Working on a Unimog...

[KeithLuneau]

This is it as it sits...


The plan is to replace the body with a new one, and use the bed to cover the back end up a little. I'll more than likely end up with this one:

http://www.townsquaretoys.com/Merced...h_p/br2471.htm

More picture of it are here - http://www.scale4x4rc.org/gallery/th...ls.php?album=7

Old build thread here - http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5457

[crawl rookie]

Do is see that correct?!!
Is that a VMG?? axled rig?
Wow looking great! its pretty scale for a VMG

[looneybin]

very good use of a vmg. i used to have one and it was my first crawler

[KeithLuneau]

You are correct, it's a VMG with a GWS airplane gearbox for a reduction. Works well!

[KeithLuneau]

Work can now resume...



Besides the obvious new donor truck, I also got the ESC from atwill over on Scale, installed it last night. I've worked out mounts for the bed too. Shouldn't be much longer now...

[KeithLuneau]

...And a few hours later:





Got the cab and bed all mounted up. The bed mounts on 3 body posts which seems to work well enough. I had to cut a hole for the motor/gear reduction to stick through, but I can live with it... The receiver and ESC are both tucked away under the bed. The battery will ride in the bed next to the motor.



I was also able to keep all the interior intact. You can sort of see that in this one...



In this picture you can see that I was also able to keep most of the fenders in one piece, kinda closes off the underside.



All I have to do now is cut some limiters from small fuel tubing to go on the shock shafts, the rear tires rub under the bed. Once thats done I can run it and see how it works!

[Thorsteenster]

dam you keitharoo, thats looking good!
i was just planning on letting my vmg sit in a box under the bed for awhile, but now......

[@tw!ll]

Dam Keith, lookin sweet! Made quick work of getting that body on. Can't wait to see some video of that thing.

[octigonwallrus]

i thought that body looked familar, nice work man.

[KeithLuneau]

Thanks for the kind words! I've taken the goofy looking light bar off the cab, and cut the hole out clean. I'll more than likely cut a windshield for the new cab like I did the old one, when I do I'll cut a glass for the "sunroof" as well. I also ditched the Bruder decal, in favor of a more fitting logo for the doors.

[fathead]

that thing is going to have some serious steering issues i tried doing like that once and it wont flex and turn at the same time . but the truck looks killer

[KeithLuneau]

Actually it steers quite well for a chassis mounted servo. I ran it a number of times after building the chassis, and it drives plenty good.

Dug up a couple of old videos for now, I remember one or both was with open diffs, but you can see how the steering works none the less. (Edit - Just checked them again, the diffs are open in the first, locked in the second. I forgot about the nice in-cab footage in the second one too... lol)

http://www.scale4x4rc.org/keith/VMGMog.wmv
http://www.scale4x4rc.org/keith/VMGMog2.wmv

[looneybin]

awsome vids i wish i would have had that kind of success with mine

[billdapart]

That is seriously cool. The more of these bruder truck i see the more it makes me want one.. it looks as though it is pretty tough to get an axle to look right underneath it though

[carmatic]

good thing those bruders have the exact same trackwidth as the vmg! how did you manage to keep the look so well, like the height is exactly the same as a stock bruder... but the rear wheel wells are gone, is this because the wheelbase is different??

also, in regards to the steering... since the servo looks like its in the middle, why cant you use a large servo saver, and put 2 turnbuckles on it,one for each front wheel? your steering would become more predictable thru the suspension travel because its symmetrical... alot closer to the stock vmg steering too

Originally Posted by billdapart

it looks as though it is pretty tough to get an axle to look right underneath it though

i say it looks alot cooler this way compared to the moulded underside of the stock bruder...unless you want to turn the bruder into a totally scale rig

[KeithLuneau]

Originally Posted by carmatic

good thing those bruders have the exact same trackwidth as the vmg! how did you manage to keep the look so well, like the height is exactly the same as a stock bruder... but the rear wheel wells are gone, is this because the wheelbase is different??

also, in regards to the steering... since the servo looks like its in the middle, why cant you use a large servo saver, and put 2 turnbuckles on it,one for each front wheel? your steering would become more predictable thru the suspension travel because its symmetrical... alot closer to the stock vmg steering too

Yeah, the wheelbase is a little longer than the Bruder truck, not exactly sure how much. I'd guess 3/8" or so. The "chassis" of the Bruder truck is completely hacked though, the front bumper and fenders and all were parts of the original chassis. The rear fenders probably wouldnt be that hard to put on there, I just haven't looked at it yet. I thought I might put them on originally, and still might.

Thats not a bad idea for the steering. The only problem I see is that the top of the axle housing barely clears the flat servo arm as it is when the shocks are compressed. I doubt I could fit a servo saver in there, but a wide servo arm with a couple of added holes would work just as well here. I may look into that, thanks for the suggestion!

As an added note, I've replaced the receiver with a smaller one to make room under the bed for the battery as well. It was too top-heavy with the battery in the bed. It definitely made a noticeable difference.

Oh yeah, the stock VMG wheels were a bit wide actually, if you notice in the videos the front fenders were pushed out wider to cover them. These 1.9" wheels are cut up and use the centers of the stock wheels glued into the back to get the right track, and to make them fit the 8mm hubs too!

[KeithLuneau]

New video up and running. Linking to the post on scale, cant embed it here...

http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11419