Baja Blazer - aka. NotABlazin'ClodBuster

[JennyMo]

I'm currently juggling three new build projects at the moment, but since this one is the closest to completion, I thought I'd introduce it first...

 

photo. still a work in progress, but getting close to being ready for paint - although I really love this current raw metal look I have to say!

A quick overview: Having built a 2WD HiLux step-side towards the end of last year: Hopper's HiLux, I thought I might have a go at something similar [scale detail wise] but more off-road orientated - with a more elaborate suspension & chassis set-up, and fundamentally 4WD of course...

Inspired by the So Cal Trophy Truck style, at the same time I always intended to keep it more retro, with both live axles front and rear (rather than IFS), and ultimately decided that I would couple a long-arm 4-link rear axle with a leaf-spring front - just to be perverse really - but mainly because I really liked the look of the twin-shock front end on the RC4WD limited edition Blazer, and already had a couple of suitable [Yota 2]* axles that would accept both leaf springs and links as desired.

*note. as the build progressed, I decided to replace the original donor Yota axles with more the heavy duty K44 style from RC4WD.

 

Since I'd elected to keep a solid front axle on leaf springs, it made sense to also choose an older body style - although a HiLux (which I initially experimented with on this chassis, see below) and even the early 4Runner bodies would be appropriate, there was something about the old skool Chevy Blazer body which particularly appealed.

However, having subsequently bought one, I then realised just how huge that '1/10th scale' [RC4WD] shell is in relation to their HiLux/Trailfinder for example - and coupled with the fact I really wanted to try and incorporate an off-the-shelf cage (for info. it's a Vaterra Twin Hammers cage, which fitted perfectly around the rear shock towers, and also lines up very well with the interior of the HiLux cab should you be so inclined) would mean some serious body modifications would be required... but I'm getting ahead of myself here a bit, so let me let some photos (and captions) tell the rest of the story so far...

 

Part 1. Chassis

The chassis is another of those aluminium universal 'Trailfinder/Gelande' copies you get on ebay - I like these as they are pre-drilled with a multitude of mounting locations for the suspension and transmission, so ideal for a custom-build where you might want to shunt the components back and forth easily when finalising the wheelbase and overall geometry.

 

photo. initial rear-end mock up using aluminium Wraith radius arms and 100mm shocks that I had floating around in my spares stash - turns out that in this iteration, the shocks were a bit too long and the radius arms a bit short...

 

photo. at the front, Trailfinder leaf springs (and extended single-shock towers) to work out the wheelbase - note the Yota 2 axles allow for the track-rod to be mounted behind the differential when using leaf-springs, protecting it from potential impact, I liked that.

 

photo. mock-up mk 1. Initially I installed an RC4WD hammer transfer case on a flat chassis crossmember (again, parts I already had in my stash), but clearly the prop-shaft angles were too acute, plus it would encroach too far into the cockpit/interior I had planned...

 

Clearly it was time to buy some dedicated components for this build...

 

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

I'm giving all my secrets away here, but then that is what a build thread is for I suppose...

photo. as mentioned above, I wanted to try and incorporate a Twin Hammers plastic roll-cage assembly into this build, as it was almost perfect for what I envisioned - the main cage fits really neatly inside a Trailfinder/HiLux cab, and extends into the bed area (to mount a pair of vertical spare wheels if desired), and in this instance, was the perfect width to line up with the top of the rear shock towers too:

 

photo. mocked-up using alternative 100mm shocks - which ultimately turned out to have too much travel and increased ground clearance, so I would resort to 90mm shocks eventually.

 

photo. I trust you can see where I'm going with this? - I thought the Twin Hammers cage was a surprisingly effective way to get a full tuber-style chassis without resorting to an elaborate custom welded/soldering session (I actually experimented with that after I initially bought the Blazer body but gave up, allowing the Twin Hammers cage to dictate the final body modifications required).

 

photo. turns out 115mm tyres would also be way too big for this build - fortunately I had another project on the go which they would be perfect for, so that wasn't money wasted.

 

So once the decision was made to go for the Blazer body instead, the project [specification] needed a little tweaking...

 

photo. that is a big, wide body - much bigger than the cage...

 

photo. working out the final height of the cage (above the ladder chassis) - this was very much dictated by these holes on the cage which lined up perfectly with the top of the shock towers, and in turn this dictated how fore/aft the cabin of the body would sit in relation to the chassis...

