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One sunny morning in 2013, I arrived at my office to find the entire department clustered around a single screen.  At first I thought they were laughing at some of my code like normal, but as I approached I heard the crashing chords of power metal guitars and the rich tones of melodic shouting.

"Hey, come and see this!" My boss said.  "My brother's joined a new band and they've just released their first song!"

(his brother is the one who looks like a Viking warrior playing the bass guitar.  I can't pretend I know him - I briefly met him at a party 3 years ago but was too starstruck to say hi, despite still being good mates with his brother)

Now I confess, I'm more of an electronic music fan than a metalhead, I haven't really listened to much metal since the early 00's, and despite having been a huge Fear Factory fan BITD I haven't really listened to their stuff for ages.  However, I completely fell in love with the Gloryhammer sound.  It manages to be completely daft (like, say, Goldie Looking Chain) but also entirely dedicated to its own authenticity.  It's silly and it knows it, but it never plays up to its own silliness.  And it tells a great story.  And, musically, it's brilliant, IMO.  And it's accessible - I feel totally comfortable letting my 3yo daughter dance around it it while the videos are playing because there's no swearing, adult references or people without many clothes on.

That said, I could easily listen to it and then forget about it.  It was good, but didn't get extended playtime, until the first lockdown, and suddenly that uplifting, crazy and totally irrelevant story started to make sense.  At the start of the pandemic, I said to my wife that we might see an increase in the fantasy genre across all forms of art, because the world has become so uncertain and so much realism art has lost its relevance.  Fantasy exists in its own world where the pandemic doesn't apply, or where it's turned into something more tangible, like a war against good and evil.  And here were Gloryhammer, giving me the escape that I needed.  This year I have listened to their albums back-to-back and over-and-over while sitting at my desk, singing along to the crazy lyrics and imagining I'm a warrior in the Hootsforce battling the evil sorcerer Zargothrax for Angus McFife and the future of the galaxy.

What relevance does this have to my SMT10 build?  Well, firstly, because of how much this year has been defined and quite possibly saved by Gloryhammer, but also because the name fits perfectly with my other solid axle monster truck builds of 2020.  First was Spellcaster, the TXT-1 named after an early PC text adventure game about wizards and magic; second was the TLT/Axial hybrid that I named Durandal, after a mythical magic sword.  And third will be Gloryhammer, the monster truck that Angus McFife himself would drive.  Assuming, of course, that Zargothrax challenged him to do battle in the Monster Jam arena.

Now, I must confess, I have sort of jumped the gun (or, indeed, the magic hammer), because I wasn't going to post this until I had something useful to show, and all I've built so far is the axles.  However my hand has been forced by some unfortunate Axial kit flaws, so I need to get started with a build thread so I can show my progress (or, rather, lack thereof).  So - I don't have any graphics, colour scheme or much else to show yet - all I can reveal is that Gloryhammer will be running the JConcepts Ford Raptor 2010 body, Clod-size Tribute wheels and Firestorm tyres, as well as RH Designs 12.5" wheelbase conversion and sway bars, and will be set up in low-slung racing trim rather than tall monster crusher spec.

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So - what went wrong?  Well, assembling the front axle, I couldn't get the outer bearing to fit over the axle stub.  It seemed like the stub wasn't quite machined to the right size - or more specifically, the machine process that put in the hole for the drive pin had left a raise part on the stub that prevented the bearing going over.  Sometimes this happens with other brands and a bit of wiggling is necessary, but this one was fully not going on.  I was building inside, so I took it up to the workshop to investigate.

The right thing to have done here would have been to measure the stub with the callipers and file down any raised areas.  So, of course, what I did was get a 10mm socket and use it to gently tap the bearing on with a small hammer.

It still didn't want to go on, and after a few moments I figured it was going to make things worse.  At this point the stub would no longer rotate in the hub, so I started trying to pull the bearing off again.  This didn't work, so I propped the hub on some blocks of wood and tapped the end of the stub with the hammer.  What happened then is the lip inside the hub failed and the entire stub came right through the hub, bearing and all.

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At least then I could put the stub in the vice and start trying to drive the bearing off.  Then this happened.

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Which then led to this, which I tried to shift using a blowtorch and a drift, but it was going nowhere.

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Then the bench grinder was employed, and this happened.

