Add another Yoda build, lol

[Demodude]

This is my early start- And my first attempt at a scaler. I purchased the model fully built on ebay

I need to decide to use the Trail Trekker chassis or try to use the model chassis. That may be more down the line. I need to decide how scale I want to get. I like the Idea of making my own brass chassis.
Since this is a 1/20 scale model I need to extend the wheelbase by about 1/2"
Got to decide weather to go beater or nice and shiny.
Probably want to paint it.
I have Miniqlo tires coming and will do the wheel widening mod
Im running a 90t danally motor

What can I use to make my own leaf springs?

[kakachille]

so fresh i dig the color

[chevy55]

Nitro pull starter recoil springs make a good material for leaf springs

recoil spring in Radio Control & Control Line | eBay

Nice work on the engine bay detailing!

[Demodude]

Originally Posted by chevy55

Nitro pull starter recoil springs make a good material for leaf springs

recoil spring in Radio Control & Control Line | eBay

Nice work on the engine bay detailing!

Thanks but I didn't do any of the painting, eBay purchased fully detailed. I scored, paid $18 plus shipping.

Speaking of eBay, I just ordered some of that spring for my leafs for $1, I love eBay!

[Demodude]

Just an update:
Made some custom (soldered) rear extended links (lhs had no long threaded rod)
Since I can't extend the delrin on the DP Torsion Chassis I went back to my home made chassis and made some modifications: cutting the chassis and mounting the brass balls higher to clean up the look

I don't have the body mounted yet but does the wheelbase look good to you guys? I may be sanding the wheelwells to clear the tires a bit. My goal is to keep the body as stock as I can.

[Demodude]

Update time: I'm still playing with the Idea of fabing my own chassis and it's looking promising. I'm just trying to decide if I want a true scaler or a performance scale rig. To me a true scaler would mean fabing the chassis, using leaf springs and limited suspension movement. A performance rig would keep the same body but run the Miclaws I just got in and keeping the Torsion chassis I worked up. I'm a bit torn

Bending the brass was so easy: just heat where you want the bend while the brass is being held in a vise. I did mess up trying to correct a bend with some pliers when I should have reheated it.

On to the photos. The last photo was the truck when I bought it off of ebay before it was smashed in shipping...

[Demodude]

Today: Got to freeze the stock wheels and pull off the stock rubber which worked better than I hoped. I found if you use a deliberate quick pull the old CA glue just cracks off and leaves the rim of the wheel clean.
I used a .02mm diamond disc to cut the rims Danally style which was super fast. Got everything glued back together. The Miclaws are not glued yet as I need to buy some BB's. I like the look, I know it dosen't look scale but it looks really mean!

[bombagee]

where did you get your miniqlo tires? I can't seem to find them

[Demodude]

Originally Posted by bombagee

where did you get your miniqlo tires? I can't seem to find them

here: Search Results of RC Cars, Hopup Parts, Engines, Servo, ESC on rcMart.com

Be for warned, It takes about a month to get here from hong kong - I may be buying 8 more for my other 2 micros....

A few interior shots..

[oahuzuki]

nice! ha its funny to see how things are done different by different people. your definitely did a better job bending brass than me hahah.
that interior is super nice...not the best for mudding id say haha. the reason i used a sumo (i had a stock losi and a stock sumo to choose from) to build my toyota is because the narrow drive line and nice axles that are wayyyyyy better for adding leafs directly on for a flush look. i'm going to start on my interior and hope is half as nice as yours though because i have the motor in the center of the cab..center console hmmm. looking good either way you go..o and btw you don't need to glue miclaws if you put the beadlocks on... the wider lip makes the beadlocks actually work!

[Demodude]

Originally Posted by oahuzuki

nice! ha its funny to see how things are done different by different people. your definitely did a better job bending brass than me hahah.
that interior is super nice...not the best for mudding id say haha. the reason i used a sumo (i had a stock losi and a stock sumo to choose from) to build my toyota is because the narrow drive line and nice axles that are wayyyyyy better for adding leafs directly on for a flush look. i'm going to start on my interior and hope is half as nice as yours though because i have the motor in the center of the cab..center console hmmm. looking good either way you go..o and btw you don't need to glue miclaws if you put the beadlocks on... the wider lip makes the beadlocks actually work!