 

photo. length-wise, the rear of the cage would pretty much fill the bed, which is what I intended - perhaps with a short bob to the tail?

 

photo. I also invested in a lower profile 1:1 transfer case to increase interior space - the idea at this stage was to use a 5:1 planetary gearbox as I had done in Hopper's HiLux, however, I was aware that the overall top speed with that layout would not really be sufficient as a 'race' vehicle.

 

photo. With the larger [scale] Blazer body, I felt the 1.9 wheels and 115mm tyres might not be too large after all?

 

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

One thing was clear, if the RC4WD Blazer body was going to fit around the Twin Hammers cage looking even remotely if the two were made for each other, then some drastic surgery would be required to narrow the shell from 215mm overall width to something more akin to the Trailfinder (approx 180mm) - initially I cut 30mm out of the centre, but ultimately took another 5mm out so the overall reduction in width was 35mm from stock.

A lot of glue would be required!

 

photo. I like to use Araldite 2-part epoxy resin to join my cut body panels together, it is strong and has a degree of elasticity I find. It works well as a gap filler too.

Sticking with the principle that if something looks right, it probably is right, I found that using 30mm long 6mm threaded rods meant I could mount the body directly to the holes in the chassis rails, at a nice low-profile height, which meant the roof was only about 10mm higher than the cage - that could be addressed I felt.

So now there was nothing for it but to hack some holes in the rear bed (which would ultimately be completely removed in a true Trophy Truck style anyway of course) so that rear suspension could poke though, to see if this build was getting anywhere close to the proportions I envisaged...

 

photo. two headlights good, four headlights better - I thought this (ProLine) light-bar and (Axial) PIAA lamp combo was suitably 'Baja'? I also started to mock up a suitable bonnet using trusty CAD.

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

So content that the overall proportions were going to work with the [narrowed] Blazer body shell, I invested in a few more parts to start to tie the whole project concept together:

 

photo. as with Hopper's HiLux, I really wanted to include a fully detailed engine bay with this build, so that would mean a centrally mounted forward motor location - which is easy to achieve with this chassis using a planetary gearbox (which typically feature a 5:1 reduction ratio), particularly as the chassis already has a steering servo mount in the front cross-member.

Unfortunately, these planetary gearboxes are really designed for crawling/scale trail driving, not higher speed, and the 5:1 reduction ratio really is too much (particularly when further reduced by the 2.64:1 axle ratio too) if this thing is ever going to actually kick up dust on full throttle...

On Hopper's Hilux I'd taken the output from the planetary gearbox directly to the rear axle, and so considered the 1:1 centre transfer case I'd bought for this build would therefore yield the same speed - ie. clearly not enough for a race truck...

However, with some lateral thinking - as you might have noticed in the photo above - I ultimately was able to remove and discard the reduction part of the gearbox and bolt the two mounting plates back together - and fabricated an adaptor (although I found you can also buy them off the shelf) to mate the 3mm motor output shaft to a 5mm drive shaft - and in using a 70T motor, factored that the speed and as importantly torque would be sufficient to in turn drive a 2:1 transfer case, then out to each axle. A quick bench test seemed to suggest my calculations* would be in the ball park at least, but it remains to be seen what the final speed and acceleration of this ghetto transmission set-up is...

*I mean guess of course.

 

So, to hide all these sins, I also invested in a scale V8 motor cover - in this instance rather taken by the retro V8 style of this set up (compared to the more contemporary V8 engine I'd installed in the HiLux):

photo. comes as a kit with no instructions, but is pretty self-explanatory how it goes together.

photo. headers are held on with dozens of tiny screws!

photo. I thought the distributor and rubber HT leads were a particularly nice detail feature of this particular engine. The pancake air-filter is just the icing on the top for this era truck too!

photo. Nice! - and plenty of room in the engine bay for other ancillaries too. Note the steering servo location on the chassis - this will ultimately be hidden with a scratch-built radiator shroud.

 

The other thing I invested in was a quartet of 80mm [internal spring] Superlift scale dampers, plus these dual shock towers from RC4WD which I was sure used to be available as a separate item, but it appears are now only part of the limited edition RTR Blazer they sell. Fortunately I know a guy.

 

photo. I was so pleased these towers bolted directly to the holes in my [3rd party] chassis, and in the correct orientation above the front axle too - result!

