Down Under Fire Defender

Wildfires were a huge disaster in Australia last year, and one of the types of vehicles used to combat them in rural areas for decades has been the Land Rover D130 utility truck. Aussie resident Cool Begg decided to build a scale D130 after seeing a NSW Rural Fire Service Truck parked down the road from his house. It took him 10 months to complete based on an Axial SCX10 chassis that he extended to a 375mm wheelbase and topped with an RC4WD D90 body that he modified into the 4-door cabin for the D130 flatbed. He scratch-built the cargo tray and tool box himself. To match the Rural Fire Service colors he sourced Tamiya for the bright red and silver, and used Ivory from a Rustoleum rattle can. The graphics came from a local sign shop.

Build Highlights

– Chassis: Axial SCX10 (stretched 375mm wheelbase)
– Body: RC4WD D90 (modified) with a scratch-built cargo tray
– Motor: Hack Moto 35T
– Speed Control: Hobby Wing 1089
– Battery: Turnigy 2200mAh 2S
– Wheels and Tires: RC4WD Tango Downs wheels with 1.9 Dirt Grabber tires
– Shocks: Axial SCX10 (front); rear leaf springs with 60mm OEM scale shocks with internal springs
– Axles: RC4WD K44’s
– Paint: Tamiya TS49 bright red, Tamiya silver, Rustoleum ivory
– Graphics: New South Wales Rural Fire Service Approved Decals made by local sign company (Assignment Signs)
– Scale Accessories: Scratch built tray and tool box
– Light System: eBay
– Radio System: Fly Sky FS-GT3B

Cool Begg « Sydney, NSW, Australia