Maxxmasher's micro monster build!!

[MAXXMASHER]

I've ben contemplating this build for quite awhile now. I spotted this model kit on sale and got to thinking about doing this build. I was going to buy another micro and do a build from scratch, but my Rover is in serious need of rebuild, and I have my Hilux micro, as well. The Rover's body is cracked, and something somewhere is slipping in the drivetrain. I figure I might as well tear it apart, use its guts, replace what is worn out, and slap on the monster body. Just need to start painting, order the necessary parts, get some threaded rod, and figure exactly how to mount the monster wheels. Should be pretty cool! I also need to figure out what to use for shocks. The micro crawler shocks won't be strong enough or long enough (I don't think) to do the job. If any of you have a pic of the micro shocks compared to Losi mini shocks, I would appreciate some help. I don't have a hobby shop really close by so it's hard for me to compare sizes.

(Thanks to rcdave13 for inspiration. I have spent considerable time studying your build. Might have a go at copying your shocks; they are fantastic!!!)


The old rig, ready for disassembly....

This is going to be pretty cool.

This chassis is pretty sweet!

Gonna need some longer links here!!

Might need a beefier motor, as well.

Beastly!!!

FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[Mudflap23]

Awesome! Gonna look sweet, and if you're looking for a beefier motor, I've seen a lot of praise for motors made by DANALLY. Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[DANALLY]

I would only do a Stroker with how big this one will be! A Losi motor will just have to work too hard...especially with those tires :shock:

Nice start "thumbsup"

 

[MAXXMASHER]

I'm kinda thinking about what motor to use and what parts I need to replace. I think I need some wheel wideners, too. Right now I'm trying to decide what shocks I want to use as well. I need to get to a hobby shop and do some comparing and get my rover torn apart enough to do some calculating. Still need a lot of stuff to really get going. For now, I'm just painting up all the model parts that will be used. Just got the frame all painted up tonight. Using Tamiya X-1 gloss black out of the jar.....

FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[robvbro81]

That's just gonna be awesome! Keep us updated with pics!

 

[desii3d]

those tires are reminiscent of the original ClodBuster tires from the 80's. would dual motors be good for this? (newbie question I know, I won't get my trekker until after payday)

 

[DANALLY]

I've tried dual motor set-ups. In truth the single stroker motor is all that is needed. It is strong enough to break axles! Plus you can run them on stock electronics!

 

[MAXXMASHER]

I'm gonna give a go at putting in my own slightly larger motor from a high torque servo. I will have to craft up my own motor plate, but it shouldn't be too bad. I also got the rover torn apart. Tranny looks fine, so I'll have to take a look at the axles and make sure everything is good with those. If the motor doesn't work out for me, maybe I will look into the stroker kit. I also picked up some aluminum tube for links and some brass rail to fab up a frame. I wanted some threaded rod, but the only stupid hobby shop in town doesn't carry it. Hopefully Lowes has the size I need or an hour and a half round trip is in order to get to the closest decent shop. There is a lot to be done. Still gotta paint up the rest of the model pieces and order some necessary parts.

My rover is no more.....

Gutted.

This motor should have more torque and the pinion that is pressed on seems like it will work fine.

FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[MAXXMASHER]

No updates for awhile.....no I didn't quit. Busy at work and not much time to get at this thing. I just got home and now am off for three days. Time to get to work! (In the basement rc workshop) I also finally made up my mind as to what to get for this rig. I had pretty much intended to just transfer everything, but I figure if I'm gonna tear it all apart, I might as well replace some stuff. Happens every time!! I wanted to get the big motor from Danally, but I've already gone way over my micro budget. Trying to get my Wraith sorted out. My EMaxx needs attention. I want some stuff for the Harley. Hunting season is coming fast. On and on......

Anyways, I finally got a good bit of stuff ordered and will be on my way to Lowe's to pick up a few more things when I'm done with this post. It took me forever to make up my mind, so I just got around to ordering everything up last night. I have a three day weekend next week too, so expect a lot of progress very soon. Only a miracle will get me any parts by Saturday.

Here's the list so far.....I always end up forgetting something.

From Losi

Center tranny shaft set
Center tranny gear set w/spur & pinions
Full hardware set (can always use more screws on hand)
Front spindle and hub set (gonna add rear steer - with these big tires, I'll need it)
Shoulder and hub screw set
2 x worm gear sets - I know the front one is getting worn out; might as well replace them both

Duratraxx MiniQuake drive shaft set

Hot racing alum servo mount - sucks you have to get a whole bunch of parts to get the stock one. For a lil more, might as well get one. The stocker will be moved to the rear.

Eflight 180 motor and pinion - found a few guys using these. We'll see how it goes. May go with Danally's motor if it doesn't work out.

4 x Tower Pro MG90 servos. At $13 including shipping from USA, it's still almost half the cost of one Hitec which is already going to be used for the front. I figured for that price, I'll have a few backups.

