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Mad Ax

Truck of Many Wheels: G6-01 King Blackfoot

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This little project has been going on for quite some time now but for some reason I haven't bothered to do a build thread.  Well, I sort of did, I did my build threads as Project posts in the showroom.  But I don't really like doing it that way, makes my showroom look cluttered :D

If you want to catch up on the back-story, check these showroom entries:

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=132669

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=133307

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=133308

And a few photos to get started:

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The Truck of Many Wheels got its maiden run at the March 2019 Tamiya Junkies meet, where it was epic fun, although it suffered a few heavy rolls and the section where the bed joins the cab is underbraced thanks to my tinkering with the Dremel.

The side panels split, and the bed was hanging on only by a the strip of plastic between it and the cab.  I build my trucks to drive, so I carried on driving it all day, but ultimately repairs would be necessary...

Here you can see where the body has split (same on both sides):

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I built out the sides with styrene:

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and added another strip to hold the body together:

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IMG_20190420_163438.jpg

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I also filled in the body post holes on the front:

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and fixed the incorrectly-drilled holes on the rear by adding some more styrene under the bed

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Unfortunately this wasn't enough, and after another outing in June last year, at a Tamiya meet down south, the reinforcing styrene cracked again.  This time I'd need to take drastic measures.

As drastic as heating up some M3 threaded rod with a MAPP torch and squeezing it into the styrene with pliers...

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So far the repairs have remained strong, although I haven't given it a hard run since then.  It gets used a fair bit around my garden as my toddler loves to put stones in the back and watch me drive it around, but unfortunately it's the wrong kind of vehicle for pretty much anything else so it doesn't get the driving it deserves.

However this weekend will be my second Tamiya Junkies meet, so it will again get the chance to hit the ramps and bends of a proper purpose-built RC track.

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I had originally intended to give this one a coat of sunflower yellow with a black U on the bonnet leading to stripes across the roof, but I've not had the time or space to do it and, if I'm honest, it probably won't look as good in the paint as it does in my head.  It's been like this for so long that it pretty much looks right.

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Power - as you can see - is from a HobbyKing 100A speedo and an LRP 13.5 brushless.  It's plenty quick enough in this trim.  The ESC is non-sensored and the LRP motor cogs very badly at low speed, maybe I'll switch in a different ESC when funds allow.  I previously ran it on an older race system (IIRC around 3500Kv) and it was a bit mental.  Steering is courtesy of a Turnigy servo.

Future plans - I'd love to fit oil shocks and threaded top links on ball ends.  I've got a few older sets of CVAs lying around what should do the trick but I'm not sure if they're worn beyond use.  I'll have to check that.

Body-wise, I'd like to build some inner arches to hide all the electrics and add some rigidity to the body.  I considered putting the original roll bar back on but I kind of like it how it is.  Since this is a popular runner at home, none of these changes will come quickly - I don't like having this rig out of action for long.

Honestly though, I can't say enough good things about this chassis - I bought it on a whim and never intended for it to become my favourite runner.  Everybody needs one of these.  Watching those wheels jump up and down over bumps is great, and the handling has that bizarre sort of solidity that suggests it will do pretty much anything you ask of it.  Cornering is weird but fun - it drives like nothing else.  It doesn't understeer like I thought it would, but it doesn't oversteer either.  It's amazingly neutral.  More donuts would be nice but it's got 50% more tyres to spin than a 4x4 monster.  6-wheel slides on a slippery patio are the best I can manage.  It doesn't have the worlds greatest ground clearance (those tyres aren't exactly huge) but the extra traction means it can chug through long grass where a King Blackfoot might get stuck.  I expect the G6-01TR version is surprisingly good on the trails with a proper set of tyres fitted.

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Looks like you have a lot of fun with that truck. The Blackfoot looks a little more scale than the school bus body :)

 

1 hour ago, Mad Ax said:

I expect the G6-01TR version is surprisingly good on the trails with a proper set of tyres fitted.

The Dynahead is virtually unstoppable with locked diffs and good tires. I am continually surprised by what it is capable of.

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Bump.  I've been meaning to do some more work on this rig for an absolute age, and as I was without parts to finish off some other stuff and it was too nice of a day to spend indoors doing 3D designs or printing stickers, I decided I'd pull the body off the Truck of Many Wheels and give it some updates.

The first thing I wanted to do was hide the ugly empty space between the bed and the chassis.  This doesn't look very scale and makes the truck look a bit thin and weedy.  The easiest way to do this was to build a box from plasticard.

Here's how the underbed looks.

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Added some styrene square section

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and some sides from 1mm plasticard

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Trimmed around the rear towers

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added some support for rigidity

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then added some more square section outside the box.  This is the perfect height for adding an arch liner.

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Added an arch liner from 1mm plasticard.  There's a 5mm overhang outside of the body.  I wasn't 100% sure I wanted or needed this, but thought I'd give it a try to see how it looks.

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A healthy dollop of hot glue helps hold the bendy arch in place

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fin.

