Because I’m jealous of my wife’s rig, scale truck build

[Jfrisch1]

Way too excited to start this build.

After spending so much time building my wife’s g6 rig, I’ve got an itch to build a fancy little truck for myself. Lets go through the list of parts already piling up.

Killerbody mercury chassis (313mm)
Killerbody LC70 body
Rc4wd Kober bed
Boom racing 1.55 16 hole wheels
Boom racing Maxx grappler (gecko) 1.55 tires
Nsdrc 450b servo
Killerbody doors w/ roll up windows
Killerbody interior
Killerbody arb front bumper
Fusion 1200kv

I know the mercury chassis isn’t widely used but I wanted something I can drop the body onto without cutting a bunch. I also wanted leaf rear and spring up front. Didn’t want Rc4wd either.

Worse comes to worse, I’ll swap brx axles on it.

I’ll update as I get the rest of the stuff for it, it is also supposed to be my birthday present from the wife, even though I bought it all

 

[Saltrock]

I am looking forward to this. Your wife's build was sweet.

 

[hnoroian]

Can’t wait to see!

 

[OSRC]

Very curious to see how the mercury chassis works out for you.

 

[Jfrisch1]

Very curious to see how the mercury chassis works out for you.

Same here. It looks decent in photos. Other than the coil spring up front, doesn’t seem very secure.

Unsure of the diff gears, whether or not they are any good. I’m not putting a lot of speed to the truck, just plenty of torque. And I’m hoping I can control myself and drive it “scale” I can keep it all in one piece.

 

[Jfrisch1]

I am looking forward to this. Your wife's build was sweet.

I’m trying to be patient, I am ready to build it. Parts are coming from different vendors and delivery dates are all over the board. Hopefully within a week I’ll be able to start. I’ll paint the body once it comes in.

Thanks! I’m glad everyone seemed to like it and like I said before, her reaction was the best. Never thought I could get her to have so much fun in the hobby lol

 

[Jfrisch1]

Really digging how all the parts for Killerbody show up in their cool packaging. I guess you could say it’s just like buying 1:1 parts. They certainly don’t show up in a bag, that hangs from a peg on a board. Boxes on boxes of scale fun waiting to be unleashed.

 

[bgredjeep]

The only details I've ever heard about the mercury chassis was Matt from sbg and it all sounded pretty terrible. That might have been more about the fit to the supposedly matching jeep body, but none of it sounded positive. Maybe a different chassis than what your are working with.

 

[Saltrock]

I’m gojng to have to check out Killerbody soon. That bumper looks so nice and some of the other stuff you listed like the doors with working windows sounds sweet.

 

[Gula]

I watched the reviews on the chassis and it was given toy grade classification, essentially that, or less! That's what has kept me from buying it.

 

[Fallen]

In case you decide to switch to a different chassis, GCM made a CMax chassis designed specifically for your build. And it fits the Kober bed with close to zero modification.

I've been running mine for close to a year now with zero problems. Not even a hint of a problem from the drivetrain, suspension or chassis.

The biggest downsides I can think of is that it relies on Shapeways old (non-existent) store for the printing of the axle housings. And those housings are designed to use Vaterra (also non-existent) internals.

I have a spare set of housings I'd send you for free. But they have no internals. You'd have to find those somewhere...

 

[Jfrisch1]

I watched the reviews on the chassis and it was given toy grade classification, essentially that, or less! That's what has kept me from buying it.

We’ll see what it looks like when it gets here. I’m hoping for better than toy grade. Once it shows up and I open the box I’ll see the quality. If it’s terrible I’m just gonna order the brx01 chassis for it and do a leaf spring conversion for the rear.

 

[Jfrisch1]

In case you decide to switch to a different chassis, GCM made a CMax chassis designed specifically for your build. And it fits the Kober bed with close to zero modification.

I've been running mine for close to a year now with zero problems. Not even a hint of a problem from the drivetrain, suspension or chassis.

The biggest downsides I can think of is that it relies on Shapeways old (non-existent) store for the printing of the axle housings. And those housings are designed to use Vaterra (also non-existent) internals.

I have a spare set of housings I'd send you for free. But they have no internals. You'd have to find those somewhere...

