TRX-4 CASE Unimog!

[ChickenSashimi]

Greetings!

I'm new around here. Been building rigs for a couple years now, often lurking around the forum. I've got to get my post-count up in order to use the classifieds where I hope to find some 1.9 mud bashers that would be well suited to my new Unimog Build. I figured what better way to bolster my post count than to contribute to this already great forum!


This is the first Unimog I built years back, on an SCX10 with a Tamiya Lexan body shell. The results were great, but I sold it and regretted selling it ever since.









Flash forward to 2019, The TRX4 has taken the world by storm, along with those attractive portal axles! What better excuse to build a new (and even better) Unimog than the first one I missed so dearly?!

I learned that Loops Models was selling a Unimog406 Hardbody, and after waiting a month, it finally arrived, around the same time I was finishing up my TRX4 kit build. Ideal Timing!


The box suffered unspeakable hardships during it's travels from Czech republic.




Seems like a good Start.. if a little narrow. Really nice that Traxxas includes wide wheel wells for easy modding and a nice clean finish. I've been so impressed with this kit!

[ChickenSashimi]

Since it worked so well on my first build, I ended up harvesting another Bruder Timber truck for its interior and flat-bed. I knew I didn't want another flatbed for the rear, but didn't have any better ideas, so I stuck with what I know. The interior on these Bruders fit like a glove into a Unimog body and the hinge mount was easy to attach to the TRX4 chassis using a couple plastic stand-offs and some creative drilling.







Trimming away the wheel wells was easy enough with my trusty tin-snips. I modified the stock TRX4 bumper so that it would hold the Unimog bumper in the right location. Ultimately, they were glued together so that I have a Unimog bumper that slots in and out of the TRX frame.

[ChickenSashimi]

Time for paint!

Sanded, prepped then primed all the major components including body, flatbed and interior. Decided (after much debate) to commit fully to the early 80's CASE UNIMOG aesthetic, with a few artistic liberties taken where necessary. Instead of going straight to a rusty-worn look, I chose to strive for clean & brand-new. I decided I would age and weather it over time with various paint effects and localized rust, to maintain interest in the build. In the end, I couldn't help myself and already applied some more extensive weathering to the rear area as you'll see in future posts. ;)






She's starting to come together now! I'm never going to get that super-short wheelbase like the true CASE 'Mogs have.
So I had to get creative with the empty area between the bed and the cab. A perfect fit for a spare!




There were empty areas to fill between the floor of the chassis and the flatbed. Also it was important to hide away the unsightly ESC which was still in the stock install location. I whipped up a panel of trucky-bits in solidworks that looked suitable and 3D printed it as a stand-in for the time being. Once I have a bit more time to think it through, I may circle back to this area of the build.

[Inspector86]

Nice work!

[ChickenSashimi]

Originally Posted by Inspector86

Nice work!

Thanks Inspector! Tons of fun on this build! Purely building up the visuals at this point.. looking forward to getting into brass upgrades as I start tweaking the chassis down the road.

I came so close to going with a CFX-W, but all the praise that the TRX was getting, and all the hop-ups that were already available for it, it just seemed like the best way to go. So glad I did. Great truck!

[ChickenSashimi]

Getting colourful!

Because I find it that much more charming when they're two tone, I took artistic freedom away from true CASE styling and painted the roof of the cab gloss white. This was a functional choice, as it will keep my driver cool while I'm stressing him out with my hazardous driving habits.







First look at the colour combination reassures me that i've made a great choice for my truck's overall look. This is gonna come together nicely!

One of my biggest pet peeves on some of the best scale builds I've seen, are the cool white bulbs on retro body headlights. The warm white colour of the lights really help the look of the classics and provide a lot more charm and realism than blueish LED's you see so often. To that end I went to my local LED supplier who had no warm LED's in stock. Instead I went with miniature filament bulbs, that I wired directly to the ESC's accessory plug. These bulbs can go from 8v-12v, so whether I put a 2s or 3s, I'll be in good shape. At 8v, they sure do provide that warm white I was hoping for, a bit more than I'd like, but overall effect achieved!

[ChickenSashimi]

Trimmed away some frame rail to shorten things up in the rear as I'm trying to keep this truck as short as possible. Easy work with a dremel.







Lots of new details coming in now!

I like to focus my attention on a given area for an evening, so that I can tinker away in no big hurry while watching tv.
So one evening I'll dress up the bumper, with some hazard stripes, rope, and random bits to give it some personality. Another evening I'll move onto the cab, and so on.



The stickers are custom cut on my wife's vinyl cutter. I'm delighted with how well the logos turned out! Once I get a bit of mud/dust on the truck, the whole look should pull together nicely.



