Techno Duck
Pebble Pounder
I put mine behind the receiver box. I used 3M Dual Lock strips. When mated together, they are thick enough to raise the Mamba X high enough to clear the curve on the mounting area behind the receiver.
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Thloftus’ SCX10 II father’s day build
- Thread starter Thloftus
- Start date
I put mine behind the receiver box. I used 3M Dual Lock strips. When mated together, they are thick enough to raise the Mamba X high enough to clear the curve on the mounting area behind the receiver.
Thanks guys, looks like both sides are an option. Is that a light kit on the other rock slider, Techno Duck? I’m already getting questions about headlights, turn signals, ...
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Techno Duck
Pebble Pounder
Its an inexpensive eBay kit. Has light strings for headlights, fogs, turn. brake and reverse included. Its been working great so far.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-10-RC-Mo...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-10-RC-Mo...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Thank you, I have one on the way and it should be here this week!
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Inside more than usual today due to intermittent thunderstorms, so we made a decent amount of progress on the kit. Getting pretty close to a roller now, so the next big step will be figuring out a paint scheme.
We started out by installing the LockedUp high clearance trackbar and SSD Pro44 steering links on the front axle. The SSD links are well made and look sweet installed. There’s one rod end that’s longer than the rest; it’s for the servo end of the drag link (doesn’t come with instructions, but plenty of pictures on the web). It may be better to use Jato rather than Revo rod ends for the trackbar. We kept bottoming out the threaded ends on the hollow balls, but most likely user error.
We also installed the 3 mm spacers on the links to make up for the length difference between the Revo and Axial rod ends.
Also installed the axles and shocks. The hollow balls for the top end of the Traxxas shocks are thicker than stock, so we used 20 mm rather than 15 mm m3 screws; only a few threads in the tower otherwise. Here’s the shock from the top:
They’re sweet on the truck
I’m fairly certain the soft springs I bought for the front are way too soft; can barely extend the shock with no load, Lol! Or maybe the oil is too thick? We put them on for now, but will probably have to change them later since it’s likely the suspension will bottom out with a battery in place. We used the stock TRX-4 front shocks for the rear and they feel just about perfect.
The kids were excited about the bumpers, so we put them on too. The extra features like the lenses, trailer hitch on the rear, etc are neat, but wow, they definitely didn’t skimp on the size - rear axle looks like it’s far away in the distance, :shock:!
Here’s the front, along with a picture of the lenses
The Castle Link also arrived; nice to have it included as part of the ESC!
Here’s where we stand now. Next step is the receiver!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
We started out by installing the LockedUp high clearance trackbar and SSD Pro44 steering links on the front axle. The SSD links are well made and look sweet installed. There’s one rod end that’s longer than the rest; it’s for the servo end of the drag link (doesn’t come with instructions, but plenty of pictures on the web). It may be better to use Jato rather than Revo rod ends for the trackbar. We kept bottoming out the threaded ends on the hollow balls, but most likely user error.
We also installed the 3 mm spacers on the links to make up for the length difference between the Revo and Axial rod ends.
Also installed the axles and shocks. The hollow balls for the top end of the Traxxas shocks are thicker than stock, so we used 20 mm rather than 15 mm m3 screws; only a few threads in the tower otherwise. Here’s the shock from the top:
They’re sweet on the truck
I’m fairly certain the soft springs I bought for the front are way too soft; can barely extend the shock with no load, Lol! Or maybe the oil is too thick? We put them on for now, but will probably have to change them later since it’s likely the suspension will bottom out with a battery in place. We used the stock TRX-4 front shocks for the rear and they feel just about perfect.
The kids were excited about the bumpers, so we put them on too. The extra features like the lenses, trailer hitch on the rear, etc are neat, but wow, they definitely didn’t skimp on the size - rear axle looks like it’s far away in the distance, :shock:!
Here’s the front, along with a picture of the lenses
The Castle Link also arrived; nice to have it included as part of the ESC!
Here’s where we stand now. Next step is the receiver!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Big progress looks good. I am curious how the light kit will work. I have no idea how to install such a thing. Is it waterproof?
