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Thread: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

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Old 09-09-2019, 09:56 PM   #1
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Default HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

I've had this chassis assembled for a few months now but was busy with another build. I finished off the other build but I stalled at getting started again for a few reasons.


The body, Killerbody LC70 which has very small wheel wells.






My Tire choice, Proline Flat Irons which are huge but I've wanted to try these out for a while. What you dont see in the pic below is how high the body needs to sit to not rub (way too high). I knew these would pose a challenge but thought I'd just go for it.






So I 3D printed some parts to get the sliders higher. I started off trying to just use some wedge shaped spacers that go between the slider/tray and angle them up.





Then I needed them higher so I printed new trays starting with a 13mm rise then a 28mm rise that was very "boat sidey".








Then the body finally fit with the giant tires..... and looked terrible just way too high. The gap from the front grill to the chassis was huge and I couldn't imagine a decent looking bumper that would bridge that big of a gap (maybe 2-3")


So after a little break I was back on track and I've scrapped the idea of using the 4.75" tires and I've settled on some 4.19" KM3's which are fitting much better. I still ended up using the raised slider trays (13mm) in order to get the body where it needed to sit. Oh and I'm pleased to be able to use some SSD wheels (and scale hubs) with it, I love SSD .





I also get full coverage using the fender flares from Killerbody





I redesigned my slider trays a bit after I decided to make my own rock sliders, I did this just so I could make the mounting arms on the sliders thicker and stronger (they would have been super weak if I stuck with the stock sizing). I had originally planned to re-use the SSD rock sliders but they were too wide and didn't fit the length so I made my own design.


I'm printing a revised version right now but it will look pretty much the same. I forgot to snap a picture but these work with the stock slider tray bottoms to get rid of any snag points.


















Rewind to when I got the roller together and I printed up both of the SSD engine spacers, I though I needed the 15mm version but ended up needing the 25MM version. These also raise the small block up which is welcomed, it would have otherwise sat quite low. Thanks for making these available SSD!


Distributor is gonna be a PITA to work on though









The small block just didn't look right being all shiny plastic so I scuffed it up and weathered it. You can see the 15mm spacer in these shot (I still haven't painted the 25mm version yet). I also got the hinge kit from Killerbody so the hood will open to show off the awesome engine.










The valve covers are painted silver but black plastic underneath, I sanded the tops of the ridges to get a little more character.






I did one little tweak to the drag link swapping the long rod end for a short one, this centered the servo horn a bit more. When stock it sits at more of an angle and at full lock to the left the servo horn and drag link get close to being inline. When that happens the servo horn has less leverage to do its job, it still works when stock but works better like this. I had an Ascender setup similar to stock but worse and it just ran out of steam when steering in one direction.


This is where the servo horn sits when the wheels are centered after changing the rod end, its farther off center when stock.







I only had a 25mm servo horn which is not recommended by SSD but with a bit of grinding it just clears the panhard mount.






My original plan with the 4.75" tires was to do a truggy but now that I plan to use class 1 tires I'm gonna keep the bed but its the heaviest part of the body by far so I may cut the drop bed portion out and do a tonneau cover, that would also allow me to use the stock shock towers. I think I'll also bob the bed maybe 30mm. I'm also considering cutting the bed up and leaving just the bed sides and doing up a cage.

I really do like the Trail king, it seems like a very solid platform. After also putting together the Enduro Kit recently I think I prefer the Trail king for is lower CG due to the chassis and motor position. I still like the Enduro but before getting both I had assumed SSD would be all about scale where the Enduro would be the performer but after building both I think the Trail King is likely to be quite the performer too maybe even better.

I've been resisting the urge to drive it without the body which I'll usually do but its kind of a motivation or reward for when I do finish.

I've also got the Knuckle weights installed up front https://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/ssd00140.htm and I'll probably order up the rear weights along with overdrive when they're available.

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 09-09-2019 at 10:36 PM.
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Old 09-09-2019, 10:26 PM   #2
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Nice! You know I was planning to do the exact same thing! I have a LC70 body that I bought off 1.55yota a while back. I got the Trail King during their sale just to use with the LC70 body!
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Old 09-09-2019, 10:44 PM   #3
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Oh nice! I might have some 3D printed parts (or the models rather) you might be interested in. I was thinking of sharing them on Thingiverse when I'm done with them.

