ScoJac builds a Bomber

[ScoJac]

Hello Bombers, I just purchased my first Axial and I am looking forward to building and modding this one also.
I stumbled onto an eBay Fathers day 20% off site wide sale.....soooo
I just had to grab one as well as some goodies to go along with it.

The kit actually went to gather pretty well

So far this is what I have

RR10 Bomber kit
RTR body panels from an eBay part out
Hobbywing wp1080 esc
Traxxas Titan 21t
Savox 1230
Vanquish AR60 trusses
Vanquish servo mount
Vanquish servo clamps
Incision motor mount
Incision motor mount cam
Tactic TTX300
Hyperion 3s 50c 5000mAh

When changing out the battery connector to a XT90 I also added in a length of 18 gauge wire with a XT30 connector for some lighting later on.

The next thing I plan on getting is either .475 or .600 Vanquish SLW hubs to widen the track width a wee bit.
Your thoughts or recommendations on which size to get ?

A must have is some metal rod end pivot balls... come on Axial, it's about time you stop including the plastic ones !

Vanquish Stage 1 Kit.

Incision overdrive drive gears up front and maybe the spools.





Anyways thats enough, here are a couple pics.

[durok]

Great collection of upgrades, ScoJac!

Should beef it up nicely...

Speaking of beef...

Beef-tubes would be a crowning touch to finalize toughening up the axle area, bringing just a touch of extra weight.

[12earth]

Along with the beef tubes, I highly recommend the vanquish knuckle weights if you intend to crawl


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[durok]

Originally Posted by 12earth

Along with the beef tubes, I highly recommend the vanquish knuckle weights if you intend to crawl
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I like most Vanquish products, but those require grinding away some material to fit correctly... or so multiple reviewers on this forum have reported.

That may be worth the work for some people, but it does bear mentioning...

Vanquish AR60 Brass Knuckle Weight Review

[Jboucher]

Originally Posted by durok

I like most Vanquish products, but those require grinding away some material to fit correctly... or so multiple reviewers on this forum have reported.

That may be worth the work for some people, but it does bear mentioning...

Vanquish AR60 Brass Knuckle Weight Review

It's been out of stock for so long that i actually hope it's being redesigned...

But right now i would suggest beef patties SLW weights instead.

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[BAD RC]

I'm running TSS Brass Knuckles- 1.6 oz each versus VP Knuckles- 0.3 oz each.
Very well made and no grinding of materials.

THE SCALE SHOP

[ScoJac]

Thanks for all the comments and recommendations


I purchased some RTR body panels off eBay and those are now on. I'm leaving the clear panels clear for now till I can decide if I want to go simple or do an elaborate paint scheme ?
I'll have to pick up some paint once I decide what color to do the drivers, hopefully I'll have time to paint them this week (another... 60 hour work week )

I'll be picking up some beef tubes and was also thinking about the stainless steel brake rotor patties from VP. I'm not overly concerned on the rotational mass because this will be used mainly for crawling and not really for bashing.

Been reading some of the AMAZING build threads in this section, been gathering ideas and making a list of things I want to do.

I have now had a chance to run this in the kitchen and living room , setting and playing with the Hobbywing 1080 and trying different settings.

The Hyperion 3s 5000mAh 50c battery I picked up fits perfectly, not a mm to spare either. (135 x 42 x 29mm) It came with no connector so I added a XT90.

Anywho, I'll post up more info and pics as I can and progress with the build as with any upgrades.



A few snaps...




Both of my current and fresh builds, The other one is my TRX4 Kit with spooled axles and single speed trans conversion sporting a '73 Bronco body from Proline.




Until I get the clamping King spring cups, I stripped out the wire from some baggie twist ties and secured the cups to the springs.

[durok]

Looking great, as is that TRX-4!

Man, that is some sweet and subtle paint on the Bronco body - I usually find that body kinda boring - but not with those simple graphics!

[ScoJac]

Originally Posted by durok

Looking great, as is that TRX-4!

Man, that is some sweet and subtle paint on the Bronco body - I usually find that body kinda boring - but not with those simple graphics!

Thanks, that is my new favorite rig...spooled, single speed and its a beast.

[ScoJac]

Well, I took the Bomber to my dads yesterday to try it out on his rock pile. He is 73 and rocks a moderately modded Ascender K10, I got him the SSD brass lockouts and knuckles for Fathers Day.

So back to the Bomber, I was surprised with the speed on 3s and really cannot see adding any more speed to it. The 21t titan and hobby wing 1080 performed flawlessly, I still need to play with the programming card a little more. I'd like a little bit more low speed control. It conquered his rock pile with even sweating. The only hiccup I ran into was when I bound it up a bit and the steering link popped off, GRRRRRRRRR dam you Axial and your stupid plastic cost saving balls !
Soooo, when I got home I hunted down a couple of 3x8mm washers and installed them. At least the rod won't pop off again.

I need to get some metal balls and possibly some better and stronger rod ends. Hot Racing sells a set of aluminum balls 20 in a bag for $10, but I'm thinking that may be a waste of time and money replacing the balls and keeping the axial rod ends, I thought about picking up some TRX4 rod ends and then use the Hot racing balls ( I'll have to pop out a ball from one of my TRX4's and see if it's the same size 5.8x 7.5 ) The reason I'm thinking of the TRX4 ends is that they are really strong and I can get them in straight and also with a 10 degree bend.

