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Could you convert a Maverick Scout into a basher ?


Toms_dad

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Hi,

 

My youngest son has a Tamiya Mad Bull that is great fun and gets lots of use, and my eldest son Finley now is fancying a car of his own but wants one he can in his words "mess about" with as he loves taking stuff to bits modifying them nerf guns, pushbikes, lego, meccano etc and strangely for a 14 year old he enjoys putting it all back together again!

He is big into pushbike and motorcycle trials so he really likes the idea of a rock crawler and our back garden would be perfectly suited to one. But he also still likes the speed of the Mad Bull and would want to have a 'bash" and jump now and again with this brother.

Is there a car on the market that is able to do that ie a rock crawler-basher combo !! Or would that make it too compromised and therefore good at neither.

The other thought I had, and this would also feed his habit for modifying things. 

Can you convert a Maverick Scout into a basher ?

Its a cheap start up kit, looks a decent enough crawler (from the reviews and video online) but I can't find any info on converting it.

Could you shorten and stiffen the suspension, and change the gearing to make it faster?  I realise this wouldn't be a 5 minute swap over but it would keep him busy for an evening the day before a trip out with the mad bull. Then another evening turning it back to standard if he fancied a bit of rock crawling again?

Is this a crazy idea?  Would the scout last about 5 minutes as a basher ?

Any better suggestions, for less than

Edited by Toms_dad
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Not sure.my mate has a scout and I have the monster truck Strada. His scout is way too slow for the joys of bashing. Mind you, I did break the Strada so it is now being converted to a crawler - getting 4 feet of air then using a park bench to stop does that.

But it looked awesome:)

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hi toms dad. 

 

sounds like you have an awesome lad who has a knack for mechanical enginering.

 

So the Scout, its a small'ish crawler i think its 18 scale. thing is crawlers are more at home rambling up and over grags and the likes,

but what you son sounds like he wants in the outcome is a rock runner. they nearly the same just one has a little extra on the grunt power

and the other is more a racer with a little added speed. 

 

Where could he go once he owns a scout. Hmmmm, lets see.

 

1: a full mod scale extentsion (sp), here he will extend the output drive shafts from the transfer box (center grearbox)

and lengthen both upper and lower arms, some spaced out oversize tyres and a 1/12th scale truck body. so he goes from 18th scale to a 12th scale conversion.

 

2 : a rock runner / scaler , here he can start to make his OWN chassis plates or even a ladder chassis ( given help and ideas from dad ) to build something like a small

110 or a 90 landy, a rock runner he will make the scout squat down so it does not stand so tall, lower cog but with the same links and axles / gearboxes.

 

3 :  a short course truck mod aka a solid axle trophy truck, this is heavy modding for when he is a few year older, the chassis is chopped up and some link brackets added to the rear section

a solid fixed axle from teh scout is used to convert a small buggy chassis into a short course truck chassis , this is a full on re-mod where he builds his OWN chassis design from pictures online

and trial and error. its hard core super modding 

 

the scout given its dual solid axles can be used on other projects / crawlers / scalers etc etc its just how far the user is willing to push his modding skills to the limit and beyond.

 

 

My advice for a buddying Modder is this, small is great so start with small things like shocks making them squishy , TYRES, cutting the treads on tryers with a craft knife to make them flex and wrap around rocks more.

Axle links and rods, instead of threaded rods have a look at alloy tube links. maybe mount the shocks direct to the lower axle links, this allows the axles to swing more giving more articulation.

 

Speed wise, 27 turn brushed motor will be quick, a 19 turn motor even quicker these lower turn motors will inject some oomph into the rockracer but not to much to overdo it, To make a slower truck you go higher in motor turns, so 35 turn motors 55 turn and 60 turn motors, low speed but huge torque

for clambering up near vertical rock faces.

 

about 10 yr ago, i took a small childs like toy rc and created a rock crawler from it. you can see the orginal truck and what came out at the end.

i returned to this same truck a while later and extended it from its 18th scale to a 12th scale wheelbase ( the truck was originaly a 1/ 24 to 18 scale like thing )

 

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/topic/5226-a-tech-leo-x-truck-to-crawler/?hl=mglt-1

Edited by Tamiyacowboy
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hi toms dad. 

 

sounds like you have an awesome lad who has a knack for mechanical enginering.

 

So the Scout, its a small'ish crawler i think its 18 scale. thing is crawlers are more at home rambling up and over grags and the likes,

but what you son sounds like he wants in the outcome is a rock runner. they nearly the same just one has a little extra on the grunt power

and the other is more a racer with a little added speed. 

 

[http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/topic/5226-a-tech-leo-x-truck-to-crawler/?hl=mglt-1

Sorry to correct you on the size - they're about the same track and wheelbase as an scx10 Rubicon, and run 2.2s.

The high centre of gravity doesn't work well for them when turning at high speed, so adding some monster truck tyres will help there.

A quicker motor like a 20t will make it faster but you'll also have to gear up considerably as they're geared really low.

Next thing you should be aware of is the axles, while they do the job for crawling, they can't put up with much abuse or torque. No problem though. Complete SCX10 axles are far stronger, bolt straight on and can be had for around

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To get a bashing / crawling scout a 3S brushless sensored combo (13.5T and a bigger pinion would be a fair speed) would get you the speed / low speed control you are after.

 

However you will kill the stock diff. lockers in no time and if you start bouncing over stuff at speed the c-hubs and knuckles will go and the rear lockout links will pull the rear axle apart.  So that's alloy chubs / knuckles / proper rear lockouts / axial lockers (or a wheely king or exo gear diff)/ front cvds and straight rear axles straight away. You'll need some shorter shocks (the scout needs them anyway) and drop the body as low as you can.  It'll still roll over if you go round a corner at any speed...

 

I think you'll blow through your 175 budget in no time but you could pickup a Scout and a esc / motor and some shocks to start with and replace rest as breaks?

 

Personally I'd save up for a Wraith or Yeti, both of which are more capable and have lots of room for mods.

Edited by ghazghul
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I'd say the scout is just to specific to convert with any real success without throwing a load of money at it.

That said, the scout is an RC that really lends itself to modifications - many of them which involve spending no money - can be had for

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I wouldn't make the Scout do both things.

 

I would look to buy a rock racer as Gaz mentions, or option 2 buy a Scout and he can work on improving it and making it the best crawler it can be, plus buy something like a Helion Invictus for bashing maybe.

 

A third option is something 1/8th scale - they often have the torque, with brushless, to outperform smaller crawlers on general obstacles and terrain, but are of course pricier. In my experience though they are more satisfying, it's a clich

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As an alternative, a 1/16 summit might tick both boxes. Otherwise there's a himoto MT for sale at a good price that could be converted to brushless later, and that would leave enough budget for the scout.

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