SCX10 II by newIIrocks

[new2rocks]

While I was recovering from a paint mess-up (ultimate irony that the guy that owns a painting business makes more mistakes painting than anywhere else in his builds, but we're back on track now), I decided to have at installing an RC4WD Warn Mini Winch. The front bumper already comes with winch mounting holes, which seemed welcoming enough from above:


From underneath, I realized there was no way to get to the forward holes from underneath without drilling holes in the bottom of the bumper:


No worries, I thought. I'll just use the mounting plate that comes with the winch. But the bumper posts looked like they'd get in the way:


So I reached into my box of goodies and pulled out this:


Which had one of these:


Perfect. I drilled out three mounting holes in between the bumper mounting posts, one of which required drilling an access hole for the hex driver from under the bumper:


That got me to this:




And then mocked up with the body:


See - it's looking better already. I think I'll use some Shoe Goo to make sure the screws hold nice and tight until I find a metal bumper that I like, whenever that may be. In the meantime, back to work on the body so that I can give this thing a proper shakedown. Hoping to have the body done before the weekend. Stay tuned...

[Generis]

Looks nice with a winch there. Great color base choice!

[new2rocks]

Originally Posted by Generis

Looks nice with a winch there. Great color base choice!

Thanks! Windows are a bit hard to see through at the moment, but I have a plan...


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[Zealot RC]

Did you paint the outside?! I thought that was a no no

[AngelowDoom]

Originally Posted by Zealot RC

Did you paint the outside?! I thought that was a no no

No, its a big yeah, way to go! All of the best and most realistic trail truck paint jobs I have seen have been done on the outside. What trail truck has the look of 16 layers of clear coate, and showroom shine that the lexan gives

[Zealot RC]

Originally Posted by AngelowDoom

No, its a big yeah, wat to go! All of the best and most realistic trail truck paint jobs I have seen have been done on the outside. What trail truck has the look of 16 layers of clear coate, and showroom shine that the lexan gives

Got it! I'll search these forums for a good guide.

[CM9000]

Originally Posted by Zealot RC

Got it! I'll search these forums for a good guide.

on the edge lines of a truck brush on some "rust" on the inside then back with "steel" or dark silver paint.

on the outside, scuff all but windows. put down a "primer" color, then base color you want, then clear coat.

easy. but it takes a little time.




on another note. these rims look amazing with the paintjob. are you going to leave the flare solid color like a 2000 or are you going to paint the trim and what not black like the older ones? ie. 98 sport.

[Hounddog95]

Originally Posted by new2rocks

Clearance between the servo horn and chassis panhard mount is very tight. The stock plastic horn clears, but not by much:
Attachment 343540

Attachment 343541

Since I haven't had great luck with plastic horns, I tried an Axial aluminum servo horn that I had sitting around, but it wouldn't clear:
Attachment 343542

Fortunately, I also had a spare Racer's Edge horn with a much lower profile:
Attachment 343543

Attachment 343544

Much better. So if you're planning to use an aluminum horn, make sure it's a compact one.

By chance could you tell me what the part number is for the Racer's Edge servo horn you used?

Thanks

[new2rocks]

That should answer some of your questions. Here are answers to others:

Originally Posted by Zealot RC

Did you paint the outside?! I thought that was a no no

Yes. As Angelow says, I think it looks better than spraying only on the inside. First coat on the outside should be lexan paint. After that you can do subsequent coats with lexan paint or ordinary spray paint. I like to apply Automotive wheel clear coat in Matte finish once I'm done laying the base color.

Originally Posted by AngelowDoom

What trail truck has the look of 16 layers of clear coate, and showroom shine that the lexan gives

Yeppir

Originally Posted by crawlingman9000

on the edge lines of a truck brush on some "rust" on the inside then back with "steel" or dark silver paint.

on the outside, scuff all but windows. put down a "primer" color, then base color you want, then clear coat.

easy. but it takes a little time.

Or simpler. Same color inside and out. Scratches on the surfaces are harder to see. You can always dry brush to get a rust effect on the surface once it starts scratching if you want. Or leave the scratches and don't notice them so much.

Originally Posted by Hounddog95

By chance could you tell me what the part number is for the Racer's Edge servo horn you used?

Thanks

They have different part numbers depending on number of teeth & color. Here's the one I used for this build:
Racers Edge ALUM PRO SERVO HORN SS FUT BLUE

Also, a friendly suggestion...trying limiting the text you quote only to what's necessary for your reply so that threads don't get unnecessarily cluttered with repeat text.

Now time to trim out the grill, add jewelry, stickers, etc.

