# Brass Chassis Monster truck Build



## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Background – some time ago I posted this build, in progressions, on another board. I was recently asked if I could post it here in the customs. No problem....

However, I don’t have time to rewrite it and so intend to more or less duplicate what I posted on the other board, editing as required. It’s important to understand that I had a lot of help, suggestions and knowledge contributed from other members along the way. I’m grateful for their contributions and will try to note many of them as I go._

Hi all,

I've been messing around with this for the last few weeks in my spare time. It's very closely based on John Peckham's excellent guide at the HOMTPA site, found here http://slotcar64.freeyellow.com/mt_ctc1.html

I first saw this guide a long while ago and recent mention of it on another board renewed my interest. Prior to starting I have never attempted anything even remotely like this but I have done quite a bit of electronics/electrical soldering. Brass is an entirely new game and offers an extremely enjoyable learning curve.

I've found my Weller 25W iron only just capable of the job and think a 40W iron may be a better choice. Having said that, I'm still developing my technique with brass and as it improves, my 25W iron might be adequate. Remains to be seen..........

The body comes courtesy of a Matchbox (I think?) Chevy Silverado and sits so firmly over the upper chassis that I doubt any additional fixing will be required. The motor is also a perfectly snug fit between the upper rails - a combination of luck and management. Wheels and tyres come courtesy of some toy that came with one of those crappy fast food meals. The tyres are very hard rubber and will do until I find something better.

The pick-up assembly is what will really make or beak the build I suspect. I'm working on a few ideas in conjunction with the plans I have. I'll say here and now that I think it's one thing to get this puppy working ok on the bench, but another all together on the track. If I can get this working even "just ok" on the track I'll be deeply satisfied.

Following are some shots of the very basic chassis frame. I've since made progress on the drive shaft/gear section and will get some photos up soon.

Any and all thoughts and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Wow, Very cool, Keep posting your progress

Boosted


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## TGM2054 (May 14, 2011)

I'm thinking this is going to be cool. I just might have to try building one.


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

If you build it, they will copy you. :thumbsup:

This is going to be so cool!


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## gomanvongo (Jun 12, 2010)

sweeeeet! i've been toying with this idea for a while - i'm watching closely!

john


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## ctsvowner (Aug 9, 2010)

Very cool, This could inspire a whole lot more builds.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Hi all. Thank you for the positive comments and feedback. I do hope that this inspires a few people to have a go at a build of some description. That is after all why we post builds and show 'em off a bit. All I can say is grab a few lengths of brass, dust off the old iron and have a go. Following is the second section of progress.

Enjoy,
Michael._ :thumbsup:

I made email contact with John to thank him for the plans/guide. He seems like a pretty good guy and he did stress that it is a guide only. I've followed it pretty closely so far but have made several changes due to materials at hand, tools available etc etc.

Regarding the power of the iron, I can see myself investing in a 40W iron if I do more of this sort of thing. My solder is electrical 60/40, 5 core rosin at .71mm/.028". About half way into my current progress I grabbed some "Baker's" Soldering Fluid. It's zinc chloride acid flux. To be totally honest I found it made no difference at all. Perhaps it's not the right stuff for the job but it's what I was advised to use. Either way, I stopped using it just to save the clean up. The rosin core works for me. Have since been told that rosin core and acid flux don’t work well together.

So........further progress includes the drive shaft and gears. I used additional wire for extra bracing to the drive shaft as I found the method in the guide enabled a little flex in the drive line. This caused some binding with the gears but the extra wire solved that. Having lapped the gears for about an hour I have toothpaste sprayed all over my workbench but the drive line is beautifully smooth. I'm really happy with how this part came out.




























BTW, I was having a lot of trouble getting clean, square cuts on smaller parts so made this "slide table" for my rotary tool. Basically the upper table slides to/away from you via a groove in the lower board and shelf support pins fixed in the upper board. It works well but over a long time I can see the grooves wearing so may install an aluminium guide channel at some stage. Note - the side to side groove is not used. Hope this helps someone.


