Another New Bruiser Owner

[hunter306]

I finally won a bruiser on ebay after a few months of shopping. Seems like they have been pricey as of late, but I guess I cannot speak from much experience.

These are some photos of it directly from the ebay auction. I'll post some more when I get it and start to clean it up, though it doesn't look bad at all.

It included everything (radio and servos) to get it going right off, but those will be quickly swapped out for my Modified Spektrum Dx6.

How's it look!?

 

[Locoboy5150]

Congratulations and welcome to the club! That looks like a great condition Bruiser.

Actually, it seems to me that the price of Bruisers has come down a little bit, possibly because of the release of the High Lift.

 

[RC4x4]

Looks like a good start. :kudo Now when are you buying the next one?

Cory

 

[hunter306]

haha,

This one set me back a few more dollars than I would have liked, so we'll see what condition it is in first.

Coincidently, I had just ordered the F-350 high-lift the day before, but I couldn't pass the bruiser up.... So now I have two 3speed trucks coming!

I know, the F-350 is technically in a different league than the bruiser, but It'll still be a nice one to add to the collection.

 

[4wdmt]

:kudo on your purchase and welcome. Thats a nice bruiser. Do you also have the side mirror of the body? that will make it complete.

 

[hunter306]

I'm hoping that's my lone missing part.

The seller I bought it from seemed confident that it was complete, so he may be including the mirror in the box as well. I'm not 100%

Can you get ahold of a Repro mirror anywhere or is it one of the parts that I'm just gonna have to buy from an old kit?

Also, I'd like to clean it up before I do much else with it. I've got a dremel with a small soft fiber polishing wheel and a little bit of polishing compound... Would that be safe to use on the chassis? Or should I do it by hand?

 

[william g]

contact Mike, scalemaniac he knows where to get a repop mirror

welcome to the orig 3speeders club :kudo

 

[Forrest]

nice bruiser!

the Hi lift might be newer but it dose not do it for me. The bruiser is much prettier with the lid off.

The Hi lift is kind of like an old high school girl friend of mine.
They are both georgous on the the surface but nothing special once you can see whats underneeth the skin........ :ack

 

[hunter306]

Yes, I have to say --- The Bruiser looks great with the lid off... while the F350 leaves something to be desired for sure.
---


I see alot of people taking these apart and giving them alot of love. I'd like to clean mine up and make it look like a real nice piece. So, How do I go about getting it polished up (the frame and crossmembers) I've see some varying methods, but I have a dremel that I'd like to use if Its not going to cause damage.

Also, what polish seems to be the besh choice right now? I won't get the bruiser till at earliest this weekend (crossing my fingers) but when I do, I'll post some pictures that don't look like absolute hell.

 

[Forrest]

i gave up polishing a long time ago. all that work to have it tarnish shortly after.........BLAH :banghead

I choose to re nickle or chrome plate.

 

[hunter306]

Good to know. I guesss I'll just get it cleaned up as much as possible.

I've got a buddy who does powder coating... Maybe that's the ticket.

 

[hunter306]

I just got my new bruiser tonite! Started tearing it down to buff it up.

Here are some pictures as I recieved it:

 

[Locoboy5150]

Congratulations! It's always a relief when a Bruiser arrives safe and sound.

What needs to be done to the truck? It looks like it's in excellent condition. I sure wish that mine were that nice when they arrived!

 

[ScaleManiac]

Looks like a real nice start! As far as polishing goes, I gave up on that too... I now powdercoat the chassis and suspension and paint the axles.

As for repro mirrors, look up the member Cultech on Tamiya club, he makes some real nice aluminum ones and with a little bit of hand polishing they look great.

I actually opted to paint mine for a different look


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ihav...nge/misc022.jpg

Mike

 

[4wdmt]

Originally posted by Locoboy5150@Oct 18 2006, 11:26 PM
Congratulations! It's always a relief when a Bruiser arrives safe and sound.

You can say that again loco. LOL.

The body looks really good. I see that you just need the mirror. All in all. Its I think its a good buy.

 

[ScaleManiac]

Here ya go

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/trades.asp?id=2707

 

[Eviltwincustoms]

I wish mine looked half as nice as that for what you paid. I had to strip mine completely down and remove all the Gunk and now have to repaint the body as well.

Congrats on the Nice Addition it shouldn't take you long to restore that puppy. :kudo

 

[hunter306]

Yes, I was very impressed by the overall quality when I pulled it out.

The paint is obviously no where near perfect, but I can't honestly see myself repainting it, because I don't know where to get replacement stickers!!

The windshield has a small crack on the passenger side, the windshield frame has a chip out of the blue paint (my fault). There are also numerous chips and scratches around the body... But I honestly didn't expect much more for the price!

I'm going to pull the Mech. Speed Control out and put in an ESC and get that running. I'm also planning on cleaning and regreasing the axels. I started to clean up some of the surface crud yesterday evening. Came out good.

 

[rc4x4nut]

You can get repro decals from tamiyaclub.com under the parts store. They are pretty good quality too.

Nice bruiser BTW. I just got mine back together but I may put it up for sale. I am half way tempted on hacking and parting a bit. I dont really want to do it to this one though.

 

[hunter306]

Man you guys got all the inside info =)

Sweet. 43 bux for decals... I can hardly justify that. But I might just order a sheet and then strip the body and restore it. Thanks!