K10 Chevy Short Box Build

[LSXGMC]

As soon as RC4WD released the Blazer body kit, I knew I HAD to have one. I bought myself a Trail Finder 2 and put the Blazer body kit on. Super fun truck and will keep that for a long time. However, I really wanted a K10, and thought that RC4WD would eventually end up releasing a body kit. Well, I'm tired of waiting so I'm taking it into my own hands! This is my first time ever working with styrene so I'm hoping it works out.

I am putting an Axial SCX10 II chassis under this body, as I wanted a 1.9 truck with a linked suspension setup since I already have the 1.55 / leaf sprung truck in my TF2.

I won't bore you with the kit build. In a nutshell, it's a stock chassis with Incision stainless links (weight), ARB diff covers, and aftermarket wheels and tires.

Starting with the cab rear made out of styrene:



I originally really wanted to make a truggy using a Vaterra rear cage, however it just didn't match the body lines as I'd hoped it would. I grabbed some round steel stock from a local hardware store and tried to bend it (have a friend who is awesome at brazing) but it just wasn't working for me and I didn't have the motivation to keep trying with it. I kept looking at the box that was sitting on the shelf next to me and thought I'd try my hand at styrene work and extend the box a bit instead of going the truggy route, and making a truck. Here's the cage:



As you can see it just didn't line up well. No problem, the box will (hopefully) look good too!

[LSXGMC]

I found some photos online to use for reference for the stamp markings in the rear of the cab. I marked them out and started cutting:



I'll use another piece of styrene as a backer afterwards that will give it a depth effect

[LSXGMC]

All cut out:



And with the piece of styrene as a backer, gives it the depth I wanted. Slow and steady, this stuff is really easy to work with and cut, it seems to sand well, so far a great experience:



Not only did this look better, but it also added some rigidity to the flexible cab rear. Bonded the two pieces together using Tamiya cement.

I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems like MEK is the best stuff to bond styrene to ABS plastic like RC4WD uses. Hard to find, but a local hardware store happened to have some in stock.

[LSXGMC]

Glued the cab rear to the cab. Had to do some trimming to clear the transmission housing on the chassis but overall it fit pretty well.

For wheels I'm running SSD stamped steel 1.9 beadlocks, with Pitbull Rock Beast tires (OG size, not the new XL) and Crawler Innovations Lil Nova 4.25 foams. Soft front, medium rears.

[LSXGMC]

Next step is to extend the box. I only needed about 1/2" to get the wheelbase set to match my SCX10 II chassis. I'm not sure how close the box length will be scale-wise, but looks decent enough for me. I didn't want to have to buy another full body set just to steal 1/2" from the box, so I made use of some styrene. I added reinforcement where I could to make it solid, as the styrene-ABS plastic bond isn't the greatest to begin with.

[LSXGMC]

Picked up some Green Putty by Squadron from my local modelling store for body filler. Took a few tries to get it to where I was happy with it (although still not completely satisfied). It definitely takes patience. Looking back I wish I would have made the effort to buy more of an assortment of sanding supplies to refine it better, but I plan on driving this truck so I'm not tooooo concerned.



Quick coat of primer and place it on the chassis to see how it'll look. Excited

[LSXGMC]

Mounting the body was actually a lot easier than I thought it'd be. The front bumper posts slid right into the stock SCX10 bumper mount, and are SUPER tight. I used the mounting bars that came with the body kit and screwed them to the SCX10 floor plates, and for the rear I grabbed some square stock from the local hardware store, cut it to fit, then drilled a couple holes that I could mount the posts that came with the body kit in. Quick coat of black paint and voila! The box then attaches to the posts with a couple screws, hardly noticeable at all.

[LSXGMC]

Fenders trimmed and paint layed down. Inspired by my late uncle's 1983 pickup.

[LSXGMC]

Weathered the paint and gave "rust" a shot. I just tried different shades of brown in a few spots and I think it turned out alright.

[JatoTheRipper]

I think I saw this truck on the Book of Faces or Instaspam. Are you on there or is somebody building a truck just like yours?

[LSXGMC]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I think I saw this truck on the Book of Faces or Instaspam. Are you on there or is somebody building a truck just like yours?

Yep I'm on there. I posted it to the SCX10 II page and on True Scale RC

[LSXGMC]

Drilled a couple holes to raise the dash. The stock mounting position is waaaaay too low and looks goofy.



Dash is now up high where it should be. Rear view mirror made out of styrene

[LSXGMC]

And a couple shots from my first little adventure. The 85mm limited stock shocks are more than adequate, and help keep the COG low. I was surprised that the truck wasn't overly top-heavy.













Now to get some scale accessories into the bed and call it done!

[chevy4life]

some of your pics could definatly fit the real or rc .

[STANG KILLA SS]

that is awesome

[JDHog]

Love it.

[LSXGMC]

Finally got out in the daylight. This thing runs exactly as I'd hoped: the suspension reacts perfectly (stock shocks with proline scaler springs), it's well balanced and not top heavy at all. Super happy with it! Thanks for looking

[LSXGMC]

I debated back and forth today on whether to keep the Rock Beasts or use some TSL's but ended up sticking with the Pitbulls. The TSLs look better IMO and suit the truck, but after a couple runs so far the Pitbulls have performed so well that I just couldn't get rid of them.

[looneybin]

Awesome

[Itali83]

Are those the vaterra tsl's? If so, I have them and a set of the regular non xl rock beasts. The difference between the two tires is a non issue. I've run them both in the same places and neither tire does any better or worse. That being said, the tsl's need to be broken in and have the right foams in them. I've got CI dual stage foams with soft outers all around my 8.5lb vaterra ascender. Just enough squat for great bite but never an issue sidehihilling. Soak the tsl's in simple green and water for a day or two to help clean off the mold release and run them. They get better each run. I like the look of th tsl's so that's why I never use the rock beasts. Just my 2cents.

Ben