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mongoose1983

RC project for 2019: Non-boxart Orig. Blackfoot

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This fantastic truck was donated by our good friend in NJ @beefmuffin It's a 1986 Tamiya Blackfoot in parts that needs to be cleaned, built, and restored. Some of the parts used in this one are new. I decided to use the re-release windows as the tint in them it's much clearer than the original one. Last night I've started by collecting all of the bits and screws in one box so I could have the truck all built today. I wasn't expecting a couple of missing parts to make it all impossible. For now. So this one will have to go back to the box, and wait for me to locate the missing bits. In the meantime I think I will work on the body. Now who doesn't love the original Blackfoot? These things are absolutely brilliant.

Some pictures here:

zR1Kqx5.jpg

Screws for the motor:

O1H8XIF.jpg

Gotta love the plastic endbell of the original Mabuchi motor!

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I was excited and happy working on the gearbox until finding out I am missing a driving cup for it :( Also missing is one of the internal aluminum bits.

njUTkRq.jpg

I'll post more pictures as I go working on it.

deBN2Re.jpg

You all have a fantastic Sunday! :)

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Great start to what is gonna be a great build. These are such fantastic trucks. I've got one in a box somewhere (no body)... i need to dig it out at some point.

Can't wait to see this progress.

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Dang truck's missing a drive-cup and the servo saver. It's going to take years to make it run, sadly. :(

BUT I just got caustic soda so I can try to strip the body soon! :)

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I might have a drive cup laying around... not sure about the servo saver. why would it take so long to grab a servo saver? Gotta be a ton of those laying around.

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3 hours ago, BadWagon said:

I might have a drive cup laying around... not sure about the servo saver. why would it take so long to grab a servo saver? Gotta be a ton of those laying around.

I have some parts to trade for the cup you mention, if there is anything you need.

It'll all take long because I have no money and I am literally a world apart from anything I need. Right now I have $20 on my paypal and that doesn't even cover postage costs for a single washer to be shipped here. I have other project cars to finish, Porsche 956 tires needed, and right now trying to get the Avante running. Can't focus on getting the missing bit for this truck right now. But as I say the body will be stripped soon! :)

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I’ve got lots of spare servo savers.

I’ll send you a photo and if the required part is in there I’ll send it too you 👍

Simon 

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1 hour ago, Grumpy pants said:

I’ve got lots of spare servo savers.

I’ll send you a photo and if the required part is in there I’ll send it too you 👍

Simon 

Really!? That would be fantastic. I'll get your name on my truck, Simon :)

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First steps working on the body. And I am enjoying it for sure.

wv25PBi.jpg

Results!

VADtHNf.jpg?1

More later.

You all have a great weekend! :)

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Well, it took me some time to resume this project. You could say I was sort of building up with nerve so I could face the challenge of the tiny front bit that needed to be replaced. Takes brass balls to go through with this. But fortunately it worked. All I needed was some inspiration! :)

Here's both, the body and the donor. Both 'em were given to me by my good friend @beefmuffin. Apparently he thought I'd be up for the task. I'm super happy I was up to the challenge, buddy!

saCz3ZM.jpg

That broken bit is always a problem with used/abused Blackfoots. And I remember seeing this done by some TCers in the past. Now that doesn't make it easier at all :D

Cutting done:

bOTrO9R.jpg

Now the donor's bit. Here's How I got it done. I had to screw it to the bench then filed until gettin 'er done alright ;)

zsCmP1U.jpg

The orange file you see here is part of the Tamiya box tools. It was given to me by my good friend @Crash Cramer Works great!

QgB87BB.jpg

Now testing how the bit works with the rest of the body. Step one properly done! :)

RgP8bBp.jpg

Now how to fix the bits wasn't a bit less nervewracking...

 

 

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SUCCESS! :lol:

Here's some more pictures of how it looks now after getting the parts properly fixed. I used cyanoacrilate with a tiny bit of baking soda. Worked like a charm!

OWBiQFK.jpg

A lil sanding, primerm and some putty will make it look perfect.

Er5jV6y.jpg

With the grill on. I just haven't got the screw in place as I am waiting for the glue to cure completely.

PzQT2Yb.jpg

And a final look at the body and donor part.

Now they look like this:

i2uXOS5.jpg

Unfortunately today rained here. I'll be working on the body and later I'll get it painted, when the weather gets better.

I need to work on the hood now, as I'll need to come up with something interesting. Some custom thing will be done with this as this is my 2nd Blackfoot truck ;)

Hope y'all have a fantastic week! :)

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Wow @mongoose1983 glad to see it coming along!  I'm amazed you were able to get the body looking so clean, and the fix to the side tab looks great.  You are a talented guy for sure.  =)

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Thanks, Ben.

Well, the Ford Ranger grill is now finished and ready to go. It has some lil scrapes and, as you can see, the chrome shows some typical age problems. I'm sure the paintjob would have looked better on a newer piece, but I believe once I get the body ready and painted it is going to look better than just reasonable, trust me ;)

o5JZmn4.jpg

The wheel you see here is a Wild Willy 2 wheel that I also painted, but that will go on my other project truck, the Marui BIG BEAR. In case you'd like to have a look it's here: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/90548-rc-project-for-2019-big-bear-body-chassis/

PFdvU62.jpg

Small steps, but I see this one's going ahead alright, plus I've had a great time and relief these days working on it.

You all have a good Thursday! :)

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Oh wow, so cool!  I have never seen the original.  I have a King Blackfoot and swapped out the chassis with the one from the Tamiya Mini Cooper, now it looks like a little monster truck.

This looks like it is going to be a fun project - enjoy.

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6 hours ago, Kooks said:

Oh wow, so cool!  I have never seen the original.  I have a King Blackfoot and swapped out the chassis with the one from the Tamiya Mini Cooper, now it looks like a little monster truck.

This looks like it is going to be a fun project - enjoy.

The King Blackfoot is probably the best vehicle in the "Foot" family. It would be nice if you'd let us see your custom work with that one.

The original Blackfoot truck is actually a mixture of earlier Tamiya RC models, the Ford Ranger XLT (body), the Subaru Brat (chassis), Frog (differential), and the Toyota Bruiser (tires). I think Tamiya just wanted to cash in the monster truck craze from 1985. Well, you could say they did that BEAUTIFULLY with a truck that's in the very heart of millions of RC enthusiasts around the world! We love the Blackfoot! :D

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I finally got to work the Ranger's hood. Cutting it off is so dang out of whatever I wanted, but I would have gone through a big risk if I tried to fix it to stock condition. So I chickened out and I went ahead making a "nest" with plastic from another Blackfoot hood piece. Clearly NOT the cleanest friction weld job, but stays strong, looks good, and the blower fits very well. Now how do we mount the body on the chassis? That's another story, but it doesn't go as deep down as the front attaching post, therefore finding new ways to get it there won't be too much of a hassle (fingers crossed!).

Some pictures of today's work.

Initial weld to keep the hood in place:

tGcVv8P.jpg

Before and after shot:

MkvxLrM.jpg

A look at the nest. Not the cleanest welding as you can see here, but indeed friction weld works fantastic. Thank you @yogi-bear for turning me into this technique!

vGDLkV0.jpg

This is where the blower will sit:

ZaW7UTB.jpg

Fixed body and donor beside:

dxass0f.jpg

Sideview:

VPVKZD5.jpg

And here's the results.

6v7ZOzl.jpg

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Sunlight is fading away in here as I write this. And it's been a cold day. I hope to do the sanding sometime this weekend, and if weather allows to spray some primer over the body. I am extremely frustrated I can not get spray can enamels nor thinner to use the airbrush to finish my projects. <_<

One more step, alright.

You all have a good weekend! :)

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2 minutes ago, yogi-bear said:

that blower looks awesome! nice and neat job.

Thanks! Well, not completely excited about the blower, BUT I will definitely try to solve the feeling by doing a decent paintjob... someday.

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Alright, I spent literally hours sanding the body. There were lil scuffs on some corners, and I also got rid of the molding lines that I hate. The ones from the cab (behind and two on the roof) are nasty! Anyway, after a lil Putty job the body is finally worked up, ready, and covered in primer.

Curiosity led me to try on a corner of a section of the Blackfoot donor hood some primer and afterwards some regular enamel. I wanted to see if on top of the Testors primer the cheap Chinese enamel would not damage the Ford body. Well, it did not! I might be excited about that, but still unsure. Any idea about this??

Well, here's some pictures for you to see.

Finally ready! And yeah, that below is the fixed tab, see? :D

HidqKxO.jpg

No way to go wrong with a brand new ORIGINAL Ford tailgate!

hTjZSBa.jpg

Another look at the results.

wsk9zFU.jpg

So how do you like it @beefmuffin? I'm trying my best here, pal. ;)

That's for now.

You all have a fantastic Sunday! :)

 

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Spent literally hours working on this one today. Thing is I was saving a spray can of cheap Chinese enamel for the inner cup of a Spacial Age lamp that I was going to restore. The rattle can says "Cream white", so I thought about testing it and I've found out it works fine. Not better than a regular Testors spray can, but I like the fact that the tonality has a darker shade to it than your regular white, that means it looks a lil more realistic. Anyway, here's a couple of pictures so you can have a look at what it's like.

0MCX0Ph.jpg

As you can see I also took the time to prepare and paint the rollbar lamps. The results are fantastic on those with regular enamel.

Ro5xs8Y.jpg

So now I have Gene here waiting for his truck to be ready...

pyztcBm.jpg

You all have a fantastic weekend! :)

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Reading this thread as I sit here in my KISS ARMY T-shirt 

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