Sevastra's Monster G.O.A.T.

[Sevastra]

Look what I got in today! :mrgreen:

Two Floureon 3s 3000mah lipo packs to power the motor, and one 3s 1300mah lipo pack to run my lights & winches.

Since I'm going to tuck both of the larger lipo batteries behind the rocker panels, I think I'm going to make two different saddle pack harnesses. One in parallel, so I end up with 3s power for 6000mah.. and one in Series, for 6s power at 3000mah. :twisted:

 

[Sevastra]

Hrm.. bummed. Went to plug in one of the new 3s batteries, got a nice spark and now my Mamba max pro won't power up. No lights, fan, nothing.. Been searching the forums for the last 20 minutes and found a thread with the exact same problem. Sadly there's no known solution.

I've ran 3s on it before without an issue, so this has me a little stumped.. Yes, it has a BEC powering the receiver. Red wire has long since been disconnected from the ESC to the receiver since installing the BEC. On/off switch has been removed for a bit as well. Servos and etc work great, just no ESC / Motor.. Soldered wires seem fine, about to crack open the case again to double check.

And to think, I didn't even get the second battery charged yet to try 6s :evil:

 

[Sevastra]

Well $#@!. Finally got the plastic case off (warranty was voided last year-ish when I waterproofed it) which was a job in itself. Apparently liquid electrical tape does a pretty damn good job at sealing it together and keeping it water tight. Had to cut the plastic case off to reveal a solid rubber cube around the electrical board. :ror: Another ten minutes later and I could see the circuits.. the solder joints are all fine.

So.. looks like I'm going to be ordering a new ESC next paycheck.

Question: Should I get another Mamba Max Pro, or try something else?

Requirements: Running Sensored Brushless, with 6s capability. Must be tunable, I don't want to be doing backflips at the starting line.. yet... maybe.. eh. I've already got a Castle Link, so if it works with the new ESC that's a plus.

Pretty sure I just described half the ESC's out there. Looking on the Holmes Hobbies site I see the RX8, MMP, and a whole lot more I've never paid any attention to.

Suggestions?

 

[coryshad]

I'd get another MMP. You can send it in to castle and they'll replace it for 75 bucks. Even being sealed in rubber.

Have you checked the bec output of the ESC? I had one do that and it was the internal bec that died. I just hooked it up to my external bec and it's been going fine for over a year.
A way to test would be to plug it into the castle link. If it powers up on the link it's most likely the bec.

 

[Sevastra]

I'd get another MMP. You can send it in to castle and they'll replace it for 75 bucks. Even being sealed in rubber.

Have you checked the bec output of the ESC? I had one do that and it was the internal bec that died. I just hooked it up to my external bec and it's been going fine for over a year.
A way to test would be to plug it into the castle link. If it powers up on the link it's most likely the bec.

Tried that this evening, it won't power up through the castle link. Think I will go ahead and get another MMP tho. The Holmes Hobbies site has them cheaper than directly from Castle. Will have him go ahead and waterproof it too.

Caseless MMP.. Will rob the wires and connectors off it for later use, and I'm keeping the fan.

I did get a few parts in over the past couple days tho. Makes me feel a bit better, and works as good motivation to keep making progress on this.

Complete LED system that'll have functioning blinkers, high / low running & headlamps, and fully adjustable settings. Will be plugging the wrecker lights and Vanquish lightbar into this as well. $15 on e-bay. Downside is it got delayed in US Customs, didn't get it for close to a month.

Ordered a motor fan from RPP to put on the Pro4. Just cheap insurance here.

And last but certainly not least a scale oil pan from Speedweigand. Will get this tucked into place soon along with the inner fenders, should help hide that servo and wiring. (He actually sent me two of them. Going to put the other on the parts shelf for later use. :mrgreen

Not bad, eh?

I did get a bit of bodywork done tonight. The passenger side of the bed to be exact. Now to find what I did with my sandpaper..

Still got the other side to trim, fit, and sand as well before I even get started on the tail gate.

 

[Sevastra]

Got a new MMP ordered from RPPHobby. As much as I order from them I'm surprised we're not on a first name basis. :mrgreen:

Went ahead and bought one of the Tamiya Hilux interiors as well while I was at it. I don't expect any fitment issues with the RC4WD body, but we'll see if it clears the gear select servo on the 2 speed trans.

I'd been looking for some RCCrawler.com stickers to put on this for awhile now. Every time I tried getting them through the Holmes site they were out of stock. Didn't know RPP carried those as well, so I've got some on the way. "thumbsup"

Also ordered is some styrene to patch the hood (Went with .060 thick, can sand it down easily enough for what I want), along with some ZAP Adhesives Z-Poxy. Anybody got any experience with this? Wanting to use it to glue my body joints together with.

