Father of Dragons(Bakugan Dragonoid monster truck replica)

[johnnydmd]

Well, either I was blind, or RC4WD now had a third metal rod end length available, so I ordered them and was able to refactor my links without the use of shims. I am working on my guide for Mad Crusher platforms to go to aluminum link and 8 shock setups, should be published pretty soon.

No muss, no fuss This is much cleaner and presumably stronger than the hacked shim versions. Only downside is they sell these rod ends in packs of 10, so you end up with quite a few extras, though I'm fairly certain I'll find something really useful to use them for(the panhard links seem to be calling to me).

 

[johnnydmd]

Making good use of these rod ends on my steering linkages. A few more to go Panhard bars use a different size thread, so those are a nogo unless I replace the bars themselves. Also tempting Also I truly hate these linkages as you cannot adjust without disconnecting and turning the ends. I should replace them with turnbuckles, because getting the alignment on a five link MT suspension right is a real biatch.

 

[johnnydmd]

Got the "fleet" out this weekend, built a tiny backyard MJ style course with a ramp, and probably pissed of the neighbors some, but what are you gonna do in a time like this, eh?

Couple of action shots before I set up my course...

Running the course with the Zombies was fun! I especially abused the "beater" and sent it a few times, lol. Held up just fine. The rubber arms were hilarious. Then I got busy with Bakugan Dragonoid, and quickly learned that controlling a 4 wheel steering vehicle is a LOT more difficult(not to mention the insane power it has). Tweaked some settings on the truck and controller, and got it more manageable, but it's gonna take a LOT of practice for sure, but I can see it's potential as a potent racer - the cornering on this thing is extreme, and very stable. I ran it quite a while, hit the jump well, and poorly, probably rolled it six or seven times in the process of landing(mostly because keeping it straight was a chore on the ramp). The body held up beautifully. One of the light sockets that was hot glued in(apparently not well enough, popped loose), but the body itself held up nicely without any cracks. That is, until I plowed it pretty hard into my juniper that has a bunch of thick, trimmed off branches jutting out, and caught a branch up under one of the shoulder pieces. Cracked that pretty good, but JB Weld fixed that up and I put it back on and practiced a bit more later in the day. I do have spare body parts already painted and fitted but I think this piece still has some life left in it

 

[Hemiclod]

That is awesome...amazing work!!!!

 

[Rolex]

You're a sick man. A very sick man. Good to have you with us.

 

[johnnydmd]

I built a spare body over the weekend, tried out a little different color scheme, with the red "peeled" back exposing some orange. This body came out a little better with less imperfections than the first, as I refined my forms some, and have gotten a little better at the forming of them. My intention was for this truck to race at the No Limit RC World Finals this year, but that's been cancelled This body was for the "show and shine part", the other body is my racing "beater" body - which btw has been holding up very nicely and still looks as good as new though I don't bash it, I have just been racing it on my backyard Monster Jam "J" track. Plenty of flips and rollovers without problems other than getting dirty(and because I backed it with clear FlexSeal, it's super easy to just hose it down without hurting the paint. Because of the way this is formed(using 4 separate poly sheets), the end result is that the parts are all very sturdy since the plastic isn't hugely stretched. Using the .6 poly seems good to allow enough flexibility on the wing parts for those rollovers, I think bumping up to .8 or 1 would invite cracking? I had the horn come off a couple of times, but it's a cinch to just screw it back on. I use a tiny bit of nitro fuel line as a washer to help protect the inside of the body for the horn screws. I also made a set of spare wings and shoulders for the racing body that are pre-drilled and fitted so I can keep it looking fresh should anything break.

Will try and get some nicer pics of the spare body soon...

 

[johnnydmd]

So, couple of more pics of the new body. Definitely a nicer version.

I've also been doing work on the steering. I really wanted to replace all of the plastic arms with alloy, as those things flex and wobbled all over the place....it was sloppy for sure. Moving the servo to the axle would fix that for sure, and that's probably in the future, but I had something else I just wanted to try in the meantime because I had one of them laying around - and that was replace the steering cranks with Traxxas Slash alloy cranks with dual bearings, since the layout was nearly dimensionally perfect. It wasn't too hard really, just a little trickeration, and some adjustments, and definitely more stable and smooth. I wanted to use some more of my alloy rod ends for the tie rods, and need to offset one because they were just large enough to rub a bit on each other. I also discovered that my center pivot crank post was super wobbly(not tightened down enough from the factory) and that reduced the slop significantly as well. So I replaced both cranks for the 4ws and tested, so far so good.

