I no longer regret my SBK purchase

[GA Dawg]

I'll admit that I was a little down when my SBK was missing body posts and then HPI went into administration. They did come through with my replacement parts and 3 weeks after I started the build I was finally able to finish.

I wasn't able to make it out to my normal crawl spot, but I did get out for a little over an hour on the trails behind my local high school. I was impressed by how well this truck drove. It is basically bone stock aside from me relocating the battery.

Right now I have a recycled Sidewinder 3 driving a 35T motor. I have RC4WD Goodyear MTRs on SSD wheels and an Axial Nukizer body. I was intending to go brushless eventually, but I will hold off on that decision until HPI's debt situation is settled. I'm not going to put too much power into something that may not have replacement parts available.

[soze]

Nice man! It's not a bad truck at all. I snapped up a SBK just so I can have the joy of building one even though I already have the RTR.

[Sydwaiz]

I just bought a SBK to add to my ever growing collection of kits to build. Maybe I should move this one to the top of the list to build to see if anything is missing.

[M1tch]

Looking nice. I like the look off the body, but never thought about one for some reason. I'm impressed with how the SBK drives. I haven't had much time to get out though. Hoping HPI get going again,as the Venture is so good quality.

[GA Dawg]

I had originally intended to run the 46 Power Wagon body, but after getting it trimmed up I realized that there is no place to install the battery under that body. The stock tray won't fit under the bed and the bed and cab attach where I have the battery now. I hadn't considered the Nukizer body until I went to my LHS and started looking around to see what they had. It's not my favorite body. It's pretty flimsy and having the grille as a separate piece that needs to be glued in is a pain in the ass. I still need to figure out a front bumper. I'm using the FJ bumper now and it's the right width. The truck looks OK from the front, but the bumper looks weird to me when I look at it from the side. I may just use some flat steel bar like I did for the rear.

[GA Dawg]

Originally Posted by Sydwaiz

Maybe I should move this one to the top of the list to build to see if anything is missing.

If you're missing anything, you'll need to buy the replacement parts yourself at this point. I have an email from HPI saying that they aren't processing any warranty claims while they are going through administration. Hopefully they will find a buyer and get things straightened out.

[M1tch]

@GA Dawwg I had considered the power wagon, but wanted a hard body. The Auster one I got is perfect width and wheelbase, but a bit too long. I'm thinking of shortening the bed. The Team C lexan body I got is even longer and the bed is deeper, so would need too mcuh work to fit. I will have a look around for a more suitable body, but I want a pick up if possible even if not a seperate bed.

Fingers crossed for HPI.

[GA Dawg]

I'm old and set in my ways. I just like being able to pull 4 clips and yank the body off in a matter of seconds. Hard bodies look cool, but I'm not sure I'm in for the extra work.

[M1tch]

I know what you mean. I spent some time building my SBK and now want to drive it more, but want a decent body. I might just cut the bed off and biuld a flat bed. Kind of aussie 'ute' style, or just shut up and drive it.

[HumboldtEF]

That is definitely its strong suit, working very well close to stock

Originally Posted by GA Dawg

I had originally intended to run the 46 Power Wagon body, but after getting it trimmed up I realized that there is no place to install the battery under that body. The stock tray won't fit under the bed and the bed and cab attach where I have the battery now.

I made it work for mine, I just had to notch the back side of the cab and bed, I am using a custom battery mount. I also had to make new rear shock towers to move the body post in. I'll be posting those mods up soon, I've been waiting to put a build thread together.



I am also a big fan of the simplicity of body clips, I only do magnets on the scale hardbodies. clips are also lighter than magnets!

[GA Dawg]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I made it work for mine

I stand corrected. That looks amazing.

Also, what front bumper is that?

[HumboldtEF]

Thanks

Its a 3D printed bumper that I made. I was going to put it up on Thingiverse soon so anyone can download and print their own.

I guess one important factor for getting the Power Wagon to work is that I'm using shorty lipos, a normal length lipo could make using this body an issue depending on the battery mount position and direction.


The battery mount is my design and fits my specific battery (Protec RC LIHV shory 3S) and works with the Bowhouse skid. Since its so niche of an application I'm not sure if I should share it or not.

[GA Dawg]

I'm using the Bowhouse skid too. I modified the Warmage battery tray from Thingiverse and then added the SCX10 battery tray on top of that.

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by GA Dawg

I'm using the Bowhouse skid too. I modified the Warmage battery tray from Thingiverse and then added the SCX10 battery tray on top of that.

I also printed one of the Warmage battery trays and modified it to work with the BowHouse skid. It just needs the slot around the transfer case output to be extended over or enlarged as the transfer case is rotated over to one side compared to stock. I also shaved down the bottom of it to clear the driveshaft yoke, theres was about 1-1.5mm of material left after that so there's not a lot to work with.

Looking at your body again my front bumper might be a decent fit. I made a few variations of it which you can see here towards the middle of the post.

[GA Dawg]

I would love to print out that bumper and give it a look.

[HumboldtEF]

Cool I'll try to upload those soon.

[GA Dawg]

Are you printing everything in PETG?

[GA Dawg]

I couldn't stand the FJ bumper with this body any more. I took this as an opportunity to try and learn Fusion 360, so I whipped up a simple design. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I like it better than what I had and it's a good starting point.

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by GA Dawg

Are you printing everything in PETG?

Yeah PETG, I print a lot of things solid as well.


Nice job on the bumper. Fusion 360 is pretty good once you spend some time with it. I found the tutorials confusing because I watched them before using 360, using the program helped me make sense of them.

[M1tch]

Looking good. Might be time to read up on 3D printers. I have a small milling machine, but both in combination would be great. Just have to make room for it.