Cross RC PG-4L Dually "Fangfeng"

[2mtech]

So I got this:

20200427_213254 by W2, on Flickr

Some folks have adopted the approach of doing an entire build and then posting the whole thing in three or four consecutive massive posts. Not my style...I grew up with installment serials and still appreciate them! This will be basically a first impression post to start things off.

I posted it elsewhere but I'll reiterate here that I was hesitant about buying a Cross rig. But after emailing Cross RC US inquiring about parts availability and support and getting a response from good ol' Bob an hour later assuring me they carried the full parts catalog and had been doing so for the last five years I figured I'd give it a shot.

I don't know why my trucks have to have cleverly stupid (stupidly clever?) names...same reason my cars have names I guess. Either way...I noticed this saber-toothed tiger logo on a lot of the parts that I hadn't seen before, and Fangfeng was a giant mythological Chinese deity, so there it is.

Starting with the body, hard bodies still make me just a little bit nervous, although not so much anymore. I want to redeem my sense of self worth and confidence following my last project that was kind of halfazzed, so I want this one to be perfect. Ok, I'll settle for excellent. I'm still a bit new to the different-from-lexan process of sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, painting and clear coating. mikemcE will probably get a few PM questions (it's his fault for admitting he has half a lifetime's painting experience)

Plastic itself makes me apprehensive because it's such a variable thing, and can make the difference between a good kit and an enjoyable build and a frustrating irritant in a NY minute. My GF worked in plastics as an operator and QA for 17 years, so while I look at things I get now first, I hand them to her next. She didn't see anything I didn't with this body, so that's good. There were a couple completely typical and likely unavoidable mold lines near the rear of the bed and across the top of the cab; they'll be dealt with first.

20200503_163134 by W2, on Flickr

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The only real mold boo-boo is on both sides of the cab at the upper rear corner of the back side windows. May not be a lot to be done about these without making it worse:

20200503_163403 by W2, on Flickr

The short-shot divot could probably be filled, but TBH that Tamiya putty is so fast curing and challenging to shape I'm a bit concerned about being able to maintain, or recreate, the door line. May have to suck it up and try. This defect will detract from perfection OR excellence!

Looking at the pictures of the truck before I ordered, I couldn't really figure out what they were going for with the eight serrations on the fender flares. My original thought was they'd be a bitch kitty to mask around, so I was really glad when I unpacked the kit to see that the fender flares are separate parts added during assembly. Cool!

20200503_164122 by W2, on Flickr

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But then I looked for the front flares...and realized they are molded into the body. Not so cool. Oh well, not the end of the world.

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There...I figured I'd go ahead and get the negative out of the way, as those couple things were all there was so far, trivial as they are.

When I first saw the shipping notification I noticed the package was 15 lbs. Holy crap! I get why now. This things is massive, 1/10 or not. This guy is just before 25" long, 11.5" tall and almost 9" wide at the outside duals with a 13.5" wheelbase. Geez. For some reference, here's the front bumper held up to my TRX-4 Sport...

20200503_164536 by W2, on Flickr

And one of the diff covers next to the Vaterra Ascender's...

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The wheels are pretty standard steelies that account for a good deal of weight too.

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But to really grasp the brawn of the kit, one has to look at, and heft, the 2-speed transmission/transfer case with the factory installed 27t brushed 540 motor. This critter weighs in at 1 lb 6 oz all by itself, and is ginormous.

20200503_170336 by W2, on Flickr

Tires (all six of them) seem pretty sticky and I like the tread pattern for a scaler. The inner rings are a unique color...recycled pennies/10 fen coins? Foams seem to be packing material foam...they should last at least a month, this will never see water.

20200503_171111 by W2, on Flickr

Here's another one of those extra mile scale details you don't see all that often, at least I don't...tire size on the sidewall! Good to know they're radials.

20200503_171125 by W2, on Flickr

The included light kit is one of those overly busy sets that ties into the ESC and has headlights, taillights, turn signals and four marker lights that I can't stand...I decided to use it. I finally broke down and bought an ESS One Dual sound module because this truck is begging for some diesel audio, so I figured I may as well light it up too. If the turn signals blink with the steering servo I'll probably throw up though.