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

*Table*

Michael,
Keep it comeing, i love all brass builds. I also will build a slide table.
Nice work SJJ


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

what sjj said!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I've been wanting to try this for a long time, but never got the brass or 4X4 wheels/tires I needed to do it. I'm liking what you got so far!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

Awesome! Will keep watching til its done. :thumbsup:

Wes


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

Incredible... Can't wait to see it finished


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

Michael.. 
Having built many of these,, one thing to help make em work ,, THEY LOVE OIL! do not be afraid to lay it on em.. 
Continue to follow Johns directions and you will have hours of fun running your MT..

I built a jig out of brass for my chassis when I built em.. If you contact John he might be able to hook you up with some pics of the one he uses.. really a great tool.. and adjustable while still keeping the chassis and down tubes all square to the chassis.
:thumbsup:CJ


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## eastside johnny (May 13, 2008)

Nice build pictures.......great stuff
John Peckham is _THE MAN_ when it comes to building these monsters. Good guy for the hobby.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Hi guys,

CJ, testing so far confirms what you said about them with the oil. Lots of it brings out the best in the drive line. I also use silicone grease on the gears as I find it's less prone to being thrown off the gears.

Thanks for the comments. Any further thoughts, comments or suggestions are more than welcome.

Following is the next section of progress, hope it helps someone.

Cheers,
Michael._ :thumbsup:



The motor is a Tomy turbo. The guide I'm using recommends against them but only because they are hard/impossible(?) to solder to. For mine I have soldered brass wire retainers over the motor to hold it in place. The bottom of the can sits hard on the outer drive shaft case and the gears mesh perfectly. That part was complete luck. This photo shows what I did and has an example retainer in the background.










The worm gear is simply soldered to the drive shaft. I messed up a couple of bolts trying to get the hole centred and straight. Using a drill press I put the bolt thread first in the chuck and then centred a stationary drill bit in a press vice below it. I just found this http://vik-olliver.blogspot.com.au/2...wn-middle.html. It's essentially the same but gives a much better method of getting it all centred. Wish I had seen it a couple of weeks back.

This pic shows how well a 1/4" 20-threads-per-inch bolt marries up with an AFX idler gear. Perfect!










Here is a pic of the axle assemblies removed. Hope it explains the set up a little better. The two separate stub axle housings at the rear will be used to support the pick up assembly.










Ok, what next...........
Here are the main components for the pick up system. I taped the shoe strips together to help achieve the same bends in each one. That seemed to work pretty well.










Following, the pick up assembly is pretty well done but I'm sure will require tweaking and adjusting. The shoe on the right (first picture) is isolated from the rest of the assembly by heat shrink tubing and will feed the +ve side of the motor via the red wire. The rest of the brass will carry the -ve to the chassis and then to the motor. The guide I'm using is open to interpretation about how this system works and I've set mine up quite differently to John's. The "shoe plate extension pin" sits freely in the pick up arm and is prevented from sliding out by both +ve wire and the forward momentum of the car. This enables the shoe plate to swivel and I suspect that this is critical to it's operation. If this bad boy is climbing all over cars it will also be swaying side to side radically. If the pick up plate were rigid I'd lose electrical contact each time the car sways. Anyway, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. When this makes it to the track it may be a very different story........


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## Hittman101 (Oct 21, 2009)

Wow that's thats amazing!!!


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

Michael..
One huge problem you will find with the motor choice.. The MT , will run hot.. and those wiper brushes won't live long.. Hence the Guide suggestion on the Tyco/Mabuchi can motor with removable brushes.. you can replace them easier than the whole can or endbell. as needed.. 

CJ


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Very very nice. Neat idea. Do you have a track it will fit on?


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Awesome brass work! Clever and well engineered!


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanx for dropping into the customizing forum Jisp! 

Your scratchbuilt 4x4 project is very inspiring as it shows that small miracles can be created from very little. Just takes determination and a lot of craftsmanship. I especially enjoy the detailed high quality photo work and the play by play narrative. :thumbsup:


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Hi all - thanks for the comments and thoughts.

CJ, any idea why the motors tend to run hot when installed in an MT? Am I right to assume that this contributes to premature brush wear?

Bob, unfortunately I don't have a permanent layout (yet). I just use sectional Tomy track that I set up for periods of time with my kids. To date I have just been making 4 lane tracks and using either of the inner 2 lanes to accommodate the extra width of the truck tyres.

Bill, just trying to help make the pasture a little greener! My thanks to you.

