I've seen a few amazing builds on here using the sand scorcher body which lead me to look at prices, its really not bad for the body set ($45) https://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/tam51406.htm
So last year I picked up the body set, its really a nice body Typical Tamiya attention to detail "thumbsup"
Since theres no rear window included with the Scorcher body I picked up the rear window louvers from Junkyard Stance on shapeways. Otherwise I'm not sure how to make a curved window nicely
I cut off a bit in front of the front fender so it just has a back and top to it which will allow me to stick the axle/wheels a bit farther forward without it looking offset.
I did pretty much the same with the rear fender but I did cut some of the fender loose on the back side so I could I heat up the extra material and straighten it out flat (I cut 1" or so off first).
You can see the wheels I picked above, SSD contenders, I convinced myself they look retro (kind of)
For some reason these look like a slightly different color when photographed, to the naked eye they are much lighter of a bronze color.
I tried a few different sized tires, 4 1/2" was too big and 4" was the biggest that still looked okay.
I did some searching for tires in this size which there aren't too many of but I settled on the PitBull 1.9 A?T Hardcore Scale tires
mounted they're just a hair over 4". I'm exited to try these tires out, they feel good.
With that I knew I needed a skinny track width and went with the narrowed SCX10.2 axled from Beeftubes they are 1/2" narrower (1/4" on each end).
Width isnt too bad in the back but the front has a lot more poke
I want to overdrive the front axle and struggled for a while looking for a transfer case or something other than the Hot Racing gears (Not a big fan of that brand) but didn't really come up with much that I could use. In the end I settled for the gear set from Hot Racing. I'll just keep an eye on them, I know some folks have had these strip within a few days and some say they're fine.
I got the HR gears and realized I needed the spools since originally I went for the one piece spool/gear for my axles but I luckily have another 10.2 with the separate spools, so I swapped those.
I went with some Gmade XD Diaphragm Shocks (85mm) which are a fairly large diameter making it pretty tight with the already narrowed width. I think in the end I'll try out some of the new SSD scale shocks as they'll provide much more clearance.
I already ran into clearance issue with the front shock eyes contacting the C hubs so I designed up some link spacers to kick them back a touch.
These insert between the the axle and link mounts.
I settled on 2.5mm thick and this allowed me to outboard the shocks without hitting the C hub.
I really wanted to try out a custom chassis and I got fixated on getting a Bazin Scale Rc custom chassis. I wanted carbon fiber for a lightweight build which is kind of the theme here (minus the hardbody part :roll
. I contacted Brazin Scale RC a half dozen times telling him what I was after. Anyway I had to give up on him, in my last email I told him I really need to get something going in the next few days... crickets. I get the sense that its a side job.
I ended up just going with and SCX10.2 chassis, I'll be cutting it down to about 13 1/2" long in the end. With that decisoin made going with an SCX10.2 (kit) tranny made sense, I also picked up an Axial driveshaft set since the new version is pretty tough and easy to cut to length.
I snagged a Holmes Puller 400 Team motor (brushed) as its one of the few HH motors I've yet to try. its small and light and should pack some power.
I stared printing up some mock up shock towers to fine tune placement.
3 or 4 revisions later and I'm really close. (remember these are not the final version, just for mock up) I think they'll need to be angle towards the center a bit to clear the body.
The 3D printer is starting to pay off big time "thumbsup"
I drilled out a few holes so I could scoot the skid forward a bit since the motor is a bit rearward already and I'm shortening the chassis a fair bit, trying to get a more centered or forward. (I'll check the measurement later)
Backtracking a bit, when I was assembling the SCX10.2 kit tranny I had planned to pick up a Vanquish top shaft bu they were out of stock everywhere imagine that. SO i printed up a tiny .5mm x 11mm spacer to go behind the top shaft and take up some of the play.
Worked well and I made another version with a hole in in so the shaft wasnt spinning on the spacer.
I tried one on the other shaft but it seemed to pushed the gears in the transfer case too far forward so I nixxed that idea.
I printed some mock up links to help me figure out the length of links I'll need. Its close but I need about a 1/2" more length. I'm aiming for a 10 1/2" wheelbase.