20200503_165651 by W2, on Flickr

Since I'm not an airbrusher, I wanted to go with a more unique color that I can't get from PS paint, so I'll be shooting mica red Tamiya TS-39 and TS-13 gloss clear over Valspar Project Perfect white primer. I ordered two Hobbywing 1080 ESC's that just cleared customs in country, hopefully they'll be here before I'm ready for one. Steering servo will be a standard DS3218, but I had a Losi LOSB0812 lying around in case I ever got a 2-speed...should work for that. I'll at least try the stock motor before replacing with a HH one.

Since this is a hard body I'm seriously considering doing the body and paint work first so it'll have plenty of time to cure before handling it for assembly, but the other side of my brain argues that if I encounter fitment issues once the chassis is built I may be faced with making modifications, if necessary, to a finished body, which I would rather not have to do. Anybody ever built backwards?

More to come...tune in next time, kiddies.

.

[JacktheRipper]

Nice truck, you'll like the details, has some nice extras, and yes it is huge..

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by JacktheRipper

Nice truck, you'll like the details, has some nice extras, and yes it is huge..

I'm looking forward to the build, to be sure!

[2mtech]

While it's certainly not negative feedback, this kit has already proved to be more fiddly than most. And that's fine, I was expecting it and I actually wanted something different from the kits that can be thrown together in two hours + paint with all this sudden inside time.

That said, I got through one page in the manual so far lol. It's actually page 11 as the first part is the transmission assembly and motor mounting, all of which is already done before shipping.

I had to open four bags to get these two subassemblies together. It's not a Traxxas or Axial kit where everything for that step is in a bag, but that's ok. Granted, a good part of that time was spent scouring the parts IPBs and going through bags looking for the shift servo horn before realizing there was not one to be found. It finally occurred to me I've always gotten this little bag of funny shaped horns and Phillips hardware that I never use, so rarely keep, and one of those horns was what I needed. Well...so much for using one of my not-worthy-of-steering 23 spline servos. Fortunately I had one extra new DS3218 I hadn't opened yet and those parts were still there. Live & learn, I guess I'll be using a 20kg servo for a shifter.


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The transmission was well greased with white lithium, and ran out smoothly and quietly when connected to electronic control. I did have to chase the threads in the case with a tap to get the three mount screws installed without stripping.

I found it a little strange that the shift rod is spring loaded to the low gear position...maybe having a robust servo isn't such a bad thing as it will have at least a bit of negative resistance when in the high gear position.


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I spent a couple hours in front of the TV with a bowl of water and some sandpaper and knocked down the mold lines in the cab and bed. I used 400 grit initially (cuz that's what I had) and followed up with 1000 to remove any scratches. While I haven't done it before, I read a few places suggesting to "sand off all the shiny" to give the primer a good foundation surface to adhere to, so I did that. My previous hard body paint incidents have been less than stellar so technique changes were called for. Since there will be so much handling of the body attaching accessories and lighting, I decided to act on my original thought of getting the paint & clear done up front to cure hard before the rest of the truck is built...next week looks like it'll be good for outdoor painting here.


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Frame is next........

.

[2mtech]

I've been framed! Really lends perspective to just how long this truck will ultimately be, measuring at just under 23".

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Everything went together well with all holes aligning and tapped holes were clean with no need for thread chasing. The use of inner-frame self locking nuts in a couple places presented a challenge, and a couple of them were physically impossible to get to. I got them anyway.

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At this point it became clear that Cross practices good parts complexity reduction, as some parts are apparently usable on multiple models.

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The shift servo mount is robust, although the linkage is a bit fiddly and I'm not entirely sure how you're supposed to know when the travel adjustment is correct. I guess it doesn't matter much if it functions properly. Works just fine tho as it is with positive action. End points to be set later but there's more than plenty of throw with a 180° servo.

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Bumpers were mounted here. Chrome don't get ya home but I still like it. With the ridiculous wheelbase this will for sure be a straight trail truck so it shouldn't get beat up too badly. This monster challenged my workbench space at 25-1/4" from front tow ring to trailer hitch (pin included, guess I know what my next project will be!). The exhaust outlets get mounted on a piece of wire that spans the chassis so the outlets will bounce as the truck is driven. Adds a realistic appearance, assuming your exhaust hangers are well worn.


