Haastnooit's FMS FCX24 Power Wagon

[Doom!]

Oops … I did it again. I ordered a second FCX24 just now, this time it is the blue version.

They are addicting, aren't they?

 

[Haastnooit]

Yes they sure are Doom! Also my roots lay in crawling, so it is also a sort of coming home with these great looking and performing FMS trucks. And upgrade parts are not such an attack on your wallet as with the 1/10 and 1/8 scale. I like that …

Now that I have 2 I decided to name both rigs, because it feels more natural to use a name then to constantly say “the red one” and “the blue one”. I never named a RC car before so this is all new to me. Anyhow I baptized “the red one” to Reddington an “the blue one” will be named Azul.

Past few days I ordered lost of parts for Azul, I know what I am going to do. It will be somewhat similar to the first step of improvement for Reddington, but with a nice twist. You will all see in a couple weeks’ time. Amongst the ordered parts there are 2 more complete Injora wheelsets with different tires, so I will have plenty of options for both trucks. Together with the 2 sets of the stock wheels and tires I now have a total of 6 sets. And with that a storage problem emerged …

Time to fix it.

I made a tire rack design to hold 2 sets of tires, I did not want the tires to be standing on bars like 1/1 tire racks. This of course to prevent flat spots. So I added a M3 rod to the rack be able to store the wheels on center axle holes in the rim.

The rack has a 3mm trough hole on one side and a threaded hole on the opposite side so the M3 rod is secured in the rack. I threadlocked a dome shaped nut to one side of the rod. You can grab this with your fingers or use a standard T-wrench to loosen or tighten the rod.

Brand tag … just to add some detail.

I decided to paint the racks and try to make them look used and dirty. First coat silver, second coat red that turned orange after 10 years of not using. I used the hairdryer again to speed up drying, then thinned some black paint to make some kind of a wash and went to town on the racks.

The racks are still drying, tomorrow I will get some pics in daylight of the racks filled up with wheels.

Catch you later …

 

[Doom!]

Something I never thought I'd say to another guy but here goes....Nice Racks!

 

[Haastnooit]

All filled up ...

 

[Haastnooit]

Finally all ordered parts for my blue FCX24 came in and I started upgrading Azul to its new and improved form. I started off easy with some simple electronic relocation/rotation to free up the steering servo leads. I will replace the stock wheel hexes later on in the build, so I removed them to not loose the small pins as I did before.

I am changing out all stock plastic links on this one, I got the RCAWD extended rear link kit to add 35mm to the wheelbase. This time I also got the RCAWD front link kit with high clearance links which also includes the steering links. I went with all red to contrast the blue body. During the installation of the links I changed the shocks to a droop setup by removing the springs and I added some oil.

I noticed the included driveshaft is machined in such a way the universals cannot be phased properly, the spline on male and female end have a 45-50 degree rotational difference. On the set I purchased before, the driveshaft can be phased correctly. I contacted RCAWD about this and am curious in how they will respond. More on that later …

For now I installed the driveshaft and will see what happens when I drive it for the first time. Next up is the front end.

All links installed. Again I only used one o-ring on each pillowbal on the chassis side to keep articulation nice and smooth. The steering links on the contrary have both o-rings installed on the pillowballs as intended by RCAWD.

That is is it for today, reached my tax on fiddling small screws ... have a good one !

 

[Doom!]

I understand the needing a break from small screws. Just about the time you find your rhythm is about the same time your fingers stop cooperating.

 

[Haastnooit]

Tonight I upgraded the axles by adding the Injora brass portal covers and metal portal gears. Again my FCX24 has the plastic portal gears installed. I now know of 3 different versions you could receive when buying a FCX24 Power Wagon. First with plastic gears installed, second also with plastic gears installed but with metal gears in the box and third with the metal gears already installed.

Now for the upgrade of the rear axle I introduce the twist …

I am making this rig 4 wheel steering with only using stock parts. It is the most simple cost effective way I know to add 4 wheel steering to the Power Wagon. I ordered a stock FCX24 front axle, stock FCX24 steering servo and an additional RCAWD steering link set to make this work.

Plan is to move the gear shifting from channel 3 to channel 4. And use channel 3 for operating the rear wheel steering. This will only work if you have a true 3-position switch on channel 3. There are different versions of the ESC/receiver combo around, one with true 3-postion on channel 3 and one with 2-postion on channel 3.

