Here is a build that was mostly completed late last winter. I picked up this VP Chassis Kit and Origin body out of the local classifieds. Having recently completed my Phoenix Portal, I was pretty stoked on VP quality and the price was too good to refuse so I nabbed it.
The Shock towers had been hopped up to VP clear anodized alum, a nice touch for sure. I would have preferred the body unpainted but figured I could work with what was there. I have always liked the Origin body.
I had a set of AR44's kicking around from an abandoned builders kit and popped into my local hobby shop for a sweet set of VP links. So first I built it into a slider
A gratuitous workshop pic with my slider
I threw a set of neglected old Proline KR2's on it so it could roll. Then I started high-siding the body to lower the LCG some. The plan was to cage the rear of the interior which meant I needed to get the body to its final ride height. I photographed this, so this must have been where I stopped cutting
Then I started brazing some tube. I consider myself a novice and a hack with my brazing skills. I just make shit up as I go along. The goal is always to simply enjoy myself and learn from the mistakes (there are plenty).
After I got a base brazed up to build upon, for shits and giggles I chucked on this Proline Metric Cab to see how it might look. I would be lying if I didn't say I was tempted to change directions at this point. I quite like how this fit together
...anyway, I kept going, brazing away. Took it to here and began to wonder if this was a good idea:ror:
The good news is tube is light
As you might have already noticed I decided on a set of Incision MR307's for the build. I also wanted a most aggressive tire and so went straight for a set of Flat Iron's. As you can see here, there is quite a difference in these tires. The performance gains are equally striking when the going gets rough
Here are the bumpers I brazed up using solid rod and sheet
And square stock for the rear
*See post #8 for bumper pics*
Decided to size her up next to my Phoenix Portal. Lotsa sweet goodness here. Check out the SSD Pro44 Diamond Axle housings...
Decided to spare no expenses and picked up a sweet clear anodized 3 gear trans from my local hobby shop. It matches the wheel and shock towers and so sooo sexy
Paired it with a 2700kv Puller Pro, looks like a stubby. Stock gearing, this thing is fast and crawls dreamily
Painted up a basic Alibaba lexan interior, complete willy Wild Willy driver and some random resin head. I wanted a burly looking dude, so I used a big head and stuck a cigar in his gob. I am not-so-slowly going grey, so I figured this guy should be too.
I then painted the body meaner to seal the deal
* Paint pics in post #12*
,,,and lit
Thanks for checking out the build, all in all was a blast. I should likely have photographed it more before I ran it. My crawlers get scratched up so quickly once I start pushing them to their limits
See it jump and the rest of the test run video all edited-up at the following link
The Shock towers had been hopped up to VP clear anodized alum, a nice touch for sure. I would have preferred the body unpainted but figured I could work with what was there. I have always liked the Origin body.
I had a set of AR44's kicking around from an abandoned builders kit and popped into my local hobby shop for a sweet set of VP links. So first I built it into a slider
A gratuitous workshop pic with my slider
I threw a set of neglected old Proline KR2's on it so it could roll. Then I started high-siding the body to lower the LCG some. The plan was to cage the rear of the interior which meant I needed to get the body to its final ride height. I photographed this, so this must have been where I stopped cutting
Then I started brazing some tube. I consider myself a novice and a hack with my brazing skills. I just make shit up as I go along. The goal is always to simply enjoy myself and learn from the mistakes (there are plenty).
After I got a base brazed up to build upon, for shits and giggles I chucked on this Proline Metric Cab to see how it might look. I would be lying if I didn't say I was tempted to change directions at this point. I quite like how this fit together
...anyway, I kept going, brazing away. Took it to here and began to wonder if this was a good idea:ror:
The good news is tube is light
As you might have already noticed I decided on a set of Incision MR307's for the build. I also wanted a most aggressive tire and so went straight for a set of Flat Iron's. As you can see here, there is quite a difference in these tires. The performance gains are equally striking when the going gets rough
Here are the bumpers I brazed up using solid rod and sheet
And square stock for the rear
*See post #8 for bumper pics*
Decided to size her up next to my Phoenix Portal. Lotsa sweet goodness here. Check out the SSD Pro44 Diamond Axle housings...
Decided to spare no expenses and picked up a sweet clear anodized 3 gear trans from my local hobby shop. It matches the wheel and shock towers and so sooo sexy
Paired it with a 2700kv Puller Pro, looks like a stubby. Stock gearing, this thing is fast and crawls dreamily
Painted up a basic Alibaba lexan interior, complete willy Wild Willy driver and some random resin head. I wanted a burly looking dude, so I used a big head and stuck a cigar in his gob. I am not-so-slowly going grey, so I figured this guy should be too.
I then painted the body meaner to seal the deal
* Paint pics in post #12*
,,,and lit
Thanks for checking out the build, all in all was a blast. I should likely have photographed it more before I ran it. My crawlers get scratched up so quickly once I start pushing them to their limits
See it jump and the rest of the test run video all edited-up at the following link
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