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Detailed JK Build from Europe - Scale-Detail-Mania Hey guys, I'm Jakob from Austria (a tiny country in the alps). This is my first ever post here but I read a lot and took some great inspiration off this forum! A couple of weeks ago, I went to my friends birthday party when I discovered his brother's Tamiya trucks (1/14). Having had RC cars myself when I was a teenager, I was immediately hooked (again) by the RC thing and I started daydreaming about a scale crawler. The very next day, after some research I ordered an Axial SCX10 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon :) And I couldn't have been any happier since! :) So this is my return to the RC world after an absence oft about 12-13 years :) Now I want to show you the results of the last couple of weeks’ work: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psuoqxbuez.jpg The Basics: Chassis & Body: SCX10 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited ESC: Carson Mtroniks tio RockC 35T
Gears: 13T pinion and 87T stock spur gear => 87/13 = 6,69:1 gear ratio Servo: Savöx SW-0231MG Waterproof
A picture I took, the very first time I ran this truck on the trail :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psfd5lznsx.jpg So… What did I do to customize this little beast? Performance Upgrades: Front battery & rear radio box mod You all know this mod and I quickly found out, why everybody does it :) It works and it improves crawling performance! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psaumikjoy.jpg Simple steering mod (m3 nuts) A guy I met at a local RC store told me about this mod: Add one M3 nut to both ends of your steering link (between your link and the ball end). It improves the stock steering performance significantly, although your tires point away from each other after this mod. Don’t forget to add an M3 nut to your servo link as well to account for the extended steering link! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pseia5k2sb.jpg Wiring & Plugs When I saw the Tamiya plug on the Nvision battery, I was kinda upset. How can you sell a battery for this price and put a Tamiya plug on it? Now I’m happy that the battery had this plug because it made me rewire the whole build and it made me learn how to solder! I removed most of the plugs I didn’t need, I removed the on-off-switch for the ESC and I added T-plugs to my battery and and ESC. So the Tamiya-sh*t-plug has it’s good sides as well. Then I used some mesh tube to tidy everything up and keep the wires protected and organized. Beadlocks Rims! What a mess! There are so many out there and the prices range from 18$ to over 100$ for two… I opted for the Boom Racing EVO 1.9 High Mass Beadlocks just because they were cheap and I liked the look. I’m happy with them except for one thing: If you get them DON’T USE THE INCLUDED PIN-SCREWS TO BOLT THEM TOGETHER! These screws are the worst. I ruined two of them just by trying to unscrew them when I got my new rubbers and it took me about 3hrs to remove them. I replaced them with stainless steel M2 hex screws and now everything’s fine (but boy these screws were expensive… 1$ p.pc.). Tires & Foams I started out with the stock Maxxis Trepadors and the stock foams and it was okay… The tires are good, the foams are too soft (or my rig is too heavy). Two days ago I finally got my Pitbull Rock Beast tires with their two-stage foams and I can’t wait to try them out (I’ve got a cold right now, that’s why I didn’t go out to try them today…). The Rock Beasts look amazing and they’re said to perform really well. I’ll let you know what I think! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pss9zmrgzv.jpg Shocks I really like the JK’s stock shocks but I was looking for something more extravagant and scale… I was thinking about mods to separate spring and shock but I decided to go with internal spring shocks, which is the next best thing to me. I got the Boom Racing Boomerang Type I 100mm shocks and mounted them upside down. I think this looks great and it handles well on the trail. Included in the box are three different springs and I’m using the hard one in the back and the medium spring in the front. Additionally I just filled them with 30wt shock oil and I’m curious to find out how this affects handling. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pswnb64rij.jpg Rock Slider Electronics Plate I used some leftover polycarbonate from the body to create a plate that mounts onto the rock sliders to hold my ESC and the NVS in order to lower the CG. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psegghz9ur.jpg Weight I added some metal bars I found in my dad’s workshop as additional weight and it improved handling. My jeep weighs 8.4 lbs / 3.8 kgs ready for the trail. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pso7osixaq.jpg TO BE CONTINUED (in a couple of minutes) |