I think I watched your video on how to bend brass if I'm not mistaken. Thanks, it helped a ton!
The whole -make your brass chassis- deal is all foreign to me. I think I might still do it (I have all the material) but like you said, the trans will be in the middle of the cab.
A quick Q- how do you attach the leaf springs to the axles, I can imgaine there is many ways. I think I saw one person drill a small hole in the leaf that went into the axle plastic but it seems like that would weaken the leaf....
Im sure the answer is searchable but I'm off the computer for the night,

Thanks all for the kind words. This project is shaping up but there is so much to be done yet... stay tuned.

[bombagee]

Originally Posted by Demodude

here: Search Results of RC Cars, Hopup Parts, Engines, Servo, ESC on rcMart.com

Be for warned, It takes about a month to get here from hong kong - I may be buying 8 more for my other 2 micros....

A few interior shots..

Thank you very much! I've been searching for miniqlo and that's why I couldn't find them! ordered two sets lol

[Demodude]

Originally Posted by bombagee

Thank you very much! I've been searching for miniqlo and that's why I couldn't find them! ordered two sets lol

They go by a few names: Miniqlo, miclaw, Miclow. Miclow is actually what is printed on the packaging. I think some people assumed it was a translation error and called them "miclaw" - sounds better anyway,,lol.

[oahuzuki]

ha no i don't have a video on bending brass, in fact the toyota I built is my first try at brass.
the way i did my leaf springs was the with a hole in where i wanted to mount it. I think its just the easiest way and as long as the hole is centered its pretty strong
i would worry about the screw stripping out before the spring being affected in any way

[Demodude]

So it was my birthday yesterday and my lovely wife got me some new underwear (I know, I know, now you can't unknow that info but it's important to the story). They came in a cool magnetized snap-shut box. So I dug into the packaging to reveal a great strong magnet and a thin steel plate. This was perfect because I was just researching magnets to keep the hood of the yota closed. I kept loosing it on my course.
Long story short, I glued a piece to the hood and cut a strip of the thin steel to the car and, shizam- no more losing my hood! I call this mod the "underwear mod"- I know, sweet

on to the pictorial- oh yeah I cut down the model motor and glued in a clear false bottom to the engine area so I could velcro the motor in. Now I can remove it when removing the body pins.

[Demodude]

Ok, I just can't let well enough alone!

I like my build so far yet I don't like all the extra chassis hanging down underneath the truck. So, looking at the extra chassis plates I had laying around, I decided to do some drilling, cutting and experimenting.
I obviously will need to extend the driveshafts and lower links. I'll also have to cut into my interior of the cab to accommodate the tranny and motor, which I'm not sure if I will. I'll get it running and test it first then if I like it, I'll cut.
Any opinions? Problems I might run into running this setup?

[Demodude]

New links and extended driveshafts. Definently dosen't handle as well as my other chassis but the clearance is crazy. Obviously the COG is much higher. To make this work correctly I'd need to bend another set of torsion springs to the proper lengths. It works but at the current torsion bar length I'm getting a tiny bit of binding that is stopping the suspension from working it's best.

I probably won't leave the truck chassis like this because the lower links are just too long to allow the suspension to react correctly

[Demodude]

In the first pic you can see the old pivot point and how the torsion arms and the lower links cross and make an "x". In the second pic is where I relocated the torsion bars further up in the chassis (you can see the stock holes used) as well as inside the chassis. This put the pivot point closer to the pivot of the lower links, therfore getting rid of the crazy binding I was having.
Still don't know if it's worth keeping the chassis like this as it doesn't perform as well as my first incarnation of the Torsion chassis

[lilws6]

You would loose clearance but lower the COG if you could flip the trans upside down? just my mind wondering thinking of idea's i would try like that i think it looks cool with the longer links but if it doesn't perform... Could you make them bent links? Would that help at all?

[Demodude]

Originally Posted by lilws6

You would loose clearance but lower the COG if you could flip the trans upside down? just my mind wondering thinking of idea's i would try like that i think it looks cool with the longer links but if it doesn't perform... Could you make them bent links? Would that help at all?

I actually thought of flipping the trans upside down but it just opens up more problems. I will be bending the links at some point.

I wouldent say this setup is bad, just not as good as I'm used to. It all stems back to the COG
I think as a scaler the proformance is quite good, there is just a few tight tech lines I could do way easier with the COG lower.