Capo 1:8 Jeep CD15823

[Prop Shaft]

Worked some more on it today.
Started with the floor.


Then the seats.

Seat mounting brackets.


Seats and trans tunnel mounted to floor.


Then I moved on to the dash. The gauge cluster is printed on thin plastic, the idea is lights behind it shine through. The directions are unclear, but there was only 1 clear piece to cover the printed cluster, and the gauges came all warped in my kit. So I cut up a scrap piece of lexan to sandwich them and keep them flat.

Finished dash.

One of the body panels had some casting issues.

Found some TS-15 locally so was able to start painting body parts.

[Prop Shaft]

The painting and priming continues. Its amazing how thin the Tamiya rattle cans go on. I think i have 7 coats before all the sanding marks disappear. Taking my time on the other pieces and sanding with finer grit before I lay down the paint.

Ive noticed quite a few small imperfections in the casting of the body pieces. Nothing a little filler cant fix. But the windshield housing... Yikes. It was rough.

Starting assembling the roll cage while paint was drying.

Once assembled. It became pretty clear there was a problem. The left and right side bars aren't bent to match. You can see the difference when i stand it up against the wall.

Then I had a pretty major boo boo... The cowl pice between the hood and windshield was pretty badly bent right out of the box. I tried to gently bend it back into shape, and it just snapped in two instantly... Pretty much zero give when it comes to cast aluminum.

On the plus side the fella I bought this from is supposed to be sending me new roll bars and the cowl piece. Bit of a life saver there. As i have no clue how i would go about repairing the cowling.

[Prop Shaft]

A bit of assembly, and more paint...



Had to ream the mounting points to allow the body panels to flush up.


Rear quarters mounted to the floor. The wheel flairs bolt on with m2 screws

More paint. Ive gone through the 3 cans of Tamiya spay paint i picked up. Need to get some more now to finish.

This is the door panel treatment. Im trying to mimic a 1:1. Masked off proper areas.

Im happy with the end result. Makes it look as though the doors have some thickness to them.

[Prop Shaft]

Sitting on top of a 26" tool box.

[Prop Shaft]

I did a little test on a spare piece using some the rust oleum blue i had. The finish of course came out really dull. So I hit it with some rustoleum clear. And this is the end result.

Forgot about painting the filler cap, so took care of that.


It was about at this point i realized that theres a pretty serious problem with the paint. Its not sticking to the factory primer for shite.... Its chipping off really easy. So now I have tons of time and money into a shit paint job. Hooray!


Ran across a misaligned hole for one of the door hinges. Decided to drill it out and use a nut on the back side.



Heres how the roll bars looked out of the box

And after some careful bending.


Roll bars in.

Inner fenders. They are thin vacu formed styrene with felt applied on one side. Kind of a neat idea.

Cut to shape and installed.

Rear door hinges.

Rear door installed temporary till i get the paint sorted out.


Front door pillars.

Pillars installed to dash and firewall.

Shot of how it all goes together. Fender and windshield piece aren't installed just placed to give an idea.

[Prop Shaft]

Continued building.

Rad support and body mounts

Radiator installed


At this point the body can be mounted to the chassis.


Prop rod

Fender flares screwed to fenders


Light housings mounted. I haven't bothered installing LEDs yet. Ill handle that once the paint is sorted.

Grill bolted on

Fender and inner fender/electronics tray mounted


The hardware for the hood latches

Turned out the bag labeled m1.6 screws are actually m2 screws.

Luckily I had a couple m1.6 screws that fit the bill.



Had a hell of a time getting the front fenders bolted up, the holes are a bit misaligned.


Mounted up the hood.


Done for the night. Its starting to look like a jk now...

[arcountryboy]

It's looking good, but that's a lot of little issues for something that cost so much.

[Tommy R]

Seems like they maybe tried to do too much with this kit? I mean, it's over the top with all the crazy details and features, but the build/mfg. quality doesn't appear up to snuff for such a pricey kit. Nonetheless, love what you're doing with it and thanks for the updates!

Sorry about the paint not sticking. What'd you do to prep the surface before you painted it? Any sanding or paint prep before hand? I'm sure you'll get it all sorted!

