Readers Rides – December 2022

Readers Rides – December 2022

Classic Dodge Street Rod
Warren Taylor « Bldg, Wa

Warren’s custom-built rig features a styrene scratch-built camper complete with 1/14-scale dollhouse appliances inside of it. The go-anywhere motorhome is based on a NWSD chassis and is powered by a 21T Holmes 550-sized motor. The motor and Zeee LiPo battery power are coupled with the traction of RC4WD’s narrow-width Interco TSL Super Swamper tires to haul a matching trailer towing a pair of dirt bikes and an Axial Yeti Jr. Can-Am Maverick. We’re happy campers just looking at the scale details, great job Warren!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: NWSD Chassis
– Body: Custom-made motorhome
– Motor: Holmes 21T 550
– Speed Control: Hobbywing 1080 ESC
– Battery: Zeee 1500 LiPo
– Wheels and Tires: RC4WD Narrow TSL Super Swamper
– Shocks: Leaf springs
– Axles: Amazon 10.2 style
– Paint: Wesco Automotive Carmel
– Radio System: Flysky
– Other Options: Scale trailer to match, LED lights

Classic Dodge Street Rod Warren Taylor  « Bldg, Wa

Classic Dodge Street Rod Warren Taylor  « Bldg, Wa

Classic Dodge Street Rod Warren Taylor  « Bldg, Wa

FARM TRUCK
Bill Sofroniuk « Alberta , Canada

Bill wanted to build a custom truck that would test his kit-bashing skills. He had never used styrene before, so he used the plastic sheeting to create the pickup’s cab back and front of box. Then he cut the bucket seats out and built a bench seat, and used an old T-shirt as a seat cover. When Bill got into the painting portion of the project, he used a thin strip of styrene to act as the body trim. He also made a sliding rear window because he wanted to make a mag mount CB antenna and a place for the antenna cable to get into the cab. Used CD cases were used to create the window and more styrene was used for the window trim. Great job on your custom-made creation Bill!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: GCM Racing CMAX with leaf spring setup
– Body: Custom-made pickup truck
– Motor: Castle Creations Slate 1900kV
– Speed Control: Castle Creations Micro X
– Battery: Ovonic 1300mAh 3S
– Wheels and Tires: Locked Up RC Trail Ready with all the scale 1.55 hardware and Goodyear MT/R tires
– Shocks: ECX 1/16 scale, just used for helpers for the leaf springs
– Axles: GCM Racing 3D-printed axles
– Paint: Rustoleum x2 paint and Vallejo dry pigments
– Radio System: Spektrum DX6R
– Lighting: Custom-made system from raw LEDs
– Other Options: Mix of custom 3D-printed parts

FARM TRUCK Bill Sofroniuk   « Alberta , Canada

FARM TRUCK Bill Sofroniuk   « Alberta , Canada

FARM TRUCK Bill Sofroniuk   « Alberta , Canada

Midwest Modified
Jacob Johnson « Fair Play, MO

When Jacob’s local carpet track started oval racing, he built this racer that he calls the Midwest Modified to run there. Jacob tells us: “I took a Team Associated B5M and put a laydown transmission in it, got a McAllister B5M modified body mount kit, an AFX 7000 Midwest Modified body and Custom Works rear adjustable arms.” Once completed, he took it to the Saturday night oval races at the Polk County RC Raceway in Bolivar, Missouri. He adjusted the car’s setup during the qualifying rounds and qualified 3rd for A-Main. Jacob ended up finishing 4th. He adds: “There were a lot of position changes throughout the race. All in all it’s a really fun class to run on oval.” Great job Jacob!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Team Associated B5M
– Body: AFX 7000 Midwest Modified
– Motor: Trinity X-Factor 10.5
– Speed Control: Hobbywing Pro Stock
– Battery: Gens Ace Redline 5100mAh
– Wheels and Tires: Rear Pro-Line Hexagon, front Raw Speed
– Shocks: Team Associated
– Paint: Custom painted by Johnson’s RC Airbrushing
– Radio System: Airtronics MT4S
– Other Options: Xpert 4000 series steering servo

