Monster Truck Madness – Return of the Monster Mailbag

Hey everyone, I have several questions I’ve been sitting on this week, so let’s get to it.

I see a lot of people replicating real life monster trucks, both ones from the old days and new ones, yet I don’t see any licensed decals out there. Is it all paint? How do you guys do it?
Steve M. from Huntsville, AL

Steve, the answer to your question is both simple and complicated. You can find replicas out there of almost any full size monster truck, whether it’s an obscure old truck that ran a couple shows in the 80’s or a mainstream Monster Jam performer.

Many people do, in fact, go all paint. There are several notable painters out there that specialize in replica monster trucks. Darkside Designs is one of the most well known painters for replicas, but plenty of other skilled painters can do them. My good friend Travis Sutton of Sutton Motorsports and Machine does all of my bodies, and while I don’t usually do replicas, Travis does. The amazing Iron Eagle replica truck seen above is his handiwork and he has a lot of them out there like that.

There are certain companies that do replica decals for specific trucks. J.B. Scale Graphics, for instance, has the BIGFOOT license so many of the replica big blue Fords sport their decals.

You will also see there are a myriad of artists and small companies out there selling decals and even full-on vinyl wraps of specific trucks that are unlicensed.

Of course you can always take your best shot yourself! I have done a few re-creations before by way of a steady hand with the xacto knife to cut masks and then trying my best to rattle can it.

So there’s a long answer. Yes, many of them all are paint…but not all of them! You can find the right decals if you know who to talk to. How about this- let me know what truck you are trying to re-create and I’ll try and direct you to someone who can help.

What are some of the best shocks you guys run, I have PowerStroke shocks on A monster truck with medium springs but they feel to stiff, dravtech shocks in my crawlers But they have no adjustment, and tekno shocks in my bashers But they have huge body’s. I see a lot of people using the hpi savage shocks? Please any ideas.

-Jeff S.

Hey Jeff, there are a bunch of options out there for the Axial SMT10. You didn’t specify what monster truck, so I’m just guessing there. Regardless, check out this column I wrote back in March for some shock recommendations.

It’s been a long time since you guys have done a monster truck shootout and with various releases the last few years across the 1/10 and large scale areas, I’d sure love to see what you guys have to say.

-Tim O.

Hey Tim,

Man, that’s a great idea. It’s has been waaaaay too long since we’ve done a good shootout. The modern monster truck scene is absolutely a murderer’s row as well, regardless of what scale you’re into. If you’d like to see one, shoot boss man Brian an e-mail at brian at bigsquidrc dot com and let him know what vehicles you’d like to see!