MR ED 's ultima hop-ups

[Mr. ED]

Yes, I still need to add the lower section with sidepods and sidebars. Once those are on it will look less wild-one'ish

[tamiyadan]

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[Mr. ED]

Thanks for posting these images Dan.

I still have work to do on the quadra-symmetric suspension, and I should add the front shocks and complete the chassis... but I felt like doing something a bit more fun.
And I had the feeling the lack of tires was giving a false sense of proportion between the wheels and frame.
So here's the result of tonights self-entertainment:

[Mr. ED]

work in progress:

And it will fit the utlima2 chassis too:

[Mr. ED]

Ok, after looking at the previous cage for a while I thought it looked too much like a certain Tamiya and MRP model based of the real life funco single seater buggy n the black and white picture.
So back to the drawing board, and this came out:

I really like this a lot. Time to add a wing mount and clean up the tube joints, add mounting points, maybe add some reinforcement ribs and panel mount points

[Mr. ED]

I went through loads of images for reference and inspiration and it keeps getting better... I hope?

[matt1ptkn]

I'm really liking that latest version!

[Mr. ED]

Thanks for your feedback.
I'm still debating whether to keep or remove these 3 pipes:

[tamiyadan]

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[Coelacanth]

Looks good! I'd remove the extra pipes if they're not providing any added structural rigidity. If it were me, I'd lower the roofline at the front a tad, giving it a more downward angle to make it a bit sleeker...and would also help it look less like a Wild One. But that's worth only 2 cents.

[Mr. ED]

Thanks for the input guys. I got some ideas that should get along well with yours. Time to finish my drink and head to the hotel for some cad fun.

[Mr. ED]

So, here it is. I lowered the front of the roof as suggested and removed the middle pipe so the front window is a decent size again.
I kept the 2 side pipes and added a bit of 'sheet metal' as a mounitng base for Dan's side lights, or mirrors or whatever you design/print.
Roof lights... I don' really want to add those as part of the frame, but I can send you the cad file if you want to design accessories to fit on

I also modified the rear shape of the side windows to resemble the typical Kyosho window.
And... well the picture says enough

PS: a side view for comparison:

[XLR8]

That looks just about right -- especially from the side view. Are you planning to print the cage?

[Mr. ED]

Thanks Jeff.
I think our idea of what a buggy looks like is more based on what rc buggies look(ed) like than what the real deal looked like.
Looking at the old pictures, those late 70"s buggies were shorter, higher and narrower with smaller wheels and tires and shocks.
I'm happy to meet the rc expectations on the cage shape halfway though: as I'm not going to attack those other aspects and turn this into a scale modeling exercise.
I will prepare the model as good as I can and make it available for printing. It will not be printable on a standard filament printer though. Glassfiber reinforced pa (nylon) on a sinter printer (sls?) would be the way to go.
Unfortunately I need to save up money and printing my own copy may not happen in the next... 2 years

[Coelacanth]

That looks very nice, when you make them...I want one!