Late start to the hobby, here is my HPI Venture FJ Cruiser

[Goro Majima]

Just a brief thing about myself is I love me a Toyota. Some dumbass researched all of the Toyota 1/10 lexan bodies available, and told himself he'd build them all with all different setups and colors. Well that dumbass is me. I currently have 5 completed, 6 & 7 are in progress with 3 other bodies left onhand...

In 2019, I purchased a sand HPI Venture and didn't ever think it'd takeover as an actual hobby. Upon starting to mod this just about a year ago after letting the rig sit, here is how it looks today in silver. It's got some hiking miles into it, hasn't seen water either but when I had an aftermarket driveshaft lose a set screw out in the field I then began the grease/thread lock application maintenance. I haven't gone on a hike with it yet in it's current state (was nearly stock on initial hike). I will bump the post when I add a running video .

Key notes on some of the parts I've added/modified besides the obvious.
- Mamba X on 3S, HH PP 2700kv 12T pinion, Reefs 777
- Ebay Wrangler window visors trimmed to fit (unfortunately had to make it 2pc).
- Exclusive RC hood cowl for VS410 to hide body magnet mounts. Rear mounts are concealed by the hi lift jack with mount brackets made for the one of the SCX10 Jeep kits.
- Amazon universal red caliper brake kit mounted up front with some 1/16" ABS & 440 90 degree L brackets onto the aluminum knuckles.
- Added a plastic hinge to the 3D printed tire cover to house the Proline tow strap.
- Since the rear bumper is swapped out, the spare cover is mounted on the body using a universal Ebay kit. It's mounted as flush to the body as possible to prevent hang ups on climbs more than stock, all while still trying to keep that spare tire look. Melted some of the areas where it made contact with the bar bumper and also the added ladder purchased from overseas.

[B-MOW71]

That there is a great looking FJ! Great job on all the scale details!

I too love my Toyota's! Can't wait to see your others.

Looking forward to seeing some running footage when you get it posted.

[Goro Majima]

Hey BMOW, I might just finally upload some footage haha...

Took this and my GK KR out to the testing grounds beside my house. Just need to edit and upload. I have a thread on the KR if anyone was interested.

Nothing new on this FJ other than I'm looking to swap out the Mamba X and Puller Pro. This combo is perfect for mad trails but I just haven't gone on any recently and trying to focus more on crawling footage. Absolutely nobody likes the Castle sound so this ESC will go into my Slash Trailprerunner build that I've yet to post. Venture will get some sort of 2 in 1 combo like the HW Fusion. I can also complete my interior.

[B-MOW71]

Looking forward to it!

I agree on the Castle sound. It never used to bother me until I started running more and more HW stuff. I have a boat load of 1080's and one Fushion 2-in-1. I'll be getting more of the Fushions in the future.

[Goro Majima]

Video! It'll probably be the last footage with the Castle & HH combo.

https://youtu.be/lCLnWNC_l0Y

[soze]

Ah nice, yours is looking great! My Venture FJ is pretty stock looking right now, but I do want to start scaling it out like a heavily modified one eventually.

[smog]

Trucks look great Goro! Don’t see many FJ’s on the board and that one is killer. Nice job on the setup, it’s well stocked

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by soze

Ah nice, yours is looking great! My Venture FJ is pretty stock looking right now, but I do want to start scaling it out like a heavily modified one eventually.

Originally Posted by smog

Trucks look great Goro! Don’t see many FJ’s on the board and that one is killer. Nice job on the setup, it’s well stocked

Thanks guys. I do have an interior that I had gotten printed as I think that's all that's left to add to this thing. But I'll get that done and update the thread once I get the Fusion setup.

[CoupeUK]

Absolutely love this, what a looker!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by CoupeUK

Absolutely love this, what a looker!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers!

Tested out the new Hobbywing Fusion 2300kv yesterday. What a world of a difference when this is completely quiet and can actually creep super slow. I also swapped out the pinion from the 12T back to the stock 16T, only because I couldn't get the 12T to quiet down (harder material I think, Protek one). The 16T seems completely fine and drivetrain noise is nearly absent compared to before. I'll have a video for it soon and update. (need to clean up wiring also)




Since I was doing all that, I decided to also modify the interior I had laying around and install it. With the previous ESC and motor setup, this interior was a pain and I never ran it especially where the battery gets relocated. But now it needs full completion with finishing the floor all the way back (most likely styrene), there's a slight gap between the dashboard and windshield so I'll make a little black strip there as well, and also need to make a cover to conceal the battery under the dash. And needs a driver! The racing seat might need modification if I'm gonna fit something like a wrestler.

[Goro Majima]

New Hobbywing Fusion Pro 2300kv running footage. I initially started with a 1900kv Slate motor, and going from that to the 2800kv Puller Pro was awesome. But the crawling gap from the Puller Pro to this is just amazing.

https://youtu.be/ckpjbvPvCHk

[B-MOW71]

Great vid showing off the smoothness of the Fushion. I have the 1900kv version of this, but really wanted a little more kv. Looks like this new 2300kv may be what I'm looking for.

That's a good looking interior. Is the dash and center console your design, or is this available somewhere to purchase and download?

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

That's a good looking interior. Is the dash and center console your design, or is this available somewhere to purchase and download?

I forgot where I got the STL files but I only had 2/3's of the pieces printed. I have the files somewhere laying around. The dashboard actually I received pretty warped on the corners, but I did my best to shape it with some filler and paint. I actually have another dash in ABS which is far more detailed, but it is also solid and not hollow like this one (ton heavier). I plan to hollow it out in the future to make it a lot lighter but also house my light controller like this dash currently does.

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by Goro Majima

I forgot where I got the STL files but I only had 2/3's of the pieces printed.

Thanks for the info! I'll check out the sites to see if I can find something similar. I think this interior setup may work for one of my builds that has been on the back burner forever!

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Thanks for the info! I'll check out the sites to see if I can find something similar. I think this interior setup may work for one of my builds that has been on the back burner forever!

I'll find em for you when I get the chance and see where I got em.

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by Goro Majima

I'll find em for you when I get the chance and see where I got em.

Appreciate it! No hurry!

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Appreciate it! No hurry!

Boom.

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/vari...er-hpi-venture

[bonewrench]

That Venture FJ is sturdy looking! Do you have a parts list of the mods you did? Specifically the bumpers & rock sliders?

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by bonewrench

That Venture FJ is sturdy looking! Do you have a parts list of the mods you did? Specifically the bumpers & rock sliders?

Thanks!

Front bumper is RC4WD made for the Venture, but I chopped the ends off to make it more narrow and give the tires clearance.

Rear bumper is also RC4WD. It's the Tough Armor tube bumper made for the Trail Finder 2. They also make a bumper mount conversion for front or rear so I used that to mount the rear bumper. It's mounted on top of the mount though instead of inside it, which brings it up to the lower body line and I cut a few notches in the body for the bumper posts. That bumper is naturally straight since it's for the TF2, but I bent it accordingly on both sides. I think you can see it in one of the pictures, or if you need more let me know.

Sliders are also RC4WD made for the Venture, and bent upwards.

[smog]

that thang is brawwny! very cool.

Do you have to pull the interior out to get at the battery or does it slide in from the front?