New2Ascender - big tiny truck built by little little hands

[new2rocks]

You've got an awesome build going on here though and glad to see Roo building as well.

Thanks! It's been fun getting Roo involved in more of the build process, and he's loving it. I can't say we've done anything particularly original yet. We've largely been following the GCM build, which is a great starting point. I think we'll yet have a few tricks up our sleeve, though.

I haven't seen too many issues with the body other than a little tire rub on the rear of the front fender and the front of the rear fender at full squat. So I just trimmed it up a bit.

I agree. For general trailing and moderate rocks and climbing, the body size is really a non issue. It only comes into play in tight quarters, abrupt transitions into and out of steep climbs, and other places where you need max approach and departure angles. It only came up once or twice on my trail run with light rocks. But I can't take on a curb in the neighborhood straight on the way I can in my SCX-10, Wraith or even TF2, and it comes up more often in the rock-filled culvert where I do my stress testing. All that said, I love the look of the body enough (I have some wacky nostalgia over '80s Americana that I'll never be able to explain) that it's a small price to pay. And I'm not planning to comp it, which helps.


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[Crusty Old Shellback]

Understand about the approach/departure angle. I've got a big rock that starts my climb onto my "course'. The truck drags the rear bumper going up and the front when coming down. But it still climbs it just fine. I'd like to take it to a real course some time if I can find one near me.

 

[new2rocks]

I finally had some time to turn back to this one. It was time to replace the temporary MMP/ROC412 setup with a BRXL/Crawlmaster 16T combination on 3s with stock gearing. Roo and I were able to get it out for some long-overdue stress testing, and we couldn't be more pleased. I've included a link to a video at the end of this post. Here's the report:



Suspension

The cantilevers work brilliantly. The best compliment I can give is that they are almost entirely unnoticeable apart from almost completely eliminating torque twist (it has a barely noticeable torque twitch but returns to its proper attitude very quickly). Which is another way of saying they make all the difference in the world. One of the big surprises for me was discovering that, at full throttle in low speed (which is a very brisk walking pace), the truck won't traction roll even at full lock on pavement.



I picked up an extra set of 1/16th E-Revo rockers, so I might try a different rocker profile just to see what happens. But apart from that, I couldn't see changing anything. I could easily see myself adding canti's to other rigs down the road. Well done, Dinky RC!



Motor/ESC/Tranny

All I can say is wow! As you can see from the video, the low-speed control is fantastic. All of the scenes on the rocks were shot in low gear with the throttle curve remapped from linear to exponential using Castle Link. And then whenever in need of a giggle, ridiculuous speed is just a gear change and squeeze away. Even with the motor and tranny hanging over the front axle, this thing pops wheelies from a standing start in high gear! The 2-speed has a bit of play, as do all of them, but it's more than worth the trade-off for me on this rig.



Wheels and tires

I'm partial to 1.7s and really hope that RC4WD gives us a few more options. The size just looks right on so many rigs, including this one. The 1.7 Iroks with the X2SS compound hook up on the rocks beautifully, and the included foams seem just right. We'll see how the foams do once we add more weight with a full interior.



Other odds and ends

I had to make a slight modification to the shaft that connects the tranny to the transfer case. The notches in the shaft were a bit too far apart for the grub screws to grab and stick, but a quick bit of grinding with the Dremel was enough to do the trick.



Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBHz9rEiy2I



In case you can't tell, I'm really enjoying this one. Next on the list will be relocating the electronics under the hood, adding new sliders, and then building out the interior. It will be slow going from here, but I'll post as I make progress.

 

[Natedog]

What's new with you, Roo, and this big little truck?

 

[Markeje]

Dang it man - you sure are making me want to buy the Bronco Ascender today! I'm trying to wait until after hunting season once winter sets in but this does NOT help!!!

 

[new2rocks]

What's new with you, Roo, and this big little truck?

Daddy got sidetracked working on some other builds (mostly the Beast and D110), and Roo wasn't happy waiting for Daddy to do an interior and paint the kit body. So he decided to start taking the Ascender out anyway, and he loves it. So do I when he lets me drive it. :ror:


I'll get back to it at some point. In the meantime, it's become a great rig to beat on mercilessly. It refuses to break, and it's a flat out beast. "thumbsup"

Dang it man - you sure are making me want to buy the Bronco Ascender today! I'm trying to wait until after hunting season once winter sets in but this does NOT help!!!

