Project: My Wife Cannot Know

[Alpha Male]

Over the last couple of years I have been moving away from general rc trucks and cars and more toward driving scale rigs. I decided to try to make a truck that looks as much like a 1:1 truck as I possibly can. Since I'm not very good at metal work or scratch building with Styrene I decided to start with an RTR Trail Finder 2 and do the best I can to make it look like the real thing. The cost will high, hence the title.

I haven't actually bought the truck yet because I've been sinking all of my available scratch into parts for it, but once I get helical gears and Ultimate scale Yota axle shafts, I'll be ready to get the truck. I plan to fill all the body holes, including those in the bed and the screw mounting points in order to have a smooth exterior. The hood will open to reveal the engine bay, the steering wheel (driver's left hand attached) will turn with the wheels, the gearshift (driver's right hand attached) will move forward and back and it will have functioning lights and winches. Details like disc brakes and an exhaust will hopefully give this truck the feel of the real thing. This is some of what I have so far....

[Alpha Male]

[Alpha Male]

[Alpha Male]

[Alpha Male]

[chubscout]

When did Bono become a car guy? And I'm sure he doesn't get muff any better than that

[Alpha Male]

No, that ain't Bono - it's Stuntman Mike, his head anyway.

[scale4x4]

I'm liking where this is headed! I'll be watching.

[Alpha Male]

Thanks! I hope it turns out the way I have it planned. I just ordered the ultimate scale axle stubs for the Yota axles and made a list of parts and prices I've already dropped coin on. It's staggering considering I don't even have the truck yet!

Yota axle stubs = $40
roll bar = $40
front bumper = $70
universal bumper mount = 16
rear bumper = $44
hitch mount for portable winch = $25
2 x Warn winches = $70
Viking thimble = $10
ultimate scale drive shafts =$100
u-bolts for leaf springs = $30
alloy fuel cell =$ 40
sliders = $30
interior = $110
mirror = $18
disc brakes = $27
4 x shackles = $25
Mickey Thompson 1.9 wheels = $130
Mickey Thompson 1.9 tires = $50
scale hubs front an rear = $35
LED harness = $25
Custom Hilux decals = $26
tamiya N parts and grill for round headlights = $35
...plus rare Earth magnets and scale accessories = $30

GRAND TOTAL: $1026

I still have the cost of the helical gears, some micro servos, paint and the truck. That's why my wife CANNOT know!

[scale4x4]

Did you buy or build the engine bay?

[Alpha Male]

I had a 1:12 die-cast model car that was damaged so I salvaged the engine, engine bay, exhaust and sun visors. I actually kept other parts to set in my 1:10 scale garage too, like mirrors, doors, wheels etc. Turned out to be a very useful piece of junk!





I'm going to disassemble the engine bay and repaint it to match the exterior color and I will use Styrene on the underside of the hood to make it look more like the real thing too. The only obstacle keeping me from getting this project fully underway is that I can't afford the truck for two more weeks.

[tokdl]

Looks like a killer start to a fully detailed TF2. Mind sharing how you made the sun visors? I've been trying to come up with a way to make some. Yours look very authentic. I don't have a knack for shaping styrene sadly.

[Alpha Male]

Actually, the sun visors came from a 1:12 scale die-cast model car. I looked on Ebay until I found a cheap enough damaged car and bought it to salvage parts for the same reason - I really do not have a knack for Styrene either.

[tokdl]

Originally Posted by Alpha Male

Actually, the sun visors came from a 1:12 scale die-cast model car. I looked on Ebay until I found a cheap enough damaged car and bought it to salvage parts for the same reason - I really do not have a knack for Styrene either.

Ah okay, good idea none the less. I may go the same route.

[spectre]

That garage is incredible. Love all the pics.

[stevem50]

very nice

[Alpha Male]

Thanks! It always seems to motivate me when I collect all the parts before I get the project started.

Originally Posted by spectre

That garage is incredible. Love all the pics.

Here is a link to the garage thread if you want to check it out:

Garage for the Alpha Male

[raceeng18]

After watching your Sawback build and mods, this should be very interesting Alpha. I see a lot of nice goodies gathering.

[Alpha Male]

I finally received my truck yesterday and started to add my pile of upgrades last night. Decided to buy the RTR version of the Trail Finder 2 since it has a single speed transmission, but I have to take the whole thing apart for the upgrades. Almost every part of the truck will be changed in some way, but at least I had a solid platform to start with.

Stock:







Rear bumper:



Front bumper and servo/motor repositioned:



Wheels, tires, disc brakes and hubs:

[Alpha Male]

I flipped the transfer case around and mounted it under the electronics plate so the the transmission turns one of the output drives and what would normally be the input shaft is now output for the front axle. This is the overdrive for the front axle that Dready came up with.






This really improved my ground clearance by getting rid of the transfer case craddle that normally hangs down.