SVT's Vanquish VS4-10 Extravaganza!

[odomandr]

toeing the line....

[svt923]

Originally Posted by bilinvic

Great thread....but I have to say....why in the hell would you NOT use CI Lil' Nova 2-stage foams? Surely the stock foams are going to suck!

How else am I going to find out if they suck or not?

They provide the tire some good structure without feeling overly stiff like the ones included with Pitbull tires. CI foams are great but it's not like there aren't companies making good single stage open cell foams these days.

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I'm sure they're "fine".

TBD if they are fine , fine , or fine .

Originally Posted by odomandr

toeing the line....

You kids and your strange, dirty euphemisms.

[2mtech]

Wearing Gucci loafers with thrift store socks

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[svt923]

Originally Posted by 2mtech

Wearing Gucci loafers with thrift store socks

Blew my sock budget on this truck so sacrifices must be made.

[svt923]

Hi.

I'm back.

How was watching that paint dry? Pretty exhilarating, right?

It's Friday so you know what that means: mailing it in on your last day of work for the week while counting the minutes until you are free from your servitude for a few days!

And I have an update!

Things are shaping up for you after all.

We join our build already in progress where our hero has arrived at this stage:



Rolling chassis status.

The steps from last time you saw the chassis until now were pretty basic.



Inner fenders were bolted on after painting. They got a coat of Duratrax black on the inside and black plasti dip on the outside so they are always black.

Bumpers were bolted on.



The rear bumper has several sets of holes to adjust length for different bodies, the manual wasn't real clear as to which holes were supposed to be used.

Electronics tray was bolted on.



This was the first area where the fit wasn't great. The tray bolts to the sliders at 4 points and to 2 mounting brackets attached to the chassis. The angle of the tray was such that it wouldn't rest flat on the sliders so the front mounting screw could be attached. I cannot say for certain that it came out of the box like this because my son may have very well trampled on it. Being aluminum however, it wasn't hard to put a little more angle on the bend by hand and get it fitted.

Also shown, the body capture brackets that have been bolted to the sliders. These fall firmly into the category of "things you never know you needed in your life until you have them".

Front bumper has been bolted on as well.



What is that on the bumper? More on that in a minute.

A quick note on the subject of servo horn clearance, this is full lock on my truck.



There is still plenty of room between the panhard mount and the servo horn. If you have a servo where the distance from the mounting ears to the output shaft is more than the average servo, then you may have issues with the horn hitting the panhard mount below the cutout for servo horn clearance.

I dropped the body on because I couldn't resist.



Things are really starting to look like a truck. I may actually get one running in under 6 months!



Looks like I picked the correct set of rear bumper mounting holes.

So back to that thing on the front bumper.



I designed a fairlead that bolts onto the 2 holes on the top of the bumper meant for a Vanquish 1 inch light bar. This was the first prototype I had printed through Shapeways to check fit and the dimensions are spot on. There are a few tweaks I want to make to the design then I'll get one printed up in steel.

That is about all for today as far as actual productivity, it is Friday after all. I can share that the test paint color was a success () but now I need to go buy more supplies (). Electronics will go in soon and it will be moving under it's own power.

But not today because Friday.

[JatoTheRipper]

Looking good!

I really like the look of those tires.

Why did you decide to use Plastidip on the fenders instead of good ol' paint?

[svt923]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Looking good!

I really like the look of those tires.

Why did you decide to use Plastidip on the fenders instead of good ol' paint?

Thanks, it's definitely coming along.

I used the Plastidip on the outside only to give them a matte, slightly texturized finish, the inside is regular RC paint. If the Plastidip gets ripped up from tire rub or whatever, the black paint on the other side hides it. When the Plastidip gets completely trashed, it can just be pealed off and replaced.

[Stewy]

Originally Posted by svt923

There is still plenty of room between the panhard mount and the servo horn. If you have a servo where the distance from the mounting ears to the output shaft is more than the average servo, then you may have issues with the horn hitting the panhard mount below the cutout for servo horn clearance.

What servo horn are you running?

Originally Posted by svt923

Looks like I picked the correct set of rear bumper mounting holes.

Which holes did you use?

Originally Posted by svt923

I designed a fairlead that bolts onto the 2 holes on the top of the bumper meant for a Vanquish 1 inch light bar. This was the first prototype I had printed through Shapeways to check fit and the dimensions are spot on. There are a few tweaks I want to make to the design then I'll get one printed up in steel.

That is about all for today as far as actual productivity, it is Friday after all. I can share that the test paint color was a success () but now I need to go buy more supplies (). Electronics will go in soon and it will be moving under it's own power.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but SBG has this with logo in his shapeways shop already. https://www.shapeways.com/product/UV...li=marketplace

[svt923]

Answers in red.

Originally Posted by Stewy

What servo horn are you running?

Vanquish 20mm

Which holes did you use?

I think it was the 2nd and 4th holes.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but SBG has this with logo in his shapeways shop already. https://www.shapeways.com/product/UV...li=marketplace

Doesn't rain on my parade at all, they are different styles and I can print my fairlead for almost half the cost.

