scale tricks thread
 

Ok everyone lets get thos escale minds a workin'. Post your little tricks for making scale trail rigs. For example I'm going to use some pieces of chain cutoff for tow points. I found some that are a tad over 1/4" ID for using a small D-ring I found at Home Depot.

Get it. So post up and maybe this can be a sticky.

Edit: another good trick is using a 3/8" leash for a tow strap. Plenty strong and lots of colors.

scale interior mods and other mods etc
 

well here is my 2 cents, this is my bruiser interior on my wrx bruiser... i fabed up some shifters out of a thick paper clip then i stole some needle ends from my step mothers sewing kit to use as shift knobs, the boots were old dried up stock bruiser shock boots, they serve as a real scale look for shifter boots. i decided on a white knob for the 5 speed shifter which was suppose to be a "hurst" and the black knob is a shorter shifter for the 4wheel drive...one thing i didnt think to do was have 2 sticks to act as a "twin stick". the wild willy bottle of NOS looks cool because the truck has a cowl induction hood and is small blocked ;)...22R didnt have enough power... the CB radio is out of an old mauri land cruiser. The Fire extinguisher looks real scale as well.... it was made by APM (made clod buster parts back in the day).

bruiser interiors fit into jugg bodies real nice, i want to pick up a Big Bear interior to stick in the Courier as the big bear is more a 1/12 scale and the interior should fit real good.

these interiors can be found on ebay fairly often...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/000_0057.jpg


another scale thing that i like is the rouge element plates...

http://www.rogueelementcomponents.co...e%20Plates.htm
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/000_0126.jpg

these are kinda cool, although i know most rock crawlers arent streetable so why the hell would they have a plate...but still cool


some other APM products that were made that are scale and can be found are

Air Horns

Antennas

fire extinguishers

grab bars

tube front and rear bumpers

side steps

other scale tricks...

my Jeep bruiser has a rear swing out tire carrier...it was made from basic brass square tubing and round tubing and soldered together...it actually swings out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../rc1506026.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../rc1506027.jpg

Twisted Creations also did a tire carrier on his 4 runner
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...rearswing2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...rrearswing.jpg

Winch fair leads/ winch ...i have scene some guys make some cool winch fair leads...i know i dont have the skill so i picked up a whole scale winch off of a Mauri Gold Eagle jeep....gotta get pics

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...chfairlead.jpg

adding head lights/tail lights and parking lights is always cool.... Novak makes a brake light kit to hook up to some of thier ESC systems

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ep/Jeep006.jpg

TwistedCreations also did a head light/offroad light set up along with tail lights and reverse lights
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...nnerlights.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...nerlights2.jpg

hard bodys you can do alot of body work too...i made my own cowl induction hood

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ountaineer.jpg

I have also also Bob'd the bed on my Trekker that I am working on

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../bronco013.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/df7d8931.jpg

I have scene guys make thier own caps etc, just buy sheets of Styrene and some plastictruc glue and some filler and start cutting glueing filling etc...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ge/top16id.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ictures056.jpg

high lift jacks...Montana Scale Designs makes killer high lift jacks for an awesome price and Ben is a great guy to deal with :mrgreen:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0873.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0408.jpg


-Mike

Great trucks Mike!


I think one of the bigger challenges for a scale rig is shocks. Most of the 1/10 scale shocks out there are rather big. Some of the older Tamiya shocks look scale. But if you find them you better have a fist full of cash. I tried a pair of GPM shocks for the Venom mini giant. They are almost perfect for the scale of a 1/10 scale. But they are a lot like a mini-t shock and couldn't handle the weight. Maybe if I build a lighter chassis next time.:shock:

Even though it'd look really "show truck" ish, what about two shocks per corner?

Or use the shock for dampening and a Maxx size spring as a coil. Then use some thicker weight shock oil to compensate for the higher spring rate.

