It all started when I was putting up some battery-powered Christmas lights up at work. As I was unboxing one set, the idea hit me to add these to one of my R/C vehicles. After some thought, I decided to use my E-Maxx. It's been awhile since I've run or done anything with it.
The first part was getting another set of battery-powered lights. Target.com stepped up with a decent set from Phillips. An 18 bulb, LED, multi-color set with an on/off switch that runs on 4 AA batteries for $7. Ordered them online with a few other items, got them in, and tested.
The next part was color. That was easy: red and silver. I got plenty of silver, just need to grab some red from the local hobby shot. I'm thinking a Candy Red or Metallic Red.
On to the shell. What would make for a good monster truck turned Christmas? I did some looking at the usual R/C body manufacturers: Proling Racing, Parma PSE, and HPI Racing. I wasn't seeing anything at first. I wanted something that I could put some little fake presents in, but wouldn't look too typical for a monster truck. After going back and forth on the sites, I finally decided on the HPI Racing Chevy El Camino SS. With a big block engine sticking outta the hood and a good sized package area, this turned out to be perfect. HPI Racing does some wonderfully detailed R/C car and truck bodies. They have some nice little molded in details, plus give you a great set of decals to add some extra scale features. This particular body set also includes a separate front bumper, and a 2 piece blower, all attached with some screws. There is even a option to remove the engine and have a cover in place for a normal look. The only down side to the body is that it is designed for a nitro monster truck, and has a cut out in the bed for the engine to poke through. However, I should be able to "hide" this with the packages.
But where are the presents? Well, another R/C company decided to venture into a little papercrafting. They released a model of their latest truck, and then released some accessories for their scale crawler kits here. Axial Racing does it again.
My goal is to try to have this completed in time for Christmas day 2012 to take over to the in-laws and have fun with the nephews. The really fun part is deciding how to do the bulbs on the body. We'll see what happens.
If this project works out, there might be a version 2 for next year.
Merry Christmas!
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