PC290079.jpg

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So then this happened

PC290080.jpg

and then this

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like this

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and finally, this

PC290083.jpg

So - it's back together with a new bearing from my spares stocks, and it spins freely and doesn't wobble.  At some point both the stub and the hub will need replacing, but at least for now I can continue with the build.  It will probably last for years without failing.  If it were a central part like the transmission, I would probably order in replacements before I went ahead with assembly, but the hub is easy to replace after the truck is built - so there's no reason to stop.

Watch this space - I wasn't planning to photograph the build (hence why my photos begin with my disaster) but now I've started I might as well continue.  If I don't get too bogged down in cleaning, tidying, cooking roast dinners and taking my daughter out for a cycle ride, I will do some more steps later.

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It might be my imagination, but it seems like there was an ever decreasing degree of patience in this whole process, starting with, 'It doesn't fit, I'll just tap it on with a hammer to be quick. I know really I should file it but I want to press on, so the MK1 adjuster will be fine', and not quite reaching the ' I've completely knackered it now, so I'm just going to beat it with the sledge hammer until I calm down'. I have been there many occasions myself, one of the funniest, in hindsight being trying to undo a locking wheel nut on a car, where the nut was worn, the tire iron slipped and I bashed my knuckles, whereupon my mood when straight from 'calm waters' to 'Apocalypse Now' and I threw the tire iron into a field next to where I was working. I then spent the half an hour searching for it in long grass, getting more angry that I was now wasting more time because I'd got angry in the first place.............

Still, fingers crossed the rest of the build goes easier :)

 

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Yes, to be honest I do these new builds when I'm inside with my 3yo, so my prime focus is not on accurate parts prep, it's on what she's doing. She likes to watch and I like to explain what I'm doing. That's why I do new builds - because they (usually) go together without any hassle.

Anyway, in this case the correct answer was to take 10 minutes in the workshop fixing it properly but I was focussed on getting in and out of the shop as quick as I can so she isn't on her own too long. Well, as it happened my rush to get it done quick meant I was out for way longer than I expected and my wife had to take over for a bit.

In fairness I never expected it to be out by that much. Even after grinding off the old bearing it took a lot of machining in the pauper's lathe (battery drill and sandpaper) to get even a tight fit, but I did have a quick check with the Mk1 runout gauge and couldn't feel any obvious burrs, so it seems the entire thing was machined too large, coated too thick or possibly ovalled in the drilling of the pin hole.

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Been a long time since I did any updatement here, I've not been taking pics of the build as a) I forget and 2) there must already be a million standard SMT10 build threads out there and I have nothing to add.

However, there are a couple of things I would point out so far:

Various part numbers are incorrect in the manual.  I didn't stop to write down what they were and a search online found a single Youtube hit listing some of them, but I since found more.  I'm not sure if this is an issue since the re-release with updated transmission (the first area I found issues was with the shocks) or if it's always been like this in the builder's kit.  It's not really a big deal for me as I've built enough kits to work out what should go where, but if I was a newcomer to the scene I might be confused and frustrated.

I also had issues building the shocks.  Firstly I misread the instructions and had the rubber seal in the wrong place, and all the oil came out.  That was my bad (unfortunately I'd built them all in a production line and had to drain all of them to fix it, faceplam) and something I really should have known better.  No biggy, shocks rebuilt, refilled and closed - and, they were rock solid.  Absolutely wouldn't budge at all.

I've never known this building a shock before.  I removed the caps and re-assembled with the shocks half-compressed (I've heard some people build their touring shocks this way) which was better, they would compress a little bit still seize up before full compression.  In the end I had them mostly compressed when I put the caps on.

I don't really know what's going on there.  AFAIK the air reservoir in the rubber cap should be big enough to accommodate the displacement of the shock piston when it is fully compressed, but it seems it isn't - it will only accommodate so much.  It seems the rubber is happier to expand when extending a compressed shock than it is to shrink to accommodate a compressing one.  I'll keep an eye on it and maybe rebuild the shocks again later when I'm in the workshop.

I fitted RH Designs lower links during the build, which necessitated a little trimming of the shock lower balls to fit, but otherwise all is well there.

I have now assembled the transmission and radio box - next step is to start on the chassis proper.  The build process feels slightly backward to me - the front axle is connected to the radio box via the servo cable (the radio box is a lovely touch, by the way) so I need to be careful moving the parts around, which is an issue as this is by necessity an indoor in-front-of-the-TV build.