Re: A European JK Rubicon So much about the performance part, now about the scale part: Paint I painted the body from the inside with Tamiya PS colors (gun metal mostly) and then painted it from the outside with the Tamiya PS55 transparent spray paint. This gives the whole thing a great matte finish and I really like the way it looks :) Don’t forget to mask your windows on the outside though! A little trick I used: I put on the decals before I painted the whole thing with the matte paint! This way the decals get matted too and don't stick out so much! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pshtzp8yp3.jpg Lights Well… When I ordered my Jeep I didn’t do enough research about light controllers and ended up paying over 100 bucks for the Axial NVS… It’s ridiculously expensive for what it does and there are better light controllers out there. The Axial one doesn’t light up the brake lights when you’re in idle for example… Don’t get the Axial NVS, get something else! Yesterday I got the Axial LED lens set which adds some nice detail to the build. I mainly ordered it in order to get the lenses for the bumber lights but I’ll use the head light lenses once I finished my custom grill (see below). Make sure you order two sets though if you don’t want to use yellow lenses on your rear bumper lights. I don’t know why they don’t offer a set of lenses that covers the whole car… Axial, are you reading this? These kind of things suck! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps5efxzc5f.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psqqr5jeas.jpg Sound System It seems like not so many people have sound systems on their scale rigs but for me this was a must! I got the Reely Sound System (which is the same as the ESS One, just another logo on it). It’s a big box but it sounds really good! It’s configurable (using a PC and the included USB dongle) but since I only have a Mac, I didn’t have chance to try this yet… I feel like this thing is going to be a pain in the ass waterproofing it. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps7cc1zstx.jpg Winch What’s a scale crawler without a winch? I added the 3Racing winch but replaced the winch rope (see link below) and winch hook with the Team Raffee Scale Ally Winch Hook. And I got a foldable winch anchor which works really well on rocks and fairly well in soil. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pswm4fi5j6.jpg License Plates I ordered custom printed (austrian) license plates from RW Design in Germany. One one-line plate for the front and one two-line plate for the rear. that’s the set of license plates JKs get in Austria. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psk6yrhpaf.jpg Jerry Can So we don’t run out of fuel on the trail :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psv1vyonb8.jpg Shovel & Axe Also included in the tool set. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psbaxdfxlu.jpg Fire Extinguisher Yeah Racing extinguisher. Comes with a mount and hardware (including hex screws!) and a cool decal sheet! Hi-Lift Jack, Crowbar & Body Clips I ordered the Boom Racing Scale Tool Set and it included a hi-lift jack and a crowbar. I used CA glue to glue them to my body pins et voila: I had a great mount and disguised my body clips :) (I’m gonna use magnets as a body mount on my next build) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps0jpg25bq.jpg Shackles I like that the bumpers come with shackles but I like these metal shackles way better. Also scratches look better on them :) You can see them in the winch picture! Mud Ladders I honestly just bought these for the looks. I’m not really happy with how I mounted them right now. So if you have any ideas for mounting options, let me know! :) Okay… Up to this point I’ve spent well over 1.000 bucks on this build… So now for some cheap scale parts/mods :) Scale details home made Cage padding I used rubber foam and CA glue to add a padding to my cage. I think it looks rad and I can still fit the hard top on it :) And I used red rubber foam for the handles :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psk2npdtew.jpg Window Nets & Luggage Net You need:
Towrope I got some polyester rope from the handicraft shop and created a tow rope. In order to greate the loops I used polyester thread (cotton rips too easily) sewed it together and put some heatshrink around it. Done! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps87p25xix.jpg Antennas For the CB antenna in the rear I used a D’addario guitar string I had lying around, cut off the end with the ring at about 5 inches, bended the end and screwed it onto my bumper. For the front radio antenna I also used a bit of the guitar string (any metal thread, that flexes is good! it shouldn’t bend though). I rolled the end around my pliers end and used two pieces of heatshrink. On short piece in the lower part and a longer piece to cover the whole thing. This way I have a thicker lower part and a thinner upper part. Just like the real thing. Then I used an M2 hex screw with a cylindric head to mount it. Looks pretty scale imho. Reference pic: http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-134676801...ngler-jk-4.jpg Result: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pskvma0sg4.jpg Sleeping pads: I used rubber foam to create sleeping pads. I cut them to a rectangular shape of about 5.5 x 2.3 inches, rolled it up and used some rubber straps to hold it together. I used CA glue to create the loops that hold the sleeping pad together. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psipdws9f8.jpg Upholstering I tried to upholster my rear seats but I’m not happy with the result. I’d love to get some tips how to improve the interior of the stock Axial JK body! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psk66xdogx.jpg Soft Top I used a bit of cardboard, a sheet of rubber foam, rubber straps and some black wire to create a soft top, although I’m not happy with this either. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pswqlnct8k.jpg So this is where I am right now :) It’s been some fun work so far and I love that I got into scale crawlers :D Any comments on the build process so far? Tips? Tricks? Ideas? Some more pics: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pspwdkdmyd.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psrgmncvlq.jpg My workbench: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps3y08an89.jpg |