[Stewy]

Originally Posted by svt923

Answers in red.

Thanks for the quick response and entertaining build(s)!

[svt923]

So, do you know that thing where you are an adult and you have to do stuff instead of playing with toy trucks?

Yeah, it sucks.

I have this VS4-10 to build and not once did the dishes decide to wash themselves, the groceries decide to walk from the store to my pantry, or the grass decide to mow itself. Lousy, lazy millennial chores.

Anyway, after much use of masking tape, painting is underway. Since more live streams of paint drying would just whip you animals into sensory overload, we are just going to skip that for today. Other chassis related things progressed on in the mean time.



And now I get to employ one of my favorite TV episode plot devices: the JJ Abrams time rewind.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

The chassis was complete but there was still work to be done.



Notice the slots in the electronics tray? Those are important but you already know why because you have seen the end result. The time shift mechanism emphasizes the importance of the journey, not the destination. That may be an important life lesson for you, I don't really know you on a personal level in order to say for sure.

A Traxxas receiver box was bolted in place.



This particular receiver box is from the Rustler/Bandit/Stampede (part # 3628 if you are curious) and bolts directly to the slots in the electronics plate. The catch is you will have to use M2.5 screws longer than what is included with the receiver box. I believe M2.5x16mm screws and nuts were used but no actual measurements were taken. You can drill out the holes in the receiver box to M3 but you would also have to grind the mounting slots in the electronics plate a bit longer for them to fit.

I went the receiver box route, not because I believe in its waterproof sealing abilities (or any receiver box's waterproof abilities for that matter), but because I can stuff most of my excess wire inside. The receiver has been conformal coated for real waterproof protection inside the waterproof-esque box. Also, I will probably never drive through that much water so double waterproofing makes complete sense.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the chassis:



Mamba X.

What else would I choose? Ok, I would choose some other ESCs too but I had this Mamba X sitting unused in a box so it won by virtue of me owning it already. There were actually 2 unused Mamba Xs sitting in my spare electronics cabinet because I have a serious RC problem. Some kind of therapy group is probably what I need but the fact I'm not the worst RC hoarder I know is good enough comfort for now.

To keep the signal wire out of the driveshaft, I made up this handy little lexan bracket and bolted it to the transmission.



The wiring ended up pretty neat and tidy, I don't usually put too much time into that as long as it all fits under the body and away from moving parts. The 2 inch sensor wire I found in my box of assorted wires is about the perfect length for this truck.

The last piece of the puzzle is the radio because it would be mighty lame to be pushing this truck around like it was a Tonka dump truck. The VS4-10 commands a radio that says "I demand performance and quality with an air of being better than everyone else". Cue the sounds of shuffling through a cabinet of radios.



The trusty Airtronics (or Sanwa depending on your location in the world) M12. Every scale truck needs 1,000 different adjustments and 1.5ms response time, right? Sure, why the hell not?

In practicality, the M12 has channels that can be mapped to the adjustment knob (twist knob for the Mamba X's adjustable drag brake) and lever (the best winch control method of any radio) and it is incredibly easy to program. I, and everyone by extension, love Airtronics/Sanwa radios just don't think about that whole spending $70 on extra receivers thing.

And with that, we arrive back to where we started at the beginning of the episode.



Wow, just like dozens and dozens of episodes of Alias, which is one of the greatest shows of all time. I encourage everyone to go watch all 5 seasons while painting continues. We can get real deep with SD-6, Project Christmas, and Rambaldi references next time if you do your homework.

If anyone needs me, I'll be inhaling paint fumes.

[JatoTheRipper]

Mamba X is a great choice in any rig - brushed or brushless.

The Lexan wire guide is awesome. I'll have to steal that thinkery some time.

Looking good. Are you also impressed with the tars? Sorry, if you have already touched on this. My memory is as good as...well I forget.

[calcagno45]

Nice hand. Many bottles of Jergens have served you well.

Originally Posted by svt923

[svt923]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Mamba X is a great choice in any rig - brushed or brushless.

The Lexan wire guide is awesome. I'll have to steal that thinkery some time.

Looking good. Are you also impressed with the tars? Sorry, if you have already touched on this. My memory is as good as...well I forget.

The tires have all the qualities you would want in a good tire so I'm looking forward to testing them out.

Originally Posted by calcagno45

Nice hand. Many bottles of Jergens have served you well.

Thanks but I had to use a prop hand to take the picture.

I actually only have 4 fingers, my eternal curse is mathematically having no middle finger.

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by svt923

Thanks but I had to use a prop hand to take the picture.

I actually only have 4 fingers, my eternal curse is mathematically having no middle finger.

That would seriously impair your ability to properly express yourself on 440.

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[PoorManRC]

ALL that Progress and Uber Coolness.... AND Time Travel as well!!!
I'm GETTING one of these somehow. Sure, the "Cool Kid" effect is nice an all - even in my mid 50's.... but I'm really drawn to the sheer, through and through QUALITY and Skill that went into making such a Kit of this Caliber.
Josh has already Sold me, but watching the bits going together just eliminates any reservations I may have had.