Though sometimes I wonder how useful these models will be since it would just be for the Trail king and just if you're using the LC70, a bit of a niche application.
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Old 09-09-2019, 11:25 PM   #4
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Yeah, I'm also thinking of picking up a Prusa now that they have the powdercoat sheets, but I can't do it if I keep picking up RCs!!! I really do need to get rid of some rigs probably, but it's hard to do. Thankfully they VS-410 pro is out of stock at the moment.
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Old 09-10-2019, 05:01 AM   #5
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Cool build, you got some skills tool.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
Oh nice! I might have some 3D printed parts (or the models rather) you might be interested in. I was thinking of sharing them on Thingiverse when I'm done with them.

Though sometimes I wonder how useful these models will be since it would just be for the Trail king and just if you're using the LC70, a bit of a niche application.
I will be uploading a few new things (Bronco rear body post, etc...) to the SSD thingverse page soon so if you want me to upload them let me know. Free download not for sale obviously.

I think it's useful to have all of the niche body mounts available for all to use.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
I really do like the Trail king, it seems like a very solid platform. After also putting together the Enduro Kit recently I think I prefer the Trail king for is lower CG due to the chassis and motor position. I still like the Enduro but before getting both I had assumed SSD would be all about scale where the Enduro would be the performer but after building both I think the Trail King is likely to be quite the performer too maybe even better.
The performance aspect of the Trail King seems to have been missed by many. It really is a very good performer due to the chassis layout. Plus 50 degrees steering and smoother underside.

Last edited by SSD; 09-10-2019 at 05:06 AM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 10:22 AM   #6
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Quote:
Originally Posted by soze View Post
Yeah, I'm also thinking of picking up a Prusa now that they have the powdercoat sheets, but I can't do it if I keep picking up RCs!!! I really do need to get rid of some rigs probably, but it's hard to do. Thankfully they VS-410 pro is out of stock at the moment.

I dont regret the purchase at all, it really opens up a ton of new options. I've had really good luck with the standard spring steel (PEI) sheets too, they have a nice smooth bottom (and so will your prints) where the powder coated ones have a bit of a bedliner like texture which shows in the print.

I've also been considering culling my fleet a bit, its just hard for me to part with them. I tend to not sell or throw old things out, I still have my original PS1, PS2 and PS3 for no good reason.




Quote:
Originally Posted by SSD View Post
Cool build, you got some skills tool.

I will be uploading a few new things (Bronco rear body post, etc...) to the SSD thingverse page soon so if you want me to upload them let me know. Free download not for sale obviously.

I think it's useful to have all of the niche body mounts available for all to use.

The performance aspect of the Trail King seems to have been missed by many. It really is a very good performer due to the chassis layout. Plus 50 degrees steering and smoother underside.

Thank you! I'll assume you weren't calling me a tool and meant to type too lol



I'd be happy to have you share my designs, though maybe its better for me to post it and you can add it to a Trail King section or group that way I'm to blame for any shoddy work. I noticed Redcat did something similar where they have a section just for their trucks and some designs are directly from them and some are from the community.


As for the performance aspect I really look forward to putting it through its paces. I often get new rigs and start redesigning the layout and changing things here and there but I really dont see much to improve on, its a very well thought out layout

I've also wondered how the motor placement compares with the Vanquish VFD tranny? They seem like they both might have the motor as low as possible (Great work on that BTW)

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 09-10-2019 at 10:29 AM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 10:35 AM   #7
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
I dont regret the purchase at all, it really opens up a ton of new options. I've had really good luck with the standard spring steel (PEI) sheets too, they have a nice smooth bottom (and so will your prints) where the powder coated ones have a bit of a bedliner like texture which shows in the print.

I've also been considering culling my fleet a bit, its just hard for me to part with them. I tend to not sell or throw old things out, I still have my original PS1, PS2 and PS3 for no good reason.
LOL, speak of the devil. I just recently sold my NES, Super NES, PS1, Gamecube, Dreamcast. Still have the PS2 to get rid of... can't find someone to pick it up and it's chipped with tons of games.