When you have neutral on shifting between high and low gearing (true 3-postion) you will be able to do this mod. When your FCX24 shift directly between high and low gearing (2-position) you will have no center when using channel 3 for rear wheel steering.

The new ordered axle came with metal portal gears installed.

I could not find any extension leads for the servo so I ordered some JST1.5 male and female leads to make myself the required extension lead for the rear wheel servo. Unfortunately the colors and sequence of the wires do not match the servo lead, so I started fiddling around with an exacto knife and re-arranged the wires so the sequence would match.

I cut the extension lead to the desired length and soldered the tiny wires together, added some insulation from a bigger gauge wire and routed the wire along the links and chassis.

When you double push the bind button on the remote, the remote will enter a “blinking mode” and in this mode you are able to set trim and endpoints on channel 3 and 4 with the turning knobs (for channel 1 and 2) on top of the remote. This way you can center the rear wheels and set servo throw to the desired level.

See you next time ...

 

[Doom!]

Coming along nicely!

 

[Haastnooit]

Thanks Doom!

Not so much time to work on the FCX today. But I managed to get the wheels together, again a lot of tiny bolts on this nice Injora wheel set. I must say this is the most ‘difficult’ assembly of the Injora wheels thus far, the brass rings and wheel halfs are a real tight fit.

The brass rings were included in the wheelset as a package deal on Aliexpress. They add some extra weight downlow where it counts the most, very nice. To mount the wheels to the chassis I have choice of 4mm, 5mm and 6mm wide brass Injora hexes. But for this wheelset I need to use the 6 mm hexes because else the side of the tire will rub agaist the portal covers.

For tires I choose the Injora All Terrain crawler tires 24x62mm because it is a different set to the ones I already have. They look really wide when mounted on the truck, also the tread pattern is less aggressive as the other tires I have. Don't know if I like them, for now they will have to grow on me.

I ordered 3 different lengths of brass 3mm PC standoffs that will be modded to be used as wheel nuts. They are only € 0,85 for 30 pieces, so a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

Mounted to the chassis …

Four wheel steering ...

 

[Doom!]

Just keeps gettin' better! Good idea, keeping different sized standoffs.

 

[Haastnooit]

Cosmetics …

I have tried different front bumpers for this build because I would like to have a different look but all other options look to big and have negative effect on driveability. So Idecided the stinger again is the best choice in regard to approach angle and tire rubbing on articulation. I installed the stinger to the chassis and also trimmed the fenders, this time even a tiny bit more narrow as on the first one.

Perhaps I will trim the runningboards on this one as well. Don’t really know for sure right now, so I will leave it as is for now and make a final choice later. For the rearbed I have designed and 3D printed several options, I had some done for my previous build and added a view for this one. I have them for sale on marketplace here in the Netherlands.

Tell me what is your favorite ?

1) Simple Small FlatBed (SSFB)

2) Simple Big FlatBed (SBFB)

Options 1) and 2) are for those who want to add their own stuff to the rear bed of the Power Wagon. With these plates you can have a flat base to which you can glue whatever you like and make use of the stock mounting points on the chassis. So easy to remove if needed.

3) Simple Small Fuel Cell (SSFC)

Painted one ...

I like the painted one, it contrasts beautifully with the blue cab. I think I wil be starting out running this one.

4) Full Bed Fuel Cell (FBFC)

Painted one ...

5) Full Bed Fuel Cell V2 (FBFC V2)

Also like this one a lot. I would probably leave it black ..

6) Ful Bed FlatBed (FBFB)

Painted one ...

Nice but got this one on the red truck. So no option for this one ...

7) Half Bed Fuel Cell (HBFC)

Looks also very nice ... Tough choice !

Catch you later ...

 

[Doom!]

You've made that a hard choice. I think I like the full flatbed but if you dropped a painted stand alone fuel cell in it, it would be cool instead of the integrated fuel cell. All are great chouces though.

I really need to try the trimmed fenders, love how they look.

 

[Haastnooit]

Tonight I assembled the second wheelset from I my last order. These Injora wheels are the most simple of all 4 sets I now have. Only 6 screws on each wheel … a blessing.