It's my birthday on Saturday, so while I'm supposed to be looking after my daughter all day, she has promised that we can watch all my favourite films and build monster trucks all day.  I said we would watch Mad Max, Death Race 2000, Lock Stock, and the Evil Dead, but she said she didn't think she liked those, and since she is only 4 she probably has a point.  Instead we will watch Wall-E, Cars, Watership Down and Corpse Bride, since they are broadly the same films.

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4 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

It's my birthday on Saturday,

Sat the 20th? Happy birthday! That's my birthday too. I also found some glitches in the manual as well. I think the builder's kit has only been around since the updated transmission came out. My SMT10 build is a bit stalled too. Finding my Rangers tires were out-of-round kinda took the wind out of my sails for now.

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First off, Happy Birthday guys!  Funny that they're on the same day.

Yea, there are a few incorrect steps/parts in the SMT10 kit.  When I built my first one I just made notes in the manual so I dont go crazy when doing another.  I've always assembled shocks with them either halfway or fully compressed.  Not sure why, think I read it somewhere back in the day.  I've heard not so great things about the SMT shocks and while they are leaky (I think all Axial shocks are leaky), they actually work pretty well.  One good modification is to get a second set of Red (Super Soft) springs and put them all around, I think the kit comes with Yellow (Soft) springs on the rear front and they are a bit too stiff in my opinion.  

As far as build pics, I definitely understand where you're coming from.  You do a lot better with it than I in your other threads, I can never manage to take a single photo until I'm done.  I always set out to do a "build log" and it just never happens.  I guess once I get into it I just can't be bothered.  

Excited to see how this comes out, I think that Raptor body is going to look great on there.

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16 minutes ago, 87lc2 said:

As far as build pics, I definitely understand where you're coming from.  You do a lot better with it than I in your other threads, I can never manage to take a single photo until I'm done.  I always set out to do a "build log" and it just never happens.  I guess once I get into it I just can't be bothered.  

I’m guilty of this , too 

I did manage to post a few pics of my Hornet restoration though . Also managed to document the ‘94 era Stampede “resto mod “ over on a TrAxxas forum 

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Wow, another Gloryhammer fan, and you know a band member! :lol:

Can't wait to see how this one turns out!

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2 hours ago, Saito2 said:

Sat the 20th? Happy birthday! That's my birthday too.

You can be my birthday buddy!  I previously messaged Rihanna and Cindy Crawford to ask if they would be my birthday buddies but I didn't get a reply.  Technically that makes you 3rd in line :) 

https://www.famousbirthdays.com/february20.html

2 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

I can never manage to take a single photo until I'm done.  I always set out to do a "build log" and it just never happens.  I guess once I get into it I just can't be bothered.  

I used to be just like this - in some cases I still am, I started posting updates this morning and realise I didn't have any of my failed attempt to fit a winch to the back of my CFX-W.  In fact there are two things that have really helped, both of which came along at the same time:

1 - getting a decent small camera.  I'd previously used my phone (lame, clumsy, usually plugged into the amp, limited focal range) or the family bridge camera (batteries eternally flat, don't like using it with dirty hands) or my ages-old D70S (I don't have a macro lens, way too big, body has gone sticky and needs fixing) and I mentioned to my wife that I just wanted a cheap, nasty portable to take photos in the workshop.  Instead she bought an Olympus TG-5 (using money I gave her) then gave me her TG-3 as a birthday present (yeah, I know...).

It's absolutely fab - completely changed my life.  Very fast (tbh I don't know why I put up with Nikon's slow-as-heck interface for years), excellent pics in all light conditions, it has brazillions of features (but lacks a shutter priority mode - I borrow the TG-5 for that), excellent high speed shooting (60fps with reduced resolution, great for capturing boosted touring cars on track) and a very easy-to-use close-up mode.  Plus, it's very compact and sturdy - takes up minimal space on the worktop, fully waterproof, drop proof, in fact I'd have said it was near indestructible, but the wife managed to destroy her TG-5 the first time she took it out (she got it filthy in a cave and tried to wipe the lens with her caving suit, which was covered with cave mud, which is basically very fine grinding paste.)

2 - lockdowns.  When all the racing and social interaction stopped, I felt really isolated.  I don't really do social media and TC is the only forum I frequent.  I wanted to be involved with something, and there seemed no point in building all these cars if I couldn't even drive them anywhere, I might as well do some photos and provide some topic of conversation.

I hope I'll keep up the posts once we can go racing again.  That said, I went to a few race meets last summer in what I'm now starting to think of as the eye of the storm, I took a fair few photos but didn't get enough coverage of all the entries to make it worth posting any.