 

photo. I also purchased a pair of Gmade RSD piggy-back shocks in 90mm length...

 

photo. ... which would more evenly match the front ride-height and travel. They look nice too!

 

photo. twin front shocks installed - again, these are the genuine RC4WD parts, mounted with my own combination of hardware and spacers. note. the 2:1 transfer case and longer lower links for the rear suspension.

 

Finally, you'll also notice I invested in some more scale appropriate wheels and tyres - the wheels are 1.55 size deep-dish steel wheels (RC4WD) with some Element Enduro Trailwalker RTR General Grabber AT branded tyres, just under 100mm in diameter.

 

So that is pretty much the chassis, suspension and transmission layout finalised...

More soon!

Jenny x

[JennyMo]

 

What are you going to do on a Saturday afternoon during lock-down, other than carry on with a build thread right?!

Part 2: Body mods.

 

photo. smaller wheels and tyres, still a touch too big for the tiny wheel-arches on the Blazer body.

 

 

The limitation of the RC4WD Blazer body (which admittedly is pretty scale accurate) is the relatively small wheel-arch apertures, from a time when 15" wheels and 31" diameter tyres were considered large.

Even with these smaller General Grabber tyres fitted, the tyres would still touch the top of the arches on full travel (even with the modest 80mm front and 90mm rear shocks installed) and were really too close to the leading and trailing edges of the arches too on full compression, and I really didn't want compromise on this any further - this is meant to be a high speed desert racing truck after all!

 

As I mentioned previously, I was also very much of the mindset that if it goes together [with minimal modification] then it probably is 'right' and ought to dictate the overall dimensions and geometry of the build - and since the body-shell lined up so perfectly with both the mounting holes on the chassis and the wheel-arches above the axles (note the wide angle lens in this photo might make it look a bit skewed), then the only real solution was to chop the arches a little to ensure clearance at maximum travel and steering lock.

In that regard, one further consideration was that in using these deep-dish wheels, the overall width was now pretty much what it would be/should be if the body had not been narrowed (ie. the tyres currently stuck out a good way on each side), plus the deep dish off-set of the wheels meant that the front wheels in particular turned through an exaggerated arch when the steering was on full lock - requiring the front arches to be stretched fore & aft as well as upwards for travel clearance.

There really was no other option other than to get all medieval on yo...

 

photo. ultimately every panel would be cut and shut - the front and rear arches, the doors, the roof pillars - and ultimately (as you'll see shortly) the front scuttle panel, radiator panel and load-bed bobbed too!

 

photo. Good Lord, what have I done?!

 

photo. What's this? Inspired by the Tamiya Clod Buster body which has a relief in the front wings to represent a flip front (which I'd been researching on here as an alternative body shell to save me carving up the RC4WD initially - yep, I bought one, and once it arrived found it is actually more 1/12th scale than 1/10th... so if anyone in the US is looking for a brand new Clod body, let me know...) -  I thought I might experiment with a working flip-forward front end too - which would be a great way to show off the detailed engine bay... (note. ultimately I used a far more simple solution with a pair of butt hinges which turned out to be the perfect size and throw, see later).

 

photo. Ultimately I decided to remove the whole wheel-arch panel around each wheel - and here at the front extend that to follow the natural body crease forward - then extend the arches to almost cover the wheels using styrene, then re-attach the original moulded wheel-arch lip to finish these new 'boxes'...

 

 

photo. the original contoured lips were cut to fit the new styrene extensions, and a filler piece employed at the front to extend the arch fore and aft so the dished wheels would clear on full lock.

 

 

photo. similarly at the rear, the original panels were cut away larger than required, then pieces used to fill in the gaps - since the whole wheel arch aperture needed to be moved upwards (so the top of the arch essentially lines up with the body crease line), so a mix of original panels, styrene, Araldite and filler was employed. note. the bed was also slightly bobbed too.

 

The result, prior to filling and a lot of sanding!

 

photo. Shorter, more narrow and squat - I'd say that is looking a lot more like how I'd envisioned this at the outset!

 

 

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

 

part 3. Interior aside...

I'm sure you've not failed to notice that Hopper (or rather his identical twin brother) has been floating around in the background of this build, complete with a rather natty red helmet (yes, that is actually trimmed from the Tamiya Monster Beetle driver parts sprue), and will ultimately be the driver in this vehicle too, as proportionally I feel he works very well in a 1/10th scale scenario as a 6' tall human...

