a fantastic build, congratulations. No otherTamiya build is quite the same after building a Bruiser  

There are so many clever details, the engineering thinking behind it, I really felt privileged to be building it and in awe and admiration for the engineers behind it who dreamt it up and made it a reality. Best kit I’ve ever built by far. I still haven’t finished the bodywork on mine over three years after starting, not much left but I feel it needs to be perfection or I haven’t done it justice!!

 

[nde63h 48]

11 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

The Bruiser is such a fantastic build, congratulations. No otherTamiya build is quite the same after building a Bruiser  

There are so many clever details, the engineering thinking behind it, I really felt privileged to be building it and in awe and admiration for the engineers behind it who dreamt it up and made it a reality. Best kit I’ve ever built by far. I still haven’t finished the bodywork on mine over three years after starting, not much left but I feel it needs to be perfection or I haven’t done it justice!!

 

seems you have high requirements about the bodywork..^^ i mainly focus at the mechanical parts and i agree that they are well designed. I've built the f350 which have a 3-speed tranny too. i think the bruiser's tranny is more efficient than f350's as the former used 2 shift forks and the latter 3. friction between shift fork and shift disc is big. 

i didn't install the radius arms as i think they are of little uses.

building manual suggests installing the front axle at 5 degree inclination and i decided not to follow it. i installed the front axle at 0 degree. it made the front axle having 5 degree of caster. i think this alteration make more sense than the what manual suggested. it made the angles of the two universal joints equal which reduces fluctuation.

the steering structure have bump steer effect but i found it negligible when driving in not-so-tough environments. 

driving it is interesting. hope you finished yours in short time and enjoy it..^^

[Wandy 1527]

Superb photos that highlight just how much of an amazing re-release this was.

Wish they would hurry up and bring back the Blazer & Hilux too.

[nde63h 48]

45 minutes ago, Wandy said:

Superb photos that highlight just how much of an amazing re-release this was.

Wish they would hurry up and bring back the Blazer & Hilux too.

the blazer has a huge radio box which seems not so suitable for modern electronics..

blazer / og bruiser's axles are relatively easy to install. they have fool-proof design (as circled in the manual). the re-re bruiser's axles are all round in shape. some owners complained the axles would rotate / misaligned after tough playing.

i checked mine every time and so far so good..^^'

[Juggernut 120]

8 hours ago, Nitomor said:

I still haven’t finished the bodywork on mine over three years after starting, not much left but I feel it needs to be perfection or I haven’t done it justice!!

I know the feeling.  I've had an unopened Bruiser re re kit for some months now and get the feeling I'm waiting until I've subconsciously concluded both me and my equipment are worthy before I take the plunge 

[topforcein 1764]

is that robbie grease your using there and thats what i built my bruiser with.

have a think about doing the sterring servo position swop to  upfront.

their aint much that comes close to a build after you build a bruiser.

[nde63h 48]

9 minutes ago, topforcein said:

is that robbie grease your using there and thats what i built my bruiser with.

have a think about doing the sterring servo position swop to  upfront.

their aint much that comes close to a build after you build a bruiser.

i used the grease come with the kit.

yes the steering system is not so precise. the rod connecting servo and crank arm is too long and not a straight one and the geometry introduces bump steer. mounting the servo onto the front axle would solve the problem but it violates the scale appearance of the truck.

i found it difficult to set the "neutral" point of steering. i placed the truck on a stand and aligned everything as neutral as possible. then i placed it on the ground to give it a test run. it turned right slightly.

this is the bump steer effect. the front axle was closer to the chassis when placed on the ground. the knuckle moved in a circular path with the threaded shaft as radius and crank arm as center. this made the truck turn right slightly.

if i set everything neutral when the truck is stationary, it turns left slightly when accelerating.

[topforcein 1764]

i have done the upfront servo mount on mine and tbh you cant notice it where it will be located i have glued a fake winch on mine ill sort a picture out for you

[Nitomor 2122]

4 hours ago, Juggernut said:

I know the feeling.  I've had an unopened Bruiser re re kit for some months now and get the feeling I'm waiting until I've subconsciously concluded both me and my equipment are worthy before I take the plunge 

Exactly that, there’s something about the Bruiser build that makes you want to up your game!!

I bought a couple of Iwata airbrushes and compressor, then did a couple of Mad Bull test shells first before tackling the Bruiser. Airbrushing is a whole new learning curve and a hobby in itself. It has come out better than I could have imagined possible to be fair. Just a couple of really minor clear coat bits I want to rectify, but I’m scared of messing up what I have done! Especially as it has been months since I’ve sprayed anything now!!

 

[topforcein 1764]

the only other builds that come close are trucks or a high lift know ive built 2 trucks and i have a huge hankering for a tundra.

know i've had  a air brush kit for 4 years and tbh i aint never used it i was planning on useing it for my merc truck but then i found custom paints and i aint looked back since

[tamiya_1971 614]

5 hours ago, Juggernut said:

I know the feeling.  I've had an unopened Bruiser re re kit for some months now and get the feeling I'm waiting until I've subconsciously concluded both me and my equipment are worthy before I take the plunge 

I have had one now for almost 6 months. Still sealed, still in shipping box. I look at the box every month. I just don't feel like the time is right to start building it yet. I'm extremely pleased I have it though!  My only fear is that when I finally unseal it, there will be bricks in there.

