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So this I mentioned in my Dragonoid thread, and originally it was going to be a mini Dragonoid, but I really don't like having two of the same theme trucks, so I changed it up. Last summer I made a 1/10 Megalodon form out of silicone (that was uh, a huge mistake!). It worked, but it came out rather rough, and there's no way to fix it. Although, the mold I made the silicone form from is intact, I could conceivably pour a water putty form and sand it down...maybe one day...maybe.
Meanwhile I still had the 3D model I used for the 1/10 scale, and decided I could use that to make a 3D printed form for the 1/16 version in two pieces. That took a couple of days, but the form came out great using my Ender 3. I ordered up some .040 PETG, but got shipped .060 instead. Oh well, actually this was better anyway, pretty indestructible at this scale. So I went into the garage (yes, it's finished, much to my chagrin, one day I'll rip out the flooring and put in a real garage door, etc), set up the trusty vacuum former and went to work.
As usual, there's some trial and error. The first attempt I let the PETG sag a bit too much, and it wound up with a couple of creases. It wasn't horrible, but I had bought four sheets, so I gave it another shot. Second time was the charm, came out 100% perfect.
Did some cutting, will smooth out the rough spots later, and got it fitted to the chassis.
It's really just about perfect in fitment, somewhat lucky guess on dimensions.
So this thing is using the WPL C14 upgrade chassis. It's a pretty good little chassis, with metal axles/gears throughout. The chassis plates are a little on the weak side, fairly thin CF which I have reinforced with aluminum struts in a couple of places. I made an engine mount plate using CF, that also mounts the gas tank. I cut another piece of CF for the front posts and for the radio and battery to sit on. The radio is just held in with servo tape, and the battery pack is strapped down with ties. There's really not a lot of room to work with at this scale for sure! The transmission is modified, using parts from a Traxxas 1/16 Exeed Blure for the spur and shaft. The shaft is pretty long, and I've put a bearing on the end, and 3D printed a housing for it that bolts to the engine mount plate. I'll get some better pics of all that nonsense. The engine is an SH .07, and I've some concerns about the way the clutch mounts on it. They don't have the tapered shaft collar like larger nitros, it's really just held on with the friction of the screw head/washers. I *think* it'll not slip, but dang, not sure why it's built like that. Then again, this is just a teeny tiny little engine, so I guess that's just how it is.
I got some REALLY nice little micro metal geared servos, and they are beasts! I forget the model, I'll have to update with that. Wheels and tires are from a 1/16 Traxxas Grave Digger, and I had to put adapters/extenders to make that all fit. They are kinda just wedged tightly on the original hex shafts(which were long enough to do this), and I will put some set screws in to hold it, though it's so tight I doubt it could actually slip (had to pound them on). The throttle servo/linkage is some serious hillbilly rigging (but I am, a hillbilly, so whatevs) - it works nicely.
Some stuff needs adjusting/aligning yet to make it really tight and pretty, but it's all functional thus far. I'm probably going to replace the links with something that's less adjustable once I get the lengths figured perfectly. I have a bunch of threaded hollow rods that I was using for the body mount posts that I can use for that. Those stock ones with all of their adjusting nuts have no chance of staying together even with red Loctite!
I'm printing out the molds for the rubber fins as I write this.
Meanwhile I still had the 3D model I used for the 1/10 scale, and decided I could use that to make a 3D printed form for the 1/16 version in two pieces. That took a couple of days, but the form came out great using my Ender 3. I ordered up some .040 PETG, but got shipped .060 instead. Oh well, actually this was better anyway, pretty indestructible at this scale. So I went into the garage (yes, it's finished, much to my chagrin, one day I'll rip out the flooring and put in a real garage door, etc), set up the trusty vacuum former and went to work.
As usual, there's some trial and error. The first attempt I let the PETG sag a bit too much, and it wound up with a couple of creases. It wasn't horrible, but I had bought four sheets, so I gave it another shot. Second time was the charm, came out 100% perfect.
Did some cutting, will smooth out the rough spots later, and got it fitted to the chassis.
It's really just about perfect in fitment, somewhat lucky guess on dimensions.
So this thing is using the WPL C14 upgrade chassis. It's a pretty good little chassis, with metal axles/gears throughout. The chassis plates are a little on the weak side, fairly thin CF which I have reinforced with aluminum struts in a couple of places. I made an engine mount plate using CF, that also mounts the gas tank. I cut another piece of CF for the front posts and for the radio and battery to sit on. The radio is just held in with servo tape, and the battery pack is strapped down with ties. There's really not a lot of room to work with at this scale for sure! The transmission is modified, using parts from a Traxxas 1/16 Exeed Blure for the spur and shaft. The shaft is pretty long, and I've put a bearing on the end, and 3D printed a housing for it that bolts to the engine mount plate. I'll get some better pics of all that nonsense. The engine is an SH .07, and I've some concerns about the way the clutch mounts on it. They don't have the tapered shaft collar like larger nitros, it's really just held on with the friction of the screw head/washers. I *think* it'll not slip, but dang, not sure why it's built like that. Then again, this is just a teeny tiny little engine, so I guess that's just how it is.
I got some REALLY nice little micro metal geared servos, and they are beasts! I forget the model, I'll have to update with that. Wheels and tires are from a 1/16 Traxxas Grave Digger, and I had to put adapters/extenders to make that all fit. They are kinda just wedged tightly on the original hex shafts(which were long enough to do this), and I will put some set screws in to hold it, though it's so tight I doubt it could actually slip (had to pound them on). The throttle servo/linkage is some serious hillbilly rigging (but I am, a hillbilly, so whatevs) - it works nicely.
Some stuff needs adjusting/aligning yet to make it really tight and pretty, but it's all functional thus far. I'm probably going to replace the links with something that's less adjustable once I get the lengths figured perfectly. I have a bunch of threaded hollow rods that I was using for the body mount posts that I can use for that. Those stock ones with all of their adjusting nuts have no chance of staying together even with red Loctite!
I'm printing out the molds for the rubber fins as I write this.
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