HBX 1/20 Toyota FJ70 Cruiser

[Sparks1337]

So this:



Became this:



A cheapo Matsucars chassis, from a Spanish seller on fleabay, Jim's centre skid adapter and rear lockouts, custom lower links using 2.5mm threaded rod and ally tube, BB's in the axle pinions and stub axles, a spot of grease in the shocks and M2 hardware all round.

I borrowed the Gearhead wheels and boggers from Small Willy, and made up shock tower extensions and a front bumper from styrene. The stock electronics are going as the 5-wire servo just doesn't cut it.

Together:





I shaved down the trans casing and rear pumpkin for a cleaner look:






It's intended for this body by Nikko, produced in a number of guises over the years. Mine is from a Survivor in the last pic. Has the advantage of clear lenses:





My missus picked it up for me at the local car boot for 50p De-stickered and de-chromed and awaiting a few tweaks before paint. The windscreen was missing when I got it:

[old man 52]

I really like the looks of that , very clean , nice job.

[R.Billy Rob]

Not a bad looking rig. I might have to find one of those...

[Sparks1337]

Cheers for the comments guys

RBR if you're referring to the body I personally think it's a bit of an ugly beast, but it does have potential. I might have a go at a stock hardtop in styrene and a fuller depth interior, it shouldn't be tooo challenging...

That'll have to wait though - I've too many other projects on the go or waiting! This thing was meant be a quick fix so I have something to run, and it's taken forever to get it this far

This is something like what I have in mind long term:


Btw, Nikko also produced a very nice 1/20 '82/'83 Hilux. No interior but a well detailed shell with non-removable hardtop on the bed. I have two of those ;)

[R.Billy Rob]

Originally Posted by Sparks1337

Cheers for the comments guys

RBR if you're referring to the body I personally think it's a bit of an ugly beast, but it does have potential. I might have a go at a stock hardtop in styrene and a fuller depth interior, it shouldn't be tooo challenging...

That'll have to wait though - I've too many other projects on the go or waiting! This thing was meant be a quick fix so I have something to run, and it's taken forever to get it this far

This is something like what I have in mind long term:


Btw, Nikko also produced a very nice 1/20 '82/'83 Hilux. No interior but a well detailed shell with non-removable hardtop on the bed. I have two of those ;)

Yeah, the FJ70 is a bit of a pig, but not something you see in the states everyday. As a Toyota fan, and someone who only builds in 1/20 scale, I'd love to build one. As for a 1/20 early Hilux, I'd love one! I had one from a guy who molded it off a very rare model kit, but the cab warped on me. Now I'll be searching for a Nikko one.

[Sparks1337]

Yeh I'm a Toyota fan too, although I'd love to find a 1/20 landy of some sort

The Nikko stuff pops up occasionally on ebay, but often at top dollar. There's an FJ70 body like mine on uk ebay at the moment for $99:
RARE VINTAGE 90'S NIKKO SURVIVOR JEEP SUPER OFF ROADER R/C NEW UNUSED ! | eBay

Hilux's don't pop up as frequently. They also did a 1/10 and 1/16 Hilux which strangely aren't as well modeled as the 1/20.

Better if you can find one unboxed and not working - there are people out there who cherish old toy-grade RCs so it's cheaper and less of a crime to mod a knackered one ;D

I got lucky as there is a giant car boot sale / flea market near me with a regular seller who has loads of toy cars and trucks including lplenty
of dead RCs - mostly kak but the occasional gem at 50p or £1 a throw I don't go that often but if I find another I'd be happy to pass it on.

This is my other project. I started it 3 years ago but was never really happy with it so it got shelved. I started over recently - it has moved on a bit from the pic, awaiting leds to go in before I start on the interior and paint:

[R.Billy Rob]

Ok, dammit, the search is on! That body is a must have! I was searching eBay, and found a couple. Very high prices though. I did see one that had an '85 style body, but the listing was not in English, and I couldn't figure out what scale it was.

[Sparks1337]

Lol yeah it's a really nice body, and a perfect TF2 mini-me - I'm surprised no-one else has used it on a micro.