You even appear to be having a real good time building it!! I have no idea where you're Streaming, but I can't WAIT to see how the Paint turns out!

[svt923]

Originally Posted by 2mtech

That would seriously impair your ability to properly express yourself on 440.

I'm from Jersey so I make due with obnoxious horn use, aggressive tailgating, and screaming creatively assembled chains of profanity.

Originally Posted by PoorManRC

ALL that Progress and Uber Coolness.... AND Time Travel as well!!!
I'm GETTING one of these somehow. Sure, the "Cool Kid" effect is nice an all - even in my mid 50's.... but I'm really drawn to the sheer, through and through QUALITY and Skill that went into making such a Kit of this Caliber.
Josh has already Sold me, but watching the bits going together just eliminates any reservations I may have had.

You even appear to be having a real good time building it!! I have no idea where you're Streaming, but I can't WAIT to see how the Paint turns out!

I still believe in putting together a high quality build thread, even if I have to break the laws of time and space to do it.

No time for a witty opening today because incredible things have happened in the last week.

It was painting time and I had a vision of what I wanted, now we relive the journey to see if I can execute.

We start with some supplies:



You'll have to trust me on this.

And the secret ingredient: pigment powder



There have already been many great looking VS4-10 builds surfacing on the interwebs, great measures must be taken to build a unique one at this point.

The Origin body was washed up then came the taping, so much taping. After laying down about 8 coats of the Parma/pigment mixture with the airbrush, the whole thing was backed with good, old Duratrax black.

And we arrive here:



Oh my! (thanks George Takei voice in my head).

This metallic bronze is legitimately amazing, the camera will never do justice to the depth and the way the bronze pigments subtly reflect the light.

Now it is time to bolt those myriad of scale details on the body. First up was the radiator.



I'm going out on a limb and declaring this is the best scale radiator included with any kit on the market. That take is so hot, my fingers are blistering just from typing it.

The front light buckets were given a coat of chrome from the ever handy Molotow chrome pen. Not sure if those giant 10mm leds need any help but why not go a little scale nerd? You'll see this was probably the least scale nerd detail that happened.



Body, meet grille.



The only hole you have to add to the body is for the screw holding on the fuel filler cap. Guess it is not predrilled so you can put it in your preferred location depending on what year Scout you feel like imitating. I would love to tell you that I installed it on the rear of the fender to mimic a 19 whatever whatever Scout but I just went with what I though looked better.



You can also see the subtle metal flake look from the pigment powder in this pic. Told you the color is amazing.

Rear light buckets went in too.



Hey, I know those guys!



Those guys too!



Not a single Facebook sticker on the sheet! Take that social media!

Interior time!



I gave the interior a color matched paint job as I figure a nicely restored Scout would have. The included shifter was cut down into a short throw version because performance and I printed up a center switch panel because the included sticker was a bit plain for me.

Then I got a little carried away.



You can see why a body takes a week to paint when you keep stopping to design, print, and detail tiny truck parts.

Knight Customs make a fine interior detailing kit but I needed something a little different. When browsing Google images for Scout dash ideas, I came across this gauge layout and decided to copy it. It would be cool if I could tell you this is the dash of a 1968 Scout but really I have no idea which year this came from. The gauge faces from the included sticker sheet were cut out and carefully jammed into my printed gauge cluster.



Also, 8 track player! Your VS4-10 doesn't have an 8 track player, I guarantee this. In fact, if you used the included sticker sheet, your VS4-10 doesn't have any radio. I hope your driver enjoys the sound of wind for hours on end.

The window trim stickers were added on the outside of the body and the interior was bolted in place.



Now for the moment of truth!



Does anyone else have goosebumps?

Pic party!








Man, I love this truck already.

This almost makes you forgive it for being lexan.




A little behind the scenes for the color inspiration: the body color is a near perfect match for the beadlock rings on the Super Shafty wheels (although the light kinda plays tricks with the camera).



The first metallic bronze VS4-10 with color matched wheels and an 8 track player, now that is a VS4-10 post worth a week of waiting. I'm still waiting on lights and a few other detail pieces but my truck grows ever closer to making it out in the great outdoors.

It's time for me to go but I'll leave the light on so you can continue soaking this in.

[mikemcE]

I love using pearl x . Did it spray fine in the Parma? I’ve shot a lot of it at 65psi, wondered if the flake was even ?
I usually put it in clear for more pop.
Great looking rig !!


Hang up and Drive

[B-MOW71]

Very nice. Really like the color. Beautiful wheels. The dash looks really nice with the radio and grab handle. Great job!

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[2mtech]

Originally Posted by svt923

I'm from Jersey so I make due with obnoxious horn use, aggressive tailgating, and screaming creatively assembled chains of profanity.

So that was YOU!!

Truck looks absolutely amazing...detailed interior work will for sure set it apart. My '70 Scout had an 8-track player so that's nicely nostalgic.

I trust you that the paint is stunning...I'll wait for direct sunlight pics. Interior lighting and the camera obviously do not do it justice.

You should be proud of this one...but sooner or later you'll have to drive it.......