1:8 Scale Grave Digger

[Paul4x4]

I just did some test driving, and I must say the sway bars work great!:cool The truck handles now just like I want, but the biggest problem is now inefficient brakes.:mad I can just brake a couple lousy times before the brakes heat up so much that there is practically no brakes!

The Digger weights almost 19 pounds, and that's twice the weight of a stock Mad Force, so that's the reason why it isn't stopping that well. I also think that the wheels being super heavy too, causes them to act like a set of flywheels, so there's also a lot of rotating mass to stop with that measly little brake disk.

Well, now I ordered some fancy looking progressive brake disk from ebay, and also a couple sets of carbon fiber disks and pads, so hopefully some of those will get me the needed braking power! If not, then I think I have to reinvent the brakes to suit my needs...

Here's a pic of the carbon brakes.

 

[pirape]

Hi paul, very nice build of your very impressed with all your work! Its jaw dropping lol

 

[OldSchoolDude]

Paul:

Saw your 505 RC freestyle video. Absolutely awesome! That thing looks so real running around. Once again, great job on the build.

 

[MiRatlhed]

but the biggest problem is now inefficient brakes.:mad I can just brake a couple lousy times before the brakes heat up so much that there is practically no brakes!

Get on Ebay and find some Hardcore racing Ti brake pads. I know there is some for the TMaxx and the MP7 on there right now and maybe one of those will work on your brake set up. Using the Ti pads and the Carbon disc is a great set up in our heavy all aluminum SuperMaxx trucks. This set up has provided the best stopping power without fade.

 

[Paul4x4]

Paul:

Saw your 505 RC freestyle video. Absolutely awesome! That thing looks so real running around. Once again, great job on the build.

Thanks a lot, man! Hopefully I find time to shoot more videos soon! I have also some cool action pics from that freestyle session, so I think I should post some of them too...

Get on Ebay and find some Hardcore racing Ti brake pads. I know there is some for the TMaxx and the MP7 on there right now and maybe one of those will work on your brake set up. Using the Ti pads and the Carbon disc is a great set up in our heavy all aluminum SuperMaxx trucks. This set up has provided the best stopping power without fade.

Thanks for the advise! Much appreciated! All Inferno brake parts fit the Digger, so that's a good thing.

I found a nice looking vented Ti brake disk on ebay, but unfortunately those were out of stock, so the seller is trying to find out if he's able to get more from his supplier. Do you think the Ti disk with carbon pads would get me the same stopping power as the Ti pads and a carbon disk? Well, I'm gonna order some Inferno Ti pads too, so then I have many different setups to play with... Thanks again, man!

 

[MiRatlhed]

Do you think the Ti disk with carbon pads would get me the same stopping power as the Ti pads and a carbon disk? Well, I'm gonna order some Inferno Ti pads too, so then I have many different setups to play with... Thanks again, man!

Not sure about that. I have never tried it but I am sure Kenny did on his SuperMaxx. He is the one that came up with this best set up and he tried them all. HCR made Ti discs for our Maxx's. I have some but they are only for a show truck. I have a lot of carbon discs and Ti pads to use on my runners. One would think you would get the same kind of stopping power with a Ti disc and carbon pad but I don't know?

 

[Paul4x4]

The other sides of my metal axle housings where the upper links mount on to, started to bend under the stress while we had the freestyle session, which was expected too because there was no brackets between the link mounts, so today I finally made them! No way those are bending anymore!

Just a simple support bracket to bolt the upper link mounts together.(still need a finishing touch and some paint)

Also made a little comparison pic. The pic of the 1:1 Digger is the exact same pic I used when I first started modeling this project two years ago.

So is there any resemblance between the trucks?)

 

[monster_truck]

Almost identical! Awesome build!

 

[TXT-2.0]

where is your driver :emot15: thats about the only thing separating them

awesome build and freestyle :cool

 

[Paul4x4]

where is your driver :emot15: thats about the only thing separating them

awesome build and freestyle :cool

Thanks, Tom!

I do have the driver in some box in the garage, but he's not ready to drive just yet! First I need to make the drivers seat for him, and also the steering wheel so he would have something else to do in there than just sit, LOL! And he would need a Grave Digger Team racing suit too, and some gauges in the cab etc etc...

