Heng Long Military truck: Toy -> Hobby conversion

[PraetoR]

Hello all.

 

Inspired by John & Gaz's own projects, I also wanted a go at converting this little truck from toy-grade to hobby-grade.

 

I liked "farm truck" idea (thanks Gaz), so that's the route I'll be taking. Not sure how long this will take me, as I've never done this sort of thing, before.

 

My first impressions were very much the same as the other chaps' ... ie, looks nice, but with poor electronics and extremely sloppy steering/supension. I'll be investing in a little metal-geared micro servo, a Hobbywing ESC, a mini 2s lipo, a 2.4 ghz radio system, some mini shock absorbers and some paint.

 

Got it for £37.50, including postage. Arrived the next day. Chuffed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll be doing a wee video series, as well as updating this thread as I go.

Cheers!

 

 

[Gaz!]

I’ll be watching with interest mate. 

[PraetoR]

Thanks, Gaz.

 

Still awaiting most parts. I have got hold of a set of RC4WD mini scale shocks, which are pretty bang-on, in terms of size. Also bought a large set of very small rubber o-rings and washers, in an attempt to try and eliminate as much steering slop as possible.

 

The whole thing is on-hold, as I'll be heading off-shore, for 6 weeks, starting tomorrow. I will be wiring into it, when I get back home.

[Jimplops]

Shouldn't ask lol, but where you pick that up? 

[Jimplops]

That's fatal, just found them on eBay 

[PraetoR]

On 01/05/2018 at 07:41, Jimplops said:

That's fatal, just found them on eBay 

 

R.I.P.

[PraetoR]

Finally got round to making a wee bit of progress.

 

The electronics I've gone for are as follows:

 

ESC: Hobbywing Quicrun 1625. Because the Quicrun 1060 is a favourite of mine and this little beauty fits underneath the cab interior, whereas the 1060 does not.

Servo: Etronix Micro Metal Geared Servo (ET2006). Very impressive, for the tiny size and bargain price. 2.5kg/0.10s @ 6v! That isn't bad, at all.

Radio System: Etronix ex2 Sport. My go-to, for bargain-basement, 2-channel radio systems. Not the very cheapest, but feels much better made than those below it.

Lipo: Voltz Power Pack 1300mah, 2s, 30c. It's about the smallest 2s lipo I could find. Plus, it's only a tenner!

 

As per John/Gaz, I'll be using the included drive motor.

 

 

 

Spent most of the afternoon stripping this all down. It's poorly built. Found a few badly-chewed screw heads, plus a few screws gone-in at an angle.

 

The front-left and back-right leaf springs were binding, the rear axle was a bit squint and the drivetrain was binding and snagging, just a little bit. I rebuilt both axles, including removing and re-seating the leaf springs. The springs are now much happier, with much better movement. Some adjustments might still need to be made when it's all back together, though. The axles and diffs are now running much freer, the rear a little better than the front, but, having tried to sort it, I've chalked that down to the inaccuracy of the plastic moulds.

 

I was surprised to find the axles and diffs well-greased, especially since the housings don't seal 100%.

Or even 95%.

 

 

I've removed absolutely everything, because I'm going to paint the chassis rails black, to make it look like the truck's chassis has been powder coated.

 

I then spent a while addressing the excessive slop in the steering components. It was horrendous!! I've used some very small rubber o-rings, as well as a few black washers, to reduce the up-down movement on the steering link arm, the side-side movement on the knuckle mounts and the... emm... both... on the servo linkage.

 

It's much better! There's almost no steering slop, at all. Very pleased with how well that worked. The truck should steer much more accurately, now!

 

I mentioned earlier, that the truck is badly put-together. Have a look at the photo below, you'll notice that the right side (as you're looking at it) leaf spring on the front axle has the end snapped off. That was mounted to the truck like that! There were some spare leaf springs included, if only I knew where I've put them...

 

 

That's all for now. I did some filming of what I've described. That will be on my youtube channel tomorrow. I'll also post the link here.

 

Cheers!

 

EDIT: Just after posting this, I tested the included headlamp LEDs... they flickered once and failed! So those shall need replaced.

DOUBLE EDIT: Here is the video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnriY0-wZcM

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by PraetoR

[PraetoR]

Finally, some progress!

 

Having primed all the parts, it was time for paint, which I got all from Halfords. I've decided to go for a "yellow cab and black everything-else" colour scheme, inspired by the Vaterra Ascender Chevrolet K10. The colour is Fiat Broom Yellow.

 

Note, I didn't mask-off the light buckets, nor the winch & front grill, as I decided it would be easier to simply paint them back in.

 

 

Wanted the truck to look like it's fresh out of the body shop, having been reconditioned for civilian use. Complete with newly powder-coated frame. Like those American TV shows that do-up old cars and trucks from way back when. Colour is Ford Black.

 

 

Hand painted the winch. I think it looks fine (better in the flesh, than the picture). Was considering adding black vertical stripes to the grill, for some added detail, but decided against it. I think it'd only make it look worse, as I'm not a good painter! Used Games Workshop Warhammer paints.

 

 

Finally, the exhausts. Yes, the far one has a burr, but that should be hidden, once fitted. Colour is Audi Dakota Grey Metallic. In the flesh, this colour looks spot-on, for an exhaust system.

 

 

After waiting for a few days, the next step is to laquer everything, then assemble. I won't put the body back on, until I've fitted the hobby-grade stuff; including the RC4WD scale shocks. It took me some effort to get back into this project, but I'm glad I have, because I've become more keen to get it done and am looking forward to the final result.

Edited October 6, 2018 by PraetoR

[PraetoR]

The Heng Long build thread by pegleg makes mine look a bit poor, but nevertheless... some progress today! Reassembly started.

 

[pegleg]

I don't agree, just different approach. And the black chassis really looks smart, I'll have to do mine on the next round of improvements I'm making. I'm looking forward to seeing how yours looks when done.

[PraetoR]

In-case anyone was wondering what heppend to this, I did a little update video today.

 

 

 

The bottom line is I've made some progress, but I've decided to go in a dfferent direction and use a 4-link front set-up. I've also replaced the steering rods with proper, ball-link items... now the steering has full movement, with no binding and no slop.

[PraetoR]

Today I FINALLY finished this truck!

Why did it take me two years? Well... just like Gaz, I quickly lost interest, simply due to how shoddy the whole thing was. It took a back-burner, to other projects that featured RCs that weren't terrible!

Plus, it took me ages to commit to tackling the 4-link front conversion I had decided on. Progress was slow and the truck was still kinda rubbish, so it gave me little incentive, really.

Anyway, it's done now. It's sporting 4-link front suspension, with the leaf springs removed and replaced with RC4WD mini shocks. At the rear, the leaf springs remain, albeit with one of the two fake leafs removed, per side, as this reduces the binding. It also has front and rear LED headlights/taillights. Also, the windows are now lexan, rather than air holes.

 

It was an interesting enough project, so it's all good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PraetoR]

Alright, it's about time I turned this little piece of junk into a real hobby-grade RC, instead of just looking like one!

 

The four link wasn't doing it for me, either; space was restricted and the articulation wasn't particularly good. The fact that I'd cobbled it together, by simply chopping-up bits of the Henglong, didn't help!

 

Also, I discovered hairline cracks in some of the plastic mouldings. They obviously couldn't stand-up to the stress of use.