Re: A European JK Rubicon What’s up next? I’m gonna waterproof the NVS, the receiver, the winch controller and sound system (don’t know how the sound systems gonna work… :o) I’m working on a custom, self designed grill, tail light buckets, door handles and gas cap right which I’m gonna have 3D-printed soon. Curious to find out how this is going to turn out. Maybe I’ll get a 3D printer in the future. It’s really great! :D http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psflqwy3sc.png I want to get the high clearance knuckles and the Crawlster BTA steering kit. It’s supposed to improve steering performance dramatically :) Tomorrow a package from Hong Kong arrives with a couple of lights which I’m going to install soon :)
http://fs2.directupload.net/images/150216/n5ijitsh.jpg inner fenders I might have them 3D printed unless I find a better solution. Interior I really want to work on the interior. The stock Axial interior is not my steez. Tips, tricks and ideas welcome! :) I’m thinking about installing the Recaro Smartphone Stands as front seats: Hub nuts Just for the looks! Chassis mounted servo also for the looks more scale parts Can you have enough of them? Superlift steering link (faux steering damper) This thing looks really cool! :) I’m gonna order it soon! http://www.beadlok.com/product/image.../Z-S0988-6.jpg Rock slider upgrade I really like the Vanquish Poison Spider Brawler Rockers. Pretty much everything vanquish makes :D These products look rad! I love them! I’m also gonna replace the plugs on the LEDs so I don’t have to connect 4 or 5 plugs when I put on the body. I’m gonna use a 10-pin LIPO balancer plug and connect 2 & 2 pins with one pair of LEDs. This way I'll only have to plug in one plug for the lighting. I want exhaust pipes. Any ideas how to make them? Okay and now for the record the parts list (with store links, some of them european stores):
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Re: A European JK Rubicon Liking All the attention to detail mate, nice work |
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Talk about more scale details: Just ordered Warn decals for the rig and the winch, the Level3RC chassis mount for the servo and the Superlift steering link yesterday :D I will post more pictures, when I have installed the next parts (lights should arrive today)! Quote:
Just ordered more parts: Warn decal for the winch and the windshield, 3LevelRC Chassis Servo Mount and Panhard bar and the Superlift steering link :D I will post more pics as soons as I have installed more parts :) |
Re: A European JK Rubicon awesome build man.. love how you write the review... |
Re: A European JK Rubicon Nice work! Knight customs has some 3d printed scale parts you may like. I have their 3d printed jk grille on my wraith. Knight Customs by James_Knight - Shapeways Shops |
Re: A European JK Rubicon Well done ! Great details and descriptions, you've certainly hit the heights on your return to RC "thumbsup" |
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I hope I'll be done with work early tomorrow. Installed some lights and a nice little scale detail I want to show you! This was in the mail yesterday: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psso7xkl04.jpg |
Let there be light! More light! Let there be light! More light! So, three days ago I got a little package in the mail from Hobbyking: LEDs and light buckets :) What did I order? Crawler/Truck Light Set with LED's (Black) https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...log/34626m.jpg Crawler/Truck Light Bar Set with LED's (Stainless Steel) https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...log/34628m.jpg 1/10 Crawler/Truck Light Set with 2 LEDs (Black) https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...alog/64505.jpg My plan? I wanted to install fog lights on the stinger, windshield lights and top rock lights (lights that point down from the top of the cage to the rocks left and right of the Jeep). Alright! Let's go! First I took two lights that came with the bar because they had a mounting clip for bars and clipped them onto my cage. Those are my rock lights! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pskbfgtzj5.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psvpmmmqwe.