Truck of Many Wheels: G6-01 King Blackfoot

[Mad Ax 9313]

I figured I could try reinforcing the ends of the tube with some round section styrene rod, which would then act as filler material when I come to finish the cage nicely, but the end result looked wonky and I don't think it adds any strength

So this little project has been on hold since then - it's a neat concept but I don't know if I'll ever do it justice with my plastic skills.  Especially my sanding skills, which are basically non-existent (I can sand stuff all day long without it getting the slightest bit smaller).

I still need to order some copper washers to finish the lighting installation too

[Mad Ax 9313]

Long time since my last update on this thread!  The G6-01 didn't get much use since the last update, just a few trips to the beach and the odd run in the garden.  At some point I had a switcharoo of brushless systems and it end up with a HobbyKing ESC and an old Turnigy motor, which cogs way less than the old setup.  Sometime last year I had a really big roll on the beach which cracked some of my under-panelling, although it's still driveable, and I lost two of the tailpipes that I'd made.  I'll need to come up with a new idea for them.

Anyway, I took it along to the Southern Scale Trail at the start of the month, as they often have an open bashing area, and my buddy was bringing his Arrma Granite along with his TRX-4, so we could do some bashing together.  My E-Maxx has been shelved since last year due to a worn slipper and bent shock, and I haven't got around to ordering replacement parts yet, and I didn't really want to take the Clods along and risk breaking it trying to keep up with the Arrma and Traxxas boys, since I haven't really got the budget for new axles this year.

But, I figured, the Truck of Many Wheels is fun enough on the right terrain, so it was worth dragging it along for a play.

I grabbed this pic before we started bashing seriously, then I opened up and let it rip.

Wowsers!  I've only driven it on the beach, where the speed is kinda lost in the space, or in the garden, where I have to keep it slow.  On the quarry, it was seriously fast.  In a straight line, it was almost as fast as the Granite, which was on 3S!  Turns out that old Turnigy motor is a 5200Kv, which kinda explains why it was so crazy in the Hotshot that it was in years ago...

Here's a quick video of it in action

 

[Mad Ax 9313]

After that, things just got crazier.  I avoided the big jumps, since it's a rigid chassis and ABS body, and I wasn't sure it would survive a 10 foot landing, but we did a few drag races and some crazy donuts.  The air was fairly warm for April, and with all the bashing around, the tyres got warm.  Warm enough that just before the battery dumped, they expanded enough on full throttle to touch one another  

So there you have it, peeps - if you want to run stock tyres, 5200Kv is about the limit.  I'm guessing it's possible to flip the rear arms to get more clearance, but I'd have to work out how to mount the rear shocks.  Not that it matters - it's seriously fun as it is, and I don't want to change it.

I've got loads more scale details planned for this one, but with so much other stuff on the bench it'll have to wait.  For now, it's one serious fun basher, and gets loads of attention - everybody had to ask what it was and stayed to watch it run.

[Nikko85 3453]

This looks great, truth be told I prefer this look to the official Tamiya 6x6 trucks! 

Have you tried removing the middle set of wheels to see how it performs? It might drive like a stretched out 4x4, but the proportions wouldn't be crazy.

What was the ESC for that motor? Seems to drive it very well. 

[Mad Ax 9313]

I never tried removing the middle set of wheels, I would guess it would drive very much like a TL01 with big wheels on it.  I actually have one of those, which also has a modified King Blackfoot body on it, although it has smaller TLT wheels and tyres.

The standard G6-01 has touring-car size suspension arms, so the track is fairly narrow.  It does roll over a bit at speed but learning to control it is part of the fun.  It's not a race car, it's made to be blasted around on terrain just like this.  The narrow track means the big wheels fit very nicely under the 1:10 scale body, it's not too big and it really looks like it belongs on there.  I don't dislike the stock bodies - the school bus is an especially cool idea - but I don't like the small scale, hence why I chopped up a vintage body.

I think the ESC is a Hobbyking X-Car of some sort, the label pulled off some time ago so I can't be sure, but it will take 3S (although it doesn't need it with this motor).