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Underbed now looks much more chunky

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added another closing piece.  Probably should have made this all part of the original box but I hadn't thought that far ahead

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I had to trim a couple of sections around the upper arm mounts

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final shape

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Earlier in the day I'd been painting my new RConn frontie body, so I figured with a clear paint bench I would have a go at painting this badboy.  I didn't bother with loads of prep on the body, as it gets run hard and rolled often and was only going to get battered anyway.  Despite being well used and abused, it was never painted, so this is the first time it's seen paint.

I started with some Halford's high build primer.

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Then I went hunting in my stash for a colour.  I've got lots and lots of old half-empty automotive spray cans but the only one that stood out was purple.  I considered yellow (with black stripes) but didn't like the yellow look of the primer and thought something darker would be better.

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But I wasn't exactly happy with the outcome.  The purple is a bit dull and doesn't really pop like Tamiya's purple lexan paint, and I didn't want such a bold truck to look so glum on the track.

I figured orange would work well with the purple.  Actually I have a purple and orange Lego monster truck that my daughter got me for my birthday, so I've been keen to try a purple and orange paint job.  I had some Halford's VW Brilliant Orange left over from another project, so I shot some of that at the body.  Unfortunately the purple had gone off too much for it to tack on the surface and I hadn't bothered to key it again, so it beaded up and ran.  I had to wait for it to dry before I could flat it off and try again, but there wasn't enough pigment in the orange to cover the purple.  So, I flatted it off again and put some grey primer on, which I should have done in the first place, then came back to the orange.  It was starting to look good, but unfortunately I'd wasted too much paint and I ran out just as it was about to achieve full coverage.  I was a bit upset by this, so I grabbed some leftover Tamiya PS-61 metallic orange, which I had used that morning to paint my RConn, and literally shot just 2 coats on to cover up the Halford's orange.  The result was a fabulously rich metallic that sets off the purple quite well.

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I think it's pretty good for a very quick and lazy paint job.  Minimal prep, zero dry time between coats, multiple different paint types and brands with no curing time between - the results could have been disastrous but ended up looking great.  I think I need to polish the orange a little as there are some high spots around the masking lines, but otherwise it's good.

I will probably mask and repaint the bed in satin black, as well as the underside.  I also need work out if I'm going to leave the rear end open or make up some kind of closing panel.  Also I might add some kind of box under the front end similar to the rear, and add a flexible arch liner to close up some air gaps.  Windows and grill to be refitted when it's done (I might satin black the grille like I did with my CC01 KBF build).

 

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“ I can't say enough good things about this chassis - I bought it on a whim and never intended for it to become my favourite runner.  Everybody needs one of these.  Watching those wheels jump up and down over bumps is great, and the handling has that bizarre sort of solidity that suggests it will do pretty much anything you ask of it.  Cornering is weird but fun - it drives like nothing else.  It doesn't understeer like I thought it would, but it doesn't oversteer either.  It's amazingly neutral.  More donuts would be nice but it's got 50% more tyres to spin than a 4x4 monster.  6-wheel slides on a slippery patio are the best I can manage.  It doesn't have the worlds greatest ground clearance (those tyres aren'texactly huge) but the extra traction means it can chugthrough long grass where a King Blackfoot might getstuck”

This is exactly how I feel about my Konghead- it brings me lots of unexpected pleasure and it’s a joy to own. 

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i never realized this thread topic area was here until i came across your thread Mad Ax.

is this where the trucks and crawler builds supposed to go?

i am lost and my flash light batteries are dead, please light a candle and send me on my way:lol:..........

Thank you.

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@Mad Ax It only APPEARS like I thanked you a lot.... This IDEA was SO GOOD, let's call them Trophies!!🏆💡💡 

My Life NEEDS a G6!!!!😂💯👍👍  I must do similar.

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Everybody needs a G6. And so it doesn't look out of place on the shelf, everybody needs to chop up a 1:10 body for it :)

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17 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Everybody needs a G6. And so it doesn't look out of place on the shelf, everybody needs to chop up a 1:10 body for it :)

I couldn't agree more regarding the need for a 1/10 body to help it fit in with one's fleet, assuming one's fleet is also 1/10 scale.

I didn't have a body to chop, so I built one from scratch out of Plasticard.

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I then found myself reluctant to run it because it turned out well enough for shelf display, so I built it another.

2020-05-19_12-05-43

 

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Superb custom jobs there @TurnipJF, wouldn't look out of place on a scale modeller's display :) 

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It's been a while since I worked on this truck, but I had some time off work to use up last week, so after doing some DIY that I've been putting off for months, I got to spend an extra day in the workshop.  The trusty Truck of Many Wheels has had a few runs with its fancy new orange and purple paint scheme but it's still missing some final touches.

The first thing that annoys me with the KBF body over the G6-01 chassis is the air gap under the bonnet.  A 6wd truck of this vintage should have a fat V8 lurking under the hood - it feels to small of wheel and too early of vintage to be a mid-motor tubular frame chassis truck.  So I decided to mock up a block out of styrene sheet to hide the air gap and give some simulation of a motor being present.

To prove the truck gets used - here is some chalk dust acquired from some muddy puddles that I splashed it through the weekend before our LD2.0 started.

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Cleaned up and ready for some glue

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And with glue.  This is Evergreen 256 square section.

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I had to Dremel a little chunk out to allow the body clips to fit

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