Quote:
Originally Posted by Cossett
Also another thing when building a rig or any thing the paint is the last thing you do as you have to be sure all body parts line up properly in mock up stage
Not get parts from here and there and discover something is wrong as chassis and chassis bodies may vary is length
Unless you find a builder that will make you a complete truck with the trimings and you have DEEP pockets ,
Them you will also need radio gear which is a personal thing as we want all want different features and functions, then there are the electrics as well, which adds $100's to the build
But where is the fun and learn letting someone do all the work for you incase something break later down the track them you start complaining I got this truck built and it wont run,
There are a lot of first time builders that start with the base King hauler / Knight hauler kit and customis them into a great trucks taking there time and working out how to solve problem in this LAME hobby
Instead of b@tching how this company doesing make this part or that part
And in the end for a compamy it comes down to how much the licence frees will cost / cost of making the new molds, what is there main market and how many they expect to sell, but the first one determines you hole question.
Ms Cosset
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As a matter of prudence, I first have to figure out bottom-line costs. In this hobby, project management should be important to practice. I can shave a lot of costs, however, by buying a number of things at amazon.com like the Tamaiya King Hauler kit, the MFCU, Futaba radio (I have owned them in the past), batteries, chargers, the stock Bruder toy truck to swipe its mixer barrel (and donate the Mack Granite chassis cab remaining to charity) and such. I may need a special tool like a hobby knife to trim up things nicely like the plastic differential housings and maybe some hobby sand paper.
All the paid aftermarket custom builder would have to do for me is the painted day cab/fender/door/hood assembly complete with interior and driver figure (a guy in a hard hat) to plop onto the Tamiya chassis and perhaps the custom electrics and chassis mounting provisions for a Bruder mixer conversion also so I can plop that on and hook up the wires. I want that cement mixer body to bolt on neatly, not in Mickey Mouse fashion.
All the rest I can handle at home. I have been a fleet truck mechanic (light wheeled vehicle mechanic, motor pool) in the US Army for seven years and I am also a graduate in a IT/Computer Science major. I built this PC of mine at home even with about $1,500 in parts from Fry's Electronics and software invested. I am confident I have the aptitude for MOST of a model RC truck build. The cosmetics as painting as well as sheet metal, machining and welding skills is where I am tender. As a diesel mechanic by trade I was a vehicle parts changer, not a custom truck parts modifier or fabricator.
I have decided not to go with custom brown but settle for the stock blue that the Bruder cement unit is molded in to shave costs and employ the KISS principle. Only the special-order Kenworth cab would have to be painted in a simple solid blue color to match the mixer unit with a simple fabricated door logo decal.
