My first scale build.

[OGmicromonster]

I just thought I'd share this build I had going on on RCC.

This build is going to be pretty straight forward. I'm going to be using a New Bright FJ Cruiser body on an RC4WD Gelande chassis. When browsing the internet for ideas I came across the Revtek FJ Cruiser and decided to loosely base my build on that rig. The reason i decided to do the FJ Cruiser was because I had the body already that I had planned on using in a past build. But that build got put on hold, then the chassis was sold. So I decided to finally complete a scale build around the FJ Cruiser body. This build however has a purpose. I'm building this for an article we are working on for the magazine (August Issue). Of course scale builds are almost always never complete so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this as I do have additional plans that will carry over for a previous build I had started but never finished. The rig is complete right now, but I just thought I'd post a little at a time until the issue comes out.

Here are a couple of reference photos and the specs.

Chassis: RC4WD Gelande (shortened and modified)
Axles: RC4WD TREX 60's (plastic version)
Body: New Bright FJ Cruiser
Wheels: RC4WD 1.55 Void Bead locks
Tires: RC4WD 1.55 Rock Crushers
ESC/Motor: Novak Goat 3s with 13.5T Crawler

[OGmicromonster]

Cutting and bending the pieces for the bumpers.


So I started working on cutting and bending the parts for the bumpers. As you can see in the photos I first designed and drew the flat parts on the computer. The front bumper has dotted lines to indicate where the bends are. Everything is being made from brass and will be silver soldered together for a strong joint. I didn't want to braze them because I wasn't sure some of the smaller items could be done easily and cleanly. We'll see how strong they are once done.


First thing to do was drill the pilot holes for all the holes in the front bumper. Since it's thin material I didn't want to bend the metal by trying to drill the holes the full size right off the bat. So I started off small and worked my way up to the correct sizes for the holes.



Here is a shot of the piece cut out and all the holes drilled. As you can see I was going to have two larger holes in the center part, but decided to make room for the fairlead for the winch.



And now the bumper all bent in the correct spots and ready for silver soldering the joints where the meet up.



Then on to cutting and bending the parts for the rear bumper.

[OGmicromonster]

Rear bumper assembly.

I decided to put the pieces together for the rear bumper and started bending the tubing for the front bumper.

Here is the rear bumper all soldered up with high-temp silver solder. This stuff is strong. I did a test joint with some scrap and I couldn't bend the parts at the joint or break them apart. These bumpers will hold up just fine. Most of the solder is on the back side for strength with some on the front to fill the joints. (Note: You can see the front tubing bent in the background.)



Then I used a file to clean up the joints and make everything smooth.



The next step is to make the mounting brackets, but first I need to modify the rear part of the chassis rails to fit within the body. This chassis is a tad bit long so I'll be cutting about 3/8-inch of the back section. More on that later.

By the way, here was the inspiration for the rear bumper.

[OGmicromonster]

Chassis Mod, and rear bumper mounted

First thing I did was modify the rear part of the chassis rails. I needed to remove about 3/8-inch off the back. In the first photo you can see the tape marking my cut. Then the second showing the other side had been cut.





Then I got making the mounting brackets for the rear bumper. These were also made from brass and is surprisingly strong.





I've worked on the front bumper, but will wait until it's completed to post photos of that. There's still quite a bit to do, like finish the front bumper, build a rear tire rack with gas can mount, rock sliders, install some lights for night trail driving, modify the stock roof rack, paint the body and so on.

[OGmicromonster]

Front bumper done and mounted.

Here is the completed front bumper, minus the paint, and mounted it to the chassis. I've also attached the RC4WD fairlead for the winch once I get a working one. For now I think I'm going to use a Proline static winch. Here are the photos. It still needs a little cleaning up on the joints, but I'll do all the pieces before painting once they are complete.










Next up are the rock sliders. So far I'm happy with the way the metal work is turning out. Not bad for my first time working with this stuff. :mrgreen:

OH and as you can see I decided on painting the body Olive Drab 2 (Tamiya TS-28 ). I've also made the modifications for the LED's on the body, but still need to do it on the light buckets.

[OGmicromonster]

So that's what I had posted so far on RCC. Now that this thread is updated and current you'll see the completed rig soon.

[HB_CRAWLER]

Nice very nice i fabricate stuff everyday and i'm totaly impressed with your work very well done!!!! I can't wait to see it in person

[ZoSo]

damn nice

[Illeagle]

Your first scale build is nicer than ALL of mine I have done to date!! Guess I need to step up my game.

[axlsnapr]

Looks great Dave!... nice fab work...


Is somebody look'n to be COTM soon?...

[psychopat]

very nice

[difflocker]

Nice job on the bumpers! Can't wait to see this thing done!

