OSRC's TRX-4 Defender "Greybeard"

[alexleblanc]

Looking good, can believe how huge that fj is compared to the tamiya body.

[OSRC]

Got some paint laid down...what I thought would take 30 minutes with 2 simple colors turned into 2 hours filled with rabid cursing, random muttered threats to Fascolor and Testors, mountains of multi colored used paper towels, and a full mug of steaming bitter humiliation. I had all kinds of trouble with my airbrush and getting it to spray correctly. In the end, After clearing and disassembling my airbrush more times than I can count and puzzling until my puzzler was sore, I just realized that the yellow and white paints were very thick. Once thinned out a bit, they sprayed fine.

So I went with some traditional colors - ish. Still need to work on the details yet - window trim, hood latches, etc.




My camera makes it out to be WAY more yellow than than it is... with a bit of photoshop correcting, this is much closer to what it actually looks like:


Shifts from a yellow to a greenish tint depending on the light. Pretty cool color. Graybeard no more!

[OSRC]

Spent some time on the FJ between camping trips... Added some much needed detail to the body. Really came out pretty good. Far lighter than the Defender body, so should be a nice improvement in wheeling abillty! I'd still like to add some inner fenders at some point, and maybe an interior. It's way too airy in there.

Added some faux lights and a modified Redcat rack up top.


Still needs a winch or something on that front bumper.. added mirrors and fender "lights" from a leftover Tamiya body. A little small, but think they came out all right.


Added the rear accessories from the Defender body, sans a spare tire. I cut the gas tank holder in 1/2 so it sports 1 tank ilo 2. Was getting hung up everywhere. Tucks much better now.


Ready to rock!

[OSRC]

I took the FJ out for it's first trail run, but I forgot to grab the radio. Whoops. So when we got home, I decided to run it out back on the test course. Just a few action shots while testing...





All in all, excellent. Body rubs the tires quite a bit, especially up front so I'll need to do more trimming. The panhard link of the axle has come loose so I need to tighten that up. Also, the ESC/Motor combo has gotten funky, almost seems to cog/jump a bit. Don't think the ESC is very happy with crawling duty. Otherwise, COG has dropped dramatically with the loss of the portals and the lighter body. It's so planted compared to my other TRX4's it's crazy. I think I'm going to lose the beef patties from the wheels as I don't think I need them.

Can't wait to get it out for a real trail run.

[durok]

Tha came out way better-looking than I thought anyone could make that new Proline body.

My main complaint was that the windshield glass area seemed too small, like the frame is too thick.

Somehow yours doesn't give off the same impression...

[johnnyluv]

Good to see another FJ40 body on the TRX-4! I’ve been wanting to get mine painted up while the summer weather holds out, here in the PNW. I may get one opportunity to do my favorite hike(which I haven’t done in nearly three years) at the end of this month, and I would like to run my TRX-4, but with a custom shell.

[soze]

Originally Posted by durok

Tha came out way better-looking than I thought anyone could make that new Proline body.

My main complaint was that the windshield glass area seemed too small, like the frame is too thick.

Somehow yours doesn't give off the same impression...

That was also my issue with it. Looks like it turned out ok here though!

[lkvisser]

Originally Posted by SSD

I'm pleased to see you like the portal delete kit.

IMO the truck looks much better without portals.



It's not going away anytime soon.

Thank you.., and I agree 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OSRC]

Finally got a chance to wheel the portal deleted FJ TRX4 this past weekend. Have to say I wasn't impressed....funny how testing on the test area and going out on the trails can be different. I did swap the wheels and tires around, and had a much bigger battery pack installed. Hmmm...

Certainly looked good!


General Grabbers were at least consistent. They sucked everywhere. Flat sucked. Not sure if they didn't like the foams, but I was really struggling for grip.


Did fine on the trails, but when it came to rocks or anything off camber, it was on its side. Think I flipped this more than I ever did when it was a Defender.


Love this pic!! Reaching for the sun!



Found some interesting hippy art on the trail. At least it was something useful and not some random message crap on a rock. pretty clever actually.


Getting some help from a friend.


