Post-apocalyptic power wagon rock crawler build

[Damatheus]

Building a Fallout-themed Power Wagon ascender crawler to compliment my Vault 13 Twin Hammer trail truck. The plan for the Ascender is as a tow rig for the TH and scale crawler.

Starting with a BND ascender F100. Currently collecting parts and getting started on the body.

Here is a little teaser and a look at my Twin Hammer build.

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[Shinchu]

nice! that's going to look awesome, judging by that TH!
you going to base it on the fallout truck from Forza? would translate to the power wagon very easily.

what part of san diego you in? I'm out in east el cajon (rancho SD).

welcome to the ascender club!

 

[Damatheus]

nice! that's going to look awesome, judging by that TH!
you going to base it on the fallout truck from Forza? would translate to the power wagon very easily.

what part of san diego you in? I'm out in east el cajon (rancho SD).

welcome to the ascender club!

Thanks! That TH is pretty beat up, here is a shot when it was fresh.

I considered the blue Vualt-tec truck, but I'm going to do a green military truck repurposed by the brotherhood of steel theme. I'm actually up on camp Pendleton, do most my crawling with the inland empire group or up in LA.

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[Shinchu]

lol i grew up in oceanslime. "interesting" place in the 90's. probably still is.
and i couldn't tell it was beat up because, well... haha just adds to the flavor!

i think i know what theme you are going for, i'll refrain from posting a pic so i don't steal your thunder

 

[Damatheus]

Got some parts in today! Been running my 3D printer like crazy making stuff, testing stuff, and seeing what I can adapt to the power wagon body.

On the table you see:

GMade sr05 beadlocks. These things are solid and heavy. My first time assembling internal bead locks, so took me a minute to realize how to use the supplied long screws to hold it together. Turned out nice. These ones are unfinished steel so hopefully will weather nicely.

Proline flatiron 1.9xl. run the 2.2 m3 compound on my TH and love them, decided to try the new compound.

Hobbywing quickrun 1080. Heard nothing but good about this, thought I'd try.

3d printed rock sliders and low profile skid plate. Thanks to @callaway for these sliders! They turned out really nice. They needed to be scaled down for the more narrow Power Wagon body. Currently I have them printed at 41mm each, which is about 2mm too short on each side, as it ends up squeezing the body. Not bad for a guess on the size though! We will see how these do!

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[mgputer]

Got some parts in today! Been running my 3D printer like crazy making stuff, testing stuff, and seeing what I can adapt to the power wagon body.

On the table you see:

GMade sr05 beadlocks. These things are solid and heavy. My first time assembling an internal beadlocks, so took my a minute to realize how to use the supplied long screws to hold it together. Turned out nice. These ones are unfinished steel so hopefully will weather nicely.

Proline flatiron 1.9xl. run the 2.2 m3 compound on my TH and love them, decided to try the new compound.

Hobbywing quickrun 1080. Heard nothing but good about this, thought I'd try.

3d printed rock sliders and low profile skid plate. We will see how these do!

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I like how you're going with this. When they are weathered driving them only adds to the look.

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[Damatheus]

Made some progress today. On the floor of my office because my workbench is covered in 1:1 parts and my kitchen table is covered in wife crafts! Haha.

Got all the tires mounted on the wheels. Not sure how I feel about the internal beadlocks. It was pretty tough to get all the beads well locked in place, and I have a few sections where the bead isn't pinched well. I foresee these beads slipping in the future and me disassembling for repair.

Installed the 1080 esc, havne't wired it up yet though.

And most importantly I got the wheelbase stretched to 314 mm. Wasn't hard just time-consuming! If anyone ever does this, and doesn't notice, the threaded bars that hold the upper and lower links to the link ends have 1.5mm hex slots for unscrewing them. I still had to use a pair of needlenose pliers on a few of them that ended up threading out the wrong end.

Also got the body drilled and started getting bit mounted. Just need to drill the holes to attach the cage/bed now.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180420/5b339c5ac016b6993186a75822d4ba6c.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180420/9655f4156e83befe074150f9ec125c1e.jpg

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[mgputer]

Looking good. I have wanted to try a set of the new flat irons. I know when I used to run them I really liked the performance. I can't wait to see the finished product.

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[Damatheus]

Looking good. I have wanted to try a set of the new flat irons. I know when I used to run them I really liked the performance. I can't wait to see the finished product.

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I have been really impressed with the old M3 compound 2.2s on my Twin Hammer, so much so that I spent several days scouring the internet to find a replacement set. I've watched the new 1.9xls in action, and they appeared to do well. My only complaint with the Flat Irons is they don't side hill very well due to the horizontal tread pattern. But man do they bite going up.

 

[mgputer]

I have been really impressed with the old M3 compound 2.2s on my Twin Hammer, so much so that I spent several days scouring the internet to find a replacement set. I've watched the new 1.9xls in action, and they appeared to do well. My only complaint with the Flat Irons is they don't side hill very well due to the horizontal tread pattern. But man do they bite going up.

Yes I would agree with you on the side hilling but the 2.2 were a great tire besides.

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[Damatheus]

Not much progress over the weekend, was busy with kids and BBQ and all that other adult stuff that takes you away from tiny trucks!

