Sand Scorcher

[dinglem]

I actually got double-lucky as the guy who gifted me the original car messaged me not too long ago and said he had come across a box of spares that I was welcome to head over and collect. When I got there it turned out to be a box containing two more cars, albeit stripped, and one of which was this MkI along with an absolute heap of parts... pretty much an entire carrier-bag full. I have since sold one of them to fund the rat-look bodyshell project, and the other one (the original one in the red shell at the start of this thread) is still sat untouched for the time being.

I agree i probably wouldn't have splashed out on a Sand Scorcher but I have always liked them, and seeing as this nice Mk1 came my way I decided to give it a whirl.

I have gone from racing RC cars to sitting with modelling paint and a paintbrush trying to make things look rusty! I gave the rear slatted window cover a bit of patina a few days ago, as well as prepping a shovel to also add somewhere on the back of the car. Came out ok i think.

[Dadio]

Nice or maybe Nasty

[matt1ptkn]

It looks like a piece of junk. Great work!

[dinglem]

It looks like a piece of junk. Great work!

[dinglem]

Well thanks to some sharp work from a very skilled member of this forum I have managed to get an RC care package sent out to me whilst working offshore.... during a port call yesterday the lovely missus brought me some bits and bobs to work on whilst at sea.

First up, a pair of funky and slightly industrial looking wing mirror mounts which in my opinion suit the overall look of this car much better than the standard kit versions. I spent last night rusting them up and detailing them, and managed to get them onto the shell just now. The actual mirrors are made from 15mm round magnets which seem to be around the correct thickness to look right.

At the same time i swapped-out the blank numberplates for some better looking versions, and had a bit of fun with the pliers bending them out of shape a little prior to fitting.

I also fitted the rusted-up rear window slats and the shovel on the rear wing at the same time. More details to add, but it is starting to look how i had pictured it now.

[Dadio]

Thats dirty rc porn , you should be ashamed

[dinglem]

Starting to look how I pictured it anyway

Next, the foggy windows have gone.... rear sides being replaced with mesh. Sticking it down on the inside was again much tougher than i had originally anticipated, but is going to suit the look of the car well i think.

[Bottom Feeder]

That rust detail looks fantastic. I wish I had that kind of artistic skill. As it is I can barely keep a taped line from bleeding or apply a decal straight. Damn old eyes and hands now. lol

I dig the netting for the side windows but I vote for keeping the foggy windshield at least.

[dinglem]

The good thing about the rust detailing is that the more you mess it up, the better it looks!

I am working on a slightly larger piece tonight, more rusting involved so i have to nail that one really.

I have plans for the windscreen, but there is a reason why i have removed the side glass..... notwithstanding that it was so cloudy that you wouldn't be able to see the driver figures i have set aside for this.

[dinglem]

Well..... Dadio, take a bow.

I decided i wanted to fit an old rusted up Thermador Swamp Cooler to this build, and so sent off some pictures of it to our local 3D printing guru Dadio.

Here are a few of the ones i sent him....

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He didn't let me down. Whilst he was working his magic i got my sticker guy to replicate the Thermador logo to a suitable/teeny scale.

I have just painted it up and mocked it up in the car. Next thing for me to do is attach it to the inside of the roof but it has come out so well i am actually a little stunned

I also somehow managed to nail the paint effect I was hoping for, kind of a weathered metallic tin finish a bit like the first real life photo above, at the first attempt.

[Dadio]

Now the driver will be as cool as the car

[dinglem]

Ok, so the next thing to do was transform the standard boggo plastic rear motor cage thingie into a rusted metallic one.... so out with the paints, paprika and curry spices....

[Dadio]

All round love it , those rear tires look fantastic on Scorchers

[dinglem]

It is getting there now. I need a neater way to secure the Cooler to the inside roof and I think I will have to do that in a few weeks when I get home. I need to do it otherwise it will hit the head of the driver/passenger figures i have set aside for this. For now though I am going to look at a general clean up of the chassis components and try to get everything in order there. Lastnight I beasted the heavily clouded 'glass' and cut out a side window so i could go for a wound down window effect. It was surprisingly hard to do actually - trying to match the profile of the top of the window with the top of the door without making it look too wonky compared to the actual door profile.

Electrics-wise, I am considering using one of the pre-FET Demon speed controllers I have in my collection. The two I have are date-stamped from 1981 and 1982 so ideal for this really. I also have a few early Mabuchi/Igarashi motors I could potentially slot in - I have done my research to find the right motors for this one

My MG Magnum O B/Race original was specifically made as a ballraced high-torque buggy motor, suggesting it was for the Rough Rider in the 1983 adverts. I also have a pair of 1983 540-based MG's - the Buggy Special and a CBB, so plenty of choice. Basically just something a little hotter than a boggo silver can whilst remaining period correct.

26T fully ballraced March 1983

27T CBB April 1983

25T Buggy Special July 1983

[coxbros1]

Nice ! a free Sand Scorcher... wow.... why doesn't that happen to me....

You ever heard the phrase the rich get richer?