Imthatguy's RC4WD Gelände II Build

[imthatguy]

Hooray! Canada post released my package. It's almost old news, is anybody reading these any more?

Probably not.

For some reason, my Gelände II came in many more boxes, from a few different places. I think mine's special.



I finally discovered which box was from RC4WD. This looks larger than normal for a box.



Hey cool! A box inside a box! That's great, being a box collector, I'm happy to have it.



I always wanted an RC Cat. Now I can be the talk of the town! This one appears quite friendly, although I was hoping for colour and not just black and white.



I'm just kidding, that's one of my cats. He's self-powered.

Here's the real box. Upside down as usual. Thanks, RC4WD. Boy they need to get it together with their printing department! Sheesh! I'll have to do what I always do and build this standing on my head. Despite it's upsidedown-ness, it looks like a beautiful box.



After all that box opening, this was as far as I got tonight.

[kakachille]

cant wait to c what u do with this

[Difuser]

You must have gotten one of the Australian kits

[pardonmyn00b]

Nice cat.

[Rckcrwlr]

I need you to return that being that the box is upside down. I am thinking that they whole thing may be upside down. If the instructions are also then you will need to ship it back.

[lappdogg]

Man I want one of these!!!!!

What do I got to do?

Kid nap the pope or something??

You got 16 days to get it built?
The screws need to fly, and the paint lay down.
You done yet?

[Rckcrwlr]

Originally Posted by lappdogg

Man I want one of these!!!!!

What do I got to do?

Kid nap the pope or something??

You got 16 days to get it built?
The screws need to fly, and the paint lay down.
You done yet?

There should be a couple there..

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by kakachille

cant wait to c what u do with this

Get ready, it's going to get built and then I will paint it!

Originally Posted by Difuser

You must have gotten one of the Australian kits

There was no dingo, baby, or didgeridoo included, so I'm guessing it's upside down because we had a flood.

Originally Posted by pardonmyn00b

Nice cat.

4 leg drive.

Originally Posted by Rckcrwlr

I need you to return that being that the box is upside down. I am thinking that they whole thing may be upside down. If the instructions are also then you will need to ship it back.

Is it okay if I build it, paint the body, play with it, break some things, and then send it back?

Originally Posted by lappdogg

Man I want one of these!!!!!

What do I got to do?

Kid nap the pope or something??

You got 16 days to get it built?
The screws need to fly, and the paint lay down.
You done yet?

It's built, and I still have a lot of days left!

Originally Posted by Rckcrwlr

There should be a couple there..

There might be. I'm bringing at least one.

Okay, here we go. No more nonsense. This is a serious built thread and I won't be making any more jokes.

The manual is printed on a white paper-like substance. Possibly paper. Compared to the box, it is quite flimsy. It has a lot of pages that do an excellent job of detailing the build. The nice thing about this, and the TF2 for that matter, is how easy everything goes together. There's not a lot of goofy bits like there generally is with say, a Tamiya build.



Upon opening the box, which is factory sealed, you're presented with the larger chassis pieces individually set in a styrofoam brick. Those axles are great.



Another level of awesome. The chassis rails are particularly awesome looking. It's nice that both are included. Excellent value here.



Does the excitement ever stop!? So many levels in this box. Factory assembled tires saves me, at least, 10 minutes.



Another box? Oh lucky day!



All the parts are packaged in little tiny ziploc bags and are easy to identify. The manual calls out each size and format of part so you're not guessing, or randomly hammering a longer screw into a shorter hole. I've been know to do that.



There are a few steps missing from my build thread - I got so into it, I literally forgot to take pictures of all the building. To make up for that huge error, here's a video. Sorry!

Italian Spiderman Trailer - YouTube

There are a few mandatory steps that are not part of the manual. Open up those beautiful axles and transmission and grease those parts. There's some grease already applied at the factory, but you want to get in there and lubricate. Very important to stay moisturized.

Hey, it's builded!



Everything went together really nicely. I had no issues during the build whatsoever. I got a little thirsty, but that's not RC4WD's fault. It's a very robust little truck.



These new axles are gorgeous. The construction is substantially better than the previous Yota axle. I feel like they're a different quality of metal as well. Can't wait to get out there and see how it drives. Very smooth driveline as stock, and the simplicity of a single speed transmission is a great change of pace.




The 4 link rear, 3 link + panhard setup is great. Having the links numbered (for their length) makes building a breeze, and the behind the axle steering is a nice real truck design. This is the pinnacle of the last few years of RC4WD's RC development. The connections between the transmission and transfer case are more thought out, and the fit and finish is fantastic. Happy to see the same transfer case come back for a second time.





Metal is literally everywhere in this kit. Not many folks have talked about it, but the transfer case mount is machined from aluminum and is absolutely gorgeous. It's a nice heavy truck. Look at that rear bumper - just awesome.



