Tachikoma1373's Baja Bug Build

[tachikoma1373]

Hi folks, I know a Baja Bug build is hardly anything new but I figured I'd document and share it anyway. Since I'm on several forums both US and UK based I thought I'd share most of it via a facebook Album. The whole album is public so you won't need an account to view it (assuming you want to). I will be updating this thread but not all the pictures or videos (when there are some) will be included.

I'm going for a scale (ish) look thats still great fun as a basher. The build is not complete yet, awaiting parts but you can see where I'm up to and follow progress here.

I was given all this by a neighbour for nothing as "spares".

Then I went through the process of RIT dyeing the chassis and tidying it up with the stock parts and a few bits I had lying around.

I did all that whilst waiting for some parts. When those parts arrived I was little "disappointed". The Fastrax Wheels & tyres turned out to be so cheap the tread goes in opposite directions. I bet you know what they can do - FRO.

Also got RPM front bearing carriers for the slash (one snapped), battery strap, front & rear body mounts, body clips, body clip holders and the most important thing....a really good quality Lexan Baja Bug body from Pro-line.

I spent the early part of an evening giving the body shell an initial trim and trying to figure out the body mounting. Too high in this picture.

Here's a clue for the colour scheme and decals. Just gotta wait for the detailing pens, get the paint and do some testing.
http://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.ne...13301889_n.jpg
The next evening I trimmed the rear ESC mount to allow the larger battery packs (LiPo and 7 cell Nimh) to fit in the tray and mounted the ESC off an 2nd hand Etronix Brushless system courtesy of ebay.

The extra rear mount is from a Sand Rover kit, think its the Holiday buggy body mount.

13.0T 3000Kv motor - nothing OTT but will hopefully do the trick :-)

Inspiration for the build came primarily from here, here and here and there are some other pics in the facebook album.

Haven't done anything on it tonight as I went out for a bash with the slash :-)

[TraxxasTuesdays]

I really like the one in that last link. Should be a pretty cool build!

[cunawarit]

Etronix motor and speedo I have the same but the 3300KV motor rather than 3000KV you have.

That's a 3S lipo? I'm curious to see how you find it runs with 3S

[tachikoma1373]

Etronix motor and speedo I have the same but the 3300KV motor rather than 3000KV you have.

That's a 3S lipo? I'm curious to see how you find it runs with 3S

its only a 2S lipo, looking forward to 3S myself :-)

I have the 9.0T etronix sbs photon 2.0 combo in my slash.

How are you finding the etronix? I think both of mine, both new and 2nd hand, are great value for money. but then only time will tell.
:-)

[tachikoma1373]

I really like the one in that last link. Should be a pretty cool build!

nice isnt it, i like the metallic orange

[cunawarit]

How are you finding the etronix? I think both of mine, both new and 2nd hand, are great value for money. but then only time will tell.
:-)

Can't complain, I've put it through its paces with some fairly heavy use and it has been great.

Only complaint would be that if you advance the timing it cogs a little, but I am told that is normal for sensorless systems. But the cogging isn't bad, it literally only happens at like crawler speeds!

The system is an unbelivable bargain How do you find the 9.0T for power?

[AZ Racer X]

Looks like it's gonna be awesome ! Keep us updated.

[tachikoma1373]

...... How do you find the 9.0T for power?

Quick off the mark seems to sustains it quite well but I have to be honest thats not a particularly subjective answer given I've been back in the RC game for about 2 1/2 months :-) An RS540 Black in a Sand Rover used to impress me! :-))

[cunawarit]

Ah... I'm in the same boat, came back into RC recently too... Use to think my 16 and 15 turn motors were hella quick

[tachikoma1373]

Well I didn't document as much of this process as I could but after some more prep on the body I got round to painting today. I didn't go with the scheme I originally intended and I still may and some Tamiya Flat Clear to get the matte effect on the black. I should of done several more layers of roange as there is hint of black speckling in the side stripes - hey ho leason learned. All in pretty happy, just want to get some accersories (light rack, roof rack) and probably going to go for a scale 1.9 tyre combo - axial maybe?

