Muh Jeep Jeep

[hrddrvr]

I've been wanting to do something a little larger scaled than 24/25 lately, and finally got my hands on a toy Jeep that fits the size range I was looking for. I'm not a huge fan of the Jeeps, but this will let me see if I can really make something look scale. I'm not a fan of the 50" tires we have to chose from for 1/24 builds, so going a tad bigger, should make them scale out close to 40" or less, which is much more common on non-TTC trucks.

There are a few things I want to attempt on this rig. I will be doing a lot of brass work. I've built one tuber, a cage or two, and a couple of bumpers, but outside of the tuber, everything has been very simple and easy to fab. I'm not going to slack on design this time, as I want to push my build skills to further limits. Outside of brass work, this will be my first build with a non-stock drive line. I will be using some interesting techniques (haven't quite seen before) to get the 130 motor hooked up with proper gearing. Lastly, if I don't find a proper figure between now and completion, the last task will be to scratch build a driver from wire and putty. I need to have drivers in all of my rigs! Currently I have NONE!

This is the donor body....still on it's "toy" chassis.


The interior isn't half bad......lacks a little fine detailing....but I'll try and help that a little further down the line...


Three screws and it was off the chassis.


I took the seats out, as well as taking the cage and the bumpers off.

[hrddrvr]

Now with it ready for construction, I started with the frame rails.

First time bending square tubing. It worked out fairly well for not using heat, or any tool other than a vice. I can't find either of my torches. Gonna have to look into getting a new one. Not sure if it would be much help though.



I ran the rails long, so I can have plenty of material out there for when I start planning bumpers and what not.



I've already moved the supports around a bit, and am sure they will change a few more times while I layout the drive train and suspension. This is how the body will end up fitting on the frame rails though.




Making it this far had me wanting to see some sort of mock-up. I threw it over some stock trekker axles and tires. I'll probably go with a more aggressive tire, but I love the size of these on the rig. Definitely won't be in the market for no miclaws

[Sh0rtBus]

Curious to see how this one turns out.

[chevy55]

Great shell for the micro & your off to a nice start
If you can find the 1/20 tamiya pit crew figures on ebay at a good price they are a nice fit for your driver.

[hrddrvr]

Thanks guys. About to re-assemble my drive line to snap a couple of pics. It may be too preliminary to end up as a final draft, but it'll give an idea of where I'm headed.

Chevy, Thanks for the heads up on the 1/20 Tamiya characters. I found a couple of kits on ebay, but none with a seated driver. I did find some neat resin kits of F1 drivers that I think could work for a competition style (tuber, or TTC) build. They'd just need proper paint to convert them to off-road fire suits I'll be searching a bit more diligently in the near future. I'm sure there is more available than what I saw in the 6 minutes I looked.......

[chevy55]

I have two of the og fujimi F1 drivers in my NB jeep, they are a bit smaller than the tamiya pit crew...With a little heat you can bend the pit crew into shape.

If you want a pic of them next to the jeep for size reference LMK

[hrddrvr]

I would appreciate seeing pics of whatever figures you have, especially next to the Jeep

I threw the drive line together for mock-up purposes, and it actually went together easier than I thought it would. It all fits too! It'll need to be more secure than this, but this will get me going.

I used a Kyosho MiniZ motor pod, turned on a 90. I ran the pinion gear forward, then used a Z diff to get an access point behind it. I then removed the spur section of the LOSI tranny, and bent the tranny plate to use as a possible mounting point. This will allow me to use variety of different gearing, and I could even use a ball diff (current one is a gear diff locked down), should I want some slipper action. I've had this idea for a while, and would like to try it with an open-able hood, with a fly wheel attached to the spur gear. I think that would be a cool addition. Spacing didn't quite work out for that on this one, and since the hood doesn't open, I'm not too worried about visual details in the engine bay.

Onto the pics.

Motor pod is screwed down to one of the cross members. Transfer case is just sitting there. The bottom of it should end up just below the frame rails once it;s in the truck.



Here is a shot with it shoved into the bottom of the body.




I'll need to work on shaft angles and lengths, but as a first option, this may work out pretty well.

