Ntimd8t's Ascender.... work in progress

[ntimd8t]

First post here.. go easy on me..

Had several Axial SCX10 trucks, enjoyed them and thought bigger was better, built two big trucks then was introduced into scaling and found the Axial platform had some hinderances.. (dump truck axles to name one) and wanted something different..

Found out about the Ascender platform from a friend that has one and love the way that truck performs and knew I had to have one to complete my stable along with my Trailfinder 2
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there it is new in the box

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ok.. what to do with this thing.. one to make it my own and different but also make it a class one truck.

the journey begins. make sure your field trip permission slips are signed kids.. we're going on a little journey

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first thing to go were the huge tires that came on this truck, I am a fan of TSL swampers but those will not do for class 1. Using the wheels and tires that came on my TF2 for now to mockup. Lowered the chassis down to get the ride height that I am looking for

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can't believe the amount of flex this truck has and the way the suspension works. I know there is quite a bit of torque twist but for now I am running stock electronics and a 2s. I normally take it pretty slow and will make any adjustments later on depending on how it handles where I normally run

starting to sit back and look at this truck. Love the detail that Vaterra has put into this lexan body but something looks off to me.. been around full 1:1 Jimmy's and Blazers growing up, but something just seems off

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Found it!!! to me the gap between the bumpers and the grille in the front and the trim on the tailgate look way off.. too much material in there looking back through the memories and pictures I have run across just to confirm my memory was right... sorry I'm not as young as I once was and I second guess my mind every now and then

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there we go.. looks much better in my opinion and I was able to lower the body posts (hate the holes coming through and body pins, but body looked good and after I get used to the truck and get another body you can guarrantee there will be no pins)

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started doing some work to make it my own, I liked the color combo the rtr had out of the box but I want my rig to be different.. to be MY RIG. started with painting the shackles

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Out back I painted the shackles as well and added a license plate and tow ball along with a cb antenna. Bent up some 1/4 brake line to make some exhaust, duals are visible below rear bumper. Had a small flag hanging around I never used on another build (didn't have inspiration on mounting for quick removal and to not have holes in the bumper) Kept looking at it then it finally hit me.. cut it down to size and glued a magnet to the bottom of the base and painted it. Glued another magnet to the underside of the rear bumper and it stays in place nicely. But it is also easily removed when I'm actively trailing and there are no extra holes.

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Got it back inside from taking pics to document to that point and ran across a set of mirrors I ordered a while back so I had to add them. In the very near future when funds allow I plan on getting more done. I am going to add door handles, wipers, ordering a dinky interior and customizing it. As well as adding scale accessories to it. I have decided that even though I like the way the 1.55's look I will be running a small class 1 1.9 on some flat black Axial 8 hole beadlocks I have laying around. At the moment it's a tossup between the RC4WD Prowlers and the Tommahawks. I have the prowlers on my TF2 currently and love the performance of them. I also will be doing an Arduino contolled lighting system like on my TF2 as well as down the road another Transmitter controlled winch setup.

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Sitting next to the TF2 the Blazer looks to sit just about right as far as body size compared to the Toyota body. This is all I have for now.. waiting on the temperature outside to warm up so I can finish painting the inside of the body. With going with lights and past experience with factory painted body's there is alot of light bleed through. Did the same with the TF2 body and it just looked so much better taking the light bleed out. More to come when the funds allow very soon.. hope you enjoyed and were not too bored with my truck so far. Some of you guys on here impress me so much with the builds you have done and the scratch built bodies. Kudos to you guys.. my styrene skills need alot of work.. I can make the basic behind the scenes stuff like light buckets but need more work to do some of the things you guys pull off

[Natedog]

Welcome to RCC and glad that you found the Ascender with appropriately sized axle pumpkings, CMS, hardened steel gears, 2-speed option etcetera, I think you'll really enjoy it. Both the Tomahawks and the Prowlers look good for C1 tires...that's a hard choice. RC4WD MTZ is great looking tires too, but maybe little skinny for you? GCM and RC4WD also make 1.55 and 1.7 beadlock wheels.

EDIT: Love the TF2 too.

[ntimd8t]

Thanks for the kind words.. I will have to post more later once I am back home and able to access my photobucket to throw up some more pics.. been detailing some things on the truck while I'm waiting for the money to get parts in. I want to run it so bad.. I have a few times without the body. But I want it to be 100% for its maiden run

[HANgOVER Airbrush RC]

Looking good J.
Can't wait to see it crawling around...
The "attitude" adjustment looks spot on. I'm thinking of doing mine the same, but I believe my interior won't allow it.
I like the headlight lens mod too, if mine weren't such a PITA to remove, I'd fix that as well...maybe a Parma Pen might work(?)