Been playing with shock settings too, trying to get it a little more plush on landings. It's better, but I might try a different shock on each of the corners. Might replace the 110mm ones with something else. These are ok, and I got it less bouncy, but I still think there is room for improvement.

 

[johnnydmd]

Dragonoid bodies 1, 2, and 3. First two are mine(first one got a small refresh, painted the wings a little more solid instead of translucent, and had a spare head that came out a bit better, so swapped and kept the original as a spare. #2 with the peeled back effect is a show body only, unless I'm in a pinch. #3 is one I built for one of Bari Mussawir's clients that he referred to me.

These things are positively exhausting to build...but I am getting better and faster. Might be the last one I do for awhile, boating season has started and my weekends are suddenly booked until November

 

[johnnydmd]

Did a shock upgrade yesterday. I was planning this a long time ago, but it took forever for these things to come in from Boom Racing. These shocks were a little more expensive, but man, they are super smooth! Definitely the smoothest internal spring shocks I've had. Jumped it a bit in the yard and it was much better on the landings, which where a bit on the bouncy side previously.

The chassis at least configuration wise is pretty much where I want it. I've had to do a LOT of steering tweaks, and I'm still on the fence on whether to swap the axles for RC4WD aluminum. I don't know what the weight gain would be. The total weight of the RC4WD axles is 20.8 oz, so I'm thinking it would be in the neighborhood of a pound. Truck is around 11 lbs now, so I think it could be ok, and still be under 13.5 limits. It would probably make it handle even better though. The only other planned cosmetic updates are that I do want to make some driveshaft loops to really finish things off. I also am not a fan of the stock radio box, I might construct my own(it's super crammed and layout in the chassis makes shock removal/installation on one side a PITA.

But...still not done I have a new engine on the way(not sure if I mentioned before that I had planned on upgrading that at some point). Decided on the SH .28 8 port. It's the second most powerful nitro I could find, behind the LRP .32 The LRP .32 has had quite a few mixed reviews in recent years, and I've had great luck with SH engines in the past. I already have a SH .28 3 port which is also quite strong and reliable, but I figured might as well get the 8p for this one. The KE 25 isn't a bad engine at all, always super, super easy to start and runs consistent, but the SH .28 is just far more powerful. I noticed a huge difference sticking the 3p in the other week for a little test. The 8p should be ridiculously fast. Also wound up getting an adjustable 3shoe Fiorino clutch(after buying a Reds Tetra 4shoe and discovering that you need a 4shoe clutch bell - which for this truck is an impossibility due to it being a one of a kind 3 speed clutch bell).

 

[D3MON]

those red shocks really make it pop! so do the aluminum links. going to be pretty insane with that 28-8, definitely let us know how you like it! so far I've had great experience with the SH engines I've owned. I've kind of got lucky and had a decent mix of engines manufacturers, so far probably the most consistent has been the SH made engines (dynamite in my case). looking forward to updates!

 

[Obstacle_Magnet]

Cool! Wish that i had the skills to make that

 

[johnnydmd]

those red shocks really make it pop! so do the aluminum links. going to be pretty insane with that 28-8, definitely let us know how you like it! so far I've had great experience with the SH engines I've owned. I've kind of got lucky and had a decent mix of engines manufacturers, so far probably the most consistent has been the SH made engines (dynamite in my case). looking forward to updates!

I was supposed to get the engine yesterday, it was even marked as "shipped" with tracking number. USPS never received it. Starting to smell a scam. Super pissed about that...

I received my Fioroni clutch. If I'm not mistaken, they are the manufacturer for the Reds Tetra as well. This is a very nice clutch. It does fit in the clutch bell, well "mostly". There is a tiny bit of the shoes that are not covered, but I am hoping this isn't a problem - because I like the craftsmanship of this thing, and that it's adjustable.

Also took the plunge and got the RC4WD axles. What pushed me over the fence is hearing/seeing a lot of people saying that the stock ones break, especially when using clod sized tires and heavier rims - and subsequently seeing that since the pandemic, finding replacements is difficult. Figure I better get these before there's a run on them when people can't get stuff from Kyosho. Plus, well, shiny

 

[Rolex]

Plus, well, shiny

That's all that REALLY matters. Quality is secondary.

 

[johnnydmd]

That's all that REALLY matters. Quality is secondary.

True story, lol

 

[johnnydmd]

Well the axles are on, and I also wanted to take a look at adding torsion swaybars, because after seeing how it launched with the SH .28P3, I had to see if I could make it come off the line a bit straighter with less lift and torque steer. I didn't want to stiffen the shocks, so I tried and failed to acquire kyosho's swaybar kit for the Mad Crusher. Figured I could find some other one and make it work somehow, and I was right! The Hot Racing swaybar for the YETI worked perfectly, without any serious modifications. This is definitely going into one of my Mad Crusher/Force how-to guides.