On with the build.......... cheers,
Michael._ :thumbsup:



Following are the photos from the latest progress. The HOMTPA guide was again open to interpretation about how to best go about this step but it seemed to me that those guys somehow put all this together on the chassis. I couldn't see that working for me so I pulled the back end apart and mounted the axle housing segments on a 3/32 drill bit. The sleeved "crown" gear won't fit on the drill bit so I used an appropriately sized spacer in it's place. Essentially doing all of this just gave me some room to work while keeping everything where it needed to be.

I'll make a point here. Something I always do when soldering electrical/electronics/wiring etc, is tin the items to be joined prior to soldering. It's a practice I am so used to I never give it a second thought. For reasons unknown, I didn't do this when I started this build. It occurred to me that I should be doing it around the time I was beginning the pick up shoe plate. All I can say is do it! Not only does it make for a visually more solidly filled joint, it also requires less iron pressure on the brass components which in turn helps prevent them from moving around while soldering. It's also made my tired old 25W iron feel more confident in my hand, if that makes sense.

I'll get some pics of the pick up arm back on the chassis when I get a chance. This puppy is not far from ready for some track testing!

Enjoy the pics and feel free to fire any questions, comments or suggestions. I like 'em all!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Man, that's some fine looking soldering work!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## 22tall (Jul 28, 2002)

Great looking build Jisp.

Here are some pix of a monster truck built by MtYoder. No screw gears and he used the electronics from a Tyco U-turn car so you can do 180s.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

22Tall, thanks for posting the pics. Lots of great ideas going on in that build and very nicely executed. Man, I just love what can be achieved with a few bits of brass and some loose parts. The Tyco 180 pick up system is a great twist on things...... pun intended.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Hi all,

Back in the original thread for this build, on another board, I was asked what my photo setup is. It’s not as complicated as it sounds and even using just a few of the steps gives me better results. My method….._

I've been messing around with the photo side of things a bit and have found a method that seems to work for my set up.

The photos are taken in my shed on a white board with another for the backdrop. No fancy lighting, just what's in the shed - a 4 tube flouro on the ceiling and another smaller "swing out" flouro a couple of feet above the workbench. I position everything so that the smaller flouro sits above the white board. Because I take photos at different times the ambient light always differs so I've taken to manually setting the white balance against the white photo board every time I set up. I found this helps keep the look of the photos fairly consistent regardless of ambient light. Sounds like a lot to do but takes less than a minute.

My camera is not a true DSLR but offers a lot of manual settings that most point-and-shoot versions don’t. I use the macro function (not a separate lens) and close it up to F8 or 9 to increase the depth of field. The small aperture means a longer exposure so if I'm shooting low to the bench I sit the camera on an object of the right height or use a tripod for overhead shots. Either way I always use the 2 second self timer and am not touching the camera as the photo shoots. I never use the flash as I don't like the way mine works for this kind of thing. I prefer to increase the exposure time if need be.

From there I load it to the 'puter. I crop out what I don't want and resample to whatever size the board permits. If your software offers "Resample" rather than "Resize", always use it. I always sharpen the photo a little after the resample and adjust the lighting a little if required. I then save it as a .JPG file with just enough compression to keep it under the file size limit.

Paintshop Pro is the software I mainly use but there are numerous free software packages around that will do everything you could need and more. I won't post links to them but PM me if you'd like some suggestions.

_For the build itself there was discussion regarding tyre compounds and grip. Included in the discussion was methods of applying spring tension to the swing arm, including the suggestion of a small magnet or magnets attached to the pickup plate itself to help maintain current flow. From there it was on to the initial chassis testing...._

It works!! 

I was able to put a bunch of hours into this today. The wheel inserts and wiring were quick and easy. I also made a minor relocation to some of the drive shaft housing bracing because it was limiting the travel of the swing arm. Then it got ugly....... while trying to make a minor modification to a bend in the swing arm it slipped, or my fingers slipped or we all slipped and I snapped it off it's upper support frame. The resulting violent jerk then actually tore the copper tab away from the motor with the wire still attached. I'm quietly hoping that my neighbours did not hear my response. Lesson learned, I should have just removed the swing arm assembly from the chassis and not taken the short cut. Anyway, the repairs were fairly straight forward so I grabbed a few pieces of track and set up a small test straight on my bench.