Anyway to the pics.......

[SBjbABlb]

I'm loving that!

[sano]

Where did you get the Baja bug body from?

Everything looks great!

[tachikoma1373]

The body is the Pro-Line The Baja Body for the MAXX, REVO, and Savage (code: PL3238-61) and mine came from ModelSport here in the UK - http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?product_id=27549

You need this short wheelbase one with an rustler chassis (wheelbase on both chassis and shell is 289mm). Proline do other longer versions that you use on the slash for example.

Not complete yet but getting there :-)

[tachikoma1373]

Well I took the plunge and ordered some replacement wheels, after a good deal of reearch mind changing and availability checking. I wanted to continue the scale (ish) theme and as mentioned previously I thought about some honco wheels but they were a bit too much to buy on a hunch so I found something similar in the form of these:
Ansmann Racing Crawler Wheel & Tyre Set - 108mm Chrome Scale Rim (£9.49)

Ansmann Racing Crawler Wheel & Tyre Set - 96mm Chrome Scale Rim (£9.49)

I went for the smaller front after looking at a few pics but mainly think about Sand Sorchers and Rough Riders, the things that started the RC bug in me as a kid.
Anyway here's a taster of what they look like:


More to come, I think I know where I'm going to go with front bumper and lights, just need to figure the back and get some more ride height in there I think.

[Nitroelectric]

Your Rusty looks amazing! You have such a cool design goin on! The paint job is classy and cool on your body as well.

[tachikoma1373]

Few more parts came today. Got Traxxas Revo Front & Rear Chrome bumpers and some RPM Light Canisters. Still working on where to fit the lights and how to fit the rear bumper but here's the front bumper mounting (screwed the revo mount to the rustler bumper) and what it looks like. Quite pleased.

[AZ Racer X]

That looks AWESOME !

[tachikoma1373]

More stuff done over the past few days as some parts came .


The reason I need the new PROLINE TITUS 1.9 B/LOC 12MM IN BLACK is because this ^^^^ has happened to pretty much all the
Ansman Chrome Crawler wheels (I know they are Crawler set but this thing has only been run up and down the street and off a few curbs (6" tops) and every single wheel disintegrated! Crawlers may go slower but really? Stay away from them unless you just want the tyre.<rant over>).

Anyway got the Pro-Lines now so I got the Crawler tyres off what was left of the Ansman hubs (scalpel and acetone, mainly scalpel ) and put them on the beadlocs and this what I ended up with. Rather pleased actually.


And this is what they look like. Also got the motor protector/wheelie bar fitted (I may still switch to a rear bumper of some description but we'll see).
I'm going to have to remount the shell at some point as I'm not happy with the alignment, it needs to be a touch higher and forward to look its best with the wheels and for the shell to sit really cleanly against the transmission now the motor protector/wheelie bar is in place - oh well.

I have a set of ProLine bumper lights (the 4 bar for the Slash) that I have split into pairs and intend to mount on either side of the front bumper, which after some more testing tonight is scratched and it will need to be moved forward when I move the shell. Also considering a roof rack/lights and I want to put proper headlights and brake lights in as well. I want to get the stability as tight as possible before I fit any of that though. Once I have those in place I'll LED them up 2 x headlights, 4 x bumper lights, 2 x brake lights, maybe 4 spot lights for the roof/light rack.

I also want to add inner wheel arches, firewall and underskirt for the front part of the chassis probably made of thin aluminum sheet (I'm working on some templates in cardboard at the moment.) to keep sand out (or at least some of it) because this car is designed to go fast and look good on the beach.

Anyway thats it for now.

[rag6]

That looks really sweet with the 1.9's. That body also fits much better than I thought it would. Sawweeet ride!

[tachikoma1373]

Done some more work on the bug over the past few days. Little in the way of new parts but the changes took a while and I'm pleased.

