MRC DESERT THUNDER BODY

This is my best shot at reproducing the Desert Thunder Buggy Body and Wing.  There are a few minor geometry changes but its about 90% the same as the original.  The changes are mostly to the rear "window" area and the front nose area to help with mounting. The Wing has been reinforced to keep warping/curling from happening.  The main points of contact are on top of the rear shock tower and the two body mounting pins. The front pin is very tight due to material thickness, a smaller body clip on front may work best. The Wing now includes mounting holes for the spring steel mounting wire, drill out the printed hole to fit your piano wire. (I did not make any button tabs like the original wing used.)

The mounting of the wing on this model has always been bit bass-ackwards, so I have NOT included holes in the rear panel for screw access. Its up to you and how you do this but I drilled holes in the back of mine so I could secure the wing's piano wire.

I simply used super glue to attach the Window Nets, time will tell if that is enough or if they need tabs.

All my printing of this body has been in PETG for fitment.  I painted the PETG with Tamia paint for RC bodies (the PS colors).  I'm not sure how durable the PETG will be.  I don't plan on running it too hard, mostly pavement and hanging on the wall.  I do plan on printing this in White 95A TPU or at least trying.  I will update when I have a result.

MY DESERT THUNDER WHEELS

MY REAR BUMPER WALL MOUNT TK/DT/BK

MY THUNDER KING PARTS SET

MY THUNDER KING WHEELS

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-- Printing Info --

I have included the .3MF files I used for my final printed body shown in the photos. These files have several tray settings and part specific support settings I suggest for best printing of each part.

Two trays of supported body pieces with tabs* added for assembly (one tray includes the wing with supports).  All parts are essentially solid using 10 perimeters and no infill settings, I do not suggest changing this as its intended for strength. *Tabs are not on the STL files, they were added to the parts in Prusaslicer.

I suggest organic supports if you know they work well for you, otherwise snug works fine but will take longer and use more material. When removing snug style supports be careful not to crack any thin features around window cutouts.  To attach the pieces together I drilled each tab hole to .125 and used M3x12 bolts with a lock washer/nut as well as a few small zip ties (see photos).

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• Filament: Jessie PETG White, Prusament PETG Jet Black

   

• Printed On: MK3S+ (probably prints faster on a newer machine)

  Print Bed: Textured Powder Coat Steel Sheet

  Bed Temp: 90c

  Nozzle: 0.4mm

  Nozzle Temp: 250c

  Layers: .030mm (.007in)

  Infill: N/A

  Perimeters: 10

  Solid Layers Top: 5

  Solid Layers Bottom: 5

   

• Supports:  I use these settings from BOBSTRO on the Prusa Forums and they work well for me, on                          both PLA and PETG.

  Style: Snug

  Top Contact Z Distance: 0.25mm 

  Pattern:  Rectilinear

  Pattern Spacing:  3mm

  Top Interface Layers:  4

  Interface Pattern:  Rectilinear

  Interface Pattern Spacing:  0.2 mm

  XY Separation: 75%