I am still waiting parts, they are stuck in customs. Will be a bill again, love Belgium customs :evil:
I am still waiting parts, they are stuck in customs. Will be a bill again, love Belgium customs :evil:
Beautiful country you live in! I’m not sure about the waterproof part, although you can always unplug the light kit if you plan to run in water - probably ok if the water is reasonably clean and you rinse afterward. Dust is more of a problem here. I think light kits like this one are easy to install, but this will be the first one for us, so we’ll see how it goes, Lol! I’ve always wanted a sound kit too, but haven’t found one that’s inexpensive enough ...
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MeanTT
Rock Crawler
Not sure if this was mentioned, but one of your wagon wheels was improperly assembled. The triangles are a little off. There are two ways to set them up, one lines them up perfectly and the other is ALMOST perfect. I know because I have made this mistake myself. Looks like you get to reassemble at least one wheel!
Thank you for pointing this out! I assumed the offsets were due to manufacturing tolerances; great to know that we can correct it instead!
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jason02ws6
Quarry Creeper
A couple things I would suggest are aluminum front shock towers and a metal servo mount. Both are weak points and with that Holmes servo you will get some fleet in both areas, the point where the servo and battery tray meet and the one piece pan hard mount and shock tower.
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Nice, thank you! Is one more important than the other in your experience?
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We decided to push ahead with the hexes and mounting the wheels rather than fussing over the electronics - small kids + soldering not a great idea anyway, Lol! So now we have a roller! The front shocks are super soft. Is it a good idea to run the truck with this kind of barely restoring front suspension? I have some stiffer springs on the way to try also ...
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We installed the rest of the electronics. The kids were in a rush to get to the driving. The pressure was too much for me so I forgot to install the Castle BEC, 
! Lucky for us it all seems to work ok without it for now; may add it later or just keep it for a spare. I programmed the Mamba X according to John Holmes recipe - full disclosure, kids were just more pressure, Lol “is it done yet, this is really taking a long time, what time is it, what time will it be when you’re done ...”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvH4A_VqTs
Here’s the truck with the electronics. We set the ESC next to the receiver box to leave room for a light kit + possibly winch electronics on the other side:
We hadn’t started the body yet, so the first test drive was done with the innards alone. The 3300 kV on 3S + stock gearing is a great combo. For the shocks, we started with the TRA8042 springs in the front (1.26 lbs/in) and the TRA8041 springs in the rear (2.57 lbs/in), meaning the setup from a few posts ago. I thought the front would be way too soft, but it’s just about perfect. If anything, the rear is too bouncy, so we may swap in the TRA8044 springs (2.22 lbs/in) instead of putting these on the front. I wish Traxxas offered a spring kit; I’ve just about collected a complete one at this point!
As setup now, the truck is a lot of fun to drive: corners nicely at speed, jumps like a natural, soaks up the bumps. Not sure about it’s performance as a crawler, but it bashes like a champ! The ESC setup + Holmes motor gives great control at low speed, so guessing it will be nice on the rocks too. Crazy more fun than my v1 SCX10 - maybe it just needs the brushless upgrade. Here’s a bit of curb jumping:
We added a ramp. Need to build a better one this summer, at least one that’s a wider target - half a dozen attempts before they actually hit the ramp!
The “drive Dad onward” continued into the afternoon, so now the body is cut out and we mocked it up. We’re starting with a ProLine 4Runner (kids choice). We’ll probably use this one for bashing and save the stock body for more picturesque / serene trail driving, Aka: calmly driving through the mountain trails while keeping a watchful and protective eye on that wonderful paint job Dad slaved over for so many precious hours, Not!
All taped up and ready for painting!