It started with remounting the body. As I mentioned above I wasn't happy with the lines I had to do something about it but I didn't want to put new holes in the shell so after a lot of messing about I end up with the following:

The new rear mount is actually cobled together from a Slash rear mount that I shortened, mounted on the front of the shock tower, with trimmed towers.





The first front mount I came up with was this:



But then I had a thought (inspired by some feedback on another forum by the guy that did one of the projects that inspired me) and came up with this:



What we have there is front body mount and inner wheel arch to keep some of the muck out from under the body. It's cut from the front of a plastic DVD case. This is what it looks like with the body on:



And this is what she looks like in familiar surroundings


I don't know if you can tell from the photo but the shell is siting about 2mm higher so the bottom of the shell lines up with the chassis and about 7mm further forward so the wheel arches line up slightly better and the "engine" really hugs the back of the transmission case.

Then I got these:



Which when fitted look like this:




Thats it for now.

[O.G.]

Nice job with the Proline bead loc's. And I like the cool spring covers. Nice work.

[tachikoma1373]

Well been away putting a wide track suspension mod on my slash so the bug has been on hold until yesterday and tonight when I managed to pull the first light setup together - its not complete yet but its getting there.

I started with these 5mm LED HALO Lights


I made a mount from a piece of aluminium tube with cuts through at either end, the middel crushed and the light mounts folded round. T%he lights are then a snug fit inside the tubes.


I re-did the mount with a single horizontal hole to allow vertical adjustment.


And this what it looks like with the shell on. I had to get the paint off the "lenses" as I forgot to mask them off. doh! I'm hoping to source some sort of lenses/headlight cover that will fit and allow the lights to shine through better.



There's a poor quality short video here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4057779401933

[momort]

i like that im planning on going with a bajr body from jconcepts

[O.G.]

Any updates on the build??

[tachikoma1373]

Any updates on the build??

Slow progress at present I'm afraid - need to wait for day day :-)

[AbSoLooT1]

Nice man. Lookin good!

[DiggerPede]

Dude I love the bug build. I'm a huge fan of bugs and always will be. I have one for me ERBE that I will get to one of these days. It's still sitting in its package waiting for paint and to be mounted.

Keep up the good work.

[Emaxx2.0]

I rarely say this about beetle builds but this little bug looks sweet. I love the 1.9 tires.

[tachikoma1373]

Well its been a while since I posted, not really been doing much but have managed to progress my interior shielding and my lights. Here's a few shots....


Really pleased with the way the lights are coming on, just the break lights to do next.



This is my fave picture...

[AZ Racer X]

Looks awesome ! that shielding looks big and heavy. Are the electronics staying cool ?

Thank you for the update this looks amazing.

[tachikoma1373]

Thanks, appreciated.

I'm not looking for this to be a monster so not too worried about cooling but the plan is to fit a lid which will in fact be a dummy cockpit with driver and hopefully small (non functional) rollcage. I will be venting the enclosure at the front where it tappers in, if that isn't enough I will looking into mounting a small fan as well.

It needs to be a little lower around the front section but I'm waiting till I can find the right interior before trimming further. I will then also seal the seems and joins with a bit epoxy for strength

It's actually made from old DVD cases so its pretty strong but still light.

[tachikoma1373]

Whilst the weather is good and I have some time off I've taken the opportunity to bash all my vehicles and make a few videos. Here's some footage of the bug - although don't hold your breath for much action in this one.



As you can see this thing is quite nippy and its only running one of those 380 in a 540 can brushless motors. The session was cut short by one of the rear tyres coming off the beadlocks.



I thought I'd complete the scale look as well

[AZ Racer X]

lol Love it ! Yeah those same beadlocks I have didn't hold up to lipo and brushless to well at all They look so awesome though.

[tachikoma1373]

[AZ Racer X]

Nice to see your bead locks holding up. Lucky lol.

[tachikoma1373]

The trick for me has been silicone sealant, you normal bathroom/kitchen variety. Holds the tyres on but is easily replaceable and just rubs off the tyre and rim. It does come off, but only occasionally.