Long overdue - a bit of video of the Clodzilla in action. This was filmed a couple of days ago on the breakwater rocks at Sand Bay, near Weston Super Mare in North Somerset. This was the best of the footage I took, just after this the rear servo escaped its mounting costing me a fair degree of steering authority. Easily fixed though, now where did I put that bag of cable-ties?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mAb7TuxtCc
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Thursday, 21 April 2011
H2 build - first steps - strip and consider!
I've stripped the New Bright Hummer as far as I need to for the time being, and have assembled a wooden mounting block for it to sit on, which also sets the ground clearance at exactly the same distance as it was on the original truck.
This (below) is the 'flat bottom' of the floorplate - devoid of any interior detail and with large holes in it. The strength and rigidity of this comes the box structure which screws on beneath it.
I've turned it upside down here to appreciate the depth of the box. About one half-inch of this is moulded below (above here) the main plate, the rest is a separate sub-structure piece. The large bulge at the front of the box is where the steering arms and steering servo along with the large front bumber are normally mounted.
This is the sub-structure box. It also contains (among other things) the standard battery mounting case, the main electrical circuit board is clipped and screwed on top of this. The only difficulty in disassembling the truck occurs here because two screws locate the main battery connecting straps, and only one of these is readily accessible, the other is located beneath the circuit board. It appears that in the factory the straps are fitted with their screws first, and then the circuit board is soldered to them after it is fitted in place. I did manage to get the awkward one out without damaging anything else, although the head was fairly chewed up by the time it was removed.
This next shot shows the standard mounting point for the rear trailing arm/gearbox/rear axle/motor assembly. More about this later.
All together again and upside down. One of my Gmade axles is in position here, demonstrating its fitting position. It's not suspended in any way, so this is its maximum 'upwards' position, in fact it will rub the body quite hard if it ever reaches this far whilst in motion.
Back up the other way, and the axle is now unattached in its natural relaxed location. Firstly from the front...
...and then from the rear.
Here we have an assortment of readily available material to possibly construct a new rear subframe out of. This project isn't really about throwing lots of money around, I fully intend to make full use of anything I already have lying around in the workroom!
Finally, here's the other axle, along with the now surplus New Bright one. This is the first mock-up for a stick type chassis that may well get made at some point either sooner or later in time. This brings me to a important decision point about making the Hummer either a two or four-wheel drive project. (Oh yes - in case anyone points this out - that is a completely flat PP3 battery!!)
If I (initially at least) decide on a two-wheel drive approach for the H2, this leaves me with a spare axle to continue designing a stick-type crawler with. I could also consider the possibility of incorporating Gmade Spider axles into the Clodzilla, although this wasn't a key reason in the decision to purchase them in the first place.
I've now got more than plenty to think about, at the very least...
This (below) is the 'flat bottom' of the floorplate - devoid of any interior detail and with large holes in it. The strength and rigidity of this comes the box structure which screws on beneath it.
I've turned it upside down here to appreciate the depth of the box. About one half-inch of this is moulded below (above here) the main plate, the rest is a separate sub-structure piece. The large bulge at the front of the box is where the steering arms and steering servo along with the large front bumber are normally mounted.
This is the sub-structure box. It also contains (among other things) the standard battery mounting case, the main electrical circuit board is clipped and screwed on top of this. The only difficulty in disassembling the truck occurs here because two screws locate the main battery connecting straps, and only one of these is readily accessible, the other is located beneath the circuit board. It appears that in the factory the straps are fitted with their screws first, and then the circuit board is soldered to them after it is fitted in place. I did manage to get the awkward one out without damaging anything else, although the head was fairly chewed up by the time it was removed.
This next shot shows the standard mounting point for the rear trailing arm/gearbox/rear axle/motor assembly. More about this later.
All together again and upside down. One of my Gmade axles is in position here, demonstrating its fitting position. It's not suspended in any way, so this is its maximum 'upwards' position, in fact it will rub the body quite hard if it ever reaches this far whilst in motion.