Not sure what the '85 style one would be though. Look closely as most toy RCs I've seen are pretty poor scale representations - there only seems to be the odd few that were done properly.

As far as I know the Nikko Hilux was moulded in red (Nikko Miami Winch like mine), black or grey (silver paint). The later silver one seems like the best to get as it has clear light lenses rather than orange tint, plus any scratches in the paint would show through grey like undercoat. I have one of these on the shelf that has donated its lights

[R.Billy Rob]

Here's an old thread from the guy I got my resin cast hilux from. This truck was what got me building in 1/20 scale, it's one of my favorite builds. I really wish my cab had not warped...

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/micro...tf2-hilux.html

[Sparks1337]

That's a nice build right there. Shame yours didn't work out :(

Okay so I've settled on a direction for this:


I've patched up all the holes in the body and am working on a windshield. Harder than I thought...

[Sparks1337]

Okay so I've been having a bash at a windscreen and and bumper to fit the look I'm going for - butch, but not in a gay way

Not perfect but I'm pretty pleased with the results:





The windscreen structure is strengthened using heavy duty paper clips epoxied to the styrene and seems pretty strong. The paper clips extend down the A and B pillars into the body and will get epoxied in - at the moment it is just resting in place.

Next step is the snorkel and some more detailing around the screen, then glue it all down, give it a coat of primer to see how everything looks

[R.Billy Rob]

I'm loving the way this is going! That windshield frame turned out great.

[Mustache]

Man it sits so nice with that chassis, nice lil rig!

[cutlaSS]

That's a really nice rig. What motor is that? It looks alot longer the stock micro crawler motor.

[Sparks1337]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Motor comes stock in the HBX ( rebranded sumo with changes) as do the stand-off ball ends for the outboard susp setup.

Motor has a lot more torque than a standard losi, not sure how it compares to Danally's stuff though.

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[cleanandserenesteve]

Sweet build! How is the suspension performance, looks like it might be kinda stiff with those beefy springs, although I know looks can be deceiving...
I like the idea of the snorkel, that'll looks nice!

[Sparks1337]

Cheers Steve.

Suspension is a lot softer than you'd think, and very smooth. The springs are big and pretty close to vertical, but even as a rolling chassis/shell it has a decent amount of flex before lifting a wheel, and plenty of weight to go in there yet:



Axle location is also very positive and it feels pretty plushy with a bit of grease in the cylinders. I think I'm gonna call this chassis the scx20 ;) To be fair, the HBX was pretty capable out of the box, so I couldn't go too far wrong.

I think tyre rub will be my issue - I may end up limiting the travel we'll see. It was always intended as more of a trail runner than an out-and-out crawler so travel isn't everything.

I've been neglecting this recently in favour of my new PC - ten years of gaming to catch up on but I'm back on it and re-did the screen for a squarer (and neater) version. The original had suffered a few too many re-glues and was losing definition




All epoxied in and solid as rock. It isn't all that different but looks closer to the 1:1 I think. Body has had a rub down with 800 wet'n'dry and just a few more things to do before it sees some primer:

[Mustache]

Excited to see it after paint.

Did you remove the rear steer? I took my hbx monster out today and the rear steer helped very much.

[Sparks1337]

Yeah rear steer is gone. I'm using lockouts from Jim (fungi). The stock servo struggles without its mate at the back so I'm ditching the stock electronics.

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[Sparks1337]

I put some time in this weekend. Added fake screen hinges, finished the interior of the hoop and made a fairlead for the bumper before showing it the primer.

I can see where more finishing work is needed now You can also see where I snapoped the front valance - nothing a paperclip and some epoxy can't fix though:









I decided I wanted better tuck so removed the crawlerx wideners - The RC4WD tyres catch the springs on full lock under load, but with these it's more of a friendly rub - I think I'll get away with it, we'll see.

I also chopped a couple of coils out of the springs for a bit of droop. I'm digging the tuck and lower ride height; closer to the 1:1 stance I'm following.