It's been about 8 months in the making, but the Freestyle RC ZEI Bigfoot 11 is finally (almost) ready for prime time. It was a really fun build and the finish screams quality (with exception of the servo horns...and new ones are on the way).
Before all you monster truck history buffs start going off on me about how Bigfoot 11 was the Wildfoot paint scheme and this looks like #10...I based this off test footage of the Bigfoot 11 truck in December of 1992 that was released on the Bigfoot YouTube page. Click the link above if you don't believe me. I chose to call it #11 with racing stripes because I like that look and because the #10 cantilever went the other direction toward the cab from every video I've seen of it (which I can safely say isn't as many as Josh Rhodes has seen). If you want to get hung up on it not being accurate or scale, the JCT tires (which aren't glued, so I can replace them with Firestorms) or my choice to use polished aluminum axles should be enough to get you riled up. I did rush the build a little and used a few items I had available to get it done in time for USTE, but haven't had time to go back and make the small tweaks to get it right (I'm ordering some things to fix that as we speak, so help me out by using some of these affiliate links to offset my costs).
Now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk about the truck. The ZEI chassis is cut 5mm carbon fiber and 6061 aluminum, has a 3D cockpit, and has rear cantilever suspension rounding out the design to be both scale and durable. Couple that with the indestructible Freestyle RC axles and stout transmission and you've got one beautiful truck! The off-brand shocks are probably the cheapest part on the truck and possibly lowest quality. They were used because of their size and scale look. Honestly, I haven't found an internal spring shock that performs how I would like, so these will be just fine for the time being. I still need to work on getting the best spring combination for them. I don't expect this truck to handle like my other race trucks, but would rather it handle as scale as possible.
Because I wanted it to be scale, I did make it 4 wheel steer and that is awesome! I've gone a bit overkill on the steering with Reefs Raw 500 servos that have more speed and power than I need, but make it turn like a dream (even better when I replace the temporary plastic servo horns). The wheels are white JConcepts Tributes with Rit Dyed planetary caps and the current tires are JCTs blue compound that aren't glued on as they are temporary until I get a set of JConcepts Firestorms or Golden Years for it. I haven't decided which I want as the Firestorms would be accurate..but I don't like them as much as the Golden Years.
The body is a JConcepts 1993 Ford F-250 Monster Truck Body that I bought from Josh Rhodes. He had it painted and raced with it at Trigger King and was willing to sell it to me when I asked him about where I could graphics to make one. So a big shoutout to him for saving me a lot of time making one. Graphics are available from JB Scale Graphics if you want to make one.
I've mentioned JConcepts parts a few times and want to acknowledge them because they have really supported the RC Monster Truck scene with lots of body options, wheels, tires, and even the Regulator retro chassis.
Powering my ZEI build is a Castle Creations Sidewinder 4 with 5700Kv brushless motor. I've found the Castle systems to be very reliable, easy to program, and they have worked great in my trucks for years. The Spektrum SR515 receiver finishes up the electronics in the truck and that is bound to my trusty DX5 Rugged that controls all my favorite monster trucks.
It's been a blast to build and I know I'll continue tweaking it and making small changes along the way, but it was good enough in it's current state to win the USTE Best of Show Shafty Monster Truck award earlier this year.
Specs
Wheelbase - 12.5"
Front shock length - 100mm
Rear shock length - 120mm
Cantilever shock length - 90mm
Fits a single shorty LiPo battery
Links and Affiliate Links to items used in this build:
Freestyle RC ZEI Chassis: http://bit.ly/FRC-ZEI
Freestyle RC Axles: http://bit.ly/FRC-Axles Freestyle
RC Transmission: http://bit.ly/FRC-Transmission
Castle Creations Sidewinder 4 5700kv system: http://bit.ly/CC-SW4-5700kv
Reefs RAW500: http://bit.ly/Reefs-RAW-500
Spektrum SR515 Receiver: http://bit.ly/Spektrum-SR515
Spektrum DX5 Rugged: http://bit.ly/Spektrum_Dx5R_Green
JConcepts Tribute Wheels: CLICK HERE
JConcepts Firestorm Tires: CLICK HERE
JConcepts F-250 Monster Truck Body: CLICK HERE
6mmx12mmx4mm Bearings: https://amzn.to/303o0rw
12mmx18mmx4mm Bearings: https://amzn.to/2NVMbWh
Shocks (need 2 sets of 90mm and 100mm): http://bit.ly/yeahrun-shocks
Traxxas 5451x E-Revo Driveshaft: http://bit.ly/Traxxas-5451x
Traxxas E-maxx Diff assembly part explosion: https://traxxas.com/explodedviews/E-Maxx-Brushless-39087-1-Rear-Assembly