Last on the list of items ordered was some rubber mirrors. I don't see the plastic ones lasting long from the Mojave kit. I've come close to breaking them already just working on it on the bench.

 

[Sarra]

Those are the worst fans ever. Sleeve bearing... Loud, useless... If you have the ESC in a low circulation area, you might want to think about something else.

 

[Sevastra]

I do have some updates to this, just haven't gotten around to posting them yet. Will have to get them posted soon before I forget what all was done. :ror:

Those are the worst fans ever. Sleeve bearing... Loud, useless... If you have the ESC in a low circulation area, you might want to think about something else.

Had planned to stick my ESC up front where the battery was, but I'm re-thinking this now because it'll have restricted air flow. Hrm..

On another note, I think I've found the perfect driver / passenger combo for this setup. :mrgreen:

Herschel & Carol from The Walking dead. Should give it a more realistic touch when they're in place. Only concern is they're 5 inches tall. Might be a hair small for this as far as scale. We'll see once they arrive.

 

[Sevastra]

This is a catch-up to get back to where I'm currently at. (AKA behind schedule)

Another order from the guys at RPPHobby. They really do make it too easy to get what I need. I've started to find myself browsing for crap I don't even need / want. :roll:

- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - --

Well, the styrene I ordered is too thick to use a heat gun and mold it to the hood. (Doh!) Melted my wiper arms in the process. Should've waited before glue'ing them on. Ah well, can fix that later.

I bought a Tractor Supply tool box off another board member. Can't use it, the lower wrecker arms are too close together to put it where I want. Might say f-it and put it under the hood as an electronics box.

I'm really disappointed with the ZAP adhesive. It's too brittle, and snaps off easily. :evil: Because of this it's delayed my plans a bit. Re-doing my bed work tonight and likely for the next few nights.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So on a brighter note, I've spoken with a couple board members about getting some work done. I think you'll like what's coming. As soon as I finish the body work the chassis & body be sent off to one, then the next. I won't mention who (unless they want it known), but they'll both be at Axialfest this year. :mrgreen: Should explain why I'm frustrated about the adhesive.

I went ahead and made another order to RPP to pick up a KMS K2 Winch & HeyOK Controller. Wanted to buy one of the Tziworld Beefy Winches, but his site's down. Got the 480 oz version, should be plenty strong to bend my wrecker boom with. :mrgreen:

I've also got a couple packages coming from different board members. Some nice detail touches (Only hint I'm giving till they arrive! :twisted Should help make the truck look meaner, and more used.

Got some other goodies as well. First one is practical, considering how many times I've almost broken those sideview mirrors off just working on it. Got some of the RC4WD Rubber mirrors. Haven't installed them yet.

One thing I'm excited about is this:

I've got one in my hand at this very moment. 8) Already wired it up, and tuned the sound to my liking too! Made it sound like a six cylinder diesel. I opted for a 3W 20mm 8 Ohm Sub Miniature Loudspeaker. Tiny little bugger, but it sounds good. Major plus is that it's small enough to hide anywhere, and the sound isn't overly loud enough to be annoying.

Edit: Almost forgot! I finally got the Integy Lipo Voltage Meter / Alarm I ordered from Amazon. Cheap insurance for $3

 

[Sevastra]

Progress report: Styrene needs to be added to the list of things I shouldn't be allowed to touch. :ror: Going to need a lot of practice to get close to what some of the master crafters on here can do. But Hey! Gotta start somewhere!

Bed's on and I'm confident it's not going to fall apart if it hits a rough spot.

Did find that I trimmed too much off the driver side. Go figure this was the second side I did, not the first. (Doh!) Gotta see if the local parts store has some body filler in the morning. Small town, so I doubt it..

The white styrene pieces on the hood aren't attached yet. Will be glue'ing them down soon. Used a five gallon bucket to lay it across and a heat gun to mold it close to the hood's curve. This'll be another piece that needs body filler along with some sanding.

Going to try and get the body work done, along with building & attaching a winch mount in the rear so I can mail it off Friday.

Things to do before sending:

Battery pans & guards on either side of the skid.
Make & weld in rear winch mount for hoist
Fill & sand the rear panels flush
Fix the hood to something presentable to hide the clearanced gaps..

 

[Sevastra]

Got the figures in from e-bay today.

Was worried that five inch tall figures would be a bit small, and was right. Needs to be about six to seven inches tall to look correct, but this'll work. Besides, means I don't have to trim them down for the interior.

Got the styrene strips glued down where I want them on the hood. Was also able to pick up some body filler from the local parts store. Was pretty surprised they had it! Been sitting on a back shelf for awhile, but still soft and usable.

Going to do a bit of trimming on the front hood and some light sanding tonight.