[WillyChang 1814]

6 hours ago, tamiya_1971 said:

I have had one now for almost 6 months. Still sealed, still in shipping box. I look at the box every month. I just don't feel like the time is right to start building it yet. I'm extremely pleased I have it though!  My only fear is that when I finally unseal it, there will be bricks in there.

nah, bricks would be lighter  

So you've never opened the box?

How are you storing it, flat or standing up on one edge?

If it's stored standing up, you should open the box to check where the motor/heaviest sub box is located. You want it so that box is sat on lowest edge of the main box...

Otherwise if it's higher up it'll start ripping thru all the internal partitions with gravity.

[tamiya_1971 614]

27 minutes ago, WillyChang said:

nah, bricks would be lighter  

So you've never opened the box?

How are you storing it, flat or standing up on one edge?

If it's stored standing up, you should open the box to check where the motor/heaviest sub box is located. You want it so that box is sat on lowest edge of the main box...

Otherwise if it's higher up it'll start ripping thru all the internal partitions with gravity.

Good grief I never gave thought to that. Never opened it, still shrink wrapped, I just slide it out of the shipping box to stare at it.  I had it on it's side for the last month when I moved the Christmas stuff back into storage. I just moved it back to flat position. Glad you said something!  Thank you! 

[nde63h 48]

19 hours ago, topforcein said:

i have done the upfront servo mount on mine and tbh you cant notice it where it will be located i have glued a fake winch on mine ill sort a picture out for you

good idea..^^ looking forwarding to your photos..

[nde63h 48]

18 hours ago, tamiya_1971 said:

I have had one now for almost 6 months. Still sealed, still in shipping box. I look at the box every month. I just don't feel like the time is right to start building it yet. I'm extremely pleased I have it though!  My only fear is that when I finally unseal it, there will be bricks in there.

no need to worry about the build too much. you can always re-do it as you like..^^ i run my truck several times a week. i will disassemble it completely at summer for maintenance and re-do the building process.

[nde63h 48]

i walked along with my bruiser for 9 km today.... the battery life is beyond my imagination. it lasted for 4 hours. i drove it to a park 4.5 km from my home, stayed there awhile, then come back home. it still had power when it arrived the entrance of my home.

my electronics

transmitter: traxxas tqi 4ch

receiver: traxxas tqi 4ch with tsm

steering servo: futaba 3003

shift servo: futaba 3003

esc: traxxas xl5

motor: Tamiya silver can

battery: traxxas 7600 lipo

[JNSD1 288]

I agree with Nitomor, the Bruiser is my favourite Tamiya build. It's a beautiful piece of engineering and is certainly not a toy! Much like Nitomor I also haven't really 100% finished two years later, never got around to doing the decals, almost in two minds as it looks so realistic without them. Will probably get to them this year and put them on with soapy water method so that they don't get screwed up. I would put a link to my build thread but unfortunately since Photobucket screwed us all it's basically useless.

[Nitomor 2122]

23 minutes ago, JNSD1 said:

I agree with Nitomor, the Bruiser is my favourite Tamiya build. It's a beautiful piece of engineering and is certainly not a toy! Much like Nitomor I also haven't really 100% finished two years later, never got around to doing the decals, almost in two minds as it looks so realistic without them. Will probably get to them this year and put them on with soapy water method so that they don't get screwed up. I would put a link to my build thread but unfortunately since Photobucket screwed us all it's basically useless.

I felt like that about decals for a while, but after staring at the Bruiser in the Tamiya catalogue for so many hours as a kid, I felt much happier when they were on. I think a big part of my reluctance was fear of messing them up. I love reading up on Bruiser builds, I really can’t get enough of them. On so many you see peole struggle with decals, however with the soapy water method, a hairdryer on light heat and patience you’ll be fine. You can even stretch decals to an extent, something I never actually knew about until Tamiya referred to them as stretch decals. There is more info on this in my build thread (you may have seen it before). I hear you on the photobucket thing, screwed up all my motorbike foum threads, fortunately my RC pics were hosted elsewhere...I started this build in December 2014, this thread is inspiring me to finish it off but I keep on bleating about just one more coat of clear lol. I think it’s time to bring it to a conclusion.