It worked pretty much exactly as I would have hoped the second I hit the trigger. After a couple of runs up the short straight I did what any self respecting guy would do and stuck the two closest bodies I could find onto the track, in the path of the truck tyres. After hitting the trigger to around half throttle the truck rumbled down the track and drove straight over the bodies and kept going! Perfect! A few more runs at various speeds showed the tyres were slipping a fair bit. They were not very flat across the face and had a very small seam in the centre the entire way around. A drill and some course sand paper had that sorted out. The resulting grip is much better but still not as sticky as I would like. I'd like to be able to slowly crawl the truck up and over obstacles but don't have the grip so am relying, in part, on inertia. That's ok, I'm really pleased with how it works thus far and can mess around with tyres and tweaking as I go. The very simple, short testing I did today was a heap of fun and I'll soon look to setting up some sort of track circuit with different obstacles etc.

I want to repaint the body and make some custom decals but am yet to decide on a theme. The truck interior needs some work to fit back inside and the window glass will go back in place. I'll get some photos of the complete chassis with the new wheels up when I can but just wanted to get a short clip up first. BTW, the small neos on top of the pick ups were just held on with blu-tak and look like they are about to fall off. I'll sort that out in time. Thanks.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:

Click on the pic for the clip.


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## Black Oxxpurple (Jul 3, 2011)

That is sweet, Someday,,,,

I will build one or two of those.


Rob


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## rholmesr (Oct 8, 2010)

WOW 
I think that is about the coolest slot car I've ever seen.
Great work!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

22Tall,i don't see no AMC body on that thing,Craig must be slipping:wave::wave:

Wicked looking build:thumbsup:
Rick


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Awesome video!! Glad it works for you!! Man I gotta try this some day!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

monster truck mania. I love it!


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

That is really cool. I don't know if the Marchon Monster Trucks give anyone ideas but here are some pictures of those.


























As you can see they don't have nearly the ground clearance of what you have. Nowhere near as cool as what you have built 

The pickups are part of a plastic bar that moves a bit but not enough to roll over cars like you can. 

I looked to try to take this apart but it was not designed to be disassembled.


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## slotcarwilly200 (Apr 3, 2003)

cool 4x4 gonna have to try that when i get everthing else done. the marchon trucks do come apart but u have to take rims off first . then there is screws in the body. i did it but cant remeber how to get gears back to gether.


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Trucks gone wild!!

Thanks everyone who has been posting up to share on this thread! :thumbsup:

Love the video of the truck running over the cars....Super!!

Bob...all I got is a tiny Datsun...zilla


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Hi guys,

Once again, thanks for the kind remarks, comments and photos of other examples. Please, if anyone has anything they’d like to include or photos of other MTs, by all means go right ahead. There’s no fear of hijacking here, just sharing what’s out there.

Ok, having run some simple tests with the chassis two things became apparent. Tyre grip was insufficient and additional swing arm spring tension is needed. I decided to tackle the grip issue first and had many suggestions for methods to improve the grip on the tyres I had. Back in the other thread, this is how it went...._

Thanks also for the many suggestions for softening up the tyres, including PMs. I have zero doubt that all the methods work but for me it's difficult to know which ones work on what compounds (or more specifically, my tyres)........ so on with my scientist coat and into the lab. I grabbed another MJ truck from the store today to use the four wheels as guinea pigs. Here's what I propose.

I'll use four different products from those suggested so far. The four will be ones that I have at hand and so don't need to purchase anything just yet. For the record, all tyres have been cleaned with alcohol based electrical contact cleaner to remove any surface containments prior to starting.

Tyre1 - Ordinary plumbing grade silicone sealant applied as smoothly as possible, which is easier said than done!
Tyre2 - Liberal coating of Vaseline jelly. Set aside to "soak" in for a day or so followed with clean up.
Tyre3 - Several applications of Lacquer thinner applied a couple of hours apart (when I'm here).
Tyre4 - Several applications of Testors #3502 Plastic Cement applied as for tyre 3 above.

Note: The Testors is a ring in that I happened to have at hand. A very creative regular at HT (thanks Bill!) uses the stuff for all sorts of "conditioning & restoration" type work. My understanding is that it has great penetration properties and for the purposes of test tyres 2, 3 & 4 that's what I'm after.

