Cherokee XJ Hardbody Class 1 Build

[Dustinf]

I got the interior in today. All looks good except the dash had loose fibers. I hit it with some heat and it was fine.

I'm not going to do a complete photo shoot of it unless someone asks.

I started to do a video for it.... but i soon came to the conclusion: I don't have that much to say about it.

It doesn't come with hardware. But if you have this body, you have a whole mini-bag of suitable harware. For the head rests, use piano wire ("music wire" if you go to lowes). I love that stuff, super useful.

Now, if you've made it this far, thanks.

I need some feedback on this. I've never finished a 3D part. I knew sanding would be involved because of the stepping. There's no way you could just paint this set out of the box and have it look good. But that's standard.

Is the liberal use of putty normal? I imagine if done right, it will create a very smooth and nice finish.





These are in the middle of being puttied.

This is going to be a lot of work... but that's what it's all about.

[tokdl]

Just placed an order for one of these body's, as it was a very good deal, Not even sure what chassis I'll use. Who printed your interior? Most of my small 3D parts I have done in transparent acrylic which yields lots of detail. So far I'm not seeing anyone who produces a full interior except for Pro line's version. Looking really good so far.

[CM9000]

coulda used acetone... but hey we learn something new everyday! here is for your future of owning 3d printed parts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qByAGrbmS8

or even use Tamiya surface primer.

but your way is good too. just note over time.. your putty will shrink down a little bit.

[Dustinf]

Originally Posted by tokdl

Just placed an order for one of these body's, as it was a very good deal, Not even sure what chassis I'll use. Who printed your interior? Most of my small 3D parts I have done in transparent acrylic which yields lots of detail. So far I'm not seeing anyone who produces a full interior except for Pro line's version. Looking really good so far.

The interior was printed by R3scaledesignz. You have to contact him on Facebook.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...49116835196471

Definitely a nice body at any price.

[Dustinf]

Originally Posted by crawlingman9000

coulda used acetone... but hey we learn something new everyday! here is for your future of owning 3d printed parts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qByAGrbmS8

or even use Tamiya surface primer.

but your way is good too. just note over time.. your putty will shrink down a little bit.

I looked into the acetone method. It's really ingenious in a way. I was worried about detail though. I may use it on the seats.

In this process of smoothing the interior, I find I'm sanding almost all the putty away. Now I've resorted to just sanding on many of the parts, seems to go quicker and much less messy.

[Dustinf]

I have finished both rear wheel wells. I realized that a real 96 cherokee has a cutout for the back seat, so I added that. It makes the seat fit much nicer.

I originally wanted to put the rear seat on hinges, like a real one, so I could fold it down and have it look right. But the seat is too large for that no matter what I do.

I am making the floor so I can pull out the rear seat and have it look like it is just tucked away. I run my cherokees with the rear seat folded almost 100% of the time. It just looks nicer and I love the space.

Here is the cutaway. It's a bit squared... but squared is in my skill set. This is only my second styrene project after all.



I admittedly got a bit heavy handed with the file/sandpaper. But this is all going to be painted and covered with carpet anyway.

Here is the seat, just sitting in place. I havnt glued the main floor





It's actually starting to look like something..

[tokdl]

Originally Posted by Dustinf

The interior was printed by R3scaledesignz. You have to contact him on Facebook.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...49116835196471

Definitely a nice body at any price.

Agreed. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Will certainly use this thread when the time comes to build my full interior.

[Dustinf]

Just a brief update.

I've been working on the rear interior panels.

This is just the basis starting panels. I'm going to add layers and cut outs to match a 1:1 cherokee. Also notice the light bucket. In hindsight, I shouldn't have made it square, as the real ones have a slope to them.



Here is the panel uninstalled and pre layer. Kind of weird looking.

[Dustinf]

Finally finished one of the panels. And it's the one that will be covered by the spare tire... but at least it will look good underneath.

I originally wanted to do the same cutout/compartment of a 1:1. But it just didn't look right so I settled with this.



I cut holes in the middle layers. Chambers to help keep the weight down. I don't mind a heavy rig, but at this rate, this thing will be 15lbs+.




