My first micro build. Datson Trail Trekker

[Exitaph]

Hi, new member here. Glad to be here.

I've built plenty of 1/24 & 1/25 plastic models but never adapted one to rc. I've seen many build threads and figured I'd give it a shot.

Bought this kit at my local hobby shop. I was hoping to find a hilux, ranger, or an older style jeep Cherokee. But the closest I could find was this Datsun. Works for me.

Thought I'd be able to use the stock trail trekker frame. But the body sits comically high. Blade SMC is on its way.

Sticking with the stock esc so I don't have to find a place for a separate rx. I was thinking of sticking it in the box and disguise it as a red racing gas tank. I also have an idea for mounting it to the blade smc frame.

 

[dubfreak]

Nice start here i do have that kit here but though it would be to smale but it will look great when lowered will be watching

 

[tgh117]

Great start. I'm a big fan of the blade chassis, wish I would have bought one the day they came out.

 

[Exitaph]

Great start. I'm a big fan of the blade chassis, wish I would have bought one the day they came out.

I only recently discovered them. Were they much cheaper when they first came out? How long have they been around?

 

[tgh117]

I'm not exactly sure how long, but more then 2 yrs if you hunt around at earlier posts. As for the price I think it's more or less the same as it started

 

[MikeChino]

You might try looking at fungi's chassis. "thumbsup"

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/losi-micro-rock-crawler/512102-5-00wb-ls-chassis-available-soon.html

 

[tgh117]

I won't disagree there. Looks nice

 

[Exitaph]

Finally got the Blade SMC frame today and put it together.

Got it all put together. I was surprised that it was all plastic and not metal. I should have read the description a little closer, duh. I can see why others have said it's overpriced.

With the axles and transmission/tranfer case in place.

I noticed the leaf springs would catch on the 6-hole brackets when compressing so I cut a slight bevel on all of them. Pretty simple fix.

The datsun body actually fits quite nicely on the blade.

Pretty good articulation for leaf springs.

I'm not sure which way to face the motor. If it's faced forward i can contain it all in the cab. But it could interfere with the servo and the plastic engine from the model kit. But if I face it backwards it will protrude into the truck bed. I'm open to suggestions.

Next step is to cut up the body pieces. Will hopefully be posting that soon.

 

[R.Billy Rob]

You'll end up loving the SMC chassis in the end. I have two, and I think they're great! The more worn in your springs get, the better they will work. They do love a little weight in the wheels though. As for the motor, I would definitely face it forward. Having the weight facing forward will help with crawling, and won't be in the way of the servo. As for the models engine, I wouldn't know. But you could always eliminate it and put in an I.D. badge pull thingy for a winch!

 

[tgh117]

To minimize my interior cutting, my motor is towards the back.



My body just worked out better that way.

I also added braces to the chassis front to back on both sides both both my interior to sit on, and to stiffen up the chassis a bit.

I love the chassis, my only complaint is trying to find somewhere to mount some shocks that could help the bouncing.

I also modded a hot racing servo mount to hold my servo. I didn't have as good of luck with the tape deal.

 

[Exitaph]

It's been a while since my last post. I tried making an update weeks ago but it said a moderator had to approve the post. I waited and waited but it never got posted. Whatever.

I got the floor cut out of the cab. I started with a rough outline of what I know needed to be cut.

Then I basically repeated the process of lining it up, cutting what I needed to make it fit more, then lining it up again and repeat. It was a lot of work so if you're also doing a trail trekker - datsun mashup you could probably just copy the shape of the whole and save some time.

Here's a couple shots of how it fits. Pretty dang good if you ask me! 8)

I also had to cut a couple sections for the frame of the blade smc.

That's all for now. I'll have more later today.

 

[tgh117]

Looking good

 

[bryco13]

Looking good! I have the same wheels and just picked up the same body on Friday!

 

[Exitaph]

It's been a while. But I got a lot done. I made some axle links with the Losi camber & steering link set for the mini desert truck (LOSB1040) and some styrene 1/8" tubing. I also made a mounting plate for the esc that mounts to the frame. I added a Hitec HS-65MG servo to the frot axel and mounted the battery on it with velcro. Sadly I probably wont be able to fit the scale engine from the kit in the engine bay. And I made some magnetic body fittings to keep the body on.

It's really coming together now!

Here's the Links I made.

Mounting the esc and battery between the frame rails has kept everything very low profile.

Here's a magnetic body holder. One on each corner of the frame and body, so 8 total. Two 1/8" square styrene pieces then a 1/8" squared by 1/16" thick neodymium magnet. Got them from amazon.

 

[Exitaph]

Got another update here.

I started by priming everything with some tamiya primer. Here's my crappy spray painting booth I made from cardboard and some pc case fans. It didn't actually do a good job. I will need to get a more powerful fan.

Here's everything primed and ready to go. This is actually my first time using primer on a model. I can't believe I went all these years without using it!

First pass of colors after drying.

I then masked off parts for the second pass. I try to use paper in as many places as I can. This reduces the chances of the tape taking paint with it when I peel it off.

It's really starting to come together! This is with most peices mounted together and all the detail paint work done. I'm almost done and will have the final pictures soon.

 

[Exitaph]

I've finally finished this project. I had a blast working on it and it was nice getting to work on a 1/24 scale model again. It's been a long time. I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I kept it nice and simple.

Click this Imgur link to look at the rest of the photos I took.

Datsun Trail Trekker - Album on Imgur

I plan on taking some more photos of this thing actually crawling.

I was pretty happy how these photos came out. This is my second time experimenting with studio photography.
Behold. My super duper professional studio setup.

 

[MikeChino]

Very Nice work, Good job and the pictures came out great! "thumbsup"

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Looks good, but you need to resize the pictures.