Hi everyone! I just wanted to start a thread on this new build of mine. Actually, it's a rebuild of my JK Rubicon that started as a RTR and I went nuts and upgraded everything (to the point I was no longer happy with it) and have a dedicated thread on that here:
So, now I wanted to start fresh.. and ordered a new frame set and stock parts and decided to make some changes on this to hopefully improve a little bit of the performance, and to truly make this one more unique to me, and what I like.
BODY: // Let me tell you all right now.. the body on this kit (trimming, drilling, painting, detailing, etc..) is not an afternoon project. LOL. This has been on going for weeks for me. I have to be honest and tell you, that I messed up the body on the trimming.. and become so frustrated that I had to pay my LHS $40 to trim it. Which was well worth the cash, I would have paid twice that to have it done for me. It's just so annoying, and not fun. I wish Axial would just sell them pre trimmed for a premium price. Anyway.. The paint work, and masking and everything else I did myself.
PAINTING: // I used Tamyia gun metal for the main color, and then used liquid mask for the fuel cell, and straps which I did in black, along with the entire interior. I then re-masked everything on the outside and applied several coats of the flat clear, I also did this to the hard top and it came out absolutely stunning when seen in person. It looks very nice, and even feels solid and real. After this, I have backed the insides with Plasti-Dip for protection and to give the body a little more substance.
DETAILS: // I have used real leather for the seats, and real rubber (silicon actually) for the passenger floor matts, and a diamond pattern one for the cargo. The only problem is.. LOL.. that there is not a glue I have that will adhere to it.. so for now they are free sitting. (I tried, E6000, super glue, shoe goo, and rubber cement. all with no luck.) I of course did this on a test strip and not in the actual JK. I plan to trim the seats with some small rubber seals found at the local hardware store, as seen here.
This will give it the final look I had in my head. I am going to fit a female fashion forward driver, and have found some incredible miniature shopping bags that are all branded which will occupy the rear seats, and floor boards. I may use tiny magnets to place inside the bags and then attached with another under the body. This will also keep the floor mats in place LOL. Finding a doll that had the look I wanted was not easy. I actually bought a Barbie.. and at 1/6 scale 12" was WAY too big. So.. I needed to find something in the 1:12 scale..and that was no easy task. I have something on order and will update when it comes in!
Here are some of my thoughts, and questions / ideas..
1. I messed up one of the rear side panel black stickers that runs from the tail to the side, and down near the rocker. I tried taking it slow, and only peeling back a little of the sticker at a time.. but, no. I just can't seem to get it aligned so that there is no gap when the hard top is placed on. Crazy me, actually ordered ANOTHER body shell $40, JUST to get more decals as Axial does not sell them alone (yes I called them too), and once again I had issues and wanted to smash everything in site. Not a good feeling.:shock: So.. I was thinking about not using the sticker and rather masking up the body and painting on the outside of the lexan? I did a test on that spare body.. and it seemed to look great, and I did a scratch test and of course it will scratch.. but, I don't think it would be any more / less then what the sticker would be in that regard. Further, I can replicate the same look because I do have the axial website decal, and the smaller (tiny) axial logo that I can add on to make it look exactly like the decal. For me masking the lines with a bunch of painters tape is much more reasonable then trying to get that damn decal on there, where I only have one shot and its a huge HUGE PITA for me.
Thoughts?
2. I am thinking about installing a second winch for the rear. I am going to actually mount it inside the frame very close to the center point (behind the spur cover) as low as possible. I will need to make a mounting plate, but thats easy. Further, I will run the line inside of a tiny aircraft control rod sleeve until it reaches the rear stock plastic bumper, where I will dermal out an exit, and may even fit a fairlead of some type on the rear for looks. The reason I want this.. is because on my course there are a few ridiculous rock decends, and this thing will just topple right over going down. It's worth noting that I will be mounting my batteries on the side rails, not up front like pictured. However, I don't want this thing to roll over for something like that. I want to keep it as scratch free as possible without having to sit on a shelf LOL. So.. I figure a rear winch would be a perfect way to ensure I have the control I want going down ;-)
Yes, additionally, there will be on mounted on the front bumper as I have used in the past too.
