bitPimps.lixlink.com

First things first - I owe HUGE props to ibjamn. One hell of a hook up from a genuine Pimp. I really thought I was going to get bent over for one of these things - ibjamn didn't even unzip my pants.

And we're talking New in Box. Well, until I busted the axles off it like 2 seconds later

The kit is an italeri 1/24 - its meant to be a hard top but I am building this as a replica of my daily driver - see thread here which I have just stripped back to soft top. (I see brasswork in my future!)

I am hoping to use micro desert wheels for a more scale appearance, but I might need to reduce track width a little. I'd also like to go leaf springs, so I need to find some suitable material (spring steel?) to fashion these out of.

Long way to go yet, but the ingredients are coming together.


and a quick mock up

I'm just glad it found a new home, instead in a box 'til who knows when.

ooohhhh this is going to be good!!!

I'll keep my eye on it
"so I need to find some suitable material (spring steel?)" - wind-up toys, pull back like.

ynad wrote:wind-up toys, pull back like.

awesome, i thought that was the vibe.

Okay, i'm going to tangent on this thing first - I need to build a chassis - while the plastic jobby looks the business, its too flexible and methinks it will let go

1/8th inch ABS.
You can cut it into the true look of the 1:1, and use strips as cross members glued with Plastruct styrene glue that also is used for small ABS projects. It bonds the plastic together like a plastic weld.

If you have any Car Audio shops near you they usually have some. I used to charge $5 for a 12" by 12" sheet.

hmm... i was thinking brass, but the ABS might be easier to come by - thanks.

Brass look so much cooler but abs would be so much easier to work with. Looks like its going to be pretty cool when its done.

haven't had much time to work on this (stupid job!) but i found a few hours the other night to get the axles trimmed and get the mock up looking a bit sharper.

This is about the height I'm aiming for - any higher and I'll start to lose scale. I could go bigger for a really OTT crawler look, but
a) if you were building a 1:1 Land Rover crawler, you'd go with a 88", not 109", and;
b) I kinda like it looking a bit more "military stock" anyway.



trimmed the excess plastic of the axles - you can see the notches on the front to allow the steering arms some travel.


This is how much steering I have now.


great part about the boxy landrover body - Servo fits nicely up inside the engine bay -

checking for alignment between servo and steering- I've ditched the plastic steering rod in favour of some thin alum. tube since this was taken.

well, I haven't updated lately, cos I was banned! Stupid aussie IP addresses...
Anyways, I've come a loong way in the last couple weeks on this one -just waiting for electrics to go in, then final detailing

Will chuck pics up tomorrow

45tr0 wrote:well, I haven't updated lately, cos I was banned! Stupid aussie IP addresses...

You were on the terror watch list dude.

CaboWabo wrote:

45tr0 wrote:well, I haven't updated lately, cos I was banned! Stupid aussie IP addresses...

You were on the terror watch list dude.

45tr0 Bin-Drinkin!

CaboWabo wrote:

45tr0 wrote:well, I haven't updated lately, cos I was banned! Stupid aussie IP addresses...

You were on the terror watch list dude.

That explains so much...there must be coded messages going back and forth between cells pretending to be RC enthusiast. I can't endorse that sort of thing so let me just say: the red micro has found a home. I will deliver the ZipZap on the day of feast. Allah be praised.

sidewinder wrote: the red micro has found a home. I will deliver the ZipZap on the day of feast. Allah be praised.

Okay, so the the overdue update from whence we left off.

I experimented with the stock plastic chassis, and decided that since it would be bolted directly to the body then a lot of rigidity would be added that way. I did however add some extra reinforcement by filling the hollow rails, etc with 2 part epoxy.
Then I built the spring mounts - the rear ones were frenched into cuts in the chassis outriggers to give more strength.




Next was transmission - the traxxas servo that ibjamn threw in was hacked down to mount in the bed and protrude down between the rails.




Then came building the axle mounts out of 2mm styrene.




I forgot to take photos when building the leafs - essentially they are a kyosho pull start spring cut to size, with Jewellery spacers for shackles. You can see 'em in the next pic though.

Next was drivetrain - a set of mini-quake shafts cut (right!) down to fit. Gotta paint them flat black yet.


Oh yeah, an exhaust went on too


Then paint - the weathering looks a bit more subtle in real life, but there is still some more refinement needed..



I'm building a soft top, but i painted up the hardtop too so that i have that option.


The 1:1 for comparison



Okay, that's progress so far.

Next step will be a set of Aoshima swampers and adapting the kit's rims ,

then electronics - deciding whether to go with the micro-T board or something else... only real issue is whether I trust the Micro-t Servo?

They sell a micro receiver with a 3 wire servo, for use with their brushless systems.
http://www.losi.com/Products/Features.a ... d=LOSB0830

I think a lot of people go with Iwaver/Mini-Z boards for this kind of build. The Iwaver boards now are FM.
http://www.toyeast.com/v3/pdtdetail.asp ... =A02102169

It looks great. A lot like your real one. I want to see a video of it in action!