There's still a lot to be done with this build, so it's not finished yet! On the outside it's almost complete. Only needs the drive shaft safety loops and a painted show off body, but it's fun to have the truck in drivable condition at last!

 

[MiRatlhed]

Sooooo sweet. Very nice work man. I love how you made it a Nitro truck.

The two pictures do look identical. If you had your little driver dude in there nobody would be able to tell that is a RC truck. Seriously.......:emot112:

 

[Paul4x4]

Sooooo sweet. Very nice work man. I love how you made it a Nitro truck.

The two pictures do look identical. If you had your little driver dude in there nobody would be able to tell that is a RC truck. Seriously.......:emot112:

Glad you like it! Oh, and thanks for the ebay link! I ordered a set of those brake pads.:cool

Now that everyone is telling me that it should have someone in the cab driving the thing, I decided to start doing something about that! So I had already bought a pair of Axial seats for the truck, but those doesn't really look like monster truck racing seats, and seems like a lot of people already have those in their trucks, so the only sensible solution was to make the seat with my own two hands!

And I wanted a full containment racing seat, because those are what the craziest drivers prefer to get the maximum body and head support. Dennis Anderson likes to have an ISP racing seat in the truck he drives, so I thought that would be a nice one to replicate because it also looks pretty cool!

So, at first I made a mock up seat out of paperboard...

...and after a little crafting session, I had this on the table!:cool

And I let the driver dude out of his box, so he could test sit the seat!

I still need to upholster it, and make some ISP-logo stickers, but it's coming together nicely! Then I have to make seat belts and a proper Grave Digger Team fire suit for the driver, and also paint some green flames on the helmet or something. I'll try to finish the seat tomorrow!

 

[Paul4x4]

So the seat project continues!

Ok, here's the lame Axial Corbeau half bucket seat I was originally thinking of installing in the Digger, but that idea went to the trash pretty fast!

So, I took this photo and started modeling the seat...

And this is now what I ended up with! I didn't try to make an exact replica, but my own slightly modified version instead.

So is it any better than the Axial one?D

 

[KingClod27]

I need one of those!! Looks absolutely perfect...much better than the Axial seat..I have the Axial seat for my Boyer but yours is way better

 

[Paul4x4]

I need one of those!! Looks absolutely perfect...much better than the Axial seat..I have the Axial seat for my Boyer but yours is way better

Perfect it is not, but it'll have to do!

I'm not making more of those, but I can scan you the template I drew, if you wanna make your own? Just trace that out onto a piece of aluminum sheet, cut it out and fold the seat into its shape. The seat itself is one part, and those extra shoulder and head supports are additional pieces. And the fabric I used is from one old junk bucket seat(makes it proper for this build) I have laying around, and I just simply glued all the fabric pieces on the seat.(no templates for those, but it's a pretty straight forward job) Then I made some decals and printed them out on a sticker paper. Not hard to do, just time consuming!:rolleyes

 

[jdmerrill1240]

Perfect it is not, but it'll have to do!

I'm not making more of those, but I can scan you the template I drew, if you wanna make your own? Just trace that out onto a piece of aluminum sheet, cut it out and fold the seat into its shape. The seat itself is one part, and those extra shoulder and head supports are additional pieces. And the fabric I used is from one old junk bucket seat(makes it proper for this build) I have laying around, and I just simply glued all the fabric pieces on the seat.(no templates for those, but it's a pretty straight forward job) Then I made some decals and printed them out on a sticker paper. Not hard to do, just time consuming!:rolleyes

I would be interested in the templates if you would like to share!

 

[Paul4x4]

I would be interested in the templates if you would like to share!

Sure, I'll try to scan the templates when I have time, and improve/clean them up on the computer.

 

[SWMS]

I'm interested too. Thanks.

 

[Paul4x4]

I took a comparison pic with the Axial seat. About the same size.

And here's what I've been working on the whole day, the fire suit!

Didn't come out perfect, but no one's gonna see it this close when it's in the truck. Especially the helmet went to crap, because my current airbrush isn't good for painting so small objects! But the driver is now ready to drive. I just need to craft some seat belts to hold him in place, and then I need to make the steering wheel and all the gauges.

 

[SWMS]

Right on man! I like it.