And with the spare just sitting there. I don't know how I will mount it yet. It's hollow, so I'll be able to keep something in it. Maybe the light system. I'm also going to cover it in carpet like the other parts.



I'll do the next side and move onto the rear hatch.

[wblteen]

My 1:1 was leather on the spare cover

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[Dustinf]

Originally Posted by wblteen

My 1:1 was leather on the spare cover

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Good call, I've seen it go both ways. But leather might look better in small scale.

[NeedDirection]

So much detail!!! Looking forward to more updates

[Dustinf]

One more piece to the puzzle. Rear hatch.


Turned out alright. The fit is really nice. It will glue onto the rear hatch.





I'm making sure the windows will fit while I'm doing this. I havnt started cutting the lexan yet, I still have a bit of trepidation towards the glass.

This is what the back of this panel looks like.



It's slow going.

[Dustinf]

I'm currently taking a week off of this build to avoid getting burnt out.

Figured I'd use this time to work on a diorama for my 1:6 collectables and catch up on the bows I need to finish.

[Dustinf]

I decided to go with a gimmicky smoking exhaust once again. This one will be much nicer. I was able to muffle it almost completely and I'm placing the unit in the feont. This way I can run a scale pipe all the way back. Maybe even add a muffler to change the sound.



It's two units that sit on either wheel well. This should still allow room for one of my horn units.

[Dustinf]

Back to it, finially.

I'm honestly overwhelmed by the amount of work this thing is going to be to finish.

I finished getting the spare mounted. I had the round part from some tamiya parts tree. I just needed to make a cap. I did that my mounting a piece of styrene to a dremel and sanding it perfectly round.

It has plenty of space inside. I believe I will use this store my light system.



I also made same pieces for the front. This is what I will mount my dash to. It took me awhile to figure out, and I'm not sure if it is the right choice (having the dash be part of the chassis, not attached to the body), but time will tell.



As of right now, everything feels solid.

[Dustinf]

Thanks for checking out the build guys. It's a long process.

I got the dash installed. This way I can start setting up the seats and finish the interior.

I decided to make the dash part of the chassis rather than attach it to the body. I'm trying to do that with as much as possible.

If thing thing needs maintenance once finished... it's going to be a pain to take down. It is all made to come apart in a clean way though. Actually, the entire interior including wheel wells comes off as one piece. As of now it takes 16 screws, however.

[BigNblue]

Originally Posted by Dustinf

I decided that I should probably wire this thing as it has yet to drive an inch using it's own power.

I've always been obsessive about clean wiring. So I cut short every wire to the length it needed to be. I also hate spliced wires so I take apart the plugs and rewire them.

I ran into a couple issues with space and had to cram a bit.






I like having a switch to shut the vehicle off. Plus, I run a high volt servo and wire it direct. So I put one underneath the transmission.


Now that it runs I can get back to the interior.

Interior pieces should be in this week.

Man I had a 1990 Cherokee with 35-12.50 BFG mud-terrain ta's and I could go anywhere right up till I threw a set of BFG A/t ta's on it.
This is pretty scale and I like the cantilever suspension. How wide is it?

[Dustinf]

Originally Posted by BigNblue

Man I had a 1990 Cherokee with 35-12.50 BFG mud-terrain ta's and I could go anywhere right up till I threw a set of BFG A/t ta's on it.
This is pretty scale and I like the cantilever suspension. How wide is it?

I love the Ta's, but I'll have to check out the at's you mention.

It's not very wide. I get nice tire tuck with this set up. I'll measure tonight and respond.

[dpcardoza]

Originally Posted by Dustinf

I decided that I should probably wire this thing as it has yet to drive an inch using it's own power.

I've always been obsessive about clean wiring. So I cut short every wire to the length it needed to be. I also hate spliced wires so I take apart the plugs and rewire them.

I ran into a couple issues with space and had to cram a bit.






I like having a switch to shut the vehicle off. Plus, I run a high volt servo and wire it direct. So I put one underneath the transmission.


Now that it runs I can get back to the interior.

Interior pieces should be in this week.

This is the most glorious wiring job I've ever seen

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