1/10 80 series hardbody on Vanquish VS-410 chassis build and my other RC stuff

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

Well now, I’ve ventured into building a 1/10 RCRun LC80 hardbody. I’ve just been focused on the body so far but plan to pickup a Vanquish VS-410 portal builders kit or maybe a second hand RTT VS-410 if a good one pops up on marketplace.

I recently got back into the RC hobby for the first time since I was about 13. It was the scale crawlers and hardbody did it. Now my kids and our neighbor/their kids are into it too!

I started with an FMS FCX24 Camel Trophy Discovery as a Father’s Day gift and the spiral started

. I’ve modded that and a FMS FCX18 LC80 and Redcat Ascent 18 Scout II I grabbed on marketplace.

I almost forgot! I also traded @TRDdrew some cruiser parts for a Traxxas Slash. I use that less frequently since my kids are little and it’s so fast.

For those looking to try it FMS is great place to start and the aftermarket support is there too. Their 1/18 or 1/10th scale trucks, particularly the 80 series for obvious reasons, would be a great single truck garage too.

I love the smaller scale trucks too because they’re easy to throw in the car and take with you anywhere.

FMS FCX18 LC80 build recap:

All metal transmission and mount from Amazon
Injora 180 48T high torque motor (the purple one), brass hex adapters, high clearance links, steering links, driveshafts and awning
LGRP 1552 wheels
RC4WD Falken M/Ts
joRcs shock keys
Nexx 53mm shocks with functional bypass reservoirs. I got the version for Redcat MT-18 because it came with multiple springs and I did settle on running different springs front to back. It’s a little tippy at high speed. If I did it again might go 49mm/48mm. Part of it is the canopy too which is heavy.
Injora 11kg steering servo with Rampcrab adjustable servo mount and horn
Batrazzi front bumper

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

Now onto the 1/10 build. This is my first time doing model painting like this so the paint didn’t come out as a nice as I had hoped. I did a ton of prep and then rushed painting the blue.

I did actually use a real cruiser color from Cruiser Corps. Other than the silver marker I’m using everything else is from Tamiya.

The interior is from the FMS FCX18 LC80 which fits well with some trimming. RCRUN sells an interior but it was kind of basic and twice the price as the FMS interior.

I did get 3D print files very detailed interior from Cults (1/10 Interior for Toyota Land Cruiser 80 series (LC80) - https://cults3d.com/:2140476). It’s 38 pieces! I will get around to that eventually.

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

I went with a lighter but similar blue to the one that came on the 80 series. I really like 60 series in this color. Next time I’d use a very light grey primer. I used dark grey and it came out a little darker than I wanted.

I also went with a lighter trim with the idea to use Tamiya Smoke paint to darken it and give it depth like the trim and bumpers on HDJ81s. It worked!

The light lenses come all clear. I used Tamiya clear red and amber. On the lights I used sharpie to simulate the gaskets/black plastic. They also got a very light spraying of the smoke to give them depth/realism and tone down the red and amber a bit.

On the body trim was done with Tamiya semi gloss black.

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

I wanted to give the glass a bronze-ish tint like some 80s and early 100s had. Not dark but with depth.

I couldn’t figure out how to do the bronze. I probably would need an airbrush.

Instead I opted for greenish/bluish. I used a few drops of Tamiya clear green mixed with Tamiya smoke non-aerosol paints and thinner to take as much green out as a could.

I did some tests with the aerosol clear green but there was no way to control the level of green. Even a very light dusting it was instantly *very* green like a dealer’s visor.

The technique I eventually used did exactly the effect I wanted but the brush strokes were very visible no matter how hard I tried. Again, I think this can only be done well with an airbrush. It looked pretty easy over at YouTube university.

Mock up and drilling for the snorkel, roof racks and tire carrier. I should have done this before painting anything but the tire carrier took way longer to get to me than the body so it didn’t occur to me to do that first. I probably wouldn’t have waited even if I did realize it

.

I was frustrated with the streaking on the glass and accidentally used too much smoke aerosol paint. So now you can’t really even see the interior. I tried rubber alcohol to remove some but it didn’t work.

Thankfully I was able to find a vendor that could sell me a replacement window piece. I’m not going to touch it unless I get or borrow an airbrush. I’m going to try to polish the current one and see what happens.

I read that after you tape to put down a coat of clear or the underlying color. This fills any gaps in the tape and prevents paint bleed when you do the next color. Worked like a charm.

taped to do the trim with the pewter and then smoke. See post 4 for the results.

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

Finally some TE37s I can afford

. They’re still $70 a pair

. Made in the USA at least and officially licensed.

I’m still fixing some paint. A part of the smoke paint layer pulled off the trim when I removed the tape too quickly. Then what was a minor fix became a big mistake when I touched up the underlying trim color but forgot to wait 12-24 hours to cure before doing the smoke on top.

Smoke is basically black paint with a lot of solvents to make it clearish. Since I didn’t wait long enough it immediately cracked the new paint I put it on.

This is my first time doing any kind of model painting so it’s definitely a learning experience.

NearJetties · Sep 1, 2026

That is where I am today so there won’t be any major updates for a while.

I guess I will share how I’m storing all the paint and modeling supplies. I’m using a half size Sidio Crate, some of their accessories, and brightline organizers from target.

Fun fact, the Tamiya 10ml paints fit perfectly in the stacking brightline containers. The 23ml paints are a bit too tall which is frustrating because they are only 90 cents more for more than double the amount of paint. Uggggh. I’ll live.

NearJetties · Thursday at 12:19 PM

Big developments on the 1/10 80

. Haven’t even cracked the boxes yet.

She thick

NearJetties · Thursday at 12:27 PM

I’m also painting a 3d printed VW Vanagon Doka that I can swap onto the chassis from my FMS FCX24m Camel Trophy Disco.

Got it from a great guy in Japan and ordered through Etsy. He’s doing some cool stuff for the FCX18, 24 and SCX 30 platforms. It’s printed in the US so no tariffs.

He has a pre runner conversion and OG Nissan trophy truck body! I’m trying to get him to do an Ivan Stewart truck.