BTW, I'm printing your parts now...

Cheers!

[ntimd8t]

Will definately need to update with some more pics this evening of the few additions that were done this weekend, hopefully I will be able to get to it this evening, got some other plans for scale accessories in my head and I have the supplies to make it happen, just need to get it done and not procrastinate.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by HANgOVER Airbrush RC

...The "attitude" adjustment looks spot on. I'm thinking of doing mine the same, but I believe my interior won't allow it.
I like the headlight lens mod too, if mine weren't such a PITA to remove, I'd fix that as well...maybe a Parma Pen might work(?)

They crawl better with the body down couple holes and looks better imo.

Tamiya clear yellow brush on works great, I bought their clear red the other day for a project.

[ntimd8t]

I used some testors model paint and some paint thinner to get the lenses how I wanted. Pics to come very soon

Alright.. back with some more pics. Finally think my account is straight and I have hit the milestone where I can post more freely and not have the lag behind them, going to keep you guys up to date as best I can. Still waiting on parts and the funds to get them. So I've been messing around with some stuff I had laying around and decided to throw some things together for the Ascender. I am planning on using the DinkyRC interior and know there is a nice space in the back.. why not put some goodies in it!!!

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Had a small box laying around that looked like it would fit the part of a big Yeti cooler.. got to have drinks on the trail right? I'd like to introduce you as well to Jim Bob.. the driver impatiently waiting for his Ascender to be done

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what good is a cooler without anything to drink in it? Found some scale cans I have been using for a while at Michaels. They were soda cans, a little label removal and they appear to be now adult beverages and the "ice" is some glass beads from the Walmart craft section. I think if I recall correctly that is where the box came from as well. Made a small table from styrene to go inside the cooler for the ice to sit on as I don't want to add but so much weight and hot glued a few layers in. The layer including the cans was added and then superglue dripped over the ice to hold it and the cans all together.

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I can't get this guy to do anything without him trying to throw a party somewhere! Also picked up a package that had a scale shotgun and rifle from Michaels as well, figure a guy needs a gun in a truck!?

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You would think that he may want to share but I think I got too close..
Looking at the pics of the Dinky interior the cooler should fit just nicely inside behind the rear seat and add some weight to the back of the rig.

More pictures and updates coming up soon

Back to regularly scheduled programming for now. Done some more work on the Blazer body. Got to looking at the grille and headlights harder and something just seemed off.. I knew I wanted to do some work there as well. Started with the light lenses themselves. On the 1:1 they are sealed beam headlamps and have a bucket they mount into and the trim around the lights does not meet fully. Thinking if I painted around the outer ridge that's already in the lens it would make it look a little better

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also took some yellow testors model paint and thinned it out and did a light coat on the turn signals. I just wanted some color there. I know that once I put yellow bulbs behind there it will light yellow regardless but wanted it to have some color for scale pictures on the trail without the lights on.

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I then went to work on the grille painting behind where some of the stickers seemed to be a little hard to get positioned corrrectly. Also painted the center bar. I know I could have gone red but later on when it's time for a body change I would like to just transfer the grille over and black goes with everything right?

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Here it is back in the truck and I think the difference from stock is night and day

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I even had to go and scale down a VA state inspection sticker just for that added touch. I know it's expired, who bothers anyway if it's normally on the trail? Where's your inspection sticker? LOL

Next up since I have the paint out and I was feeling creative were the wheels. I'm not going to stay with the 1.55's and will be running axial 1.9 beadlocks. The ones I had were the silver set and I started with painting them flat black and adding detail for the lug nuts

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Then I took the hubs and trimmed the outer circles off. They just didn't look right to me and I painted the hubs as well as some detail on them

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Here they are together. Just waiting to be able to order the RC4WD 1.9 tommahawks I like the look of that tire and the reviews I have seen. And it's still a class 1 tire

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[pete959]

Very nice

LIFE IS GOOD

[ntimd8t]

Thanks! It's a work in progress, more to come when the funds allow. Can't wait to really run this thing

[new2rocks]

Nice work. These are great trucks and a lot of fun. I tend to like Tomahawks on heavier rigs (like D90s and D110s with roof racks) because they handle the weight very well without having to add stiff foams. For an all around trailing and crawling tire, they will do well, but keep in mind that the X3 compound isn't as sticky on the rocks (esp slicker ones) as the X2SS compound. If you are planning to comp, it would be worth looking at the 1.7 Iroks (which easily mount to 1.9 wheels), 1.9 Kryptons, or 1.9 Genius Sem Limites. All of those have the X2SS compound with tread patterns that perform very well in a wide range of conditions. Keep the updates coming!

