Well, decided to take out a 2nd mortgage and get this!
It took about 6 weeks of evenings and weekends but it is done. It was a blast to assemble. The instructions were pretty good, only had a couple times I needed to back up. Painting everything took some time and planning but I was happy with the outcome. I will say the howitzers were the toughest part to paint because you need to be careful not to paint parts that will move. It has a recoil capability I haven't figured out how to do yet (that is not a stock function).
For electronics I used 100kg 5th scale servos, a pair of brxl escs, a hobbywing ubec (powers everything but the escs) and a sky skyfly paladin 18ev radio.
A few notes about the build.
Steering:
They want you to running both servos off a single channel. This would be fine but I couldn't get the front and rear mechanical aligned and since they are on the same channel I couldn't trim them. In the end I just decided to have them on separate channels so I could center, trim and adjust endpoints separately.
The setscrews used in the chassis steering blocks kept backing out for me even with threadlock. I was worried about stripping them if I keep trying to tighten them so I took some 4mm cap head screws, turned down the ends to make them into pins and installed them. Now I can get them nice and snug without worrying about stripping.
Batteries:
It the stock form you have two batteries in the boxes under the barrels. They power everything. I was worried about enough juice so I modified mine to have a separate battery for the radio/steering/lights/etc in the rear box. Both battery boxes in the middle are connected in parallel for the motors. In both cases I wired in a small led battery meter so I can keep an eye on voltages. For the dual batteries going to the escs I created a bypass plug to use as a switch since the brxls don't have power switches. You can see this bypass between the battery boxes (deans connector with a wire loop).
Sound:
It comes with a speaker for the horn sounds, both of which I think are great. But for something this big I wanted an engine sound. I modified the deck box right behind the cap to house a ess one+ sound module. The primary sound is a large tow truck engine. The ess provides a second sound option via an auxiliary channel. I added a large caliber cannon sound for that. To allow the sound to broadcast I 3d printered a new cover for the deckbox that I slotted to be open.
Now for some improvement areas:
On pavement the steering struggles to turn whichever set of axles are leading in the direction of travel. I think it is just too much rubber on a high traction surface. I haven't got it offroad yet to see if it works better. Not sure there is anything I can do about this. I already have 100kg servos! Here is a video of it on the pavement.
https://youtu.be/CWhgmFkfvzM?si=QcwBvVeg7IABV1K3
Front blade:
I love the look but it rides very low. I can't even get it into my garage without it catching on a small lip. I will look into firmer springs in the front shocks. But I think my preferred solution will be to fabricate some mechanics to had the blade pivot up. I still want the blade to have a solid chassis connection when down so it can take a hit.
One other thing. This thing is huge and heavy! It won't fit on my shelves or workbench. To heavy to move around easily. So I invested in a hydraulic lift table. I added a wooden deck that is long enough to the xx10 that tilts so I can back the truck up onto it when the table is down.
I wish I could post pics but I did take a video that shows most everything.
https://youtu.be/qLH-X1xhC-s?si=QJ6AWW9OoIdH09ne
It took about 6 weeks of evenings and weekends but it is done. It was a blast to assemble. The instructions were pretty good, only had a couple times I needed to back up. Painting everything took some time and planning but I was happy with the outcome. I will say the howitzers were the toughest part to paint because you need to be careful not to paint parts that will move. It has a recoil capability I haven't figured out how to do yet (that is not a stock function).
For electronics I used 100kg 5th scale servos, a pair of brxl escs, a hobbywing ubec (powers everything but the escs) and a sky skyfly paladin 18ev radio.
A few notes about the build.
Steering:
They want you to running both servos off a single channel. This would be fine but I couldn't get the front and rear mechanical aligned and since they are on the same channel I couldn't trim them. In the end I just decided to have them on separate channels so I could center, trim and adjust endpoints separately.
The setscrews used in the chassis steering blocks kept backing out for me even with threadlock. I was worried about stripping them if I keep trying to tighten them so I took some 4mm cap head screws, turned down the ends to make them into pins and installed them. Now I can get them nice and snug without worrying about stripping.
Batteries:
It the stock form you have two batteries in the boxes under the barrels. They power everything. I was worried about enough juice so I modified mine to have a separate battery for the radio/steering/lights/etc in the rear box. Both battery boxes in the middle are connected in parallel for the motors. In both cases I wired in a small led battery meter so I can keep an eye on voltages. For the dual batteries going to the escs I created a bypass plug to use as a switch since the brxls don't have power switches. You can see this bypass between the battery boxes (deans connector with a wire loop).
Sound:
It comes with a speaker for the horn sounds, both of which I think are great. But for something this big I wanted an engine sound. I modified the deck box right behind the cap to house a ess one+ sound module. The primary sound is a large tow truck engine. The ess provides a second sound option via an auxiliary channel. I added a large caliber cannon sound for that. To allow the sound to broadcast I 3d printered a new cover for the deckbox that I slotted to be open.
Now for some improvement areas:
On pavement the steering struggles to turn whichever set of axles are leading in the direction of travel. I think it is just too much rubber on a high traction surface. I haven't got it offroad yet to see if it works better. Not sure there is anything I can do about this. I already have 100kg servos! Here is a video of it on the pavement.
https://youtu.be/CWhgmFkfvzM?si=QcwBvVeg7IABV1K3
Front blade:
I love the look but it rides very low. I can't even get it into my garage without it catching on a small lip. I will look into firmer springs in the front shocks. But I think my preferred solution will be to fabricate some mechanics to had the blade pivot up. I still want the blade to have a solid chassis connection when down so it can take a hit.
One other thing. This thing is huge and heavy! It won't fit on my shelves or workbench. To heavy to move around easily. So I invested in a hydraulic lift table. I added a wooden deck that is long enough to the xx10 that tilts so I can back the truck up onto it when the table is down.
I wish I could post pics but I did take a video that shows most everything.
https://youtu.be/qLH-X1xhC-s?si=QJ6AWW9OoIdH09ne
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