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Sections of the interactive light set that came with the kit get installed in various steps of the build. Fog lights went in first.


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I went ahead and painted parts needing flat black at this point. I find it a little strange how Cross chose parts material & color. There a lot of black molded parts, including two of the rear bumper mount parts, but the third was gray, as were the exhaust outlets. I used the Molotow liquid chrome pen on the exhaust, it worked ok. The front grille/headlight fascia was a yellowish material...only part in the kit like that. If I had to guess I would think that part was originally intended to be chromed like several other parts, but they chose to leave it bare for paint at some point. It got shot flat black as well, as did the fender flares and the underside of the cab and bed. I'd like to get the cab and bed in primer at some point soon. The wind has been relentless for the last month and a half here in North Cackalacky so painting outside is a no go and I don't have enough light in my shed to do exterior finish painting, so that'll have to wait.

This is a Leaf Spring Mafia candidate, in the rear at least, so next up: spring time!

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[smog]

Looks like an interesting kit to build, thanks for posting it up. I have always loves the appearance of the Cross stuff but so far only picked up one of their trailer kits. What is the wheelbase on this beast?

I am in for the process!

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by smog

Looks like an interesting kit to build, thanks for posting it up. I have always loves the appearance of the Cross stuff but so far only picked up one of their trailer kits. What is the wheelbase on this beast?

I am in for the process!

Thanks for checking in, smog! This one has been most interesting to build to be sure. Since this has a trailer hitch I already seriously considered looking into a Cross RC trailer kit. Recommended? Build thread? Pics? C'mon, now, don't tease!

Wheelbase is 324mm/12.76", but there's soooo much bed!!

Time to get caught up: I've progressed through axle assembly, and since the wind finally relented today and temp was a perfect 70° I got primer and base coat paint laid down. More on that later, still have clear coat to go.

Springs. Went together well. They're a six-leaf arrangement. They went semi-cost out by alternating plastic and metal leafs (leaves?).

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Then I got to the axles. This is the only place I had to do some surface adjustment, as the bearings on the tooth side of the ring gear refused to fit over the spool without removing the dull surface that contacted the race and taking it down to shiny base material. No biggee. Secondary minor irritant was the instructions have you completely close the differential and then install the axles in the next step. Problem there is the rear inner axle flanges wouldn't go past the bearing caps to get to the spool, so I had to pull the diff cover and bearing caps back off, install the axles and then reinstall the caps and cover. Could use a manual edit there. In the future I won't install a diff cover before axles are in...seems I've had to backtrack there before.

But there's some axles. The plastic diff covers will not last long, I fear. Look at them thar stub shafts on the rear!!

20200511_193824 by W2, on Flickr


Here they are in more formal attire. Everything aligned perfectly and assembled well, as has been the case with the majority of this kit so far. Shocks up front are 100mm 50wt oil rebound, all plastic, with two stage springs. Green slime was used liberally. Two spring rates were included (red and blue). I went with the lighter red initially as they seem fairly stiff anyway, may change later. Rear shocks are 80mm aluminum scalers with a ballpoint pen spring. They function smoothly, and they sure won't leak. . Servo is axle mount, obviously.

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Links are all metal, as are the driveshafts. I appreciate that they mark the length on each link section. Especially nice when you're spoiled and find out your last digital caliper battery is stone dead.

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I will say this Tamiya TS-39 mica red paint is the prettiest shade of red I've shot yet. I will also say I will never enjoy painting, I will never enjoy painting hard bodies and getting high standard results outside is not in my repertoire. Someday when I grow up I'll have a paint area with good lighting and a ventilation system. Until then, "it'll do" is my goal. I had one bad run, but it's on the front of the bed so who cares, and a damn bug crawled into the second base coat, but it'll be under one of the diamond plate sections so who cares. I've never shot gloss clear coat...bet I can bugger that up.