Otherwise it seems a lot of you fellas in here seem to like the Traxxas Jato and Revo ends..... Your thoughts and or recommendations on what rod ends to go with are welcome.

Oh, another question, if I want to slow it down a bit to gain a little more low speed control should I look at swapping out the
Titan 550 21t to say a HH 550 27t or just increase the pinion size ?
I'm using the 12 tooth that came on the kit.

[Jboucher]

I run 3s, titan 550 21T and 11T pinion.

Just set the startup speed very low on the hobbywing 1080 and it should be fine.

Can always go down to 10T also.

For rod ends, the bullet proof solution is : RPM revo rod ends with axial width brass balls from vanquish with 1 M4 spacer from SSD to keep stock lenght.

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[HumboldtEF]

If you can set a throttle curve on the ESC that will help low speed control (I'm not familiar with the 1080), if not dial in some expo on the TX if you can.

JRH video explains throttle curves really well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvH4A_VqTs

[ScoJac]

Originally Posted by Jboucher

I run 3s, titan 550 21T and 11T pinion.

Just set the startup speed very low on the hobbywing 1080 and it should be fine.

Can always go down to 10T also.

For rod ends, the bullet proof solution is : RPM revo rod ends with axial width brass balls from vanquish with 1 M4 spacer from SSD to keep stock lenght.

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Thanks, I did set the startup speed to the lowest setting and that helped out a lot, I'll pick up a 10t pinion this week and see what the LHS has for Revo rod ends.

[ScoJac]

Not much to report on here, just finished up Another 60 hour work week. Did manage to get to the hobbyshop and picked up a Robinson 10t pinion, also grabbed a bag each of Jato and Revo rod ends so I can get rid of the garbage Axial rod ends and plastic balls. I sent off an email to SSD to ask if they are still offering the M4 Rod End Spacers SSD00151 ... Seems everywhere I look they are out of stock. Until then I just cut some 1.5mm thick washers from the junk rod ends I replaced for now. Made sure to remember to use the Jato rod ends on the rear upper links to correct the pinion angle, much better angle now.

Starting to paint the interior, we'll see how that goes !
My plan is to attempt to use my new Iwata air brush, since I have never used an air brush I will probably be using a full jar of paint and practicing on an old storm window glass that has been hiding under the stairs for 10 years. Besides being new to the air brush I also picked up some liquid mask, never used that before either but some of the YouTube clips I have seen...looks pretty straight forward. We'll see ?

I think I'll be picking up the Vanquish Stage 1 kit and also grabbing the stainless steel wheel weights also, I know a lot of people are against rotating mass but since this rig won't be a basher I don't think it'll make that much difference for the crawling I want to use this for.

I ended up ordering the Axial radiator/U4 light bar, Axial rubber shock mount bushings, DMG spare tire relocation bracket and radiator mount.

Oh ya, that Hyperion 3s 50c 5000mAh battery I picked up... fit is perfect and is the absolute max size I can fit in there. I ordered up another one last night, Hyperion has them on sale for $36.95

Well thats about all for now, back to reading some more of the amazing build threads in here.

Anyone got any thoughts or recommendations, feel free to post them up.

Scott.

[elRayRay]

Regarding the wheel weights, it turned out for me that the hubs that I bought for my Locked Up wheels weren't long enough to run the wheel weights on the front with the VP knuckles. I didn't want to widen my track enough to clear them.
Regarding the DMG spare tire mount, at higher articulation, the mounted tire interferes with the ones on the rear axle.
Just a couple things to consider. Have fun!

[ScoJac]

Originally Posted by elRayRay

Regarding the wheel weights, it turned out for me that the hubs that I bought for my Locked Up wheels weren't long enough to run the wheel weights on the front with the VP knuckles. I didn't want to widen my track enough to clear them.
Regarding the DMG spare tire mount, at higher articulation, the mounted tire interferes with the ones on the rear axle.
Just a couple things to consider. Have fun!

Good to know, thanks for the heads up on the tire interference. I'll check it out.
Hopefully since I have the rear sway bar it'll not allow too much articulation.

[JatoTheRipper]

Good idea to use safety wire on the shock spring cups.

[ScoJac]

Considering picking up a set of DMG AR60 skids, but RPP has 3 different ones listed...
Front Wraith
Rear Wraith
Rear Yeti

I believe I want the Front Wraith and Rear Yeti ?

[Jboucher]

Maybe the rear yeti is for a centered pumpkin?

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[durok]

I think you can get F&R Wraith and be just fine - unless you'd prefer the Blue color for the rear...

The Yeti version is shown mounted on a standard AR60 OCP, and the Wraith/Bomber/Yeti all use that same pumpkin, offset to the drivers side on the rear.

The product pic is of the same part, only painted another color.

Blue is a popular color for the Bomber and Yeti, that's why it is offered as an option.

If you're really concerned with fitment - you could always hit up DMG here with a PM...