Another USDA 'Yota (N60 on a Marlin chassis)

[addiemonster]

Okay, so this was supposed to happen when my second Marlin TF2 showed up, but that's been kinda held up in Fresno until Monday or Tuesday, and the 4Runner body showed up today so I decided to just get the intro out of the way for now.

I like to give my tiny trucks even tinier trucks so my scale drivers can go on scale scale adventures, too.



My head hurts.



Anyway, the skinny on this project is ANOTHER USDA forest service-colored Toyota. It's my favorite color for these things, I can't help it! Been hoarding parts for it for months, and shy of a winch bumper (haven't decided on a look I like) and a set of Old Man Emus, this is everything.

The rundown:

Team Fortress 2 Marlin Crawler chassis
Hobowing 1080
Holmes Hobbies Cwarlmaster Sport 550 15T
Reefs 422HD v2
RC4WD mini Warn 9.5cti winch
RC4WD WooW BooB wired winch controller
Spektrum SR315 Rx
A&M Garage shackler reversaler kit
BowHouse RC CNC rear shackle mounts
BowHouse RC N2R high Clarence skid v5
RC4WD shims for the diff pinions because my other Marlin ate two goddamn rear diffs already I swear to god I'm gonna lose it Sharon JUST GET OFF MY BACK OKAY WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO TO YOUR DAMN SISTER'S
Axial Wildboar driveshafts
RC4WD King Kong tow shackle (orange)
RC4WD Aisin front locker hubs
RC4WD rear hubs
brandy new TF2 BF Goodrich Edition takeoff wheels and tires
RC4WD front and rear lexan inner fenders for 4Runner body
RC4WD yanky pully tow straps in fun colors for when my winchless friends get stucked real good
Custom Matchbox '85 4Runner for scale reasons
And finally, my main man Hop in his fancy date night duds on driving duty

 

[Up'n'Over]

Nice list of parts you got there. I do have one question. I see you listed a BowHouse high clearance skid, but I thought the Marlin already came with a high clearance skid. The pics on the BowHouse site show the comparison between a stock TF2 skid and theirs, but it seems to be about the same as the Marlin skid to me. Is there really much difference between them?

 

[addiemonster]

The skid they show in their comparisons is indeed a stock TF2 skid, not the Marlin one. The ground clearance between the Marlin and the BowHouse is negligible, maybe about a millimeter at best, but the main reason to use it is for the shape. The stock Marlin high clearance skid is just as tucked up, but the front and rear of it still have this useless shelf design that hangs on stuff. The BowHouse design is far lower profile at the front and back of the skid due to a ramping design and catches way way less as a result. It's also longer and covers the knuckles where the driveshafts meet the transfer case, eliminating them as catch hazards. Definitely worth the money.

Here's the Marlin skid for comparison. When my new Marlin comes in, I'll take side by side photos if you like so you can see the difference up close.

 

[ToyotaKing88]

I was wondering about that. I just bought a marlin and was curious if the skid on it was really that different. I am loving the marlin so far!

 

[addiemonster]

So quick n dirty update tonight, as I was up way later than planned and I'm fading fast!


Here are those comparison images of the Marlin skid to the BowHouse skid. The BowHouse is deffo worth your money. If the BowHouse looks taller, it isn't. It just looks that way because the BH skid mounts between the frame rails where as the Marlin skid mounts underneath them.

And here's the body mocked up on the Marlin chassis with my chosen wheels and tires. Should give you a rough idea of what I'm going for.

 

[addiemonster]

UPDATES!!!

Finally decided to take the time to snap some shots of the work I got done on the Marlin pretty much days after the last update I posted. Life be like that some times.

So far, I've got the body mounted up on the Marlin chassis, painted and installed the A&M Garage shackle reverse kit, modified and fit the Axial Wildboar driveshafts, chopped the heck out of the Marlin front bumper to make a winch plate (still a work in progress), shimmed the diffs, painted and installed the front inner fenders, changed my mind on the Old Man Emu's and went with 70mm Ultimate Scale Shocks in silver for a more factory ride height (it will settle more when the leaf springs wear in and the interior and everything else is in) and installed most of the electronics.