 

However, as you can see, his legs are a little long for the compact cage cabin, plus his overall height means his helmet is close to the top of the cage - some surgery will be required.

Similarly, the Axial Corbeau seats I chose for this build are a touch too narrow for Hopper's 6'+ and overweight frame, so I had to mod the driver's side seat together with shaving some of his hips and lower back so that he might sit in a natural stance.

 

photo. Isopon P38 body filler to the rescue again, after cutting (with a Dremel) and stretching out the sides of the seat.

 

photo. He fits well, but ultimately (once the interior footwells had been constructed) he had a double knee replacement, removing the original articulated joints and gluing the slightly shortened lower legs back to the thigh section and filling the new 'knee' gap with more Isopon.

 

While Hopper contemplated his inevitable surgery, I got to work on designing the interior panels - the idea being to have the interior detailed so that the vehicle can be displayed with or without the main body panels attached - and designed so that the cage and floor is a single assembly which attaches to the chassis, with the outer body being able to be fitted over the top, using it's own mounts.

 

photo. trust CAD employed to work out floor and transmission tunnel.

 

photo. It's cosy, but the Corbeau seats just fit between the cage and transmission tunnel.

 

photo. cardboard template dimensions transferred to 1.5mm styrene sheet...

photo. superglue used to tack the pieces together, before the main joints are beefed up with Araldite epoxy resin.

 

photo. the interior almost complete - engine bulkhead extended across the full width of cabin and footwells created. 'Fuel cell' behind seats houses a square 6-cell NiMh battery, and one of the wheel-arch boxes will hide the Receiver (the ESC will mount on the rear panel of the fuel cell, hidden by the two spare wheels).

 

Along with the battery tray and scratch build brake master cylinder on the engine bulkhead (above), I also fabricated a radiator cowl for a Wild Willy radiator panel I've had kicking around for years, and added hoses and a filler cap detail too:

photo. rusty old front-mounted radiator befitting a retro racer I feel?

 

cont.

[JennyMo]

 

 

cont.

 

So a few more details before we get back to prepping that body for paint...

photo. I always planned to incorporate an safety light bar on the rear (this is another Axial component, for a Yeti or something I think?) - ultimately with the correct colour lenses of course. I also experimented with a rear mounted radiator, but as mentioned above, actually feel the front mounted rad would be more appropriate for this era vehicle and engine particularly?

 

photo. the original cage rear cross-member was removed, and four short bars cut from other off-cuts to locate in holes in the rear wings (this is why the bob was the length it was) so that the twin spare wheels can be easily removed... it will need a net of course...

 

photo. ...and now it has one! Note also the race number boards cut from 1mm styrene, and attached to the cage where they would be on a Twin Hammers.

 

Regarding the rear tailgate net, it took me a while to work out how to attach it (and still have it detachable too of course, so Hopper (and his co-driver) can pull out a spare wheel as required) using scale hardware... and then I had a brainstorm:

 

photo. 1/10 scale bungy cords - available from all good RC ebayers.

 

 

photo. I have a bunch of these cords, so sacrificed a couple and used the spring hooks to secure the net to the rear of the wings.

 

 

 

photo. more 1mm styrene employed for a custom hood - the cut out is required to clear the top of the air-filter (since the body sits so low on the chassis) and also because it looks kewl of course ;o)

 

photo. bonnet scoop, plus making a start on the filling and sanding to blend in the extended arches and clean up the other cut areas. note the trimmed front panel (another scratch-build from styrene) below the radiator/headlight aperture.

 

photo. a quick blow-over with 'aluminium' metallic silver paint - it's starting to look like a real body-shell again!

 

photo. I took a punt on a pair of small butt hinges, which actually worked out to be pretty much the perfect size, once a little Dremel work to the front cross member was employed...

 

 

photo. ...followed soon after by a couple diagonal cuts to the front wings - and we have a flip-front!

 

 

photo. self-adhesive carbon fibre to cover the hood - I know carbon is not really period correct, however, I consider the back story is that this is an older vehicle being raced in a vintage class in the modern era - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. And so is Hopper!

 

photo. hood scoop also constructed from styrene and carbon-fibre covered. note. that the central support of the six-lamp light-bar has been removed, and a mesh grille insert made - this will be painted black (to match the rest of the front end), with a Chevy badge attached.