Midwest Modified  Jacob Johnson   « Fair Play, MO

Midwest Modified  Jacob Johnson   « Fair Play, MO

Midwest Modified  Jacob Johnson   « Fair Play, MO

Tamiya Grand Hauler
Shane McManus « Machesney Park, IL

Shane tells us that he’s been in the hobby for well over 10 years and always wanted to build a semi truck. In the beginning of 2020, after a friend got a semi, he bit the bullet and purchased the Tamiya Grand Hauler kit. Shane goes on to say: “I didn’t want to just build a basic kit, I wanted to build the version of the truck I drive. A 2000 Peterbilt 379 Day Cab. So right away I knew I would be in for some work. I cut off the sleeper portion and put in a 3D-printed back wall/window to fill the gap. I also cut out the stock headlights and filled them since I was going with a different style headlight. I think the most time-consuming part of the build was the bodywork. I spent forever filling and sanding it seemed. Building and shortening the chassis was the fun and easy part. It’s cool trying something different.” You really hit it out of the park with your “mini-me” semi Shane, great job!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Tamiya Grand Hauler
– Body: Tamiya Grand Hauler
– Motor: Axial 540 Brushed
– Speed Control: Tamiya MFU
– Battery: Hyperion 2S LiPo 1600mAh
– Wheels and Tires: Tamiya Grand Hauler
– Paint: Tamiya Color
– Light System: Tamiya MFU lights, also additional custom soldered lights
– Radio System: Traxxas TQi
– Other Options: Tamiya MFU sound system, full fenders from Shapeway.com, PoGo stick from Gear Jammer, RCMetal headlights from Garden Trucking, aluminum air breathers and CB antennas from eBay, Breather lights, aluminum grille

Tamiya Grand Hauler  Shane McManus « Machesney Park, IL

Tamiya Grand Hauler  Shane McManus « Machesney Park, IL

Tamiya Grand Hauler  Shane McManus « Machesney Park, IL

1982 Chevy G Van
Scott Lempert « Commerce Township, MI

Scott has always wanted an RC van, especially one in GM’s late-’70s or early-’80s body styles. While he has seen a few 3D-printed bodies around, he felt that while the 3D offerings were extremely detailed, they needed too much bodywork to get them to where a smooth finish could be applied. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Scott tells us, “So, I had a few leftover RC4WD Blazer parts laying around, stared at them for a bit, printed some inspirational photos, studied dimensions and dug in. I was concerned about rigidity, so I chose to only make the rear barn doors functional.” He ended up crafting his own 1982 Chevy van from scratch, building a chassis from 1/4-inch square steel and self-fabricated shock mounts. The body is hinged at the rear of chassis. Body-wise, he started with a few leftover pieces of an RC4WD Blazer. He then connected the pieces with .080 styrene and shaped and primed a few times to work out the imperfections. If you ask us, this build is a great success. Fantastic job Scott!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Scratch-built
– Body: Custom-made
– Motor: Castle 1410
– Speed Control: Castle SV3 ESC
– Battery: Hyperion Zeee 2S LiPo
– Wheels and Tires: Reefs Fury billet wheels with no-brand orange anodized rings and KNK scale hardware, JConcepts 1.9 Trxus tires
– Shocks: Austar stock blue bodies, 30 wt. Losi oil
– Axles: Austar front and rear with HR Racing aluminum chubs
– Paint: Tamiya Color TS92 orange over white primer base coat
– Light System: RC4WD 4-channel wireless lighting controller controls the headlights/tailights, rock lights, sconces and indirect lighting
– Radio System: Flysky GT3
– Scale Features: All wood interior, waterbed, flat screen, stocked fridge and handmade sconces. Dash is handmade. I printed the seats, door panel and switches for the switch panel. Ceiling has an indirect lighting feature.

1982 Chevy G Van   Scott Lempert  «  Commerce Township, MI

1982 Chevy G Van   Scott Lempert  «  Commerce Township, MI

1982 Chevy G Van   Scott Lempert  «  Commerce Township, MI

Ramin’ the Competition
Ricky Murray « Sierra Vista, AZ

Ricky tells us that back in 1990 he built his first real RC, a Tamiya Lunch Box, with his dad. He was immediately hooked into RC and especially RC monster trucks. Ricky goes on to say: “After owning my fair share of RC monster trucks over the years, I saw Primal’s Raminator. I knew I had to get one. I was blessed to secure one in October 2020 and have been building it into this beast since. I had always wanted a large, scale monster and the Raminator surely fits that bill. With the addition of small details, rear steering and having a gas engine, I couldn’t get more scale than this. This truck is truly my go-to in my fleet. In case there are any questions about its size, check out the pics of it next to the Tamiya Lunch Box! Special thanks to my fiancé for her continued support during this build. If you would like to see a full build thread on the truck, please visit Largescaleforums.com, under RC Build Logs, Rickdizzle’s Raminator Build.” The Raminator is truly huge, fantastic job Ricky!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Primal RC Raminator V2 Monster Truck
– Body: Raminator Monster Truck, Dodge Ram
– Engine: 49cc gas engine using a 2-needle carburetor with Bartolone Racing V2 Velocity stack, Full Force RC high-flow fuel fitting kit, Snappy RC fuel kit
– Fuel: VP Racing 4-cylinder Small Engine Fuel at 94 octane mixed 40:1 with Amsoil Dominator 2-stroke oil.
– Wheels and Tires: Primal Raminator stock wheels and tires. 12”x 7” with 24mm hexes on the wheels, aluminum enclosed wheel nuts
– Shocks: 8 total Primal Raminator shocks, 4 with springs and 4 acting as dampers. Drilled pistons with Team -Associated 10-weight shock oil. Utilizes JS Performance aluminum shock mounts, aluminum spring separators, aluminum spring perches and bushings.
– Axles: Primal Raminator axles with both the front and rear differentials modified for strength and brass bushings added at the output shafts.
– Paint: Pre-painted Raminator body. Testors spray enamel for the driver and interior details, applied over Bulldog adhesion promotor
– Graphics: Licensed decals from Primal RC to emulate the real Raminator Monster Truck and Dodge Ram. Scale “sponsor” decals from Factory Effex.
– Light System: 5 LED mini lights for RII light
– Radio System: Futaba 7PXR wrapped in a Gorilla Guard silicon wrap for the transmitter, Futaba R2006GS 6-channel receiver

Ramin' the Competition    Ricky Murray  «  Sierra Vista, AZ

Ramin' the Competition    Ricky Murray  «  Sierra Vista, AZ

Ramin' the Competition    Ricky Murray  «  Sierra Vista, AZ

RUSTED PLASTIC
Ken Sutherland « Florence, OR

Ken started with a 1/12-scale King Kong CA10 tractor truck and added a host of his own embellishments to it. He shaved the truck’s tires for a worn look and “rusted” through the plastic body using a pinpoint Dremel bit from the backside out. Ken also added blistering on the body with white glue drops before base paint. He then topped off the CA10’s realistic look by adding accessories to the cargo hold of the truck such as a few homemade crates, saw blades, corrugated metal sheets, a coffin, buckets, reels of rope. It’s a great-looking rig, fantastic job Ken!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: King Kong CA10
– Body: Customized King Kong CA10
– Motor: RC4WD 45t brushed 540
– Speed Control: Hobbywing 1060
– Battery: NiMH 3300 mAh
– Wheels & Tires: Modified King Kong CA10
– Shocks: None
– Paint: Testors Olive Green plus 3 or 4 custom-mix dark washes, 2 custom-mix red oxide washes
– Radio System: Flysky 3-channel TX and RX
– Other Options: Homemade crates, saw blades, bumpers, corrugated metal sheets, coffin, buckets, reels of rope. The skeletons, white bags and shovel were purchased.

RUSTED PLASTIC    Ken Sutherland  «  Florence, OR

RUSTED PLASTIC    Ken Sutherland  «  Florence, OR

RUSTED PLASTIC    Ken Sutherland  «  Florence, OR

FIRESTONE
group 5 Team Members
Transmission/Drivetrain: Jay
Shocks/Wheels/Electronics: Kaden
Frame: Connor
Body/Paint: Riley

Group 5’s Project Notes: “During this build we tried hard and helped each other with the different jobs since some team members were absent during the build. The hardest part for our group was getting the screws to start threading into the plastic and then making sure we didn’t over-tighten them. If we were to do it again, we would get some better tools, especially hex wrenches. We really liked the scale appearance of the motor cover and the detailed belt and pulley cover. We decided to call our crawler Firestone and try a flame paint job, so we had to find a flame image we liked and then size it for our crawler. Using a vinyl cutter, we masked off the flames and then painted the crawler gunmetal, followed by peeling back the flame mask a little to paint the red tips. We kept peeling back the flames and added orange, then yellow, and finally red for the front end, making it fade into the flames. We decided to use the provided window tint stickers to add to the realism. This build was definitely time-consuming, but we were extremely happy with our final results!”

FIRESTONE

FIRESTONE

FIRESTONE

The Behemoth Cometh
Glenn Castillo « Waipahu, HI

Glenn started with an Axial Wraith Spawn RTR rock crawler and converted it to a monster truck. He tells us that he chose a Pro-Line ’80s Blazer body to complete the look. It features homemade links to get the wheelbase right. The Behemoth is also outfitted with an ESS Sense sound system that gives the monster truck realistic V8 sounds. Glenn reports that it took a while to get the truck’s suspension, including the sway bar, limiting straps and shocks, dialed in. It looks like it was well worth the effort, fantastic job Glenn!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Axial Wraith Spawn
– Body: Pro-Line 1980 Blazer
– Motor: Axial 27T
– Speed Control: Axial AE-5 ESC
– Battery: Turnigy 5000mAh 2S LiPo
– Wheels and Tires: JConcepts Tribute wheels, Golden Years tires, JConcepts white beadlock rings
– Shocks: Generic gold shocks, 4”
– Paint: Tamiya White and Light Blue
– Radio System: Axial AX-3
– Lighting: Axial light buckets, Generic LEDs
– Other Options: ESS Sense sound module, PowerHD 25kg servo, HR Racing limiting straps, HR Racing diff covers, HR Racing sway bars, RPM blower and headers.

The Behemoth Cometh     Glenn Castillo  «  Waipahu, HI

The Behemoth Cometh     Glenn Castillo  «  Waipahu, HI

The Behemoth Cometh     Glenn Castillo  «  Waipahu, HI

Traxxas 2 Car Hauler 6×6 w/ Hydraulics
Joseph Kovach « Hamilton, NJ

Joseph tells us that as soon as he and his team received the Traxxas TRX-6 Ultimate RC Hauler, they got to work on it. First they lowered it by adding smaller shocks, then they added a subframe for sliding the bed back as well as a top-mounted roof deck. Now the really trick thing they did next was to add a 300mm track actuator for the rollback along with a Lesu hydraulic system. Joseph goes on to say: “The truck also has all kinds of lights for the bed, backups, flashers, reverse and brake. We added a winch from Traxxas and a power source for each bed. The radio is a 10-channel from Radiolink and it uses every channel too.” Congrats guys, it looks like it all that work was well worth the effort, fantastic job!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Traxxas TRX-6
– Body: Ultimate RC Hauler
– Motor: Traxxas Titan 21T 550
– Speed Control: Traxxas XL-5 ESC
– Battery: Traxxas
– Wheels and Tires: Duratrax Low Pro 2.8 wheels and tires
– Shocks: Traxxas
– Paint: Traxxas
– Radio System: Radiolink 10-channel
– Lighting: Traxxas and GT Power
– Other Options: GT Power sound system, Lesu hydraulics, pump kit, tank and cylinders

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

One Wild Willys
Zachary Paivarinta « Winter Garden, FL

Zachary takes us on the journey that created his customized ’56 Willys pickup: “After attending USTE (Ultimate Scale Truck Expo) for several years and seeing all the amazing builds people had done year after year, I wanted to finally give it a go and see what I was truly capable of. I knew if I wanted to potentially make this thing worthy of an award, I’d truly have to make it unique and scale. A full year later, many design changes, swapping out of parts, hiccups and frustration, I finally got it to where I wanted it to be. USTE22 is a year I’ll always remember. I received two finalist ribbons for Best Interior and Best Engine Bay and ended up winning an award for Best Engine Bay. This build is one I’ll cherish forever.” Of the 3D-printed body, Zachary tells us: “This build started out as just a regular SCX10 II Cherokee. I printed a 1956 Willys Pickup body for this build and had custom fenders and bumpers fabricated by Scotty Bolin at Blue Line Fab. I also had a 6BT diesel engine printed by ScaleRat to bring this build to another level.” He adds: “This thing was loaded down with several custom-made scale accessories as well as several RC4WD accessories.” It’s a great-looking ride for sure, exemplary work and congrats on your awards, Zachary!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Axial SCX10 II
– Body: Custom 3D-printed 1956 Willys Pickup
– Motor: Holmes Hobby 27T TrailMaster
– Speed Control: Hobbywing 1080 in a custom wood battery box
– Battery: GensAce 2200mAh 50c LiPo
– Wheels and Tires: Reefs RC Typhon wheels, Pro-Line 3.85” OD Interco SS TSLs, Locked Up scale hardware, RC4WD front scale hubs
– Shocks: 90mm RC4WD Rock Krawler front shocks, DinkyRC cantilever setup in the rear running Traxxas 1/18 shocks
– Axles: Axial AR44 axles with RC4WD Poison Spider diff covers
– Paint: Several mixed layers of Rustoleum paint, some weathering done with Vallejo and Tamiya weathering kits
– Lighting System: RC4WD Baja Design pods in the front light buckets
– Radio System: Flysky GT5
– Other Options: Reefs RC Raw 500 servo, scratch-built interior, several other scratch-built items, scale items and other custom work

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

One Wild Willys Zachary Paivarinta  «  Winter Garden, FL

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Updated: April 19, 2023 — 5:44 AM
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