1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

[JonFoster]

Hey all, I think it's finally time for me to delve back into the bigger tiny trucks (~1/10). My last one was a Tamyia CC-01 1973 Bronco kit. I built the platform, got it running, and never got to painting the body. I had a junky Blackfoot body that I slapped on and wheeled. Since then, I've built a few micros and enjoyed wheeling them but I found the right combination of parts to make me want to build a big tiny truck...

...which is a "close, but not exact Mini Me" of my 1995 Ford Bronco. Black in XLT trim, she runs a mildly built 5.0L, sitting on stock suspension stuffed with 33x12.50 General Grabber AT2s on 15" wagon wheels spray bombed black. It's gone through a few iterations in the 11+ years I've owned it, but the current look is my favorite so far (minus the rust, of course).

I'm going to try and make this build a fairly quick one in comparison to my previous long running builds (or in some cases, still ongoing aka stalled). This one won't have an interior, just some dark tinted windows. Meant to be a scaler trail rig, I want to be able to run something relatively quickly, so my "finish line" is going to be May 1st in time for RC4WD's Go Scale Day event.

Thanks checking out this build. Stay tuned for more!

 

[JonFoster]

So, for the chassis and running gear, we begin with a cheap eBay clone of an Axial SCX10 II chassis. I've seen some builds with the Austar chassis and those guys said it was a good bang for the buck. I also wanted something that is known to perform well out of the box and this one seemed to ring the right bells.

I got this box:

Inside that box was some metal bits, some plastic bits, and some rubber bits:

Some of the bits tried to escape:

Obligatory out-of-the-box chassis shots:

It flexes pretty well for not having much weight on it yet.

More updates in a few. Processing photos still.

 

[JonFoster]

For the rubber, I found some Team Associated General Grabber A/T Xs in 1.55. They are a close match to my 33x12.50 General Grabber AT2s. While the tread pattern on the Grabber A/T X is nearly identical to the AT2s I have on the real life Bronco, the sidewall differs a bit. I'm okay with this. At first I wanted to use a set of 1.55 wagon wheels that I SLA 3D printed to look like the wheel/tire setup I have on my 1/1 truck. Quickly I found out that they look too small with the scale of the Bronco being set at more 1/8.5 instead of 1/10. I also found out the resin I'm using is too brittle as wheels for this scale. So instead of printing these in 1.9 out of PLA or ABS on my FFF printer, I set out to find some decent 1.9 wagon wheels and accompanying tires.

What I found instead was totally awesome. I discovered that Injora that makes a darn near exact replica of Ford's 15" aluminum 10-hole (AKA "bullet hole" or Alcoa style) wheels along with the OEM style center cap in 1.9. I also recall from some old build threads that you can stretch 1.55" tires over 1.9" wheels to achieve a more scale look. So I did just that. With the truck being 1/8.5, the 1.9s come out to about 15 or 16 scale inches. The tires are 3.85" diameter and equate to about 33 scale inches tall. Width measurement scales to about 12.5" as well.

I tried some 1.9s on for size first.

Then stretched the 1.55s over the 1.9 aluminum wheels.

The "bullet hole" wheels feature some hex key screws for the rivets around the edge and for the lug nuts. RC4WD has some scale hardware that I used to recreate scale lugs and while I was going to use them around the edge of the rim, they gave off beadlock vibes, so I abandoned it. I'll have to find some suitable rivets in the future.

A close up of the scale hardware versus the hex key screw.

More later!

 

[JonFoster]

One of my biggest reasons for not building a "mini me" scale Bronco was the lack of bodies in the 1992-1996 F-Series/Bronco body style. Unfortunately, the cost of a Blackfoot Xtreme or a King Blackfoot outweighs the option of hacking one up to build a Bronco from. That changed when I recently discovered a fairly accurate CAD model of this generation Ford Bronco.

Thankfully, I have a slew of 3D printers at my disposal and could make quick work of printing this body set (I want to say it took about a week to print everything). While the way this body can be printed allows for the top to be removable, due to not having an interior, this one won't have that option. (I have another build I'm planning on building a full interior in, but that won't fit the timeframe I'm giving myself.)

I couldn't resist holding some parts up to the drivetrain to get a "preview" of what it would look like.

Once I got a majority of the parts printed, it was time for assembly.

Then it was time to mock the mostly assembled body up on the chassis.

The bumpers were also printed (still needing a bit of cleanup).

And got the front bumper mocked up.

I printed the headlights in clean and the tail light lenses in transparent red (not sure why I didn't snap a shot of the tail lights).

I found a metal push bar for the Traxxas TRX4 1979 Bronco that looks like it will fit the bumper of the 1995 with some modification. It even comes with rectangular lights that are close to the ones I have on the real Bronco! Unfortunately, one of the light tabs broke off, so I'll have to fix that.

 

[JonFoster]

A bit more progress on the '95 Bronco.

