3d Printed Dodge Ram project (RC)

[timmycharger]

You can never have too many hobbies in my opinion.  Been playing with hobby grade RC cars since I was about 13yrs old, it taught me basic mechanics and how to take things apart and put them back together at a young age.

I have several fast cars, electric/gas but I been interested in the scale crawler type cars lately after seeing my  brother in law's Traxxas Trx4 Bronco which is super detailed and lots of fun. 

I wanted to re create my old 87 Dodge Ram that I had years ago and sorely miss but nobody makes a scale body in 1/10 size.  Another hobby of mine is 3D printing so after finding a file on line on a late 80's body it was a no brainer to build one. It took about 2 weeks to print all of the body panels, some parts like the hood and quarters took about 2 days to print.  Since my printer is relatively small, I had to print it in pieces vs one big piece and then glue it all together which is why some of the panels are a bit wonky.  I am still working on the bed and grille and will do some "bodywork" to make it look presentable before painting it like my truck.

I even have the 3d files to print the little ram head hood ornament and the badges on the side. I was able to find 3D printed hurricane style wheels like I had too, they just need to be painted.

I also plan on re creating the plow which will be functional!

[Mike DC]

 
This is a cool project.  I'm curious to see how it shapes up.  Nice find on the wheels.

 

[timmycharger]

Thanks.

Some updated pics of the "bodywork" being done.  I am using Bondo spot filler, does a nice job on these models and is easy to sand. Next I will prime the body and start getting ready for color.

[timmycharger]

Some updated pics of this silly project I'm working on. Finally found a shade of blue that looks close to my original truck.

Apparently no new cars are painted in this light blue shade so the normal auto stores didnt have anything close so I had to do my best to match it. 1987 was a long time ago lol..

Im now working on the electronics, getting everything sorted. This truck has front and real locking differentials that can be done with the transmitter. It also has shift on the fly capabilities from low to high from the transmitter. Lots of little servos and tons of wire.

Since I have work to do on my full size toy (Charger), this project will take a back seat but I will keep fooling around with it.

[Todd Wilson]

Thats cool!


Todd

[Mike DC]

 
What kind of RC chassis is going under it? 

[timmycharger]

This will be going on a Traxxas Trx-4 (1/10) scale.

[Kern Dog]

Interesting times.
Imagine 15 years ago telling people that one day, THIS stuff would be possible.

[timmycharger]

Yea its pretty wild what you can do with scale RC these days and combining that with my new skill of 3D printing, makes for unlimited ideas.

Here is a shot of the Chassis as it sits right now. Everything is a mess still, I am working on sorting out all the lighting (headlights, reverse lights, brake lights, turn signals). They all feed through a module that can be later controlled via smartphone adapter on the transmitter. I will tidy up all the wiring once done.

I am in the process of retrofitting this lighting kit that was designed for a Ford Bronco into my Truck so lots of cutting/gluing to get it right.

Working on the interior now as well, It will have the steering wheel move along with the wheels. I plan on making my own decals to get the gauges just right, more pics of that in the future.

[timmycharger]

This pic is before I started the lighting wiring, shows the 3 mini servos that control the front and rear locking diffs and the transmission.  The battery/tray is removed so I can hide the wires.

[timmycharger]

Taking a break from the 68 for a bit since its too cold to drive it and the roads are already salted. Got back to playing around in the basement shop again on this project which has stalled a bit due to me not knowing how to handle the "glass".

I ended up making templates for the windshield, side glass and back glass out of cardboard, then traced them onto some clear plastic lexan sheet.  The hard part was making the curve of the windshield as this lexan is thick and does not bend easily and if it does, it will deform and look like crap.  I ended up using my heat gun and carefully heating up the lexan and bent it over a buck that I found that was the shape I needed. Did this for about 15 minutes and got it almost perfect (second and third pic). It sat right into the channel and I just ran a bead of superglue to hold it in place until I fabricate the gaskets which will be just some strip plastic glued in and painted black. 

End result isnt too bad, will look better once I detail around it with the gasket painted black.

No pics yet but I also started working on the lights, retrofitting a light kit made for a Ford Bronco with the same square headlights and turn signals. It will have working tail/brake/reverse lights as well.  Ill post those once I get further.

[Kern Dog]

"Never have too many hobbies" ?
Ha....some people will disagree with that! I sometimes think that I am a borderline A.D.D. case that somehow slipped through the cracks because my interests bounce around to several things quite often.
Cold weather regions probably inspire MORE indoor hobbies when the climate drops below freezing temperatures. You guys have a far greater tolerance for weather than I do...Cheers to you for your determination.
I have enjoyed car and truck models since I was a kid. I liked making custom stuff but never could have dreamed of actually creating bodies and parts for them myself! This is great.

[timmycharger]

"Never have too many hobbies" ?
Ha....some people will disagree with that! I sometimes think that I am a borderline A.D.D. case that somehow slipped through the cracks because my interests bounce around to several things quite often.
Cold weather regions probably inspire MORE indoor hobbies when the climate drops below freezing temperatures. You guys have a far greater tolerance for weather than I do...Cheers to you for your determination.
I have enjoyed car and truck models since I was a kid. I liked making custom stuff but never could have dreamed of actually creating bodies and parts for them myself! This is great.

Thanks! yea I am right there with you being borderline A.D.D. I have heat in the shop but when the cold weather hits, I'm usually in the basement tinkering on something.  Trying to finish this project so I can jump to the next one which is re creating my current 68 Charger from a 1:25 kit. That will be for my office