Hi folks,
First some background. On an impulse I bought myself a FTX Vantage after some 30 yrs away from RC.
I have to say I’m really enjoying it so far. I only use it for messing about, not racing. Have changed the wheels for larger ones to give myself a bit more ground clearance as I kept grounding out (should prob have thought about it longer and got a truggy or truck instead.. maybe even a crawler.. I just saw “RC CAR” and bought it). So now I’m hooked and want to start modding it. Not for speed (yet), just looks.
I’m crashing less and less as my skills improve but the crashes I do have are getting bigger. As my confidence grows I get faster, so when it all goes wrong......
I will eventually get to the request(s) for advice, honest.....
I want to move away from the buggy look and have a yen to put a truck/truggy, possibly a rally car, or even a crawler type body on it. Not one of those expensive replica jobs. Something cheap that won’t break the bank if (when!) I trash it. Partly because I think it’ll look cool and partly so the body takes the hit rather than the suspension towers.
wheelbase is 28cm and width (inc new larger wheels) is 27.5cm.
So, firstly where is a good place to get body shells from?
Any particular company you favour?
Has anyone else with an FTX Vantage or similar done the same thing? (It’s probably in the vantage thread but that is SO long)
Any advice on how to choose the right shell?
Any advice on what NOT to do?
And once I’ve chosen my shell, any advice on how best to mount it? The FTX carnage body mounts apparently fit straight on without any need for modifications so I thought that might be a good starting point but obviously they are intended for the carnage body. So any advice on how to do custom body posts? (I notice there is an unused hole in each corner of the base plate that I could maybe use as a fixing point for new body posts?)
finally, I find spring clips really annoying but they are at least pretty foolproof. I like the idea of magnetic mounts for convenience but are they strong enough to hold the body shell on in a crash (multiple rolls for instance?)
Apologies for asking so many questions at once. Hope you can help folks.
Here it is, filthy after a bash in the wet. I know this is pretty low-brow stuff compared to some of the stuff you guys have, but trust me, 30 years ago, this would have been amazing for the price 😋👍
thanks
Fred