So serious question....but what are you planning on doing with it when you're done? I don't know I'd have the guts to do anything with it except for maybe the mildest of wheelin' trips.

[Prop Shaft]

Originally Posted by arcountryboy

It's looking good, but that's a lot of little issues for something that cost so much.

Originally Posted by Tommy R

Seems like they maybe tried to do too much with this kit? I mean, it's over the top with all the crazy details and features, but the build/mfg. quality doesn't appear up to snuff for such a pricey kit. Nonetheless, love what you're doing with it and thanks for the updates!

Sorry about the paint not sticking. What'd you do to prep the surface before you painted it? Any sanding or paint prep before hand? I'm sure you'll get it all sorted!

So serious question....but what are you planning on doing with it when you're done? I don't know I'd have the guts to do anything with it except for maybe the mildest of wheelin' trips.

I should probably mention that this is a very first run kit. I was told it was packed with no QC. And there may be some issues, things missing, etc. Which is why the guy I bought it from has offered up any replacement parts for things missing or not correct.
As for the paint prep. Everything was sanded/filled and/or primed, and wiped down with alcohol before paint. I took my pains to try and get a flawless finish. The problem stems from the lacquer paint/primer not sticking to the factory primer. I was told by the seller that Capo recommends automotive paint. Which is vague at best. Conciderig there are lacquer based automotive paints, i was hoping it wouldnt be a problem. Im going to try out the duplicolor line and see if i can get their primer to stick, and go from there.
I will run this rig the same as most of my rigs. Nothing outside of "scale". No point having it if I cant enjoy it. It wont be seeing mud though thats for sure. With something as pricey as this, driving it on rocks or trails takes on new meaning. You tend to pick your path very carefully, because theres always that fear of damaging it in the back of your mind. Its alot closer to 1:1 wheeling that way, as opposed to just gassing your axial through anything and everything with no fear of recourse.

[Prop Shaft]

I think i have the paint issue sorted out. Picked up some duplicolor etching primer and some blue that is pretty close to the tamiya blue. With the exception that its metal flake. Primer seems to be sticking pretty good. I primed and painted a test panel so we'll see after its cured. Wont be much for updates anytime soon as I have a lot of stripping and painting to do. Im also working out the details on LEDs and a controller. At least theres some light at the end of the tunnel.

[BDR]

Great build

You have way more patience than I would, but then it is a early kit, and all kits have issues, even from big names like Serpent\AE

Look forward to seeing this finished

[THAT1GUYETHAN]

I loved seeing all the steps in this build. i have been dying to see one fully built by someone that doesnt work for Capo. its time for a running video i think.

[rubiconrockkrawler]

Any Updates? I am curious how these kits turn out.

[Prop Shaft]

I have been swamped with work as of late. When it rains it pours. Hoping to get back on this soon.

[Prop Shaft]

Finally back at this. So after some monotonous scrubbing with lacquer thinner using rags and q-tips, Ive managed to strip a handful of the body panels.

And re prime and paint/clear a few. I'm using duplicolor etching primer paint, and clear coat. I like the new color better.

Ken sent me the Capo chassis mounted servo bracket, so I've decided to ditch the cable set up. This set up works so much better.




After thinking about battery placement. I noticed some slots in the floor that appear to be for velcro battery straps. I'm guessing this is where Capo intended the battery to go.

The only 3s battery I have just barely fits between the wheel wells. I need to conceal it somehow. Was thinking maybe building a subwoofer box or something along those lines. I'm open to ideas here. I thought maybe a cooler but that would be a big *** cooler lol.

[Prop Shaft]

Did some interior work on the jeep today. Steering wheel servo.



Instrument lights.

[Highmark]

Looks great. Glad to see you back at this, I like the new color better as well.

[Prop Shaft]

Whipped up a plate to mount up a couple leds to back light the gps screen.




Did some reassembly with the newly painted parts. Installed the wind shield and wipers.

[STANG KILLA SS]

man that new color is bad ass! it was meant to be

[Tommy R]

Looking amazing and I also love the new color. To hide the battery, how about a simple Tuffy Box? You could always mount an ice chest or a high lift onto it to keep it from looking too boring.