Note 2: A while back I wanted to silicone coat some hard rubber tyres for another small project. I thinned ordinary plumbing grade silicone with mineral turpentine to around 1:1. This gave a very runny compound that was easy to apply in a thin, neat layer. Once dry however, it was easily rubbed off the surface with a finger. I have no idea if this was because it was thinned or due to the rubber I applied it to. For the purposes of tyre 1, I have left it "unthinned" to remove one element of chance.

Once the tyres have had their multiple coats/soaking times/curing times I'll get back with the findings.

Anyway, following are chassis photos as it stands at the time of testing. I left the body off because it gives a better view and because the body is about to go into the body shop......... enjoy. BTW, I'm considering employing a 1/64 driver for the team. More about that later.

_Cheers,
Michael_. :thumbsup:


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## Hittman101 (Oct 21, 2009)

Wow that turned out nice! One question are the tires soft rubber?


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

the simplicity and precision are overwhelming. very nice concept seen through to completion. really like the video. good job.


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## SouthLyonBen (Mar 14, 2012)

Next one needs a 23 ohm train motor


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

Hittman, as far as I can tell the tyres are rubber but not very soft (at least not soft enough). More on that in a post soon.

Thanks Al, I appreciate it.

Ben, you may well be right. Those little 23 ohm grunters of yours would probably be perfectly suited to this application. My MT is no speed demon but it's not short on torque. I reckon it could all be crammed into the chassis without too many problems either. Please refresh my memory - were the 23s the same circumference as an Aurora or AFX arm? I think they were.

Cheers,
Michael.


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## XracerHO (Feb 6, 2008)

Awesome brass craftmanship on the scratchbuilt monster truck frame & appreciated the step by step instruction. Thanks for sharing. ..RL


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

It looks like jewelry!


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

*very precise soldering!*

after really lookin at this build jisp has the hands of a sergeon and the mind of a mad man! what precission soldering and well thought out. great job.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Thanks for the positive input guys, I really appreciate it. Though, if I find my wife wearing this thing on a gold chain around her neck there'll be trouble._ :freak:

_On with the build..._


Interim results are in for the tyre treatment testing. What I find interesting is that all of the methods I tested are fairly well documented within the slot scene (from my experience and reading anyway) and it just goes to show that what works on one subject does not always work on another. My findings on the Hot Wheels Monster Jam tyres were:

Tyre 1 - Silicone sealant > *Negative.* This was the one I hoped for a positive result, it's just so grippy. The silicone rubbed off the tyre with light finger pressure.
Tyre 2 - Vaseline (very well documented treatment) > *Negative* after 2 days "soak" time. Made no noticeable difference.
Tyre 3 - Lacquer thinner > *Negative.* No noticeable difference after several applications.
Tyre 4 - Testors #3502 Plastic Cement > *Positive.* This seems to have genuinely penetrated the rubber and softened it somewhat. The tyre literally sucked it up. To explain.... If I take an untreated tyre and press the end of my finger nail into the raised tread it leaves a definite, visible impression. Repeating on the treated tyre the rubber springs back and leaves no impression. If I drag an untreated tyre along a section of track it slides with very little pressure. Repeating with a treated tyre it offers considerable resistance. There's no apparent negative effect on the integrity of the rubber.

I'm going to treat the tyres on the the truck with Testors and run some track time to get a true indication of the apparent benefit. One thing I'm unsure of is how long the benefit will last and I suspect that prolonged periods of non use would require retreating. Either way, this is looking like a very promising solution for this particular rubber. I'll update when I get some track time in. (EDIT: my testing shows the tyres need re-treating after several days.)

I mentioned a while back that I was considering hiring a 1/64 driver. Monster truck drivers are lean pickings around here. The "team" advertised in the local paper and well......... ummm....... we hired Debi. Actually, she was the only person to apply and while her CV was rather shabby she assured me that she could navigate a shopping trolley through Toys R Us without a single crash. "Hired" I yelled, somewhat sceptically. She's very enthusiastic about meeting all of the guys on the team and they seem to have welcomed her warmly. We took some promo shots and next thing I know she's in the workshop signing copies. I'm not convinced this is going to work out for the best.....

