Natedog's Vaterra ASCENDER

[Natedog]

I agree with Codyboy and Natedog. After getting the correct materials and about 2hrs of practice I started getting some nice joints. All I use is haris brush on flux, safety silv 56, and a map gas torch from home depot.

The smaller the torch head the better, that way one joint doesn't melt and fall apart while working on the nearby solder joint. Much better/concentrated flame/heat control. "thumbsup"

Does it give off much for fumes? I'm limited to my shop area in the basement...if things get too smelly the wife gets grumpy [emoji14]

I try not to breathe too much chemical crap after years of working on cars.

I always do it outside but it doesn't seem to give off too many fumes.

That or in the garage with at least one door cracked open imo.

Thanks to the persistent existence of this thread, I am now considering getting an Ascender to keep my SCX10 II company. You people are bad for my financial health.

Do it, you'll like it. Wallet check! :ror:"thumbsup"

Edit: Serious note, I'm very happy with both my Ascenders, quality trucks that don't require tons of expensive upgrades to be durable and crawl really well.

 

[OldNTired]

Thanks to the persistent existence of this thread, I am now considering getting an Ascender to keep my SCX10 II company. You people are bad for my financial health.

That's the beauty of the Ascender. It's really quite affordable. Got my K5 kit for 289. My only regret is promising my wife I'd wait until Christmas to open it.

 

[fyrstormer]

I'd probably get the RTR unless the kit spec is significantly better. I don't like painting crawler bodies.

 

[Natedog]

That's the beauty of the Ascender. It's really quite affordable. Got my K5 kit for 289.

Yes!

I'd probably get the RTR unless the kit spec is significantly better.

Kit and RTR Ascender are same except RTR tires already glued and obviously comes with electronics.

 

[MaX-D]

Hey Natedog, I'm bored with my Wraith. I'm going to give it to my 9 yr old son (he loves it). I really like the K10 pickup. How does the Ascender crawl compared to a tricked out lowered Wraith?

 

[fyrstormer]

I got an Ascender roller for about $310. Didn't have to do any of the work to build it, and I can load it up with my preferred electronics right off the bat.

 

[Natedog]

Hey Natedog, I'm bored withmy Wraith. I really like the K10 pickup. How does the Ascender crawl compared to a tricked out lowered Wraith?

I was bored with my Wraith too , it's started as 1.9 with Ascender axles but I haven't finished it lol. K10 and Blazer crawl great with a few free and cheap mods, love both of mine! Ascender is a great crawler, but you'll have to drive better and work a little harder with any 1.9 and that's what I enjoy.

I got an Ascender roller...I can load it up with my preferred electronics right off the bat.

Very nice, how's it coming along?

 

[fyrstormer]

The Wraith has better ground clearance and approach angle, so it can handle larger obstacles. Don't get rid of it, find harder stuff to drive it on.

- - -

The Ascender is going to stay as a roller for a while. I need to finish my SCX10 II first, and test the MST CMX I have coming in the mail, and oh yeah I also have to buy Christmas presents for people. However, I did regrease the diffs with my preferred grease and refill the shocks with 15wt oil. I need to get some 10wt oil, because even 15wt feels thick in the Ascender's shocks. I also replaced the stock shorty battery tray with a full-size battery tray from BP Custom Chassis.

 

[Chris81]

The Wraith has better ground clearance and approach angle, so it can handle larger obstacles. Don't get rid of it, find harder stuff to drive it on.

- - -

The Ascender is going to stay as a roller for a while. I need to finish my SCX10 II first, and test the MST CMX I have coming in the mail, and oh yeah I also have to buy Christmas presents for people. However, I did regrease the diffs with my preferred grease and refill the shocks with 15wt oil. I need to get some 10wt oil, because even 15wt feels thick in the Ascender's shocks. I also replaced the stock shorty battery tray with a full-size battery tray from BP Custom Chassis.

Have you drilled out the pistons a little? Most people seem to do that to smooth things out a bit?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[fyrstormer]

No, I hadn't. Good idea. I wonder why Vaterra made the piston holes so small to begin with.

