HG-P407 "Bruiser Clone" Arrived Today!

[Dadio]

Thanks , I'm happy for now that my driving is holding it back more than the suspension .
I'm going to do the front U bolts ,remove the front diff guard and probably fabricate a roll bar/roof cage but other than that I think I'm happy .

[Dadio]

Its only when you try driving and filming that you realise how hard it is , sorry for the shadow of the fat man and other giants , its also hard to get a sense of how steep the terrain is , anyway this was shot at my favourite dog walking spot St Martha's Hill near Guildford , Surrey UK.
https://youtu.be/WuAn31b3vsI
https://youtu.be/n7rUmifbN04
https://youtu.be/WwpRKMk7FRo

[XLR8]

Your truck articulates very nicely -- probably among the best of any leaf truck I've seen.
The truck handled that high brush much better than I'd expected.
Good job avoiding the roll-overs and any doggy cigars that might have been lying around.
I've never tried to video an RC in a public place. How do people react generally -- are they ever rude?

[Dadio]

There was one minor roll but I was not filming at the time , where I was driving was a way off from the car park so most dog mess was avoided plus this particular area has poo bins for doggy doo doo and you can be fined for not clearing up after your dog , it mostly works .
I would not go bashing in this particular area as its a well known beauty spot but driving slowly there was very little interest in what I was doing , its not like I was going to loose control and injure anybody
I was not really sure I'd enjoy trailing and climbing and I've never done it before but I have to say I find it really absorbing and challenging in a very different way .
While I was out some more M3 studding arrived so I've made up new U bolts for the front axle as well .

[Dadio]

I just found the front axle input bearing has no shield at all ! Just bearings totally exposed , Just replaced it .

[XLR8]

I found one or two of those myself although I can't recall where I found them. HG appears to have been supplied with mixed bags of bearings perhaps from various sources. Some of mine have metal shields while others have rubber seals - some seals brown and some green. Not a complaint, I still love the truck (heck of a lot of fun to drive) -- just something to watch for.

[Dadio]

I just came across a useful mod , the front knuckle have a lot of slop in them , a lot of the slop is in the loose fit of the big bearing onto the knuckle , what you do is take a soft drinks can ( or beer can ) and cut little strips of the can the width of the bearing and 2 or 3mm wide and slip these between the inner bearing face and the knuckle , I found 2 strips did the trick , your looking to have to push quite hard to fit the bearing back on ,this takes away most of the slop .

[Dadio]

i made up some inner door panels this evening ,made out of plasticard .





I also took her out today to a BMX track the kids made in the woods , had a great time for over an hour , I took 2 4500mah battery's with me but only used one , when I got back I charged the battery and it took 3000mah ! These things run forever on one battery !

[XLR8]

I've noticed that as well. I've been running a 5200 mah and I always run out of time before the battery runs out.
Nice work on the door panels.
Get your driver a big box of donuts will ya -- he looks hungry!

[Dadio]

It made me think maybe smaller lighter battery's may be a good thing , the battery sits up quite high and for crawling or climbing it must be bad for COG , a lighter battery like the stock one , a soft case or a shorty pack might be better than the just using the biggest one you have .
If only I could find 1/10 scale Scooby Snacks ! I was thinking of putting some litter in the car , Shaggy seems the type who would have snack food wrappers filling the car .

[Dadio]

My copilot arrived.

[Basher67]

I love it! Best choice of rc driver/passenger I've seen in a while. Cool and original.

[Dadio]

I've taken a few tumbles recently and I've cut away the front arches so far I've exposed the screws that attach the front grill/headlight panel so I had to hot glue them internally but I also cut down the big plastic bull bar front bumper , I just cut off the side parts , I think it looks quite good now .



And does it look better with Willow our border collie or without ?

[Basher67]

I really like what you did with that bumper.
Still waiting on parts to arrive, mainly the tires. I finally got the shocks worked out and they were worth the trouble. They are super smooth. Although the diameter is a little big to be truly scale, I was still happy with the results. I used axial rear shocks hoops and some aftermarket shock mounting plates for an axial up front. I originally was going to use the plates in the rear, but because of clearance issues, I had to use the hoops to be able to space the top of the rear shock closer to the frame. I may change out the front plates to hoops later just because they look more scale.

[Dadio]

That all looks very tidy , I like the hoop mounts at the rear and agree about fitting them up front too, you went for the front shock behind the axle as well , it does give a much straighter track rod to the servo and must be better geometry . Do I also spy a motor change ? What did you go for ?