Have had very little time this week for the build. I ordered some 6 x 1.5mm neos to try on the upper surface of the shoes. The neo dots I have are too thick to fit and probably too strong when that close to the rail anyway. Should get the new ones very early next week.......

The body spent the day in paint thinner and when I checked, the paint was holding tight. No problem, I have some fairly "industrial" paint stripper that has never failed me and will set it to work when I get a chance. I usually try a less toxic method before using the heavy duty stuff. The cabin interior, rear tray and other assorted bits have been either hacked up, cut, ground or sanded to fit back in leaving enough room for the upper chassis frame. They were all chromed and I'm no fan of chrome interiors and trays so stripped it all back with common bleach. Amazing stuff, the chrome dissolved in a minute or two.

I'm thinking about paint schemes and names for the truck. High on my list of ideas is a ZZ TOP Ford Eliminator based paint/decal job with the truck being called "Annihilator" or "La Grange". Truth be told I'm thinking the latter given the errr, fun loving nature of the team driver, Debi.

Enjoy,
Michael. :wave:


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_A little further..._

Well, I'm expecting the little neos for the shoes to arrive tomorrow. I have all sorts of ideas for replaceable ski plates under the shoes, to counter the excessive wear.

But...........I'd be a fool to ignore the advice of "seasoned veterans" in the monster truck world and can save myself time. I can't see the sense in repeating what others have found didn't work (particularly the author of the plans I used!). Consider the low riding neo idea officially shelved. I'll keep 'em for a rainy day. I think I mentioned earlier that I suspected that even with mags near the track, spring tension may still be required and in my minds eye I'm starting to see why. I'll start experimenting with spring tension and mag placement when I can. Sincere thanks John and Todd, I appreciate it.

Other progress is a little slow at the moment. I did manage to strip the body and get some grey primer on it. I then noticed that the petrol filler on the side had a raised section that would probably cause problems with my idea for decals. No prob, grind it down and use a little Squadron Putty to fill the entire area ( don't ignore the warnings on the label!!). Respray that side...... and get 2 huge runs! I've done a number of resprays and have never had a run but now I get two! Tossed the critter into some thinner and started over. Here are a couple pics of the car prior to the run coat.



















For the graphics I found a reasonable shot of the Eliminator shot at 90 degrees to the side so it's fairly clear. I can "lift" the graphic with PaintShop Pro and modify it to my truck. 

BTW, Debi just phoned in saying she was unwell and can't come in today. I feel sorry for her because it sounded like someone was having a party in the back ground. How is she supposed to rest with all that loud music, a bunch of people chanting TGIF and something about beer bombs & bikinis. Poor kid! I'm worried......

After having more paint problems concerning compatibility (and another dip in the thinner) I changed primer and now have the basic red coat done. Man, it's so red it hurts your eyes but so did the actual Eliminator car. I'm thinking about fading in a black section across the rear, something I've never tried. (EDIT: A shameless confession – Randy’s work over at Hilltop was my eventual inspiration for this body and in particular, this one. http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showpost.php?p=3385631&postcount=1820)

I can’t get paint jobs like his but I can certainly try to improve. Will run a few tests on some scraps and see what I come up with.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Excellent choice of body for this project!! As far as paint fades go, while they can be tricky, a few guidelines will help.

1. An airbrush makes the whole process easier as you have a far greater amount of control. If you don't, try practicing with your spray bomb to only press the button part way. Less paint will come out with less button pressure. 

2. Tape off the area where you absolutely don't want the second color to be. Then slowly creep up on that magic line with the mist coats. It helps to spray a little farther away from the subject, and shoot the paint in light puffs versus a heavy shot.

3. Put a couple coats of clear between coats. If need be, a light wet sanding with 1500 or higher grit paper will take some over spray off, but be extra cautious of raised areas as they will sand much quicker that the flat level surfaces. This technique doesn't look like much of an alternative on this body because there's just too many things that would sand faster.

4. Make sure all your paints are compatible. You will have a difficult time spraying lacquer over enamel. If the red is lacquer and the clear is lacquer, you can spray black enamel over it with no problem other than the enamel may take longer to fully dry. It might make wet sanding a bit easier though if you're cleaning up enamel off lacquer for over spray. 

