Vintage Blackfoot Project

[fastmax]

Hey guys. A few weeks back I met up with a buddy of mine and managed to score an old Tamiya Blackfoot to add to my collection. It was pretty much RTR with vintage radio gear, and the original MSC in it. All I had to add was a body, and some steering linkage to get it up and going. Well after a few weeks of not being able to mess with it due to some very long days at work I finally got everything finished up and got to run it this past weekend. Here's a few pics of where it's at now. Eventually I'd like to score an original body for it, but for the time being this Parma Blackfoot remake will have to do the job. Let me know what you guys think.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC004.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC005.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC006.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC014.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC015.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/VintRC009.jpg

[roadrunnr43]

I LOVE IT! the blue and with body clashes perfectly with the red wheels and chassis. (and i mean that in a good way);)

[OldSchoolRC]

Sweet!! love backfoots, I've had three over the years and they are just a fun truck to bash around with.

That controller is funky looking! dig the color :)

[fastmax]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to score an original body for when it's on display.

[Maxx man]

I love to see the original RC modles then take a look at how far they have come is 10short years:eek: I love those old tamiyas:D

[LSXEric]

Thats cool. Don't see too many tamiyas with a MSC.

Nitrobasher, thats way more than ten years ago. The orignal T-maxx is almost ten years old.

[Maxx man]

Thats cool. Don't see too many tamiyas with a MSC.

Nitrobasher, thats way more than ten years ago. The orignal T-maxx is almost ten years old.

:o ya I guess your right... so 15+ years ago

[BAJA 1000]

Holy sweat that thing is nice more pics please ;)

[fastmax]

Actually this truck is about 23 years old or so. Makes me feel old to say that since I was a teen when it was released lol. I'll get some more pics posted soon. Thanks for all the comments.

[Maxx man]

lol I wont tell anyone:D

[fastmax]

LMAO right on.

[fastmax]

Small update on this project guys. I've managed to score an original body, as well as a new driver figure, and the servo cover that was missing when I got the truck. Body is scheduled for delivery on monday, and the other parts should be here shortly after that. The body will need some work to get it looking like I want, but hey that's half the fun right.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/a76a_1.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/BTPhDygWkKGrHgoOKioEjlLme88sBKHZMrG.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/BTME4rwmkKGrHgoOKigEjlLmbZRpBKHG2By.jpg

[LSXEric]

Cool! Are you keeping the stock MSC in it?

[fastmax]

Yep. I will be keeping this truck completely original. The only thing that won't be original Tamiya will be the lights that I put in it.

[roadrunnr43]

props for restoring it, and not dropping in a new electric set.

[fastmax]

Thanks. It just doesn't seem fitting to pull out all the vintage radio gear, and MSC only to replace it with modern elecs. It's not like this will be getting raced or bashed, so when I do drive it, I want it to be the full vintage experience. Just like when I drove them back in the 80's.:cool:

[Maxx man]

hey thast awsome!!! good luck!

[fastmax]

Well fellas I got my body and wheels in the mail today. To my surprise they are actually in better shape than I was expecting. The downside was that a previous owner had applied what were described as "repro" decals. Well in all actuality they were the decal sheet printed onto plain white paper, and then CA'd to the body. Yes I said CA. Don't ask why lol, cause I can't figure it out either lol. So here are a few pics of how the body looked when I pulled it out of the box.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/006.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/007.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/009.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/010.jpg

As a bonus the seller sent me the old school poster of the Blackfoot advertisement, which I thought was pretty cool. I didn't take pics of it or anything, just thought I'd share that I got a freebie. Now it was time to take the body apart, and begin the process of removing all these pieces of paper that were decorating it. None of the edges were glued, so a lot of it came off clean, but where it stuck, it was hard as a rock, and even 60 grit paper was having a difficult time getting it all off. Here are a couple pics of how it looked at this point.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/012.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/013.jpg

Then after about 3 hours of sanding, sanding, and sanding, I finally had it to the point where I was ready to prime it so I could more easily see the remaining imperfections. Here's how it sits right now.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/014.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/016.jpg

[master_of_desaster]

CA glue... WTF?! haha looks gret though Max! i'm likin the resto buildups!

[fastmax]

Yeah CA. WTF is exactly what I was thinking. Bad enough to just glue paper to the body, but to do it with CA lol. Come on. Thanks though man. It's getting somewhere now. Still a good bit of work to go, but I'll git er.

[roadrunnr43]

actually i have a reason they might've used CA glue; readily available at the bench

yes, i have done it before.

[OldSchoolRC]

ha - well, that's inventive if nothing else. Great job on the resto!

[fastmax]

Thanks guys. I'm not shocked by the whole printing the designs on paper and attaching them to the body. That was actually not all that bad of an idea, but CAing them to the body, was a horrible plan. Elmers glue would have worked better, and been able to be worked to all of the edges instead of just leaving them flapping in the breeze, and it would also have been much easier to replace or remove if the need were to arise.

The idea of printing them on plain white paper makes perfect sense, since you can't print white on a regular printer unless the media is white to begin with. I think if it were me, I would have printed them like he did, then used some spray contact adhesive to attach them to self adhesive vinyl. Then hit them with a protective clear coat to gloss them up a bit, and then cut them out and applied them just like a regular vinyl decal.

[Been 2780]

that body looks great

[fastmax]

Thanks. I'm trying lol. It's been a lot of work to get it here.

[fastmax]

Got rained out of work today, and was sitting here bored, so I got to looking at the Blackfoot, and decided to go ahead and do a little work on it. I got the base coat of paint on the driver. Still have to fill some gaps, and do some shading and highlighting, but he's getting there. I also decided I didn't care for the pink (faded to more of a red) wheels, so I decided to paint them white. They look much better IMO. I also went one step further and painted the lettering on the tires. What do you guys think?

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/003.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/004.jpg

[Maxx man]

looks awsome!!!!!! I love it

[camiguel]

Looks really good keep workin on it. Are you goin for the stock black foot look or your own thing?:cool:

[fastmax]

Thanks guys. It will closely resemble a "boxart" Blackfoot, but with a few touches of my own.

[LSXEric]

Ahh thpse old mashers look great! The only thing you need now is new smiley lights. Heres a few/ :) :) :)

[fastmax]

LMAO. I def need new stickers for the lights. I'm also considering modding them with lenses and LED's so that they will be working lights.:cool:

[camiguel]

I like that idea for the paintjob.:D

[fastmax]

I think it will look pretty good. Hope so anyway, cause I don't want to have to paint it twice lol.

[fastmax]

Since I've been having a hard time scoring window glass for what I'm currently willing to pay, I decided to fab up my own for the time being out of some scrap lexan. Here are a few pics. I kinda want to do another set because after 3 coats of Pactra tint they turned out darker than I would have liked, but I thought after 2 coats they weren't quite dark enough. If I make another set I'll stop at 2 coats on the next ones lol.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/001-1.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/002-1.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/003-1.jpg

[fastmax]

Couple small updates on the BF. I got the grille last week, and got some painting done on it and insalled it last night. I also repaired most of the bad imperfections on the body, and touched them up. I have a couple more holes to fix, and then the right front fender to do a repair on. Once those are done and touched up it will be finished for the time being. At least until I have the funds to score a decal sheet, and the original glass.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/001-2.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/002-2.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/fast-max/Blackfoot/003-2.jpg