While I wait for the rest of my paint to come in, I ordered a new 55t RC4WD motor to replace the stock 35t. If I like the 55t motor I'll probably replace with a nicer rebuildable one, any recommendations?

I did get started painting the rear cage and flat bed though. I initially used the same rust technique i used for the twin hammers, but it didn't work very well. Because i painted the TH with a brush and heavier acrylic paint it was textured, so the dry brushing of rust paint resulted in a nice textured look.

The metal panels were sprayed and had a much smoother finish, so the dry brushing didn't work well. Looking for something with texture, I grabbed a green scrub pad out of the kitchen (unused) and tore a piece off. I dipped this in the rust paint, dabbed the excess off on a tissue, then blotted the metal to get the rough, textured look. Worked out quite well! Now on to the pics.

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[mgputer]

Not much progress over the weekend, was busy with kids and BBQ and all that other adult stuff that takes you away from tiny trucks!

While I wait for the rest of my paint to come in, I ordered a new 55t RC4WD motor to replace the stock 35t. If I like the 55t motor I'll probably replace with a nicer rebuildable one, any recommendations?

I did get started painting the rear cage and flat bed though. I initially used the same rust technique i used for the twin hammers, but it didn't work very well. Because i painted the TH with a brush and heavier acrylic paint it was textured, so the dry brushing of rust paint resulted in a nice textured look.

The metal panels were sprayed and had a much smoother finish, so the dry brushing didn't work well. Looking for something with texture, I grabbed a green scrub pad out of the kitchen (unused) and tore a piece off. I dipped this in the rust paint, dabbed the excess off on a tissue, then blotted the metal to get the rough, textured look. Worked out quite well! Now on to the pics.

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Looks good. I've tried 55t before and quickly removed it. I prefer the all round performance of the 35t or 27t 550.

I can't Wait to see the finished product!


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[Damatheus]

Looks good. I've tried 55t before and quickly removed it. I prefer the all round performance of the 35t or 27t 550.

I can't Wait to see the finished product!


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I've wondered about that, which is why I went with the $12 RC4WD motor vice one that would cost five times that. If I don't like it, no big dead. I do intend to swap to the 2-speed transmission though, so if the 55T is a little slow hopefully the 2-speed will counter that some.

 

[high plains drifter]

How could someone not click on a thread title like this? I really like that the panels aren't heavily oxidized/ relic... just the right amount. Really cool project.

 

[durok]

REALLY nice job on the panels, my man! Couldn't ask for a better finish... I've also got a second cab & cage to work one for my K10, but I like the '72 Chevy so much I just got another.

It's likely to be more of a shelf queen, going the opposite direction from yours. My original panels were brush painted black to match the hood I also painted, 'cause everyone has that all-yellow cab!

I'll be watching your build with interest.

 

[mgputer]

I've wondered about that, which is why I went with the $12 RC4WD motor vice one that would cost five times that. If I don't like it, no big dead. I do intend to swap to the 2-speed transmission though, so if the 55T is a little slow hopefully the 2-speed will counter that some.

With the 2 speed you should be OK I think. The 55t also would make your battery last forever!

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[Shinchu]

I'm running a 27T tamiya (12 tooth pinion) on my 2 speed and its JUST right! low gear still nice and slow but still has wheelspeed to get out of most jams, high gear is a good jogging pace. heck, it even has decent slow speed control in high gear! could be due to the sweet HH ESC though. but with your hobbywing i think it will be almost the same!

mgputer has a good point though, 55T will last forever on a pack.
(i run a 4000mah 3S and i run out of juice before the truck lol)

nice work on the panels!
and I'm guilty of working on my truck in uniform too hahaha right when you walk through the door its like hi babe, hi kids, TRUCK TIME!!!

 

[Damatheus]

I'm running a 27T tamiya (12 tooth pinion) on my 2 speed and its JUST right! low gear still nice and slow but still has wheelspeed to get out of most jams, high gear is a good jogging pace. heck, it even has decent slow speed control in high gear! could be due to the sweet HH ESC though. but with your hobbywing i think it will be almost the same!

mgputer has a good point though, 55T will last forever on a pack.
(i run a 4000mah 3S and i run out of juice before the truck lol)

nice work on the panels!
and I'm guilty of working on my truck in uniform too hahaha right when you walk through the door its like hi babe, hi kids, TRUCK TIME!!!

Haha good eye! I had to go back through my pics and see which one it was showing my uniform.

Wheel speed is one concern I have with the 55t, I use the 2nd gear of my TH with the 35t to get up some inclines and it works well. But I want to 55t so the Power Wagon can tow the Hammers.

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[mgputer]

Haha good eye! I had to go back through my pics and see which one it was showing my uniform.

Wheel speed is one concern I have with the 55t, I use the 2nd gear of my TH with the 35t to get up some inclines and it works well. But I want to 55t so the Power Wagon can tow the Hammers.

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You should be OK to tow with the 35t but depending on the terrain that might be the best bet to go with the 55t.

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[Damatheus]

Got some body clean up done and started painting. Did the underside in NATO black to set it up to show through when it inevitably scratches through. After the black I did the outside in a rust, red brown color for the weathering that will be underneath.

The intent moving from here is NATO green, using a variety if methods for rust and weather to include salt chipping, sponge chipping, dry brushing, and corner sanding.

It won't be perfect, but I'm not much a perfectionist nor experienced in painting.

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