5. Have fun and learn from the project!! If it doesn't work out right this time, you're out a little paint and a little time. Try, try again!:thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Shooting a fade and "stretching" it requires CONTROL...of yourself and your equipment. 

The real trick to spray painting is to understand the fan or pattern of whatever rig your using and how to control it. The center of the fan is where we apply uniform liquid films. The edge of the fan is where over-spray occurs. Ordinarily, the overspray is absorbed in a properly applied liquid film because it's "wet in wet"; providing your viscosity, pressure, and fluid volume are set correctly. A fade occurs naturally when the edge of any color is allowed to overlap another color. It's where the edge of wet meets dry or already flashed (no longer liquid) paint. 

Where it diverges is that a bomb can is unadjustable AND the bomb can spray pattern is already as big as your project. Bomb cans are not scale compatible. Certainly folks CAN and DO accomplish it by using the ragged edge of the fan; but after using an airbrush you'll never go back to trying to fumble a fade with a bomb.

A dual action air brush allows the operator to meter fluid (paint) at closer to scale dimensions. With a mere twitch of your finger you can control precisely how much liquid is metered with a preset volume of air across the regulator. It's award at first and then painfully simple once you get muscle memory. Push the button down for air pressure, and lean it back for paint. The farther you pull it back the more liquid is metered. You can lay a puddle or a fog, and all points in between just by wiggling your finger.

In practice, assume your base color is applied; begin by carefully cutting in the edges of the second color at a medium rate, by using the first third of the control lever's total stroke.

Once the edges are covered and colored, ease the lever beyond the halfway point and use the latter half of the control lever's total stroke to apply the second color as a good liquid film. Work towards the targeted fade area and begin easing back on the lever as you approach the fade. By easing back on the fluid as you approach the fade you can begin to fog off the transition to the adjoining color.

To stretch the fade zone, pull the nozzle back or the work piece away; and-or, roll the work piece's transitional edge away from the fan. Less is more at the point of transition. You can always add another puff, but they're awfully hard to take back.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I am no paint expert by any means but all I can say about how to get a good fade is practice, Get a piece of paper on cardboard & just practice. Another thing I have done is to add a 3rd color like white or silver, when I made a small mistake on the 2nd color, you would be surprised at what you can cover up with just a little additional color. These guys are dead on, Practice go slow, and use light passes not trying to color it all in one pass. I have done a couple with rattle cans, and a fan, but a good dual action air brush is the ticket, of course if your like me you will cuss & threaten to throw the thing away every time you use it as they are difficult to learn to use, Trust me I am still learning. 

Good luck

Boosted


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_Gentlemen, thank you for the many tips and suggestions regarding the paint and fade. It's a tricky little talent to be sure! I have a single action brush that I use for most of my spraying and did quite a bit of testing before hitting the real thing. I managed some semi reasonable results in testing. A couple of beers gave me the nerve to hit the real thing and I'm happy enough with the result. I got some better results in testing but that's life.

One tip I really like is Slotcarman's suggestion of a couple of clear coats between colour coats. That's pure gold and something I have never thought of.

Well, I can pretty well wrap this build up now. The swing arm springs are sorted and the paint is dry........... please enjoy. (Oh, and build, build, build!)

Cheers,
Michael._ :thumbsup:


While walking past my kids sewing some hand puppets I spied something shiny and brass coloured on the table. Being a magnet for shiny brass things, closer inspection revealed small brass safety pins (bobby pins). Bingo! Perfect for springs. I modified one for each side of the swing arm & brace. One end tucks around the brace and is levered behind the top rear chassis rail. With a little tension adjustment I'm really pleased with how they work "on the track" so far, with limited time for testing. With the body off they hold the front wheels just off the surface. With the body mounted the front wheels touch the surface and the car pops a little wheelie taking off (thanks John). The second photo shows the springs installed and in the compressed position.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

_.... continued._

The body paint took for ever due to cold weather, extended curing times and the previously mentioned paint compatibility probs. I went with a two tone "more or less" version of ZZ Top's Eliminator car and have called the car La Grange. Can't help but wonder if the song details Billy, Dusty and Frank's favourite haunt......

The original chrome interior got a work over with red/white seats and dash gauges as per the music videos featuring the car. Meet La Grange.......





