Back up the other way, and the axle is now unattached in its natural relaxed location. Firstly from the front...
...and then from the rear.
Here we have an assortment of readily available material to possibly construct a new rear subframe out of. This project isn't really about throwing lots of money around, I fully intend to make full use of anything I already have lying around in the workroom!
Finally, here's the other axle, along with the now surplus New Bright one. This is the first mock-up for a stick type chassis that may well get made at some point either sooner or later in time. This brings me to a important decision point about making the Hummer either a two or four-wheel drive project. (Oh yes - in case anyone points this out - that is a completely flat PP3 battery!!)
If I (initially at least) decide on a two-wheel drive approach for the H2, this leaves me with a spare axle to continue designing a stick-type crawler with. I could also consider the possibility of incorporating Gmade Spider axles into the Clodzilla, although this wasn't a key reason in the decision to purchase them in the first place.
I've now got more than plenty to think about, at the very least...
Some thoughts on 'Big Bird'
The purpose of this post is to have a look at someone else's approach towards converting a 1/6 scale New Bright Hummer H2 truck into something better than it previously was. This owner, known only as vsci79, has elected to construct a new custom made (sub-) chassis made from aluminium, and has attached this to the main floorplate of the existing truck. His design utilises swaybars which act as paired lower links attaching to the bottoms of the gearboxes, and a more conventional pair of upper links which then correctly constrain the movement of the tops of each of the same gearboxes.
There is a whole thread pretty much solely devoted to this work here at the Scale 4X4 R/C website with very good photos, just a few of which I have taken the liberty of reproduced below (with the usual apologies for not asking permission, and thanks for posting them there).
The first image shows the completed truck side-on. The new chassis is clearly visible below the truck. This design doesn't steal quite as much ground clearance as it appears to do here because the original truck had a large plastic box-like piece of sub-structure here, which added considerable rigidity to the rest of the floorpan, whilst also locating the front steering arms (etc) and clamping the rear trailing arm assembly into position.
The second picture shows the new custom chassis, this is constructed from what looks to be either 5/16 or 8mm square aluminium bar, along with a number of standard Axial AX10 green anodised upper links and/or crossmembers, these being identical parts in any case.
The third photo shows the mounting location of the new chassis and gives good idea of the truck's new wider overall track/width. Extra green crossmembers appear to have been added beyond those shown in the other images, almost certainly for extra rigidity.
The fourth and last picture gives a slightly better view of the new chassis in its new position. My only real criticism of this design approach is that this chassis directly attaches to the relatively flimsy brittle (and easily crackable) floorplate. In fact this particular floorplate is actually much stronger than mine, because the detailed version of the truck has the seat bases and other interior detail moulded into it, whereas my undetailed version has a much flatter profile (the 'cleaner bottom' mentioned in the last post) as well as a couple of fairly large holes in it.
What I don't want to do here is to directly copy someone else's ideas, which in any case might not necessarily work as well given the differences between the two versions of the truck. My next post, coming up fairly directly, will consider the original construction of my own New Bright H2.
There is a whole thread pretty much solely devoted to this work here at the Scale 4X4 R/C website with very good photos, just a few of which I have taken the liberty of reproduced below (with the usual apologies for not asking permission, and thanks for posting them there).
The first image shows the completed truck side-on. The new chassis is clearly visible below the truck. This design doesn't steal quite as much ground clearance as it appears to do here because the original truck had a large plastic box-like piece of sub-structure here, which added considerable rigidity to the rest of the floorpan, whilst also locating the front steering arms (etc) and clamping the rear trailing arm assembly into position.
The second picture shows the new custom chassis, this is constructed from what looks to be either 5/16 or 8mm square aluminium bar, along with a number of standard Axial AX10 green anodised upper links and/or crossmembers, these being identical parts in any case.
The third photo shows the mounting location of the new chassis and gives good idea of the truck's new wider overall track/width. Extra green crossmembers appear to have been added beyond those shown in the other images, almost certainly for extra rigidity.
