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.

Bed Covers
 

To make a nice looking bed cover, use some 1/8" ABS plastic, the plastic I picked up had a nice texture to one side of it. It also cuts very very nicely with the plastic blade I have for my dremel (couple of dollars, the cut off wheels will melt the plastic and make a mess!)

It can also be used for lots of other things, I used it to mount the seats in this land cruiser as well.

how about melting the body with a lighter for some scale dents??? just once you melt it, push it in with an object, not your finger. its hot.


KEvIN

Just got this in an email, pretty cool if you if you want to make your own dash board, they looks to have some cool looking guages...http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...dash-decal.jpg

Mike

Here are some phone holders (seat's), check these out http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/Car-...096025QQsofpZ0

Use a ball stud as a imitation trailor ball hitch! http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...umper3-400.jpg

I found it on the Traxxas Revo Rock Projects 2!

i dont have any pics, but leaf springs look more scale then the 4 link.....and if you put the servo on the chassis, and have a droplink like this in the pic below.........this is not my truck



http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...lers/n35ey.jpg

http://asiatees.com/display.php?id=8...Buster&pid=701

cool/scale looking tlt size shocks

HOW TO: Scale interior build
 

Hey guys I had a day to myself today...parents away...g.f. at work :) I got lots done on alot of different trucks. I started to build an interior so i did take a few pics and I will move this into the scale tips and tricks thread after a day or 2. I am posting it now incase you have any questions.

Step one: Locate a bruiser interior

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0819.jpg

Believe it or not a bare interior will work fine...keep reading and youll see why

Step two: Buy a wild willy parts tree (Tamiya L-parts 58242/ Tower # lxsk57)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0818.jpg

This parts tree has alots of goodies, not only does it have a steering and column but it has a shifter and a really cool winch too 8)

Step 3: Paint it up and install the steering wheel and column

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0820.jpg

I even picked up a little adjustable wrench from 1:6 depot, I think its a nice touch up on the dash...maybe not to good for when your wheeling because you wouldnt want that flying around in the cab :shock: :lol: .I also used Bruiser decals for the guages, re pro decal sheets go for like 25.00$ or so on the bay or you can print guages off the web to use.

STep 4: Carpet, whats a scale rig with out some sort of carpet or flooring?

I took this here felt kit home from the Toyota dealership when I was a tech, it has stick on felt used for fixing dash rattels in cars OR subs for carpet in your Bruiser interior :mrgreen: im sure you can probably pick up something similar at a crafts store.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0824.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0825.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0826.jpg

Step 5: Shifters. Well the wild willy shifter comes as the trans and TC case shifter together...for me thats not cutting it...so I cut it :flipoff: I then had some Bruiser shock booting that was 2 short for a shock which serves an exellent shock boot, problem is that the opening is to large for the shifter SOO I took some heat shrink installed that first then the "shift boot" then only heat the top portion of the heat shrink and WALA good to go 8)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0827.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0828.jpg

I did the same for the 4 wheel drive shifter too.

At this point you interior should be starting to come along...I also through in a RARE hard to find APM fire extinguisher (made back in the day by APM for clods)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0829.jpg

Step 6: I also picked up some cool flash light from 1:6 depot they look kind of like the lights the fire dept uses on the rigs, they are water proof and very bright.

In the end you should end up with something like this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/100_0832.jpg

I painted the 5 speed shifter knob silver just to give it some character, I also added a nissan/pathfinder sticker and mounted up the flash light with a little black screw.

Well thats it for now...I am eventually going to do a cage but I need to get the interior mounted 1st to see how its all going to work out.

Enjoy
Mike

More scale bits
 

Traxxas part number 1517 contains chrome bed rails, air horns and a steering wheel. Five bucks :mrgreen:

It's off the Villain IV electric boat. For reference, the steering wheel is about the size of a quarter.

to set a scale wheelbase buy two thick yard sticks. then drill two holes on the same increment on each one and put the first alxe in. then put the other ale were you want it and do the same. get perfect link measurements

One thing I have noticed when checking out the scalers is the bright paint showing under the body. I now shoot a final coat of black paint over everything before I pull the masks off. It darkens the underside enough that I don't have to fab wheel wells.

Want to add plates to your rig?

Go to this site, make them, save to your computer, and then print them.

http://www.acme.com/licensemaker/licensemaker.cgi

nylints have alot to give.the bumper on a 1/6 can be reused to make a masive front bumper or you can cut everything but the (what would be) pipe off the botom.1/18 nylint jeep rockrails make perfect rockrails for pickup cabs.

use 1/8 scale buggy fuel line holders to route battery and motor wires to give your truck a good clean look and keep things out of harms way http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d7...d/untitled.jpg

Updated bruiser decals
 

I didnt make these, a kid by the name of Joker did on rcmt years ago, and I just found them on a old data disc

you can always paint the inside of the body silver and then the outside with a coat of primer and then the final color\s you want to give it a realistic rock rash paint removed theme.

Scale Acessories
 

Picture #1 Need an icechest?I used a bottle of pills for mine.Cut the neck off and just wrap the bottle with electrical tape.If you're really dedicated you can fill the hole and paint it.

Picture #2 Need an Igloo water jug?I used a cap from my wifes lotion.Painted orange and the top white.Looks like the real deal.

Picture #3 Need a sleeping bag?Get a peice of webbing,cut it to size and wrap it up.Make secure straps with thread or tape.Tow ropes and regular rope? Use nylon and put heat shrink around the ends.I use a thicker nylon for my tow line and a smaller one for etc.You can find pretty much all this stuff around your house.

Picture#4 Want some racing seats? Use a tin can of Acetone.Trace out a pattern and cut out.Make sure the can is empty before you use a dremel or "Kabloey!!" I'm not finished with these,I'll use some tweed and cover them.Add some nylon for the seatbelts.

Chino63's How to: Get a Bruiser to flex
 

Here is Chinos how to get a leaf spring rig to flex, Thanks for the write up Dean

real flares
 

HOW TO: Realistic fender flares

Nerf Bars
 

I don't know if anyone has done it, but the brush guards that protect the clod axles and usually get discarded when building a crawler. Can be used as nerf bars/steps."thumbsup"