Unfortunately another problem with quality. On the last tire I discovered a part of the bead missing, don’t know how this can pass Injora quality check, but it did.

I installed the tire anyway, but I slight pull on the tire and it will come loose. I contacted Injora and the acknowledged the problem with this tire.

On every order I made for small scale stuff with Injora or RCAWD parts there seems to be an issue. I am still waiting on the delivery of my replacement brass wheel and tire by Injora. RCAWD has send out a replacement driveshaft and Injora is going to send me a replacement pin tire.

Everything gets solved, but is takes time and attention ... not the most fun part.

 

[Doom!]

On every order I made for small scale stuff with Injora or RCAWD parts there seems to be an issue.

Bummer, I've never had an issue, and I've bought a bunch of Injora parts. Luck of the draw I guess. Sucks when something isn't right.

 

[305HemiGuy]

Nice build! I just got my first crawler, and I can definitely see how the customization can become an obsession. The scale looks that crawlers offer is unfound in the basher world. I think I might enjoy wrenching and upgrading more than actually driving the thing...oh yea, the parts are a lot cheaper too!

 

[Haastnooit]

First carnage yesterday. I had the red FCX out on my small crawler course in the back garden, I got the left front wheel bound up in a hole between the rocks and snapped a driveshaft when powering out.

The stock plastic driveshafts are really small and do not have much meat on them.

In the box of the blue one there were some additional driveshafts included as spares. Those are way more beefy then the ones installed. For now I installed one of these beefy plastic driveshafts and I ordered some steel driveshafts to replace all plastic ones in the future.

Also trimmed the running boards on both the red and blue FCX as the tires were rubbing.

 

[Haastnooit]

Past week I received the steel driveshafts I ordered for the FCX24 rigs and just finished replacing the stock thin plastic front driveshaft on the blue truck. Real tiny setscrews with real tiny hex socket, got to keep the supplied L-wrench save somewhere as I don’t have this kind of a small hex driver.

I will run the beefy plastic driveshaft on the red truck until it breaks or I feel the need to change out the driveshaft. I find the front driveshaft is somewhat difficult to get to, I always end up loosening the transmission completely to get tot the setscrews on the driveshaft yoke at the transmission side.

Anyhow I also changed the plastic servo arm that was included with the axle I bought for the rear steer conversion to a aluminum piece. The one I got with the axle was really thin plastic, not even half of the stock plastic servo arm that came with the RTR truck. Those are really beefy and do not need replacement right away.

I got a whole bag full and will change the plastic ones on the front axle when they fail. Not much else going on with both trucks. They perform well on my small backyard course … loving it !

Catch you later …

 

[Haastnooit]

[13-1] Today I decided to make a dedicated buildthread for this new project, progress can be followed here.

Well I have not been playing around much with the small scale crawlers past months. From the start of getting in to the small scale crawling scene , I went in no time from none to four 1/24 scale rigs, first I got two FCX24 power wagons and added two used SCX24’s (JLU and C10) later on.

When wrenching on them I found out I actually don’t really like the fiddly small hardware on these kind of rigs. The M2 hardware on the FMS is small but still somewhat do-able, and thus acceptable when working on them for short periods of time. When I got the SCX24’s and was confronted with the M1.4 hardware for the first time, I experienced it could be way worse. I really dislike the ultra-tiny M1.4 hardware so much that I decided to sell the SCX24’s.

Now I am re-entering the small scale world with a new project. I will combine various skills (some old and some new to be learned), such as designing, 3D-modelling, 3D-printing, building and painting to hopefully produce a satisfying result. I know I will enjoy the entire process from start to finish, so I feel the result is of less importance.

I am going to make a crawler-hauler for my FCX24 power wagon. I ordered two 1/18 scale Eazy RC towing vehicles, the Patriot and Glacier.




Eazy RC Glacier

Eazy RC Patriot

First part of the plan is to design, 3D-print and build a modular flatbed trailer to be towed around by the Patriot. The towing vehicle itself I hope to dress-up with some scale accessories, paint it and learn to do some weathering.

Secondary plan is to add a goose-neck to the modular design of the trailer and add a living space like the longer crawler-haulers. Off course the towing vehicle for the goose-neck trailer will be the Glacier.

Upcoming weekend I will start with the basic design of the modular flatbed trailer … to be continued !