R/C Jeep!!!

[ATC]

Holy cow! I just found out about this really cool radio controlled Jeep for GI Joe! I'm probably the last person on the planet to learn about it, as usual. But it's pretty phenomenally awesome!



Video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Us4ZcrETy64


It's on Amazon for $365.
https://www.amazon.com/RocHobby-Cont.../dp/B08BL94MGL

Guess what I'm getting for Christmas?
:-)
ATC

[GeekDragon]

Nice. I didn't know this existed either.

[TNshooter]

Those are really cool. I've seen some postings about them. I just wish I could afford one.

[ATC]

Dunno what to do about this jeep... it's a very expensive toy, so I surely won't be abusing it like you see in the YouTube videos. I took an M5 Stuart out in the mud and played with it, then left the mud as "weathering." It looked pretty cool on the shelf! Later on, I gave it to GIDefender, so he could turn it into a space vehicle... he had a devil of a time getting all the mud off! Yeah, it was a freebie for him, but I still felt guilty getting it all muddy. So I guess I won't run this one in the mud. But I wonder... should I leave it "fresh off the asesmbly line" or get out my trusty acrylic model paints and do some weathering? Insignia and markings are interesting, too... should I leave them as-is, or shoot the jeep with a lighter shade of Olive Drab so it's the same shade as the 5-Star Jeep, then give it the decals and markings of the beloved 5-star? And what kind of driver, I wonder... Vintage, ME, TC, CC or SA? Whatever kind of driver it gets, it'll have to be a figure with floppy arms, because the steerign wheel turns along with the front wheels, so if I rubber-band the Joe's hands to the wheel it'll look like he's driving, but that won't work so well if he's got stiff arms. Figure modification may be in order. Or, if I can't find a floppy-arm figure, I can just unplug the servo that turns the steering wheel, I guess. Decisions, decisions. It's supposed to arrive today. If my wife's not home, then I can play with it tonight. :-) If she intercepts it, I won't even SEE it until Christmas. :-(
Today oddly feels a bit like Xmas Eve when I was 8...
- ATC

[GeekDragon]

I would probably leave it as is. I was never one for wreathering vehicles, even though I have done it with models.

[ATC]

I think I'll leave it alone, markings and all. The green color is "off" but I can't articulate how. Maybe this is Japanese Army Green rather than Olive Drab. I don't really care much about that, though. There are OTHER things that need attention.

The size is practically identical to the Hasbro CC jeep. I compared it to my Desert Jeep, and they're so close that you'd think RocHobby stole the dimensions from Hasbro! The RocHobby MB isn't exactly suited to Joe, though.
I'll need to modify the driver's seat before it'll hold a Joe... and LOOK right. The cloth and padding in the seat takes up all the room! I'll need to get rid of the seat pads and maybe repurpose the cloth to make it look like it still has seat covers. The Joes that LOOK the best in it are the Super-Articulated joes. They have a shorter torso and their legs bend sharply at the hip, so they sit lower in the jeep and look more realistically proportioned. Vintage/ME/TC/Cots all looked awkward. Dragon guys just look HUGE (except for tank commander Fritz... he looks awesome, probably because he was a "short" figure). When I stuck in an SA Joe with his short spine, the clouds parted and angels sang. Years ago, Scott picked up a SA PH guy for me (arctic dude from convention with the dogsled); he was the pinnacle of Joe Evolution IMHO... a PH with big feet and Super Articulation! He's now permanently reassigned as the official MB Jeep Driver. As an added benefit, I can leave his Buzz Lightyear hands loose on the steering wheel, so the wheel can turn with the vehicle, but it won't require a "floppy armed" Joe to drive it. I might miss a little realism by not using a vintage/ME/TC Joe with floppy arms, but those guys LOOK silly compared to an SA Joe, so it's a trade-off I'm happy to make.
The .50 MG pedestal is too low. The ammo box occupies the spot where the driver's head should be! I will have to cut the pedestal, extend it, and re-mount it. The .50 is pretty much fixed in position, too. Great for looks as it bounces around, but seriously limiting insofar as "play value" is concerned. I may use the base of the pedestal and mount a 21C .50 on it that pivots instead. The pedestal is far too fragile to mount a Joe in there and drive around. I'm sure it'd snap like a twig. Reinforcement is called for. Or complete redesign.
The ragtop doesn't fit very well, either, but it's close... and fixable. It should be a better fit right out of the box, which is a bit irritating (especially at this price point), but at least it's recoverable.

So this isn't really a 100% plug and play solution for Joe, but it shouldn't take TOO much customization to make it work.

If a JoeHead wanted to pick one up, I'd recommend passing on the accessories (.50 on a pedestal and the ragtop). I think the pedestal and .50 MG was around $50 and the ragtop priced around $20. Absolutely absurd. Especially since you could make BETTER ones yourself with stuff you probably already have in your junk box (and a little square of cloth). But if I hadn't ordered them, I wouldn't have known. Hopefully my purchase RECON can save other JoeHeads some hassle.

My batteries haven't arrived yet, so I can't review the jeep. I DID notice that the weight of Joe makes the left side of the jeep sit lower. Hmm... I'll have to find some way to stiffen up the suspension. I care more about its suitability for Joe than its ability to race and rock-crawl. The vehicle itself seems incredibly high quality and well made. I'm looking forward to taking it for a test drive! Tracking says the battery won't be here for 3 more days. Ugh. I hate waiting!

- ATC

[TNshooter]

I really like the review you've done so far ATC! Lots of valuable information. I'm looking forward to what you say about running it.