 

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1 hour ago, Mad Ax said:

When all the racing and social interaction stopped, I felt really isolated.  I don't really do social media and TC is the only forum I frequent. 

I used to frequent a Miata, Kawasaki, Yamaha VMax , a Traxxas and Arrma forum  as well as a general toy and die cast collecting forum ... all of the above were on one App “Tapatalk” 

That one app was really the closest to a social media presence I had. 
Now I’m on here more than the others combined . Though I may frequent the motorbike ones when the weather warms and the Miata one as I prepare to sel my Mx5 

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I used to post an awful lot on a UK-based motorbike forum, in fact I actually made the decision to leave for a while back in January 2020 over some stuff that was said that was quite close to home.  At the time, the place was just starting to fill up with threads about what wasn't yet a pandemic, and I'm glad I left when I did because there was already so much misinformation around at that time, it would have given me even more to be confused by.

That forum died in the middle of last year.  I think there's another one to replace it but I have no desire to join.

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By the way, as a quick diversion back to the band, I found TFTKOF on YouTube yesterday and turned it on as I was working, and it sounded HORRIBLE!? I don't know if they've "remastered" it since the original release but the recordings are WAY different (unfortunately not in a good way, so anyone finding them for the first time on YT might be similarly disappointed).

Also I was re-reading your entries above and one thing jumped out at me this time: "servo cable" is something that I'm surprised I've never heard or thought of before. All the benefits and power of a servo in a remote location? Sign me up! I bet you can get some really crazy chassis configurations going with a remote servo linkage that's also flexible.

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On 2/19/2021 at 5:57 PM, El Gecko said:

By the way, as a quick diversion back to the band, I found TFTKOF on YouTube yesterday and turned it on as I was working, and it sounded HORRIBLE!? I don't know if they've "remastered" it since the original release but the recordings are WAY different (unfortunately not in a good way, so anyone finding them for the first time on YT might be similarly disappointed).

Interesting - do you remember what channel it was on?  When I tried to rediscover the album early last year (I hadn't really listened to it since it was first released) I only found a really low-quality recording and it sounded awful.  The high-quality one in my history is Gordon Freeman, I think he has all of the albums in high quality.  I couldn't say if TFTKOF sounds any different now to when I first heard it, naturally right now it sounds a bit pants because I'm on my works laptop and the speakers aren't great.  Roll on home renovation when I can get some proper speakers hooked up...

Quote

Also I was re-reading your entries above and one thing jumped out at me this time: "servo cable" is something that I'm surprised I've never heard or thought of before

I wasn't sure what you meant here at first - what I meant was that the 3-wire servo lead that goes into the Rx was all that tied the (heavy) axle (with servo attached) to the slightly less heavy radio box.  As I wasn't able to work on a neatly laid-out workbench and was taking weeks between build sessions, there was plenty of opportunity for assemblies to get dropped and yank on the wire.

But I don't think that's what you're saying.  I think what you mean is a servo horn connected to a sheathed cable to operate a remote linkage?  This is how aircraft servos work - last time I built a plane, the servos were mounted under the wing and connected to nylon cables that ran inside nylon sleeves.  That allowed for a fair amount of flex in the cable to reach the control surface.

I think some nitro cars might also use cable for brakes?  The remote locking diff on the TRX-4 has a cable, too.

But you're absolutely right - if you could set up cable-operated steering you could keep your servos central.  I hadn't thought of this either.  You'd have to use a tandem cable (like a motorcycle throttle cable) because you can't push with a flexible cable but in theory it would work :) 

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5 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Interesting - do you remember what channel it was on?  When I tried to rediscover the album early last year (I hadn't really listened to it since it was first released) I only found a really low-quality recording and it sounded awful.  The high-quality one in my history is Gordon Freeman, I think he has all of the albums in high quality.  I couldn't say if TFTKOF sounds any different now to when I first heard it, naturally right now it sounds a bit pants because I'm on my works laptop and the speakers aren't great.  Roll on home renovation when I can get some proper speakers hooked up...

It was the "Youtube mix" for that album, not sure who the uploader was but every track was really muddy and low quality. The weird thing was that it sounded remixed too, as if they took all the edge off of the guitar and his voice, and cranked up the keyboards instead somehow. I've just listened to the one you embedded in your first post above, which sounds like what I remember.