 

photo. it took some working out to get everything to clear, particularly as the rear edge of the hood is curved to match the scuttle panel, while the leading edge is flat above the headlights.

 

 

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

 

Time to get some paint - or at least the base coat - on this bodywork then!

Most of my builds feature a degree of weathering, most usually rust and deterioration - not least as you don't have to be quite so meticulous as you do when trying to achieve a showroom shine with cans of spray paint in a cardboard booth in your garage. Of course I really admire the dedication of builders who can achieve a realistic 'new' look on their scale models, but for me, I prefer the slightly rough and ready look of a vehicle that has been well used already.

I usually use the salt and layering technique to achieve a suitably scabby finish - although most recently I've had some success with the dedicated 'rust' paint effects which use an acrylic base coat impregnated with iron filings, and an activator solution to actually turn the metal to real rust! It's very effective, particularly when used sparingly in those places that you'd typically see rust on an ageing vehicle - however, in this instance, I'm not sure that is the look I want, since a race vehicle, by it's nature, ought to be reasonably well maintained, and is quite likely to have damaged panels replaced with some regularity.

In addition, I've already replaced the hood with a carbon fibre version, and will also be covering the door skins in the same material - ie. that the owner has removed those heavy steel parts and replaced them with lightweight racing alternatives - and the extended wheel arches for example might well be plastic or at least aluminium on this rebuilt and modernised Blazer?

 

So for this build I'm going to stay away from rust (well ok, maybe the odd dab where there is a ding in what would be the original body), but the reason for spraying a base coat of 'metal' is so that any stone chips and scratches (which a desert race vehicle is likely to have, especially by the end of the Baja 1000) show through the coloured top coat.

So in that regard, I will be employing the salt technique - primarily to the front of the wheelarches and along each flank - just as if stones have been flung up by those fat General Grabbers.

 

photo. in the booth, getting it's base coat of 'aluminium' metallic silver paint.

 

I have to say though, the metal finish of this paint is very realistic (I've used it previously on my Land Rover Defender 90 build, a vehicle which has aluminium panels of course), and it is tempting to leave it looking like raw metal?

 

photo. my D90 build during initial painting - it almost looks like the body is made of real metal I thought?

 

photo. equally though, I would concede it looks even more realistic with a contrasting colour top coat too?

 

 

On balance, while I love to see this kind of vehicle in a scale garage setting is what appears to be in a state of perpetual half-build, I don't really intend this project to be a shelf queen in that sense - I want to get it finished, and get it dusty with some genuine wear and tear - and feel that a suitable two-tone colour scheme and some well placed sponsor decals would be most fitting?

So with that in mind, I thought I'd make a start on the interior detailing:

 

photo. wait, what? - you're joking right?

 

Nope! - if you're gonna go retro, you've got to flock your Corbeau seats!

 

Part of the reason I bought the grey version of these seats (rather than the usual black which I prefer, particularly if you want to leave them unpainted), is that I thought it would contrast really well with the tan flocking I'd first used on Hopper's HiLux interior bench seat.

 

photo. I thought leaving the backs and sides grey plastic would further add to the nasty 70s/80s two-tone look!

 

So that is pretty much where I'm up to so far, other than to say that Hopper has got himself a new outfit, even if it does look a lot like prison issue blues at the moment!

 

photo. Jim in his original casual 'date night' mode (note. the result of his knee surgery).

 

 

photo. now doing the double denim, just to complete the sartorial nightmare!

 

 

photo. I also took a quick break yesterday to make a photo booth/garage for my work desk... expect to see it full of Louis Willy's workshop junk very soon!

 

More soon!

Jenny x

[Problemchild]

Absolute genius!!!!!

JJ

[Badcrumble]

Great to see another build. Is this for comping or just for fun? Looking forward to seeing your other two creations when they are ready for their glamour shots on your new turntable!

Nice to see a bit of Tamiya in there! It is a shame that there isn't more of their product that can be used in these more scale oriented builds. 

[Nobbi1977]

If I had half your skill I would have a house full of these things. Luckily for my wife I only have about 2%

Great to see another one of your builds

[JennyMo]

7 hours ago, Problemchild said:

Absolute genius!!!!!

JJ

Thank you! - it's a fine line between genius and madness of course...

 

3 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

Great to see another build. Is this for comping or just for fun? Looking forward to seeing your other two creations when they are ready for their glamour shots on your new turntable!