You know what made me finally give them up? HDTV. I couldn't stand to play them because they looked like crap on newer TVs.


I hear you on the rigs though. Especially when you start putting some work into customizing them.

Last edited by soze; 09-10-2019 at 10:42 AM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 10:56 AM   #8
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

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Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
I've also wondered how the motor placement compares with the Vanquish VFD tranny? They seem like they both might have the motor as low as possible (Great work on that BTW)
As a fellow RC hoarder and an owner of both the Trail King and VS410 Pro, the VFD motor is a good bit lower (only a few MM higher than the top mounting surface of the skidplate) but not as far forward. The motor on the SSD trans is nearly a full motor length farther forward.
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Old 09-10-2019, 11:10 AM   #9
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Thanks for chiming in svt923, I just measured and the Trail King motor is about 9mm up from the top of the skid, not too shabby.


Uh... tiny side note/question. I just noticed under my username it says I wanna be Dave, I know I can change that and that it changes with post count but I'm just wondering what the origin of that might be? Any ideas?

I should probably change it to RC hoarder, lol

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 09-10-2019 at 11:14 AM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 11:26 AM   #10
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
Thanks for chiming in svt923, I just measured and the Trail King motor is about 9mm up from the top of the skid, not too shabby.


Uh... tiny side note/question. I just noticed under my username it says I wanna be Dave, I know I can change that and that it changes with post count but I'm just wondering what the origin of that might be? Any ideas?

I should probably change it to RC hoarder, lol
I wanna say I heard the explanation of that, kicks in at 2k posts I believe and it makes fun of an old school member for some reason or other
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Old 09-10-2019, 11:27 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
Thanks for chiming in svt923, I just measured and the Trail King motor is about 9mm up from the top of the skid, not too shabby.
Both are really good, just different ways of going about it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HumboldtEF View Post
Uh... tiny side note/question. I just noticed under my username it says I wanna be Dave, I know I can change that and that it changes with post count but I'm just wondering what the origin of that might be? Any ideas?

I should probably change it to RC hoarder, lol
A question that has been asked for a very long time.

who's Dave
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Old 09-10-2019, 11:39 AM   #12
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Yes, I need to sell off a few vehicles that sit on the shelf and collect dust in order to finance my 1.9 scale purchase. I'm still on the fence of what to get, especially after reading about this new King of Trails.

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Old 09-10-2019, 04:39 PM   #13
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

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Originally Posted by DukeMinnix View Post
I wanna say I heard the explanation of that, kicks in at 2k posts I believe and it makes fun of an old school member for some reason or other
Quote:
Originally Posted by svt923 View Post
Both are really good, just different ways of going about it.



A question that has been asked for a very long time.

who's Dave

Hey thanks for the explanations and the link, I better change that title quick
For those who dont want to check the link he posted a ton and was a bit of an arse.
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Dave was the name of a guy on here that posted non-stop. He has been MIA for years, but recently popped up a couple of times. The system is setup so that when you hit 2,000 post that is what your title says. Since you have a star you can make it say whatever you want.

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Originally Posted by Natedog View Post
One of my favorite bodies!

Ford smallblock is much easier to access distributor and is narrower V than Chevy so it can sit lower between frame rails.

Looking good with sanded valve cover fins, those are OG sweetness.


Yes, as a paying star holder you can change that, it's based on post count from what I can tell. Ya, I've got a tiny truck problem too lol.

I've been eying the LC70 body for a while but I always knew the small fenders wells would limit the tire size so I stayed away from it for the longest time plus I already have 2 Toyotas and prefer to have some variety.
I wouldn't mind it it were a Ford small block, I like the underdogs and less common engines (the LS bores me to death its just too overused, yes I know theres a reason)



Quote:
Originally Posted by MaX-D View Post
Yes, I need to sell off a few vehicles that sit on the shelf and collect dust in order to finance my 1.9 scale purchase. I'm still on the fence of what to get, especially after reading about this new King of Trails.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

Yeah its a good problem to have these days, too many good options!

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 09-10-2019 at 04:44 PM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 05:14 PM   #14
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Very nice!
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Old 10-01-2019, 10:58 AM   #15
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Okay I hit a snag with the body that held me up for a while, I test fitted the hinged hood kit for the LC70 and it was pretty poor fitting, I'm not impressed. I'm sure with it hard mounted it likely fits nicer but the hinge just throws off the whole fit of it.

