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max69vk

Project WR-0pal FRUIT

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So the essence of this project is simply to make something fun, a bit different, whilst making use of stuff I already have laying around.

I’ve started with a WR-02 chassis that I bought a few months ago, nothing spectacular about it whatsoever other than it being in almost perfect condition for a 2nd hand purchase, although it was fitted with Traxxas(?) wheels & Monster Beetle tyres.

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Having already got 4 other WR02’s I wasn’t going to feel too precious about this one + having plenty of unused parts in boxes was all the inspiration I needed to start something.

the first thing to do was remove the shell  & put it on another model, the chassis was stripped & fully ballraced, the wheels were removed & replaced with a set of Bush Devil wheels which I had bought on a whim 

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in another box was another random purchase of some Pro-Line Road Rage tyres which fitted perfectly so they were slipped on, and a set of Abisma height adjustable mini dampers were fitted to replace the Pogo stick suspension. These bits alone gave the chassis a really low slung carpet racer stance.

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Digging through a few other boxes turned up a few more colourful parts (hence Opal Fruit) to go on at some point (though I might buy some white parts & dye them)

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But the most important piece of this will be the body, to match the low slung look  I need to make a body to match...

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Again following on from the theme of using what I’ve got, I found in a junk box a WW2 body that had been drilled & pulled to bits by the previous owner

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It looks even worse after I’d cut the driver seat out for another WW2 body build.

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Basically this thing is a total junkpot so if the ‘on the fly’ modifying didn’t work it really wouldn’t matter! Now having modified a few bodies previously, one common things I tend to is trim the underside of the gearstick mount in order to let it sit about 1/4” lower, only a small amount but enough to make quite visual difference. To match the low stance of the of chassis I want to see how low I can’t mount the body... Fire up the Dremel!

First thing to do, cut out the middle of the body to clear the battery, I thought this would give me plenty of clearance. You’ve got to start somwhere right?

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Well after lots of fiddling about the shell still wasn’t sitting low enough for my liking, the culprit? These tabs on the chassis rail which duly met their end with a Stanley blade

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On the other side another smaller tab, again this was chopped out without any sympathy!

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Body back on it still wasn’t sitting how I’d like so the cut to clear the battery was taken even higher but now the chassis rails were causing interference issues, I wanted to retain these if possible, so more Dremel action & a clearance notch was made in the floorplan

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problem sorted. This also allowed me to move the shell back slightly so that the rear arches line up perfectly.

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Now after all the cutting, the shell is starting to look pretty horrendous, however a lot of this will be covered up with a new floorpan & bucket style seats so I’m not too concerned at the moment. One thing that does bother me is all the random holes drilled all over the body! Rather than using filler I’ve had some sprue offcuts soaking in acetone (nail polish remover) for a couple of weeks, this has given it the consistency of old chewing gum perfect for stuffing into all all of the holes so once dried it can all be sanded back 👍🏼

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Just need to let it sit for a couple of days to harden up and then I can start to attack it all again.

 

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Love it so far! The colours will look great. 

Thanks for the tip with the acetone, i’ll be trying that for a WW shell i want to make a scaler out of. 

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Great thread, one of my all time favourite models.

We ran a WW2 as a family for a few years, it was our go to runner for Centre Parcs.

I regret selling it but I have just bought a cheap one to replace it and modify.

I’ll be checking this thread for updates 👍

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Nice work! - although by the thread title I was expecting to see a shortened Opal Ascona shell...

Jx

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On 2/18/2019 at 5:10 PM, JennyMo said:

Nice work! - although by the thread title I was expecting to see a shortened Opal Ascona shell...

Jx

If only I could find/afford such a car! This has gone on the back burner for a bit as work has taken over. I need to try & find a seat that will suit the Willy driver figure as I’ve bought 2 different types of seat & they’re both to narrow for him to fit 🙄

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2 hours ago, max69vk said:

If only I could find/afford such a car! This has gone on the back burner for a bit as work has taken over. I need to try & find a seat that will suit the Willy driver figure as I’ve bought 2 different types of seat & they’re both to narrow for him to fit 🙄

Ha, yes I know what you mean about an Ascona shell!

With regard to fitting your Willy in a narrow seat (smutty innuendo intended), if you've got the Axial Corbeau bucket style seats, you can Dremel a scollop out of each of his sides (sort of where the bottom of your ribcage would be) and he fits quite neatly? - I experimented with this before I decided that Kelley would be driving the Cage Racer instead...

Looking forward to seeing how things progress in the future!]

 

 

Jx

 

 

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Well I finally got some time to play with Willy today and see if I could get him to sit right. After re-evaluating what I’d done so far it was quite apparent that any kind of seating would need to be totally bespoke due to how much lower & further back on the chassis the shell now sits.

Wonky Willy;

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Sitting too high;

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And so I struck me that to get the right positioning I’d have to make a few mods with the Dremel. Luckily I have lots of spare Willy’s so I could hack them up as required. A few cuts later and you can see how the right leg has been shaped to fit around the battery enclosure, a couple of cuts were also made under his armpits to allow him to spot down into the hole in the body;

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Next up a bit of work to start tidying up the body, battery section boxed in & the start of some kind of seat back in place;

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All of which now means Willy sits in a nice low down position vs before;

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Only a very minor update as I ran out of Contacta 🤭 Started to build up the seat/floor area, due to some of the curves involved 2mm styrene is far too rigid so I’m having to use 1mm styrene which will be layered up - even then I’m still struggling to get the required curvature... More clamps & a heat gun might be the answer, unless anyone has any other suggestions?

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Would ribs in the desired curve made from the thicker 2mm help? Just an idea, I have no practical experience yet!

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This project is definitely catching my interest. I remember the battery holder being an obstacle on both my custom WR-02 projects, but then, I was not about to argue with the accessibility to the battery... Your workaround is a good one!

I think you have the right idea with the 1 mm styrene, in the absence of a heat gun. I heard a glass jar of boiling water is also good for bending thin styrene to shape, but unless preparing tea or soup, it can also be a waste of energy, given that this approach requires frequent reheating of the water.

 

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4 hours ago, Grastens said:

I think you have the right idea with the 1 mm styrene, in the absence of a heat gun. I heard a glass jar of boiling water is also good for bending thin styrene to shape, but unless preparing tea or soup, it can also be a waste of energy, given that this approach requires frequent reheating of the water.

 

I did actually try this and burnt my fingers in the process, maybe I didn't hold it in position long enough for it to form properly. Necessity is the mother of all invention as they say, so to save my fingers I think I'm going to try & clamp some sheet around a copper pipe (from my hot water tank) and see if it curves correctly that way B)

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