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El Gecko

The ongoing saga of the Sludgehammer

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6 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

 couldn't find anyone local to get involved.

This got me thinking in a different direction--what can we do remotely? Take a page from some musicians etc. as they've adapted over the lockdown? They determine a song, everyone performs and records locally or in their own homes, and then sends in their part of the music and a fun video of them "recording" to the video and music editors, who then make the master music track with everyone's individual instrument recordings, and edit everything together into a little music video. If we planned it out like that, it could flow together nicely and not seem like we're geographically separate, or it could be done like BMX videos do, with sections of different people in different locations that send in their clips and it's all edited together in sequence, but part of the same overall video.

 

41 minutes ago, Unknown Driver said:

It's still a lot of work putting out a 1/2 way decent product.

It is indeed a lot of work. Filming (cameras!), video editing, music production if you want something original, sound FX (short bites to accent things) and video FX (graphics, titles, chirons, etc.) etc. It all has to be produced, at least in the beginning, and then there's a lot of specific editing work on each video. I'm working on a video idea at the moment--just copying the style of a 1:1 video but in 1:10 RC--and this video has a lot of quick cuts since it's set to some music, so even though it's less than 5 minutes long, it turns out there are a lot of shots I need to get! I actually started making a shotlist for the first time ever, because how else am I going to keep it all organized?

The key for me at least to starting an actual show with a regular schedule would be to have a number of episodes lined up and complete, ready to drop, so it reduces some of the pressure to get the next one uploaded. But at my current rate of video production, that could take years :lol:

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6 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

This got me thinking in a different direction--what can we do remotely?

It probably warrants a separate thread, but I did consider that.  But as you say, there's a huge amount of work involved in preparing and uploading videos.  A few years ago I recorded about 2 hours of footage of me making some brackets in my workshop, with the intention of editing it down to a 15-20 minute video.  When recording was done, it felt like there was so much work left over that I never even reviewed the footage.

Without wishing to derail your build thread - my idea was that the group consists of 3 people who each have input on a build.  Independently and without knowing the other's choices, each person chooses part of the project.  One chooses a body (from their junk pile or donated), one chooses a chassis basis (again from whatever they have), another chooses a challenge.  On the day of the reveal, all three find out (probably over a remote video) what the other has chosen. I thought that would be fun, since the challenger might say "build me a rig that can climb these steps" while the chassis-chooser has chosen a broken TT02 and the body-chooser has chosen a truck body from a plastic toy.

Then somehow, all three of them have to make it work.  First the chassis-chooser modifies the chassis using whatever they have, into whatever it needs to complete the challenger's challenge.  Then it gets transported to the body-chooser, who must graft the body onto it and put some effort into making it work.  By no means a concourse job, but better than just fitting some tall body posts and balancing it on top.  Then it gets sent to the challenger, who tries to get it to complete their challenge.

Next month, the circle moves around so there's a different builder, decorator and challenger, and it starts again.

But I'm sure there's all sorts of crazy ideas that could be added into the mix.

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Dec 1st and the light kit is already installed! Fabricated some mounts front and rear, and I even went through and zip tied the cables out of the way.

Now I can drive whenever I want any time of the day or night :D (which is particularly helpful as we head into the darkest days of the year)

led_lights_installed_01.jpg

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This thread should be retitled "lipstick on a pig"...

Fabricated a quick and dirty rollbar out of a coat hanger, patterned on the original rollbar to stiffen the body (and keep from destroying the original one) when I inevitably flip it on its roof again.

At this rate I'll never finish (or even start) the new body :lol:

rollbar_01.jpg

rollbar_02.jpg

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that truck is a true survivor :o 

what you need to do now is enter some truck class races and win.

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On 12/9/2021 at 3:08 AM, Mad Ax said:

that truck is a true survivor :o 

what you need to do now is enter some truck class races and win.

lol I have no doubt it would be tons of fun (just discovered there's a 2WD-Stampede-based 2.2 "Tuff Truck" class!) but I think it would be a lot like 24hrs of Lemons--if the truck stays together through the end of the race, we can call it a win :lol:

Maybe something like Dirt Every Day's Cheap Truck Challenge would be more appropriate? But I'd still be a bit hesitant to actually race it. It's kind of my "daily driver" as far as RC is concerned, and I'd hate to put it out of commission for too long. We have been on LOTS of trail walks this year, probably more actual miles than any of my other RCs.

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Well the old beast definitely lived up to its nickname on our trail walk today, I think this is the dirtiest it's ever been (can't even read the name on the side of the truck!)

I broke one of the aluminum plates on the axle carriers the last time out, so over the last few days I've fabricated some substantially stronger pieces, and overall I think the truck is better than it's ever been. Can't believe it's been a year of tuning and tweaking to get to this point!

I recently added spring-loaded bumpstops inside the springs on the front shocks, which really seem to help the front suspension stay in shape, yet still allow bump compliance from the softer main springs. At the same time, I reconfigured the rear shock geometry for a softer ride and better traction, which also seems to have helped. And after replacing the dead servo with a slightly wonky servo (it was my only spare left) and leaving it completely un-waterproofed, somehow that has managed to survive as well.

The truck drove all the way from the parking lot to the pond and back--nearly 3 miles round trip through the muddiest, sludgiest trails it's ever been on, and no glitches! Still biding my time until this servo dies, but for now "that'll do, pig" :lol:

muddy_01.jpg

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Finally got this video edited and added from earlier this winter. This hill was no joke! Especially with 2WD and an open diff!

I was still figuring out the suspension setup, and hadn't added all the weight yet, so I bet it wouldn't struggle with traction as much now.

