Brandon's Blazer Build

[Big_Trux]

Hello, thought I'd share my Blazer build with you guys.
After deep regret from selling my 1979 Jimmy, I picked up an Ascender kit and painted it to match my missed ride. 2 months later, RC4wd came out with their K5 body, and I wanted it! Having already spent my money on my Ascender (which is awesome), I had to wait.... Until now!
Here is the original, and what I am shooting for.



Here is the start of my project so far...


Some Lesu axles and TF2 frame and springs (ebay) and the GCM LRT2 tranny / t-case combo.


Some progress. Mud Slingers on my custom machined Eagle Alloys.
More to come!

[Big_Trux]

I picked up RC4WD's V8 to match the tranny. What a work of art! Beautiful machining job! Very detailed and exactly what I was after.






More to come!

[1tonblazer]

Great Start, I dig the wheels!

[Big_Trux]

Originally Posted by 1tonblazer

Great Start, I dig the wheels!

Thanks! I actually made them about 8 years or so ago, finally get to use them!
I like your Blazer build. Looks good!

[Big_Trux]

A bit more progress... My body came in at the lhs, so I quickly mounted it up. Looks awesome and the ride height is almost spot on! The body is not perfectly to scale, but looks pretty good overall. Love the hood and tailgate. Scale issues are: it's too long, front leans forward too much, hood curls up too steep at the back and the front is too round, rear window shouldn't flip up, body curls in at the bottom too much, door line at the top (above the window) angles funny, bumpers are too big. It is like all of the styling features have been excessively exadurated. Overall I am happy with it because it does look awesome when mounted up! The body is a very high quality piece and the fitment of everything is very good.
I had to mount the steering servo vertically with the arm pointing to the rear of the truck to get it to clear the pulleys. I also had to trim the posts off of the front bumper to clear this servo position.
Here are some more pictures!

[Big_Trux]

A few more...

[305juan]

Nice little looking build. What servo are u gonna use so it doesn't hit the motor ?

[Big_Trux]

Originally Posted by 305juan

Nice little looking build. What servo are u gonna use so it doesn't hit the motor ?

Thanks!
I am using a standard sized Hitec 645MG for now. I know it's not the best servo, but good enough for what I will do with it. I'm not going to 'punish' this truck by any means, so it will do just fine. I flipped the mount as shown and it clears everything with room to spare. Not perfect geometry, but it works pretty good.



I didn't have crossover steering on my Jimmy, but I would have liked to, so we will pretend that it is true to scale!

[JatoTheRipper]

This thing is awesome! I love those wheels. Any idea who makes them?

[Big_Trux]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

This thing is awesome! I love those wheels. Any idea who makes them?

Thank you!
I made those wheels about 8 years or so ago for a different build that never happened. I think I have 10 of them, 2 sets worth and a couple spares. They are just a glue on style, no bead lock.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Big_Trux

Thank you!
I made those wheels about 8 years or so ago for a different build that never happened. I think I have 10 of them, 2 sets worth and a couple spares. They are just a glue on style, no bead lock.

If you're interested in selling a set please PM me!

[Big_Trux]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

If you're interested in selling a set please PM me!

Will do! I could always make more.... Was thinking about making them a bit wider for a tad more track width and to fill the tire out some.

[Big_Trux]

I gave it a bit of a lift by arching the springs. The weight of the body and all of its bits, a battery and running gear squashed it pretty good, so this lifted her back up about 1/4" and leveled it out nice. It looks a bit tall in the pictures, but loaded with everything, sits quite nice. It did stiffen up quite a bit after the re-arch, but that is scale too! I added some shocks, 80mm in front and 90mm in the rear. Neither limit the travel at the moment. Also switched tires to a Rock stomper. I just wish that they were a bit wider! Seems like most scale rc tires seem to be tall and skinny. A bit of width would be nice for all the people not wanting to run a 12" wide 40" tire, if you know what I mean. The RC4wd Irok is good, but just too big for what I'm after.
More pics...






Not sure if I want to go white now.... Thought a 2 tone semi gloss and flat black might be cool... What do you guys think? Black? White? Stompers or Slingers?

[Big_Trux]

And here are some close-ups of the wheels. The hubs are SSD.

[Bucko]

Coming along nicely. I like the stompers and white paint, like your 1:1 is the way I would go.

[Big_Trux]

I put some paint on, but it came out black, not white! I love the look of matte or semi gloss black on everything, so after lots of back and forth on the subject, I decided to stray from my original plan. Does that ever happen to anyone else?! I went with a 2 tone semi gloss/matte black paint scheme inside and out. I haven't got the interior detailed yet, but outside is almost done. The matte/semi gloss didn't contrast as much as I had hoped it would, and it doesn't show much in a cheesy photo, but it is there!

[Big_Trux]

I got a few more things done. Interior is together, but nothing fancy. It is 2 tone black as well. I moved the dash up and bolted it to the firewall with 1/8" spacers under the posts to keep it square. This position seems to fit the best and be closest to the windshield. Any higher and it looks goofy from the outside.

[Big_Trux]

I installed the rear window a little different. If I had some clear lexan around I would have used it, but for now I just modded the stock piece. I removed the hinges from the 'glass' and a bit of the hinge mount material from the hard top. I used thin 2 sided foam tape on the inside of the top to attach the window. Not perfect, but looks better than it did on the outside!

[Big_Trux]

Here are a few photos with a some more bits on. I still have to glue the badges on, but almost there!









I have some inner fenders and some 10mm wide clamp on Junfac wheel hexes coming by the end of the week I hope. The tires sit just a bit too narrow under this body, so those hexes should help out.
This truck is gaining weight like crazy!

[webbl19]

Looks great! Nice touch painting the bumpers. Wouldn't have thought of that. Might use your idea myself if I ever put the stock bumpers back on my Frankenstein.

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