 

[Sevastra]

Got a package from RPP this morning with the KMS K2 Winch & HeyOK controller I ordered. I also ordered a RC4WD Warn wireless remote & controller incase I can't get my remote to control the winch how I want it to.

Got to say, I'm pretty impressed with how this winch looks. All metal construction with a built in lead. Should look accurate mounted on the tow hoist. :mrgreen:

Will take & post pictures of it all after work. Probably going to skip the body work today and make a mounting plate for this. :ror:

 

[Sevastra]

Sometimes it sucks being the only mechanic in a small town. Other times it's great. Tonight was one of the former.. Had planned to sit back and relax, but got a call from a friend to come look at a vehicle. Can't say no to good friends that'll help you in a heartbeat. "thumbsup"

Picture I promised earlier:

The more I look and mess with this winch the more I'm glad I went with it over the Beefy Winch. See the small rod sticking out the right side? Push that in and it enables the free spool feature. Pretty awesome in my book. Was worried that it would free spool all the time, but that's not the case.

Speaking of cases, this thing is all metal! It also comes equiped with 200 lb test down rigger line. (Pestered KMS for that little bit of info :lol Love it!

No real progress on the body. Needs the first round of sanding done, but atleast the body filler is on.

The hood will be sanded smooth across it's center section (as seen above.) Debating trying to mimic the new Chevy hoods, with the plastic inserts in the rear that say either Duramax or Vortex on the sides. Will see about that later on.

 

[Sevastra]

Couldn't help but take a couple mockup pictures with the winch. This is going to be great, will really look scale in there. :mrgreen:

Leaves plenty of room for the lights, and other goodies.

 

[flatfoot]

looking good soo far, but what is taking soo d$&# long! just kidding, great work, just keep plugging away at it. bummer about the figures being too small.you going to use them anyway, or try to find replacements?

 

[Sevastra]

It's ok, you're not the only one waiting on me to finish. I was suppose to have this out to Werty yesterday, but have fallen behind schedule. After that it's heading out to Norton for his awesome paint & weathering skills.

I work as a mechanic at a small car dealership in a neighboring town 30 miles away. There's no auto shop in my home town, and I'm the only non-retired mechanic here so guess who gets alot of calls after hours to look at vehicles? This guy! :mrgreen:

Can't complain, it pays for my RC habbit. Just takes away alot of my free time. Eventually I'll open up my own shop here, plenty of work to keep me supported. Just gotta quit spending so much on other things and save up.

Yeah, I'm still going to use the figures. Too awesome not to, gotta love Hershel. "thumbsup"

On another note, I've been frustrating the mail man. He called and complained the other day that I'm receiving too many packages and don't have a big enough mail box. Thought he was kidding till I got home Thursday and found all this (Sorry, didn't think to take a picture of it all in the boxes.)

I picked up a set of the MIP Gelande II shafts. Turns out they're the perfect length for what I need in the front. Will keep the second in the pack as a backup just incase.

Bought a used set of the RC4WD 2.2 Militant wheels from a board member. Was surprised to see he sent them with a set of tires as well, really wasn't expecting that. (RebelRacer, you're awesome!) 8)

If I knew the tires were coming I wouldn't have bought these from another board member. Was planning on using them as spares. Still might. (Ripsaw take offs from a RTR stacked next to the RC4WD Rok Loks that came with the Militants)

Also bought a set of RC4WD fender flares from a board member. 10 points to the first person that notices the problem with the flair on the lower right. :ror:
(Hint: The flares on the right are for the passenger side. Flares on the left are from the drivers side.)

And that brings me up to current. I've still got some sanding to go on the rear, and to re-cut the door lines after filling in the un-used mounting holes.

I'm really happy with the hood curves on the passenger side. Flows nicely.

The drivers side still needs some work. Too steep, needs to match the other side. Nothing a little more filler and sanding won't fix tho.

Had the gap in the middle smoothed out. Sadly it cracked over night tho.. Will have to touch that up.

 

[Werty Made]

Started in on this rig. Front bumper will be the first place I start on.

 

[Werty Made]

 

[KMS]

Don't tell anyone but there's a gun accessory company here called Powder River Machine ,,They remake triggers for the SMITH & WESTON pistol ,I get all his take out trigger springs ,,yep its got SMITH & WESTON parts in the winch ,, I like your rig looks great so far ,,, Glad you like the winch ,,Thank you Robert ,,,"thumbsup"

 

[Werty Made]

Don't tell anyone but there's a gun accessory company here called Powder River Machine ,,They remake triggers for the SMITH & WESTON pistol ,I get all his take out trigger springs ,,yep its got SMITH & WESTON parts in the winch ,, I like your rig looks great so far ,,, Glad you like the winch ,,Thank you Robert ,,,"thumbsup"

Oh really...
I love my kms but it's just the basic version.