All I had to do was remove the plastic rod on the wheelie bar, drill the hole out a little, cut some hollow plastic tubes to replace that and use as spacers on the outside, hook up the swaybar, and it was perfect.

The only thing that concerned me at all was that if on a wheelie, would the swaybar link hit the ground, but nope, it's got about 1 inch of clearance, which I think is just fine.

I let it sit for a couple of hours to let the Loctite set, and then ripped it around my yard a bit to see how it would work. What a huge difference! It launches straight, and hard, and I'm not losing any of the shock absorption on jumps. Ran it for about 15 minutes to shake it down, and nothing came loose

My SH .28P8 comes today That will be the true test once I get that broken in.

On a side note, I sent out a body for a customer, and he really loved how it fit on his SMT10.

I am working on yet another one, this one for Camden Murphy, who drives the real deal. The supply company sent me .080 poly by mistake, and it's a noticeably thicker, and heavier build. I am curious as to how that will hold up vs the .060 versions, which are quite strong, but allow some flexibility without cracking. For example, I can bend the wings down to the body without problems on the .060, though stiff, it bends without cracking. The .080 is very rigid, it bends but needs quite a bit more force, and I wonder if it won't eventually crack.

 

[johnnydmd]

Long time, no update, but been busy on this beast and some other stuff for sure.

I finished the body for Camden Murphy, and he absolutely loved it! At .080, this thing is brutally tough, I cannot imagine it breaking unless colliding with something at an extreme speed. I think for freestyle and bashing, this body is perfect. It's waaaay too heavy for racing though.

Now he just needs to get his Mad Crusher

As for my truck, I've made two very major modifications with performance in mind. The first thing was to start looking at reducing weight, as I've added probably a pound or more overall with the axles, swaybars, and suspension parts. The first, and obvious thing is to replace those heavy steel sideplates with CF versions. I decided to make them myself, which minus a mini bandsaw is a little rough, but I was able to do a pretty decent job using my dremel tool.

I probably could have cut out more areas, but I was a little worried about too much flex. I forget the weight savings, but it was at least 1/4 lb. Not a huge reduction, but finally moving in the right direction for once!

The next mod was even more significant. I've been lamenting that the stock 3 speed transmission has zero aftermarket support, and that the clutch bell is too small for any other clutches besides Kyosho's. I had bought a pair of REDS Tetra's that I really, really wanted to use, and I also really didn't like having a trans with multiple speeds for Monster Jam style racing. Really don't like it trying to shift while coming into a turn, and I also felt that first gear was a bit under geared. I'd also like the freedom to change pinion gears to suit different course designs.

So I did some research, and saw a bunch of people simply adjust the trans to skip first, or even second gear. That's actually not a good idea, as the way the trans is designed, it'll wear out very quickly doing it that way. Looking at the thing in pieces, I figured it wouldn't be hard to convert it to a single speed unit. Just needed a few items(four 6mm bearings, three 6mm washers, two 6mm collars. Easy.

This also reduced some rotating mass, and especially with the extremely heavy stock clutchbell(I swear that thing is half a pound, need to weigh it!).

This allowed me to put in my brand new powerplant/drivetrain:

I used an 18t pinion gear up against the 46t spur. Stock is 14t for first gear against the 46t spur. This gives a ratio of 2.5 which is a bit less than the stock second gear ratio of 2.38, but more than the stock first gear of 3.3, which I felt was a pretty good starting point. Best thing is that I have a 14t and 16t bell that I can switch too

Nothing is totally easy though. The engine mounts had to be modified on one side to accommodate the 18t pinion as there is a mounting post squarely in the way of moving the mounts.

A little beveling with a dremel solved that issue.

So I broke in the SH .28 p8 and got to doing a little testing. Whoo boy...

1. The SH .28 p8 is one serious beast. Compared to my .28 p3, well, no comparison. Compared to the stock KE .25, well the p3 was much stronger, so this is just insane. With the p3 I actually had twisted one of the swingshaft dogbones into a pretzel. I decided to replace all of the stock dogbones with CVD's, just to be safe, and also to get rid of another power robbing friction point.

2. With this kind of power, the 18t/46t simply gobbles up ground. It literally just leaps around the yard, it's insane how fast this thing is now. Still has enough top end for Monster Jam style racing for sure. I will need to do some testing vs the 16t gear. I suspect that the 14t gear would make the truck uncontrollable.