[ribaja]

Great thread and great looking jeep

[Zealot RC]

Originally Posted by crawlingman9000

on the outside, scuff all but windows. put down a "primer" color, then base color you want, then clear coat.

What do you recommend using to scuff?

[Hounddog95]

Originally Posted by new2rocks

They have different part numbers depending on number of teeth & color. Here's the one I used for this build:
Racers Edge ALUM PRO SERVO HORN SS FUT BLUE

Also, a friendly suggestion...trying limiting the text you quote only to what's necessary for your reply so that threads don't get unnecessarily cluttered with repeat text.

Thanks I appreciate the info. Also nice color and build so far.

[new2rocks]

Originally Posted by Zealot RC

What do you recommend using to scuff?

Medium grit sandpaper (somewhere in the 100-320 range). Cleaning is more important than scuffing. The Lexan paint sticks well even when the Lexan is smooth, and rocks will scratch the paint no matter how you prep it.


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[CM9000]

or a red or grey scotchbrite pad. red is gonna get the paint to stick better. 100-320? if your using filler primer.

what did you use N2R?

[new2rocks]

Originally Posted by crawlingman9000

or a red or grey scotchbrite pad. red is gonna get the paint to stick better. 100-320? if your using filler primer.

what did you use N2R?

I used a 320-grit sanding sponge from the auto parts store, and even at that is was primerily to smooth the edges of my first failed pass at the black fender wells. The rest got a 15-second once-over because adhesion with the lexan paint is good. Even if I had done more sanding, filler primer wouldn't have been necessary. Multiple coats of color (I probably used 4) followed by 4-5 clear coats with light sanding between coats will let you get the finish as smooth as you want.

With painting out of the way, it was time to start fitting jewelry. Take your time cutting out the opening for the grill, because the lower strip of lexan will bey very, very thin. I started by reaming out a hole in the center, followed by curved lexan body scissors to get close to the molded lines for the cutout. I then used a combination of Dremel (carefully), lexan scissors, a box cutter with new blade, and files, with test fits in between, to get it right.






The grill cut-out is definitely one of those places where patience pays. Don't rush it!

I also added the side view mirrors. The body includes little bumps for locating the two holes that you need (one for the screw, one for the molded-in pin) but they were a bit hard to see under all that paint, lol:


No worries. I was able to make out enough of the upper bump to locate the upper hole. I used a hand drill to start the hole (to avoid "walking") and then opened it up with a body reamer:


I then tested the placement of the mirror before doing the same for the lower screw hole. To be safe, I made a quick paper template off the back of one of the mirrors to get the spacing between holes correct. Don't worry if the mirror is a bit crooked when you first try mounting it:


You can use a small round file inside the upper hole to extend it a bit in whatever direction you need to straighten it out:


Thanks to Axial for including the plastic mounting plates that go on the inside of the mirrors to keep things in place once we get out on the trails and rocks.

So that leaves me here:


I should have time to get the rest of the jewelry on before the weekend and then get it out for its maiden voyage. I can't wait!

[Zealot RC]

hot dang that looks good.

[realsickclown]

I painted mine too match the body.

[Helios RC]

I like the sliver, black, and red.

[mudbeast2]

Awesome write up as always!

[new2rocks]

Originally Posted by mudbeast2

Awesome write up as always!

Thanks! I probably write better than I build, but that's another story...

Picking up where I left off, there were a few more pieces of jewelry to add - light lenses up front, door handles, roof rack, liftgate handle, rear lenses:












Axial really did a nice job with this body set. The details and proportions are terrific for a Lexan body. Well done, sirs!

As my thoughts turned toward body mounting (which will be without clips), I finally came to terms with something that had been bothering me for a little while. From the time I first fit the body, the wheelbase seemed a bit short for the body up front. Here's an earlier picture that shows what I mean:


I knew I'd be using magnets under the hood, so figuring out exactly where the body would sit relative to the chassis would be critical before gluing the magnets in place. It was time to experiment. I don't keep any 4mm spacers in my hardware bin, so I hacked up a couple of extra rod ends to make temporary spacers for the front links to use in a mock-up. Here's how it looked:


Suspicion confirmed. That looks much better.

In the process, I discovered why Axial says that the wheelbase should be adjusted from the rear, not the front. Pushing the front axle out just those few mm starts causing the upper link mount on the axle to rub against the panhard. The solution will be to push the front bumper back a tad (and thus have the body slide back along with it) and then lengthen the rear links. I'll pick up some Jato rod ends at the LHS tomorrow to get this sorted and post more pix and details of the adjustment.

This will set my maiden voyage back a day or so, but I think it will be worth it.