I'll have to revisit the trail this summer and try again!

 

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 You're doing a great job keeping the old beater running. Parts are pretty hard to come by for these trucks so some fabricating helps. I have a vintage HAWK that I'm trying to get going which shares most of its components with the Sledgehammer.  So far had to replace one universal shaft with a modern black Stampede one( can see in pic #2). Also, put on some old unused Pro-Line Dirt paw tires that look the part.  Added ball bearings. Good luck.

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17 hours ago, Scoob45 said:

 You're doing a great job keeping the old beater running. Parts are pretty hard to come by for these trucks so some fabricating helps. I have a vintage HAWK that I'm trying to get going which shares most of its components with the Sledgehammer.  So far had to replace one universal shaft with a modern black Stampede one( can see in pic #2). Also, put on some old unused Pro-Line Dirt paw tires that look the part.  Added ball bearings. Good luck.

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Ah yes I've got a pair of Franken-Hawks as well, yours looks to be in much better condition! Those tires are so perfect, I need to start a legit search because they look great on there! And that rad blue :wub: soooo 90s!

I still have one original Hawk body, but it has seen better days. So far I've stripped the dark blue off the inside and the neon orange from the outside, now I need to see if I can fix the cracks, relocate the body holes somehow, and then lay down a halfway decent repaint. Otherwise it will be converted to an "outlaw buggy" with a Rad bodyshell. I need to find out if a Madcap body will fit the Hawk chassis. I think it might be close (with a bit of extra trimming) and it might be a cool look.

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@El Gecko Sorry it took me so long to reply...Been busy with non-RC stuff. Thank you for the compliments. I had those Tires in a box and they were likely bought 2006-08. Very few  options these days for real off-road tires in any size much less 2.2 stadium truck. I can't stand the glorified street tires and slicks used for modern off road racing.:rolleyes:

 The body is in excellent condition for the age but it is very thin and the aged poly feels a bit brittle.

The drivetrain is odd. with 32 pitch outer gears, no slipper, and universals that don't handle much horsepower. The 32 pitch is overbuilt with the rest of the drivetrain a little flimsy by todays standards. I'm sure it would handle era-appropriate modified setups but the gear mesh is always going to sound a little janky and loud. Early Traxxas cars in general were a little janky and archaic but it's part of the charm I guess.

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13 hours ago, Scoob45 said:

@El Gecko Sorry it took me so long to reply...Been busy with non-RC stuff. Thank you for the compliments. I had those Tires in a box and they were likely bought 2006-08. Very few  options these days for real off-road tires in any size much less 2.2 stadium truck. I can't stand the glorified street tires and slicks used for modern off road racing.:rolleyes:

 The body is in excellent condition for the age but it is very thin and the aged poly feels a bit brittle.

The drivetrain is odd. with 32 pitch outer gears, no slipper, and universals that don't handle much horsepower. The 32 pitch is overbuilt with the rest of the drivetrain a little flimsy by todays standards. I'm sure it would handle era-appropriate modified setups but the gear mesh is always going to sound a little janky and loud. Early Traxxas cars in general were a little janky and archaic but it's part of the charm I guess.

Heh no worries, been a bit busy lately myself! Totally agreed about the lack of 2.2 stadium truck tires, seems nobody even makes a simple square block like those Pro-Lines anymore. One of my Hawks wears vintage tires, but the other has a set of modern "clay" tires which honestly seem to have even less tread than some road tires! They grip asphalt like crazy though, I've never had to worry about grip roll until now, but they do like to come off the rims if I have too much fun.

Yes I'd be very careful with that pretty body of yours (the truck you pervs!), I've always thought they were a bit thin for an RC body, and mine is definitely brittle. One of the more daunting repairs on my list is to reinforce the key weak points and cracks somehow. If I can't get that to work, then it's buggy time.

LOL janky is how I roll! I started with 3 sets of working driveshafts when I was younger, one for each truck. And after a short time I was down to 1 set swapping between trucks, then swapping u-joint parts between sets to keep that 1 set going... yeah. Glad to have these newer, stronger replacement parts available (even if they're the wrong color)!

It's funny going back and forth between driving my ORVs and Hornets and then these Traxxas cars... the Tamiyas are so quiet in comparison! The Traxxas always sound like something is about to explode, but thankfully (thus far) they never have :ph34r:

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Another year, another sludgy update.

Lately I've been noticing the crack on the lower suspension mount starting to separate a bit more, so finally I decided to do something about it.

No, not fix it directly, because there's not really a good way to do so. Instead, I decided to add some links to stabilize the fore/aft slop of the rear axle carriers.

I just fabricated some more aluminum adapter pieces for the carriers the same way I made the original adapters, and they bolt right on to the same spot, as well as the top of the axle carrier for strength. Then I made some pieces for the front, which fit right over the skid plate and use the stock mounting holes. Some washers/spacers and ball links, cut some threaded rod to fit, and Bob's your uncle!

Managed to clear all the rims/tires/shocks/skidplates/chassis tub/etc. and still leave ALL the suspension travel intact, because the front mounts are on roughly the same plane or axis as the lower suspension pins in the gearbox.

And already, I haven't driven it yet but I can tell they're going to be a huge improvement! The whole system is stronger and more triangulated, and now there'll be much less slop in the axle carriers and rear wheels, which will hopefully make the fwd/brake/rev transitions much more precise when out on the trail crawling. I'll have to keep an eye on the ground clearance, but I'm not doing a lot of belly-dragging with this truck so I don't think it will be an issue.

Also mounted up some different wheels for a change of pace, although I need to glue the rear tires for traction before I head out :D

 

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