I got some filler primer laid out on the body. I do a few coats of Rustoleum's 2 in 1 Filler and Sandable Primer on my 3D prints in order to fill in the print lines before sanding.

I also started working on getting the headlight and tail light fitment knocked out.

Quite a handful of years ago, I drew up a 1/1 copy of the '92-'96 Bronco XLT fender emblem with the intent to offer some customized and personalize options for some of my Bronco friends. Using that same emblem, I scaled it down to the proper size for the build. I had to go through a few iterations to get a set that looked good. It's also pretty hard to get a good photo of this resin as it's gray and shiny. I'll have to lay some primer on them later for a better shot.

 

[JonFoster]

While I'm still sanding away at the body (boring stuff), I got a bunch of goodies. First thing was a set of 1.9 white wagon wheels. Wait, white wagon wheels?! I would have gotten black, but the reviews on the few black 5-lug steelies I could find weren't the best. I would have gone with RC4WD black steelies, but when I went to order, they were out of stock. However, sticking to the 1/1 truck's story, the wheels I have on it now were originally white, but spray bombed black. So these with follow suit.

Another set of General Grabbers?! Once the wheels are painted, the plan is to stretch the 1.55 tires onto the 1.9 wagon wheels in order to achieve the same look as the wheels on my real truck.

Traxxas makes an add-on spare tire carrier for the TRX4 Bronco. This may or may not make it on to this model, but I wanted to get one for size reference. Pretty simple, 3 main molded plastic pieces for the carrier and spare. One cool thing about this carrier is that it's compatible with any wheel with the normal hex for these R/Cs. So if I used it, I could mount a real spare for show.

I dug out some old R/C stuff from my parent's house and found some scale Warn Premium locking hubs from a previous build. I actually got these scale hubs way before I got the real ones on my Bronco. They most definitely will make it to the this build.

I also found 3 sets of wheels and tires from the CC01 build. The wheels are the all Tamiya 1.9s. The tires are stock CC01 hard rubber street tires, RC4WD 1.9 Dirt Grabbers, and very ill fitting 1.9 Pro-Line Flat Irons (those might get either cut into 1.55s or stretched onto 2.2s for another build still in idea-land).

 

[JonFoster]

Not much to report here. Been filling and sanding and priming and sanding and filling all the while to get these print lines out. Laid down some textured black Rustoleum on the removable top to see what it looks like paired with the body. Definitely needs some more work to get rid of the print lines.

I also got some body mount bits in and started trying to get the ride height set. Since the removable top is gonna be permanently mounted, I had to figure out some creative way to hold it to the body for the posers.

And had to get some flexing shots. It tucks really nicely. It pays homage to the real one flexing.

Hoping to lay down a test of color this week!

 

[robbark34]

That looks awesome dude!! How does injora chassis feel I keep wanting to hit buy button but bit worried about quality!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

 

[JonFoster]

That looks awesome dude!! How does injora chassis feel I keep wanting to hit buy button but bit worried about quality!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

Thanks! The chassis is quite solid and the little driving I did it was pretty decent. I think my only gripe with it is the ball ends on the shocks get bound up easily, especially when it has sat for a few days. I may go with different shocks in the future though.

 

[JonFoster]

Smallish wheel update. Got the wagon wheels blown apart, degreased, and cleaned. I then hit them with some black paint. I ran out of the 2x Rustoleum High Gloss Black and had to resort to their black Acrylic Enamel I had laying around. And now that I think of it, I think it's the same paint I used to paint the wheels on the 1/1 Bronco! Once the paint cures fully, they'll be going back together with some scale hardware from RC4WD.

And speaking of RC4WD, I was able to nab some Ford-style wheel center caps and hubs from the RC4WD Classic 10s. They are hollow in the center which works for using a scale hub. I'll need to do some finagling in order to get everything to play nicely. I was hoping to use these centers on the wagon wheels to look like what I've got on my F150 pictured below (the Bronco will get the same treatment once I find decent metal centers), but I may have to do some heavy modifications to them in order to get everything to line up.

Quick comaparison: RC4WD on the left, Injora in the middle, Traxxas (with stickers) on the right. I may try to polish the Injora centers to match the others.

It was hard to get a decent shot without the details getting blown out. RC4WD 1/10 Warn hubs on the left, the RC4WD-scripted locks in the middle, and the rear hubs in the center.

RC4WD center with 1/10 Warn Hub. It doesn't fit together well, depth and circumference-wise. You can see how it should look in the F150 photo above.

The other RC4WD hub in the center as well. This fits the center way better (it's like it was designed to or something! Crazy!). I've got some 1/8 Warn Hubs coming, so we'll see if those look better.

Body work is coming along. Just a tedious process with 3D prints. I'm not too happy with the way some of the detail parts are printed with the body parts, but I'm not a CAD designer, so I'll have to deal with that as I'm working the body.

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Dude, this is awesome! Im a Ford fanatic and it makes me want to bust out the Ender 3. You make the sanding job look like it’s nothing! Lol.