Really happy with how the engine bay is coming along. It's not meant to win any scale comps but I just want that neat setup of having the power switch and all that easily accessible under the hood. The 1080 is Shoe Goo'd on top of the servo. Ignore the wire dangerously close to the spur gear, that will be tucked and routed when the rest of the electronics and interior go in.

On order are the RC4WD full light kit and the rear tube bumper. Goal is to have it done by summer, but who knows? "thumbsup"

 

[ToyotaKing88]

Looking good so far! I am curious if your 4Runner body had alignment issues with the hood? Mine didnt want to sit flush with the fenders on the front right above the grill. The front edge of the hood where it radius' down towards the grill stuck out past the fenders. I had to do some work near the cowl in front of the windshield and along the underside of the hood where it sits against the cowl. It seems like where the hood hinges come out of the hood didnt have enough clearance and so when the hood was closed it pushed the hood forward.

 

[addiemonster]

Mine is doing that, as well. I haven't done really any work at all on the body yet and I was figuring once it was hinged or whatever it would line up properly. I figured it was the magnets not being centered.

 

[SurlyBurly]

Good lord, how many builds are you juggling at once?

 

[addiemonster]

Good lord, how many builds are you juggling at once?

A lot, at any given time. I've been amassing my collection of rigs (crawler or otherwise) since I got back into the hobby in 2013. I am a very deeply depressed person, and this hobby is the best therapy I have ever come across for dealing with that. I prefer to have multiple projects at once so if I hit a roadblock on one, I can sidestep to another. No brakes on this train - slowing down gives the sadness a chance to catch up.

There's a bunch more to it than just that, but for the sake of spilling my life story on a forum for toy trucks, I'll leave it at that. ;-)

 

[SurlyBurly]

There's a bunch more to it than just that, but for the sake of spilling my life story on a forum for toy trucks, I'll leave it at that. ;-)

Fair enough, I just stumbled across several of your threads in succession by chance and I was impressed, both quantity and quality. Glad you've got an outlet, good luck out there I guess.

 

[addiemonster]

Thanks for the kind words. It's getting warmer, so this 4Runner build is going to be progressing soon. It's actually my dream car, so I'm really taking my time with it.

 

[addiemonster]

Kinda fell off the planet for a bit, so I thought I'd share the evolution of this rig! It did finally get "finished", and was well-used and loved before undergoing a series of transformations, which I'll update you all on now...

So a LOT happened the last couple years. I lost my job and sold off a ton of my RC horde. Relocated to NorCal and hit the reset switch on my whole entire life. Some of my projects made it with me, including this truck. Needing a distraction to keep my sane while I couch surfed and got my life back on track, the build resumed in October of 2022.

Finally up and running, I proceeded to drive the ever-lovin' snot out of it.

Stuff broke, the look changed up a bit, and I came up with a neat use for those tiny helper leafs we all toss in a parts bin.

 

[addiemonster]

Eventually the charm of the RC4WD 4Runner mold wore off, and I hated the weirdly-shaped A pillars and book shelf front fenders. I missed having an RN36 body, and realized I liked them way more than 4Runners. So out of my storage unit came this Marlin cab (signed by the man himself, RIP) and a full-length box I had cut holes in to fit an old SCX10. I tried 1.9s again, as well. This was fun but didn't last long. I also tore a sidewall somehow, and being an aging punk, used my patch-sewing skills to repair it with dental floss and Shoe Goo. It's still holding up!

Went back to 1.55s and got a new bumper and re-installed my winch. Also changed my A&M shackle reverse to the +4mm version.

Was loving having an RN36 again, but started to crave a fresh shell. Not wanting to paint over the patina and Marlin's autograph, I opted for a new Mojave II shell. A questionable color choice later, here's the current progress. I call her Sammy (because she's salmon pink). Oh, also, paint your RN36 grilles grey! They look way better and more scale than black! Having seen a number in person I realized that's what always looked so off to me about most Mojave front ends. That and sanding down the "eyebrows" above the headlights to contour better to the body!

You can see future progress of this build here!