Here is a build that was mostly completed late last winter. I picked up this VP Chassis Kit and Origin body out of the local classifieds. Having recently completed my Phoenix Portal, I was pretty stoked on VP quality and the price was too good to refuse so I nabbed it.
The Shock towers had been hopped up to VP clear anodized alum, a nice touch for sure. I would have preferred the body unpainted but figured I could work with what was there. I have always liked the Origin body.
I had a set of AR44's kicking around from an abandoned builders kit and popped into my local hobby shop for a sweet set of VP links. So first I built it into a slider
A gratuitous workshop pic with my slider
I threw a set of neglected old Proline KR2's on it so it could roll. Then I started high-siding the body to lower the LCG some. The plan was to cage the rear of the interior which meant I needed to get the body to its final ride height. I photographed this, so this must have been where I stopped cutting
Then I started brazing some tube. I consider myself a novice and a hack with my brazing skills. I just make shit up as I go along. The goal is always to simply enjoy myself and learn from the mistakes (there are plenty).
After I got a base brazed up to build upon, for shits and giggles I chucked on this Proline Metric Cab to see how it might look. I would be lying if I didn't say I was tempted to change directions at this point. I quite like how this fit together
...anyway, I kept going, brazing away. Took it to here and began to wonder if this was a good idea:ror:
The good news is tube is light
As you might have already noticed I decided on a set of Incision MR307's for the build. I also wanted a most aggressive tire and so went straight for a set of Flat Iron's. As you can see here, there is quite a difference in these tires. The performance gains are equally striking when the going gets rough
Here are the bumpers I brazed up using solid rod and sheet
And square stock for the rear
Decided to size her up next to my Phoenix Portal. Lotsa sweet goodness here. Check out the SSD Pro44 Diamond Axle housings...
Decided to spare no expenses and picked up a sweet clear anodized 3 gear trans from my local hobby shop. It matches the wheel and shock towers and so sooo sexy
Paired it with a 2700kv Puller Pro, looks like a stubby. Stock gearing, this thing is fast and crawls dreamily
Painted up a basic Alibaba lexan interior, complete willy Wild Willy driver and some random resin head. I wanted a burly looking dude, so I used a big head and stuck a cigar in his gob. I am not-so-slowly going grey, so I figured this guy should be too.
I then painted the body meaner to seal the deal
,,,and lit
Thanks for checking out the build, all in all was a blast. I should likely have photographed it more before I ran it. My crawlers get scratched up so quickly once I start pushing them to their limits
Yeah, it can jump...
...and it can crawl
See it jump and the rest of the test run video all edited-up at the following link
https://youtu.be/zcm35wXAZSI
The Shock towers had been hopped up to VP clear anodized alum, a nice touch for sure. I would have preferred the body unpainted but figured I could work with what was there. I have always liked the Origin body.
I had a set of AR44's kicking around from an abandoned builders kit and popped into my local hobby shop for a sweet set of VP links. So first I built it into a slider
A gratuitous workshop pic with my slider
I threw a set of neglected old Proline KR2's on it so it could roll. Then I started high-siding the body to lower the LCG some. The plan was to cage the rear of the interior which meant I needed to get the body to its final ride height. I photographed this, so this must have been where I stopped cutting
Then I started brazing some tube. I consider myself a novice and a hack with my brazing skills. I just make shit up as I go along. The goal is always to simply enjoy myself and learn from the mistakes (there are plenty).
After I got a base brazed up to build upon, for shits and giggles I chucked on this Proline Metric Cab to see how it might look. I would be lying if I didn't say I was tempted to change directions at this point. I quite like how this fit together
...anyway, I kept going, brazing away. Took it to here and began to wonder if this was a good idea:ror:
The good news is tube is light
As you might have already noticed I decided on a set of Incision MR307's for the build. I also wanted a most aggressive tire and so went straight for a set of Flat Iron's. As you can see here, there is quite a difference in these tires. The performance gains are equally striking when the going gets rough
Here are the bumpers I brazed up using solid rod and sheet
And square stock for the rear
Decided to size her up next to my Phoenix Portal. Lotsa sweet goodness here. Check out the SSD Pro44 Diamond Axle housings...
Decided to spare no expenses and picked up a sweet clear anodized 3 gear trans from my local hobby shop. It matches the wheel and shock towers and so sooo sexy
Paired it with a 2700kv Puller Pro, looks like a stubby. Stock gearing, this thing is fast and crawls dreamily
Painted up a basic Alibaba lexan interior, complete willy Wild Willy driver and some random resin head. I wanted a burly looking dude, so I used a big head and stuck a cigar in his gob. I am not-so-slowly going grey, so I figured this guy should be too.
I then painted the body meaner to seal the deal
,,,and lit
Thanks for checking out the build, all in all was a blast. I should likely have photographed it more before I ran it. My crawlers get scratched up so quickly once I start pushing them to their limits
Yeah, it can jump...
...and it can crawl
See it jump and the rest of the test run video all edited-up at the following link
https://youtu.be/zcm35wXAZSI
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