I saw your build! I’ve been wanting to do an lc70 build for a while. Just never pulled the trigger.

Gcm stuff is nice, have a buddy with several 2 door hardbody wrangler builds, all gcm stuff.

 

[Fallen]

The Boom Racing chassis is pretty cool, and will certainly play nicely with all of the upgrades they offer for the LC70.

The suspension on that chassis looks way more capable than what my GCM can handle.

 

[Jfrisch1]

The Boom Racing chassis is pretty cool, and will certainly play nicely with all of the upgrades they offer for the LC70.

The suspension on that chassis looks way more capable than what my GCM can handle.

I’ve got a buddy building a brx02 and I didn’t wanna copy but I may have to if the reviews of the mercury are legit.

I do know I’ll have to adjust my driving style with the mercury. Have to actually treat it like a hardbody light trail rig lol

 

[Jfrisch1]

Some more key ingredients to this scale soup have arrived.

Chassis, body and servo.



Opened it up for a quick look to see what I’m working with. Everything is labeled and in its own bag. Axles are pre assembled as well as the trans.

Tons of scale details. Crank pulled spins with the belts for the fan. Scale manifolds, alternator, etc. The axles have scale rotors and calipers, while plastic, it’s a nice touch.







Reviews may have some truth. There is a lot of plastic that just appears to be toy grade, like the plastic looks so cheap. Idk what it’s made out of but I have low expectations for the plastic moveable parts. Things to note,

• Axles are very thin, there is no substantial plastic that would lead me to believe it will be strong.

•motor plate is plastic. Uses a lower pitch spur which is good. I typically have better luck with a 32p vs 48p just due to the thickness of the teeth

•parts of the chassis rails are metal, some parts are plastic. Not just the ends where bumpers attach, sections are plastic. That’s no bueno to me

• beadlocks have some weight to them, comes with metal hubs too. That’s decent

• hardware for the chassis appears to be all hex. That’s decent. If it was phillips, it would be in the trash already

• leaf springs seem decently soft, may allow for a less stiff rear end. The Rc4wd bed will definitely add some weight to the rear, that may end up being an issue

• THERES NO DAMN INSTRUCTIONS!! That’s no bueno.

What the h**l am I’m gonna do with this thing if I have no instructions.


All in all, it’s a good concept on the box. Lots of scaleism going on with it. I’m going to put it together, run it and see what happens. My goal is to put 5 miles on it as soon as it’s ready. See what holds up and what doesn’t.

I’ve already got a plan to put some tf2 axles under it if the axles become an issue.

 

[Jfrisch1]

UPDATE: to above post

If you know me or have seen any of my other builds, I tend to change my mind, quickly. Have a plan then something in my brain says I want to do it another way. I always wondered what it feels like to not be that way…

Anyway, im returning the mercury chassis kit. Don’t think it’s gonna do what I want and hold up for any amount of time. I’ve done it in the past, where ive taken junk, and turned it into something decent. But that requires spending gobs of money for something that isn’t worth it in the end- for example- my twin hammers that started its life as the Chinese knock off sxs. The Chinese version was falling apart and I was swapping twin hammer parts on. Eventually, and currently how it sits, it’s a twin hammers with a few Chinese aluminum parts with the Chinese sxs cage bolted to it. It’s cool but it’s not worth anything to anyone but myself.

Now, I have a brx01 chassis kit on the way while I wait for my return for the mercury to process. I’m still waiting on parts for my lc70 body so I may still be on track to build this thing in a week or so.

 

[durok]

I think you'll be MUCH happier with the Boom Racing kit, I'm itching to get one someday myself, but I have an RC4WD Marlin and all the parts to upgrade it to perform about as well as a leaf-sprung RC chassis can get. Just have to bolt all that stuff together! I even have a metal CCHand work-truck bed with a headache rack for it...

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The BRX01 looks awesome. For the price, it had better be perfect and bulletproof. Interested to hear your review of it.

 

[Col_Sanders]

The BRX01 looks awesome. For the price, it had better be perfect and bulletproof. Interested to hear your review of it.

They are priced high. Chassis kit is $555. I kind of liked the new Zil until I saw the price is $740. Were they always that expensive or is it because of the tariffs?

ETA Prices above are from Boom's site.