One definitely has to pay attention to parts and hardware working through this kit. There were more than a couple instances where some lower grade hardware was to be found, and indicated in the manual, but higher grade or upgrade pieces were elsewhere in the myriad of bags within bags. Couple examples: Two parts trees held the typical plastic link balls, but there was an unmarked bag of metal balls thrown in with the links. The hardware bag had four cheesy 1.5mm driveshaft pins, but there was a similarly unmarked bag of 2mm through pins tossed in with the driveshafts. They also included an optional open diff gear set in an anonymous bag. Instructions for that are on the very last page of the manual. Time spent familiarizing myself with all the bags and parts and the manual before beginning to build was well spent!

Very satisfied with the overall fit/finish and quality of this kit and the manual. All the part numbers were correct and matched with scale diagrams and IPB's. Plus one over Axial right now!

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[smog]

not holding out. My kid actually built up the axles. He made me do all of the sanding and glueing He wanted a trailer like Matteo pulled around in one of his videos. It looked like a pretty cool trailer so he got it for his birthday.



We haven’t done a lot with it up to this point. We might yet give it a “practical purpose” (note the quotations). Perhaps I need to build a tractor and fill it with hay bales. Open to ideas

The quality of it is decent. It’s just a lot of glueing to assemble the box

[2mtech]

That's very military! Would be appropriate behind one of the HC rigs, I suppose...wonder if they have more civilian style offerings.

It does have kind of a hay ride look to it. You could always carry some short logs in it...or some cold beers ;)

[JacktheRipper]

A couple of things to mention,

1 rear flares, you may find that they will not exactly fit the contour of the bed.

Here is how I got around it. Start at one end, glue up 1/2 of the flare.
Let it cure 24hrs. Come back and do the other half, glue and clamp in place. The flare will stretch and fill/match the bed contour.

2 Trans shift linkage, real simple follow the measurements seen in the build sheets. I had the same thoughts regarding it as you.

The spring acts like a shock when shifting and centers things mechanically.

3 The lighting module, consider wrapping each tag with scotch tape. Otherwise they will pull off, you will be moving them around sorting things out.


It is interesting to see the differences in this kit over mine, exhaust tips for instance. So I am following the build

I built the PG4a check my photo album if interested

[OSRC]

I never really gave this platform a close look, but it looks pretty cool in your thread! I had no idea how big it was.

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by JacktheRipper

A couple of things to mention,

1 rear flares, you may find that they will not exactly fit the contour of the bed.

Here is how I got around it. Start at one end, glue up 1/2 of the flare.
Let it cure 24hrs. Come back and do the other half, glue and clamp in place. The flare will stretch and fill/match the bed contour.

2 Trans shift linkage, real simple follow the measurements seen in the build sheets. I had the same thoughts regarding it as you.

The spring acts like a shock when shifting and centers things mechanically.

3 The lighting module, consider wrapping each tag with scotch tape. Otherwise they will pull off, you will be moving them around sorting things out.


It is interesting to see the differences in this kit over mine, exhaust tips for instance. So I am following the build

I built the PG4a check my photo album if interested

Those are great tips, thank you! I hadn't even tried fit testing the rear flares, TBH. Guess I'll find out soon but your trick sounds like it could come in useful.

Pretty sure your thread was one of the ones that finally pushed me to drop the $ on a relatively unknown brand.

Originally Posted by OSRC

I never really gave this platform a close look, but it looks pretty cool in your thread! I had no idea how big it was.

Thanks, OS! I've really been pleased with the kit so far, in fact I just ordered a T-006 car trailer kit to go with it after smog talked me into it. Gonna be a loooooong train.

[2mtech]

First, a MASSIVE retraction and edit. The advertised wheelbase of this beast was seriously inaccurate. Now that the axles are mounted and I can measure, the wheelbase is actually 412.75mm/16-1/4" . It's big, I prolly mentioned that before.

So now it's a slider. I will oh-fish-ally say here this has been my most fun build yet. Challenging enough that I've had to stay focused and think through sub-assemblies and be continually glad of my OCD self that keeps hardware organized and laid out for each step, but not RC3WD challenging wherein you get so tired of refitting parts and digging enough finish out of hardware to be able to insert tools you wonder why people think so much of them. Shoot...I was going to get through this without demeaning that other brand. Oh well, too late now...not like I can just delete it.

20200515_203157 by W2, on Flickr


The front suspension seems serviceable. If I would have had to put any more preload on the springs to get just a bit of droop naked I would have changed to the stiffer blue springs. But it will cut. There's a lot of flex in the plastic shock towers...seriously considering adding a reinforcement strut or two between them.