For the sake of comparison and to give you an idea of size, here's the chassis up against the original Gelande 110.



Next step, the body!

[imthatguy]

I've got both the leafed and linked versions of the TF2, and I'm willing to bet that this is going to perform pretty close to that. The top-heavy body probably won't help though. We'll see.

Speaking of bodies...



Time to get going on this!



WHAT THE HECK?! That is not what's pictured on the box. And the wheelbase is way off. THANKS A LOT RC4WD!

Oh wait, my bad. That was in another box. So many boxes.

I'm going stock for now, just to get it done, but I am fixing a couple things in the interim.

No more sunroof, thingy on the back, or un-3D gas filler place.

[THX_138]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

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Great looking build

Are you planning to stay fender-less???
Haven't had the pleasure to see one in person, but that sure is a short wheelbase for a box stock truck!!









Let me guess.... He's got FUR-Wheel-Drive & PAWsi-Traction with a 4-on-the-Floor Transmission






.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by THX_138

Great looking build

Are you planning to stay fender-less???
Haven't had the pleasure to see one in person, but that sure is a short wheelbase for a box stock truck!!


Let me guess.... He's got FUR-Wheel-Drive & PAWsi-Traction with a 4-on-the-Floor Transmission
.

The wheelbase doesn't really fit a Pajero, but wouldn't it be nice if it did? Oh well. I guess I'll have to build a Land Rover. Perfect definition of my cat by the way.

Well, got it all electrified with electric things I had sitting around. The waterproof servo is temporary, seeing that the esc is not waterproof, there's not much sense in keeping it in there. I'll move it over to the TF2 before the comp.



Clean electronics makes for a clean life. 35T Holmes Hobbies motor, Castle Sidewinder set to Brushed mode and some form of servo. One interesting thing to note, I either setup the panhard link wrong, or the servo's I've tried each interfere with the location of said link. I moved it to the rear of the mount and cleared it up for the most part. I'll probably go back and make sure I did it right. I could always mount the servo on top of it's mount points.



Testing out the look of these nice Landy wheels I had from the old Gelande 110 kit I have. I really like the look of these.



Paint's next.

[Rckcrwlr]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

One interesting thing to note, I either setup the panhard link wrong, or the servo's I've tried each interfere with the location of said link. I moved it to the rear of the mount and cleared it up for the most part. I'll probably go back and make sure I did it right. I could always mount the servo on top of it's mount points.

It goes on top of the bracket. You need to grind down the angle supports on the servo ears to have it sit flush. Once you do that, it works perfectly.

[Bronco Bobby]

Cool build

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Rckcrwlr

It goes on top of the bracket. You need to grind down the angle supports on the servo ears to have it sit flush. Once you do that, it works perfectly.

I figured it was something simple. Thanks, boss.

Originally Posted by Bronco Bobby

Cool build

Thanks!

So here's the thing. I'm working on a documentary for the National Film Board that I need to have cut pretty much before I have to leave for the comp on Thursday. I'm really hoping that I get this done before then, but I can't make any promises.

Dang fenders fell off.

[imthatguy]

Progress! (That's my new favourite word)

Some parts arrived.

Some new rubber fenders. Very trick. I used them before on my Series III.


Nice cage for caging. Probably put a wild animal up there or something. Anybody got a line on some frozen snakes?


New RC4WD bumper with a hitch integrated. Mostly so I can pull junk on my new handmade trailer. Note, you'll have to trim the rear tabs off the body in order to make this one work.


I decided on a paint scheme and started working towards getting that done.

German Grey. It's rather grey, which is nice for this era of Land Jeep. Flat should lend itself to some lovely weathering techniques. I'll probably do a Racing White roof so it can simulate a bit of age, rather than a brand new white.


Teaser shot on the wheels. I'm rather chuffed with how they're looking.

[Die-Laughing]

"Chuffed"... Is that like a "chubby"?

Wheels look good!

[Die-Laughing]

chuffed

adjective BRIT. informal

1. very pleased, proud or happy with yourself.

"I'm dead chuffed to have won"

I learned something today.

[pardonmyn00b]

I have a great lead on some frozen hamsters. I've said too much already...

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Die-Laughing

"Chuffed"... Is that like a "chubby"?

Wheels look good!

Originally Posted by Die-Laughing

chuffed

adjective BRIT. informal

1. very pleased, proud or happy with yourself.

"I'm dead chuffed to have won"

I learned something today.

I'm chuffed that this thread taught you something.

Originally Posted by pardonmyn00b

I have a great lead on some frozen hamsters. I've said too much already...

Let's discuss that in a PM...

I'm very, very happy with the finished product.










I haven't added much in the way of comedy yet, but there's lots of nice details.

Oh, here's a video too.

[B94Cast]

Looks great! Nice vid too -