I looked at the video link you provided, it gave me a chance to see what the chassis looks like. I have a couple of Traxxas 1/10 RC trucks that
I've had for a few years. It's interesting that all of the electronics are in the front of the jeep. They are mostly in the rear of 1/10 trucks.

A post was made at an Action Man forum in August 2020, that included this photo of one that was custom outfitted.





Another member who is in the US posted an image this past August of one he custom painted, and made it a safari TV crew.




I think the videos on youtube, considering in scale, show the Willys scaling rocks that a real life one wasn't designed to do. I don't think
a real life Willys would be able to climb over a rock its size. LOL

But it was nice seeing the 1/6 in action. I also noticed they zip tied the figures into the drivers seat. I think that a figure would need to have
some type of seatbelt.

In one video, they showed the cord to the mini servo that runs the steering wheel. They had to remove a couple of screws to lift the body
off. If you don't want the steering wheel to move while running it, all you have to do is get under the body and unhook the cord to the servo.
Then you wouldn't have to worry about your driver having loose hands or arms. You could then have his hands gripping the steering wheel,
without having to worry about it moving your driver around in the seat.


Daryl

[ATC]

Maybe they changed the design since the video. Mine has two quick release pins in the rear. Pull the pins in the whole body tips up off the chassis. Pretty convenient. The steering wheel is servo controlled, so all you have to do is unplug the servo. Too easy!
:-)
-ATC

[TNshooter]

Maybe they changed the design since the video. Mine has two quick release pins in the rear. Pull the pins in the whole body tips up off the chassis. Pretty convenient. The steering wheel is servo controlled, so all you have to do is unplug the servo. Too easy!
:-)
-ATC

I don't think so, what you describe is what they showed in the video. Another video the user talked of removing two screws in the front so the entire body could be removed, after unhooking the steering
wheel servo.

Also, I noticed in one video they mentioned LiPO batteries. If that is the one you are waiting for, and if you haven't used one of them before, I just want to give you a warning. Those batteries you don't
want to run until they are completely dead. NiMH batteries you can, but doing that with the LiPO's will ruin them.

Daryl

[ATC]

If'n anybody's interested in this Willys jeep, there's more I can pass along. I figured that rather than clog up the forum, I'd add a page to my website.

You can reach it one of two ways:
www.gijoe.50megs.com and scroll down to the "Military Section" -- last entry is the Willys MB. Click.

Or you can go directly to the page link at:
http://italspat.iwarp.com/Awillys.htm

...either way. If you go through the main page, you visit will trip the counter. Won't do that for direct links. I'm not a programming geek, and my website is really crummy from a technical standpoint (for example, I have no idea how to resize a pic and keep it proportions, and it has its fair share of typos), but the info is all there. Hope it's helpful. Or interesting, at least!

CAUTION: my website looks fine on my computer. But I've been told that on OTHER computers and on android phones, it's a mess.
Sorry. No idea how to make it multi-platform friendly.

:-)
- ATC

P.S. Thanks for the battery tip, Daryl! It'd suck to ruin a new battery... LiPo Suction, you might say.

[TNshooter]

I figured that rather than clog up the forum, I'd add a page to my website.

Clog up the forum? I hate there is not more traffic here as it used to have.

I have no problem seeing your site on my computer. In fact I just bookmarked it. I like your post on the AT weapons!

Your post on the Willys jeep is great!

Daryl

[ATC]

If I posted all that on the form it would have been an incredibly long post. Made more sense to stick it on my website. ;-)
ATC


Gee, I just noticed that some of the links on my pages that take the user back to my homepage don't work! Instead, they point to GI Joe.adventure team.com. That WAS my old URL for several years. I'll have to get in there and fix those links!

[GI Defender]

$5 says you take it thru the mud. Glad you found one and are enjoying it. There was a while there when they were showing up on face book (click bait) for like $50 or less. But for the folks that bought them ended up with anything from a matchbox jeep to a 3 3/4 inch version.

[ATC]

Funny. I got mine on Amazon. Not the cheapest price, but I felt better dealing with them than with some goofy Chinese company I'd never heard of. I ditched Facebook over two years ago when they started their political censorship and partisan shenanigans. I never missed it. Perhaps I am a curmudgeon, but if people use Facebook for *anything* and get screwed, then they should have seen it coming! ;-)
- ATC

[ATC]

UPDATE: I had an airdrop of essential supplies! Actually, it was a FedEx truck. Got my batteries, charger, AND trailer! Woo-hoo! I had it out today, playing with the Willys in a variety of terrains. No, Scott, no mud. :-P Well, not WET mud, anyway. There's a patch out back where the mud and dirt has dried and made a pretty solid battlefield-lookin' spot of dirt. I tried it around those, in short grass, tall grass, and up a dirt pile in the back yard. It handled all of them with aplomb. I won't post a bunch of videos, because youtube is already FULL of people abusing these (tumbling them off obstacles, fording puddles and ditches, etc). This was SOOOOooo expensive on my limited retiree budget, that I'm not going to abuse mine at all. My videos would be boring in comparison.

I *DID* update the web page, though, with trailer stuff and some other odds and ends. I even linked a 10-second (tame) video to my page.

This Willys jeep is SERIOUSLY cool! If you're a military Joe fan, I think it's a must-have. If your interest is limited to Adventure Team, then it might give you pause, because nobody wants to drop THAT much money, only to have to spray paint it all yellow! :-)

- ATC