Wraith Spawn Kit Build Up

[tc1]

Well, I was in the hobby shop yesterday with a bunch of cash burnin in my pocket. Ive been racing rc cars and flyin stuff and building stuff for about 25 yrs or so. I have also been into full size offroadin and crawlin. Had a four linked/air shocked/full caged geo tracker and now have a rzr that I have built the suspension and cage for. I was talkin to the shop owner about something to build. I picked up a wraith kit to look through and ALMOST bought it. He told me the spawn kits would be there Monday AM. So...Guess what...He is gonna hold one for me and I will pick it up after work. I figured I would share what I am doing with you guys. Does anybody know of anything that I will need right off the bat? I know of a couple things I am gonna do, but nuthin too serious just yet(ya right)Ive always kinda liked the Ultra 4 stuff so I will probly head that direction with my build up. I work in a machine shop and have a few machines at home as well so I will have LOTS of custom stuff goin on. I will post up some pictures in the next couple of days. Post up if you have any ideas or pointers! Thanks

Travis

[tc1]

Here's my list of upgrades (purchased and custom made)

Wraith Spawn Kit Version
RC4wd Racelines
Futaba BLS452 Servo
Orion R10 160A 2-3S

[RiderZ]

Radio gear ,motor & speedo to start with!

[tc1]

I think I may have sumthin layin around!

[84yoda]

If your goin to keep the tactic tsx45 servo, order the metal gear off ebay, first thing i stripped (rolled it) was that and its supposed to be all metal gears but of course theres one plastic gear in there.. second thing to strip is the plastic gears in the tranny, so get robinson racing middle idle gear and bottom drive gear right now too.. you will thank me later already having these parts on hand. After that upgrade as you break, the stock steering assembly is a joke, probably an upgrade you should do very soon as well.

[84yoda]

Oh totally forgot, get the stainless steel bolts/nuts kit and change out every single self tapping screw on that thing.

[tc1]

I picked up the kit last nite. As I was goin through the parts, I figured I would replace those self tappers, Ive never liked em and never will. As for the servo and stuff, got thie kit so no servo for me!! But I have sumthin for it. I think my trust Futaba BLS451 oughtta do the trick nicely! I also picked up some rc4wd racelines, but not sure if Im gonna use em or not, they make the tires pretty narrow. Got some new screws ordered this morning so I can start assembling tonite!

Travis

[tc1]

And yes, I cleaned my workbench BEFORE I opened any bags. God knows I would've lost everything!

Travis

[84yoda]

Hmm, so the body is different then RTR.. the kit version, the fenders actually have fender flares. Also, the RTR has the windows cut out except windshield. Curious to see how it looks painted.

[tc1]

Originally Posted by 84yoda

Hmm, so the body is different then RTR.. the kit version, the fenders actually have fender flares. Also, the RTR has the windows cut out except windshield. Curious to see how it looks painted.

I did notice at the shop that the bodies were different. I will probably not leave the body the way it is. I am thinking of cutting it apart so that it is not a full body. I have a few ideas that I will share when I get closer to that point.

Travis

[tc1]

Here is where it sits now after about three hours or so. I decided to give axial a chance and see what the kit assembly would be like. I am building it pretty much out of the box at first except for changing the screws out to regular machine screws. As I am building, I am taking measurements and making drawings of some things I am gonna make. I had a small issue with the gears in the rear axle binding up, and it took me a while to fix that. Other than that, everything is going together nicely. I skipped building the shocks til tomorrow, I just didn't feel like it.



I mounted up a couple of the tires up on the rc4wd racelines and I am still not sure about the width of the wheel. The wheels may be a bit narrow for these tires. What do you guys think?




Thanks for looking!

Travis

[stingeragent]

Looks nice. I've had my spawn rtr for a few weeks now. No rock course so haven't used it a whole lot but have already been through 3 esc's (whooops). I finally did the fast back mod today, and chopped off the whole top of the body. I'd consider that a necessary mod. Battery is such a pain to get to with the stock frame, and with the stock body you have to remove that too. Fastback it up and you never have to remove the body and the battery is cake to get to. If your planning on moving the batt to the front, the fastback mod may be a moot point though.

[db450]

Originally Posted by tc1

Here is where it sits now after about three hours or so. I decided to give axial a chance and see what the kit assembly would be like. I am building it pretty much out of the box at first except for changing the screws out to regular machine screws. As I am building, I am taking measurements and making drawings of some things I am gonna make. I had a small issue with the gears in the rear axle binding up, and it took me a while to fix that. Other than that, everything is going together nicely. I skipped building the shocks til tomorrow, I just didn't feel like it.



I mounted up a couple of the tires up on the rc4wd racelines and I am still not sure about the width of the wheel. The wheels may be a bit narrow for these tires. What do you guys think?




Thanks for looking!

Travis

the wheels look fine to me, im guessing stock foams?

[tc1]

Originally Posted by db450

the wheels look fine to me, im guessing stock foams?

Ya , for now anyways. I was lookin at the CI Foams though and may go that route. I like how you can tune them to make them how you want, not just how somebody else thinks you should need em. As for the cage, here is my inspiration.



Its my old Geo, never shoulda sold it...But, I saw the spawn body and it looks a whole lot like a Suzuki/geo front end. Guess I better warm up the Dremel!!

Travis

[The Dark Knight]

One of these kits is going to be my next rig so I'm a bit jealous. They won't be available here in the UK until start of July!

Have you encountered any issues using machined screws yet instead of the self tappers?

The wheel/tyre combo looks awesome.

[tc1]

No issues yet with the machine screws. Every other kit I have built over the years uses machine screws into plastic and the only time there is an issue it is with a screw that is in and out repeatedly. As long as they are not over-tightened they should be good to go! I think you will enjoy the kit once you can get it, so far it has been a pretty nice build!

Travis

[jason02ws6]

Originally Posted by tc1

No issues yet with the machine screws. Every other kit I have built over the years uses machine screws into plastic and the only time there is an issue it is with a screw that is in and out repeatedly. As long as they are not over-tightened they should be good to go! I think you will enjoy the kit once you can get it, so far it has been a pretty nice build!

Travis

Also a good idea to screw them in slowly the first time you go into fresh plastic. Screwing them in too quickly will generate a lot of heat and that can lead to a potential issue with stripping.

[jmecmore]

Originally Posted by 84yoda

Hmm, so the body is different then RTR.. the kit version, the fenders actually have fender flares. Also, the RTR has the windows cut out except windshield. Curious to see how it looks painted.

It's the same body. It's just how it's cut. You can cut the fender flares off like the RTR. You can cut the windows out like the RTR. You can cut the roof off and use the original Wraith roof. Notice the guide line at the bottom of the windshield A pillar?

This body even fits SCX0! And the fender flares look really good on SCX10 chassis.

And it fits the AX10 (Ridgecrest/Deadbolt)

[84yoda]

Thats awesome, gives everyone plenty of options.

[The Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by tc1

No issues yet with the machine screws. Every other kit I have built over the years uses machine screws into plastic and the only time there is an issue it is with a screw that is in and out repeatedly. As long as they are not over-tightened they should be good to go! I think you will enjoy the kit once you can get it, so far it has been a pretty nice build!

Travis

Thanks for the info Travis. With my first Dingo kit I used the self tappers but on my second Dingo kit, I used metric machined screws with no issues. I will most likely do the same with the Wraith Spawn kit when I get it.

Are you building it box stock apart from the wheels? That's what I'll be doing and just upgrading as parts break/wear.

What will you be using the rig for? Bashing/trail running? Trail running/crawling?