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Here's a fun fact should you find yourself building one of these: The driveshafts, which again are metal and have a high quality feel and appearance, are not to be found in the parts list in the front of the manual. Further, they are considerably different lengths, and there are no dimensional clues given which goes where in the step pictures. Cross chose to let me figure that part out. I chose poorly, and realized this while installing the front axle as spatial physics gave me a very clear indication that the longer of the two definitely goes up front. In my own defense, the shafts are marked but one is marked "F" and one is marked "B3". I don't know what those mean, but let's just say that "F" does not mean front or forward.

Hanging the rear was just fun...I was having Mopar flashbacks, and wishing I had a scale floor jack to try and balance the punkin on while struggling to align hangers and shackles and wishing the wife wasn't so girly because a little damn help sure would be nice!

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That rear is STIFF. I didn't even hit the shift key just then, the puter saw the pic and just knew to put that word in all caps.

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Once more everything went together exactly as intended, illustrations were clear even with multiple planes depicted and function matched form.

Now I need a drum roll. Ok, nvm, I'll do it myself. Posting an in-process pic at this point is something I would certainly never do and have never done, but I'm actually HAPPY WITH A PAINT JOB!! I absolutely love this color and regret choosing it not one bit. Chuck Norris even approved, so I got that goin' for me...which is nice.

20200515_191111 by W2, on Flickr


Now I've got a vehicle and a half worth of beadlock tires to mount. No idea how that's going to go. How hard could it be...?


Reference credits for this post:

- Forged in Fire
- "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
- One of my previous lives
- Chuck Norris, all rights to any damn thing he wants reserved
- "Caddyshack"

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[JacktheRipper]

Color is good and nice crisp line on the flare.

I like it
Pep

BTW that trailer you're looking at..... slick

[smog]

Nice work on the paint

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by JacktheRipper

Color is good and nice crisp line on the flare.

I like it
Pep

BTW that trailer you're looking at..... slick

Thanks, Pep! I agonized over that flare line having to fit the mask into the scallops with a hex driver...was really pleased it worked!

I'll get a really good look at the trailer next Thursday when it gets here

Originally Posted by smog

Nice work on the paint

Thank you, sir! Whooda thought, right??

[2mtech]

Pic light and chatter heavy today.

I got really tired this weekend...

Pun aside, mounting six beadlock wheels and tires was hard on the old hands but they went together fairly easily using the tried-and-true method of starting with two overly long screws, installing the other four, then replacing the long two with proper ones. I always rate tire mounting between Pro-Line tires on RC3WD wheels and Pitbulls on SSD wheels, so from damn near impossible to ridiculously easy. As do most, these fell somewhere in the middle.

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I thought about painting the steel wheels...the GF thought they should be black...but with the black hubs, red truck and so much chrome I decided the native white would be just fine. I like the wheels.

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Now that's a lot of meat!!

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I mounted the massive receiver box...kinda disappointed it's only mounted with two midline screws that go into the frame arch above the motor, and they were supposed to be button head screws, not even countersunk for a smooth floor. I used two flathead servo mount M3 x 10's instead, helped a bit.

Then I hit a challenge (that's what we're supposed to call glaring problems at work). I acquired a Sense ESS Dual sound unit that I had planned to mount on top of the receiver box lid. The lid originally had a round speaker box molded into it, so I figured I could delete the speaker box and mount the ESS in its place. The problem: After cutting the speaker box off flush with the top of the lid and setting the ESS module up there, I learned three things:

1. The speaker box was 1-1/8" tall
2. I had 1-1/2" of free space between the top of the lid and the underside of the cab once the "glass" is installed
3. The ESS module is 1-3/4" tall

Well shit. No way to lower anything, cab couldn't be raised and no matter how many times I did the math it wasn't going to fit. Even converting it to metric didn't improve the situation. I couldn't find anywhere else to stuff the big box containing the sound system and speakers. That left only two choices...lose the sound system (not optional) or lose the sound system box.