The fourth and last picture gives a slightly better view of the new chassis in its new position. My only real criticism of this design approach is that this chassis directly attaches to the relatively flimsy brittle (and easily crackable) floorplate. In fact this particular floorplate is actually much stronger than mine, because the detailed version of the truck has the seat bases and other interior detail moulded into it, whereas my undetailed version has a much flatter profile (the 'cleaner bottom' mentioned in the last post) as well as a couple of fairly large holes in it.
What I don't want to do here is to directly copy someone else's ideas, which in any case might not necessarily work as well given the differences between the two versions of the truck. My next post, coming up fairly directly, will consider the original construction of my own New Bright H2.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Project Hummer H2
Here's the 1/6 scale New Bright H2 Hummer we were given, alongside my Proline-converted Axial for a comparison of size.
These Hummers came in different versions and colours, this one has fixed doors, boot and bonnet, and no interior detail. Others were fully openable and far more detailed, and were about the right size for an Action Man figure. There was also a pick-up version. For my purposes this particular variety is ideal as it has a much cleaner bottom, if you'll pardon the expression, meaning it'll be that much easier to modify to take the Gmade axles, wheels and tyres.
There's not much wrong with this one, other than the fact that the transmitter doesn't work. The windscreen has popped inwards in one place, though I'm sure this is fixable. It's got a bent axle and the door mirrors are missing, other than that it appears not to have had too hard a life.
I'm going to add a few YouTube videos of these things below, just to give you a flavour of what they are all about.
This first one is of one of the detailed ones. They all have a switchable high/low gear ratio on the rear (only) 2 wheel-drive-with-differential gearbox, this one is running in low ratio. Not too fast, but don't you just love the sounds it makes!! You can rest assured that I shall be promptly removing this feature from mine as soon as is humanly possible!
This next one shows the stunning off-road capabilities (or not as the case may be!) of a New Bright Hummer, an H3 in this case in high gear. If you start getting bored just fast forward to the last 25 seconds or so...
This last video points in the direction of where I want to go - a decently modded H2. The owner of this truck, only known as vsci79, has fitted Clodbuster axles and 17-turn motors which have transformed the truck's performance. I think it is fairly obvious why I prefer the fixed-door version!
The owner has posted details and photos of the conversion of his truck here, I'll write some more about this work in my next post.
These Hummers came in different versions and colours, this one has fixed doors, boot and bonnet, and no interior detail. Others were fully openable and far more detailed, and were about the right size for an Action Man figure. There was also a pick-up version. For my purposes this particular variety is ideal as it has a much cleaner bottom, if you'll pardon the expression, meaning it'll be that much easier to modify to take the Gmade axles, wheels and tyres.
There's not much wrong with this one, other than the fact that the transmitter doesn't work. The windscreen has popped inwards in one place, though I'm sure this is fixable. It's got a bent axle and the door mirrors are missing, other than that it appears not to have had too hard a life.
I'm going to add a few YouTube videos of these things below, just to give you a flavour of what they are all about.
This first one is of one of the detailed ones. They all have a switchable high/low gear ratio on the rear (only) 2 wheel-drive-with-differential gearbox, this one is running in low ratio. Not too fast, but don't you just love the sounds it makes!! You can rest assured that I shall be promptly removing this feature from mine as soon as is humanly possible!
This next one shows the stunning off-road capabilities (or not as the case may be!) of a New Bright Hummer, an H3 in this case in high gear. If you start getting bored just fast forward to the last 25 seconds or so...
This last video points in the direction of where I want to go - a decently modded H2. The owner of this truck, only known as vsci79, has fitted Clodbuster axles and 17-turn motors which have transformed the truck's performance. I think it is fairly obvious why I prefer the fixed-door version!
The owner has posted details and photos of the conversion of his truck here, I'll write some more about this work in my next post.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
A new project for the bench
'Twas my birthday recently and I was lucky enough to be given a bit of cash to do with as I pleased. So I bought myself a new Gmade Spider 1:8 scale Axle Kit.