Nice to see a bit of Tamiya in there! It is a shame that there isn't more of their product that can be used in these more scale oriented builds. 

I don't think it's likely to perform all that well - certainly not a genuine racing truck*, or even a crawler - but it ought to be fun as a [faster] trail truck I think?

*It's likely to be too heavy, and also pretty fragile should it crash/roll at speed.

And yes, I know what you mean about the Tamiya content - currently the tally stands at a woeful: one Wild Willy 2 radiator panel (the part which is typically unused on the sprue!), and one shock top plus a random couple of tube/spacer parts to construct the brake servo (as I did with Hopper's HiLux) under the bonnet.

I did actually buy a Clod Buster body shell before hacking up the RC4WD one - thinking it might make things easier... however, while the overall length and width are similar to what I've created here, the scale of the Clod cabin is smaller and there was no way Hopper would fit inside unfortunately. (note. the Clod body is now for sale for what I paid for it, although keep in mind I'm in the USA now of course).

 

1 hour ago, Nobbi1977 said:

If I had half your skill I would have a house full of these things. Luckily for my wife I only have about 2%

Great to see another one of your builds

Ha, funny you say that - my 'office' room is rapidly becoming overrun with all these new projects!

You may recall I sold a few of my older models before I moved to the USA at the beginning of last year - keeping just a trio of Tamiyas (the SRB Cage Racer, Tam Mater and the STUMPKamper) to display in a cabinet for posterity (plus the original STUMPkin stayed with a friend back in the UK).

I also had the D90 crawler and Desmond to play around with... but since then I've built the YJJeep and Hopper's HiLux, and there was my little side project with the Lil' Scamp (Willy's Rocker Mk3) of course too! Most recently I re-bodied Desmond as the Big BJ with a modified FJ40 Land Cruiser shell.

If that wasn't enough already, I have gone completely crazy over the past few months with four (or is it five)* potential new projects - it's seems every time I'm inspired, I end up buying another chassis and body shell, and then, well the inevitable happens of course!

*I'm including the ever dormant 'Mega Bug' project in this list too, since I've recently bought another Sand Scorcher body - so stay tuned for that once I get all these 4x4s out of my system... it certainly seems that anything SRB based I build takes years to come to fruition!

So please do stay tuned for this one, and a couple more builds soon too - one of which does at least use a Tamiya body, if not much else these days!

And thank you all again for your kind words of support!

Jenny x

[Badcrumble]

I think I'll have to pass on the Clod body - postage would be a killer and I already have an ex-JMo project I haven't started 😉...even though I have most of the bits for it including a battery!

I've been looking back over this thread, I really like this shot

20 hours ago, JennyMo said:

 

 

This truck is going to be mean-looking!

[JennyMo]

21 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

I think I'll have to pass on the Clod body - postage would be a killer and I already have an ex-JMo project I haven't started 😉...even though I have most of the bits for it including a battery!

I've been looking back over this thread, I really like this shot

This truck is going to be mean-looking!

Hee hee - yes, that was the aim really - certainly as the project developed...

Originally I had planned to keep the body pretty stock (width etc.) and just use the off-the-shelf rear roll bar and spare tyre mount that RC4WD sell - but that wasn't really 'individual enough for this sort of project as you might imagine, and I really wanted to include a cage inside the cabin too.

Certainly once I got the body in my hands and saw how huge it was, there was no way the Twin Hammers cage would work at all   not unless I extended all the cross brace pieces perhaps, and by then I might as well have built something from scratch! In fact I did experiment briefly trying to aluminium solder rod (and tube) together, but without a jig it would me almost impossible to make anything decent looking... hence the ultimate narrowing of the shell to more closely follow the cage, and the more aggressive stance of the wheel-arch flares.

Everything happens for a reason eh?

Jx

[Problemchild]

Do you need a husband to make you tea while you do all this? 
 

Pick me pick me pick me 

 

hahah

 

JJ

[Re-Bugged]

Where can I get a Cad design brain implant so I can come up with stuff like this too?

Brilliant visions as always Jen 👍🏻

[JennyMo]

12 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Where can I get a Cad design brain implant so I can come up with stuff like this too?

Brilliant visions as always Jen 👍🏻

Hee hee - I suggest you start by watching Project Binky on YouTube... (or even earlier having studied technical drawing at school like I did - like physics, at the time you never realise how useful those principles are going to be in the real world... even if that world is only 1/10th scale in this instance ;o)

I also suggest you eat a lot of breakfast cereal to provide the necessary materials!