 

5 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

I wasn't sure what you meant here at first - what I meant was that the 3-wire servo lead that goes into the Rx was all that tied the (heavy) axle (with servo attached) to the slightly less heavy radio box.  As I wasn't able to work on a neatly laid-out workbench and was taking weeks between build sessions, there was plenty of opportunity for assemblies to get dropped and yank on the wire.

But I don't think that's what you're saying.  I think what you mean is a servo horn connected to a sheathed cable to operate a remote linkage?  This is how aircraft servos work - last time I built a plane, the servos were mounted under the wing and connected to nylon cables that ran inside nylon sleeves.  That allowed for a fair amount of flex in the cable to reach the control surface.

I think some nitro cars might also use cable for brakes?  The remote locking diff on the TRX-4 has a cable, too.

But you're absolutely right - if you could set up cable-operated steering you could keep your servos central.  I hadn't thought of this either.  You'd have to use a tandem cable (like a motorcycle throttle cable) because you can't push with a flexible cable but in theory it would work :) 

Ah, I see what you mean now, yes a bit lost in translation there! After I posted that I thought about it some more and realized "of course, RC planes and anything nitro will have been doing this for ages now" I just haven't delved into those categories in my RC journey!

And yes, that's exactly I was thinking: you could have a servo located essentially anywhere in the chassis tub/frame, and just have a cable linkage to a steering actuator on the axle. That's cool they're already using it for remote locking diffs, I can visualize all kinds of applications for it. I'm sure the big rig and RC construction equipment folks use remote cable linkages all the time. Which has now got me thinking of how to use cables and a remote servo for a plow or snow blower on the front of one of my trucks... :D

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2 hours ago, El Gecko said:

I'm sure the big rig and RC construction equipment folks use remote cable linkages all the time. Which has now got me thinking of how to use cables and a remote servo for a plow or snow blower on the front of one of my trucks... :D

Hydraulics is the big thing in construction models right now - if you can spare the coin :o 

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More updates :)

I don't usually do NIB builds in my workshop - I tend to prefer the messier stuff like custom builds and body hacks and save the NIBs for those lazy days on the sofa - but I was almost at the end of chassis assembly and it was getting a bit tricky to do in the house with limited table space available.  Plus I knew once it was complete I'd still have a lot of going-over and tidying up to do which would definitely be easier with all the space and tools to hand.

My intention was to build this chassis in racing trim, with the shocks mounted higher to keep the lower links parallel.  I've seen a Trigger Kings video where they use the body post screw mounts, but there's not really a lot of meat to screw into.  I started with some M3 screws and spacers cut from parts sprues but the screws immediately sagged under the weight.  I figured the best solution was to use a length of M3 allthread and some sleeve - this is sturdy enough but I worry about the potential stress transfer during a crash, as the rest of the chassis is plastic this length of metal could be unforgiving.

@87lc2 you're an SMT fan - what's your method of securing the shocks here?

Also I found I had to make the spacer wide enough that the shock body clears the chassis, but this seemed to put an outward angle on it.  That might be due to the RH Designs lower links I'm using.

Front shock mount - M3 allthread, spacer and sleeve

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For the rear shocks, I put a longer screw into the rear body mount - but I'll switch to the M3 rod and sleeve method as I don't need the body mount there.  Already those screws are sagging.

Anyway - here's the almost-finished rig.  I haven't fitted the top of the cage yet as the driver needs to be painted and fitted.

JConcepts Tribute wheels on the medium setting with Firestorm tyres - I didn't want to go full wide but they catch the links on full lock, so I've added the wider spacer.  I hope the servo saver can handle the turning torque :o 

I have also flipped the headers so they face forwards as they looked like they were a bit hidden behind the wheels.

I also noticed a fairly obvious tight spot in the transmission when rolling it over on the workbench, so I guess I'll have to pull it apart to see what the deal is there.  It could be pinion mesh, could even be a bent motor shaft - that motor is a pretty old one - but I won't know until I have time to get in there and start stripping it down.

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Looks great so far, I like the stance.  Surprised those shock mount screws are sagging like that, I have seen that done many times and nobody has mentioned it...When I want a lower stance on the SMT I usually just run a shorter shock in the stock mounting position, seems to work well.  I think the stock shocks are a bit long when lowering the truck that much.  What type of body are you rinning again, the Raptor?  If so you'll need to move the rear body mount back on the chassis anyway, so you can just use the same method for the front on the rear and that should take care of the sag.