Use the leafsprings. Albeit a bit 'hard', use the small shocks and do the single-leaf deal, should work out for the scale appearance.

if you're into plastic models at all, the Monogram Big Deuce 1/8 scale '32 Ford roadster has a ton of cool parts including headlights, taillights, mag wheels, steelies, a covered spare tire and a gorgeous flathead V8.

this shot shows a (weathered) steelie, a mag, and the covered spare. (the spare tire i made from an Imex foam cut with an X-Acto and painted black)

unfortunately, the kit is close to a hundred bucks. ask for it for Christmas :lol:

talking about scale like towing points. I built some removeable cleveses for my land cruiser using 1/8 steel rod, 1/8 key stock, and 3/16 brake line. I formed the 1/8th inch rod around a 3/16th rod to get the shape of the cleves first. Then flatend the ends where the pin fits through.I then drilled a 1/16th hole through the two flat spots. A corisponding hole is then drilled in the 1/8 key stock and a 1/16 piece of wire holds the cleves and the key stock together.

Then for the reciever mount I pressed another piece of key stock into the brakeline and hammered and dollied the line untill the key stock fit in and out easy. Then its just a matter of putting the cleves mount in the reciever and drilling a hole for a pin to hold it!
This isn't the greatest pic but its the best I have of it
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8616/img02419fy.jpg

free lights, anyone?
 

picked these up at the grocery store, buy 8 Duracell AA's get a free single-cell flashlight. buy two packs and you've got free headlights. takes a little bit of wiring to make 'em work, but the price is right :mrgreen:

This thread is NOT to show off your scale toys. If you have no tech or in your posts they will be deleted.

Credit rbgerrish for this one, paint your axle housings flat/satin black to get rid of the shine.

Roll bar padding and seats...
 

(Sorry, no pics yet...)

The Recaro cell phone holders are available on eBay for about $12-16 apiece. Hulk introduced me to these, he uses them quite often on his creations.

As for roll bar padding, I have a craft store nearby that sells Darice Foamies, I don't know exactly what crafters use them for, but they are sheets of foam, in 2 and 4mm thickness that are available in many colors. I have sheets of neon green, yellow, red, white, blue, black, and orange that I'm tinkering with. YOu can get the sheets in self adhesive or non-adhesive versions. They fit nicely around tubing. If you add craft wire, in black, and use it to tie the padding on, it gives it a nice scale look (or you could be hack and use zip ties).

I find that CEN MT 5 hole wheels look very nice and scale with RCKJeep's beadlock rings. Also, before Extreme's decals were available through this site, I used to sift through Quadratec's catalogs for manufacturer's logos. Quadratec catalogs seem to come in heaps to my place, and they contain logos for Fabtech, Borla, ARB, and others that can be used as high gloss decals on lexan and hard bodies.

I am bringing this thread back up and making it a sticky, please only post scale tips and tricks. This isnt a place to show off your ride but strictly for showing and telling about your scale parts and tips and tricks you have used to make your rig more scale.Thank you
Mike

Make a shifter

Start with a balloon, a finishing nail, a bit of wire and a emaxx shock spring retainer. Cut the neck off the balloon, put the balloons neck around the spring retainer. Pinch the balloons neck around the nail and secure it with wire. Make the knob from a standard piece of 14gauge wire. Done.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...r/IM000778.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...r/IM000784.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...r/IM000756.jpg

Thank you for contribution Mnster

Roof Racks

Roof racks add an awesome scale touch and you can even used it hold tires and other scale items. Montana Scale Designs Makes an awesome roof rack, shown here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...s/roofrack.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../roofrack2.jpg

Drive shaft

Mount an Extra drive shaft to the cage of your truck for a scale look

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../bronco034.jpg

Scale shocks

Madhatter Ground down some TLT shocks which gave them an excellent scale appearance

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...cks/shocks.jpg

Exhaust

Madhatter also whipped up some exhaust for his ride out of some brake line tubing and even added stainless tips :shock: :mrgreen:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...s/ecxhaust.jpg

I found scale tools these scale tools on e-bay for under $3.00.

for anyone who runs leaf springs..i found that a good source for shackles is the links from a bike chain..its easy and it will save u the time of making them!

Some easy ones

Trailer ball: AE pivot ball

Bed tie downs: Small eyeloops with a 4-40 washer under it.

Shifter boot: Pushrod seal for R/C boats many styles to choose from. This is the one I had at my house.

Cole

Rolled down windows

Rolled down windows gives a sweet scale appearance and is good if you buy a body where the windows were painted over or just arent as clear. Cutting the windows down to look like they are rolled down gives a nice view into a rig that has an interior.

Dash & Steering wheel
 

Nylints have to be good for something right? Cut out that dash from the jeep and use it in your interior. Needs some extra detailing but its a great easy start.