Have to say I'm really getting the hang of being stuck somewhere, unlocking the rear diff, using the front to pull the truck into position, then banging the rear diff lock in and using to it pop the truck over tough spots... nailed it 2x while wheeling.


Before running, I had put the motor back into stock position... It was ok, but I think that plus running the big battery out back totally messed up my weight bias. I get a bit more gear reduction with the front motor kit...it's definitely going back in... Running an outrunner with the PDK is the way to go - very well matched.


So what gives? Losing the portals and a lighter body up top should have given me a more stable truck...I'm not sure, but it was totally not driving the way I expected.

So time for some changes....

[JatoTheRipper]

That checkerboard is pretty cool.

Please refresh my memory...what's a PDK? Planetary gear reduction I'm assuming what you meant.

Those tires look great so it's a shame they suck. The LC body also looks great. I assume it's lighter than the Defender body by a good bit.

[OSRC]

PDK = Portal Delete Kit. Easier than typing it out constantly

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by OSRC

PDK = Portal Delete Kit. Easier than typing it out constantly

Wow. I'll go hide now.

[OSRC]

Making a little progress here... Started out with an old Proline Militia body for the Revo that I've had in my stash forever. It's actually a decent fit for a crawler - the front is slightly dovetailed and the lexan is very thick.


Did some changing around on the electronics as well. Decided to switch over to 2200 size packs exclusively, which are lighter and lower placed than the old 4000 packs I was running before. Batteries make a ton of difference in how the TRX handles... Found a Tamiya TT02 receiver box, and it was perfect to stash the newly added BEC and gobs of wires from all the servos... mounted it right in the middle of the Bowhouse tray.


Sprayed some color... Curious to see how the Proline Paint holds up....the white and black are PL, the rest are Parma. Last body I sprayed did not seem to hold up well at all. Apparently, the paint is chipping off super easily...it's with another RCC user, so I'm not sure how it's doing long term. We'll see how this holds up.


The joys of having pets in the hobby room... my kitten knocked down a large bin of screws that exploded like a bomb on the floor... *sigh*


Best part of any paintwork...the reveal!


Painted and decaled... I also put the portals back on. I like a super slow and scale driving truck, and just couldn't get there with the gearing when the portals were removed. The ourtunner is a good match, but was missing slow speed resolution. Still tweaking a few things under the hood before the next trail run. Feels GREAT on the bench though.

[CarlC]

Wow, that looks amazing!!!

[OSRC]

After quite a few iterations, I decided I liked this best as a Defender, with the full compliment of lockers and portals. So I gave the Militia body to a friend, picked up a clear body and went back to square one.

Current chassis status. Moved the motor back to the stock location, and changed out the outrunner to a new Holmes 21t/WP1080. I liked the motor up front, but think it performed a bit better with the motor down low. I have a plastic bumper mount on the way to replace that heavy brass one up front as I no longer need the servo mount.


There's a ton of parts to this body! No wonder it weights a a bazillion pounds!


And done. Looks SO much better with clear windows, what a difference!! Used Proline's Slate Blue and I think it came out perfect.


Remounted with some 8-holes and Axial BFG's with CI 4.5 foams. Should be a good trail combo!




Still need to put the scale stuff back on the back... I love it though! Looking forward to getting the Beard back on the trail. No longer Graybeard.....maybe Bluebeard?

[Mudsplat79]

What bumper are you running with the yellow Toyota body? Looks awesome!

[CarlC]

Defender is looking great, hats off to you.

[Daycrawler]

OS that is going to look great rolling through the rocks. once again, nice work!

[OSRC]

Originally Posted by Mudsplat79

What bumper are you running with the yellow Toyota body? Looks awesome!

Front or rear? Assuming you mean front, not sure, Ebay find. Xtraspeed?

Originally Posted by CarlC

Defender is looking great, hats off to you.

Originally Posted by Daycrawler

OS that is going to look great rolling through the rocks. once again, nice work!

Thanks fellas! Daycrawler, hopefully you'll see it soon... weather has been holding out nice.

[RCPawel]

Finally a nice color for a Defender, good Job!