Well, thats it for now.. again the pics are just thrown together as I am still fitting everything..
For this last pic.. I know.. its not complete.. but, its just an idea of how it will end up looking..
So, now I wanted to start fresh.. and ordered a new frame set and stock parts and decided to make some changes on this to hopefully improve a little bit of the performance, and to truly make this one more unique to me, and what I like.
BODY: // Let me tell you all right now.. the body on this kit (trimming, drilling, painting, detailing, etc..) is not an afternoon project. LOL. This has been on going for weeks for me. I have to be honest and tell you, that I messed up the body on the trimming.. and become so frustrated that I had to pay my LHS $40 to trim it. Which was well worth the cash, I would have paid twice that to have it done for me. It's just so annoying, and not fun. I wish Axial would just sell them pre trimmed for a premium price. Anyway.. The paint work, and masking and everything else I did myself.
PAINTING: // I used Tamyia gun metal for the main color, and then used liquid mask for the fuel cell, and straps which I did in black, along with the entire interior. I then re-masked everything on the outside and applied several coats of the flat clear, I also did this to the hard top and it came out absolutely stunning when seen in person. It looks very nice, and even feels solid and real. After this, I have backed the insides with Plasti-Dip for protection and to give the body a little more substance.
DETAILS: // I have used real leather for the seats, and real rubber (silicon actually) for the passenger floor matts, and a diamond pattern one for the cargo. The only problem is.. LOL.. that there is not a glue I have that will adhere to it.. so for now they are free sitting. (I tried, E6000, super glue, shoe goo, and rubber cement. all with no luck.) I of course did this on a test strip and not in the actual JK. I plan to trim the seats with some small rubber seals found at the local hardware store, as seen here.
Here are some of my thoughts, and questions / ideas..
1. I messed up one of the rear side panel black stickers that runs from the tail to the side, and down near the rocker. I tried taking it slow, and only peeling back a little of the sticker at a time.. but, no. I just can't seem to get it aligned so that there is no gap when the hard top is placed on. Crazy me, actually ordered ANOTHER body shell $40, JUST to get more decals as Axial does not sell them alone (yes I called them too), and once again I had issues and wanted to smash everything in site. Not a good feeling.:shock: So.. I was thinking about not using the sticker and rather masking up the body and painting on the outside of the lexan? I did a test on that spare body.. and it seemed to look great, and I did a scratch test and of course it will scratch.. but, I don't think it would be any more / less then what the sticker would be in that regard. Further, I can replicate the same look because I do have the axial website decal, and the smaller (tiny) axial logo that I can add on to make it look exactly like the decal. For me masking the lines with a bunch of painters tape is much more reasonable then trying to get that damn decal on there, where I only have one shot and its a huge HUGE PITA for me.
Thoughts?
2. I am thinking about installing a second winch for the rear. I am going to actually mount it inside the frame very close to the center point (behind the spur cover) as low as possible. I will need to make a mounting plate, but thats easy. Further, I will run the line inside of a tiny aircraft control rod sleeve until it reaches the rear stock plastic bumper, where I will dermal out an exit, and may even fit a fairlead of some type on the rear for looks. The reason I want this.. is because on my course there are a few ridiculous rock decends, and this thing will just topple right over going down. It's worth noting that I will be mounting my batteries on the side rails, not up front like pictured. However, I don't want this thing to roll over for something like that. I want to keep it as scratch free as possible without having to sit on a shelf LOL. So.. I figure a rear winch would be a perfect way to ensure I have the control I want going down ;-)
Yes, additionally, there will be on mounted on the front bumper as I have used in the past too.
Well, thats it for now.. again the pics are just thrown together as I am still fitting everything..
For this last pic.. I know.. its not complete.. but, its just an idea of how it will end up looking..
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Lots of work! LOL. The inner fenders are from Shapeways. They fit perfect. I actually have them on wrong in the pics.. but, have since fixed and work very well. I will take more pics and update as soon as I get the body completely done..