They came from Seoul in South Korea and cost $89.00 (£54.72) for the pair. The postage was a fairly reasonable $20.00 (£12.30).
For comparison, new Tamiya Super Clodbuster axles are currently available for $72.99 (£43.22) each, with the postage at $17.64 (£8.29), from the USA.
So the G made axles seem to be a very good buy. Assembly was also very easy, I've hot glue locked the differentials for permanent four-wheel drive, and they are now almost ready for fitting into/onto something suitable. The Spider axles have several advantages over the much earlier Clodbuster ones, these being namely:
* There are two of them in the kit, ideal for building one complete truck.
* They are slightly wider than the Clod ones.
* They have better ground clearance than the Clod ones.
* They have servo mounts supplied and fitted, whereas the Clod (as standard) has a single central chassis-mounted servo powering the steering on both ends.
* They have adjustable motor mounts to cater for different size pinion gears.
* They come complete with adaptors for either 12 or 14 mm wheel hexs.
* They have nice aluminium bumpers ready fitted.
* They appear to be stronger than the Clod ones (although this has yet to be proven!)
A while ago I bought a set of Gmade Spider tyres second hand (for £20 + £5 P+P) with the intention of trying them out on the Clodzilla, although this hasn't happened yet. So these are now the natural choice for the new project. I've several different ideas for a home made chassis in the back of my mind, including both a long-shock and a stick type crawler. But I also fancy something like a semi-scaler, for running up and down the slopes in the local woods with. As it happens, a friend recently gave me (and the kids) an abandoned 1:6 scale New Bright Hummer H2 which he'd obtained whilst doing a house clearance for someone he knows. This worked fine for a while until corrosion from leaky batteries in the transmitter took its toll.
I guess then, if the coat fits, why not wear it...?
They came from Seoul in South Korea and cost $89.00 (£54.72) for the pair. The postage was a fairly reasonable $20.00 (£12.30).
For comparison, new Tamiya Super Clodbuster axles are currently available for $72.99 (£43.22) each, with the postage at $17.64 (£8.29), from the USA.
So the G made axles seem to be a very good buy. Assembly was also very easy, I've hot glue locked the differentials for permanent four-wheel drive, and they are now almost ready for fitting into/onto something suitable. The Spider axles have several advantages over the much earlier Clodbuster ones, these being namely:
* There are two of them in the kit, ideal for building one complete truck.
* They are slightly wider than the Clod ones.
* They have better ground clearance than the Clod ones.
* They have servo mounts supplied and fitted, whereas the Clod (as standard) has a single central chassis-mounted servo powering the steering on both ends.
* They have adjustable motor mounts to cater for different size pinion gears.
* They come complete with adaptors for either 12 or 14 mm wheel hexs.
* They have nice aluminium bumpers ready fitted.
* They appear to be stronger than the Clod ones (although this has yet to be proven!)
A while ago I bought a set of Gmade Spider tyres second hand (for £20 + £5 P+P) with the intention of trying them out on the Clodzilla, although this hasn't happened yet. So these are now the natural choice for the new project. I've several different ideas for a home made chassis in the back of my mind, including both a long-shock and a stick type crawler. But I also fancy something like a semi-scaler, for running up and down the slopes in the local woods with. As it happens, a friend recently gave me (and the kids) an abandoned 1:6 scale New Bright Hummer H2 which he'd obtained whilst doing a house clearance for someone he knows. This worked fine for a while until corrosion from leaky batteries in the transmitter took its toll.
I guess then, if the coat fits, why not wear it...?
Sunday, 10 April 2011
First video from the garden
Well, I finally got myself a YouTube account - these are my first three clips of film from the garden. There'll be more to come as time goes by.