To quote a former colleague, "Delayed gratification is overrated." Buy it already! You won't regret it...

 

[Markeje]

One thing I really hope someone designs and puts on the market is an interior for the K5 and Bronco. I know you can buy the RC one for like 180 but just a simpler would do. Surely Vattera has plans for this or maybe RC4WD? In the mean time,I guess I'd have to "tint" the windows

 

[new2rocks]

One thing I really hope someone designs and puts on the market is an interior for the K5 and Bronco. I know you can buy the RC one for like 180 but just a simpler would do. Surely Vattera has plans for this or maybe RC4WD? In the mean time,I guess I'd have to "tint" the windows

You could use the Dinky RC Honcho interior kit as a starting point. Or try scratch-building one from styrene. It's not so scary once you start doing it. "thumbsup"

 

[new2rocks]

There wasn't much to update on this one other than how much we've been enjoying it as an all-around trail/rocks/bashing rig (yes...bashing, as in standing wheelies on pavement in high gear, lol). But I finally got around to something that I had been contemplating and wanting to do for a while.

So much unused space up front:


So I made this:




And put it here:


And then put stuff in and on it:




Now everything except the battery sits under the hood as it should, and there's still room to put more up there if I wanted to.

With all of the other projects I have going on, it will still be a while before I get around to making an interior for this. In the meantime, Roo and I will continue to enjoy getting it good and dirty. And I will probably jump on some of the new GCM Ascender goodies. The diff input shafts and bumper mounts are going to be must haves!

 

[Natedog]

Very nice and clean styrene setup! Any interior or GCM updates yet?

 

[new2rocks]

Thanks! GCM stuff should be here any day, so I'll post once it comes. I was close to pulling the trigger on the Exclusive RC interior but then heard Dinky would be doing one, so I decided to hold off for now. If I end up having to scratch build, I probably wouldn't get to it for a while (need to finish my second TF2, a D110, a Cruiser, and a couple of other builds first). Wow, am I sick...!

 

[Natedog]

Good to hear it, I can't wait to see what you're getting. I still need to do inner fenders, might try styrene but not sure how they'll hold up compared to plastic ziploc containers. Yep sickness lol.

What steering servo is that? Do you like it?

 

[new2rocks]

The servo is a Savox 1210. That and the RC4WD Twister Ultimate High Performance Waterproof servo are my go-tos for C1 and C2 rigs. Both have plenty of torque (over 270 oz-inch), good speed, are WP out of the box, and are reasonably priced. I have several of each and haven't had a single issue with either one.

 

[Natedog]

Good to know, thanks. I like how servos are now going to mostly 25 spline with easy to find 3mm buttonhead screw retaining the servo arm.

 

[new2rocks]

I received a rather large box from the kind folks at GCM and couldn't wait to open it to see what's inside. Box:





Opened:





And now for what's inside...





What the...?!?!?!?! That's it...?!?!?! They got me all worked up with that big box and all I get are a few little metal bits? Those crazy Canadians have quite a twisted sense of humor. :evil:



After I got over the initial disappointment, I decided to put stuff on, starting with the front bumper mounts:





Much beefier than the rubbery stock plastic. All the better to run over lesser trucks on the trail with my 6-lb SSD chrome bumpers, lol. Next up was the universal diff input shafts:





Such a simple idea, and absolutely brilliant. Here are some before and after shots showing the HD shafts vs the RC4WD Rebuildable Super Punishers that I put on:

















Much more scalier! But with that said, I must tip my hat to those rather bulbous HD shafts. Although a bit unsightly, they took quite a bit of abuse (run on 3S for most of their life) and held up great. On the flip side, I discovered that the rear diff cover pulled out completely from the upper two screws, which is a bit nutty. Good thing I ordered the SSD diff covers, though I must say I'll miss the blinding chrome of the stockers. :lmao:



I also ordered the Dinky interior, which they are calling their Universal 3D interior rather than an Ascender-specific interior. But that will have to go on the shelf for a bit while I finish up a few other builds. In the meantime, I look forward to abusing this some more out on the trails and rocks very soon!