[OGmicromonster]

Thanks for the compliments. I'll post some more pics soon.

[OGmicromonster]

Looks great Dave!... nice fab work...


Is somebody look'n to be COTM soon?...

Ya never know Jerry

[OGmicromonster]

As I promised here are some more photos of the build. These are the rock sliders I made along with the mounting brackets.


I got caught up in working that I forgot to take progress pics of the rock sliders. But here's what the result was.


The mounting bracket parts before and after silver soldering.


The stock body mounting post needed to be trimmed to allow for the FJ body and the mounting brackets.








Here you can see that the brackets need a little bracing between them for added strength. That will be added later.



Next the tire mount and gas can holder.

[GmanBill]

So far that is looking totally bad arse, I like the way you are working with the brass and soldering it, I was thinking about doing the same on my next project and see if it would hold up to my beatings put on my stuff on the trail.

[OGmicromonster]

It holds up great. I'm using silver solder which requires a lot more heat (easily over 600-degrees). I use a Weller digital soldering iron set at 850-degrees and it's barely hot enough. You could use a torch too, just be careful not to melt the brass. The joints are extremely strong. I did a test piece to see how strong it was and I couldn't rip it apart. The brass was bending before the joint would even give at all. Just make sure you brace things up well, scuff and clean the brass well along with using good flux before soldering.

[prifral]

This looks real nice man! Dig the attention to detail and patience. Keep it up!

[KRAWLR4life]

WOW! Dave!! Looks great man! Very nice work, keep it up bro!
Cant wait to see it finished!

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: A BIG ONE

Well the basic rig is done and ready to run. However I still have additional plans so even though the rig is "done", it's not really done. On to the update.
(I'm going to post these updates in sections so bear with me.)

The tire mount came out pretty decent in my opinion. I had a hard time bending the square tubing. I had to hammer it using a 9/16" socket as a die to get the curve. It took about 30 minutes to get it right. Anyone know an easy way to bend square tubing?









Once it was all soldered up it was time to mount it. I drilled two additional holes in the back of the body for mounting points. The screws will be hidden behind the spare tire.





As you can see I was going to go with silver for the bumpers, but opted to go with semi-gloss black instead. The silver paint I had just wouldn't stick to the brass. I ended up using an epoxy paint from the auto parts store.

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Continued

So here are the brass components all painted using the epoxy paint. This stuff is pretty tough.






Here you can see the bracing I ended up putting to make the rock sliders more durable.




Then I mounted the RC4WD Safari Snorkel for the Pajero. It's not a perfect fit, but pretty close.

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Still continued... the lights.

So I'm using an Axial NVS light system for my rig. I also used a pico switch on the third channel in place of the NVS on/off switch. This allows me to use the third channel on my radio to turn the lights on or off on the fly.







Wiring up the lights was pretty intense with all the wires everywhere.

Then it was on the the scale accessories. I made a few items as well as bought a few. The cargo net was made from 1/8" black ribbon I picked up at the local crafts store. I just wove a net patter and glued it with a drop of CA on each intersection.

[ElChupoCabre]

Dang Dave! This rig looks killer so far. I am a huge FJ fan and so far this is my fave scale FJ build. Beautiful work bro.

[OGmicromonster]

After it was completed it was time for the photo shoot at Sycamore Park in Diamond Bar, California. This rig and two others were built for a scale article in Xtreme RC Cars magazine. I was responsible for building this one, which is why you get the build thread. The Tundra was built by another editor (James Revilla) of the magazine and the Jeep was built by me and James. You can check out the whole article and other rigs in the August Issue #176 available now (or shortly, depending on your area).

[OGmicromonster]

Dang Dave! This rig looks killer so far. I am a huge FJ fan and so far this is my fave scale FJ build. Beautiful work bro.

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. Check out the completed photos from the photo shoot.

[ElChupoCabre]

I did! This rig looks amazing man. Looks like a total blast to wheel for sure.

[OGmicromonster]

I did! This rig looks amazing man. Looks like a total blast to wheel for sure.

Ah, sorry. I saw your post above the photos of the completed rig so I thought you might have missed them. It is pretty fun. It's actually a pretty capable rig.



Stay tuned, there's still more to come with this rig. I'm going to be building a major accessory soon. I'm just waiting for a few parts to come in so I can begin work.

Here's a clue.

[axlsnapr]

Great thread Dave!..... Rig came out awesome....


Head'n to the LHS to pick up a copy of XRC after work!..

[OGmicromonster]

Great thread Dave!..... Rig came out awesome....


Head'n to the LHS to pick up a copy of XRC after work!..

Thank you sir.

Feel free to pick up a few copies for your friends

[difflocker]

I love your attention to details, rig is awesome!