Carisma gt24 1/20 beetle wip

[Slambaam]

Wanted to show you guys the rally car turned basher that i just dusted off after sitting for a long time.



Her in stock form. Was a fun for a little bit and it was definitely a rocket on 2s but she loved to tumble. Any turn on the pavement and it was the barrel roll master. After a few packs of this I decided to do some “upgrades”





I picked up either the monster truck or truggy arms and dog bones to give her a better stance and a better chance at staying upright taking turns. I also decided I’m not strictly running on pavement or smooth surfaces so the stock tires needed to go. Hobby plus .9 crawler tires fit perfect on the stock subbie wheels! Much better ground clearance now and the ability to tackle all kinds of terrain.






After the widening, I realized the plastic tie rod rods they supplied me were too short and way too weak now. My remedy for this was to use 2/52 all thread and 3D printed rod ends for the scx24. Worked perfect and you can adjust the toe now! Also kept destroying lexan bodies, body posts and stock shock towers. A lot of this was due to the piss poor handling. The stock shocks were simply friction dampers and would cause it to bounce uncontrollably. This was extremely disappointing because I enjoyed this car when it was running. I decided to shelve the car completely until recently.



After sitting for a year I decided to return to this project because my need for speed has returned. I was able to snag a set out losi micro sct oil shocks and a set of 3D printed shock towers that allow me to mount them. Bouncing problem solved all for under 20 bucks! Absolute unit of a micro car now.




And here’s we were are now. Since I was constantly blowing up lexan bodies and shearing body posts I decided to eliminate both of the problems. Had an 1/20 entex VW beetle body sitting in a box for quite so time and mounted it up by placing Velcro on the sides of the chassis and to the inside of the body. Solid mounting platform imo. No more body posts to worry about and body stays on firm even if it flips.

One issue with the model body though. It is very old, very brittle, and very thin. I’m honestly shocked it survived it’s 1st run this week. Multiple cracks and snaps through out. To rectify the problem, Ive been reinforcing the body with styrene sheets. Inside and out. Definitely working as far as I can tell but the plastic weld has deformed the roof some. Most likely because I was just pouring it on but i didn’t know how else to get the roof panels on. I plan on adding more styrene “armor” to the rest of the panels.

Next on the list would be the slipper mod. The cars slipper likes to squeal when matting it. Scares the shit outta me if I’m not expecting it and I’m losing power when I need it.

2nd on the list will be electronics. Stock electronics do what they need but at low speeds and start up it’s awful. Cogs and sputters if you’re trying to put around.

Stay tuned!


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