A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

What does RC mean to you? That’s a very open question with no wrong answer. Everyone within the hobby gets to choose his or her own path. Whether it’s racing, bashing, drifting, custom building, or crawling, most of the time us hobbyists can’t settle on just one path. We get our first car or truck and the addiction grows and leads us into other genres of RC.

We are lucky to have such a diverse hobby backed by awesome manufacturers, who for the most part listen to the wants and needs of us, their consumers. Having a vast amount of aftermarket support coming from the manufacturers as well as small hobbyist run companies is awesome to see.

RC Patina Guy has a long history in the hobby starting out in the late 70s. His love for everything automotive easily transitioned him to RC. Like a lot of us, his first RC car was given to him by his dad. Taking the controls of a silver Fire Fox cemented his passion for the hobby. The community and the constant evolution of the hobby is what keeps him interested. RC Patina Guy continues to grow his brand and create a name for himself through his creative paint jobs and accessories.

My love for everything radio controlled started when I was very young, a few of us kids started racing and bashing around in our neighborhood. I have been lucky enough to always have friends and like-minded people around me within our community. It has always been the crawler side of the hobby that I continuously gravitate towards. I’m an RC lifer and it is the community that keeps me here.

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

INCEPTION
I have always had a passion for performance, which left me asking the questions “What’s next?” and “Where do we go from here”? Trying to answer those questions lead me to learn CAD design and 3D printing. Those skills allowed me to design and create parts to tailor the trucks’ looks and performance to the wants and needs of the driver.

Dirty Harry started as an idea when RC Patina Guy and I were driving down the trail. After seeing my truck wheel for a bit and liking the way it looked, RC Patina Guy mentioned that he wanted a similar looking truck. We bounced ideas back and forth and came up with what you see here. We called the Axial Capra-based build, Dirty Harry. It turned out to be an awesome collaboration between two enthusiasts.

CUSTOM PARTS
We started with a Axial Capra but changed so much on it that it may as well be different animal. The main 3D printed performance part on Dirty Harry is the skid plate. It’s narrower then most aftermarket skid plates and I was able to adjust the link geometry to keep truck stable on steep climbs. The bobbed rear end consists of four parts that make up the 3D printed rear cross brace. Other 3D printed parts include the front bumper, front shock tower brace, body mounts, and the slider mounting brackets. Custom sliders, flat bed, and rear vertical shock braces were hand cut from 1mm sheets of carbon fiber.

PROVEN PARTS
After brainstorming for a bit the decision was made to use Axial Capra axles. Replacing the stock plastic housings with Vanquish aluminum housings took the drivetrain to that next level. Adding Team Garage Hack wild overdrive portal gears in the front axle adds to the overall performance. An Axial three gear transmission with optional Axial metal replacement gears. Gave the drivetrain strength and retained the low center of gravity we were looking for. Axial WB8 driveshafts round out the drivetrain.

The truck is built upon a list of proven parts. The backbone of the truck is Team Gspeed’s carbon fiber V3 chassis rails. Custom length titanium links from Hardcore RC keep the axels located and give plenty of clearance. Dravtech shocks with Dlux fab Mini-T springs keep the suspension dialed in while allowing for the perfect amount of articulation. Steering duties go to a Reefs RC 500 servo. Putting the power down is a Hobbywing XERUN axe system connected to a 1500mah 3s Li-Po battery. Traction is provided by Pro-Line 1.9” 4.75” Hyrax tires stretched over a set of old school 2.2” Vanquish Dirty Harry wheels with brass slugs. As you can tell, the wheels look mean and also provide the truck its name.

THE LOOK
RC Patina Guy has a unique style with an eye for doing things differently. The Pro-Line Power Wagon body on Dirty Harry is no different. Not having a lot of body to work with, he still managed to pack a lot of details in to it. The bullet theme stemmed from the wheel and spilled onto the body. The raised emblems, bullets on the side, and the intake stacks add an awesome scale touch. This Power Wagon sure has attitude.

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

We started with a Axial Capra but changed so much on it that it may as well be a different animal.

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

The body’s metallic bright silver paint blends well with overall scheme of the truck. But it’s the cut and etched by hand aluminum plating inlayed onto the body that sets this truck apart from the rest and it really finishes of the Pistola theme.

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | A Pistola-Themed Power Wagon Built With The Knowhow Of Two RC Enthusiasts

FINAL WORD
With its intricate details and bonafide crawler mechanicals, it’s easy to see that Dirty Harry is a crawler spawned from a different breed. When you combine the ideas of two innovative creators, you’re bound to get something good going. It’s so good in fact that Dirty Harry won the first place award for Best Capra at AxialFest Concours 2021.

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Updated: October 22, 2021 — 7:51 PM
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