From Lowe's

2-56 threaded rod. Yeah, gonna need longer links with this baby. Just gonna re-use the mini ends I have.

I'm also going to look for some springs. I think I'm going to try and make some custom shocks out of the same alum tube used for the links. This could be complete fail. Just can't come up with an off the shelf set that will work for this, I don't think. Considered mini short course shocks, but this too, will be an experiment! Let the fun begin. I have enough to paint to keep me plenty busy this weekend.....


FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[MAXXMASHER]

Back from Lowe's and the sucky local hobby shop. Got a lot more at Lowe's than I did at the LHS. I think I may have enough doo-dads to build some scale shocks. I found some interesting stuff at Lowes for sure. Start digging through the specialty drawers in the hardware section and you'll find stuff you didn't know you needed! I found some assorted packs of piano wire, two sizes of springs, 4-40 threaded rod, some caps to use on the ends of my shock shafts, and an O-ring for my wife's steam cleaner - the REAL reason (wink) I had to go to Lowes. I did find an assortment of Plastruct and aluminum tubes to play with while at the hobby shop along with some Tamiya chrome brush paint and a can of spray for the body. Might go with a Monster Energy theme on this truck. I did talk to the owner of the LHS and he seemed sorta interested in carrying Losi micro stuff. He carries a bunch of traxxas trucks and a bunch of cheapie rc's but no parts at all. They also have a ton of (overpriced) models. I told him about how we use the Losi's and model kits to build scalers and he wants me to bring some in. Cross your fingers! Also made a stop at Big Lots and found 24oz. cans of Monster Energy Assault for $1.25 each. Bonus!! Better get a six pack....

Enough 4-40 rod to make links. This is the only way you can get it a Lowe's. Stupid hobby shop doesn't carry it. Better than spending an hour and a half in the truck to save a few bucks on rod.

Found this stuff at Lowes, too!

At least the LHS had some stuff I needed.

FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[MAXXMASHER]

Got a lot of parts painted in the last two days. No parts in the mail today. Wasn't really expecting to. (Didn't order from RPP this time or I probably would have.) So it's mostly been painting and gluing stuff for now. Can't really do any real constructing until I get the model chassis done and see what I can use, what I need to make and how long the shocks are going to need to be. I did cut up some tube and played around with ideas as to how I'm going to mount them and just how scale they are going to be. Real monster truck shocks are quite complicated and would require quite a bit of fabrication to replicate. At least I think I have an idea of how I will mount them. The top stock shock cap will just fit inside the shock body and thebottom shock retainer from a micro T will just fit in the bottom part. I think with right size plastic washers on either end will keep the springs in place. Just kicking ideas around for now...

Kind of a crappy pic, but you sorta get the idea...

Not even half the parts to this chassis...

Started the interior. Sorry for the glare.....

Custom sharpie embroidery

FLM BL E-MAXX ~ BL E-4TEC Drifter ~ Pro-Trac Slash ~ SCX-10 ~ Wraith ~Custom 6WD Crawler~ 3 Losi micro scalers

 

[MAXXMASHER]

I have been making pretty good strides, at least as far as the model painting and building goes. Still waiting on parts that should be here today or tomorrow to really get going. Now that I have the frame all together, I can finally get the chassis sorted out. The frame of the truck is exactly the same width as the micro tranny mounting plate, so I'm going to widen the tranny support plates and mount it outside the model chassis. I may even put some Plastruct on the inside of the model chassis and put screws through all of it to make it rock solid. Here's a few pics to show what I've done so far.

Gonna use some little spacers to widen up the housing.

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[Calderwood]

This thing is awesome. I hope you plan getting video.

 

[MAXXMASHER]

Thanks guys! I'm glad I finally got all the model chassis painting and construction behind me. About ten times the work compared to most models. I ditched the idea of needing to use the spacers when I realized the model frame itself would be the spacer. Duh! Drilled it out with a pin vise, and got the tranny housing in there. Pretty solid. I will have to do some trimming on the (model) engine to get the tranny to fit, but at least there's enough clearance under the floorboard for it to fit. Usually, I have to cut some of it out and hide it under the seats or something. I also ditched the fuel tank that was supposed to be under the hood and rotated a cross member so it sits horizontally and will act as a battery support. I usually opt to remove the hood to change batteries, rather than take off the whole body, and this one will not be different. I just had to score the hood along the seams and cut it out. A few pieces of metal glued to the body and hood with an earth magnet sandwiched between works great. I also had to remove part of the firewall to get my battery to fit right. Luckily, the battery just fits between the frame when laid flat. I picked up a set of 7.4 850mah lipos years ago for one of my other micro builds and now design my builds to accommodate these packs. The run time is awesome!! Can't wait to get my parts and really get this together!

Waiting for the glue to dry after moving the çross member. I find that good old model cement in the red tube works the best. Have had trucks fall off of workbenches with minimal damage. I also put extra cement on all the joints for extra security. Just looks like large welds when dry.