 

[paullyjay 182]

Your truck of many wheels looks like a lot of fun!... Where did you go to bash that? it looks like an old quarry or something similar!

[Mad Ax 9313]

17 hours ago, paullyjay said:

Your truck of many wheels looks like a lot of fun!... Where did you go to bash that? it looks like an old quarry or something similar!

It's a quarry in Binegar.  It was at the Southern Scale Trail day, so mostly it was for crawlers, but there's a big gravel section where we can go bash our faster trucks.  There were a few Arrmas and X-Maxxes giving it large over the ramps.

Look up Southern Scale Trail on Facebook if you want to come to the next one

[ThunderDragonCy 7881]

I love this truck. That is all.

Carry on.

[Mad Ax 9313]

Updates!

It's been way too long since this truck had any attention.  In fact it's been languishing in the studio for over nearly 2 years, largely unrun since that last blast at the quarry in 2022.  I did take it along to my last visit to Tamiya Junkies in October last year, but the bumper got ripped off after less than a lap so it went back in the box.  With another visit the Tamiya Junkies just 2 weeks today (in fact in 2 weeks time I'll probably be loading up the van to come home), I figured I really should fix up some of this truck's problems and bring some joy back for it again.

Here it is, looking a little sorry for itself.

One little problem it's had for ages is a distinct lack of on/off switch.  The original switch went dodgy a long time ago and for a while I've just had the two switch wires twisted together and covered in electrical tape, which isn't perfect.  Plus it's impossible to get to the battery connector with the body on, so it's a pain for bashing, which is literally what this truck is made for.

I didn't have a switch that would easily replace the existing one, so I decided to make something more permanent.

I cut this piece of scrap L-section and drilled it to fix into some standard holes

Then drilled it out to fit a toggle switch.  I like these, they have a nice vintage look to them.

[Mad Ax 9313]

All back in place and working, and will be easy to get to with the body on.

There's a question about the best orientation for a switch.  Normally I install it so "on" is to the rear (which I did in this case).  That means anything brushing past the switch when the car goes forward will try to turn it on.  I had a childhood of cars getting turned off at random, and back in those days, with MSCs, the radio switch didn't turn the motor off, so when the switch got flicked off by a stone or a close brush with the hedge, the car would go out of control.

However, as this is mounted above the wheel, there's a possibility of stones being thrown forwards and knocking it off that way.  I guess I'll just have to see.

Also this switch isn't waterproof, which may be a problem...

Next problem is the front bumper.  I screwed it into the box I made to stop sunlight showing through from under the body, but the plastic was thin and couldn't handle the force.

I used some spare 3mm plasticard left over from my Dakar truck build and glued it over the original piece.

Mounting part glued on

[Mad Ax 9313]

There's obviously more to do here - I'll need to drill the holes to get the bumper screwed on, plus there'll be some filing to do to clear the front shocks, and obviously it'll need painting, as that huge white piece will be visible from under the front.

While I'm under there I should probably reinforce the rest of the box, and do some reinforcing all the way back, as all my boxed in areas are looking the worse for wear.

I've been considering cutting a square out the body and mounting a supercharger scoop too.  The body has some damage around the middle and a charger will hide it, and make the whole thing look more aggressive.  I've got a few spare charger scoops from various models.

Also my quad exhausts have almost completely gone - only 1 is left.  I'll have to remake those and make sure they're glued in better.  Nothing serious but a nice way to pass the time while I'm not really working much over the next couple of weeks.

[Mad Ax 9313]

Those with eagle eyes may have spotted the roll bar on the KBF body a couple of posts back.  I made this a few years ago but never finished it as I wasn't entirely happy with it.  However, it's been fitted for a while and I really love the profile, so I decided to sand off the rough edges and spray it.

I used Halford's grey primer first, let it cure for a few minutes in the March sunshine, then shot some Halfords Peelable Satin Black.  I had no particular need for peelable paint here, it's just the only satin black I had.