Umm..... now, errr..... about Debi. She continues to amuse and captivate the support crew with her antics and ummmm.... friendly manner. When she heard the body was done she came straight down to the track to check it out. On seeing the name on the back she remarked how much she loved the fact that we must have named the car after a historic Spannish or Italian monster truck track. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.......

She then asked if she can keep her new scooter in the back for rapid snack trips and visits to the "girls room". Naturally I agreed but thought it strange that a grown woman would still ride a foot powered scooter. Evidently her definition of scooter and mine differ. Her scooter is a brand spanking new Ducati! Crazy kid.........


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Three letter one word descriptors....

"ART!" "WOW!" "BAM!" "OMG!"

Are you considering clear coating your brass sculpture work? I have one of Yoders, and naturally the chassis has tarnished over time.


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## Black Oxxpurple (Jul 3, 2011)

Glad that I do not have to load that bike in and out of the truck.

Nice Work on the Truck

Rob


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Truly an engineering masterpiece!! This is 100% proof that John Peckham's instructions are pretty much flawless. I've tossed around trying one of these builds for a long time. This might just be the kick in the pants to motivate me!! I just wish I had the proper track to run on.

Awesome job Jisp!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

That is awesome. Great work! Who ya backing for Bathurst this weekend Jisp?


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## firchkn (Mar 25, 2011)

Awesome work, wish i could do it.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

well most who I know that ride call em scooters! 
really like the neat build and show of how.
KUDOs


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## Super Coupe (Feb 16, 2010)

Great work!!! Thanks for the play by play on how to build one. :thumbsup:
>Tom<


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

Bill Hall said:


> Are you considering clear coating your brass sculpture work? I have one of Yoders, and naturally the chassis has tarnished over time.


Have you seen what Yoder's levitating MTs go for on the Bay. Hang onto that one! I didn't think about clear coating it but perhaps I should. Having said that, it's now in the hands of my young daughters so it probably needs something a little harder wearing. Nah, I shouldn't say that.... my youngest just loves it and treats it with very delicate hands.



Black Oxxpurple said:


> Glad that I do not have to load that bike in and out of the truck.
> 
> Nice Work on the Truck
> 
> Rob


Thanks Rob. BTW, Debi's rather relaxed nature has ensured that there's never a shortage of gents willing to load or unload the Duke for her.



slotcarman12078 said:


> Truly an engineering masterpiece!! This is 100% proof that John Peckham's instructions are pretty much flawless. I've tossed around trying one of these builds for a long time. This might just be the kick in the pants to motivate me!! I just wish I had the proper track to run on.


Slotcarman, I couldn't agree more. The design and John's plans are an absolute masterpiece. Yup, you need to read over them a few times to sort it out in your frontal lobe but everything you need is right there and open for improvisation. Give a build a go, there's nothing to lose. For track, any small four lane oval will do the job to begin with.



kiwidave said:


> That is awesome. Great work! Who ya backing for Bathurst this weekend Jisp?


Thanks Dave. For the V8s it's gotta be Ford and I'm looking for #5 Winterbottom/Richards over the line. We'll see.........


Again, thank you for the comments and thoughts. They are very much appreciated. I managed to get some decent track time with this little beastie and shot a bunch of video footage. Am in the process of cutting and dicing the video and will post it up when I'm done.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:

BTW, how does one get a custom avatar in their posts?


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

I recieved Yoder's gravedigger as an exorbitantly generous gift/trade from our very own JoeZ; for some plastic work I did way back when.

Naturally my grandson is mesmerized by it...and so am I...and all who see it.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Custom avatars are a subscription thing. A 20.00 yearly or 50.00 lifetime gets you that perk, plus raises your PM storage level up to 100. Other perks are your ability to change your title under your name (like mine is "LED Burner Outer"), your stored photo capacity is higher if HT hosts your pix. It also allows you to lock your threads should you want to. Best of all, it supports the best HO slot car site, which isn't cheap. Bandwidth and upgrades cost $$$$.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Jisp, That is a great looking truck and you did a great job on the Fade, A true work of art.

Great job on the safety pin addition, perfect example of what you can find to work if we just open our eyes & think.

Boosted


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

I'm DROOLING!!!! Nice Truck!! :thumbsup:

Wes


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