In the rear the corners and sides stick up about 1mm higher than the fenders due to the hinge. Up front the Hood latch mechanism has a spring loaded release setup which means when its shut there is a spring pushing up on the hood. This gives the front a poor fit too making it stick up .75mm or so.

I only managed to get a shot of the rear corner



So I had a long few weeks where I just stared at it wondering what the fix was. I did some carving, shaving, massaging and general panel beating and finally got the fitment ironed out.

I clearenced the hinges so they would fold together more but I found even with that they didn't want to sit flush unless the rear was physically pushed down on.
I cut some of the Killerbody spru's and bonded them to the underside of the hood. These contact the main body and force the rear down (I glued a few scraps to the spot on the main body it contacts so its touching a larger surface area). Much better!











Fitment after



I also go the front to cooperate by heating the underside of the hood with a heat gun and bending the front left and right sides down just a hair. It took a few tries to get right, I was worried I'd melt fingerprints into the plastic but I got lucky.





So next is getting back to bobbing the rear. I modeled up a jig for making the cut, it took 35 hours to print Luckily it works!



The bed keys into the jig



I plan to make the cut with a fine toothed hand saw, probably tonight.



I also did some work patching holes in the body I dont need, for the snorkel and an optional radio antenna location. I used left over sprue carving it to fit, then realized I could chuck it up in a drill to shape the plugs much faster and better.

EDIT: there were a few plugs provided by Killerbody on one of the sprues to patch the antenna and wiper holes, a nice touch. I still needed more though lol




I also mixed up a slurry of Acetone and the body material to use as filler and touch up (the black/gray color is due to the acetone being contaminated with black styrene). I use a small flathead screwdriver to apply it and block sanded to clean it up.





Quote:
Originally Posted by dezfan View Post
Very nice!

Thanks!

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 10-01-2019 at 05:32 PM.
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Old 10-01-2019, 11:48 AM   #16
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Awesome build so far! Love the engine detailing.

Great feedback on the performance of this truck, and thanks to you and SVT for info about the motor location compared to the VS4-10 Pro.
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Old 10-01-2019, 04:54 PM   #17
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

I can't wait to see this body - definitely cool, using professional auto-body tricks to modify it to your liking!
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Old 10-01-2019, 05:26 PM   #18
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

Yeah as I was doing it I was definitely thinking this is just like using aftermarket fenders/panels on a 1:1 (they never fit right).

Shame on them for the poor OEM fitment lol
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Old 10-02-2019, 11:01 AM   #19
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

I got the bed bobbed last night, the jig did its job well and made it super easy. The bed has separate rails that cap the sides and I installed them (just slipped on not glued) while I cut the bed so that they were also cut to the right length.

I figured that the little tie down hooks on these rails would have a weird spacing after getting cut but it turned out to be fine, its very close to being as symmetrical as it started out.



Its my first time cutting and piecing a body back together, I've done patchwork and clean up but never this. I have to say its not too tough for those who might be intimidated. I just did one end at a time so I wasn't overwhelmed at having to get all of the seams in line at once.

I used Plastruct Plastic Weld to fuse it back together. I probably should have had some clamps ready to go because as I glued it up in sections to get each aligned nicely the natural warp of the plastic was pushing my fresh seems off a tiny bit. Anyway I clamped it in my hands for a while until the plastic had fully hardened.

Once the plastic was hard I block sanded the seems to get them cleaned up. These 3D printed sanding blocks were very useful especially the smallest one, just scale it up or down to fit your needs (STL files for these are here , not my creation)











Now I can focus on paint prep a bit more and hopefully I can get it ready before we run out of warm dry days. I may also make up some door cards to clean up the interior (which it wont really have, just a dash and steering wheel). The bed needs to be cut to clear the shock towers. I'll probably make up a tonneau cover to conceal the cut out in the bed.

Last edited by HumboldtEF; 10-02-2019 at 11:05 AM.
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Old 10-02-2019, 11:46 AM   #20
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Default Re: HumboldtEF's LC70 SSD Trail King

So much YES! to this build. I'll be watching it progress.
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