[chevy55]

Thats a slick looking setup with the mini z pod
Your moving along quick so far, keep it up its looking good!


The 1/20 f1 fujimi's in the jeep (kind of small looking to me) & one of the tamiya pit crew hang'n out ( looks to be just the right size)
Same shell just cut up a bit:

[hrddrvr]

That Jeep looks pretty beastly there Chev. I agree too, the figure standing next to the Jeep looks more in scale than the driver. I hope to keep moving at a decent clip, but I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks, work and family wise. My updates might fluctuate a bit for the next month or so.

[mgb]

Lookin good, nice start, can't wait to see how it turns out!

[hrddrvr]

Thanks mgb!

I got a bit of work done yesterday. Short day, and was kind of busy with other things, so not too much.

I mounted the portion of the LOSI transmission that I'll be using as the transfer case. I bent the motor plate in a way that it could be connected to a cross member on the chassis. I ended up bending the cross member a bit to get it raised up to the bottom of the body.


It's not very pretty, but it's very sturdy, and seems to be in a place where it will serve it function properly


It's a little further back than I anticipated, but it had to be done like that because of the drive shaft coming from the motor. I had to have the motor back further than I originally thought because of some molding restrictions inside the body. The space created will work well for lighting and a plan I have for a winch.


I wanted to see how it looked with the body, so I slapped it on. Did some fidgeting around to get an idea about ride height. Might end up a tad higher than this, depending on final shock/spring selection, and tire choice.

[hrddrvr]

I also started on the links.

While playing with the ride height I also tried test fitting some different links. The stock trekker upper links worked well for the odd space I have for them in the front. I ended up using them in the rear as well, but may opt for something different.

I used a jig and a drill press to drill the holes square so I didn't have to disassemble anything.


Trimmed a little bit on the inside of my frame for extra ball joint clearance.


With them mounted upside down they kind of conform to the shape of the frame, which maximizes travel a bit better than mounting them in the standard fashion.

I mounted the rears upside down too, but Ill probably change them out for some straight ones. If I use the bent ones mounted correctly, they will impede into my intended battery space.


At rough ride height.


And how she sits now with the shell.

[Sh0rtBus]

Looks sweet so far! Keep up the great work!

[hrddrvr]

Thanks ShOrtBus!

Tinkering with links today. Made some lower mounts, and some bent links.







Going to play with the front a bit. It seems to bind up a tad. Might be better with shocks holding aligned a little better. I'm thinking the uppers need to be moved to a more central location on the chassis. I've got a couple of solutions for that, but I like how it looks now. If I can get it to perform like this, Ill leave it........So shocks will be next.

[hrddrvr]

Found out what was binding on my front suspension. I didn't have the screw that holds the motor mount tightened up, and it was hitting the top of the servo. Easy fix Took another pic of the under-workings, as well as a better mock -up shot with the body one. Figured Id share.....

[Sh0rtBus]

Looks like the front axle could be just a touch further forward, but otherwise very nice.

[hrddrvr]

I think you are right about the axle being forward. I'll have to see if its the links, or the body not seated properly.

I Had some painting on some MiniZs to do today, so didn't get anything done. Got to finish the paint tomorrow, then have a car to build for a customer. I leave Sunday for CO, so there is a chance it'll be the middle of next week before anything substantial happens to this truck :(

[Madjones]

Originally Posted by hrddrvr

Great job so far!!!

I just noticed the rally cars in the background?!?!?!?!?!? nice!!!

[hrddrvr]

Thanks bro! I run a micro RC shop...mostly focusing on Racing MiniZs. I sell all of the LOSI micro line, and rent out rally cars for people who don't have their own car, hence the fleet. I'm in a mall, so I actually rent out a LOT of cars I've got a crawler/trail display/course as well, and try and show off my trucks as much as possible. I've sold a couple of custom builds (mostly just body and paint), but the scene isn't really huge here in the low country. We do have a LOT of truck fans (mostly mudders), and scale trucks seem to be catching on. I'd like to do more custom work. I can figure builds for customers into my schedule way easier than I can builds for myself, lol.