3. The REDS Tetra is easily the sweetest, smoothest clutch I've used. Amazing the difference from the stock one, to the Fiorino 3 shoe, to this one. I tried the 3 settings, and concluded that for MJ style racing, the L setting is best, though M was useful. The H was not good for tight course racing IMO, just not quick enough off the line.

So at long last, this project is completed! There have been a lot of tweaks, adjustments, but it's pretty close to the original vision I had for it. My next truck project is a 1/16 version of this, and yes, nitro powered with an SH .07 In the meantime though, I've been working on building my portable MJ race course components, of which I will start a new thread on soon.

 

[AClegg]

I'm jealous!

 

[johnnydmd]

So yeah, this thing done had a baby

Chassis is a WPL C16, engine an SH .07

I removed the 370 motor, and will use a 1/16 E-Revo input shaft and slipper. (Should) be a perfect fit. Wheels and tires will be from a 1/16 Traxxas Gravedigger. Body will be a 1/16 version of the Bakugan Dragonoid.

I received this chassis from Banggood, and while the components are really nice, all metal including gears, it was missing some stuff, transmission was assembled wrong, etc. Ok. Had to pry the driveshaft off of one of the output shafts that it was incorrectly attached to, because the set screw was both soft as butter and red-loctited in place. Was able to bang it onto the right shaft after removing, but I don't feel good about that, I will probably just drill it out and put in a new set screw. It's tight and all, but I don't want to lose anything because I think it's probably hard to get parts.

Everything I need for this is on order, some of it not coming for another month or so, but in the meantime I got the chassis adjusted so that it is free and smooth with no binding. The wheels and tires are way to tight and it can not properly turn without rubbing, and I also needed to convert from 5mm to 12mm for the MT wheels/tires so I got an adapter that extends it a little.

I will fab up a plate from 2.5mm CF to span from the existing metal platforms and use small aluminum blocks to mount the plate to the chassis plates to stop some of the flex of those thin CF sideplates. The engine has mounting points on the bottom so no need for making engine mounts(but it does have traditional engine mount points if I need to do that to elevate it more.

The steering servo mounts in the front under the metal plate. I will mount the tiny gas tank behind the engine in the rear, and the throttle servo somewhere on the floor plate I fab. Radio and hump pack mount in the front. Actually in the end it should resemble pretty close to my 1/8 scale version

Speaking of that one...

I said I was done but forgot one thing that was on it's way - a REDS high torque pipe. Took it for a spin between rain storms last evening, hard to gauge the difference in performance over the stock Kyosho pipe, but it definitely sounded nicer It did make the mixture a bit richer, so I expect when I get more time to tune it will in fact be a nice little boost. As it stood, it was still wheelieing on demand despite the off-tune.

 

[Racer 1966]

This is the first time I have seen this thread. Like those before me and as a Tool maker / Machinist by trade I am seriously impressed with your work.
FANTASTIC!

 

[johnnydmd]

This is the first time I have seen this thread. Like those before me and as a Tool maker / Machinist by trade I am seriously impressed with your work.
FANTASTIC!

Thanks!

I took the beast out for some practice and tuning. Need more practice. Need more tuning

The surface was hard and dry as you can see. I had a LOT of traction issues, which made it extremely difficult to line up or keep straight at all. Slightest amount of throttle would get it sliding enough to have to correct the path. The suspension was also too bouncy, so I am working on that with some shock spring combos/changes. The engine was great though, if not extremely overpowered. On grass, if I gunned it from a stop, it would spin wildly, and out of control, gunning it from a roll and it wheelies hard - and this is a pretty bottom heavy truck with those axles and wheels. I am definitely going to try some different clutch settings. I was using the low-grip setting, but that's pretty much instant power to the wheels, it might be easier to control through the clutch.

I beat the truck pretty hard, plenty of rolls, in many directions, lol. Some nice cartwheels, flips, crashes. The body held up very well. The only damage was the rubber horn got ripped a bit(easy replaced part), and there were some scuffs and scratches on the body, but none of the body cracked anywhere. There was a break on the mounting tabs near the tail section where I used un-formed .060 poly pieces that were much thicker than the formed body parts. Interesting. The stiff parts break, but the more flexible ones can take a beating. So I replaced them with some .020 un-formed tabs and had no problems.

Eventually my day ended once again when the cup fell off on the front transmission output shaft. It's not a good design, honestly. It uses a set screw to hold it, it really should use a pin that goes through. Might be a mod coming. I'm also going to add limiting straps this week.