Shape_Shifter Builds a Komodo

[Shape_Shifter]

Started building it tonight. Very much the same as the Sawback to build. I wish Gmade would use hex head screws but the Phillips heads go quickly if you have a power screwdriver.

I have not built the Gtransition shocks that come with the kit yet so I just put some 100mm shocks on there for now.

[Shape_Shifter]

Here is a tire comparison.

From leftto right: Gmade MT-1903 (komodo), RC4WD Rock Crushers , Gmade MT-1902 (sawback)

The 1903s have a great tread and look a little bigger than the 1902s, even though Gmade lists them as the same size.

[TrailSnail]

Interested to hear your opinions as you go on this. The tires look good if they are soft.

[TrailDawg362]

Looks like a nice kit, thanks for posting the pictures. Did you upgrade the knuckles and diff covers?

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by TrailSnail

Interested to hear your opinions as you go on this. The tires look good if they are soft.

I think the Gmade kits are high quality and the Komodo is no exception. The instructions are very clear and remind me of Tamiya kits. Though the Phillips screws are less desirable, the fasteners in the kit are good quality and they include plenty of extras, including c-clips and other pieces that would be hard to find if lost or broken.

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

Looks like a nice kit, thanks for posting the pictures. Did you upgrade the knuckles and diff covers?

The knuckles are Zero Ackerman type that I bought used on ebay. They will allow more travel in the steering.

The diff covers are coated with a magical substance called Krylon Fusion Sun Dried Tomato Red paint .


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[TrailDawg362]

I'm going to try the shocks set up with the longer spring above the piston only, how did you build yours?

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

I'm going to try the shocks set up with the longer spring above the piston only, how did you build yours?

Funny you should ask..

I built them in the "Sprung" configuration as listed here: (note: The "Sprung" configuration is NOT shown in the Komodo instructions. Only the shorter "Droop" configuration is shown)




That will make them 110mm eye to eye.

The Gtransition shocks will leak if you don't use Teflon tape as suggested by OSRC. This kinda sucks. However I can say that if you build them with the Teflon tape, they are really nice shocks! Once everything is installed, the rig should be heavy enough to let these shocks do their job.

[Shape_Shifter]

I also painted, weighted, and assembled the wheels and tires today.

I wrap three strands of 3/16" lead wire around the center ring of the bead lock wheel. I thought I took a pic before I got them inserted in the tires but I did not. However, it is just like this pic of the steel bead locks where I used two 1/4" strands of lead wire.




Here you can see the three strands of lead.






For the hubcaps, I used some 2.5mm socket head screws that I had from building quad-copter frames. The Komodo kit comes with Phillips 2.6mm for some reason, but the 2.5mm work fine for this.




I hate black wheels on any vehicle - model or full size. Plastidiped black wheels are too easy and common IMO. The silver paint on these wheels is Duplicolor Bumper Chrome.



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[TrailDawg362]

Now the wheels have some flash! The fully sprung setup seems a little tall to me. I do have a set of PL scaler shocks if I'm not pleased with the final ride height. Thanks for your feedback so far .

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

Now the wheels have some flash! The fully sprung setup seems a little tall to me. I do have a set of PL scaler shocks if I'm not pleased with the final ride height. Thanks for your feedback so far .

Yeah, the sprung setup is very tall. I wont know if I will use them like this until I have the body mounted.

[Shape_Shifter]

I have been building models for over 30 years. I have also been effing up paint jobs for that time. I screwed this one up be not having the yellow on thick enough before I put the black final coat on. A rookie mistake. Hopefully some of the decals will cover my errors.

About the Komodo body - it is thick and tough. A bit more difficult to cut than your average body. However, if you choose to mount the bumpers on the body as designed, the body is more than strong enough to hold them. I will be mounting the bumpers to the frame.

I still have a lot of clean up on the body and decals to apply. The black fenders and bed liner are Plastidip spray. In these pics, the body and bumper are just hanging on and are not attached to anything so it is not at the actual height it will be when complete. I am going to need some wheel wells too....

[Jeepiac]

Looks good! I think the bright paint sets it off. The silver details completely change the looks of the whole rig. Good job!

[TrailDawg362]

Can't wait to see the body with all the details on it, or are you going to skip the rest? How did the head and tail light buckets fit up? I agree on the lexan thickness, easily twice the weight of a similar sized body.

BTW, liking the color!

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by Jeepiac

Looks good! I think the bright paint sets it off. The silver details completely change the looks of the whole rig. Good job!

Thanks!

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

Can't wait to see the body with all the details on it, or are you going to skip the rest? How did the head and tail light buckets fit up? I agree on the lexan thickness, easily twice the weight of a similar sized body.

BTW, liking the color!

I am gonna put all the body details on including all the free light buckets. Im just waiting for all the paint to totally cure. I am also waiting for the magnet body mounts to show up in the mail before I can get it mounted on there. Once the body height is set, then I can mount the bumpers to the frame.

The headlights fit up perfect. I have not done the tail lights yet.

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I have built or owned several vehicles with the yellow/silver/black paint scheme. It's kinda my signature....

[savagedustbunny]

You've really done a sweet job there

Can you drop a link to the magnetic body mounts, haven't tried those before and sounds interesting and perhaps easier for my 4 year old who the komodo is for.

[apsilon]

Originally Posted by savagedustbunny

Can you drop a link to the magnetic body mounts, haven't tried those before and sounds interesting and perhaps easier for my 4 year old who the komodo is for.

Was going to ask the same thing. I've seen and considered DIY such mounts before but I didn't know you could buy them.

Looks really good so far. Nice idea on the plastidip as well. I'll be interested to hear how that goes. I would've used flat black paint but I think the plastidip may stand up better.

[Shape_Shifter]

Originally Posted by savagedustbunny

You've really done a sweet job there

Can you drop a link to the magnetic body mounts, haven't tried those before and sounds interesting and perhaps easier for my 4 year old who the komodo is for.

Originally Posted by apsilon

Was going to ask the same thing. I've seen and considered DIY such mounts before but I didn't know you could buy them.

Looks really good so far. Nice idea on the plastidip as well. I'll be interested to hear how that goes. I would've used flat black paint but I think the plastidip may stand up better.

Thanks.

I have never used the magnet mounts before so I thought I would try them on this truck.

I ordered these, but there are tons all over ebay.
RC N10078 Alloy Magnetic Stealth Invisible Body Post Mount Model Car Black


I also ordered these to help get the height set up right. Something else Gmade should have put in the kit....
Gmade Body Post Mount 4pcs 1 10 RC Car Off Road GM50114 | eBay
Gmade Sawback GS01 Body Post EP 1 10 RC Car Crawler Off Road GM50113 | eBay

[rc2000]

Originally Posted by Shape_Shifter

Started building it tonight. Very much the same as the Sawback to build. I wish Gmade would use hex head screws but the Phillips heads go quickly if you have a power screwdriver.

I have not built the Gtransition shocks that come with the kit yet so I just put some 100mm shocks on there for now.

I built the transition shocks three different ways before I got them to where I liked them. I put the big springs in the oil and the small one under the piston. I used the 4 hole piston on 15wt oil. It's butter smooth.

[OSRC]

Liking that wheel and tire combo. Looks much better in silver for sure. Tires look quite grippy, I run the stock Sawback tires (1902) on another rig and they do very well.