This is from one of the first bits of film taken in the garden and is my first video posted to YouTube. I initially rearranged the blocks etc until I could drive up and over the top from this direction about one time in every two tries. With a bit of practice it became easier - driving up at a constant speed seems to work best.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImm2h6IprE)
Definitely easier after practice. It won't go back up the last side it came down. This'll be 'Zilla territory!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0stC8hXMUbY)
It's pretty easy to move the rocks around to vary the degree of difficulty - in fact they're already in different positions from these seen here.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRCPEKKtpHs)
(BTW - I'm still running with a stock Tamiya 27-turn J for Johnson motor here!)
This is from one of the first bits of film taken in the garden and is my first video posted to YouTube. I initially rearranged the blocks etc until I could drive up and over the top from this direction about one time in every two tries. With a bit of practice it became easier - driving up at a constant speed seems to work best.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImm2h6IprE)
Definitely easier after practice. It won't go back up the last side it came down. This'll be 'Zilla territory!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0stC8hXMUbY)
It's pretty easy to move the rocks around to vary the degree of difficulty - in fact they're already in different positions from these seen here.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRCPEKKtpHs)
(BTW - I'm still running with a stock Tamiya 27-turn J for Johnson motor here!)
Monday, 4 April 2011
Trailing in the woods
We took Kala's buggy and the red/yellow Baja truck up into the woods over the weekend for a walk and a drive.
A children's adventure park has been built there in recent times, and they use a fair quantity of wood chippings as ground safety protection underneath and around the rides (a ropeslide and swing basket etc). There's a large amount of this material piled up nearby, currently surplus to immediate use. This has turned itself over the winter into a ready made and nicely surfaced off-road RC course!
Kala's pink Rising Fighter buggy has amazed everyone with its toughness. After two years of good use it still remains completely unbroken. The only thing it ever does is to bend its wire steering arms after a hard impact, these are easily straightened by finger power alone, and there's no need to remove them from the car to do this.
The Baja (King or Champ - take your pick!) truck is back with a stock 27 turn SH motor. I had it running with a 19 turn MRI wet magnet motor for a while, but in a wooded or other off-road environment this got so hot that it melted the soldered joints of the leads connecting power to it. Currently it's got a hot-glue locked differential in the rear axle and a ball differential in the front. For me this is quite a good compromise between grip and steering ability, and has the advantage of spinning the car around (in the desired steering direction) when you take the power off suddenly. This is a very good feature when it comes to obstacle collision avoidance!
The buggy has similar straight line performance to the truck, but the steering at pretty much any speed is nowhere near as accurate. The area where the buggy really wins out is runtime, an 1800 Mah battery pack gives nearly half-an-hour of fairly quick driving, whereas the TL-01 based truck kills a 3700 Mah battery in under 20 minutes doing the same things.
A children's adventure park has been built there in recent times, and they use a fair quantity of wood chippings as ground safety protection underneath and around the rides (a ropeslide and swing basket etc). There's a large amount of this material piled up nearby, currently surplus to immediate use. This has turned itself over the winter into a ready made and nicely surfaced off-road RC course!
Kala's pink Rising Fighter buggy has amazed everyone with its toughness. After two years of good use it still remains completely unbroken. The only thing it ever does is to bend its wire steering arms after a hard impact, these are easily straightened by finger power alone, and there's no need to remove them from the car to do this.
The Baja (King or Champ - take your pick!) truck is back with a stock 27 turn SH motor. I had it running with a 19 turn MRI wet magnet motor for a while, but in a wooded or other off-road environment this got so hot that it melted the soldered joints of the leads connecting power to it. Currently it's got a hot-glue locked differential in the rear axle and a ball differential in the front. For me this is quite a good compromise between grip and steering ability, and has the advantage of spinning the car around (in the desired steering direction) when you take the power off suddenly. This is a very good feature when it comes to obstacle collision avoidance!
The buggy has similar straight line performance to the truck, but the steering at pretty much any speed is nowhere near as accurate. The area where the buggy really wins out is runtime, an 1800 Mah battery pack gives nearly half-an-hour of fairly quick driving, whereas the TL-01 based truck kills a 3700 Mah battery in under 20 minutes doing the same things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