Keep up the great work!


_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

 

[58_Willys]

That's looking good. You could always drill out the centers on the Injora ones, since they are already matched to the lug pattern.

I used to have a 96 F150...300 I6 and manual 5 sp. I traded it to my dad for a V8 Dakota. He gave it to my younger brother who blew the engine in the first month because he ran it without any antifreeze. I loved that truck.

Looking forward to seeing this come to life.

 

[JonFoster]

Dude, this is awesome! Im a Ford fanatic and it makes me want to bust out the Ender 3. You make the sanding job look like it’s nothing! Lol.

Keep up the great work!


_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

Thanks! Bust out that Ender! I'm using some modded CR-10S' to do my FFF prints. And thanks, my secret is to use Rustoleum 2-n-1 Filler and Sandable Primer to fill in the print lines and sand smooth.

That's looking good. You could always drill out the centers on the Injora ones, since they are already matched to the lug pattern.

I used to have a 96 F150...300 I6 and manual 5 sp. I traded it to my dad for a V8 Dakota. He gave it to my younger brother who blew the engine in the first month because he ran it without any antifreeze. I loved that truck.

Looking forward to seeing this come to life.

Thanks! The original plan was to drill out the Injora centers for the fronts as the backside is already center drilled for clearance for the wheel nut. Then I found the set of RC4WD's and figured I could use the hollow ones for the fronts and the solid ones for the rears. I may still go the drill method and find a way to make some centers that look like the current ones I have on my 1/1 wagon wheels.


Dang! Those 300s are usually insanely tough. My F150 is also a '96, but it packs the 302 mated to the 5 speed. It'll roast my 302/auto Broncos all day.

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

Thanks! Bust out that Ender! I'm using some modded CR-10S' to do my FFF prints. And thanks, my secret is to use Rustoleum 2-n-1 Filler and Sandable primer.

I’m going to! just got to find something to print. Maybe a body? Maybe a trailer? Lol, who knows.

Speaking of, where did you find the STLs for this body at? Seeing this makes me want a Bronco.


_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

 

[brianw]

Re: 1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

Speaking of, where did you find the STLs for this body at? Seeing this makes me want a Bronco

There are some on thingiverse, but cults3d seems to have more selection. I’m working on a Ford crew cab.

 

[JonFoster]

Re: 1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

I’m going to! just got to find something to print. Maybe a body? Maybe a trailer? Lol, who knows.

Speaking of, where did you find the STLs for this body at? Seeing this makes me want a Bronco.


_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

These particular files were sourced from Cults3D. They've been pulled by the author, but there is another set that look almost identical to these plus a single piece file from another author. I have all three sets of files as I wanted to try to get the most accurate version. However, they all look to be from the same source and was purchased by these authors to make in printable versions. I'm not very happy with the quality of them as they all needed some form of tweaking to get to print properly.

 

[4wd4ws]

Noice! "thumbsup"

They are all gone over here. Brings back some good memories. 8)

 

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

There are some on thingiverse, but cults3d seems to have more selection. I’m working on a Ford crew cab.

These particular files were sourced from Cults3D. They've been pulled by the author, but there is another set that look almost identical to these plus a single piece file from another author. I have all three sets of files as I wanted to try to get the most accurate version. However, they all look to be from the same source and was purchased by these authors to make in printable versions. I'm not very happy with the quality of them as they all needed some form of tweaking to get to print properly.

Awesome, thanks guys! I’m thinking about doing a tribute of my first car, a 2006 Crown Vic on an on road or possibly even drift chassis. I found a file on Cults3D, so that’s progress!

Sorry for the thread hijack! [emoji849]

_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

 

[JonFoster]

Re: 1995 Ford Bronco - "Close, but not exact Mini Me"

Awesome, thanks guys! I’m thinking about doing a tribute of my first car, a 2006 Crown Vic on an on road or possibly even drift chassis. I found a file on Cults3D, so that’s progress!

Sorry for the thread hijack! [emoji849]

_________________
https://www.instagram.com/island_crawlaz/

79 F150 SCX10 ii
TRXWalker

That would be a real awesome onroad build! I may have to nab those files from Cults and print one!

 

[JonFoster]

Got some test color laid down on the Bronco this week. Even though the primer shows a lot of imperfections, it only shows so much. Black shows issues a lot more. It definitely needs a lot more work. I sanded the color back, smoothed it some more, and now have shot another layer of black to see how it looks. These shots are from earlier in the week.

I did get some cool parts this week. I ordered a license plate and a front vanity plate from RC Plate Shop to match the plates on the 1/1. I'm really geeked about these plates!!

I seemed to have completely missed the part where they said that 2 were included. I'm assuming for mishaps on the trail? However, this is the right push to start reworking the Bronco files and start another build, one with an interior, removable top, opening hood, etc. Not that this build is going to be abandoned, no. It's still on. I want to be running this thing while I'm building another one.