[Itali83]

Really like the grill work. Looks great! I'm going to be doing a GMC grill once I get a spare grill and body to try it on. I've got 3 1:1 GMC's in the yard and always liked their grill better

Ben

[HANgOVER Airbrush RC]

Looks good J.
Nice details...
I noticed the cowl vents...my kit didn't come with those.
Also, Testors makes a Turn Signal Amber, which is supposed to be translucent. I have some, I've never tried it.

BTW, Photobucket inserts the "[IMG] [/IMG]" tags for you, so you don't have to manually add them. I know they are "doubled" cuz I can see them. lol

[ntimd8t]

My rtr didn't have the cowl vents either, they were laying around from some other body from who knows what. I can never seem to part ways with any extra stickers or decals I run across, never know what you may have laying around that works for something. I figured with going for wipers and adding the inspection (expired) sticker it may draw attention to that area and cowl vents would look good. I have played with thinning paint quite a but when I used to be heavily into model cars and didn't have any of the turn signal paint so instead of waiting on ups or going to my local "robby"town I would try what I had on hand.

Forgot to adress the photobucket thing.. that's weird that it does show the img. When I'm posting pics I used advanced reply and copy and paste from photobucket using the image tool.. will have to look into that.

Originally Posted by Itali83

Really like the grill work. Looks great! I'm going to be doing a GMC grill once I get a spare grill and body to try it on. I've got 3 1:1 GMC's in the yard and always liked their grill better
Ben

Thanks! Some things the more you look at it ( waiting on funds for parts makes me just sit and stare at it) make you notice the little things, some things to just make it yours, even though it's an rtr and countless others have the same truck with the same paint. If I'm in a crowd of others with the same base I'd like to have something that stands out, looks a little more realistic and makes people wonder what's been done because something just looks different

Originally Posted by new2rocks

Nice work. These are great trucks and a lot of fun. I tend to like Tomahawks on heavier rigs (like D90s and D110s with roof racks) because they handle the weight very well without having to add stiff foams. For an all around trailing and crawling tire, they will do well, but keep in mind that the X3 compound isn't as sticky on the rocks (esp slicker ones) as the X2SS compound. If you are planning to comp, it would be worth looking at the 1.7 Iroks (which easily mount to 1.9 wheels), 1.9 Kryptons, or 1.9 Genius Sem Limites. All of those have the X2SS compound with tread patterns that perform very well in a wide range of conditions. Keep the updates coming!

I have heard the same about the weight and was what I was planning on, I'm going to be ordering the dinky interior and doing some work to that as well as adding passengers and a driver, as well as the cooler that was posted above. Some tires I liked seemed to want to roll under during steering and with the steering angle this truck has I wanted a decently stiff tire. For the price they're worth a shot and it's a different tire nobody that I run with has. Can be good or bad, to have a slight advantage or be a waste.. but I liked the look and tread pattern and the videos and reviews. I will hopefully be updating soon with more pics as funds allow and parts start coming in to work on.

DinkyRC interior and a set of RC4WD Tomahawks.. should be arriving sometime this week.

Hopefully they will be here soon enough to start putting it together before I head out of town for the weekend. Once this is done just need to get it all together and get some light shed on the situation.

Sometime over the weekend the tire repo guy came along, I tried to tell Jim Bob that the TF2 tires were not staying and were just to set body height and mock up suspension. Ever since I took the tires off to go to new owners Jim Bob has been moping around and laying under the truck in protest.. what to do to get him in a better mood?



I have a few more pics to share for now. Did some trading over the weekend with some friends and got some much needed parts for the build.

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I now have some 3d printed goodies.. wipers, door handles and a rearview mirror. Parts are now in clean up and paint. Also got back my set of seats for a wraith I had, didn't realize I would have needed them so badly when I sold the scx10 they were in.

Lastly you all (if you have been following along have been introduced to Jim Bob, the clown in the cooler pics) I picked up his co driver today I'd like to introduce you to Jethro... seems to have picked up Jim Bob's mood having a seat to actually sit in now to watch the work being done. They are both impaintently waiting for the interior to get here along with the tires and lights to go find a trail.

[ntimd8t]

Originally Posted by HANgOVER Airbrush RC

Photobucket inserts the "[IMG] [/IMG]" tags for you, so you don't have to manually add them. I know they are "doubled" cuz I can see them. lol

think I figured that out finally by manually going back and deleting the img tags when I am uploading the pics!!

