Motorized RC truck chassis, 1/87 scale

This is a resin-printed chassis for a 1/87 scale semi-trailer truck. I used cabin and wheels from Herpa Volvo FH16, but it can be used with other models. (There is no 3D model of Volvo cabin in this project!)

The goal of this project is to make an RC conversion kit (mostly drivetrain and a steering system) for 1/87 trucks. Usually these parts are made of metal, especially gears, worms etc. The idea is to try and replace metal with hobbyist-grade 3D-printed parts as much as possible. This turned out to be quite possible, and 3D printed gears worked quite well for this purpose.

Much more in-progress photos and descriptions can be found on the project webpage: https://positron96.gitlab.io/projects/rc-kit-1 

Videos: 

The model consists of 3 main parts: motor gearbox (rear axle), steering (front axle) and the chassis to connect it all to.

BOM

For the model, these components were bought (sample links are available on project page):

• Herpa Volvo FH GL XL driver’s (084154) - for cabin
• Herpa Volvo FH chassis for tractor (084178) - for skirts, tyres and rear axle and wheelhub
• 1.7g Servo
• 6mm gearmotor, 240RPM
• Bearings, 682ZZ-1.5 2X5X1.5mm
• Some M1 bolts and nuts
• 0.4mm copper wire
• Optional: 1mm bushings