Kev’s Bench: Project Vaterra Twin Hammers Sneak Peek

Kev’s Bench: Project Vaterra Twin Hammers Sneak Peek

Kev

I have been a fan of the Vaterra Twin Hammers since it was released and of course I picked one up to play with. With a lot of my projects this one started out with a few mods in mind to make the truck perform a little better it quickly got out of control. I started out with some basic mods like a locker in the front, Hitec servo for steering and a Novak Timbuk2 speed control and Ballistic Crawler motor. Then, I added a Vanquish Currie rear axle for durability and you really can’t beat the scale look of that sucker. Well, then I wanted to use a different body on it so I cut up a Tamiya F-350 High Lift body that I had and made it fit the stock roll cage. That wasn’t enough so I lined up some Pro-Line scale accessories to bring the truck to life. Now I am adding a front battery mount, shock tower and wheels that I designed myself and the custom parts were made by Ed at STL Custom Hobbies. Those parts are currently on the way. I now the truck doesn’t look like much right now but it’s done in my head and looks great. With all the parts lined up and at my finger tips my truck can be finished. I hope to have more photos for you to see very soon.

KB

It doesn’t look like much right now but it will when all the parts come together. Picture a flat coat paint job, Pro-Line light bar and a trick interior on that rig. Yep it’s going to be very cool.

 

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Not only did I install a Tamiya F-350 body on my truck but I dovetailed the front end and tucked in the sides to give it better clearance all around. By dovetailing the front end it narrows things up and gives more clearance for the front tires when they roll over obstacles. The front fenders had to be stretched to achieve this. See the filler plastic in the middle? It will be sanded, filled and shaped to match the rest of the fender. To tuck in the sides I simply made a vertical cut along the body, angled the bottom piece until it touched the chassis and glued it back in place.

 

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Pro-Line scale accessories will be used to bring my truck to life but not after I modify some of them. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for this Pro-Line fuel cell. It will be fully plumbed and will have “gas” in it. You’ll see what I am talking about when it’s done.

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Pro-Line Super Swamper tires are going to provide scale looks and great grip. A little white paint on those letters are going to make them look even cooler.

brass wheel assembly

Who designs their own wheel when you can buy a lot of trick wheels these days? Well it’s what you have to do when you want your wheels machined out of brass.

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Ed at STL Custom Hobbies has spent a lot of time making the wheels and here they are half way done. The photo is a little fuzzy but you get the idea.

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Check out that Vanquish Currie axle. These are scale replicas of full-size Currie axles that are used by many people on their full-size rock crawler trucks. The axle features a skid plate in the center to help it slide over rocks, comes with upper and lower link mounts and has easy diff access thanks to the angled rear diff plate in the rear.

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Updated: March 31, 2016 — 3:34 PM
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