 

[Johnnysplits]

The servo is a Savox 1210 plenty of torque (over 270 oz-inch), good speed, are WP out of the box, and are reasonably priced. I have several and haven't had a single issue

Found for $82 shipped and includes a Racers Edge aluminum horn. Should I go for it? That $70 Blue Bird I found looks bad ass and has almost 660 oz. torque...but not waterproof. Hmmm.

 

[new2rocks]

Found for $82 shipped and includes a Racers Edge aluminum horn. Should I go for it? That $70 Blue Bird I found looks bad ass and has almost 660 oz. torque...but not waterproof. Hmmm.

If you're not in a hurry, you can do better on the Savox. $82 is the new list, so you can do better with a coupon from RPP or AMain once they're back in stock. They also pop up in the classifieds periodically.

As for the Blue Bird, if it were my $, I'd pass. 660 oz-in is way more than you'd need on a 1.9, I haven't seen anyone talking about them, no idea about their customers service, and $70 isn't exactly a steal. Too many unknowns for my taste. I just ordered a Solar D772 ($28 shipped, over 400 oz, plenty of happy users) that will start life in Roo's new Yeti (which needs 300+ oz-in with decent speed) until the new HH servo is available and then become a spare. But that's just me...and what do I know, lol?

 

[Natedog]

I received a rather large box from the kind folks at GCM and couldn't wait to open it to see what's inside.

What the...?!?!?!?! That's it...?!?!?! They got me all worked up with that big box and all I get are a few little metal bits? Those crazy Canadians have quite a twisted sense of humor. :evil:

After I got over the initial disappointment, I decided to put stuff on, starting with the front bumper mounts:

Much beefier than the rubbery stock plastic. All the better to run over lesser trucks on the trail with my 6-lb SSD chrome bumpers, lol. Next up was the universal diff input shafts:

Such a simple idea, and absolutely brilliant. Here are some before and after shots showing the HD shafts vs the RC4WD Rebuildable Super Punishers that I put on:

Much more scalier! But with that said, I must tip my hat to those rather bulbous HD shafts. Although a bit unsightly, they took quite a bit of abuse (run on 3S for most of their life) and held up great. On the flip side, I discovered that the rear diff cover pulled out completely from the upper two screws, which is a bit nutty. Good thing I ordered the SSD diff covers, though I must say I'll miss the blinding chrome of the stockers. :lmao:

I also ordered the Dinky interior, which they are calling their Universal 3D interior rather than an Ascender-specific interior. But that will have to go on the shelf for a bit while I finish up a few other builds. In the meantime, I look forward to abusing this some more out on the trails and rocks very soon!

Very nice! Dang those Punisher shafts look very nice, can't wait to see that Dinky interior, I still need an interior and inner fenders for my Ascender . Hmmm...that box still seems little big...what else you get?

If you're not in a hurry, you can do better on the Savox. $82 is the new list, so you can do better with a coupon from RPP or AMain once they're back in stock. They also pop up in the classifieds periodically.

As for the Blue Bird, if it were my $, I'd pass. 660 oz-in is way more than you'd need on a 1.9, I haven't seen anyone talking about them, no idea about their customers service, and $70 isn't exactly a steal. Too many unknowns for my taste. I just ordered a Solar D772 ($28 shipped, over 400 oz, plenty of happy users) that will start life in Roo's new Yeti (which needs 300+ oz-in with decent speed) until the new HH servo is available and then become a spare. But that's just me...and what do I know, lol?

X2 :lmao:"thumbsup" I will risk $30 on cheap servos, more than that and might as well upgrade. Solar D772 have done pretty well.

 

[new2rocks]

Very nice! Dang those Punisher shafts look very nice, can't wait to see that Dinky interior, I still need an interior and inner fenders for my Ascender.

Thanks! You'll have to wait a bit on the Dinky interior. Need to at least finish my Mojave 2 body (just started painting this weekend) before I take on another painting project, lol.

Hmmm...that box still seems little big...what else you get?

I have no idea what you're talking about... :roll:


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[Natedog]

OK, I know I have too many projects going at once too.

Nice to see the GCM machined parts, looking good!