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! Lucky for us it all seems to work ok without it for now; may add it later or just keep it for a spare. I programmed the Mamba X according to John Holmes recipe - full disclosure, kids were just more pressure, Lol “is it done yet, this is really taking a long time, what time is it, what time will it be when you’re done ...”https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6wvH4A_VqTs
Here’s the truck with the electronics. We set the ESC next to the receiver box to leave room for a light kit + possibly winch electronics on the other side:
We hadn’t started the body yet, so the first test drive was done with the innards alone. The 3300 kV on 3S + stock gearing is a great combo. For the shocks, we started with the TRA8042 springs in the front (1.26 lbs/in) and the TRA8041 springs in the rear (2.57 lbs/in), meaning the setup from a few posts ago. I thought the front would be way too soft, but it’s just about perfect. If anything, the rear is too bouncy, so we may swap in the TRA8044 springs (2.22 lbs/in) instead of putting these on the front. I wish Traxxas offered a spring kit; I’ve just about collected a complete one at this point!
As setup now, the truck is a lot of fun to drive: corners nicely at speed, jumps like a natural, soaks up the bumps. Not sure about it’s performance as a crawler, but it bashes like a champ! The ESC setup + Holmes motor gives great control at low speed, so guessing it will be nice on the rocks too. Crazy more fun than my v1 SCX10 - maybe it just needs the brushless upgrade. Here’s a bit of curb jumping:
We added a ramp. Need to build a better one this summer, at least one that’s a wider target - half a dozen attempts before they actually hit the ramp!
The “drive Dad onward” continued into the afternoon, so now the body is cut out and we mocked it up. We’re starting with a ProLine 4Runner (kids choice). We’ll probably use this one for bashing and save the stock body for more picturesque / serene trail driving, Aka: calmly driving through the mountain trails while keeping a watchful and protective eye on that wonderful paint job Dad slaved over for so many precious hours, Not!
All taped up and ready for painting!
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Tralfaz Blecht
Quarry Creeper
Looking good. I love those deep dish wagon wheels too.
Thank you!
I really like the deep dish wagon wheels too, and the price is decent / only slightly more than some plastic bead locks:
https://store.rc4wd.com/5-Lug-Deep-Dish-Wagon-19-Steel-Stamped-Beadlock-Wheels-Plain_p_5146.html
They hold the bead well once they're mounted, although it was tricky with the stock SCX10 II tires the first time. The recipe that worked well for us was to start with two longer bolts and push on the hex while tightening the bolts. Pushing on the hex keeps the inner ring compressed against the bead. I used a bottle of shock oil as a platform to push on the hex - without this step, the bead rolls out of the wheel as you tighten the bolts, your children start melting down, you have to bite your lip to suppress the cursing - overall disaster, :lmao:
Once the longer bolts are tightened most of the way, you can stop pushing on the hex, add the "real" fasteners in the remaining spots (we used scale hardware from LockedUp), and finally, swap out the longer bolts.
The other tip from a few posts back is the wheels can go together in two ways, one where the wagon splines line up perfectly and another where they have a small relative rotation. We still need to fix half of ours (rotational offsets are a little too subtle for my build team!), but I'll have to wait until the kids are distracted so my slow self can get through it, :ror:
I recommend them for sure. Requires a little patience / trial and error, but then that's true for most of these builds!
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Finished painting the body. The red is metallic backed with silver. Black over all of it. Tamiya PS31 smoke to tint the back windows and the sun roof. We decided to do a fade after painting the red / silver. I’ve never done one before, so why not? Pretty happy with how it turned out - although likely better results if I’d backed all of it with black. There’s a noticeable transition at the tape line if you look close that would probably be gone otherwise. But then, a few minutes with the kids and the resulting street rash will eliminate any nostalgia I might have felt for a more expert execution, Lol! Next step is the stickers!
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Attached the stickers! I used body scissors to cut out the ProLine stickers since the angled end makes it easier to get clean lines and rounded corners. I’m not going to pretend the kids worked on this part, aside from the “are you done yet” encouragement. It was mostly me and some quality hours with a magnifier. We may add some more stickers along the bottom edge on the right/left sides, but we need to dig through the stockpile first ...
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Thank you and no doubt about the rear bumper! Looks like it needs a cooler or maybe a couch. I think we can tuck it in more, but it’s meant to go with the stock body so the dimensions may not work out. May need to find another one, hopefully with the tow hitch since the kids are excited about that part. Pretty funny that none of us noticed how much it was sticking out in the moment, :shock:
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Traulus
Rock Crawler
Those bumpers(front and rear) look like...….bleah,from another dimension
