Holy crap! Where are you mounting the turret, bc that thing is a tank! Nice use of the LST trans.

What blades did you use?

I have completed a bit more progress today but no batterys for the camera ? DOH ! ! !

I tried quite a few different blades and found I was happiest with the blade labeled for "thick metal". No idea how many teeth per inch, but it wasn't very many. I found a slow RPM cut best and the larger tooth blades didn't clog like the finer teeth blades. The one that worked best was one of the more expensive blades Lowes had so I assume qaulity meant a big deal because some unlabeled ones I had wouldn't cut a warm turd. Bare in mind I was cutting 2 pieces at the same time so it was nearly 1/2" of material.

Nice project

Keep on going :yipi:

Finially had a productive day with limited interuptions.

Buttoned up a lot of small stuff today, ran the wiring(had to extend a few wires, I soldered everything-no plugs)
Shortened the servo wire
I decided to use a RX pack so I made a small shelf and installed it with a voltmeter for the pack. I will eventually go with a 2000mah 2s plugged directly into the RX and put all that juice to my Robot servo. 513oz torque at 7.2v. Scarey !!!!!
Pulled every screw out and reinstalled with a drop of Blue Loctite.
Made velcro straps and padding for running 2-4s or 2-5s packs. My 2 Polyquest 4500mah 4s 40C packs fit beautifully in the tray, looking forward to 8s power ! Will run 6s for now tho.

Tomorrow all I need to do is put together the titanium turnbuckles for steering, install the freshly built shocks, and do a little cutting and drilling to make the full lenth skid plate and install the RX and it'll be test time ?

I've installed a Mamaba Monster for now and will run 6s till Castle releases the XL-HV

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...E/P9010022.jpg

looks absolutely fantastic!!! you have so much space to play with things inside the chassis!!!! what gearing are you running on 6s for the time being? im also impatiently waiting for the new castle esc to come out! POWER HE WE COME!

I like the look of those circle cutouts. Really gives it an interesting style of its own.

ESC mounted at rear?

63/25 and it's a little under geared, I'm not going to drive it much till I get the XL-HV. No sense in torturing the M.M.M. ??

Thank You for the compliment.
Yes, ESC is behind the trans.

OBTW, the chassis loaded with batterys seems to be perfectly balanced F-R.

It's 100% complete now, weighs in at 18.9lbs and 32" from front bumper to wheely bar wheel. Happy to report that it is slightly front heavy so I'm content with that. The first Test went great, jumps very well but nearly at the end of the packs I broke the drive shaft I made, not a big deal . After I welded it I ground to much material away to make it look pretty. This time I'll be a little more serious about it and go for more strenth rather than good looks.

I'm chargeing up packs tonight and gonna take it out for a proper bash and test Sat after I repair the rear drive shaft.
With a little luck I'll have video and some action pics.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...E/P9030025.jpg

Almost 20lbs. Awesome. Time to tear some stuff up!

Mixed emotions about giant scale RC
 

I didn't have much time to play today, being a home owner kinda sucks whens there is a plethora of chores to do ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME !!

Went to the lacal bash spot in hopes of catching some video, no luck. My short thick sausage fingers can't hold the TX, camera and drive ?
Half way through the second set of packs the L front tire started coming off the rim on the inside, so that killed the session.


Heres a picture of "Holey-Moley" next to one of my ERevos for a comparrison of scale

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...E/P9040003.jpg

I had a Baja 5B when they first came out, it was a fun ride, lots of power(with a aftermarket pipe) and easy to run and take care of. However it was "too" big, steering radius was severely compromised, the weight killed the nimbleness these RC's should have. I'm re-liveing all this while driving my Savy. Yeah it's big and badassed and all that, but truthfully I'm bored with it already. It can't scamper up a hillside and jump the slightest bump or divit like a RC 6-8lbs lighter can ? The layout of the huge RC lets you put the power down and the thing goes like a bat out of hell. It handles excellent and goes where you point it but the weight also makes the control arms flex a ton and not to mention harder on drive train IE diff gears,axles,slipper ETC
It is truely a unique RC and I had a lot of fun building it but I will be selling it soon to whom ever might be interested in a large scale Savage. I'm gonna play and tinker with it another week or two when I can make time and then I'm going to break it down to a XL size w/CD (possible slipperential?) and sell the chassis and skid plate.
I have more fun driving my XXL/LST with the 1717 & 6s personally ??

Sucks to hear you're not thrilled with it, but I'll give you huge points for just being honest about that. Lots of times people would rather dance around the issue rather than admit creating something they're not entirely happy with. But that's part of the hobby, lessons learned make the next one that much better!

I think it does look very cool naked, almost like an aerospace part. But I did have some of those same issues with my Maxx Mutation, you have to have a sacrificial part, and in both our cases that being A-arms that are not up to the task. We both know what would happen with alloy arms in the event of a minor impact. Alloy is fine on lighter, or a plastic chassis, because the bulks or other areas become the sacrificial items. There does seem to be a pretty specific ratio for weight/strength of various parts/stresses encountered. My Maxx handled very well, but that was because it A. only had a 12" wheelbase, and B. because it did have a very low cog vs a stock Maxx, and C. because the suspension was stiff (over 60 pounds of compression). The drawbacks were still far fewer than having a stocker. But still part of that ratio was off, the weight, being 15 pounds. So the stresses imparted on the suspension and rear driveline were huge. Ultimately a combination of these issues meant the Maxx had to be re-acquainted with the Giant Scrapyard in the Sky. It lives on in spririt :)

A little tip for you on video, a lot of flyers tape a keychain cam to sunglasses or the brim of a hat. Just gotta get it aimed right, and then just keep your eyes straight ahead. We'd still love to see it in action!

Sorry to here that the big ass savy isnt what you thought that it was going to be.Why not wait for the hv controller and try it on 10,12s before you ditch it?Never know!
BUT anyway you're right about the LST XXL rolling w/the 1717.
Dont give up on that big ass savy yet .It seemed as though you were stoked about this build until now.
There is always room for perfection.Especially when you have so much to work with.

MAKE IT HAPPEN:whip:

Thanks Jason and Bryan, I appreciate your kind words and insight.
I like the aerospace commet especially, it's a milspec build LOL.

When I left to run today I wasn't thinking about anything but to get the hell out of the house. I do have a keychain cam I'll have to remember that next time if I come up short on a camera man. Sunday is a new day, try again I reckon.


Maybe what I'll do is cut the chassis down from 22" to 18" and try again befor I completely abandon the project ????
Of course I'll have to put the battery compartments on the TVP's which steal away the "Look" but It may salvage the whole build ?

I know it may seem sudden, but I've made my mind up !

What I'm gonna do is cut the chassis down from 22" Wheel base to 17-18" and try again befor I completely abandon the project.
My XXl LST is 15.25 so a couple inches over it will be satisfactory.

Of course I'll have to put the battery compartments on the TVP's which steal away the "Look" but It may salvage the whole build and bring some enjoyment back. At least it'll be easier on the drive train and make it act like what I'm missing. I'm gonna take a few days off from RC building first, ben killing myself with this monster for a week now. building something like this in a short amount of time can put the pressure on a guy, especially if things dont go as planned.(In my case)