I've got a workshop day planned today, but not a huge amount to do for Tamiya Junkies next weekend, so I'll probably put some time into making new tailpipes and maybe fitting that supercharger - I'm not 100% sure, it might weaken the body too much or just not look right unless I get the really big one off the Super Clod.

[Mad Ax 9313]

Updates!  I wanted to fix the tailpipes and a few other little bits today, but first I figured I'd take some photos of the new livery before it gets all smashed up.  My plan is to get some proper photoshoot pics outside when I go to Tamiya Junkies on Saturday, but I expect either it will be raining or I will forget, so these are some banker shots.

The black graphics were designed by me and printed on my laser, the colour graphics are mostly from MCI, with a few JConcepts thrown in for good measure.

Laser printing has the benefit of getting lots of detail in tiny prints.

My chosen colours were not conducive to using my own graphics, but I managed to get the truck's name in there somewhere

I was rather pleased with this when I made it a few years back - I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get around to printing it 

[Mad Ax 9313]

I love the profile of the new rollbar

[Mad Ax 9313]

Of the four original tailpipes, only one was still attached to the truck.  Two others were in the parts box, the final one is missing, presumed lost.

So I made a new one

My mistake last time was probably trying to glue the pipes with the paint already on, so this time I sanded the paint off where the glue needed to go

To get the black inside the pipe, I had this genius idea of putting the pipe up against the edge of the nozzle and blowing it through.  Unfortunately it came out way too thick and ran everywhere.  Still, this is Halfords peelable satin black, so one coat was thick enough for what I needed.

I then masked around where the glue will go (not making that mistake again!), shot on some chrome effect paint, and left them to dry.  I wasn't sure if the UV lamp would help, as it's been around 9-10 degrees C all day, but I figured it couldn't do any harm.  I shot the paint on outside as my booth isn't really accessible right now, and I could see condensation misting in the paint as soon as it was landing on the plastic.  But this doesn't have to be perfect, it's only a silly truck with too many wheels on.

[Mad Ax 9313]

And there you have it!  Tailpipes.

brap-brap-brap-brap-brap-brap-brap-brap

I decided not to fit the supercharger today - I had the feeling the smaller Clod-style scoop would look lost, and the bigger SMT-10 one was waaay to big.  The Super Clod style might work, but it might be too shiny and brash for what it a rough-and-ready truck.  I also toyed with the idea of fitting the charger hood in the rear bed, as if it has a centre-mounted motor like a modern monster truck, but my guess is whoever built this full-size independently-sprung 6x6 monster truck probably did it by dropping an old Ford body over some kind of utility vehicle - this doesn't look like a full custom built truck, to me, so the motor would still be out front.  This is backed up by the driver, who sits on the left, not in the centre.

Also still to do - the box around the rear of the truck is split and battered, and needs beefing up with thicker plasticard, and some kind of nicer finishing needs to go on the rear.  If nothing else, it needs some sponsor logos back there, and probably some rear lights too.  I'll have to work that out another day.

For now, I have definitely got the love back for this truck - I can't wait to put it on track at Tamiya Junkies on Saturday  this time I hope it lasts more than 2 laps!

[wolfdogstinkus 1893]

At the start, every time the bed broke, I was thinking, "make it a tipper" but I was about 3 years too late.

Next time the bed breaks, make it a tipping bed!!!!!. It will probably never break now.

Then build a hidden compartment in the tipping bed, full of marbles to give you a dastardly advantage in any wacky races you might participate in.

[Mad Ax 9313]

21 hours ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

At the start, every time the bed broke, I was thinking, "make it a tipper" but I was about 3 years too late.

Oddly enough, I've got a Volvo A60H G6-01 in the box right next to me right now, but I realised I bought it by mistake and I'm not really sure what I'll do with it.  Just recently I've been thinking of fabricating a 1:14 style body to go up front so I can use it on the big rig layouts, if I can make the remote tipper work.  The A60H is completely the wrong scale and doesn't look at all like the real-world version anyway.

(There's a longer story behind this, which I might tell later).