So last year I picked up the body set, its really a nice body Typical Tamiya attention to detail "thumbsup"
Since theres no rear window included with the Scorcher body I picked up the rear window louvers from Junkyard Stance on shapeways. Otherwise I'm not sure how to make a curved window nicely
I cut off a bit in front of the front fender so it just has a back and top to it which will allow me to stick the axle/wheels a bit farther forward without it looking offset.
I did pretty much the same with the rear fender but I did cut some of the fender loose on the back side so I could I heat up the extra material and straighten it out flat (I cut 1" or so off first).
You can see the wheels I picked above, SSD contenders, I convinced myself they look retro (kind of)
For some reason these look like a slightly different color when photographed, to the naked eye they are much lighter of a bronze color.
I tried a few different sized tires, 4 1/2" was too big and 4" was the biggest that still looked okay.
I did some searching for tires in this size which there aren't too many of but I settled on the PitBull 1.9 A?T Hardcore Scale tires
mounted they're just a hair over 4". I'm exited to try these tires out, they feel good.
With that I knew I needed a skinny track width and went with the narrowed SCX10.2 axled from Beeftubes they are 1/2" narrower (1/4" on each end).
Width isnt too bad in the back but the front has a lot more poke
I want to overdrive the front axle and struggled for a while looking for a transfer case or something other than the Hot Racing gears (Not a big fan of that brand) but didn't really come up with much that I could use. In the end I settled for the gear set from Hot Racing. I'll just keep an eye on them, I know some folks have had these strip within a few days and some say they're fine.
I got the HR gears and realized I needed the spools since originally I went for the one piece spool/gear for my axles but I luckily have another 10.2 with the separate spools, so I swapped those.
I went with some Gmade XD Diaphragm Shocks (85mm) which are a fairly large diameter making it pretty tight with the already narrowed width. I think in the end I'll try out some of the new SSD scale shocks as they'll provide much more clearance.
I already ran into clearance issue with the front shock eyes contacting the C hubs so I designed up some link spacers to kick them back a touch.
These insert between the the axle and link mounts.
I settled on 2.5mm thick and this allowed me to outboard the shocks without hitting the C hub.
I really wanted to try out a custom chassis and I got fixated on getting a Bazin Scale Rc custom chassis. I wanted carbon fiber for a lightweight build which is kind of the theme here (minus the hardbody part :roll
. I contacted Brazin Scale RC a half dozen times telling him what I was after. Anyway I had to give up on him, in my last email I told him I really need to get something going in the next few days... crickets. I get the sense that its a side job.I ended up just going with and SCX10.2 chassis, I'll be cutting it down to about 13 1/2" long in the end. With that decisoin made going with an SCX10.2 (kit) tranny made sense, I also picked up an Axial driveshaft set since the new version is pretty tough and easy to cut to length.
I snagged a Holmes Puller 400 Team motor (brushed) as its one of the few HH motors I've yet to try. its small and light and should pack some power.
I stared printing up some mock up shock towers to fine tune placement.
3 or 4 revisions later and I'm really close. (remember these are not the final version, just for mock up) I think they'll need to be angle towards the center a bit to clear the body.
The 3D printer is starting to pay off big time "thumbsup"
I drilled out a few holes so I could scoot the skid forward a bit since the motor is a bit rearward already and I'm shortening the chassis a fair bit, trying to get a more centered or forward. (I'll check the measurement later)
Backtracking a bit, when I was assembling the SCX10.2 kit tranny I had planned to pick up a Vanquish top shaft bu they were out of stock everywhere imagine that. SO i printed up a tiny .5mm x 11mm spacer to go behind the top shaft and take up some of the play.
Worked well and I made another version with a hole in in so the shaft wasnt spinning on the spacer.
I tried one on the other shaft but it seemed to pushed the gears in the transfer case too far forward so I nixxed that idea.
I printed some mock up links to help me figure out the length of links I'll need. Its close but I need about a 1/2" more length. I'm aiming for a 10 1/2" wheelbase.
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DOH!
