When the Marlin came out I told my brother I would own one someday. I recall reading about Marlin in 4wd mags in the mid '90s. Very cool of RC4WD to replicate his truck. "thumbsup"
This is my first leaf spring model and third hardbody.
All shiny and straight out of the box. Ran it about 10 minutes before tearing it down.
I had done a lot reading and preparing for my first Trailfinder. I purchased the TF2 inner fenders. That was a Doh! moment. I didn't even think of the longer shock mounts of the Marlin. The TF2 inner fenders don't fit.
I do have a Gelande Defender 90 and found that those inner fenders fit. Take note: I did not like how the front shocks and towers were mounted on the Marlin. The shocks are mounted in front of the axle. Looked weird to me, so I moved the shock to the rear of the axle and moved the shock mount on the chassis. Only negative to this is a tiny loss of steering as the rear steering arm of the knuckle hits the bolt head of the shock mount. I plan to get rid of the behind the axle steering soon.
Went with the A&M Garage reverse shackle kit and the BowHouse rear shackle mount (not pictured).
In my research of the Trailfinder I learned of the knuckle bearing mod. I jumped right in and ordered up the bearings from FastEddy. My only complaint I had with the kit 'right of the box' was a sloppy knuckle. Using the 15/64 drill I went clear through the knuckle and installed three bearings. I don't know if it is the right way, but it seems to be working well.
Here's a shot of the front bumper mount. I had to grind off a bit of the bumper mounting tabs to get it to mount up proper.
For now, I have thrown in some electronics I had around: Mamba Max ESC, Holme Crawlmaster Pro 13t, a rode hard Hitec 7950, Futaba receiver, HeyOk winch controller with RC4WD mini-Warn winch. Soon going to add some lights with a HeyOk light controller.
Fast forward though the paint process and her she is. The tires rubbed like crazy, so I trimmed the front and back of the front fenders. Went with Duplicolor automtive rattle can primer and paint. I have not done a clear coat yet.
This is my first leaf spring model and third hardbody.
All shiny and straight out of the box. Ran it about 10 minutes before tearing it down.
I had done a lot reading and preparing for my first Trailfinder. I purchased the TF2 inner fenders. That was a Doh! moment. I didn't even think of the longer shock mounts of the Marlin. The TF2 inner fenders don't fit.
I do have a Gelande Defender 90 and found that those inner fenders fit. Take note: I did not like how the front shocks and towers were mounted on the Marlin. The shocks are mounted in front of the axle. Looked weird to me, so I moved the shock to the rear of the axle and moved the shock mount on the chassis. Only negative to this is a tiny loss of steering as the rear steering arm of the knuckle hits the bolt head of the shock mount. I plan to get rid of the behind the axle steering soon.
Went with the A&M Garage reverse shackle kit and the BowHouse rear shackle mount (not pictured).
In my research of the Trailfinder I learned of the knuckle bearing mod. I jumped right in and ordered up the bearings from FastEddy. My only complaint I had with the kit 'right of the box' was a sloppy knuckle. Using the 15/64 drill I went clear through the knuckle and installed three bearings. I don't know if it is the right way, but it seems to be working well.
Here's a shot of the front bumper mount. I had to grind off a bit of the bumper mounting tabs to get it to mount up proper.
For now, I have thrown in some electronics I had around: Mamba Max ESC, Holme Crawlmaster Pro 13t, a rode hard Hitec 7950, Futaba receiver, HeyOk winch controller with RC4WD mini-Warn winch. Soon going to add some lights with a HeyOk light controller.
Fast forward though the paint process and her she is. The tires rubbed like crazy, so I trimmed the front and back of the front fenders. Went with Duplicolor automtive rattle can primer and paint. I have not done a clear coat yet.
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