[Gene Hobbs]

Originally Posted by ntimd8t

Update... parts have been ordered

DinkyRC interior and a set of RC4WD Tomahawks.. should be arriving sometime this week. Hopefully they will be here soon enough to start putting it together before I head out of town for the weekend. Once this is done just need to get it all together and get some light shed on the situation.

Sometime over the weekend the tire repo guy came along, I tried to tell Jim Bob that the TF2 tires were not staying and were just to set body height and mock up suspension. Ever since I took the tires off to go to new owners Jim Bob has been moping around and laying under the truck in protest.. what to do to get him in a better mood?



I have a few more pics to share for now. Did some trading over the weekend with some friends and got some much needed parts for the build.

[

I now have some 3d printed goodies.. wipers, door handles and a rearview mirror. Parts are now in clean up and paint. Also got back my set of seats for a wraith I had, didn't realize I would have needed them so badly when I sold the scx10 they were in.

Lastly you all (if you have been following along have been introduced to Jim Bob, the clown in the cooler pics) I picked up his co driver today I'd like to introduce you to Jethro... seems to have picked up Jim Bob's mood having a seat to actually sit in now to watch the work being done. They are both impaintently waiting for the interior to get here along with the tires and lights to go find a trail.

Where did you get your driver and passenger? How tall are they?

[ntimd8t]

Originally Posted by Gene Hobbs

Where did you get your driver and passenger? How tall are they?

They are wrestlers, it was hard to find figures that were not only dressed in leotards or underwear lol. They are both about 6.5 tall. Hopefully they should fit in the dinky interior, from alot of pics I have seen of it the seats sit up on a platform and with the blazer body being closer to a 1:9 they should work. Fingers are crossed. Sitting them in the truck in the seats with a peice of cardboard about where the floor will be they look about right. Should find out very soon once the interior arrives for sure.

[ntimd8t]

Originally Posted by Gene Hobbs

Looking forward to see how they fit.

I am as well.. mockup without the interior looks ok, the dinky kit is out for delivery so mockup should start tonight.

So it was time to be creative again for the fellow crawlers I normally go scaling with.

hmm... what can be going on here

trimming them out and cutting some loose makes them look like something.. right?


now we are starting to take shape

ammo cans!!!


couple coats of paint. and some detail with a toothpick with some paint some sanding, clearing, sanding, clearing. and handles from mechanics wire with heatshrink for the grips



unfortunately I don't have the space for a scale garage at the moment.. need to clean out a area in the spare bedroom, but my wife enjoys watching me tinker and build and be creative so I am not sure how that will work?!

Ok enough teasing...

Was a very busy day at work yesterday, but my favorite person came by the delivery guy

wonder what can be in here??


new RC4WD Tomahawk 1.9's


Dinky RC Ascender interior


tires mounted on the refinished wheels. Seeing those finally mounted after all the work that went into them made it worthwhile.. I think they came out better than I had expected. And keeping with SORRCA rules they are within class one designation with having a O.D of 4.1 where max is 4.19


The interior although I love the way it looks has been a fight to get it right. It's not with any of the fitment. It came from Dinky perfect, it's just how I am invisioning using it getting it to cooperate and play nice. Had to trim the back corners to allow for clearance for soon coming taillight buckets and do a little filling where I took too much material out in a few spots. I also added a little reinforcement in the interior as I know I will be adding some weight inside and I wanted to make sure I have it braced for more than what Dinky made it for. It didn't feel flimsy just would rather overdo it while it's going together and take my time than have to tear it apart to try to fix it later. I am working on the steering column as well to get that ready. Going to shoot a couple coats of flat into this to cover the filler and the notched back section in the morning hopefully. Been waiting on adhesive to dry fully before I moved on to another section and waiting for filler to dry and sand, sand, sand. I wish my email was acting right with sending pics have a few more things to share but gmail is being slow tonight and I am driving out of town in the morning. I will get back on the trail of getting it ready and adding pics from along the way as soon as I get back and get more work done.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[jj650]

I'm watching this progress closely. It was tough to find any build threads on this body with a full interior, I'm building an SCX10 with this body and the Dinky interior.
By no means am I hijacking your thread, but here is the link to my build if you want to see how I did my interior and magnet body mounting system.
Vaterra K5 Blazer body+SCX10=class 1 trail truck

[easyover]

I got my Dinky to fit pretty well. I agree they didn't leave room for light buckets, and it's a little more work if you lower the body. I also mounted the dash to the body rather than the interior tub. I've added steering column and wheel since I took pics

[Biomedchad]

Looks like more bench time and less fun time. Oh well. My interior is looking at me on the shelf.