I have to say, I find one of the most fun things about custom building is working out stuff like this with cardboard and styrene - it is very satisfying!

Jenny x

[JennyMo]

Just a little taste of more to come...

I'm obsessing on the interior with this one!

Jx

[JennyMo]

A few more little details... these things take time, but I feel they are worth it.

photo. Tamiya component tally has increased by 50% now... Wild Willy NOS bottle - plumbed in of course ;o)

 

photo. Hopper has got himself some dirty stone-washed jeans...

 

photo. chrome spray paint - this is the steering wheel from the Wild Willy half-height driver sprue - yea, 100% increase in Tamiya parts now!

 

photo. chrome paint used to good effect on the gear-shift knob and steering wheel spokes. Other details include a ProLine fire extinguisher (robbed from my old Desmond cab) and WW decal, battery cables, and the steering column is actually part of the roll bar from a Mauri Jeep, and a slightly modified Axial light-bar bracket.

 

photo. the interior is finally coming together...

 

More soon!

Jenny x

[JennyMo]

A few more details... I'm getting really close to putting the top-coat colours on now that all the various holes in the body have been cut for the details...

 

photo. Hopper got wrapped up like some kind of Star Wars extra to have his helmet painted in situ (note. I initially painted it in two halves as it needed to be glued together in place on his head, but was unhappy with the joint line; so taped him up, sanded it back and repainted it - in Tamiya Racing White TS-7).

 

photo. I then started carving away at a Wild Willy 2 gear lever to create a T-handle head...

 

photo. ...for the plumbed-in fire extinguisher system of course!

 

photo. together with the battery cut-off switch (robbed from the original Desmond cab I admit), and a [removable] oil dip-stick for the engine.

 

photo. Oil filler location, and spark-plug caps painted in NGK oxblood.

 

photo. test cutting (to make a template) a slash-cut exhaust exit for either side of the rear wings.

 

photo. sorting Hopper's stance behind the wheel - ultimately his arm joints have been tacked with superglue, and I'll now fill in the gaps with bodyfiller and paint them to match his skin tone, as I did with the same figurine in Hopper's HiLux. note. I particularly like his natural hand position on the gear lever and steering wheel.

 

photo. speedometer housing constructed from an Axial 12mm light bucket and light-bar bracket - the face is the right size for a Wild Willy 2 speedo decal, and the bezel is a copper washer painted chrome. The idea is to [potentially] put an LED in the back of this housing to backlight the instruments.

 

More soon!

Jenny x

 

[Mad Ax]

Absolutely fantastic work as usual, and a good read too

[JennyMo]

Paintwork

There comes a time when you have to stop sanding, and just get some paint on the thing (I'm sure I've said that before, a lot!)... fortunately since this is meant to be a desert race truck which has been campaigned in the Vintage class over the years, it need not be pristine - although it still ought to appear reasonably well maintained of course - so the interior and engine bay particularly ought to be in reasonable condition, even if the event paint and decals are starting to appear a bit worn - that's the plan anyway.

Colour-scheme wise, I wanted something that was both eye-catching (being a racing vehicle) and also [a little more] appropriate to the age of the vehicle too - and being a 'Baja' truck, some sort of Beer sponsorship was almost going to be inevitable... you've probably guessed where I'm going with this already?

So here we go!

photo. two-tone yellow/racing white colour scheme - plus the internal panels left 'raw' metal because I like that look, and it would be appropriate for a race vehicle I think?

 

photo. re-assembly of the flip-front - the four [Axial] lamps take 5mm LEDs, and I've changed the inner pair to yellow lens, just to mix things up a bit!

 

photo. late night partial reassembly, just to see how it's all going... I think the black front end and carbon fibre hood gives it a suitably contemporary twist on an otherwise retro build? - as if this is a vintage vehicle still being campaigned in the modern era.

 

photo. the next morning, Hopper underwent some arm surgery (I'd fixed the angle of his arms/wrists with superglue behind the wheel, and would now fill in the articulated joints with body-filler and repaint the flesh, as I'd done with Hopper in the HiLux too). 

