Project: "Dusty" (RC4WD D90 Gelande 2)

[justinart24]

I have always been a fan of the D90 and the small tire Camel Trophy type rigs. There is something about the roof rack loaded with lots of supplies and the top heaviness that looks like a blast to drive.

I am starting out with a RC4WD Gelande 2 chassis with yota axles but instead of a linked setup...I am using the new leaf spring conversation kit that just came out.

GELANDE II LEAF SPRING KIT: Z-S1752
Gelande II Leaf Spring Kit

I like the chassis so far, I like how the body bolts to the slider posts. I plan on making some sliders in the future to help protect the body.

Since I have the older version of the Gelande chassis, I had to drill some holes for the leaf spring conversion kit. For the front leaf spring setup, I just had to drill one hole on each side for the rear front shackle mounts. I still need to get some shock hoops made for the front, I am not sure I am going to buy a set of fab up some new ones.

Drilling the rear holes for the leaf spring mounts were a bit more tricky, it ended up working out where I drilled the rear holes but if I had to do it over again I would move the holes back .25".

I am running one of the older versions of the Yota axles, you can tell by the knuckles only having one arm sticking out for the steering links to bolt to. I am really happy with the quality and design of the leaf spring kit...the parts a well thought out.

The curved leaf clamp plates were a nice touch in this kit as well, I was surprised they got such a nice curve in such a small machined piece.

The steering link is just a place holder for now, I will get the links dialed in when I get the steering servo installed.

I still need to get the springs taken out of the shocks to help out with getting the articulation set but I will wait for that until I get all the heavy accessories mounted to the roof rack.

 

[Brake Weight]

Subbed for a cool build.


I got a set of used axles like those and used a Chinese set of leaf springs. 3 of the 4 broke upon mounting. Looks like I need some of those curved mounts.

 

[justinart24]

Subbed for a cool build.
I got a set of used axles like those and used a Chinese set of leaf springs. 3 of the 4 broke upon mounting. Looks like I need some of those curved mounts.

Thanks BW!"thumbsup" I agree, these curved mounts are pretty sweet."thumbsup"

 

[justinart24]

I went with some GearHead(RPPHOBBY) 1.9 UTE beadlocks and I also added scale bolts as well. I really like that you can buy different size hubs for these.

It's a little hard to tell but the smaller headed bolts are the full length bolts and the others are shallow and only thread into the beadlock rings.

I am using some Crawler Innovations foams, the RC4WD foams were a bit soft for how much stuff I want to attached to this truck.

Ever since the Rox Lox's came out, these are my favorite tire pattern, I know they don't match the theme of this truck very well but I just dig the pattern...lol. I went with the RC4WD Irok 1.7" tires, they mount to the 1.9 wheels really well. I am over all pretty happy with the width and height of these tires, I thought the old 1.9" Rox Lox's were a hair narrow and these 1.7" tires are pretty spot on.
RC4WD Interco IROK 1.7" Scale Tires

I am using the hubs that the GearHead Ute wheels came with and there is plenty of knuckle to tire clearance so far.

There also seems to be a lot of pumpkin clearance with these larger tires as well.

I picked up a few sets of these RC4WD Warn scale hubs, holy cow these are awesome and I am glad to say the key works well too.

 

[justinart24]

I got one of the RC4WD ARB front bumpers, I feel a D90 looks naked with out one...lol. For the price it's really well made and the power coating is really nice too.
RC4WD ARB Land Rover Defender 90 Winch Bar Front Bumper for Gelande 2

I wish it had some shackle mounts but I can always weld some on later.

Hilux light buckets are used for this bumper, luckily enough I had some in box so I didn't have too buy more.

I am using a old Rc4WD bulldog winch in these bumper and it fit's really well.

I had to tap two holes in the winch plate and two clearance holes in the bumper adapter.

The winch had plenty of clearance...it fits like a glove.

Here is the bumper all mounted up. I am using some old winch line, RC4WD fairlead and RC4WD scale hook.

I have to say, these WARN straps really set off the scale look..oh you betcha!

 

[justinart24]

I got one of the Yeah Racing drop hitches, for the trailer hitch mount I use it's going to work pretty well.

Yeah Racing Adjustable Drop Hitch Black

It's not made out of the best aluminum but I think it will work good for a while for towing my trailer every now and then.