 

[Nitomor 2122]

16 hours ago, nde63h said:

i walked along with my bruiser for 9 km today.... the battery life is beyond my imagination. it lasted for 4 hours. i drove it to a park 4.5 km from my home, stayed there awhile, then come back home. it still had power when it arrived the entrance of my home.

my electronics

transmitter: traxxas tqi 4ch

receiver: traxxas tqi 4ch with tsm

steering servo: futaba 3003

shift servo: futaba 3003

esc: traxxas xl5

motor: Tamiya silver can

battery: traxxas 7600 lipo

Wow at that battery capacity, 7600mah, does that fit in the battery tray perfectly? Nice to see it being used. I managed to score a Bruiser kit cheap from Tamico when the £ exchange was strong with the view to have that one as a runner, I haven’t built that one yet so for the moment the one I have built is predominantly a shelfer although I have used it gently in the garden! I just noticed you’ve used the Mountain Rider rear bar in lieu of rear cab, looks great.

[nde63h 48]

29 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

Wow at that battery capacity, 7600mah, does that fit in the battery tray perfectly? Nice to see it being used. I managed to score a Bruiser kit cheap from Tamico when the £ exchange was strong with the view to have that one as a runner, I haven’t built that one yet so for the moment the one I have built is predominantly a shelfer although I have used it gently in the garden! I just noticed you’ve used the Mountain Rider rear bar in lieu of rear cab, looks great.

no it doesn't fit the stock battery tray. i cut both ends of the tray and apply double sided tape to prevent the battery from slipping out. 

it is happy to see it running. the experience of driving it is pleasant.

i bought the roll bar from ebay separately. roll bar is more beautiful than sleeper cab in my opinion..^^

btw you are discussing decals above. i am weak at dealing with decals too so i didn't apply them onto my truck..

[Nitomor 2122]

I start twitching nervously when you mention cutting the tray lol, it goes against my ocd!!  but they are fantastic run times/distances. Do you need double sided tape, can you not use the supplied elastic bands? I use a velcro heli strap with my lipo, only 4000mah but it fits in the stock holder. I can’t comment on run times on this yet but in other trucks I get 40 minutes plus when bashing, yours must be nearly double with that capacity!!

The secret to decalling is using water with a little bit of dishwasher detergent in it so its a light green colour. I use one of my wifes empty spray cleaner bottles and fill it with this soapy water. You spray it onto the bodyshell, move the decal to where you want it positioned, and then squeedgy the water out using your thumb and the hair dryer on ‘light heat’ helps you with contours or any stretching.

[nde63h 48]

56 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

I start twitching nervously when you mention cutting the tray lol, it goes against my ocd!!  but they are fantastic run times/distances. Do you need double sided tape, can you not use the supplied elastic bands? I use a velcro heli strap with my lipo, only 4000mah but it fits in the stock holder. I can’t comment on run times on this yet but in other trucks I get 40 minutes plus when bashing, yours must be nearly double with that capacity!!

The secret to decalling is using water with a little bit of dishwasher detergent in it so its a light green colour. I use one of my wifes empty spray cleaner bottles and fill it with this soapy water. You spray it onto the bodyshell, move the decal to where you want it positioned, and then squeedgy the water out using your thumb and the hair dryer on ‘light heat’ helps you with contours or any stretching.

it seems the run time is more than double if your 4000 can last for 40 min something..^^ mine 7600 can last for 4 hours..

maybe this depends on driving style. i drive it in a way that it travel along with me (that means i walked 9 km too yesterday..^^). i use 1st gear most of the time. i turn the steering wheel as little as possible because the more steering angle the more energy loss due to pace difference between front and rear axle. using 2nd or 3rd gear solves that problem but higher gears consume more energy in itself.

one thing i noticed: the effect of positive caster.

i visited your bruiser build. it seems you install the front axle as recommended by the manual. i didn't follow it entirely. i installed mine at 0 degree inclination as opposed to the 5 degree recommended in manual. this introduces 5 degree of caster to the front axle.

positive caster increases straight line stability. i tested it. it is really the case.

but it has downside.

if you encounter a path which is inclined to a direction perpendicular to what you are travelling, your truck would have steering bias. for example, suppose you are heading north and the road is inclined such that the west side is higher than the east side, your truck would tend to travel to the right slightly. 

negative caster would do the opposite. 

yours, built as manual instructed, would have 0 caster and theoretically no bias on inclined roads.

[JNSD1 288]

This thread is therapeutic for me also. Probably time to get the decals on a properly finish my baby. I must admit, I kinda want to bash mine for 4hrs now and see what it can do, but every time I think of that I cringe and think of all the time spent on the paint... I don't even remember the 0 Vs 5degree inclination... it's been a while.

[nde63h 48]

26 minutes ago, JNSD1 said:

This thread is therapeutic for me also. Probably time to get the decals on a properly finish my baby. I must admit, I kinda want to bash mine for 4hrs now and see what it can do, but every time I think of that I cringe and think of all the time spent on the paint... I don't even remember the 0 Vs 5degree inclination... it's been a while.

the 5 degree thing (as shown in attached pic) is somewhat mysterious. i don't know why Tamiya suggest us to install the front axle that way.

if you follow the instruction, the angles of the two universal joints connecting the gearbox to the front axle would be different. uneven angular velocity would occur to front axle.

please see this video for explanation

so i decided NOT to follow the manual. i installed mine at 0 degree.