Meanwhile the body required some pretty extensive masking to keep the [metal] interior free of paint - note. I'd painted the lower Tamiya Racing White  (TS-7) colour along the flanks first, then masked to put the 'Chrome Yellow' (TS-47) on top - and managed to do the whole body with just one [100ml] can of each colour.

 

photo. Hopper back behind the wheel... note I also made a [styrene] bracket to mount the rear light bar directly to the cage - this way both the front and rear lights can remain wired, with the main body-shell easily removable.

note. I removed some of the flocking on the headrests so the Axial Corbeau decals could be attched.

 

photo. close-up of the speedo housing - this is an Axial 12mm light bucket, with a clear piece of lexan cut to fit inside, and a copper washer (painted chrome) as a bezel. The decal is from the Tamiya Wild Willy 2 and is the perfect fit! The idea is to backlight the speedo with an LED from the headlight string too.

 

photo. another detail (which I felt someone might pick up on) is to extend the positive 'battery' cables under the scuttle to the emergency cut-out switch I'd fabricated.

 

photo. the fire-extinguisher handle and battery key switch fitted - plus a hint to the final colour scheme...

cont.

[JennyMo]

cont.

photo. Lucas and Louis check out the paint scheme... along with the carbon fibre hood, the idea is that Hopper has replaced the original doors with lightweight alternatives - and visually I think the black doors and extended window apertures help to reduce the visual bulk of the original vehicle?

note. I've also used the salt technique (sparingly in this instance) to replicate chipped paint from the leading edge of the wheel-arches and along the rear of each flank - as if stones had been flung up from the front tyres. there is also a little rust around the original steel cabin, while the back-story is the fender extensions would have been fabricated from aluminium, hence no rust there.

 

So enough with the jibber jabber Jenny, what does it look like assembled and with a few choice decals applied?

This:

photo. Yes, it had to be done really didn't it? The Corona colour race livery is complimented by a suitable race number, plus a few choice sponsor decals along each flank. 

note. and you thought Hopper has bandana over his nose and mouth just because of dust ;o)

 

Surprisingly for what is quite a stiffly sprung 'race' truck, it turns out the suspension has a decent amount of flex too - keeping in mind these are 115mm leaf-springs (and dual 80mm shocks) on the front, and 90mm coil-overs/4-link on the rear:

photo. That is a chunk of 4x2 wood - all four tyres are [just] on the ground still - nice!

 

There are still a good number of details to finish off - the slash-cut exhaust tail pipes on each side (see previous post for the mock up design), plus I do want to do something at the front - perhaps a nerf/push bar of some kind - ideally which can be folded down out of the way to support the flip-front when it's open? I also need to add some sort of recovery/tow point to the front (note. those typical 'jammer' hooks you can buy on ebay are way too large a scale unfortunately)...

I've also ordered a few more bits and bobs from RC4WD - some of their 454 metal badges to compliment the K5 Blazer ones I've already bought, plus the dedicated K44 axle drag link for the steering, as the knuckles on the cast version of these axles really required a bent rod to clear the diff cover. You live and learn.

I also need to work out exactly what I'm going to do regarding the lighting and main vehicle wiring... 

I have a set of the Axial LEDs, with a 4 [white] string for the front, and a read pair for the rear - but ideally I'd like to illuminate all of the installed lamps, so might well purchase a suitable loom (RC4WD make one that has all the LEDs/colours I need, and could be snipped and adapted to fit), while the main vehicle electronics also need to be installed... currently I'm considering mounting the low profile ESC on the back of the fuel-cell (behind/under the spare wheels - you really won't see it there) and the Receiver in one of the rear wheel-arch boxes.

Otherwise, the main thing to do now is to start to weather the paint and decals with some ultra fine sandpaper, and add a little colour wash here and there to make some of the detailing pop a little more.

 

For now I'll leave you with a few more detail photos:

photo. engraved licence plates, and central recovery shackle.

 

photo. spare buckles and lengths of seat-belt straps just long enough to make up some spare-wheel tie-downs. note the original rear light apertures have been 'blanked out' with carbon fibre too. I'm considering putting either a sponsor decal or perhaps some 'fake' rear light decals here, as you typically might have on a real Trophy Truck?

 

And finally - no Corona Virus build would be complete without a hoard of toilet rolls on the passenger seat!

Toot toot for now!

Jenny x

[Grastens]

Another incredible build! Really liking this one - top work, Jenny 

[Problemchild]

Wow

How do you make your HT leads?

 

JJ