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I just watched a youtube vid of some guys doing the same shock relocation and they had issues with the shock touching the chassis.  They said they'd get some longer spacers but no updates on how it went.  The stock hole is countersunk so there's very little meat there to hold the shock flat, however the rod and sleeve method works just fine so I'll go with that once I've sorted the body mounts.

Depending on how I feel tonight, I might trim and mount the body later.  Right now I have to replace the felt on the shed which came off in last week's storms - it's finally dry, light and calm enough for me to do it :o 

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So I just took off the rear body post mount and cut another piece of rod-and-tube to fit the rear shocks.  I think I can bring the shock tops closer in which will improve appearance, once I've got the suspension dialled in, as I expect the spring collars will go down a bit and give me more room.

Then I soldered up some motor plugs and took it for a quick run on the back lane :)

It's pretty tame on 2S, doesn't really do much, but it's smooth and driveable.  I had to turn out a lot of steering as even with the wide wheel adaptors it still hits the new lower links on full lock.  But it has a surprisingly tight turning circle, which is great for a rig of that size and means I should be able to enjoy it in my garden without converting to 4WS.

On 3S it's better, won't set the world on fire but it's plenty for now and should be a lot more fun once I've got the ramps out.  I'm excited to see how well it jumps - so excited I just might even throw on the El Camino shell from the E-Maxx until I've had time to paint the Raptor.

I need to investigate body post options.  I cut the body but obviously the stock posts don't work for it.  I see JConcepts have a 3D printed option but as it's a Shapeways part it'll probably cost me 3 times the part in postage.  I need to relocate the front body mounts also as they want to come up right where the power bulge is on the hood.

Just one question - how does one go about truing balancing those big soft tyres?  The wheels are wobbling all over the place.

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What motor are you running in this, I don't think I saw it mentioned earlier in the thread.  

Body mounting can be tricky on these with anything other than the stock Digger style body.  I have 3D files for custom mounts that use the upper axle-mounted shock holes and they work great.  Do you have a printer?  Happy to send the files if you do.  If not, you can just cut the original rear mount and move it to the rear shock mounting position, I've done that on a few SMT10s and it worked well.  To relocate the front you'll probably need a custom mount.  Let me know if you can print, happy to send the files over.

As far as balancing the tires, I don't have a good way.  I usually just massage them until they are as round as possible but rarely get them perfectly round, maybe someone will have a better idea.

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I thought my next project would be fitting Clod (bigger basically) tires on TXT-2, both for looks and to be able to use different type of Tyres (TXT-2 i only found stock Tires to).

But as i saw videos im not sure anymore as this change only does it harder for the servos and it seems the steering in overall get much worse, so first off all i need 4 wheel hubs and 4 Wheel Axl for Clod wheel size and ofc 4 new Tires, and Wow this was pricy!, all these parts are, and most only comes in pairs no you need to order 2, togheter it will cost much more than the Rally TT-02 kit i want next, so it is so not worth it. So im back at looking for Tires that will fit TXT-02 Agrios as it Original is, sny tips regarding how i should find this?. Tires/Wheel/Hubs im a total noob in, last thing i need to learn is pinion and Gears and from what ive read so far its not something i look forward to :)

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@simalarion I'm not sure about the TXT-2 - you are right that pricing up wheels, tyres and hub parts to fit Clod tyres to a TXT-2 is pricy.  You might be able to go cheaper if you get JConcepts Tribute wheels like these (IIRC they do another Clod-size wheel too).  These are a direct fit to a 12mm hex, so if the TXT-2 has brass hexes under the wheels like the TXT-1 does then these should fit.  I say should, I can't say for sure.

But you do need 2 sets of wheels and 2 sets of tyres, which gets really expensive.  AFAIK, Clod tyres fit on JConcepts wheels - so it might be cheaper to match the JConcepts wheels with the Clod tyres.

As for overall rolling radius, I'm not sure it's that different?  Clod tyres are big but so are TXT-2, I just don't have one to confirm how different.  I expect the Clod wheel and tyre combo would be heavier overall because there's more rubber overall, that will affect handling but I doubt it will be a night-and-day difference, and it will look a whole metric tonne better - I never liked those TXT-2 wheels...

@87lc2 the motor is an old HPI GT550 - I've had it around for years, still runs smooth.  I was going to buy all new electrics for this truck but after a discussion on here we decided that a 550 on 3S was about right for general bashing if I didn't want to replace axles every other week :) 

Thanks for the offer of a print file - I will PM you shortly 

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