The stock bumper wasn't going to work with the Unimog, so I had to improvise on the rear. I had ridged styrene and some brass to make the mudflaps.
The taillight housings were improvised with some suitable plastic bits i found on an old parts tree.
I still have to figure out how i'm going to dress the bumper (hazard stripes/license plates etc)

Also not final on the payload. Perhaps I'll build 2 or 3 different cargo kits that I can slot in there and easily switch it up from weekend to weekend.



Finally committing to painting these nice Gmade wheels in bight orange took awhile, but i'm glad I did as it really brings the look together.
I'm not fully convinced that the 1.9's are right for this beast as they look a little small. But buying the Mud Bashers in 2.2 would mean having to buy new wheels all over again.

I still have a good amount of work ahead of me.

Driver should arrive in the mail shortly.
Interior paint and decor.
Exterior hazard and spot lighting.
Top layer dust/weathering.


Having so much fun with the TRX4 as it brings some new layers of fun to trailing and crawling, with the lockers, cruise and 2spd. It's such a fun truck and i'm looking forward to more chances to get some sweet outdoor shots!

[mewalsh100]

Looks great. Awesome scale details. I like how you handled the inner fenders at the rear as well. Great job! She looks very "Moggy"!

[B-MOW71]

That really looks awesome! You picked a great chassis to work with. The TRX-4 is the best performing kit out now.

Looking forward to seeing more!

[Inspector86]

I'm really diggin this build! Just a tip on the TRX4 chassis, the SSD portal weights will help a ton. Lube the O-rings on the stock shocks with Green Slime and leave the retainer just a tad loose so the O-rings don't bind. I also like to run my springs with no pre-load. The Hobby Wing WP1080 and HH Trailmaster Sport 550 21t motor is a great combo.

[ChickenSashimi]

Originally Posted by mewalsh100

Looks great. Awesome scale details. I like how you handled the inner fenders at the rear as well. Great job! She looks very "Moggy"!

Thanks! I was lucky to have striped styrene on hand and it ended up serving to the look I needed really well!!

Same with the taillights... my hand forced to dig for space plastic bits as my printer just doesn't have the resolution I needed to get the right measurements in for the LEDs

Can't wait to get some trail shots of this mogger!

[ChickenSashimi]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

That really looks awesome! You picked a great chassis to work with. The TRX-4 is the best performing kit out now.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks! Agreed, I've been so happy with it from the start. Great value for my dollar, and TBH, I've never really had problems with any of my traxxas products, so I never understood the anti-traxxas sentiment you sometimes find floating around the web.

Originally Posted by Inspector86

I'm really diggin this build! Just a tip on the TRX4 chassis, the SSD portal weights will help a ton. Lube the O-rings on the stock shocks with Green Slime and leave the retainer just a tad loose so the O-rings don't bind. I also like to run my springs with no pre-load. The Hobby Wing WP1080 and HH Trailmaster Sport 550 21t motor is a great combo.

Parts support was one of the big reasons I went with TRX. And brass in the front end is extremely high on my priority list. Thanks for the tip.

I've felt that the shocks are the weakest part of the rig in quality and performance to be honest, so I really appreciate your tuning suggestions, I'll be sure to try them out and see if it sorts out the sticky squakers I'm dealing with now.

[ChickenSashimi]

My driver finally arrived and I couldn't be more pleased!
His expression should be suitable given the nightmare scenarios he's going to have to endure due to my poor driving choices. Not bad for $25. Sadly, his legs aren't welcome on this ride. hahaha! He makes up for it with beer.










Now that all the major elements are in play, I have to sit down and decide whether or not I want to commit to airbrushing a layer of dust over the whole bottom half. It would certainly tie the whole look together, but it's a bit of an irreversible commitment that's gonna be hard to fix if I don't like how it turns out.

Perhaps I should just stick to naturally occurring dust for the time being?

[ChickenSashimi]

And of course, it's always nice to get a family photo with your bro.

[B-MOW71]

Pics look great. Like how the interior looks. That driver is perfect. Love his facial expression.

[ChickenSashimi]

Thanks B-Mow!

[Inspector86]

Originally Posted by ChickenSashimi

I've felt that the shocks are the weakest part of the rig in quality and performance to be honest, so I really appreciate your tuning suggestions, I'll be sure to try them out and see if it sorts out the sticky squakers I'm dealing with now.

Just FYI, the stock TRX4 GTS shocks are considered by many as some of the best shocks currently on the market. With a little tuning they are awsum and they don't leak. Traxxas has released a series of optional spring rates so you can now tune the springs as well as use different weight shock oil to really dial them in to your rig.

[durok]

The Unimog (AND the Cherokee) are really awesome!

You do some excellent work...

[themountain]

Just wow....love the details like the interior...specially the beer bottle

[Jonnie Fraz]

Very nice build. The TRX4 portals really look awesome on there. I think you picked the right driver for the Mog. It really brings the build home.