Hood cut out....

And still fits like a glove....

The hood supports I will be using.

My battery compared to the stocker. Quite a difference.

Snug as a bug in a rug in a Dodge....

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[MAXXMASHER]

Haven't gotten a whole lot (or anything) done since the last check-in. Just emptying the mailbox of goodies. Still struggling with what to do with my motor/tranny setup. I thought a 180 motor with the flat sides would be able to bolt in, but that is not the case. I know the easy (and probably smart move) would be to simple contact Danally for one of the stroker kits, but I want to give a shot at solving this problem on my own. Still gotta get a 17t pinion and a micro sct spur to play around with. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile here's what I got yesterday......

The stocker compared to what I got....

Micro shock compared to what my shocks may look like (without springs). These could get longer. Hafta get a lot done before I mess with ride height set-up.

My latest round of goodies from the mailman.....

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[MAXXMASHER]

Took a big step forward tonight in getting this thing going. I got some more parts in to play around with. I got a 17 tooth pinion that I thought would work. Nope, wrong pitch. I also got in a 59 tooth HR metal spur gear for a micro sct. Never did find the page about how someone made that work. I found that it would hit the output shaft. Strike two. I also picked up the stock micro sct spur and pinion set, and the smaller spur gear will work for me. I think I pretty much built my own big block. I ended up using the gear that comes with Mcrc output set as a pinion. Didn't even count the teeth. Just glanced at it, and gave it a shot. Perfection! That is, after I cut my second tranny plate. The first one was not fully thought through and I had to scrap it. I got the mesh set just right and hooked up the 180 motor to the esc and a 2s lipo and fired it up. Seems to have gobbs of torque and more speed than before. I'm running this with my DX3S, so I can play with the throttle curve a bit. I also had to grind just a bit off the motor can to get it to fit right, but it seems good to go. I still have to trim the motor side of the plate for frame clearance, but once that is done, I believe it will fit without further modification. Probably should've saved all the frustration and just contacted Danally, but I'm pretty pleased to have finally pulled this off!!

The latest round of parts.....some you win & some you lose!!

Stock motor for comparison.....

Beastly!!

Not too bad looking for using a drill, hacksaw, and a bench grinder. Just hafta trim the excess metal on the left side for frame clearance. Didn't want to do that until I was sure everything would fit properly on the plate. Very pleased!!

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[MAXXMASHER]

The motor and tranny fit just nicely! I had a bit of spare time yesterday and got everything in the chassis. Tight fit, but it will work! I also did a little bit this morning. I didn't really like the look of the driver I had, so as I was running some errands this morning, I cruised by a toy aisle and found one I thought would work. I really don't know why I don't do some measurements when it comes to things like this, but I took a guess and picked up a Zod figure from the new superman movie. Mainly, I liked how the arms articulated inward so as to grip a steering wheel. He was a bit too tall, so some Dremel surgery was in order. I pretty much cut his abs out and glued him back together and hacked his legs off at the knees. That part will be hidden anyways, so now he looks pretty good behind the wheel. Also today, while I was trimming and mowing, I shot the body and wheel rings with some paint. Monster Energy all the way! Green body and rings, and a flat black hood. See whatcha think. No work tonight, so more progress soon.....love these micro builds!!

Wedged in there!

Still a bit undecided if I want to use this plate on not. Might have to craft up something that fits the lines of the frame better.

Kinda stands out!

Kinda like Bubba Smith in Police Academy when he had to rip out the front seat to fit in a compact car!!

Sorry Zod, you won't feel a thing!

HELP!!!!!

Paint looks good, I think.

That's better.

Starting to look like a truck.

Had to sit the body at an angle to get it to sit there. The giant motor make it want to fall forward. Good for climbing stuff!!

Now we are getting somewhere!

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[mathcanbefun]

Great paint job! That's a cool green

 

[Neverdone]

This is a very interesting concept!!!!

 

[MAXXMASHER]

I got a good bit done yesterday. Nothing greatly exciting, mainly maintenance of the axles. I took them both completely apart, cleaned them, refurbed the bearings, replaced the worm gears, and added the necessary parts to run rear steering. I also put the HR servo mount on the front axle and started working on my links. Still toying with the idea of making new tranny plates because the current ones just look out of place. I also ordered a few more parts. I simple cannot get the hexes out of the wheels I had on this truck before, so I am getting a new set. Also I got a new set of wheels to cut in half and glue the hex side into the back of the monster wheels. I also got a set of mini ball ends and some more brass ball studs. No work tonight, so I should get a bit more done. Expect more updates in the wee hours of the morning....

Hitec servo w/HR mount and my homemade "hydraulic assist" steer. (Made from a micro shock with the shock body filled with CA glue.) Needs a new green paintjob.

Both axles all cleaned up.

A start on my links. Using 4-40 rod for more strength. Wasn't sure if these would thread into th mini ends, but I hollowed the ends out with a drill, and they will work well.

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