The large size of the receiver box came in handy at this point. I took the sound module apart and scavenged the two speakers and circuit board. I cut holes (big ones) in the receiver box lid, desoldered and fitted the speakers and installed the grills above them. I used the biggest step drill I had and finished fitting with a drum sander on the rotary. They're not perfectly aligned, but they'll do. I also had to drill small holes for the "+" and "-" switches on the circuit board controlling volume and sound file selection to be accessible, and mounted the circuit board on the lid as well. I was even able to scavenge and transfer the overlay and button pads to the lid, although the switches stick up a tad. Once speakers were resoldered, it works, it fits, and it doesn't look completely horrible. As a bonus, using part of one of the slots cut for wiring access and one unused corner speaker mount I had a perfect mount place for the ESC power switch.

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I've had a Castle Sidewinder 3 laying around for quite awhile, largely ignored since I discovered Hobbywing 1080's, and coupled with the fact that I was out of 1080's with two inbound from China, I decided to use it for this project. The 1080's showed up today after a month, of course, but I chose to stay with the SW.

There will be a rat's nest of wiring in a very busy (for me) receiver box with the ESC, 5-channel Spektrum receiver, light controller, sound system and wiring for two servos but I'll get it all tidied up once everybody's connected. I guess I need to lay out a block diagram to get the series routing correct and for future fiddling. I need to figure out how to connect the sound and lighting systems in series with the ESC as they both come into play to interact properly for throttle sound and for the backup lights to work when they're supposed to. Shouldn't be too difficult but may need a little trial and error.

Next it's time to start installing the myriad of accessory pieces and the rest of the lighting to the cab and bed. The instruction manual gets really busy at this point so I hope it continues to be accurate and clear. I think I'll be having Killer Body LC-70 flashbacks but at the least the paint is well cured now.

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[2mtech]

At this point things took a turn. While I realize this is not the actual process so this is stated glibly, the guy who did the manual up to this point went on vacation and an intern took over.

Since I was down to working out final wire routing, it made sense to make sure I understood the considerable light wiring. Being interactive, lighting is very position specific...turn signals need to be in concert, brake lights need to turn to taillights with throttle, etc. Cables are different lengths for similar locations so they have to be in the right controller location as well. The manual has a very well depicted schematic, and each of the 11 section connectors and three controller channels are well marked. Unfortunately, they're wrong lol. Not a huge deal, just a matter of laying out all the lights connected up to the controller and the truck electronics and playing musical connectors till I found the right combination of cables and connectors and made my own schematic. I did wrap the paper cable labels with clear tape so they don't fall off like Pep suggested so I won't have that challenge. Oh yeah, and no WAY is all that wiring fitting inside even this thing's oversized receiver box!

20200517_233536 by W2, on Flickr


Next surprise was that in the steps for bed and cab accessory installation, the part numbers for each side were inverted. After figuring that out, fiddly turned frustrating. I'll sum up the next two hours of cussing by merely saying check LED fit into lighting fixtures before installing said fixtures into nearly inaccessible locations. In any case, lights and wiring are installed, in the bed and front clip anyway.

As for chrome accessory pieces, few things fit properly and required some filing and reshaping to get them in place. It did not improve my impression of highly detailed hard bodies. We won't even talk about pieces that needed to be glued, especially clear lenses.

But the bed's on

20200518_184049 by W2, on Flickr


And the grill's done

20200518_205156 by Wyatt Wertz, on Flickr


And I got this to do next

20200518_143519 by W2, on Flickr


And most of the cab's done, and it'll all be fine

.

[2mtech]

The first poser pics completed with the cab on.

Still need to connect lighting and clean up wiring...but now that I got the cab on I don't really want to take it off! It uses kind of a unique hardware-less mount with a flange and slot arrangement between the underside of the hood behind the grille and the front end of the battery box, then two posts mounted to the rear of the cab that fit into mounts on the front end of the bed. The mounts have rotating locks that engage the cab posts...seems pretty sturdy. It's not like this one's going to be rolling down rock hills!

First thing the GF said was "It needs bigger tires"...what a redneck

SCX24 in the bed in the last few for scale. Between the fender wells, baby!

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Connect some lights and jam a receiver box lid on and it's video time!

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[Downfall]

This truck reminds me of being a kid spending my summers working my Grandpa's Farm. Duallies everywhere in the country. Good times and awesome truck!