ChilliBreath
Rock Stacker
Hi everyone 
A while back I first posted here about my newfound addiction in the form of SCX24's (link to thread). While not as active as in the early days, I do still bring my SCX24's with me when I go camping, or drive them around the house or even the office (got a coworker hooked).
But one day I was shopping for a new charger at a dedicated RC store, where the salesman showed me the Absima Sherpa. I was hooked. But... I didn't budge immediately. For marriage-related reasons... :lmao:
Fast forward one year where I would regularly think about the Sherpa. At some point I started keeping an eye out for used models, but they often were 80-90% of the new value. Until I found a used but good condition Sherpa for a more friendly price, and decided to go for it.
I got a sherpa with a bunch of unnecessary stickers and, other than its suspension, was stock otherwise. The rear diff lock does not work, but I'll get to fixing that eventually. First off I wanted to make it MY Sherpa by adding some printed accessories.
So, picture time!
As you can see I added a number of accessories to the roof rack, as well as hood vents. Let's start with those:
I got the 3D model for these off Thingiverse, painted them a silver colour and added some ageing effects with anthracite and sand colour. I had a spray can of sand coloured paint which I used very lightly to give them a bit of a dusty look.
On the roof I have a chainsaw, shovel, Maxtrax (all off Thingiverse) and a toolbox (my own design). I tried giving all of them a worn look, again by dusting them with sand coloured paint, but also by using other tricks. For example, the toolbox was painted a base layer of silver and then I added the blue, after which I sanded lightly in random spots to create scratches, and also some smears with black paint for an oily look. Same or similar procedures for the other stuff.
On the rear I added two jerrycans (thingiverse) in a rack (my own design) and also a fire extinguisher I designed myself for easy 3D printing and direct interfacing with existing holes in the Sherpa's bodywork. Similar ageing tricks were applied here. The jerrycans are a slightly too tight fit, but so much the better; I won't lose them in a tumble.
This is a generic cool looking picture...
Last but not least, an axe. I realize that keeping a sharp tool pressed against your vehicle's bodywork doesn't make much sense so I might at some point modify the jerrycan's rack to accommodate the axe, or find some logical spot on the roof rack.
I have some small items on order (tow hooks, trailer chains, ...) and have plans for limb risers. Also I plan to swap out the tires for Louise CR Champs at some point and maybe add a winch or an additional lightbar (I have a thing for bright lights on toys I guess :-D).
As for the rear diff, the locking mechanism does not work but I haven't needed it yet, so I'll enjoy driving it around first before I start worrying about that. I do find the rear differential to run less smooth than the front one so I won't wait too long... but I find I need to work up a bit of courage to start opening up the inner mechanics here.
No plans for performance upgrades just yet. Let's learn to drive this first - it's a whole other sensation than the 1/24th scale stuff so I make the occasional error in judgement.
A while back I first posted here about my newfound addiction in the form of SCX24's (link to thread). While not as active as in the early days, I do still bring my SCX24's with me when I go camping, or drive them around the house or even the office (got a coworker hooked).
But one day I was shopping for a new charger at a dedicated RC store, where the salesman showed me the Absima Sherpa. I was hooked. But... I didn't budge immediately. For marriage-related reasons... :lmao:
Fast forward one year where I would regularly think about the Sherpa. At some point I started keeping an eye out for used models, but they often were 80-90% of the new value. Until I found a used but good condition Sherpa for a more friendly price, and decided to go for it.
I got a sherpa with a bunch of unnecessary stickers and, other than its suspension, was stock otherwise. The rear diff lock does not work, but I'll get to fixing that eventually. First off I wanted to make it MY Sherpa by adding some printed accessories.
So, picture time!
As you can see I added a number of accessories to the roof rack, as well as hood vents. Let's start with those:
I got the 3D model for these off Thingiverse, painted them a silver colour and added some ageing effects with anthracite and sand colour. I had a spray can of sand coloured paint which I used very lightly to give them a bit of a dusty look.
On the roof I have a chainsaw, shovel, Maxtrax (all off Thingiverse) and a toolbox (my own design). I tried giving all of them a worn look, again by dusting them with sand coloured paint, but also by using other tricks. For example, the toolbox was painted a base layer of silver and then I added the blue, after which I sanded lightly in random spots to create scratches, and also some smears with black paint for an oily look. Same or similar procedures for the other stuff.
On the rear I added two jerrycans (thingiverse) in a rack (my own design) and also a fire extinguisher I designed myself for easy 3D printing and direct interfacing with existing holes in the Sherpa's bodywork. Similar ageing tricks were applied here. The jerrycans are a slightly too tight fit, but so much the better; I won't lose them in a tumble.
This is a generic cool looking picture...
Last but not least, an axe. I realize that keeping a sharp tool pressed against your vehicle's bodywork doesn't make much sense so I might at some point modify the jerrycan's rack to accommodate the axe, or find some logical spot on the roof rack.
I have some small items on order (tow hooks, trailer chains, ...) and have plans for limb risers. Also I plan to swap out the tires for Louise CR Champs at some point and maybe add a winch or an additional lightbar (I have a thing for bright lights on toys I guess :-D).
As for the rear diff, the locking mechanism does not work but I haven't needed it yet, so I'll enjoy driving it around first before I start worrying about that. I do find the rear differential to run less smooth than the front one so I won't wait too long... but I find I need to work up a bit of courage to start opening up the inner mechanics here.
No plans for performance upgrades just yet. Let's learn to drive this first - it's a whole other sensation than the 1/24th scale stuff so I make the occasional error in judgement.
Last edited:
