njmlondon 570 Posted March 17, 2022 Getting more and more interesting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted March 20, 2022 In between designing parts for the Wheeler and waiting for prototype parts to arrive from Shapeways I’ve managed to return to the M38. This is inspired by both what @IBIFTKH had done with the amazing Wild Winter Willy (https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=136851&id=34614) and the release of the Toyota Land Cruiser Quadtrack. Have gone for a desert scheme to be a bit different and used the grouser tracks just in case we find ourselves in some sand. A most enjoyable few hours putting the units together. I’ll probably end up lowering the suspension a bit further but this is a start. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted April 6, 2022 Some more Shapeways parts have just arrived for the Wheeler. The front bumper has already been modelled by "RMC Designs RC Parts" and up for sale on Shapeways - the tube is 5mm diameter so the same dimension was used on our roll cage. The fire extinguisher and the fuel filler are modelled on the M38 items. Willy has a sequential gear shift - flappy paddles to follow. A rear view mirror also arrived today but it turned out to be too brittle and broke during fitment - will fix the design soon enough. Only a handful of tweaks remain and then we are done with the design work. I'll paint the fine detail plastic parts next because they don't show up very well in the pictures because they are translucent. Quite like the seats dyed red by Shapeways - they are nice and bright. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Willy iine 18806 Posted April 6, 2022 Awesome, @nicherotors!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted April 18, 2022 Have applied some paint to the engine parts, interior parts and changed the colour of the seats. Also managed to squeeze a little servo into the drivers chest to animate the helmet (not sure I’ve seen this done before on the Wheeler given the traditional lack of space). I want to make a handful of changes to the design over the next couple of days before getting Shapeways to print a complete set - if everything goes together well then the design phase of this project will draw to a close. Then I’ll return to painting and completing three M38s and two of these Wheelers. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamesssb 237 Posted April 19, 2022 It Looks amazing, definitely been a labour of love designing this with @nicherotors Definitely will be one to own, handles and drives so well. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Willy iine 18806 Posted April 21, 2022 Looks fantastic, @nicherotors!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeeWings 2830 Posted April 21, 2022 On 4/19/2022 at 3:42 AM, nicherotors said: Have applied some paint to the engine parts, interior parts and changed the colour of the seats. Also managed to squeeze a little servo into the drivers chest to animate the helmet (not sure I’ve seen this done before on the Wheeler given the traditional lack of space). I want to make a handful of changes to the design over the next couple of days before getting Shapeways to print a complete set - if everything goes together well then the design phase of this project will draw to a close. Then I’ll return to painting and completing three M38s and two of these Wheelers. Looks excellent and can also see this being a great base chassis for a number of custom projects I have in mind. Exciting stuff! Well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted April 27, 2022 A complete set of files have just been sent to Shapeways to be printed in a combination of materials. Several small but subtle updates to pretty much everything; turbo boost gauge added to instrument binnacle, central console is asymmetric like the full size (only just discovered a picture!), more details on the faux engine parts, four exhaust pipes, hole for servo to rotate Willys helmet, multipart seats, flappy paddles, etc etc. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Willy iine 18806 Posted April 28, 2022 Awesome @nicherotors Does your chassis run staggered wheels and tires (per factory City Turbo) or did you end up using four front wheels and tires? TIA! GF01 chassis NIB check! City Turbo WR02 NIB check! Pair of front wheels with tires check! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted April 28, 2022 We have the choice! As a coincidence, two sets of front tyres arrived today from the Far East. Disappointingly they seem to be getting harder to find. We’ve designed a custom hub to allow the front rims to sit on the rear axle allowing the tyre to just tuck inside the wheel arch. The rear track is slightly wider because we have a custom hub running on the front axle that reduces the track and gives more clearance between the tyres and any of the bodywork. I will build two models - one chassis in this format and another with the original rim/ tyre combo at the original ride height. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted May 12, 2022 The end is in sight on this Wheeler project; two hours after opening the Shapeways box was all I needed to strip the previous test mule of the Tamiya parts and electronics and move them over to this new version of the chassis. The silver wheels are both front rims/ tyres but tuck in the rear wheel arch and can therefore sit a bit lower at the back - the white rims, as shown on the left hand side, are as per how Mr T had them set up on the original and re-release. Think I prefer the handling with a wider rear tyre but prefer the look of having the same rim/ offset front and back. Only minor tweaks left - predominantly on the small scale items. Rather pleased with the turbo boost gauge that sits atop the instrument binnacle as per the full size which adds to the comical nature of the model. The exhaust tips are going to be polished aluminium tubes that slide over the exhaust pipes. You can see, especially in the first picture, how the chassis parts are different shades of black; I'll most likely spray that area matt black when I rebuild and paint everything up over the next couple of weekends (will also tidy up the cables!). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted June 4, 2022 Some progress with the paint. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Willy iine 18806 Posted June 5, 2022 Looks fantastic, @nicherotors!! Thanks for posting the example photos above. I will copy that theme on mine as well. I need to figure out how to do the stereo head unit and cluster decals.. hummmm.. Thanks again for sharing your talents! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted June 5, 2022 I found these stickers on the internet a couple of projects back and liked both the quality and that they were pre-cut. Being pre-cut especially makes the little round turbo boost gauge easy to apply. Couldn’t come this far and not have a turbo boost gauge - especially since it looks an after-thought by Honda given the way they positioned it on top of the binnacle. So it made sense to design the instrument cluster and header unit to accommodate these specific stickers. The double din header unit is particularly retro with a DVD player! https://www.screenprintdigitalstickers.com/product-page/rc-10th-scale-interior-detail-dashboards-dials-stereo-speakers-stickers-decals I found the air filter logo on another one of their smaller sheets. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted June 5, 2022 Having enjoyed seeing Wild Willy come to life with an animated head on the M38 I thought I’d do the same with the Wheeler given there is space on this custom chassis. The shape of the chest cavity is slightly different between the two models but it was easy enough to redesign the servo mount. I’ve previously seen a Wheeler head animated but only when moved across to being left hand drive due to space constraints on the WR-02c chassis. Again, the mounting hole was expanded from 3mm to 6mm (turning 4, 5 and then 6mm drill bits by hand) so as to accept the first of two 3x6x2.5 flanged bearings. The second bearing was mounted in the servo mount. After roughing up the inside of the chest cavity a drop of epoxy was used to affix the servo mount. While the epoxy was curing there was time to tighten up an M3 bolt with a shim on each side of both inner races (three shims in total). The head of the bolt, preferably serrated, was then pushed inside a short silicon tube which aligned to the output spline of a micro servo (HS-55). Thin double sided tape was enough to hold the servo in place. The front body post had been epoxied in place - the rear two are fine held in place with snap pins. The final picture shows where a surplus NOS bottle found a new home (glued to only one side of the chassis so as not to hinder maintenance). A lighter shade than I would normally choose, otherwise, it appeared too dark behind the tinted windows. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwillhappy 15 Posted July 4, 2022 really like what you are doing nicherotors Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeeWings 2830 Posted July 5, 2022 What's next @nicherotors? Do you have any other projects in mind?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted July 5, 2022 Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve finally got happy with the design for my M38 wheels and have just painted a set. I found that running them on an old gearbox meant it was fairly straightforward to sand each coat of primer and paint to a smooth finish. Despite looking the same from the outside the offset is different front to back so as to replicate the track of the original 1983 model. The magnets used to hold the hub caps (that hide the 4mm lock nuts) in place are certainly strong enough. In terms of a new chassis design we’ve started work on a 4x4 chassis for the Ford Ranger XLT/ Blackfoot body - if it goes anywhere I’ll start a new thread (leaving this thread for Willy related designs). 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeeWings 2830 Posted July 6, 2022 Cool, lovely design as usual. I've just managed to pick-up more City Turbo and GF01 kits so a Shapeways order for your chassis etc is incoming. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeeWings 2830 Posted July 14, 2022 On 4/29/2022 at 6:29 AM, nicherotors said: We’ve designed a custom hub to allow the front rims to sit on the rear axle allowing the tyre to just tuck inside the wheel arch. The rear track is slightly wider because we have a custom hub running on the front axle that reduces the track and gives more clearance between the tyres and any of the bodywork. I will build two models - one chassis in this format and another with the original rim/ tyre combo at the original ride height. Does this work for the existing HCT too? I assume not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted July 14, 2022 Good question - I don't see why you couldn't use a set of front rims on the rear axle (with the correct hub Wheeler - rear wheel hub (83C6QTME8) by Nicherotors (shapeways.com)). From testing this 4wd chassis with four identical tyres the rear grip was markedly reduced (as expected) which added to the cartoonish charm of the model. But in the end I preferred the predictability of the handling with the wider rear tyres - just personal choice. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeeWings 2830 Posted July 14, 2022 Thanks @nicherotors I might have to get some and experiment Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted October 1, 2022 Have continued to evolve the bikini roof first shown on page 1. Only compromise is that the two spot lights need to be permanently cut from the rollover bar. Otherwise, quite like the look for a bit of a change. Shown here in tan, rubber black and olive green on a WR-02 Wild Willy 2 - the model where new designs get thrashed about to destruction by a nephew. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicherotors 319 Posted October 1, 2022 Attention has recently turned to seeing if Wild Willy could get comfortable on the inside of a Bullhead. The first mock up suggests a tight fit but possible - the sunroof will be kept while the tinted windows will be cut away. Hoping to squeeze in a roll cage in line with monster trucks of this size. The first version of parts have just been sent to Shapeways. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites