# The Mod Shop - 1/64 Plastic Body & Diecast to Slot Car Customs/Conversions



## tjetken

*Hotwheels Plastic Diecast ”Fire Eater” Fire Truck converted to TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

I have been collecting AFX and TYCO slotcars since the 70’s. I just started to collect the US1 vehicles 3-4 years ago. I have been inspired by customizers on this forum and also by sellers of custom US1 trucks on Ebay. I started to customize TYCO US1 trucks 2-3 years ago. I always wanted a Firetruck for the US Army but I didn’t want to repaint an original US1 Firetruck. Below is my latest custom that I just completed today. It is a Hotwheels chrome Fire Eater truck. The chrome was stripped with Super Clean for several minutes leaving the decals intact, surprisingly. I was going to paint it Tamiya Olive Drab but the color of the plastic was a grey green so I left it. The body was too narrow and I had to use a Dremel to take off 1-1.5mm on each side to make room for the chassis. I used a mini drill press to route the 2 slits on each side for the US1 chassis. For the hole on the driver side, I used MEK Subsitute solvent to fuse the 1.5mm styrene patch to the body. Added a layer of “styrene glue” on the inside to make the patch stronger. To cover the patch on the driver side, a reusable thermoplastic was used to mold/copy the hose valve from the TYCO US1 Firetruck. Also made a resin copy of the front bumper in black. Used Super glue gel to attach the resin hose/valve to the styrene patch And clear hot melt to attach the bumper.










After the chrome was stripped with Super Clean Degreaser for mins, the original decals were suprisingly still there. Normally, if you leave it in Super Clean long enough, it will disolve all chrome and the decals.
Patched the hole on the driver side And reinforced the patch with styrene glue.









Made a mold of a TYCO US1 firetruck’s hose water dial panel.









Made a resin copy and cut a smaller section to cover the white styrene patch.









Repainted the hoses and tools with black paint to complete the conversion.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Very nice job all around! I'm also surprised to hear the decals stayed while the chrome vanished! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Very nice job all around! I'm also surprised to hear the decals stayed while the chrome vanished! 🤙


Thanks!


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## tjetken

*Here’s a Hotwheels Metal Diecast 85 Ford Bronco Real Riders truck conversion to TYCO US1 Slotcar Chassis.*

Had to create a custom styrene clip to attach the metal body to the chassis. The Highway Patrol action station was purchased from Ebay seller ninjku-prime. I have completed 68 TYCO vehicles and action stations and I realized that I can’t customized everything. My list to make grows every week so sometimes I need to buy completed items.










Used PCB drill bits to enlarge the opening of the Hotwheel’s rims To fit the TYCO axles.









Components of styrene pieces to make the custom clip.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Another nice conversion! 🤙 

And we have all the time you have available to show us the others....


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## tjetken

*Next is a Matchbox Plastic Diecast armored truck coverted onto a TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

The wheel base of the US1 chassis was lengthen to accommodate the longer wheel base of the Matchbox body.










Made resin copies of the front and rear bumpers.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Another nice conversion! 🤙
> 
> And we have all the time you have available to show us the others....


Thanks!
LOL! I wanted to post pics but the prior website kept saying that my pics are too large. I am glad that the refreshed site is so easy to post!


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## tjetken

*TYCO US1 Plastic customs Caterpillar Trucks*

Caterpillar: Semi truck, gravel trailer, Dust Control, Dump, Cement Trucks, Service Van, loader, unloader, trailer terminal and garage.










The Hotwheels Dust Control tank is longer than the base of the dump truck so we need to lengthen the body.









Extended the body, added mount points and 2 screw holes to mount the tank’s 2 post.


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## XracerHO

All great conversions & really like your Caterpillar trucks & buildings. Keep posting your creations! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> All great conversions & really like your Caterpillar trucks & buildings. Keep posting your creations! ..RL


Thanks! I want to thank you for inspiring me (also several others customizers on this forum) to do customs.

Ask and you shall receive 

*Next is a Matchbox Metal COE with mostly plastic diecast Terrainiac converted to TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

I was going to paint it OLIVE Drab for my US Army collection BUT I just love the original colors. I purchased 3 more from EBAY to mod in the future but I learned that after doing one diecast, it is difficult to redo the same truck. It is quite tedious to make one conversion.

















Cut up the body to make molds and to cast resin pieces. I can use the orignals but I figured I will have to do 2-3 more in some future. It is a pain to cut out the pieces And sand them to fit.









Cut out most Matchbox body material and created a box to cover the US1 silver rear weight. Yeah, I am plain insane to add extra work but it also centers the body onto the chassis.









I casted resin front, rear and side shocks to hide the mount clip.








here’s a breakdown of all pieces to assemble.


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## Hilltop Raceway

Thanks for posting...You got some cooooooool stuff...!!! Really like the CAT stuff myself...Some great engineering on the builds...!!! RM


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## tjetken

Next is a *Hotwheels Mercedes Unimog Metal Cab with the rest of body in plastic.* I love this casting! Used the real rubber Hotwheels rims and tires to retrofit them onto the US1 chassis.
















I think I made a boo boo. I should not have cut the hotwheel base structure in half and I had to reattach them. I felt it was easier to gut the Hotwheels structure with the base cut in half.

Added side clips and boxed structures to hide the silver weight on the US1 chassis.









Here’s a better view of the side mount clip.









Painted the cab Tamiya Olive Drab and it’s my 1st time to stencil the US Star. it was a pain to cut out the stencil. I usually use the waterslide HO scale US stars BUT I wanted to tried something different. I also made resin copies of the front and rear bumper. The Street Fighter paint was stripped with Easy Off oven cleaner in a zip lock bag. I used the toxic smelling Yellow can.









Created gas tanks to hid the side clips from another Hotwheels truck. Also in the picture is my attempts at recreating the US1 front grills with resin.


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## tjetken

*TYCO US1 custom John Deer Flatbed truck and barn*

The first time I saw a John Deer custom semi truck and barn on EBAY was from a Canadian seller. I can’t recall his name at the moment. He does fantastic work but I couldn’t afford to buy it so I made my own set by sourcing similar components.


















Next, I cut up the dumpster to make a short flatbed to carry a tractor. Also had to shorten the John Deer tractor’s axle. It was too wide for the flatbed.









created a plow out of styrene. Also, the dumpster had broken mud flaps and I recreated them from styrene.

















I also created a semi truck but I didn’t get a chance to create a long flatbed tractor trailer yet since I couldn’t decide on painting it black or green. Analysis paralysis!


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## tjetken

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Thanks for posting...You got some cooooooool stuff...!!! Really like the CAT stuff myself...Some great engineering on the builds...!!! RM


Thanks again. I am really slow at building stuff since I over think and keep dwelling over the smallest details. I have to keep telling myself to not go for perfection. Have something is better than nothing!


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## NTxSlotCars

Really like that Cat setup!
Great imagination


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## tjetken

Thanks NTxSlotCars! I have gotten ideals from members on this site and other forums. There was a guy selling on ebay with a name of ‘jeep’ something. From him, I got the ideal of using Hotwheels and Matchbox plastic bits to make my creations.


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## tjetken

*TYCO US1 Custom US Army and Cobra Vehicles *

OK, the US Army wants to show their might. The COBRA team may be lurking about too. The following first three pictures started my obsession on making military US1 trucks.

My 1st set of sticky decals were made from text printed on plain paper with a laser printer. Used doubled sided tape and covered it with transparent tape to make a sticker.

US Army barrel loader, gravel trailer and van.









COBRA’s dump truck and barrel loader.
MSPaint= MicroSoft paint used to create some images. Then loaded to Power Point to print. Printing via MSPaint stinks.









PP=MicroSoft Power Point used to create and print the decals with the color codes.



















Fuel tanker truck for the US Army and COBRA. I also made a UNION 76 and a Hotwheels FINIZZA water tanker truck at the same time.









Used a 4” disc sander to evenly grind down the rear of the dump truck.









The turquois truck was my 1st tanker truck custom. Note the hack job with a dremel. Much cleaner grinds with the 4” disc sander I gotten used from EBAY.




































End of Part 1 of 4.


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## tjetken

*Part2: Continuation on TYCO US1 US ARMY and COBRA.*

Several more COBRA vehicles In the making. The COBRA team stole a jeep and an amored vehicle. They are up to no good.









The COBRA armored pickup truck was made from an IDEAL TCR slotless set. Had to create custom mounts to attach the US1 chassis. Made molds of front/rear bumper and gun from hotwheels to create resin copies.



































Here are all of my current COBRA creations.



















Of course, we need a set of vehicles for ARBCO which is a front company Cobra uses as a cover for many of its evil activities.









End of part 2 of 4


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## tjetken

*Part3: TYCO US1 Continuation on US ARMY*

US Army fuel tanker and trailer.






































Making outriggers.












































End of part 3 of 4


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## tjetken

*Part4: TYCO US1 Continuation on US ARMY*

These are pull back toys that will be used for the arm vehicle.

















Mini Tank transporter with ramps.









Created storage on each side for the ramps.









Flatbed for Mine Sweeper






































Matchbox diecast Transporter and Mine sweeper.



















End of Army Part 4 of 4.


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## tjetken

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Thanks for posting...You got some cooooooool stuff...!!! Really like the CAT stuff myself...Some great engineering on the builds...!!! RM


The Caterpillar is my favorite build. I spent a lot of time on the web researching vehicles like the dust control truck for ideas. There is another top 2 build to me that I didn’t post those pics yet.


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## XracerHO

Really like all of your creations & dioramas! You have inspired me to covert my Tyco green dumb trucks to flatbeds & military vehicles. Great innovations & builds ... keep them coming. Like yourself hunt through the dies cast pegs for plastic bodies. The Hot wheels Hummer is all plastic just alot of internal unneeded plastic to be removed. Keep watching for future builds. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Really like all of your creations & dioramas! You have inspired me to covert my Tyco green dumb trucks to flatbeds & military vehicles. Great innovations & builds ... keep them coming. Like yourself hunt through the dies cast pegs for plastic bodies. The Hot wheels Hummer is all plastic just alot of internal unneeded plastic to be removed. Keep watching for future builds. ..RL


I inspired you? I am not worthy!!! 

Thanks BUT I want to thank you for inspiring me (also several others customizers on this forum) to do customs. Your mods has so much details especially the recent refueling truck, NY Desert Rat jeep and the red cross truck. Too much skill needed and work for me! From your pics, I purchased the Metal Machines set (plastic bodies instead of metal which I love) and the plastic HW Racing white mid engine vehicle but I didn’t mod them yet. I did steal your ideal on the Hotwheels Batmobile since I am a fanatic Batman collector too. Actually, the HW Batmobile is the FIRST ”diecast” I worked on and it started my diecast to slotcar obsession! I modifed a blue Batmobile on an original 4 Gears chassis. I have a fear and a lack of knowledge to measure, cut and what type of glue to use for the post. That is why, I never did any tjet post mods too and I just concentrated on the TYCO US1 trucks. For the Batmobile, I created a side mount instead. Well, the side mount is such a tight fit that I have to cut it out if I want to remove the chassis. Stupid rookie error. I also purchased 2 more to paint them in Gunmetal and flat black. It is on my queue and the queue is a mile long. Oh well. I have saved SO many of your custom pics on my IPAD for reference over the years.

Thanks for the tip on the plastic HW Hummers which I surprisingly learned about a year ago. I have several in metal and I didn’t have the correct dremel disc cutter. Please let me know of any other plastic vehicles that can be modified in the future.

This is the perfect segue to the next post on Hummers.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Plastic Hummers to TYCO US1 slot car Conversions Part 1.*

Since XracerHO mentioned Hummers, let’s check them out.

I am a bit of a hoarder. I admit having a toy addiction problem. At the time, I took the following pics, I had 3 Hummers. I have accumulated a lot more since as you will see at the end of this post.

































here’s a breakdown of the mounting clip.


















Once I learned a diecast body is plastic and can be customized, I go crazy to hunt them down usually on EBAY except for the two recent Army Hummers from Target. The Spiderman Hummer is a Radio Shack mini RC Zip Zaps. I will share those conversions in the future. The Zip Zaps have great details and nice for customizing.









I modified the yellow one to have a slightly higher stance to accommodate stomper tires on a regular US1 chassis.


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## XracerHO

Awesome mounting clips & quick work on the body mounting of Hummers plus great engineering in all your conversions! Will watch for Zip Zap conversion & advise of plastic bodies spotted. Continue to watch your posts.


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## tjetken

I went to Target today. The new Hotwheels chrome Batmobile from “The Batman” show snuck into the shop and jumped the queue of the 8 vehicles that are currently in progress. Let’s see how it fits! Any input is welcome especially for the rear tire choice and stance. The blue Batmobile was converted a while ago.









Time to grind off the post over the rear axles and thin out the rear post.









Unfortunately, the HW body is very low profile and the 4 gears chassis is too high unlike the blue Batmobile which has a very good fit and stance.

Here I used my home made stomper silicone tires to fill the rear wheel well. It is a bit too wide. I like the rib details of the stomper tires. Maybe I can make a low profile stomper tires. More projects i don’t need. I can share my home making tire experiences in future post. I am still learning and still in the discovery stage. I appreciate all the after market tire makers out there! Thank you Dr. Oogan for making top-shelf Reproduction Stomper tires!









Here’s it with original AFX dried out 4 Gears wide dragster tires. Not bad and need to grind the rear wheel well a tiny bit. It will have a dragster look with the nose down.









Here, we have it with Buds HO 4 Gears tires. The stance is decent. Maybe use EpoPutty to fill in the rear wheel well.









Analysis paralysis. What do you guys think? Any other tire choices?


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## XracerHO

Suggestion : AW 4 gear funny car tires are approx. 1/2 the thickness of old Aurora dragster tires. See you super glued post in nicely & like new dragster version ! Batman fan too, have to get one ! Just a thought maybe side panels from a donor Blue version could cover chassis OR donor side of Funny car with exhaust showing IMHO. 
Really like your dragster Batmobile!


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Suggestion : AW 4 gear funny car tires are approx. 1/2 the thickness of old Aurora dragster tires. See you super glued post in nicely & like new dragster version ! Batman fan too, have to get one ! Just a thought maybe side panels from a donor Blue version could cover chassis OR donor side of Funny car with exhaust showing IMHO.
> Really like your dragster Batmobile!


Oh! I like that idea of a side panel. Maybe a resin copy or something like you said.

NOPE! This was just a test fit. I didn’t attempt to cut or glue a post yet! I afraid!  I still need to strip the chrome off. i don’t even know if I even have any post material. What is the ID and OD of the styrene rod you use for a post?

Thanks for the tip on the tire. I know I need to try different tires and dont think I have any 4 Gears except for the current AW cars with the low profile tires which is too small. I will take another look since I dont really collect many of the original 4 gears. Was thinking of going back to Target to look for the Hotwheels Real Riders for it’s wheels. I need to get a vehicle that has larger rims and tires for the back and smaller tires for the front. Maybe a HW Bone Shaker or something. For now, this batmobile will go on the back burner so that I can research. I am trying to finish the 8 vehicles on my messy desk. Some of these cars is in progress for over a year. Many trucks keep jumping the line.

I can’t wait until you modified this Batmobile So that I can steal your ideals. hehe..


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## XracerHO

The shop uses evergreen scale model Tubing Item #224 Tube 1/8 inch ( .125 DIm. 3.2 mm) 5 pieces . It is a little small so Pre-screw at one end completely (tube will expand) then cut approx. length needed (longer than needed) then screw to chassis(front post 1St). Test fit & test fit & cut to size you desired size. Then rear post same procedure until happy with stance. Super glue front post to body. hold together use accelerator or until set. Carefully unscrew. body. If attached then use super glue fully around post & body attachment & add small pieces around bottom of post And/or gel super glue for support ..let cure & repeat to rear post. Easier Support way: Drill hole in small flat plastic waste so it can be slide easily over tube down to attachment point & super glue to tube & body for reinforcement at attachment point. Same on rear post (most times to rear body panel). Try on scrap body to learn.

view sample below










Sorry for Long explaination, experiment & you will figure it out. If not perfect cut off, sand smooth & flat & start again.
Good luck BFN ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> The shop uses evergreen scale model Tubing Item #224 Tube 1/8 inch ( .125 DIm. 3.2 mm) 5 pieces . It is a little small so Pre-screw at one end completely (tube will expand) then cut approx. length needed (longer than needed) then screw to chassis(front post 1St). Test fit & test fit & cut to size you desired size. Then rear post same procedure until happy with stance. Super glue front post to body. hold together use accelerator or until set. Carefully unscrew. body. If attached then use super glue fully around post & body attachment & add small pieces around bottom of post And/or gel super glue for support ..let cure & repeat to rear post. Easier Support way: Drill hole in small flat plastic waste so it can be slide easily over tube down to attachment point & super glue to tube & body for reinforcement at attachment point. Same on rear post (most times to rear body panel). Try on scrap body to learn.
> 
> view sample below
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry for Long explaination, experiment & you will figure it out. If not perfect cut off, sand smooth & flat & start again.
> Good luck BFN ..RL


Thanks for the wealth of info! It’s Not long at all. I will look for the post rods in my stash and I got tons of dollar tree super glue. If I don’t have it then I will buy the exact same item number as yours. Good idea on test on scraps to see if my gluing techniques will hold up. I love how you use you shop diorama to display work in progress. Very nice! I gotta get my shop going. I am starting to buy equipment and they are expensive especially the Greenlight Weekend Mechanic stuff but I gotta find a “rental space“ first. I also like “Back at the shop” setup. His shop is So high end and SO CLEAN! My desk is a mess with my projects in progress.


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## tjetken

*My 1st and 2nd TYCO US1 Dump Truck customs.*

For the past several days, the Mod Shop has been very busy working until 2-3am on vehicles on the long waiting list. I will share pics when each are completed.

In the meantime, here are my first two TYCO US1 customs. I got the ideal for the fuel truck from an EBAY seller named “jeep* something that made a lot of his custom trucks with Hotwheels and Matchbox plastic parts. He got me started into US1 customs with plastic parts from diecasts. I then started buying TONS of Hotwheels and Matchbox with usable plastic bits. Unfortunately, these were older diecast vehicles and available on EBAY at high prices. Buying a “used lot’ of these trucks cut down on cost. XracerHO got me into my first diecast conversions starting with the Hotwheels Batmobile.

This fuel tanker is from a 2006 Matchbox Utility Truck Aviation Fuel. The US1 dump truck was the typical green dumpster truck which used be for $12-$16 with chassis on EBAY but NO MORE. Even these green ones are going for $30-$40 each with chassis.

I used stock Testors Aztec airbrush paints with a cheap starter Paasche airbrush kit. You know the red plastic airbrush as pictured below.This was my the first time airbrushing and didn’t want to spend money on a better airbrush. After a couple of customs, I purchased the Paaache H single action which is good for me. It is very simple like the starter airbrush and it is easy to use and to clean.





































I just started collecting the original TYCO US1 vehicles about 4-5 years ago and I wanted to collect everything. At the time, I couldn’t justified spending about $100-$120 for the lighted white dump truck with the brown dumpster. I decided to make an inspired one first. I know it can’t beat the original but it is just plastic and airbrush paint. If it is no good then soak it in the Super Clean “purple pond” and start over!










For non TYCO US1 collectors, I labeled the original in the pic below. US1 collectors all know which one is the fake.










It was my first time painting stripes and oh what a pain! I had to touch up 6-7 times and the stripes are still wonky. I kept saying to myself, “it’s good enough”. Having something is better than having nothing, so I live with it. About a year later, I purchased the original for I think $160.


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## Hilltop Raceway

Good looking trucks...!!! I like the US 1 stuff myself...the dump also makes a cool roll back, just remove the bed and add a flatbed...RM


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## tjetken

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Good looking trucks...!!! I like the US 1 stuff myself...the dump also makes a cool roll back, just remove the bed and add a flatbed...RM


Thanks! 

Yes, definitely a great idea. I purchased so many Hotwheels and Matchbox rollbacks & tow trucks but they haven’t made it to my custom list yet. So many other customs suddently cut in line. It depends on what the shop wants to work on but I am itching to work on the tow truck and flat bed trucks.


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## Hilltop Raceway

Yea...so many ideas will pop into yout head, then they always want to cut in line...lol...RM
PS... I could see a brown tailgate myself...


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## tjetken

*Matchbox Metal Body Desert Thunder V16 to TYCO US1 slot car conversion.*

The shop is still busy with current projects and these Desert Thunder V16 vehicles are prior conversions.

After I made the orange one with the Matchbox decals, I decided to make 3 more for Jurassic Park, US Army and Cobra, the enemy of GI Joe.

Took each apart and grind out the inner part structure to make room for chassis. Cut off and use the original front the rear bumpers. Cast the side storage bins to hide the side clip mount points.









Trim the rear metal post to make room for slotcar chassis and styrene mount clip.


















Here are the other 3 vehicles to be assembled after the two blue ones were repainted.


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## tjetken

*USPS TYCO US1 customs: Switch Track, Semi Truck and Jeep.*

These are prior customs. I was inspired to make them after buying a USPS trailer terminal, crate loader and unloader from EBAY seller ninjaku-prime for around $100.



































I just noticed in the pics that the jeep window frames are yellow. I must have missed it with the airbrush. Also, the text on the USPS sign is not perfectly straight. Oh, well!

I still need to create USPS van, short box truck and long trailer some time in the future. It is on the LIST but I need to get inspired to complete them. There are too many higher priority items being worked on in the shop.

I had a lot of problems covering the red plastic with white Badger stynylrez and then Testors Aztec white airbrush paint. I then painted with a layer of Krylon White but it still had a red/pink hue. I spray more Krylon white but had some pink. I then cover it with Tamiya white primer and Tamiya white paint which seem to be the whitest.

On my current project to repaint another firehouse to white, I used Tamiya white primer but I can still see red. Then I sprayed Tamiya grey primer which covered all the red, yeah! I sprayed Tamiya 2 layers of white primer from spray can to cover the grey primer and then top coat of Tamiya matt white from spray can but it still looks a hint of grey. More like off white on the light light grey side. I then spayed with Testors Aztec white airbrush paint and maybe became a bit whiter. I still see some light gray.

Does anyone has a better combination of primer and white paint to cover red in one shot?


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## Milton Fox Racing

tjetken said:


> Matchbox Desert Thunder V16 to TYCO US1 conversion.
> 
> The shop is still busy with current projects and these Desert Thunder V16 vehicles are prior conversions.
> 
> After I made the orange one with the Matchbox decals, I decided to make 3 more for Jurassic Park, US Army and Cobra, the enemy of GI Joe.
> 
> Took each apart and grind out the inner part structure to make room for chassis. Cut off and use the original front the rear bumpers. Cast the side storage bins to hide the side clip mount points.
> View attachment 318004
> 
> 
> Trim the rear metal post to make room for slotcar chassis and styrene mount clip.
> View attachment 318005
> 
> 
> View attachment 318006
> 
> 
> Here are the other 3 vehicles to be assembled after the two blue ones were repainted.
> View attachment 318002
> 
> 
> View attachment 318007
> 
> 
> View attachment 318008
> 
> 
> View attachment 318009


Those are cool! But the diecast baby shed a few tears.


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## XracerHO

Like all the Desert V16 trucks & USPS Truck w/ Jeep. Your cool conversion of US 1 trucking stations to USPS & other building is impressive & great ideas. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Like all the Desert V16 trucks & USPS Truck w/ Jeep. Your cool conversion of US 1 trucking stations to USPS & other building is impressive & great ideas. ..RL


Thanks! I am going back in time and go thru your post starting with # 1 then I will hit the other heavy hitters on this site. I am taking notes as I go. I just can’t believe how many customs you, Hilltop and others on this forum has done!


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## tjetken

*Lowes trucks on the TYCO US1 platform: Semi and short flatbed truck.*

These are prior customs and I still have to make a long flatbed trailer and a box trailer for the semi truck.


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## tjetken

*Home Depot Trucks on the TYCO US1 platform: Semi and short flatbed with forklift.*

These are also prior customs except for the piggyback forklift that I just figured out today how to attach it to the flatbed.


























Installed the piggyback support for forklift behind the rear wheels.









The flatbed can still lift up with the piggyback forklift support in place. One of the mud flaps was completely broken off and I patched with styrene and that is why the center between the mud flaps is longer.









Forklift can be displayed on the flatbed with cargo. Need tie downs for track use.









or display it as a piggyback forklift. I should figure out how to attach micro chains from the forklift to the flatbed but that is another project. Good enough for now.


























Here’s the light weight all plastic forklift from Wiking.


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## XracerHO

Nice work on the Home Depot trucks and great idea & mounting of forklift. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Nice work on the Home Depot trucks and great idea & mounting of forklift. ..RL


Thanks. Nothing special for Lowes and Home Depot. I know they are boring looking but they are necessary for my collection. At least, I made it a bit more interesting with the piggyback forklift which has been on the back burner for years. A solution just hit me yesterday and I ran with it.


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## Hilltop Raceway

That's some cool customs...!!!


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## NTxSlotCars

You know, I just don't remember anyone going after the US1 trucks for customs. This whole thread has been great!


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## tjetken

NTxSlotCars said:


> You know, I just don't remember anyone going after the US1 trucks for customs. This whole thread has been great!


THANKS!! It is great that different people on the forum does different customs. For the last 3-4 years, I am on the TYCO US1 obsession All because the vehicles can go backwards, forwards and do specific actions which fascinates me. The Mod Shop has been busy. We will be making deliveries on several sets of customs and will be posting pics soon.


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## Hilltop Raceway

tjetken said:


> THANKS!! It is great that different people on the forum does different customs. For the last 3-4 years, I am on the TYCO US1 obsession All because the vehicles can go backwards, forwards and do specific actions which fascinates me. The Mod Shop has been busy. We will be making deliveries on several sets of customs and will be posting pics soon.


Keep on building em...!!! I like em...RM


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## tjetken

*Matchbox National Parks Vehicles to TYCO US1 conversion Part 1*

The National Parks Agency commisioned The Mod Shop to electrify their Chevy Blazer. It was a small job but we didn’t know at the time that it will be the shop’s most ambitious build(s). We thought it would be a 2-3 days job but it turned into 3 weeks holding up the other vehicles on the custom queue.

Here’s our shop’s new logo:










The following is a Matchbox Chevy Blazer from a 5 pack. Sorry Admin Milton, some diecast vehicles were modified BUT NOT harmed. I know you love your diecast but push cars are just not efficient!  Electric is the way of the future!










When the agency saw our progress, they ordered 2 more conversions, a Jeep Cherokee and a Chevy Tahoe. The interior was gutted to make room for the electrical chassis and custom styrene clips were made for each vehicle. It was a tough job cutting down the 2 front main metal axle supports for the Chevy Tahoe. We started the Tahoe at 10pm and worked until 3:30am for that conversion. Tow hooks were added.










Sorry to Hotwheels collectors for stealing the Real Riders Baja wheels from Gonzo’s van for the Matchbox Chevy Blazer. It looks so good with these Hotwheels rims and rubber tires.









For the National Parks trailer with a row boat, we had to drill with a 1/16” bit in the rear metal post to make room for a guide pin.


















Please excuse the shop’s appearance. We are testing new wall and floor paint colors. The 3M blue tape #2093 was so strong that it peeled parts of the wall off when the blue tape was removed.

The Chevy Blazer is completed along with a horse trailer wearing new Baja wheels “donated“ from a Hotwheels Real Riders Gonzo’s van.









Our 2nd vehicle Jeep Cherokee is completed with a row boat trailer.









The 3rd vehicle Chevy Tahoe is completed along with a Dollar Tree trailer with Matchbox’s Sea Spy water vehicle. A guide pin was also added to the trailer.









After approval and payment was received, the National Parks Agency commisioned our shop to refurbish their garage.









End of Part 1. We thought the job was completed but the Agency commissioned more vehicles.


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox National Parks Vehicles to TYCO US1 conversion Part 2*

The National Parks Agency was satisfied with the prior three SUVs, three trailers and a garage but they wanted MORE! The Agency requested four more vehicles.








>









Made custom sticky decals with Avery Clear Gloss 6521 Address labels in a laser color printer. This way I can print a few decals at a time instead of wasting a full sheet to print a couple of decals. There are 30 labels per sheet.

TYCO CJ7 Jeep stripped and repainted in National Parks‘ mint color.









They needed an Emergency van for the Park Ranger.



















Dump Truck










Semi Truck is completed but we put their request for a long flatbed trailer on the end of the job queue.









Here’s all the completed vehicles for National Parks.


























End of part 2.

There will be several more National Parks vehicles in the future but The Mod Shop needs to work on other customs on the job queue. The Agency turned 1 vehicle request into a massive build of 7 vehicles, 3 trailers and a garage.


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

You build some good stuff...just how many of those garages do you have...??? RM


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## tjetken

Hilltop Raceway said:


> You build some good stuff...just how many of those garages do you have...??? RM


Thanks! How many garages? Hmm. Ahh,, hmm. I have been hoarding for the last 3 years to accumulate TYCO US1 items on EBAY to modify.

I have the following garages to modify.
6 Red Firehouses
1 just a base with no building
2 Exxons (I don’t think I should modify these)

I have a list of items to customized and I also have a another list of TYCO US1 inventory that can be modified.


----------



## XracerHO

Your builds are very interesting & like how your trucks are part of a garage. Keep on trucking!


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Your builds are very interesting & like how your trucks are part of a garage. Keep on trucking!


Thanks! I like the garages because of the switch track. I try to buy extra ones when they are available on ebay for a decent price. I like it also because it makes the collection of vehicles more complete.

For non TYCO US1 collectors, the garage switch track (one inside the garage and one slotcar on the outside) can store 2 slotcars and as one backs up into the garage, the 2nd slotcar car drives out. This way you can have 2 cars that shares a lane one at a time and can keep switching vehicles whenever you like.


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## tjetken

*Waste Management Trucks onto the TYCO US1 slot car chassis.*

I saw an EBAYER from Canada selling custom Waste Management garbage and dump trucks but they were priced out of my budget so I created my own version a couple of years ago. I created the garage last year.


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## XracerHO

Great WM trucks & station, really like the printed WM insignia & cautions signs. Your diorama looks so good a pic should be sent to WM head office! Keep on building & posting. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great WM trucks & station, really like the printed WM insignia & cautions signs. Your diorama looks so good a pic should be sent to WM head office! Keep on building & posting. ..RL


Thanks! I really enjoyed making the WM vehicles.

I have been burnt out for the last 5 months and have not work on anything especially after the large National Park build. In the meantime before I get motivated again, I wanted to post my remaining completed customs.


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## christos_s

Very nice models after lots of work! congrats. Apart from the cars you set these up with customized (?) environments - I just read that the sheds are Tyco models modified! - and custom track (the split track leading to the sheds is also a Tyco production piece?) and get the nice images you share.
Question: so most of these actually run on a track, if not to race, handling well enough to cruise around a long complicated layout without derailing or hickups?


----------



## christos_s

tjetken said:


> My 1st and 2nd TYCO US1 Dump Truck conversions.
> 
> For the past several days, the Mod Shop has been very busy working until 2-3am on vehicles on the long waiting list. I will share pics when each are completed.
> 
> In the meantime, here are my first two TYCO US1 customs. I got the ideal for the fuel truck from an EBAY seller named “jeep* something that made a lot of his custom trucks with Hotwheels and Matchbox plastic parts. He got me started into US1 customs with plastic parts from diecasts. I then started buying TONS of Hotwheels and Matchbox with usable plastic bits. Unfortunately, these were older diecast vehicles and available on EBAY at high prices. Buying a “used lot’ of these trucks cut down on cost. XracerHO got me into my first diecast conversions starting with the Hotwheels Batmobile.
> 
> This fuel tanker is from a 2006 Matchbox Utility Truck Aviation Fuel. The US1 dump truck was the typical green dumpster truck which used be for $12-$16 with chassis on EBAY but NO MORE. Even these green ones are going for $30-$40 each with chassis.
> 
> I used stock Testors Aztec airbrush paints with a cheap starter Paasche airbrush kit. You know the red plastic airbrush as pictured below.This was my the first time airbrushing and didn’t want to spend money on a better airbrush. After a couple of customs, I purchased the Paaache H single action which is good for me. It is very simple like the starter airbrush and it is easy to use and to clean.
> 
> View attachment 317956
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 317948
> 
> View attachment 317949
> 
> 
> View attachment 317950
> 
> 
> I just started collecting the original TYCO US1 vehicles about 4-5 years ago and I wanted to collect everything. At the time, I couldn’t justified spending about $100-$120 for the lighted white dump truck with the brown dumpster. I decided to make an inspired one first. I know it can’t beat the original but it is just plastic and airbrush paint. If it is no good then soak it in the Super Clean “purple pond” and start over!
> 
> View attachment 317951
> 
> 
> For non TYCO US1 collectors, I labeled the original in the pic below. US1 collectors all know which one is the fake.
> 
> View attachment 317952
> 
> 
> It was my first time painting stripes and oh what a pain! I had to touch up 6-7 times and the stripes are still wonky. I kept saying to myself, “it’s good enough”. Having something is better than having nothing, so I lived with it. About a year later, I purchased the original for I think $160.
> View attachment 317953
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 317954


Great craftsmanship again! Sorry... not familiar with Tyco chassis! there is a chassis with front and back pickup shoes and 2 guide pins?
Is it this, in the image below :










Reviewing your work more I see the parts - yes it's this chassis in most if not all(?) cases - and I see a whole imaginative world you've built up around the parts. Wow!
Do you just work - display - showcase, or actually run these on a home track of yours?
You actually sell these? or keep?


----------



## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Very nice models after lots of work! congrats. Apart from the cars you set these up with customized (?) environments - I just read that the sheds are Tyco models modified! - and custom track (the split track leading to the sheds is also a Tyco production piece?) and get the nice images you share.
> Question: so most of these actually run on a track, if not to race, handling well enough to cruise around a long complicated layout without derailing or hickups?


Thanks! All of my vehicles and trucks run fine on a track. I have a small little oval track to test them and to test the action station functions too. The TYCO US-1 chassis are made to go forward/backwards and are designed to go much slower than a normal TYCO chassis due to the motor and gear ratio. Also, there are metal weights on the front and back of the chassis to ensure a proper weight to allow it to run. If the vehicle is too light then the tires will spin in place. The US-1 chassis is not meant for speed. I am not into racing them so I don’t have a big track layout nor I have room for one. I do display my collection of original US-1 and customs vehicles in a glass/plastic display case.

All the action stations, trailer terminals and split tracks are original TYCO products. I repainted the action stations and trailer terminals for a specific theme.

Check out this website for the *original US-1 Trucking vehicles and action stations*.
https://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycous1trucking/id1.html

Check out this youtube video below for many cool US-1 customs. These customs are quite amazing and I want to clone them for my collection. For example, the missile loader is very cool and was was adapted from the TYCO trains. I did purchase this loader from ebay a few years ago.
“*Tiny Tim’s US 1 Trucking and trains w/custom features*”





This video also have many custom military vehicles that inspired me to make my own versions.
*“TYCO US 1 Electric Trucking Transcontinental Rail and Road Empire”*





Also, you can *search on youtube for* *“tyco us1”* for many more videos.


----------



## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Great craftsmanship again! Sorry... not familiar with Tyco chassis! there is a chassis with front and back pickup shoes and 2 guide pins?
> Is it this, in the image below :
> 
> View attachment 322869
> 
> 
> Reviewing your work more I see the parts - yes it's this chassis in most if not all(?) cases - and I see a whole imaginative world you've built up around the parts. Wow!
> Do you just work - display - showcase, or actually run these on a home track of yours?
> You actually sell these? or keep?


Yes, this is the TYCO US-1 chassis with the double pins and long pickup shoe. This is a great diagram for it.

Thanks for the compliment!..but there are many people that inspired me and many of my customs are clones of what I saw for sale on ebay, on the youtube videos and on websites. I did make some unique customs.

Sorry!!! I DO NOT SELL since I put my heart and soul into each custom. I spent so much time and effort into each one and they are my children. I told my wife that if I do have a double (which I doubt because making one is difficult enough) then I would want a MINIMUM of $200-$250 for a highly customized vehicle such as my CAT Dust Control or WM garbage trucks. That’s asking a lot of money but I spend too much time on them. That is why I make my own because I can’t afford to spend $75-$225 on ebay for each custom. Check out “*morrris99” on ebay*. He occasionally makes fantastic customs to sell. In fact, I recently purchased a set of *AFX* *MASH 4077* vehicles from him on ebay. These 2 vehicles never made it to production but there is an official poster of them. morrris99 reproduced them! I could make the military vehicles BUT I can‘t make a white toner decal of “MASH 4077”. Sometimes, I need to pay up for a custom that I like. He also made a couple Bell telephone vans and it sold for over $200 each time. I lost out each time with my max bid of $175. I need to make my own version but it won’t be a good as his!!!

Check out this website for more fantastic customs. I think he is “morrris99”.
Tyco Custom Slot cars and US 1


----------



## christos_s

tjetken said:


> Sorry!!! I DO NOT SELL


Lol... Ok my friend, clear!
It was your story with the National Parks commission, which I believed and the level of your craftsmanship, that got me thinking you may be professional.
Thanks for all the info!! Stunning video, the first one especially


----------



## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Lol... Ok my friend, clear!
> It was your story with the National Parks commission, which I believed and the level of your craftsmanship, that filled me to think you may be professional.
> Thanks for all the info!! Stunning video, the first one especially


😄 Thanks but I am FAR FROM A PROFESSIONAL!! I am just a retired Computer IT guy with a lot time to kill. I am not artistic and I have never used an airbrush before 5 years ago. I use an airbrush like a can of spray paint and anyone can do what I do. I keep on repainting a vehicle or re-doing decals until they look kind of decent. If my paint job is bad then I soak it in the “purple pond (Purple Power or Super Clean)” to strip the hobby paint and start over again.

The story is just for fun to entertain the readers. Check out the other builders on this modification forum. They create some amazing customs! In fact, they inspire me to take action. They have been doing customs for many more years than me.


----------



## christos_s

Your work and the info you shared with me, inspired me to look into this niche of the slotcar hobby.
All the gadgets! how playful ! intriguing toys.
I also came to think how the trucks, buses and utility vehicles of my youth in Greece during the 60's, differ from the USA of the same period (my youth was shared part Greece, part USA).
The vehicles in Europe were smaller and less powerful and differed in design significantly. In the toy world of slotcars and diorama scenery, Faller a German firm was probably King of continental Europe.
Faller, must have been affiliated at times with Aurora and AMS and though they share many similarities (scale,track, chassis), their design reflects the particularities of continental Europe. 
I just found out that Faller, had a whole lineup of trucks and utility with related scenery and accessories.

You may enjoy images from their lineup and there is plenty that goes around still : enter Ebay.de (German) and search for "Faller AMS LKW" . LKW in German are the trucks and heavy utility vehicles.
Below are a couple I found exciting:









This bus is very close to what a public bus in Athens looked like, during my school years. (very different to a NY bus)










A restored Falled euro-style truck, original is brand Bussing. This guy does restoring and adds led lighting. Bussing, Hanomag, Mercedes-Benz-Daimler, Volvo.








200 Classic Trucks (European) ideas in 2022 | classic trucks, trucks, old trucks


Jun 2, 2022 - Explore Rob Offerman's board "Classic Trucks (European)", followed by 820 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about classic trucks, trucks, old trucks.




nl.pinterest.com


----------



## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Your work and the info you shared with me, inspired me to look into this niche of the slotcar hobby.
> All the gadgets! how playful ! intriguing toys.
> I also came to think how the trucks, buses and utility vehicles of my youth in Greece during the 60's, differ from the USA of the same period (my youth was shared part Greece, part USA).
> The vehicles in Europe were smaller and less powerful and differed in design significantly. In the toy world of slotcars and diorama scenery, Faller a German firm was probably King of continental Europe.
> Faller, must have been affiliated at times with Aurora and AMS and though they share many similarities (scale,track, chassis), their design reflects the particularities of continental Europe.
> I just found out that Faller, had a whole lineup of trucks and utility with related scenery and accessories.
> 
> You may enjoy images from their lineup and there is plenty that goes around still : enter Ebay.de (German) and search for "Faller AMS LKW" . LKW in German are the trucks and heavy utility vehicles.
> Below are a couple I found exciting:
> View attachment 322891
> 
> 
> This bus is very close to what a public bus in Athens looked like, during my school years. (very different to a NY bus)
> 
> View attachment 322892
> 
> 
> A restored Falled euro-style truck, original is brand Bussing. This guy does restoring and adds led lighting. Bussing, Hanomag, Mercedes-Benz-Daimler, Volvo.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 200 Classic Trucks (European) ideas in 2022 | classic trucks, trucks, old trucks
> 
> 
> Jun 2, 2022 - Explore Rob Offerman's board "Classic Trucks (European)", followed by 820 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about classic trucks, trucks, old trucks.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> nl.pinterest.com


THANKS for sharing info on Faller and glad you are still enjoying the slot car hobby. Life is short and having a passion with anything is extremely important to pass the time. I like your pics of the bus and the truck with lights. I wish I purchased more back then. Since Faller were double the price compared with TJETS when I was collecting many decades ago, I only have a few. I have a Cadillac and several Mercedes which are among my favorites slot cars.

I also love the Bauer slot cars but I sadly don’t have any. They are very expensive now (avg way over $125 for each) but the detail is just incredibile.

I also just look at your ebay listings and I just love the so many faller available!


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## XracerHO

*tjetken*
Agree & follow your building practices, the passion of the hobby and enjoy driving the creations around the track. Plus the building & landscaping a small track for the created vehicles. Also your builds have inspired me as have other contributors to this site. This is a great hobby so keep building & viewing . ..RL


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## christos_s

Ken hi,
I was thinking maybe I could buy a Euro pull toy truck and convert it... you inspired this! Are there tyco US1 trucking chassis available?
What is the wheelbase of the Tyco US1 chassis, on axis? (in mm preferably or inches)
I understand there are 3 alternative positions for the front axle?
Thanks!


----------



## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Ken hi,
> I was thinking maybe I could buy a Euro pull toy truck and convert it... you inspired this! Are there tyco US1 trucking chassis available?
> What is the wheelbase of the Tyco US1 chassis, on axis? (in mm preferably or inches)
> I understand there are 3 alternative positions for the front axle?
> Thanks!


Hi Christos_s,

I guess I caused trouble for you! The TYCO US-1 chassis are available only as used/pre-owned and I buy them from ebay.com. You can use any chassis you have available if you can’t locate a US-1 one.

The TYCO US-1 chassis only has one fix axle to axle length of 43mm. There is a front weight that snaps into the front chassis and it has a pass thru for the front axle. Using a mini drill press, I have drilled a new hole 3mm forward to lengthen and 3mm backwards to shorten the chassis but you will have to pop the weight up to allow the new position of the axles.

The AFX and AutoWorld 4-Gears chassis has 3 position for the front axles. The middle position is similar to the US-1 wheel base.

Here are some pics of the US-1 chassis and let me know if you need any other info.

wheelbase is about 43mm









The width of the bottom of the chassis is about 26.82mm. The bottom has edges on each side.









Overll length is 61.52mm










Width of rear tire to rear tire is 35.32mm









The thickness of the chassis with the rear weight is 15.95mm









A pic of side and top of chassis


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## tjetken

*To electrify a HOTWHEELS Metal Body Tail Gunner Pickup Truck with a TYCO US1 chassis Part 1*

I started this project in May of 2020 and it is still in progress but I want to share to get myself to complete the two trucks. I will need to paint them but stay tune for the colors.










Added various plastic to the diecast body to keep it level on the chassis. Created custom styrene clips to attach chassis to diecast body.









Here is the final stance. There is enough room for a Stomper chassis or larger tires for an offroad look. This metal body is perfect for a TYCO US1 chassis that is missing the rear weight like my chassis below.










Hopefully, this post will inspire myself to paint them SOON. Unfortunately, in my world, SOON is ALL relative. It can be days to months


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## tjetken

*IDEAL TCR MK1 slotless chassis mounted on Radio Shacks’ ZIP ZAP Plastic Bodies (part 1)*

I received an Ultra 5 slotless race set as a kid and it was a major disappointment! The cars never ran from day one. I lost all hope on slotless and stuck with the slotted cars. After I completed the majority of my TYCO US1 vehicle collection 5 years ago, I purchased an IDEAL slotless race set from ebay with MK1 chassis. With a bit of cleaning, I got the cars running very well. This started my slotless car collecting obsession. The IDEAL bodies were quite frankly very boring. I collected many of the Radio Shack ZIP ZAPS that appear in 2002 to use as slotcar bodies in the future. These bodies are very detailed and are 1/64 scale. They fit the AFX/Auto World 4-Gears chassis with the wheel base at the shortest setting. The IDEAL MK1 wheelbase is similar to the 4-Gears middle setting And some ZIP ZAP bodies will be too short. These ZIP ZAPs onto MK1chassis conversions were completed about 3-4 years ago. The ZIP ZAPS bodies are available on ebay. I try to pay no more than $10 per body and the rare ones are much more. Auctions with many bodies are cheaper.

Here are some of my ZIP ZAPS.









This picture shows that the 4-Gears chassis at the shortest setting fits the ZIP ZAP body very well.









This picture shows the custom front and rear styrene mounts to attach the IDEAL MK1 chassis to the ZIP ZAP body without any modifications to the body. There is a slot at the front and rear of the ZIP ZAP body.









Here are the ZIP ZAP Trucks with the IDEAL MK1 slotless chassis. Some truck bodies fit better because of the longer wheelbase. The Silver Ford Pickup‘s wheelbase at front right is a bit too short but I rather have something than nothing!









Mustangs









Yenko Camaro, Camaro SS, more Camaros and a GTO









Transformers and James Bond vehicles









Fast and the Furious









honda S2000, 2 Challenger, Herbie









Chevy SS, GT40 , GT500 and a Honda S2000


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice! I like your showroom as well. I may have a version of the micro RC C5 I but dont remember it being called a Zip Zap. Also adding the Xmods '58 to the bucket list of 'Vettes.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice! I like your showroom as well. I may have a version of the micro RC C5 I but dont remember it being called a Zip Zap. Also adding the Xmods '58 to the bucket list of 'Vettes.


Thanks! I got the showroom used and built from ebay.

Starting in 2002 it was called Zip Zaps. In 2008, Radio Shack rebranded them as XMODS Micro RC.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZipZaps



I am also looking for all zip zaps american muscle cars.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Thanks for the additional information and link! 🤙


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## tjetken

*IDEAL TCR MK1 slotless chassis mounted on Radio Shacks’ ZIP ZAP bodies (part 2 Final)*

This part 2 post will show the custom front, rear clips and underside of the chassis with screws to hold these clips In place. To assemble, I install the chassis with the front clip into the front slot on the body first. Then I pull and bend the rear of the body to insert the rear clip into the rear slot.










The front and rear clips are made from many layers of styrene sheets. Using various thicknesses of 0.5mm, 1mm,1.5mm and 2mm, I can make a custom clip to get the correct stance. Since most zip zap chassis are standard the clips are pretty much the same thickness for all of my vehicles. The clips are held by a small screw from the bottom of the chassis.

Here’s a pic of the front clip.









Here is a pic of the rear clip.









Top view to see both clips.









A pic of the rear clip attached to the rear slot.









another pic of the rear clip









a pic of the front clip. The styrene is black color so it is difficult to see it clearly.


----------



## XracerHO

Very impressive mounting of Zip Zap bodies onto slot car chassis. Will check The Source in Canada (formerly Radio Shack) now to see if stocked. ThK for info & great viewing. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Very impressive mounting of Zip Zap bodies onto slot car chassis. Will check The Source in Canada (formerly Radio Shack) now to see if stocked. ThK for info & great viewing. ..RL


Thanks! I just checked zip zaps available in Canada‘s ebay. Unfortunately, for Canadians that many ZIP ZAPS are from the US and shipping is expensive. Radio Shack discontinued them over a decade ago. It would be interesting if the Source has some other brand of micro RC 1/64 cars. When we used to drive to Old Quebec City from NYC every 1-2 years, I would visit The Source for 1/28 XMODS and the tiny comic shop there for action figures in the old city on Rue Saint-Jean if I recall correctly.






zip zaps for sale | eBay


Find great deals on eBay for zip zaps. Shop with confidence.



www.ebay.ca


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## XracerHO

Thk for info & all US hobby items are expensive in Canada due to exchange rate & high shipping costs. Always enjoyed making the trip to the Richfield, Ohio Slot car Show & hope to make it again when & if the border & show opens again. ...RL


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## tjetken

*These are Custom AFX MASH 4077 Vehicles from EBAY seller morrris99. *

I purchased them a couple of months ago. Since I don’t have a white toner printer to make the decals on clear decal paper, I have to pay up for other people’s hard work.

He recreated reproductions of two vehicles on an AFX flyer that were supposedly never produced.

Here’s pic from the worthpoint site.









They are both AFX bodies on AFX chassis. The van is a 4 Gears chassis.


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## tjetken

*Purchased my first military custom on a TYCO US1 chassis from an EBAY seller.*

Highwayman97 from the UK on a TYCO trains forum (link below) posted on June 29, 2018 photos of his military TYCO US1 customs painted with Tamiya olive drab paint and it inspired me to create my own military customs. Thanks to him for sharing his ideas and knowledge!!



Tyco Trains



Before I created my own military customs, I purchased a TYCO US1 customized missile launcher in olive drab pictured below from an EBAY seller to basically school myself. I needed to pay up for my 1st education lesson. I don’t remember the EBAY seller’s name. I paid around $75 and it also inspired/forced me to make my own since I can’t afford to keep buying custom works from EBAY.

It is a military missile launcher on TYCO US1 truck body and US1 chassis. The trailer is also TYCO US1 with a HO missile launcher attached which is available on EBAY. I also purchased these parts to repaint them in GI Joe Cobra Blue for the enemy. It has been on my custom list for YEARS! I may get to it one day should I get inspired to start.


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## XracerHO

Very nice work on the Military Missile launcher & acquisitions of MASH Van & Jeep. They all look great in front of the Motor Pool building & enjoyed link you posted.
Using Tamiya olive drab, I too painted the AFX Van, Jeep & Blazer but also lacked the printer to do the white decals. Some day to be finished.
Info: the same pic of the proposed MASH set was in the Aurora AFX 1983 catalogue.


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Very nice work on the Military Missile launcher & acquisitions of MASH Van & Jeep. They all look great in front of the Motor Pool building & enjoyed link you posted.
> Using Tamiya olive drab, I too painted the AFX Van, Jeep & Blazer but also lacked the printer to do the white decals. Some day to be finished.
> Info: the same pic of the proposed MASH set was in the Aurora AFX 1983 catalogue.


Thanks but I didn’t make the Military Missile launcher in olive drab. It was also an ebay acquisition. I did buy components to make one in Cobra blue but I never started that project yet.

Thanks for the info on the Mash set. I would want to make an AFX Blazer in olive drab just to add to the custom set I purchased from morrris99 but my decals would not like nice from a regular non white toner laser printer.

Too bad companies can’t or won’t make an affordable white toner laser printer!


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## tjetken

*The Hotwheels plastic body Rescue Truck converted to the TYCO US1 Chassis Slotcar.*

I just completed this conversion this evening and it took about 2-3 hours. I had to hack away the body posts and interior to make room for the chassis. The most time spent was using a jeweler’s saw to hack off the front metal bumper.




















Mark the chassis where it lines up with the tyco US1 front mount points in order to cut a slot on each side of the body. I used a 19mm cutting disc from Harbor Freight. This is the smallest diamond cutter disc I can find in the US. I see the guys in the *Jakarta Diecast Project on youtube *from overseas and they use a 10mm diamond disc cutter which is a better size.


























Used hot melt to glue in the bumper, windshield and rear interior pieces.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice conversion! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice conversion! 🤙





Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice conversion! 🤙


Thanks! I just noticed that I forgot 2 pics of how I cut the two slots for the front mount point and what to grind off on each support posts. I just added these pics back to the post above.


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## XracerHO

Great conversion on HW Rescue Truck, will keep watching the diecast pegs for it! Constantly review pegs for Plastic bodies, HW Hummer is all plastic! There was a thread for listing any plastic bodied diecast. Appreciate you sharing your conversion method. ..RL










Don't for get the Dollar store: Zuru Plastic Bodied series, one above shown mounted on AW 4 gear chassis! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great conversion on HW Rescue Truck, will keep watching the diecast pegs for it! Constantly review pegs for Plastic bodies, HW Hummer is all plastic! There was a thread for listing any plastic bodied diecast. Appreciate you sharing your conversion method. ..RL
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't for get the Dollar store: Zuru Plastic Bodied series, one above shown mounted on AW 4 gear chassis! ..RL


Thanks!! I actually did get the original Zuru Plastic bodies entire 1st series set after I saw your posts! I never did any Zuru conversions yet because I am still obsessed with the TYCO US1 chassis. I have many more projects than time…

I did check the Dollar store at the time of your post but I wasn‘t successful. I did buy the entire set from ebay at a decent price. Nothing beats a DOLLAR but I missed the boat.

Please let me know if you happen to have that plastic body thread. I just did a search and I will search some more. I will update the title of the post to include’plastic body’.


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## Milton Fox Racing

I can also change the thread title up for you to be The 'Plastic Body' Mod Shop if you want. IIRC you have done some metal body conversions as well. And just mentioning the type of body you start with - within a post title will make it a searchable data point anyway by relevance. Our system requires you to request a thread title change in a post or by report. So if you want something different post it here, PM (conversation) me or use the report button. 🤟


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> I can also change the thread title up for you to be The 'Plastic Body' Mod Shop if you want. IIRC you have done some metal body conversions as well. And just mentioning the type of body you start with - within a post title will make it a searchable data point anyway by relevance. Our system requires you to request a thread title change in a post or by report. So if you want something different post it here, PM (conversation) me or use the report button. 🤟


Great idea! I just edited the thread title and I renamed it to “*The Mod Shop - 1/64 Plastic Body & Diecast to Slot Car Customs/Conversions”*


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## tjetken

*IDEAL TCR or Slot car Bodies onto the TYCO US1 chassis.*

To convert the IDEAL bodies for the TYCO US1 chassis is very straight forward.









Here are 2 of the IDEAL vans. Of course, I did it the hard way for the black van before I found an easier solution for the yellow van. The styrene strip for the yellow van is 0.5mm thin and is held in place with super glue.









Here’s an IDEAL white Jeep the hard way using a custom TYCO mount which needs to be glued precisely.









Here’s an IDEAL orange Jeep the easy way.









Here’s an IDEAL Police car the easy way. The height of the rear metal weight of the TYCO chassis keeps the police car body from moving up and down. It is a tight fit.









Here’s an IDEAL pickup truck the hard way. I guess the easy way would be to glue strips of styrene on both sides like I did with the yellow van above and have the bumper tabs hold the chassis in place.

Note: I just recalled that I also had to grind down the left and right side of the pickup truck body where the bottom of the exhaust is attached to make room for the TYCO US1 chassis.









Here’s an IDEAL Corvette that I was too lazy to get the TYCO US1 mounted more securely so that the body would not lift up. It won’t come off but the body may be up and down when touched with force. The orig IDEAL tabs are quite tight and will fit the TYCO chassis quite snug.


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## XracerHO

Nice conversions ! *tjetken : *the Plastic Diecast post started by Hilltop is halfway down on Page 5 not much action recently but could give you some ideas & post HW RESCUE truck pic. Hope this helps..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Nice conversions ! *tjetken : *the Plastic Diecast post started by Hilltop is halfway down on Page 5 not much action recently but could give you some ideas & post HW RESCUE truck pic. Hope this helps..RL


XracerHO, Thanks! No action since 2015, so sad! I guess most ppl retired, just lost interest or use a different forum/facebook.

I will definitely check it out to do some ebay shopping on the plastic bodies, I missed.

I just found it and here’s the link








Plastic Diecast


I've been looking for the HW Color Changer VW drag van since seeing it on page 25 here . Any leads as to how rare these are ? Gonzo




www.hobbytalk.com


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Metal Body Land Rover Defender 110 on TYCO US1 chassis conversion.*

I purchased this over a year ago. Yesterday, I finally motivated myself to start it. I figured out how to mount it onto the TYCO US1 chassis. No custom clip needed. Just friction snug fit. The most difficult part was to cut up the plastic interior to save the fenders and to hack off the metal bumpers with a jeweler’s saw. I should consider casting these cut up fenders and the bumpers and make them out of resin for the future 4 new Hotwheels Defenders 110 conversions.

This will be my street version with regular tires. For my 2nd version, I want to use the larger off road tires that came with the diecast. This may be a challenge for me since there is no room for a regular side clip I am used to making but I will figure something out.

To me, this diecast just looks so good.










































































Here are my other Defenders to convert onto a TYCO US1 chassis.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice conversion! Looking forward to the next one. 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice conversion! Looking forward to the next one. 🤙


Thanks! I gotta keep the momentum going otherwise I will procrastinate. Analysis paralysis is a major issue for me. Trying to find the best solution that I end up with nothing completed. So, these days I need to say having something is better than nothing!


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## christos_s

tjetken said:


> Here’s an IDEAL Corvette that I was too lazy to get the TYCO US1 mounted more securely so that the body would not lift up. It won’t come off but the body may be up and down when touched with force. The orig IDEAL tabs are quite tight and will fit the TYCO chassis quite snug.


Hi Ken!
Interesting conversion process!
Personally, I don't like the corvette or the police car - or any "normal", low car riding high like it must, to get the truck chassis. Is there any reason to do it? (like better power, handling, etc?)
On the trucks, vans, jeeps US1 looks ideal.


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## christos_s

tjetken said:


> *The Hotwheels plastic body Rescue Truck converted to the TYCO US1 Chassis Slotcar.*
> 
> I just completed this conversion this evening and it took about 2-3 hours. I had to hack away the body posts and interior to make room for the chassis. The most time spent was using a jeweler’s saw to hack off the front metal bumper.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mark the chassis where it lines up with the tyco US1 front mount points in order to cut a slot on each side of the body. I used a 16mm cutting disc from Harbor Freight. This is the smallest diamond cutter disc I can find in the US. I see the guys in the *Jakarta Diecast Project on youtube *from overseas and they use a 10mm diamond disc cutter which is a better size.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Used hot melt to glue in the bumper, windshield and rear interior pieces.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 325486
> 
> 
> View attachment 325482
> 
> 
> View attachment 325487


Love the shop prop!!
Everything about it: all the tools and cabinets, benches and most of all the false perspective (the side walls opened out). Pretty! and drives too <--- should be your motto...


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## christos_s

christos_s said:


> Love the shop prop!!
> Everything about it: all the tools and cabinets, benches and most of all the false perspective (the side walls opened out). Pretty! and drives too <--- should be your motto...


Btw Ken, I (being a Tjet pancake fan) only very recently bought my first Tyco formula 1 car. Loved the detail on it... then bought two more... now wishing I can collect all the formula series cars. Gets expensive doesn't it?
I noticed one of the formula's came originally with a mechanic's "booth" including a figure and accessories.


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Love the shop prop!!
> Everything about it: all the tools and cabinets, benches and most of all the false perspective (the side walls opened out). Pretty! and drives too <--- should be your motto...


Haha! The folding walls are to hid my mess on my work space. The goal is to set up a permanent display/garage like several members (XracerHO, Hilltop Raceway, etc) in this forum but I doubt I can make it as nice as theirs. With a permanent garage/display, I hope to take better pictures with a more “realistic” background.


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Btw Ken, I (being a Tjet pancake fan) only very recently bought my first Tyco formula 1 car. Loved the detail on it... then bought two more... now wishing I can collect all the formula series cars. Gets expensive doesn't it?
> I noticed one of the formula's came originally with a mechanic's "booth" including a figure and accessories.


This hobby can get expensive but you only live once so enjoy if you can. I have been collecting diorama accessories and figures for about a year now. I just have to setup my display if I stop procrastinating….


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## Milton Fox Racing

You all know the scalable adage of how to make a small fortune in racing, right?





Start with a bigger one!


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Hi Ken!
> Interesting conversion process!
> Personally, I don't like the corvette or the police car - or any "normal", low car riding high like it must, to get the truck chassis. Is there any reason to do it? (like better power, handling, etc?)
> On the trucks, vans, jeeps US1 looks ideal.


Yes, I agree that the vette and police car‘s stance sits higher but it doesn’t bother me. Many guys like the perfect stance. It can drop a few more mm by removing the metal weight at the rear. I am still on my TYCO US1 chassis obsession so I want to see what other bodies can fit this chassis. This is the only chassis I have that can go backwards and forwards on the track and that is why I try so many custom bodies with this chassis. The US1 chassis are not made for speed and the handling is fine due to the heavier weight by design.

Many of these US1 chassis needs the metal weight in order to run otherwise the chassis will run in place if it is too light. I just found a US1 chassis that can run without a rear weight for the IDEAL police to show a better stance. I think it looks pretty good now so thanks for your comments. I may need to enlarge the rear wheel well a bit for a better centered fit/look. I also just took a pic with 3 original TYCO US1 cars to show the factory stance in them for comparison. The new lower stance of the police car is pretty much in-line with the original US1 vehicles now.









I also re-tried this no weight chassis on the IDEAL corvette but the front hood of the body is too low profile and it won’t lower the stance on the vette any more.

What about a different chassis? I did a quick test with an Auto World 4-Gears chassis and the stance looks very nice But I can’t run it on my TYCO US1 track where it is required to go backwards to a 2 lane switch track station. That is why I can live with a higher stance. TYCO made so little cars and trucks (dump, semi and pickup) for the US1 sets but it makes me happy seeing my different customs on this track.

The IDEAL post is to bring some attention to the IDEAL bodies when not too many people write about them. I leave it up to the people to customize it with the chassis of their choice.


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## Milton Fox Racing

The Corvette looks more like a funny car in that stance. To me the rear end looks right but both fenders should be at the same height to look right. And have realitively the same tire sizes front and back up to the late C4s. And then it was only a difference of one inch front to back. But that is the proper look with the smaller front tire! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> The Corvette looks more like a funny car in that stance. To me the rear end looks right but both fenders should be at the same height to look right. And have realitively the same tire sizes front and back up to the late C4s. And then it was only a difference of one inch front to back. But that is the proper look with the smaller front tire! 🤙


I agree with the vette enthusiast! That was just a quick temporary mockup this morning for a test fit. I wish I had another chassis with same size front and rear tires for another comparison. The Ideal Vette body’s front wheel well is too big. It definitely looks much nicer with the 4 gears than with the US1 chassis! Hem, I think I should permanently make it a 4 gears chassis mount now! This is an extra vette bodies anyway. Another car to put onto the LIST!


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## christos_s

tjetken said:


> The IDEAL post is to bring some attention to the IDEAL bodies when not too many people write about them. I leave it up to the people to customize it with the chassis of their choice.


Interesting chassis. Ken looking for info on these, I believe you mean MK1, 2, 3 (not "MR")


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> Interesting chassis. Ken looking for info on these, I believe you mean MK1, 2, 3 (not "MR")


Thanks for catching that! Yes, MK* and not MR. I just fixed the texts on those IDEAL pics.


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## christos_s

What do you think Ken, should I bid 15 euros for this? You're the guru of trucks.
It needs repair but that's fun. Doesn't every race track need one?? Pit-side


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> What do you think Ken, should I bid 15 euros for this? You're the guru of trucks.
> It needs repair but that's fun. Doesn't every race track need one?? Pit-side


15 euros or $17 US dollars is a very good price for a repair truck. A working one is $50-65 dollars. since I am a hoarder, I purchased a set of these fire trucks chassis for repair. I want to repaint one in Yellow and maybe another in US Army olive drab.

As you may know that these TYCO US1 trucks parts are very specific to the firetruck and you will be out of luck if any of these parts are missing.

*Here are pictures of a complete one for your reference. *

It is pretty cool how in 1987 ish that this firetruck was engineered to have flashing lights (using an alternating lob gear to turn the electric on and off as the gears turn) instead of a current modern blinking LED light.




































*End of pics of an original working firetruck.

Start of my custom rear gear repair.*
On one of my ”for repair” fire truck, it was missing the small gear (8 teeth) rear hubs on both sides. I had to fabricate one from an extra 8 teeth gear for my Radio Shack XMODS RC cars. I had to hack off the 8 teeth gear from my RC car parts and then superglue it to the plain rear hub on the driver side of the firetruck.


































*End rear small gear repair.*


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## christos_s

It sold for only 11.5 euros and I missed the bid but a stood mistake of mine... I'm disappointed
Thanks for all the explanations!


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## tjetken

christos_s said:


> It sold for only 11.5 euros and I missed the bid but a stood mistake of mine... I'm disappointed
> Thanks for all the explanations!


Don’t fret, there will always be other auction items and put a reminder on your phone. I also missed many without my reminders.


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## tjetken

*Majorette metal body Land Rover Defender 110 converted onto the TYCO US1 “Stomper” slotcar chassis.*

This diecast was very easy to modify to fit onto the TYCO US1 regular chassis with Dr. Oogan reproduction Stomper tires.










Disassemble the diecast. The base is plastic and it’s easy to cut off the front and rear bumpers.
Grind down the interior to make room for the slotcar motor and cut a hole for the rear metal weight of the TYCO US1 chassis. The wheels are rubber and can be used on the slotcar but I want the STOMPER look.



















Made custom side clips out of 0.5mm black styrene. Drill new axle holes in the chassis as forward as possible to lengthen the wheel base. Note that the front weight will now stick up at the front since the axle is not in it’s orginal location.









*For final assembly:*

I first installed the interior back into the metal orange body and hot melt the bumpers on. I placed the side clips onto each side of the slotcar chassis. I put a bead of hot melt on both sides along the black interior and the body for the length of the side clips. I quickly place the slotcar chassis with the side clips attached into the beads of hot melt to attach it to the body. Make sure the wheels are aligned with the opening of the body. I had to work quickly before the hot melt cools down.



































Below is the stance of the new custom Majorette Defender 110 and an original TYCO STOMPER truck. The Dr. Oogan reproduction STOMPER tires on orange truck on the left are a bit smaller than the original tires on the right.










Here’s the bottom pic of the new custom truck after all parts are assembled.










For the extra orange Defender, I will customized it with a street stance. The orange trucks were purchased from Target recently. The green Defender is not easily available and I purchased it from ebay. Hobby Lobby had the green defender picture on the website but I couldn’t find one in the store. I haven’t decided if the green Defender will have a street stance or a STOMPER stance. The street stance will be an easier mod since, I don’t have to modify the black plastic interior since it won’t fit with a lower stance. If I manage to find an other green one then I will make them in a street and a STOMPER stance.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice lift conversion! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice lift conversion! 🤙


Thanks! This was a fun one to convert.


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## XracerHO

Very Nice conversion & your original Tyco Stomper truck is a very rare vehicle! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Very Nice conversion & your original Tyco Stomper truck is a very rare vehicle! ..RL


Thanks! Yes, this yellow blazer and the green pickup stompers are quite rare. I paid a pretty penny for them. The current bid on ebay for green pickup is $575 and is much more than what I paid a couple of years ago.

For those who are not familiar with the TYCO Stompers, here are all of them.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels ‘67 Jeepster Commando metal body converted to TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

Just completed this project last night. The body was disassembled when purchased a long time ago to test fit over a TYCO US1 chassis. Like so many of my projects, I start them and they end up on the back burner due to an engineering design conversion issue. I couldn’t decide what to do about the TYCO US1 rear metal weight showing thru the cargo area of the diecast body and whether or not to use the interior. Analysis paralysis! Well, I was motivated yesterday and got it done. I am trying to clear out the WIP (Work In Progress) projects as soon as I can UNTIL I get distracted again  ! I also need to stop being so picky and just get something done. Have something is better than nothing…

This 1$ Hotwheels ‘67 Jeepster Commando (‘Earle Motors’) makes a great custom. It is rare that I found something convertable to a slotcar at Target. Many diecast are to narrow for a TYCO US1 chassis. Many times, the shelves are emptied, picked over by collectors or resellers. So many of my customs diecast are from EBAY for a min of $6-$10 Bucks. To me, it is just a very nice diecast and to be able to fit over a wide TYCO US1 chassis is a bonus! To bad I didn’t know of a white one. This diecast is based from Alex Earle’s real ’67 white Jeep Commando but he has a spare tire mounted to the tailgate instead of a silly motorcycle on the diecast. Alex has a trailer to pull his Ducati. When I get this diecast from EBAY in white then I will make a custom jeep hauling a motorcycle on a trailer.











Disassembled the diecast and made custom side clips for the TYCO US1 chassis.
Cut the interior to make room for the motor and rear metal weight.









Test fit interior over the motor and rear metal weight. Used black styrene to cover metal weight in cargo area.


















Cut off the Hotwheels original front and rear bumpers. Glued the bumpers and interior in place. I used hotmelt so that I can remove with 91% IPA if I need to make a do over.

Final assembly: I placed a bead of hotmelt on both side inside the body where the custom side clips meet underneath the interior. I quickly placed the slotcar chassis with the side clips installed into the body. Made alignment adjustment before the glue sets.









All done.









Testing the look and the stance with TYCO US1 original wheels and with 2 different Hotwheels‘ Real Riders rims and rubber tires.








To me, either of the Hotwheels Real Riders‘ rims & tires looks better than the rims from the TYCO US1 chassis.

updated on 2/27/2022: I got the white and baja versions on ebay. Will mod them someday…when I get inspired. So many projects, so little time.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Sounds like you have already found the recolor of the Earle from 2019. They have also put out this blue version in 2020. If you dont like the graphics - an hour soak in Super Clean will remove them!


2020 Hot Wheels #71 Baja Blazers #1 '67 Jeepster Commando by Milton Fox, on Flickr


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Sounds like you have already found the recolor of the Earle from 2019. They have also put out this blue version in 2020. If you dont like the graphics - an hour soak in Super Clean will remove them!
> 
> 
> 2020 Hot Wheels #71 Baja Blazers #1 '67 Jeepster Commando by Milton Fox, on Flickr


I also do like these graphics. I saw this in a lot of all three different ones on ebay. I would put on baja wheels for this color scheme It it would be my first truck to customize for a baja collection.

I just discovered that my ugly Hotwheels 5 pack ’speed blur’ has a ’67 Jeepster commando which I can customize. Originally, I brought it for the 2 plastic bodies. I would re-paint this black #67 truck and customize it as a military jeep with guns. I am still surprised that this little jeep is wide enough to fit a TYCO US1 slotcar chassis. I am going to be on this TYCO US1 obsession for quite a while! I just love that this slotcar chassis that can go backwards and forwards.


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## XracerHO

Great job on the Jeepster Commando conversion & continue with your obsession! The Stomper diorama looks good. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great job on the Jeepster Commando conversion & continue with your obsession! The Stomper diorama looks good. ..RL


😀 Thanks! I have so many Matchbox Chevy Blazer 4x4 diecast to convert to TYCO US1 “Stomper” style trucks.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Metal Body Ford Bronco Ecolab Converted to TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

This is another back burner item that sat on my work in progress queue disassembled for over a year. I just completed this Hotwheels Ford Bronco conversion to a TYCO US1 slotcar chassis. It was quite easy since I didn’t have to modify the interior. With a regular stance, there is no room for it with this bulky slotcar chassis. This metal body has a lot of room and will fit many different chassis.









Disassembled the diecast and cut off the front and rear metal bumpers. Created a custom clip for the slotcar chassis.









Another pic of the custom clip made with styrene.









Glue the bumpers to the body.









Test fit the clip in body for alignment, removed the chassis from clip and glue clip in body.









Here’s a bottom pic after final assembly.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Metal Body Diecast Military Assault Crawler Tank converted to TYCO US1 slotcar Chassis.*

Here’s another of my projects on my back burner for over 2 years. It was disassembled years ago. The original wheel base of the TYCO US1 chassis was too long for this diecast and I didn’t know how to proceed. Also, I didn’t have a dremel cutter small enough to fit in the metal diecast body to notch the rear post. The original Dremel reinforced disc cutter is 30mm wide and it is wider than most diecast bodies. To my knowledge, Dremel doesn‘t have anything reinforced smaller than 30mm. Dremel does have a smaller non-reinfoced cutoff wheel #420 but it can shatter which can be dangerous when cutting metal. Dremel cutting wheel #420 15/16” is designed to cut metal and bolts. I used it many times in the past to cut the metal post. Hold it steady and DON’T wobble otherwise it will shatter in use. One time after I was done, I turned off the Dremel and put it on the floor. When I wanted to use it again, I saw that the disc had cracked and pieces on the floor. Imagined if this happened while the Dremel was on! I read that this may happen in use. I saw that someone on Youtube doubled up with 2 dremel #420 and it was less prone to shattering. I always wear safety glasses but I stopped using #420 2 years ago after that event. Now that I have a full face shield from Harbor Freight, I may consider using #420 again. Within a year ago, I discovered that Harbor Freight has a 19mm dremel cutter and a full face shield. Item #69657, 5 in a pack for $7. Even although the Harbor Freight 19mm is made out of metal, I still wear a full face shield just in case since tiny pieces of metal will fly everywhere when cutting.









Now that I gotten over drilling holes into a stock chassis, I freed myself from such limitations of doing no harm to an original slotcar chassis. Such thinking will leave me with too many unfinished projects.








New wheels will be donated from this Hotwheels Street Fighter Mercedes Unimog. I think this is the only Hotwheels truck that has these rims in olive drab.









Made custom side clips. Cut down the rear post to make room for rear metal weight on the TYCO US1 chassis. Drill new holes for the front axle to shorten the wheel base. Here, I drilled 2 new sets of holes, for short and for the shortest wheel base settings. The project completed pic at the bottom has the front wheels at the shortest wheel base setting but I can increase the wheel base to the short setting anytime.









To me, the original TYCO wheels looks too meek on this military vehicle and I replaced them with more appropriate rims and tires. This vehicle would look good with stomper wheels too. At this moment, I don’t have any spare TYCO front rims for a stomper look. The US1 chassis front axle is 1.2mm and the rear axle is 1.5mm. I used the tiny PCB drill bits starting with 1.1mm and then increase by 0.1mm to hand drill to make the opening on the rims bigger to fit the slotcar axles.









I used hotmelt to glue the slide clips to the metal body. I also kept the front half of the interior and added a front shim to keep the body level. They were hot melt in place. I had to super glued a 1mm shim on rear metal post to raise the height of body to accommodate the larger Hotwheels unimog tires.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Metal Body Mercedes Unimog converted to a TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.*

This was also a back burner item from 2 years ago because I didn’t know how to handle the short wheel base since the TYCO US1 stock wheel base was too long. After completing the Hotwheels Assault vehicle in the prior post, I used that chassis which was modified with a custom shortest front axle setting to test fit the Unimog. I spent yesterday modifying it to fit a TYCO US1 chassis. Most of the time spent was to cut, grind down the plastic interior and refitting it numerously until it sits the flatest on the slotcar chassis.

















Need to cut off rear metal post and grind out the plastic interior to make room for chassis motor and rear metal weight.









I used a mini drill press with a dremel grinding stone to router out the plastic interior over the motor area. It is much easier than using a dremel cutting wheel. I used a dremel paper cutting wheel to cut the hole for the metal rear weight. I also made custom side clips with mount tabs that will be glued to the under the side gas tanks. I used hot melt but you can use any glue of your choice.









Test fit the plastic interior and side clips over chassis.









After the glue set for the side clips, I removed the interior off the chassis to re-inforce with more glue inside of the gas tanks and to also show the glue points for the metal body over the plastic interior.


















For those who noticed that there’s no front bumper. It is really just two metal squares in the holes. I didn’t attach the front bumpers yet because, I didn’t want to cut metal with a jeweler saw inside the house and get the shavings all over my work room. I can also fit it with a square styrene to save hassle of hacking off the metal front bumper.



















I also just purchased the following Jeep this weekend on Ebay. It’s a Hotwheels Real Riders truck with brown rims which will be used on this body to match the camo better.










Kind of weird that this Unimog came with a olive drab color top for a tan camo truck. Ah..I may repaint it in the future to desert tan. At least it is mostly done and I am happy with it.

I need to get rid of the back burner items. Having something completed is better than having nothing.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Turned out nice! 

As a plastic die cast body tip - I saw the Metal Machine line up at a Wal Mart today. They were from the 2020 distribution.


----------



## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Turned out nice!
> 
> As a plastic die cast body tip - I saw the Metal Machine line up at a Wal Mart today. They were from the 2020 distribution.


Thanks!

Are the Metal Machines at Wal Mart different that I ones I purchased from Big lots 1-2 weeks ago?









Dang, today I went to Target and found three Matchbox 5 packs and one 9 pack that I may be able to mod. Very wasteful to maybe be able to mod 1-2 car out of each 5 or 9 pack. The rest will be “junk” to be. I rather buy singles. I hate being wasteful. There were NO Hotwheels and very few Matchbox singles.

Blue arrow below indicates the ones I want to convert to a slotcar. The Hoonigan car hauler is very cool. I want to use a TYCO US1 chassis on that!


















I also went to 5 and below and saw some action force 5 packs and didn’t see anything castings I like. I should have gone to Walmart but I was getting tired and hungry.


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## Milton Fox Racing

PM sent


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## Milton Fox Racing

May not be worth going to search for Metal Machines as there were only 2 pegs so maybe 12 cars. I can remember seeing at least 5 of what you show above and many were duplicates. So you probably also have the other 2 or 3 I cant recall seeing.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> May not be worth going to search for Metal Machines as there were only 2 pegs so maybe 12 cars. I can remember seeing at least 5 of what you show above and many were duplicates. So you probably also have the other 2 or 3 I cant recall seeing.


Thanks for checking. It will cost me $8-10 buck in gas going to Walmart round trip. I will have save it for my next Costco food run.


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## XracerHO

*tjetken*
Really like all your recent conversions: Bronco Ecolab, Crawler Tank, Unimog & Medical diorama. Appreciated the smaller dremel cutter disks info, had the same need as you. Enjoy viewing your posts between snow flaws & resulting shoveling! The pegs in Great White North are empty due to Covid supply issues . Keep a building!! ..RL


----------



## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> *tjetken*
> Really like all your recent conversions: Bronco Ecolab, Crawler Tank, Unimog & Medical diorama. Appreciated the smaller dremel cutter disks info, had the same need as you. Enjoy viewing your posts between snow flaws & resulting shoveling! The pegs in Great White North are empty due to Covid supply issues . Keep a building!! ..RL


Thanks XracerHO!

I would love it if anyone has info on getting a “dremel” metal wheel/disk cutter smaller than 19mm wide in the US! I saw some youtube vids from Jakarta Diecast Project channel and they use a metal 10mm cutter but they are in Indonesia. On ebay, there is a 16mm wheel cutter but recommended for stone.









Shoveling snow is one task I hate! So far, winter is not so bad in NYC.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

Are the 'saw blades' as fragile as the cutting discs?


----------



## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Are the 'saw blades' as fragile as the cutting discs?


Do you have a pic of a saw blade? If metal then they are not fragile. The dremel 420 can be brittle and handle it with care. Wear a full face shield and long sleeve shirt for safety. I am paranoid and believe in Murphy’s law!


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## Milton Fox Racing

I still use the discs and havent bought any of the saw blades but if the are smaller and easier to use I will get some. In this photo the group of them look smaller but in reality the smallest ones may still be the same size as the discs. The ones with the holes look promising too. Have never seen those that I can recall. And use I have face shield and usually have a thermal or long sleeves on.


----------



## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> I still use the discs and havent bought any of the saw blades but if the are smaller and easier to use I will get some. In this photo the group of them look smaller but in reality the smallest ones may still be the same size as the discs. The ones with the holes look promising too. Have never seen those that I can recall. And use I have face shield and usually have a thermal or long sleeves on.
> 
> View attachment 327548


Oh, those saw blades in the middle looks dangerous! one slip and ouch!
left and right ones may be good for metal. if they are much wider than 19mm then they wont fit in the diecast body.


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox Ice Cream King Van Plastic Body on an AW Thunderjet Slotcar Chassis Part 1 of 3.*

This is my first Thunderjet chassis custom. I guess I lucked buying this Ice Cream van that barely fits this slotcar chassis using the original matchbox posts. The wheel base on the slotcar chassis is about 2-3mm too short to line up to the body’s wheel wells to make it perfectly centered but I can live with it. Too bad, the front on the slotcar chassis dosen’t have room to drill another set of axle holes to lengthen the wheel base.



















To give the wheels more clearance, I have 1mm shims for the front and the rear to raise the body slightly higher. The front shim is longer to screw into the body’s post and also provides a mount for the tjet guide pin screw.









The Thunderjet chassis wheel base is a bit to short but it clears both wheel wells.









This pic shows the front and rear mounts.









This picture shows the front mounting shim.









It’s getting late so I didn’t get a chance to modify the interior, attach the windshield, cut off front and rear metal bumpers and then attach them. Will do the remaining mods on another day to complete this van. Getting the body mounted on the slotcar chassis was the main priority tonight.

I think I might make molds of the bumpers and then cast them in resin to save weight.


----------



## XracerHO

Nice work will have to find Matchbox Ice Cream Truck. ..RL


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

They would also make great food truck vendors for the the back stretch fans around the layout.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> They would also make great food truck vendors for the the back stretch fans around the layout.


YES!! That is exactly what I want to do!!! Well, I don’t have a layout but it will be great for a mini display.


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Nice work will have to find Matchbox Ice Cream Truck. ..RL


 My TYCO US1 slotcar chassis obsession is going to the AFX TJET chassis for now….


----------



## XracerHO

*tjetken*
Glad you have the Tjet obsession!!

Just checked my track behind the grandstand & found a Matchbox Ice Cream Truck ! 










Notice the crack just behind the hood. Not a good surprise!!!!










The hood is diecast! Must be an earlier version & your newer version has the whole body molded in plastic!!

Well off to Walmart to check the pegs for some plastic versions since I like* MFR's *suggestion of food truck vendors behind the Grandstand on the layout ! ..RL


----------



## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> *tjetken*
> Glad you have the Tjet obsession!!
> 
> Just checked my track behind the grandstand & found a Matchbox Ice Cream Truck !
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Notice the crack just behind the hood. Not a good surprise!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The hood is diecast! Must be an earlier version & your newer version has the whole body molded in plastic!!
> 
> Well off to Walmart to check the pegs for some plastic versions since I like* MFR's *suggestion of food truck vendors behind the Grandstand on the layout ! ..RL


*XracerHO*,
OH! I like this truck in this color too! Yes, the 3 that I have are all in plastic. Also try your local drug stores and supermarkets for Matchboxes and Hotwheels.

Also, can you show mount points if you are doing this tjet conversion? I am interested on how you would deal with the metal front post.


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox Ice Cream King Van Plastic Body on an AW Thunderjet Slotcar Chassis Part 2 of 3.*

In this part 2, I made a mold of the metal bumpers using reusable thermoplastic and re-fitted the interior to complete the project. I then used Amazing Casting white resin to cast the bumpers. Yes, I poured in too much resin all the time and it creates more work to cut them down to fit. I have to remember, LESS IS MORE!









While the bumpers cure, I modifed the interior using a dremel paper cutting disk to cut out most of the bulky interior and then I used a drill press to rout the interior smooth. I test fit the interior over the slotcar chassis and in the body.









It doesn’t look good with a gaping hole in the interior of the ice cream truck. I cut a patch using 0.5mm white styrene and glued it in place using MEK substitute.









Re-install patched interior into truck to view the results.








Now the interior looks much better w/o a gaping hole. After the resin bumpers cured, I trimmed them to fit the slotcar chassis.









Had to cut out a lot of the resin bumper to fit the slotcar chassis and the front and rear 1mm shims. Glue the bumpers in place after a final fit.









The truck was completed in time to make an ice cream run in the neighborhood.









I like the bumpers in white so I won’t paint them.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox Ice Cream King Van Plastic Body on an AW Thunderjet Slotcar Chassis Part 3 of 3.*

Today, I completed two more Ice Cream Vans: Choco Mocha and the Lemon Lime Juice vans. I made a set of white and almost black resin front and rear bumpers with the molds in part 2 above. ‘Almost black’ is because I didn’t put out enough black dye in the resin mixture. I am too lazy to redo it so it is good enough for me.

Today, the trucks will be selling refreshments at an airport taxi stand.




























I will be buying some more Matchbox Ice Cream King/Vans for future conversion(s).

Hem, maybe christos_s is right? Maybe this is the ‘The Prop Shop’ too!

Well, I purchased several HO scale buildings, accessories and figures for dioramas. I am finally putting them to good use here. Now, I need to get different backgrounds and better lighting.


----------



## XracerHO

Awesome work on all the Ice Cream Trucks & your dioramas especially like the child in the peddle car! Always nice to see new scenery ideas!

*tjetken *
"Also, can you show mount points if you are doing this tjet conversion? I am interested on how you would deal with the metal front post."

*My incorrectly* answered below to above question as converting Plastic version.see post #144
Thank you tjetken for questioning my answer.

Still have not found any Ice cream trucks up here & once obtained will show detail on mounting. Like your resin cast bumpers but have not done any casting so would use appropriate evergreen stock to fabricate simple bar bumpers.
Give you a better answer once I assess the front mounting screw point upon getting a truck. Want to do multiple trucks like you for layout. ..RL


----------



## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Awesome work on all the Ice Cream Trucks & your dioramas especially like the child in the peddle car! Always nice to see new scenery ideas!
> 
> *tjetken*
> "Also, can you show mount points if you are doing this tjet conversion? I am interested on how you would deal with the metal front post."
> 
> Still have not found any Ice cream trucks up here & once obtained will show detail on mounting. Like your resin cast bumpers but have not done any casting so would use appropriate evergreen stock to fabricate simple bar bumpers.
> Give you a better answer once I assess the front mounting screw point upon getting a truck. Want to do multiple trucks like you for layout. ..RL


*XracerHO*, I am confused. You posted this picture that you found this ice cream truck with a metal hood behind your layout. I thought you would convert this body.

BTW, the all plastic newer releases of the ice cream trucks I converted seems A LOT easier to modify than the older model of truck in this picture since it has no rear post and a metal post in the found. I found another Choco Mocha at a Shop Rite today and I snatched it up in case I want to customize a truck for my wife. She likes to bake and make desserts.









Also, that is a GREAT ideal to make the bumpers out of styrene!! This simple bumper wouldn’t be to difficult to make. It would take less steps. Hacking off the metal bumpers is a pain and it makes a mess with the metal shaving going everywhere. I have to make a mold and then cast it in resin. If it is for one truck/car then make it once. since I customized 3 ice cream trucks and will mod 1 taffy truck coming from ebay, having a set of molds will save me time and labor.


----------



## XracerHO

*Sorry about Confusion MY FAULT : *after reading about dealing with bumpers, answered your question *incorrectly* as converting Plastic version. Thank you tjetken for questioning my answer.

NOT going to convert metal hood version which was on my layout as scenery as you stated too much work!
*
Will edit & mark MY INCORRECT ANSWER in above post #142!*
..RL Haste makes waste, sorry for confusion & misinformation.


----------



## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> *Sorry about Confusion MY FAULT : *after reading about dealing with bumpers, answered your question *incorrectly* as converting Plastic version. Thank you tjetken for questioning my answer.
> 
> NOT going to convert metal hood version which was on my layout as scenery as you stated too much work!*
> 
> Will edit & mark MY INCORRECT ANSWER in above post #142!*
> ..RL Haste makes waste, sorry for confusion & misinformation.


No problem! Thanks for the quick clarification!


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox United Mail Services Plastic Truck Body converted to fit an AW TJET slot car chassis Part 1 of 2.*

At first, I thought this United Mail Services truck was going to be a QUICK conversion since the wheels of the diecast lined up with slot car chassis. Well, not quite and not so easy…









This pic shows that the wheels line up on the diecast and slot car.
Disassembled the diecast.








Now, you see that the rear post doesn’t line up with the rear of the slot car chassis. It shows that the rear post sits on the rear gear top plate.








This picture shows the interior that needs to be cut out. Also, 8-9mm of the rear post was cut off and it will be re-positioned further back in the body.










A 1mm thick piece of styrene was super glued to the rear of the interior to provide a base for the cut off rear post. Test fit the rear post location and glue it.









Now that the rear post and slot car lines up, let’s tackle the front post mount. I had to create a custom T shaped mount for the front.








In the next part, we will work on the front and rear bumpers.


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox United Mail Services Plastic Truck Body converted to fit an AW TJET slot car chassis Part 2 of 2. Also an Intro on Mold Making and Resin Casting.*

_For mold making and resin casting, I learned from many Youtube videos which I added the links at the end of this post. Watch them if you are interested in reproducing your own parts to customize.

I could have just completed the truck with metal bumpers but I wanted to replace it with lighter bumpers for the racing speed fans._

I hacked off the front and rear bumpers. For the rear bumper, I used thermoplastic to make a 2 part mold for it and used Amazing Casting Resin to reproduced it. I will have to trim the resin part to fit around the rear of the slot car chassis.








For the front bumper, I made 2 different types of molds. The first mold is made using thermoplastic. If you press the thermoplastic wrong into the grill or if you fuss with it too much then the grill will have wavy lines or messed up details. Then the cast part will not look good and you will have to reheat the thermoplastic to try again. I had to redo this mold 3 times to get a good result.

The second mold is made from Let’s Resin Silicone Rubber and it’s my first time making a 2 part mold in silicone. I placed the front bumper down onto packaging tape, added a key, placed a steel cookie cutter around it, hotmelt the base of the cutter to the tape to seal it. Mixed the silicone rubber by weight equal part, stirred for 2 mins, and pour into the mold. In 3-4 hours, the mold will cure and will be ready to use. I want to make a 2 part mold. The 2nd part is on top of the mold to shape the base of the bumper and it took another 3-4 hours to cure. Before I pour the silicone mix for the top cover, I had to spray with silicone release on the 1st part of the mold so that the 2nd pour won’t bond completely to the 1st pouring. The square 2mm white styrene acts as a key for the top cover of the mold. Keys are used to allign the mold halves. I should have added another key on top of the bumper and also thicker keys but the mold (cookie cutter metal frame) was too small. The key was an after thought.

*Note*: This Let’s Resin Silicone Rubber is clear and food safe so it is more sensitive. I tried to make a mold of rubber tires and the silicone DIDN’T cure around the tires leaving a gooey mess. I purchased the Let’s Resin Rubber Silicone in BLUE which is not food safe and I will try it on rubber tires in the future.









After the 1st pouring is cured in 3-4 hours, pressed the silicone mold down into the cutter. Becareful not to cut yourself from the cookie cutter edges. I spray silicone release on top, pour out the excess, use a Q-Tip (or an ear bud) to dry, let it sit 30 mins to completely dry before you pour silicone on top of it.

My home made silicone release is made from 1 part Dawn dish soap and 2 parts 91% IPA.









The silicone should produce good results since you dont have to manually force the material onto the bumper like the thermoplastic. Never pour silicone on top of your piece to avoid an air pocket. Pour the silicone from one corner high up (like 6” above the mold) so that the silicone pours down in a thin stream to prevent more air bubbles. This will allow the silicone to flow into the nooks and crannies by itself.

The thermoplastic is great for a quick mold but sometimes you will make a mold an extra 2-3 times to get it right.









To reproduce a bumper, I use Amazing Casting Resin which has 2 bottles, part A & B. I used an inexpensive measuring spoon set from a dollar store to measure equal parts. For this bumper, I used a 1/2 teaspoon each of A & B. A Total of 1 teaspoon of resin (A & B) will make 3 bumpers. I stir for 40 seconds. Pour it into the molds asap since it will cure in 1-3 mins and will be ready to be de-molded in 5-10 mins.

For any 2 part mold, I had to place a weight on top to prevent the top of the mold from popping off. I saw this each time when I made a resin part with the silicone mold.

*TIP: Always have extra molds to fill on standby in case you have extra mixture so that you don’t waste any silicone or casting resin.*

For my 1st casting attempt of the front bumper, the front grills from both molds had air bubbles which left tiny holes on the grills in the front bumper. I check each mold for any imperfections and they were fine so the bubbles must have been from the resin.









Overall, I am quite pleased with the outcome. The resin copy does look like the metal bumper on the front and back of the bumper. Now,we need to get rid of the air bubbles to avoid holes in the resin copy.








For my 2nd attempt of the front bumper, after I poured in the resin into each mold, I used a toothpick to stir the resin back and forth twice around the grill to remove any air bubbles.

Need to work QUICKLY since the Amazing casting resin sets in mins after mixing Parts A & B for 40 seconds.

The results are quite good. The thermoplastic mold on the left produced a grainy texture due to the mold being grainy. I should have stretched the new piece of thermoplastic a couple of times before I molded around the metal bumper.

The silicone in the middle produced a great result but I noticed that the bottom of the bumper was thicker on one side. This was because the extra resin was caught between the 2 part mold. It should have been a thin layer of flashing but because the top part of the mold popped up, the thick flashing bonded with the bottom of the bumper. Although, I place some weight on top of the silicone mold, it wasn’t heavy enough. I had to sand the bottom of the bumper to get it even to get rid of the extra thick flashing on that one side.

The thermoplastic mold on the right produced a great smooth front grill bumper too.

Note: for those who are not familiar with thermoplastic, they are reusable. Just drop in boiling water for 4 mins and it is ready to mold another item. I usually keep my thermoplastic molds around in case I need to remake the same part again.

























*Here are the videos that got me started.*


























Casting Resin - How To Mix Casting Resin - Molding & Casting Tutorial | Alumilite


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

Another awesome transformation! And thanks for the tutorial. 🙃


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Another awesome transformation! And thanks for the tutorial. 🙃


Thanks! Maybe it can inspire some people to try it.

I just added 2 more pics. I forgot to add a picture of the mold before I poured in the silicone and another before the 2nd pouring.


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## XracerHO

Thanks for the Great information & tutorial. Also Great United Mail Service truck conversion! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Thanks for the Great information & tutorial. Also Great United Mail Service truck conversion! ..RL


Thanks!


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## tjetken

*Another Matchbox Ice Cream King Van Plastic Body (Salt Water Taffy) on an AW Thunderjet Slotcar Chassis*

Today, I completed my 4th Matchbox Ice Cream King blue Salt Water Taffy truck conversion to a TJET slot car chassis. I will not bored you with the details since the process was documented in the post #133 above. I created white resin bumpers for it.




























As of now, I think theses are the only four total plastic body Matchbox Ice Cream King Trucks released. I hope there will be MORE in the future. Since I am not a diecast collector, let me know if I missed one! This body style has great details, decals and it makes a fun good looking TJET slot car truck.










If I can get the Matchbox Ice Cream vans with a metal hood and plastic body at a good price on EBAY then I will attempt that conversion. Those earlier body style has a metal front post and no rear post so conversion may be a bit more difficult but I love those colors.


----------



## XracerHO

Great Work on Ice Cream trucks! You are making me envious since could only find the plastic Coffee version. Will keep hunting for them & post conversion when found. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great Work on Ice Cream trucks! You are making me envious since could only find the plastic Coffee version. Will keep hunting for them & post conversion when found. ..RL


Thanks!

I was lucky to get the 3 all plastic Ice Cream Kings from a store for $1 each. Try drug stores & supermarkets. I was able to find several from those places. I had to pay $6-7 for the Blue Salt Water Taffy from EBAY. It is very rare for me to find all plastic on pegs too. Unfortunately, I have to buy many from EBAY at HIGHER prices. That is why I buy as many plastic diecasts at a store even though I may not be able to mod it. For a buck, I will buy it Just in case. Also, in the past I didn’t pay any attention to any diecast that didn’t fit a TYCO US1 chassis. So now, I am trying to catchup with purchases from EBAY like the Matchbox 2 story buses which I got that idea from your prior post when you stated that it fits a tjet chassis.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox Plastic Body Two Story Bus converted to fit on a TJET slot car chassis.*

After seeing that XracerHO did a conversion of a Matchbox Two Story Bus onto a TJET chassis, I had to get them from EBAY for my collection. I thought this would be an easy conversion but it was more difficult because both posts didn’t line up exactly to the slot car chassis.










Disassemble the bus.








I used a jeweler’s saw to cut out most of the ground floor of the bus to make room for the slot car chassis. I also cut off the rear post. The middle plastic door has a ridge on the iinner side of the body and I shaved it flat to give more room to the slot chassis.








Note that the clear plastic doot on the center of one side of the bus makes the chassis crooked.









I glued a 1mm thick shim to the opposite side of the bus to make the chassis sit more even.








Added a 2mm thick plastic to existing rear structure to form a new base for rear ‘post’. Added right angle styrene for stronger support and super glued it.









I glued the roof to the middle section of the body. Then I glued in the remaining body.
Added 1mm thick shims to the front and a 1.5mm thick strip of styrene on top on that for the front ‘post’ attachment. Aligned the chassis and mark the screw holes to drill.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

Excellent!


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Excellent!


Thanks! It looks messy with the custom posts but at least I completed it. My next bus mounting posts turned out much better.


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## tjetken

*Another (2nd) Matchbox Plastic Body White/Gold Two Story Bus converted onto a TJET slot car chassis.*

The prior Red Matchbox bus in post #155 custom mounting posts look messy. This White/Gold bus mounting posts turned out much better. I learned from the 1st conversion to improve this 2nd Two Story Bus. I learned that I can cut out less interior to provide a better front & rear mounting structure. Even the original Matchbox front interior for front axle lines up and fits the TJET front axle.









Disassemble the diecast. I used a jeweler’s saw to cut out the interior.










This time, the front and rear post matches the slot car chassis mount screw holes. I kept the rear post and trim the top to match the height of the rear structure where the rear of the chassis will rest on. I had to put the plastic windows piece into hot water that was boiled in a small container for 2 mins to soften the center ‘glass’ door on the driver side and *wear heavy duty insulated gloves since water will be still HOT *to bent it wider so that the chassis has more room. I had to shave plastic with a hobby knife in the middle of that ‘glass’ door to make more room. I also wore work gloves while using a hobby knife and Be careful!

I used a 1mm thick shim on the passenger side to align/center the chassis to mark and to drill the screw holes in each post. There wont be any body gaps like depicted below once the screws are tighten. In the pic below, I didn’t put in the screws yet since I was just checking the stance first.









There are no shims or glue used in the final assembly. This conversion actually uses the original Matchbox front and rear posts which looks A LOT neater.









Time to pick up passengers at the bus stand.



























This 2nd two story bus was an easy conversion because the front and rear posts matches the slot car chassis mount points. I probably screwed up and measured incorrectly on my 1st conversion with the red bus which caused me A LOT of unnecessary work. You live and learn.

Now that I am familiar with this conversion, I may buy another two story plastic body bus from EBAY to convert. They are pretty cool looking on a TJET chassis.

I like the chassis with the narrower rear better but the chassis with the wider wheels probably runs better. I don’t have any extra of the narrow original-like TJETS since NOS (New Old Stock) is over $62 each now. This one is a Model Modeling chassis which I borrowed from another car for this conversion.


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## XracerHO

Well done, Excellent work on conversions! The first is the prototype & second one is the finish product but do not discount what you learned from this conversion it will make future ones easier! Thanks for idea & solution to side door using hot water. Use shims on sided to centre chassis for setting screw post positions since use tubing for posts but incorporating your idea of existing ones! Really like the Double Decker buses & ice cream trucks! Thu for sharing techniques!
Have same same buying tactics & when toys shows open, scrounge thru used boxes for bodies. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Well done, Excellent work on conversions! The first is the prototype & second one is the finish product but do not discount what you learned from this conversion it will make future ones easier! Thanks for idea & solution to side door using hot water. Use shims on sided to centre chassis for setting screw post positions since use tubing for posts but incorporating your idea of existing ones! Really like the Double Decker buses & ice cream trucks! Thu for sharing techniques!
> Have same same buying tactics & when toys shows open, scrounge thru used boxes for bodies. ..RL


Thanks and you are welcome!

The glass door on the red bus was not so bad and I didn’t have to soften it. It would have been better if I did bent it so that I wouldn’t need a permanent shim for the opposite side for a cleaner look.

On the white/gold bus, that glass was protruding into the body taking up so much room that I needed to bent it. That side glass is a pain! First I used a hair dry to soften the plastic but that didn’t work. I should have tried a heat gun but was too lazy to find it. I almost wanted to cut it off and insert it into the door opening for a flushed look but I don’t have any glue for transparent plastic. Then I thought of boiling water to soften it and that worked. It was good to use my brain once in a while.

That’s a good idea on attend diecast shows. I need to find some in the NYC area and maybe go to yard sales for used diecasts.


----------



## tjetken

*Majorette metal body Green Land Rover Defender 110 converted onto a TYCO US1 “Stomper” slot car chassis and an Orange Defender with a street stance.*

Today, we have 2 for the price of 1!

Converted an orange 110 Defender onto a TYCO US1 slot car chassis with a street stance. In post #109, an orange Defender was customized with a lifted stance. A green Defender will also be customized with a lifted stance.










Dis-assemble the diecast.










Drill a new hole for the front axle to extend the wheel base.









Cut off the front, rear plastic bumpers and interior rear tow hook with a jeweler’s saw. Made custom side clips. For the orange body, used a dremel re-inforced disc to grind about 1mm off the tab behind the front metal post for a lower stance.









Glue on the front and rear bumpers.









Test fit the slot car chassis with the side clips. Glue in the side clips to the metal body once all is aligned.









In prior post #109, the defender on the left below was customized with a lifted stance similar to a TYCO Stomper truck. On the right is the new custom defender with a lower street stance.









The green Defender on the left below was also customized with a lifted stance.


----------



## XracerHO

Excellent Conversions & like the double duty off road & street Defender comparison! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Excellent Conversions & like the double duty off road & street Defender comparison! ..RL


Thanks! It’s tough to show scale and stance without a pic of them side by side.


----------



## tjetken

*Matchbox all plastic body GMC Metro School Bus diecast conversion to TJET slot car chassis.*

Here’s another back burner project that was disassembled over a year ago when I didn’t know how to handle the extended wheel base. I was inspired this morning and I spent most of the day completing it. I could have taken the easy road but oh NO, I had to do it the hard way to keep the interior.

Here we go!








Disassemble the bus and grind out the bottom of the interior to make room for the TJET slot car chassis.








Not going to lie, it was no picnic gutting it out! I used a dremel grinding stone with a mini drill press. It was messy with plastic bits flying around. I spent most of the time on this task. Basically, all is left are the seat cushions and up otherwise the bottom of the interior will rub against the top gears of the slot car chassis.








Test fit the interior with the slot car chassis.








Now, we need to fabricate the rear and front mounts. Rear mounts are made from 3 pieces of 1.5mm thick styrene super glued to the rear interior. The front mount is made from 2 pieces of 2mm thick styrene super glue together. The front mount also holds the front axle.









The bus was completed in time to take students home after school.



























The stance would be lower if there was no interior but I prefer it to look more realistic. The stance is a bit high but this is the best I can do with an interior. Overall, I am very happy with it. Having something done is better than having it incomplete on the back burner.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

I bet the kids were thinking best school trip ever! Thanks Mr Bus Conversion Man!


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## XracerHO

Another nice job on Mounting the School bus with the divorced front axle & it looks great! ..RL
Glad your GMC School Bus has an all plastic body. My available version has a separate diecast front cab with the remaining body all plastic just like the ice cream truck. LOL


----------



## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Another nice job on Mounting the School bus with the divorced front axle & it looks great! ..RL
> Glad your GMC School Bus has an all plastic body. My available version has a separate diecast front cab with the remaining body all plastic just like the ice cream truck. LOL


Thanks! All plastic body is easier to work with.

I have a plastic cargo truck with a metal cab that I will try to convert one day onto a TJET chassis. I also purchased a part metal hood ice cream truck from ebay yesterday and will try that conversion too.


----------



## tjetken

*Hotwheels all Plastic body ‘Quick Bite’ Ice Cream Truck conversion to an Auto World TJET Slot Car Chassis.*

This was another back burner project that was dis-assembled many months ago. I originally thought it would fit a TYCO US1 slot car chassis. I hacked off the front post at the base and it still wasn’t enough room to fit a US1 chassis so it sat in a box. Unfortunately, I just created more work for myself with that mistake!

I revisit this conversion last night and I completed it today. It took about 1.5 days to engineer a solution and to complete it. Most of the time wasted was deciding which chassis to use and how to create the side clips for the 440 & TCR chassis. This truck body will fit a TYCO narrow 440 and a TYCO TCR chassis. Since I don’t have many of these chassis, I decided to mount it onto an Auto World slot car chassis instead. The next same Quick Bite truck should take a lot less time to convert.

You know the drill so let’s begin!








Dis-assemble the diecast. Cut off 4mm from the bottom of the interior using a jeweler’s saw. This will now fit a TYCO Narrow 440 or a TYCO TCR chassis.








Test the stance on both chassis which look pretty good.








Since I want to use a TJET chassis instead, I need to use the jeweler’s saw to cut off 2-3mm more of the interior and also need to use a dremel grinding stone to remove more of the interior around the front driver area to make more room for the top gear plate.








Test the interior over the slot car chassis and the stance with the body.








The rear post lines up with the rear of the slot car chassis but it is too short so I needed to extend it. I place a wider tube over the rear post for a snug fit and cut it to length. The wider rear post also holds down the rear interior. I super glued it and filled it with more super glue and baking soda to make the new rear post solid. I aligned it with the chassis, marked it and drill a new hole on the new rear post.

The original Hotwheels front post in this truck was too far forward and it didn’t line up with the slot car chassis front screw hole. Since I mistakenly hacked off the entire front post, I had to recreate a new base mount and a new custom post.

For the front post, I created a flat surface for the base. The flat mount was super glued and it also holds down the front interior. I super glue a new styrene tube to the flat mounting surface and align it with the chassis screw hole. I place more super glue on the outside base of the tube and put baking soda around it to set it. I also filled inside of front tube with baking soda and super glue a bit at a time to create a solid post. Insert the chassis into the body to align and screw in the rear post to hold it steady. Then I marked and drilled a new hole for the front post.
















The truck was completed in time to make an ice cream run in the neighborhood.
















*>> Updated:* Ops, I forgot about the front and rear bumpers when I posted this truck. I was going to cut off the metal bumpers, make molds and then cast them in resin BUT I recall a great idea from XracerHO..is to create a simple bumper from styrene so I took his advice for a quick fix.

I created the bumpers out of 2mm thick black styrene plastic and hot glued them in placed. Done!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice work again!

I think I recognize the guy in the hat, too!


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Nice work again!
> 
> I think I recognize the guy in the hat, too!


Thanks! 😀

😱.. in my haste to post, I just realized that forgot about the front and rear bumpers!

I am having a senior moment. I have to cut off the metal ones, make a mold and then cast them in resin….OY VEY!

Ops, another day to complete!
———————————————————————


> > update: I took XracerHO advice and I recreated the bumpers out of 2mm thick black styrene and hot glued them in place. Project completed.


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## XracerHO

Great work on the Quick Bite Ice Cream truck. Another vehicle to find & follow your conversion for my track. Like your idea of the jeweler saw to reduce the amount of grinding when removing excess interior material. Always like to learn different techniques! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great work on the Quick Bite Ice Cream truck. Another vehicle to find & follow your conversion for my track. Like your idea of the jeweler saw to reduce the amount of grinding when removing excess interior material. Always like to learn different techniques! ..RL


Thanks! I got several more to mod. 3 more in plastic and 1 quick bite truck in an all metal body.

Ditto! I also like learning from other people. Why waste time re-inventing the wheel when can save time and aggravation by using a proven techniques.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox mostly plastic Orange Ice Cream van with half metal hood converted onto an Auto World TJET Slot Car chassis part 1 of 2.*

After seeing the colors of these half metal hood truck, I had to get some from EBAY.

I knew this Ice Cream van with a metal front post would be more difficult to convert BUT I am a gutton for punishment!

Since this journey is new, I will post many pics on the conversion for anyone who wishes to try it. It will be a 2 part post.

So, let’s go!


























I had to test fit the interior and grind it out multiple times. The final grind was when I can almost see thru the floor around the driver area. For my next Ice Cream Van, I will use a jewlee’s saw to cut straight across to even remove the sides so save time. The sides even got in the way when grinding the driver area. I kept the sides to help center the slot car chassis but it is not really needed. Use shims to help center.








This stance is good but the front was a bit too high so I had to grind more of the interior. I patch the center hole and the rear mount with 0.5mm thick white styrene.
I also used 1mm thick black styrene to fill in the back slot. Tested various length of the rear post and 7.62mm seems good to me.









Testing the rear mount and align it with the body. Made pencil marks on the rear tube and on the orange body for center. I just purchased some round solid styrene rods and it will arrive today from Amazon. For this build, I will just fill in the tube with baking soda and super glue.









*End of part 1. 

For Part 2, I will work on the front mount, set the post, drill new holes, cast the bumpers in resin and assemble everything together.*


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## Milton Fox Racing

A lot of nice engineering! 🤙


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## Milton Fox Racing

A lot of nice engineering! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> A lot of nice engineering! 🤙


Thanks!


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## XracerHO

Great engineering & a lot of grinding, Great work! ..RL
Working on the same project: a Light Blue Ice Cream van with metal hood. Using metal cutting wheel removed front metal post from hood. It gets very hot on fingers so cooled between each time (3) cutting to finally removal. Removed bottom of windshield to give more front clearance. Also cut front wheel braces off same level as your rear interior then squeezed front mounting tube between remains of braces & super glued post into position. Start the grinding plastic interior & did you notice different material, looked 3D printed. Hope these ideas help, still working on my conversion & using your techniques for rear post & interior depth. Can't wait for part 2 !


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great engineering & a lot of grinding, Great work! ..RL
> Working on the same project: a Light Blue Ice Cream van with metal hood. Using metal cutting wheel removed front metal post from hood. It gets very hot on fingers so cooled between each time (3) cutting to finally removal. Removed bottom of windshield to give more front clearance. Also cut front wheel braces off same level as your rear interior then squeezed front mounting tube between remains of braces & super glued post into position. Start the grinding plastic interior & did you notice different material, looked 3D printed. Hope these ideas help, still working on my conversion & using your techniques for rear post & interior depth. Can't wait for part 2 !


Thanks! And Nice that you are working on the same truck! That’s a good ideal to remove the bottom of windshield to give more room. I didn’t think of that. Very smart. I had to grind a lot of the interior out.

Please share a pic of your front post! I need to steal your ideal!! 

Yes, the interior under structure does look a bit like 3D printed.

I wear work gloves when cutting metal in case I slip and to insulate my hand from the heat. I really hate working with metal but sometimes, I have no choice because the diecast body looks so good.


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## XracerHO

*PIC of Under side as Requested*​
Under side Pic showing front post, hard to see all white but can make out silver metal post stub. Used 2 small round metal tabs to line up hood & superglue in place. White plastic bumper glued then shape to body & rear required notch for back of chassis.










Notice metal post only down to stub. Mounting front post in middle of cut down front interior braces! Really prefer to cut metal with jeweler saw but no room so metal cutting blade slow, stop then cut again (3) times.

Hope this helps just take your time one step at a time. One other thing I learned from Hilltop & Bobzilla know when to walk away for awhile!
Really like all your colorful Ice cream Vans & Quick Bite trucks, all very impressive ! Keep it up! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> *PIC of Under side as Requested*​
> Under side Pic showing front post, hard to see all white but can make out silver metal post stub. Used 2 small round metal tabs to line up hood & superglue in place. White plastic bumper glued then shape to body & rear required notch for back of chassis.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Notice metal post only down to stub. Mounting front post in middle of cut down front interior braces! Really prefer to cut metal with jeweler saw but no room so metal cutting blade slow, stop then cut again (3) times.
> 
> Hope this helps just take your time one step at a time. One other thing I learned from Hilltop & Bobzilla know when to walk away for awhile!
> Really like all your colorful Ice cream Vans & Quick Bite trucks, all very impressive ! Keep it up! ..RL


*A picture is worth a thousand words.*

Oh! Very nice pic of front & rear posts, thanks! The pic is very helpful to see your techniques.
I also like your custom bumpers. Like the license plate holder on front bumper. Those are great small details that I don’t think about.

*RL,*
I can’t wait to see your truck completed.
*
What super glue you use?

Did you have to sand the contact surface before you super glued it?* I usually use hot melt glue w/o sanding. At times when I didn’t sand the slick plastic interior surface, the super glued joint separated.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox mostly plastic Orange Ice Cream van with half metal hood converted onto an Auto World TJET Slot Car chassis part 2 of 2*.

I was going to copy XracerHO to cut off the front metal post and create a new plastic one but I changed my mind. I didn’t want to spend time cutting off the metal post and create a mess in the house. I wanted to incorporate the existing metal post since it would be stronger than any plastic post I can create. I am a newbie with creating rod plastic post and I wasn’t confident with this truck.

So back to the design board! Then I thought of using a tube with a square solid styrene rod attached to it with super glue and baking soda to re-inforce the seams. I notched out part of the metal post to get room for the screw.








I hacked off the front axle support on the bottom of interior to make room for the new tube/sleeve mount. The windshield is hot glued at the roof attachment point and the metal hood is NOT glued. I insert the interior and hot melt it.









I mark the rear post, super glue it. Then I filled it with baking soda and more super glue to create a solid rear post for drilling.

I inserted the tube/square rod sleeve over the front metal post to the correct height and super glue over the metal post. I filled the tube with baking soda and more super glue to create a solid post over the metal post. I tested the chassis for alignment, mark it and drilled a new screw hole.









I made molds for the bumpers from my prior Ice Cream King conversions and I cast the bumpers in white resin. I used my new white hot melt to glue in the white bumpers. In the past, I just used clear hot melt for the bumpers but I just wanted to test something new. I made a bit of a mess with the white hot melt for the rear bumper which you can see in the pic below. I was to lazy to remove the chassis to make it neater.









After the truck was complete, it was sent to the taxi stand.








Another 4 trucks showed up for business.









The metal hood ice cream van definitely needed more work for a slot car conversion than the all plastic version. Since I like the colors of the metal hood trucks, I had to buy them. I have 3 more with metal hoods and that will be future projects when I am inspired to work on them.


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## XracerHO

The Orange Ice Cream Van Look great & notching out of the metal post & plastic sleeve was a innovation plus saving a lot of metal cutting! All your vans look Great!

Answer to your qusestions:
Use the cheap 4 small tube in plastic tube from Dollarama. The single large more expensive container always clog up & spend more time open & clean tip just to use. For fine small applications of super glue put a drop or two in used bottle caps & dip a plastic tooth pick then apply to work.

Apply small amount of super glue to post to secure it, carefully unscrew nut then put small plastic pieces around attachment base (or sleeve post when space available) then heavily apply super glue to area then a drop of insta-set accelerator to all. Hope you can see small detail near front post & outline of heavy super glue amount on rear post. Do prep smooth surfaces with very light sanding.
Hope this is helpfuil info. ..RL


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## tjetken

*3rd Matchbox Plastic Body White/Grey Lamley UK Two Story Bus converted onto a TJET slot car chassis.*

This morning I was tired from working on the orange ice cream van above for the last 2 days. I didn’t want to work on anything difficult. I needed a QUICK WIN so my 3rd two story bus spoke to me. I completed it within 2 hrs. I documented some more details that I missed to captured in my prior two bus conversions.








Dis-assemble the diecast.









Used my hobby Tamiya drill to drill 4 pilot holes around an area where I will cut out the interior with the jeweler’s saw.









Insert the saw blade in one of the pilot holes and saw away!









Since the middle ‘glass door’ on of the bus protrudes into the slot car chassis, use a sharp hobby knife to shave off the bead of plastic on the middle of the door to make more room.

To make additional room, I needed to bend the glass door towards the body. I placed the plastic interior in boiled water for 2-3 mins to soften glass door. Then gently bend the plastic door outward. Repeat with boiled water if needed. Rinse under cold water to set the plastic once it is bent enough.









Note that the plastic door is more flushed to the body now. Cut rear post to the level of the rear grey structure support.









For each posts, I drilled holes with 1/16” bit.


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> The Orange Ice Cream Van Look great & notching out of the metal post & plastic sleeve was a innovation plus saving a lot of metal cutting! All your vans look Great!
> 
> Answer to your qusestions:
> Use the cheap 4 small tube in plastic tube from Dollarama. The single large more expensive container always clog up & spend more time open & clean tip just to use. For fine small applications of super glue put a drop or two in used bottle caps & dip a plastic tooth pick then apply to work.
> 
> Apply small amount of super glue to post to secure it, carefully unscrew nut then put small plastic pieces around attachment base (or sleeve post when space available) then heavily apply super glue to area then a drop of insta-set accelerator to all. Hope you can see small detail near front post & outline of heavy super glue amount on rear post. Do prep smooth surfaces with very light sanding.
> Hope this is helpfuil info. ..RL


Thanks! I actually spent some time creating a styrene insert to go in between the original front Matchbox axle and butt it up against the metal post but it didn‘t work out. The metal post still needed to get notched out to make room for the screw. Then I thought of hacking off the Matchbox front axle mount, have the sleeve with styrene attachment which incorporated part of the failed 1st idea and this 2nd attempt worked out. I spent all day to complete it. Spent lots of time and energy on it. 

Ah! Thanks for the info on super glue! I also also get the 4 pack of mini super glue from Dollar Tree. Since I am not a super glue user, I didn’t know if it was strong enough. I thought, for a $1, how good is this super glue? I really like your idea on getting instant set accelerator for super glue. I used baking soda for “instant set” but it is messy. Nice tip on using a plastic toothpick. All I have are the wooden ones and they don’t work for me. Forget about using a metal pin.

I saw your amt of super glued used and I was wondering how did it set so strong. My sucess rate with super glue is not 100% but I am still learning. I had many failed joints because the plastic was not sanded and was too slick. The joint just peeled apart. That is why I like hot melt glue so much for certain applications.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox all Plastic body City Bus converted on a TJET slot car chassis.*

Here’s a Matchbox City Bus from a 5 pack. It was dis-assembled a while ago. When none of my slotcar chassis would fit, I placed it on the back burner. I started buying TJET chassis recently and started my TJET conversion kick.

I got inspired late last night. I worked on this bus after dinner and completed it at 2:30am. I recently purchased some TJET truck rims and I wanted to install them on a TJET chassis. One thing leads to another. I wanted to see how it looked with the weird bus with the large wheel openings and it fits. Once I have inspiration and start a project, I can‘t stop until I am done.









Dis-assemble the diecast. The TJET wheels looks too small with the large wheel wells & the wheel base is too short.








Then I decided to test the bus with the TJET truck rims and they look pretty good. I had to hack off 1.5mm of the axle on both sides. I made the mistake by NOT doing so and the wheels protruded from the bus too much looking very stupid. Then I spent A LOT time pulling the dang rims off. I had to use a hammer to tap them on the new rims. It was a tight fit! It was a PAIN getting them off! These truck rims are closed on one side so I couldn’t use the gear/rim extraction tool to remove it.

Lesson learned! Shorten the axles first! I am a newbie. This is my first TJET wheel swap.

I also drill new set of holes on the TJET front chassis for a truck setting for the longest wheel base as possible. The rims fit a 1/16” axle and all I had were clear acrylic rods. It fits quite well. I should get metal rods in the future or maybe spend some money on REAL TJET axles from EBAY.








It looks so much better with these larger TJET truck rims. As you can see, it will be a tight fit. I also took a pic with a TJET with wide rims compared with the new TJET truck rims. Love those duallys in the back.








I didn’t waste time grind out the bottom to see if I can save the interior. I drilled 4 pilot holes around an area I wanted out and used the jeweler’s saw to cut it out. Note that the sides were left with paper thin strips of plastic. I guess I could have completed removed the sides to save time grinding and just be left with the front and rear interior. I guess I can use a hobby knife now and trim of the trim side pieces at the fenders. Used hot melt to glue the interior at the posts.
*Note to self to remember this for a future bus.*









Had to trim the rear post to make room for the slot car chassis. Then drilled a hole in rear post. On the slot car chassis, I also had to enlongate rear screw opening so that the rear post gets closer to the rear gears but not touch.

The front post is made from two 2mm thick white styrene super glued together. The screw hole is right at the edge of the post because the new axle is there. Maybe for a future bus is to use the 2nd hole for the post mount and flip the guide pin 180 degrees.








The bus was competed late at night and made it to the bus stop in the morning.


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## Milton Fox Racing

That is an awesome conversion. I really like the larger wheel and tire sizes as well. They fit much better to what you see on the public roads.


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## XracerHO

Great buss conversion & like the truck rims & dual tires on the rear! ..RL


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## tjetken

Thanks Milton and RL! 

I agree with you guys that the larger TJET tires does look pretty good.


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## tjetken

*3 Hotwheels all plastic bodies Quick Bite (Shaved Ice, Ice Cream and Hot Dogs) converted onto Auto World TJET Chassis.*

Today, we have 3 for the price of one for your viewing pleasure! I spent 16 hours yesterday converting 3 Hotwheels Quick Bite trucks like on an assembly line.


















Dis-assembled and cut out the interior to make room for the slot car chassis. I won’t bore you with the details since I documented the conversion in a prior post # 168 on page 9.








For the blue truck, I tried a new front mount with a styrene rod to attach a flat platform for the TJET screw instead of hacking off the original post. The screw with be exposed and will be next to the original post. I had to drill a groove on the side of the original front post to make room for the new screw. It is not the best mount but I wanted to try another method. I could use styrene glue (styrene and MEK) to encapsulate the screw forming a new post besides the original front post but I am too lazy now. Maybe I will enhance it in the future.

For the other 2 trucks, I hacked off the front post and relocated a new post on a custom platform like with my 1st white quick bite truck in post #168 above on page 9.









It was more work to create the rear bumper out of styrene for the the 1st truck in white. For the new trucks, I created a simplified version that was so much easier.









The 3 new trucks made it to the Moto-Cross event.









The first white Quick Bite truck also made to the fair too.


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## XracerHO

Great assembly line of Quick Bite trucks & all look awesome! Got to give the guys in the shop a pep talk to increase production!  ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Great assembly line of Quick Bite trucks & all look awesome! Got to give the guys in the shop a pep talk to increase production!  ..RL


Thanks! 😂 Our shop is very exhausted doing too many projects. Been quite productive with 11 new TJETS conversion since my 1st TJET on March 7, 2022. My 2 favorites are the Lamley UK two story bus (grey/white) and the blue taffy truck.

Haven’t decided my next project and really need to create the shop garage.


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## tjetken

*Matchbox Sriracha Chow Wagon all plastic body converted onto an AFX 4-Gears slot car chassis via post and optional side clips mounts.*

This is my first 4 gears chassis conversion using a front post and rear center alignment structure. I also created side mounting clips too.

Since I didn’t want to cut off the side mounts of an Auto World 4-Gears chassis, I moved all the components onto an original AFX 4-Gears empty chassis. I want to save this AW chassis to replace an AW chassis with a broken pickup shoe tab on another vehicle.

Dis-assemble the truck. The front axle is set to the shortest setting.








Precisely Cut out the interior and 4-Gear chassis fits perfectly into the opening. The rear opening aligns the rear wheels and keeps the chassis/top gear plate from slipping backwards Similar to a rear post on an AFX 4-Gears body. Also created rear structure to align slot car chassis to center. The interior is not leveled and one side of the rear alignment structure needs a shim.








Created side clips to help center and align the chassis. Since the body is flexible, side clips can be used to mount chassis instead of using the traditional 4-Gears front post and rear alignment structure. If you want to save time, don‘t bother with the interior and only use the front bumper and side clips for an ultra fast slot car conversion which can be completed with 30-60mins. The side clips are 1mm thick.

















Made silicone molds of the metal bumper (before cut outs for pickup shoes and after) and cast it in white resin. The mold will be used to create the same bumper for future Matchbox Chow Wagons.










Glue the top window shield and glass roof to the body. Then glue the interior to the body. Created a platform and a front post.

Attached front bumper. The rear alignment structure is not glued but it can be glued.









On the back of the truck, I filled in the empty slot with white styrene.


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## XracerHO

Very nice work on the vehicle & great innovation mounting of body with rear alignment structure or side mounting clips!
Will remember & use those techniques in my conversions as soon as vehicles can be found. Really like your great solution of the rear alignment structure for the 4-gear chassis. Keep on converting! ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Very nice work on the vehicle & great innovation mounting of body with rear alignment structure or side mounting clips!
> Will remember & use those techniques in my conversions as soon as vehicles can be found. Really like your great solution of the rear alignment structure for the 4-gear chassis. Keep on converting! ..RL


Thanks RL!
I had to look at my original AFX ‘56 4-Gears pickup truck for inspiration to design a rear alignment structure. So glad that the solution was simple but it took me a while to figure it out.

I purchased several of these Matchbox Chow wagons from EBAY. I was only able to find the white bakery food truck on a peg for $1 from Target when it was released.

I actually had that same Japanese truck on my desk and was thinking of it as my next project but I then I saw your post. I rather see your conversion first to get some ideas to modify it. I don’t have a next project in mine yet and I think the shop needs a rest.


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## XracerHO

My shop is slowing down too due to warm weather which means yard work & lawnmowers! Shop will do another Raijin Express but more color decoration & variation after viewing internet examples! Also will keep a lookout for more HO Wheels versions! ..RL


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## Milton Fox Racing

This one may be to small to fit a conventional chassis but would still make an interesting slot car conversion to watch running!


1993 Hot Wheels Action Pack Home Improvement Dixie Chopper by Milton Fox, on Flickr


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## tjetken

*Johnny Lightning Lost in Space Chariot all plastic body conversion to TYCO TRAXX slot car chassis.*

I saw this custom mounted on a TJET chassis and it sold for $155 on EBAY. It was mounted on the original base so the seller spend much time gutting it to make room for the TJET chassis. That inspired me to make my own since I can’t spend that much on a vehicle. For my 1st time with this body, I will go the easy route and mount it on a TYCO TRAXX chassis. To me, it would look better on the metal base to maintain the original look. This conversion took less than 2 hours but I spent hours planning the TRAXX mounts using solid 2mm sytrene rods.

















Dis-assemble and cut off plastic post.








Test the stance and fit on the TYCO TRAXX chassis.








Make custom front and rear mounts using the existing TRAXX mount holes.









Added a 2mm thick black styrene shim on top off front platform to clear the front lights.









The rods are not glued to the slot car chassis which allows the stance to change heights.









Put glue on the front and rear mounts and place under body.
















This vehicle drives on the track pretty good. If I do a version 2 then I will use the original base and modify it to use a TJET chassis.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Awesome conversion! 🤙


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Awesome conversion! 🤙


THANKS!


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## XracerHO

Agree: *Awesome conversion* & really like the idea of the TRAXX chassis & track drive! You did the a conversion I always wanted to do but still have not located *Space Chariot* yet! ..RL

*Tjetken:* Just an idea hide a Tjet chassis (motor) inside a 1/72 or 1/76 plastic kit Sherman Tank chassis (fake chassis) with wheels & tracks add the cabin on top. ..RL

*MFR:* Have a Dixie Chopper but it has a heavy metal body which is very narrow & shallow for slot car chassis! Prefer to put it on a trailer behind a 56 Green Ford P/U slot car with Tool Man figures. ..RL


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## tjetken

XracerHO said:


> Agree: *Awesome conversion* & really like the idea of the TRAXX chassis & track drive! You did the a conversion I always wanted to do but still have not located *Space Chariot* yet! ..RL
> 
> *Tjetken:* Just an idea hide a Tjet chassis (motor) inside a 1/72 or 1/76 plastic kit Sherman Tank chassis (fake chassis) with wheels & tracks add the cabin on top. ..RL
> 
> *MFR:* Have a Dixie Chopper but it has a heavy metal body which is very narrow & shallow for slot car chassis! Prefer to put it on a trailer behind a 56 Green Ford P/U slot car with Tool Man figures. ..RL


RL,

Thanks for the tips! I purchased the Space Chariot from ebay shipped for $12.50.

BTW, these TRAXX are expensive and difficult to get on EBAY. I paid $55 for this one. I was saving it for a military vehicle but the Lost in Space Chariot stole it.

Hem. Since I don’t have any tank kits. I am thinking of removing the plastic track from the metal base. Make a mold of the tank wheels for both sides and scratch build a new base. Re-attach the track to the custom base. Have the base setup with TRAXX mounting holes. Then I can remove the body from the TRAXX chassis and install onto custom base, or maybe buy another space chariot.
or
take the original metal base and cut out the floor. Cut and split the metal box frame in half from front to rear. widen the frame and glue with styrene. Here’s a marked up picture.

Either method requires some work.


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## XracerHO

You have an awesome unique conversion. Just a suggestion: casting wheels with fabricated wider plastic base idea. Other way base is still going to be heavy plus a lot of metal cutting,etc. Either way a lot of work! Your decision & you can always get another Chariot later & build a different version. ..RL


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## tjetken

*Lost in Space Chariot Part 2: Making a Custom Base #2 to retain more of the original look.*



XracerHO said:


> You have an awesome unique conversion. Just a suggestion: casting wheels with fabricated wider plastic base idea. Other way base is still going to be heavy plus a lot of metal cutting,etc. Either way a lot of work! Your decision & you can always get another Chariot later & build a different version. ..RL


~

RL, 

Definitely agree that plastic is lighter.

I am a glutton for punishment! Being bored and it is raining outside, I felt like cutting..a lot of cutting.

Cut off the tabs that holds in the grey plastic tank tracks.










Cut out the floor of the metal base. Then cut the remaining frame in half.









The length of the frame is too short so I will need to think how to proceed. Still, it will be easier for me to make a mold with the frame separated.


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## tjetken

*My EBAY purchase of two diecast slot car customs: Metal Body Munster Koach and Drag-U-La from seller yogibear3.0*

I saw Jeff Ryan’s videos on YOUTUBE for these slot car conversions recently and I was going try it. He used a slim line TJET chassis which is $62 and difficult to find on EBAY. Both diecast is around $21 combined on EBAY.

I grew up watching the Munsters and I had to have these in my collection. Since I really have too many projects, I saw that EBAY seller yogibear3.0 sells his customs for $75 each shipped. He uses a JAG TR-3 TJET chassis and custom chrome mags. The diecast casting is really beautiful and his conversion is top notch. I am really happy with my purchase!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Nice additions! 🤙


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## XracerHO

Great additions


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## tjetken

*Matchbox Hitch and Haul Metal Body slot car TJET conversion.*

I started this project on May 16, 2022. I disassembled and it sat on my table along other uncompleted projects. I didn’t know what to do with the rear metal post so it sat for months. I was thinking to hack it off and glue in a plastic tube or to drill a hole in the metal post. Last week, I finally had the courage to drill my first metal post and it sat again. I used a smaller drill bit and then a larger one. Last night, I gutted out the the interior and finally completed it.








I took a new AW TJET wild one chassis and grind off a bit on each side the rear alxe to narrow it and install stock TJET rims and tires.

Also, hack off the metal post in the center of the diecast.








Drilled out the rear metal post and fill the inner circumference of the post with super glue and baking soda to narrow the opening for the screw.










I had to grind off some metal in front of the rear post to give more room for the chassis top gear plate.
I cut/grind out the bottom of the interior to make room for the slot car chassis.
I cut off the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper will also be used as a front mount.









Glue in the window, interior and bumpers.

















Track tested!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Another nice conversion. I also like that you saved the trailer to tow behind it! 🤙

BTW - I saw a few of those at our local Big Lots! location last week. If anyone is looking to find one (or two.)


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Another nice conversion. I also like that you saved the trailer to tow behind it! 🤙
> 
> BTW - I saw a few of those at our local Big Lots! location last week. If anyone is looking to find one (or two.)


Thanks! I actually got it from Big Lots after you reminded me to check there for the Metal Machines. For years, I forgot about checking Big Lots for diecasts.

I actually love trailers and that is why I got a couple of these different Hitch and Haul sets for slot car conversions. I love testing them with the matching trailer on my mini test track before I put them in my display case.

I don’t collect diecast. I only buy to butcher them! I know you diecast collectors hate hearing that.


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## XracerHO

Great build & really like the trailer being towed! Just run it around your track. Thanks just learned a lot from your post! Keep on building & posting, can't wait for your next one! ..RL


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## Milton Fox Racing

tjetken said:


> Thanks! I actually got it from Big Lots after you reminded me to check there for the Metal Machines. For years, I forgot about checking Big Lots for diecasts.
> 
> I actually love trailers and that is why I got a couple of these different Hitch and Haul sets for slot car conversions. I love testing them with the matching trailer on my mini test track before I put them in my display case.
> 
> I don’t collect diecast. I only buy to butcher them! I know you diecast collectors hate hearing that.


We do try to be a different type of diecast sand box over in the diecast forum! Our adage is to collect and do what makes you happy! 🤙


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Plastic body Ambulance 4-Gears Slotcar conversion Part 1.*

I was lucky to find 2 ambulances on a peg in Target and another one in a pharmacy instead of paying a premium price on EBAY.

Although, I am in a slump and there are several uncompleted projects on my desk due my lack of motivation, these ambulances spoke to me and they became top priority.

Part 1 will be a AutoWorld 4-Gears slot car conversion.
Part 2 will be a TYCO US-1 slot car conversion.

Since they will be the same body, I labeled and numbered each picture to avoid confusion of both conversions.

So, let’s begin…..









Cut off center and rear post.









Cut/grind out the bottom of the white interior.








I hack off the metal bumpers and made a silicone mold. Then I cast 2 sets of bumpers in black resin. I didn’t use the side chrome pieces.

Below is a picture that specify parts A & B in grams for each mold template so I know how much to mix to fill each mold half way.








Made a chassis centering support out of strip styrene. I used a prior one for my food truck as a templete. I used a mini flat file to shave off some plastic to make room for the gears on the slot car chassis top plate.









Test fit and ensure a gap over the top gears.









Used styrene tubing for the front post. Thanks to RL (XracerHO) for the info on the extact EverGreen tubing to buy.









Here are the Evergreen styrene used.









Attach the windshield. Glue in the white interior, bumpers. With the front post attached to the slot car chassis, I placed super glue at the base on the front white interior and carefully placed the body over the chassis. Adjust the front and rear wheel well openings and let it dry for several minutes.

I didn’t glue the custom rear chassis center support. It fit snug on the chassis and it lies snug between the bottom base of the white interior. You can glue on your custom.

*Tip:* After I screw and unscrew the front post 2 times, the post was stripped and the screw was loose. I had to spread the inside circumference of the plastic tube with a bit of super glue and add some baking soda to narrow the opening and it gives the screw some bite.








All completed. Here are the final pics.








I guess I could have lowered the front 1-2mm but I am happy with it and too lazy to adjust it. I would just have to trim the front post a bit. It looks good enough for me.

Stay tune for part 2 for the TYCO US-1 conversion which is 80% completed.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Plastic body Ambulance TYCO US-1 Slotcar conversion Part 2.*

I like the TYCO US-1 slot car chassis because they have the ability to also drive backwards. Since the chassis is wide and high, they fit mainly trucks, vans and some larger car bodies.










Disassemble the diecast.








Since the US-1 chassis is bulkier than most slot car chassis, the interior will not fit in the body for this conversion. We will just use the windshield and I made copies of the metal bumpers in black resin. In the pic below, I have to cut slots in both bumpers for the pickup shoes. It would be a pain cutting these slots on the original metal bumper.

Cut off the center and rear post on the body. Install the windshield & bumpers onto the body and glue them.









I made a custom styrene clip for the US-1 chassis.



























With the custom clip attached to the slot car chassis, apply glue and insert it into the body and align the space around the front and rear wheel openings.


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## XracerHO

Awesome double conversions & detailing of Techniques! Molding the bumpers, centering support & custom styrene clip for US-! chassis are great contributions to the builds & very instructional. Like the Fire Station pics too!
Going to have to make a black custom styrene clip for my US-1 blue semi cab using your example!
Keep on building your conversions enjoy viewing all of them. ..RL


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## tjetken

*Maisto Ford Bronco Metal body conversion to AW TJET slot car chassis.*

I just purchased this Maisto Ford Bronco from Dollar Tree. It fits the TJET chassis with front axle at the middle truck setting. I think it looks better with the larger truck tires.
This is my top 5 favorite for the TJET conversions.








Disassemble the diecast.









I got this tip from Jeff Ryan’s youtube videos that he uses Dremel craving bit #199 to cut the metal posts. It is narrow and it cuts pretty good. The Harbor Freight cutting disk is too wide for this narrow body.

Not pictured are 2 other Dremel grinding stone(#932) and disk(#85422) that I used to ensure the front and rear metal base are leveled and flat for the plastic post to glue to. I attached Dremel #85422 grinding disk to a mini drill press to make each metal post base leveled.

I also took a new AW TJET chassis and swapped out the stock rims for the larger truck rims in white.








After, I cut and trimmed the front and rear posts, I test fit both chassis to see which set of tires looks better. To me, it is hands down that the larger truck rims are better looking.








For the interior windshield plastic, cut off the front and rear axle support to make room for the slotcar chassis. Fabricate the front and rear posts using Evergreen styrene #224. Also, used a 0.05mm thick styrene base for each posts to make it sturdier.








Paint the post in flat black to hide it from view.


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## hojoe

I got mine from Taillights Fade.


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## Milton Fox Racing

tjetken said:


> *Maisto Ford Bronco Metal body conversion to AW TJET slot car chassis.*
> 
> I just purchased this Maisto Ford Bronco from Dollar Tree. It fits the TJET chassis with front axle at the middle truck setting. I think it looks better with the larger truck tires.
> This is my top 5 favorite for the TJET conversions.
> View attachment 338905
> 
> Disassemble the diecast.
> View attachment 338906
> 
> 
> I got this tip from Jeff Ryan’s youtube videos that he uses Dremel craving bit #199 to cut the metal posts. It is narrow and it cuts pretty good. The Harbor Freight cutting disk is too wide for this narrow body.
> 
> I also took a new AW TJET chassis and swapped out the stock rims for the larger truck rims in white.
> View attachment 338907
> 
> After, I cut and trimmed the front and rear posts, I test fit both chassis to see which set of tires looks better. To me, it is hands down that the larger truck rims are better looking.
> View attachment 338908
> 
> For the interior windshield plastic, cut off the front and rear axle support to make room for the slotcar chassis. Fabricate the front and rear posts using Evergreen styrene #224. Also, used a 0.05mm thick styrene base for each posts to make it sturdier.
> View attachment 338909
> 
> Paint the post in flat black to hide it from view.
> View attachment 338917
> 
> View attachment 338918
> 
> View attachment 338919
> 
> View attachment 338920


 Another nice conversion! Love the wheel sets, too.


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## tjetken

hojoe said:


> I got mine from Taillights Fade.
> View attachment 338929


OH! I like it and especially on a Dollar Tree container!


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Another nice conversion! Love the wheel sets, too.


Thanks!


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## Milton Fox Racing

hojoe said:


> I got mine from Taillights Fade.
> View attachment 338929


Other than painting and details do you have to do anymore modifications to get the body to fit? Or does it come with a chassis already? 🤙


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## XracerHO

*tjetken*, Very nice Bronco conversion & truck tires look appropriate! Nice scenery diorama but that wooden bridge looks to flimsy for the Bronco! 

*hojoe*, nice paint & mounting of Tailights Fades resin body! 

You, too guys, have put another build on my list of future builds! ..RL


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## hojoe

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Other than painting and details do you have to do anymore modifications to get the body to fit? Or does it come with a He sells mostly unfinished bodies on eBay. Body fit right on a tjet chassis.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels all Metal body, 1967 Ford Bronco with Real Riders Rubber tires to slotcar TJET chassis conversion part 1. Also links to youtube videos to cast your own diecast.*

I purchased this diecast several years ago for the rubber tires and rims for a TYCO US1 chassis. The wheels are too tall which caused the pickup shoes to not reach the electric rails so this diecast sat in a box. I really need to fabricate custom pickup shoes in order to use taller wheels to make a working slotcar. At that time, I was only doing TYCO US1 conversions and the body was too short and narrow to fit it.

Now that RL, XracerHO, inspired me to work on TJET conversions, I rediscovered this Hotwheels diecast after seeing hojoe’s resin 67 Ford Bronco above. I suspect that this 67 Ford Bronco Hotwheels may have been the mold for it. Note the similar hood scoop.

*Thanks to hojoe* for sharing his picture and now I have another TJET body to convert.









I like the colors but I don’t like the Archie decals. Looks like it needs a re-spray. I tried acetone but the tampos are deep under a thick clear coat. On a similar Real Riders diecast van with a trekie decals, I used the yellow can of oven cleaner to test removal of paint. It can be done but it will be messy to strip to bare metal. I may just do some light sanding to rough up the clear coat and re-spray it. It will fit the same slotcar chassis and wheels used for the Maisto 67 light blue Ford Bronco above.










I cut off the metal post using my newest favorite dremel #199 cut off bit so that I can test fit a slotcar chassis.









Test the stance with TJET chassis with truck wheels. Looks good to me.









End of part 1. To be continued.

Since I like the 67 Ford Bronco body so much, I am inspired to make a mold of it and cast some resin bodies. I only cast parts and I never cast an entire body before so this will be a huge challenge for me. This shall be another project.

Here are the 5 part youtube videos that shows how to make a silicone mold of a metal diecast and cast it in resin. I saw them a while ago and they inspired me to try it one day.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Good information and videos!

The Hot Wheels premium line of castings are hard to strip down with most any of the recommended products out there, but can be done. It usually takes 2 or 3 attempts to get it all off though.

One product that will handle it the first time is Barr's Aircraft Paint Remover. You do need to use it outside (fumes) and use protective covering and eye protection for yourself. I find it amusing that it warns you not to use it on real aircraft!

 
2014 RDL Bare Metal Series by Milton Fox, on Flickr
2014 RDL Bare Metal Series by Milton Fox, on Flickr


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Good information and videos!
> 
> The Hot Wheels premium line of castings are hard to strip down with most any of the recommended products out there, but can be done. It usually takes 2 or 3 attempts to get it all off though.
> 
> One product that will handle it the first time is Barr's Aircraft Paint Remover. You do need to use it outside (fumes) and use protective covering and eye protection for yourself. I find it amusing that it warns you not to use it on real aircraft!
> 
> 
> 2014 RDL Bare Metal Series by Milton Fox, on Flickr
> 2014 RDL Bare Metal Series by Milton Fox, on Flickr


Thanks for the info. This is great info for the future when I need to strip to bare metal.

Also thanks for confirming that premium Hotwheels are tougher to strip. I did noticed the better quality paint jobs but don’t know which stripper works well.


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels Metal Body Baja Van to TYCO US1 slotcar chassis conversion and Klean Strip paint stripper Test Part 1.*

I purchased used Hotwheels Baja Vans in lots on EBAY just for the baja tires and rims for my TYCO US1 chassis several years ago. I used the tires and rims for the National Park SUV conversion and the Gonzo donor van was in a “storage” (junk) pile.









Over a year ago, I purchased Klean Strip Premium Stripper & Acetone to remove paint and tampos respectively but I never had the opportunity until now. I tried using Acetone with a Q-Tip (cotton bud) over the decals but the gloss coat was so thick that the Acetone had NO effect.












I noticed the bottom of the Stripper can was RUSTING! I purchased it over a year ago and I never used it. I emptied the can into two glass jars. I put the Gonzo body into the smaller jar and the paint started to lift off within 15 mins but I left it in the jar over nite.
The next day with gloves, I removed the body from the stripper solution and rinsed with warm water. I used a mini brass brush to remove the paint. I will have to use a sharp ice pick to clean out the panel lines. Overall, this Klean Stripper worked well. It Definitely helps having a mini wire brush to clean up the body but I can’t recall where I purchased it.

















I test fit the Hotwheels van body on a TYCO US1 chassis and it fits loosely. I have to use one custom 0.5mm clip/slim on one side for a snug fit. I can also glue earth magnets on the chassis and body but I never tried that before.

This metal body is great for TYCO US1 chassis that are missing the rear metal weight. Some chassis needs the extra weight in order to move otherwise the chassis would just spins its tires in place on the track. This chassis works w/o the rear weight and I marked it with a diamond shape blue masking tape at the front of the chassis.
















Since this was an impromptu paint stripper test and TYCO US1 first test fitting, this will need to be continued in the future since I don’t have a paint scheme in mind. Let me know if you have anything suggestions. At least, now I have a paint stripper that works to remove the premium Hotwheels paint and I have another Hotwheels body style that fits the TYCO US1 slotcar chassis.

BTW, Home Depot and Lowes don’t have the Barr‘s Aircraft Paint stripper according to their website for my area.


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## Milton Fox Racing

Thanks for sharing and showing your paint stripper test. I remember finding my spray can of it at Wal Mart years ago. And I dont think you can even have shipped or dropped ship to you anymore either.

Harbro frieght has all kinds of mini brushes but I originally sourced mine from the auto detailing aisle at parts stores.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Thanks for sharing and showing your paint stripper test. I remember finding my spray can of it at Wal Mart years ago. And I dont think you can even have shipped or dropped ship to you anymore either.
> 
> Harbro frieght has all kinds of mini brushes but I originally sourced mine from the auto detailing aisle at parts stores.


I think you are right about the spray cans.

I probably got that brush from dollar tree, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Lowes or even my local pharmacy with a mini hardware section. These are the only stores I shop. The crazy thing is I HAVE no clue. I usually remember where I purchased my stuff. I must be getting older and started to forget minor details. I tried to Google that Master brand and it is inconclusive. I would think HD since I got the paint stripper there but HF seems very likely. My wife said it could be anywhere. Thanks for the help, wifey!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Dont ask me! I apparently shop at Harbro which I cant remember where it is located and Google cant find! And my wifey doesnt know where the phone book went to either! 👨‍🦳


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## XracerHO

*tjetken : *
Thanks for the info & look forward to the Bronco casting (something I have not attempted). Good looking Van project.

Going to review your Tyco mounting bracket as a guide to build one for a Tyco blue cabover without bracket & fifth wheel assembly. ..RL


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## tjetken

*Hotwheels all Plastic Body to TYCO US1 Slot car and TCR Command Control Slotless conversions Part 2.*

Prior post #24 on Hotwheels Hummers part 1









The Mod Shop - 1/64 Plastic Body & Diecast to Slot...


Thanks for posting...You got some cooooooool stuff...!!! Really like the CAT stuff myself...Some great engineering on the builds...!!! RM The Caterpillar is my favorite build. I spent a lot of time on the web researching vehicles like the dust control truck for ideas. There is another top 2...




www.hobbytalk.com





I first covered the Hotwheels Hummer in post #24 but I didn’t convert the bulk of the bodies. I procrastinated in converting the bulk of the bodies because it took a lot of time using a dremel to cut down the interior to fit over a TYCO US1 chassis with a custom clip. I think I only converted two bodies back then. Well, last month I finally felt inspired and I converted 9 Hummer bodies in 4 hrs using a wood trim COPING saw to cut down the interior instead of using a dremel. It was surprisingly faster and safer than using a dremel. Of course, I missed converting one new remaining orange Hummer on a card and that will be placed on the back burner.


















*Here’s a Hummer body mounted on a TYCO US1 Chassis.*








*Here’s a TYCO TCR CC slotless JAM Car or for a regular slotless chassis.*

Since the US1 chassis are so expensive (min $30 each on EBAY) now, I decided to use the $2 blank Jam car chassis to display the converted bodies.








*Here’s a Body mounted on a TYCO Stomper chassis. *

The interior was cut less so that the body can sit higher on the custom clip for a more lifted look to accommodate the larger Stomper tires.


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## tjetken

*TYCO US1 Original Semi truck and Tanker repainted for Waste Management.*

Here’s one of my favorite customs that I completed 4-5 years ago. I can’t take credit for the idea. An EBAY seller from Canada made it but it sold for above my budget and I tried my best to clone it.

I made the sticky decals on a blank sheet of Avery mailing labels (#5353) and applied a clear Avery self-adhesive laminating full sheet (461253 73601) on top. This was Dan (slotcardan on this forum) the TYCO man’s idea but unfortunately his informative web site is gone. I would like to make decals on laser water slide decal paper one day instead of on sticky labels.

I was supposed to make a custom truck terminal for it but it is only still 35% completed after SO MANY YEARS!

At that time, I was hoping that the EBAY seller would make another one but I can understand why. It is tedious and tiring to make one and that is why I can only make one for myself. I never sell anything since it takes so much time and effort to make one. Enough talk since you are here to see the pics.


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## Milton Fox Racing

I like hearing the rest of the story, too! 🤙 

Did you look in the way back machine to see if anyone archived his site site pages?


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> I like hearing the rest of the story, too! 🤙
> 
> Did you look in the way back machine to see if anyone archived his site site pages?


MFR,

His name on this forum is “slotcardan”. His site was http://www.tycotcrracing.com

Nope, I didn’t check on this site but after his site was gone, his domain was for sale and it went to some domain for sale site with pics of adult content. I recalled other people saying the same. This is NOT the case today, it goes to “clean” hugedomains dot com page and it is still for sale.


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## Milton Fox Racing

tjetken said:


> MFR,
> 
> His name on this forum is “slotcardan”. His site was http://www.tycotcrracing.com
> 
> Nope, I didn’t check on this site but after his site was gone, his domain was for sell and it went to some domain for sale site with pics of adult content. I recalled other people saying the same. This is NOT the case today, it goes to “clean” hugedomains dot com page and it is still for sale.


Thanks I will look to see what legacy threads he left here this weekend....


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## XracerHO

*tjetken*
Great job on all the Hummers! Yes, a huge amount of interior plastic has to be removed but it is a good all plastic body for conversion to a slot car.

Awesome work on the WM Semi & Tanker, really looks great! ..RL


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## Milton Fox Racing

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Thanks I will look to see what legacy threads he left here this weekend....


Most his threads were deleted and the edit history removed at some point, sorry.


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Most his threads were deleted and the edit history removed at some point, sorry.


Thanks for checking!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Recently ran across a set of Maisto castings at a Tractor Supply Company store (an upscale feed and supply chain). They carry additional diecasts during the Holiday Season but mostly have loose ERTL (TOMY) trucks and John Deere tractors the rest of the year. Most dont have much room in the bodies but might make for some interesting conversion projects. They are also a mixture of plastic pieces and metal bodies mostly. 

Our location also had the Johnny Lightning current Military Series available. But the next furthest location away from us did not.


2022 Maisto Mini Work Machine Volvo 5 Pack by Milton Fox, on Flickr


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## tjetken

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Recently ran across a set of Maisto castings at a Tractor Supply Company store (an upscale feed and supply chain). They carry additional diecasts during the Holiday Season but mostly have loose ERTL (TOMY) trucks and John Deere tractors the rest of the year. Most dont have much room in the bodies but might make for some interesting conversion projects. They are also a mixture of plastic pieces and metal bodies mostly.
> 
> Our location also had the Johnny Lightning current Military Series available. But the next furthest location away from us did not.
> 
> 
> 2022 Maisto Mini Work Machine Volvo 5 Pack by Milton Fox, on Flickr


Thanks for the info. I agree. Not much room. Looks very difficult to convert to a slot car.


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## tjetken

*Hot Wheels ‘49 Ford COE Truck conversion to AFX 4 Gears Slot Car Chassis Part 1.*

Here is another cool truck to convert to a slot car. It’s a Hotwheel ‘49 Ford COE. The wheel base is 5mm longer than the 4 Gear chassis at the longest axle setting.

At first, I was thinking of using a much shorter AW TJET chassis without the front axle. Replace the rear TJET rims/tires with the Hotwheels real riders rear wheels. Use the Hotwheels front wheels and axle setup. RL calls this a divorced front axle which I never heard this term before.

For years, I have been thinking how to extend a 4 Gears and a TJET chassis front axle without gluing anything to the chassis. I haven’t been working on my project for a while But last night at midnight, I was inspired. I tried a concept and it seems sturdy and it works. The extension is screwed on and it doesn’t damage the original slot car chassis.

Another idea is to trim off 5mm from the rear of the truck plastic body in front of the rear wheel but I like these decals. Maybe I will buy another COE truck that needs a respray to hack it and re-glue it shorter so that it fits the 4 gears chassis w/o a need for a front axle extension. Once the rear truck is shorten then I can even make of mold of it and the front COE cab too. Like I need another project! I really like this body style and it will work for many vintage companies.




























































I had to trim the front metal post in order to test the stance with the slot car chassis.








Although, there is a extra 1mm of space in front of the rear tires, it still look decent.








End of Part 1.

For part 2, I need to figure out a way to mount the 4 gears chassis to the body. The body is loosely attached to the cab and it needs side support to keep them leveled. I have to see how much of the interior to gut out to make room for the slot car chassis or maybe not use 2/3 of the rear interior. I definitely need some side reinforcements and the front grill from the interior piece. Well, that is it for now. Gotta put on my thinking cap….analysis paralysis!!


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## XracerHO

Good idea & really like this truck style too! Also would want to keep decals. ..RL


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## tjetken

*Hot Wheels ‘49 Ford COE Truck conversion to AFX 4 Gears Slot Car Chassis Part 2.*

In this part 2, the interior will be customized to make room for the slot car chassis.

I predrilled some holes and used a jeweler saw to cut out the interior.









Used a dremel grinding stone to create an opening for the rear wheels.








Added rear support where it meets the top of the gear plate. Grind down the front axle area to make a platform for the 1/8” new plastic front post. I used hot melt to glue the interior to the body.
















After I glued in the front post, I noticed that I made the front platform too short. Only half of the front post was on the white base. I added another piece of plastic and slid it under the front post and used MEK to fuse the white base to the black interior. Then I used super glue and baking soda to strengthen the post.

Cut off the rear metal bumper and attach to the body. I used hot melt.


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## XracerHO

Really nice work on Ford COE truck looks great & nice stance! ..RL


----------