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps4wrudimf.jpg Looks pretty cool, huh? Now for the stinger and windshield lights. I took the other lights, disassembled the lightbar, drilled some holes to the body and used the included screws to screw them onto the hood, next to the windshield: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pscoxnoxhw.jpg Fits neatly, sits tight, everything fine! But then I came to the stinger lights and the headache began... There a no proper mounting options for stinger lights on the poison spider bumper (as there are no mounting holes for a winch... Axial! Read again! This would be an awesome improvement for the stock bumper!). Well... I came up with a makeshift solution. I used zip-ties, used my reamer to drill a hole into them (for the screws), screwed the light-buckets onto the zip-ties and zipped them around my stinger: FIT! I will eventually 3D print a better mount (for the looks!!) but for now this works! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psyouorhqs.jpg Then I had to go to work (hence the different lighting situation in the next pics). When I came home from work I installed the lights as well as a better plug solution for the whole thing. I cut off the plugs that came with the lights (Axial NVS compatible btw!) and used an 8 pin plug to connect all the LEDs on the body to just one plug! Then I used the female part of this 8 pin plug and soldered the original plugs to the ends of the wires, plugged them into my NVS et voila! :) In the end I used some mesh tube again to tidy things up and bring the wires together. One WIP photo and two of the solution :) Work in progress: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psicegllcj.jpg Solution: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psajcrgerq.jpg The plug: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps7pldl6m3.jpg It was finally time to test the light setup :D http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psaao9p9n6.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psjleymvci.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps2tmrxurs.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psedkrgtdb.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psg2mfniqk.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pseewiemqj.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psemptigmt.jpg So what's next with the lights? There a three things I don't like about this setup right now:
Zip-tie stinger mount: I'll 3D-print a proper mount. Wires: Headache... Not really sure what I'm going to do about this... Any ideas? Bonus Scale Detail The other day I wrote about my CB antenna. Well... I found some 4x4 decals on the sheet that came with the fire extinguisher. I used some paper, some electrical tape and the decals and created a little scale antenna flag :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psauuu7imo.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psq0kpxgwx.jpg That's it for now! :) Next update is hopefully about the Superlift steering link (it should arrive any day) :) And I hope I can take the car and go the scale park on Saturday :) Will post more pics then! Cheers, Jakob |
Re: A European JK Rubicon Finally! :) I took the JK out to the trail on Friday. Went to a Scale Park near Vienna (See: Modellbaugruppe20) So first of all, here are some pics of my JK in action: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pspktzqtve.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psocnfpv7n.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pstzeey2v1.jpg And a nighttime shot :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pshf50lbgs.jpg As u can see, the rock lights work nicely and totally add to a better nighttime experience (it really helps, to see whats left and right of your truck! The mounting holds up nicely too. It survived a couple of rollovers so I think I'll keep it this way :) Before I drove out to the trail I got a little envelope in the mail: The Superlift steering link! :) So when I returned from my little excursion I (of course) installed it immediately! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psnkjd7tjb.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psn1xytcbl.jpg To be honest: The link doesn't improve performance in any way... Its just for the looks. It's also not the strongest link I've seen, so I'm curious how it's gonna hold up. NOTE: When you install the link you have to flip the steering link. I read some review about this link somewhere (maybe Amazon) of someone saying that this link was too long for the SCX10... And I wondered why they didn't flip the steering around... The stock link goes to the driver's side the but the Superlift link is too long, so it has to go to the co-driver's side. However that's not really a big deal, especially since I'm installing a CMS soon and the steering link should go the same direction as the Panhard link anyways (at least that's what I read)... Additionally I learned, I was lucky when I bought the Boom Racing Boomerang Type I shocks, because now they're offically G6 certified (whatever that means). Sounds good to me :) See Boom Racing's Facebook Post. Well... That's it for now. I'm working on two Videos right now. I hope I can finish them soon! Cheers, Jakob |