 

[LokisTyro]

Nate, very interesting and informative thread. Great photography throughout with some wicked scenery. Nice bikes as well. Learned quite a bit reading through it all. Congrats on that team spot. Pretty cool.
There's a few things I thought were worth mentioning. The first being that you or others will being doing the complete opposite, in most circumstances, of what you intend when you are adding more grease to previously greased parts unless you are using the same type of grease. In general grease should not be mixed with another grease. I wondered if this is what was causing/helping your servos to wear out. Parts need to be completely disassembled, degreased and washed prior to changing grease type/brand. A search will confirm/explain the details but if you're mixing you can stop now and thank me later
Another topic was night vision. All the night crawlers here might benefit from reading a short article on what lights to use and how to maintain your natural night vision.
Chrome paint.. I use alclad lacquer. Requires a smooth black basecoat and an airbrush. Pita! Looks decent though. I'm not sure when, but in the future I'm going to try Motochrome which looks great in the pics and is shown being used on lexan. I find single sharpies at art stores btw.
Post #578 says something about eating parts. From what I worked out (I believe the post was a plug for someone's parts) it was a typo?
I saw that HPI? on the roof of your K10. Not really the truck for it but it would look cool in the back of a truck. Might pass for a 1/5 scale lol
Anyway! It was fun reading through the evolution of your first Ascender and then to see it's offshoots sprout up. Keep up the good work!

 

[CODYBOY]

Hey Nate, I think you should get your new sliders tomorrow? you may need to tweak them a little, or not?"thumbsup"
Ernie

 

[Natedog]

Have you drilled out the pistons a little? Most people seem to do that to smooth things out

Yes, helps it move more naturally and less bouncy. You'll need a rear swaybar and or linkage geometry mods to tame the TT either way.

Good idea. I wonder why Vaterra made the piston holes so small to begin with.

Imo the pistons holes are small to provide lots of dampening and slow the TT.

Hey Nate, I think you should get your new sliders tomorrow? you may need to tweak them a little, or not?"thumbsup"
Ernie

Yes sir, I received a very nice package of sliders for my K10, can't wait to mount them up thank you! Pictures to come! 8)

 

[Natedog]

LokisTyro, good point about proper types of grease and mixing, usually not a problem in my RC experience, but best to clean and replace grease unless you're sure of compatibility especially in 1:1. I don't think (and in my case) it's not the reason for servo gear wearing out.

Night vision great topic, that's another reason why I don't like super bright lights on my RC and used red rock lights. Many rc leds are way to bright and I've been blinded at Axialfest and some other night comps by some of these.

Great painting and detail tips!

Hehe hadn't thought about scale 1/5 scale rc buggy with my 1/32 scale.....hmmm lol.

Thanks for reading and your thoughtful post, I've been enjoying it and continue to crawl, test, comp, take pictures and post up. There are times when I'm not sure which picture I like better, always take too many and then have to sort before posting which is time consuming. . "thumbsup"

 

[Natedog]

The only CVD and driveshaft mods I've done are Gunnar Pins, pm him here on RCC. Great quality, fit and fast shipping. I bought enough for all my Ascenders and my spare CVDs.

LokisTyro, checked the post # 578 you referenced, corrected my errors and quoted here for you and yes a plug for great parts and service from Gunnar. 8)

 

[Natedog]

Will my K10 get better telly with this bit of beautiful shiny hardware???




Looks kinda like a butterfly too, nice polished stainless steel tubing, now I've got to do a couple mods that kinda go together! Thanks Ernie! 8)

 

[pete959]

Looks awesome i cant wait to try and break the ones he is sending me

LIFE IS GOOD

 

[CODYBOY]

Looks awesome i cant wait to try and break the ones he is sending me

LIFE IS GOOD

Hey Pete, try would be the key word here. If you do I will give you another set!"thumbsup"
Ernie

 

[Natedog]

Thanks Pete!

Ernie, that's a great guarantee that I think you're not going to have to fulfill. 8)

 

[Natedog]

Codyboy stainless steel tube sliders!!! 8) "thumbsup"

Marking with center punch to drill extra mounting holes for versatility later.




Had to cut the Double-DZ-RCS RULRs in half to sandwich between sliders and frame, with Vaterra machined aluminum battery tray pivot mounts. Ernie made the sliders with only couple mount holes so that I could drill and mount to fit my specific setup.



Edit: Even though I'm paying for it, why is Photobucket such a buggy piece of crap some days? Dam pics won't show as properly rotated in the links I posted here.