On the stock Gelande rear bumper there are 5 holes in the middle of the bumper, one 3mm and 4 other smaller ones(sorry, don't know the size). I could only line up two of the smaller threaded holes and decided to drill a hole in the Yeah Racing mount to use 3mm bolt to mount the bracket to the bumper. The two philips screws on the left are just the heads of the bolts and are glued in place...lol.

I am not sure if the chain will stay on there because it will probebly get ripped off by something but it looks pretty sweet for now.

Here is what my trailer looks like mounted up, it should not bind up too bad and be able to articluate around pretty well.

And just for giggles, here is my mime me 1/87 D90...I got it at a hobby shop a while ago.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Awesome start! I will be watching this one for sure.

Why are you going with leaf springs on the D90 instead of links?

And why not start with a TF2?

I ask this because I am looking at the TF2 for my next build.

That 1/87 D90 is awesome as well!

Oh and sweet garage too!

 

[tuanies]

Looks awesome. I'm going to steal your idea for wheels and front bumper for my TRX-4 though

 

[justinart24]

View comments in green. :mrgreen:

Awesome start! I will be watching this one for sure.
Thanks!
Why are you going with leaf springs on the D90 instead of links?
I purchased this chassis with out any axles or linked setup so I decided to go with a leaf setup...that's pretty much it...lol.
And why not start with a TF2?
I ask this because I am looking at the TF2 for my next build.
The Gelande chassis has a lot of spots where the D90 body bolts to and etc.
That 1/87 D90 is awesome as well!
Oh and sweet garage too!
Thanks, it's a work in progress.:mrgreen:

Looks awesome. I'm going to steal your idea for wheels and front bumper for my TRX-4 though

Thanks! I am excited to see what you do with your TRX-4.

 

[redemon]

Very nice
I wish a company would come out with some Series 1/2/3 bodies.
My dad restored Land Rovers for a long time and I would love to make a copy of our old rock crawling Series IIA we had.

 

[justinart24]

Very nice
I wish a company would come out with some Series 1/2/3 bodies.
My dad restored Land Rovers for a long time and I would love to make a copy of our old rock crawling Series IIA we had.

I agree, RC4WD should come out with a front end conversion kit for that...that would be sweet.

 

[justinart24]

I trimmed off the stock fenders and put on some RC4WD Boss fender flares. The stock fender openings are actually pretty small, so this will allow you to run some what bigger tires.
Big Boss Fender Flare Set for D90/D110

You can't tell in the picture but the back of the flare bolts will have some tiny nuts to secure the fender flares.

This CCHAND grill is pretty delicate but since I am running a big bumper...I think it will be safe.
1/10 Land Rover D90 Metal Grill

The package came with some really small hard ware, I will have to find my eyeglass repair kit to tighten down the small phillips bolts it came with.

The lettering details are pretty awesome.

 

[justinart24]

Let's be honest, you almost have to have a snorkel on a D90... for when you follow those crazy Camel Trophy trucks.

The top cap didn't come secured, I will have to put some super glue on it so I don't loose it.

I think these snorkels are just suppose to be glued on but I decided to find some small course screws to hold the snorkel in place.

All buttoned up and really for some rivers!

 

[justinart24]

I first started off thinking I was going to put down some really nice paint but after thinking about it...I have never done a weathered look and doing the same nice paint job gets boring.

I did a few coats of primer and sanding to get this older body back in shape... I have had this for many years and it's been tossed around the shop a bit.

Here is the final color before I did the weathering... it felt really weird mucking it up but I made it through ok....lol.

I thought this was a cool shot, brings me back to when I worked at a body shop years ago.

I used some washes and paints to age the paint a bit and then clear coated everything with a flat clear.

I didn't go too crazy, I can always do more later.

I got all the light buckets glued back on, now to move on to the interior.

 

[justinart24]

On a side note, I recently picked some scale accossories from RC4WD as well, some coolers for the roof rack and a set of their hammers.

The machining on the hammer is pretty awesome, really fine details.
Scale Garage Series 1/10 Hammer Set

The cooler is a good size as well, it will help me fill up the roof rack along with a tent I need to make to fill up some space as well.
Garage Series Cooler

 

[justinart24]

The next below few posts are going to be some random pictures that I have taken from over a year or so. I haven't updated the build thread in a while, sorry for the lack of details on post but I am just archiving some pictures I have taken. Thanks for looking.:mrgreen:

 

[justinart24]

 

[justinart24]

 

[justinart24]

 

[justinart24]