Painting light buckets So, In an earlier post I wrote I wanted to paint the light buckets in gun metal grey: No sooner said than done! :) Step 1: Disassembling the lightbuckets First, of course, I unmounted the lightbuckets from the Jeep, then I disassembled them. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pseitk4bff.jpg Step 2: Sanding / Dechroming Then I used a 400 sanding paper to remove the chrome on the light buckets. You might ask why I didn't use chemicals to do this? Well because I wanted to keep the chrome on the inside of the buckets. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psutteyxga.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps3cekz7qc.jpg Step 3: Masking the holes for painting Now I used Plasticine to fill the holes for the LEDs. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psowf19aze.jpg Step 4: Painting I used Tamiya PS Gun Metal spray paint to paint the buckets. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pshco1psdm.jpg Step 5: Reassembling the lightbuckets After letting the paint dry for about an hour I reassembled the buckets. Step 6: Properly mounting the stinger lights and re-mounting the windshield lights And now I drilled two little holes into the stinger in order to be able to mount the stinger lights properly (without zip-ties). Before: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psjfaoezsj.jpg After: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pshqhnhxhn.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psbznputah.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psyh0v6itk.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psa4ygtxds.jpg Et voila! :) |
Re: A European JK Rubicon Really great work! Looks fantastic! Are you using the stock foams or Crawler Innovations? The CI foams really kick the Rock Beasts up a notch IMHO. Have you considered just putting mesh tube on each of the pairs of wires coming off the lights on the stinger? It wont hide them but it would make them stand out less I think. Keep the pics coming. Wouldn't mind seeing some video of this out on the rocks.. |
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I've considered tube mesh but it's too big. I'll need to find something else. And here's the video you've been asking for ;-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxVF...ature=youtu.be |
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Re: A European JK Rubicon Really nice machine "thumbsup" That's a brilliant crawling course and your truck looks like it could clear any obstacle "thumbsup" well done ! |
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I don't really know what to think about my Jeep's performance. Haven't run it in a competition yet (but might so so on Dec, 5). Then I'll know more about my truck's performance and my driving skills ;-) Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk |
CMS and a couple of pictures Hey everybody! A little update! The other day I got Level 3 RC's CMS Kit in the mailbox and of course I installed it immediately. The kit is nice. The alloy parts seem sturdy and cnc'd well and it performs nicely. Thank god I got my Superlift steering damper earlier last week, so I had a steering link long enough to use with my CMS kit! Installation is pretty straightforward. If you're on the three link setup though you have replace the stock spacer with the one that comes with the CMS kit. The isntruction are not really very self-explanatory here (the picture quality is just too bad). However here are some pics. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps0ckwxsve.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psdawmglk7.jpg Before: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psplmxguap.jpg After: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pslejpe6zf.jpg And some pics I took on the trail :) http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps6qs81bm1.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pslbgu7ywi.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psdhvbqimw.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psc6egbdvr.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psqyqo4849.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psnynp2mto.jpg A little update on the 3d printed parts too: I just sent the first part of the grill off to the 3d printing service and I can't wait to see if it fits and what I have to change to make it work. Also I'm taking an introductory class on Wednesday to learn how to 3D print myself at the local fab lab. :) |
Re: Detailed JK Build from Europe - Scale-Detail-Mania The other day I had some spare time and decided to produce inner fenders/wheel wells for my JK :-) I got a polycarbonate sheet and some thick paper and started off sketching the fenders. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...0f9d88ef2a.jpg http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...ab761457bd.jpg I sanded the clear pc in order to be able to paint it better, however this was not the best idea because the tamiya PS colors stick way better on the clear and slick pc. Anyways, I fitted them, painted them, mounted them and I'm happy with the result :-) http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...ea60750310.jpg http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...4b5365460b.jpg http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...12ecde186b.jpg http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...18271b00e4.jpg http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11...bb64064626.jpg Cheers, Jakob |
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