Product review: Orlandoo OH35P01 1:35 scale 4x4 F-150 micro crawler

About

Yay! here we go again with another of my continuous micro addiction to ORLANDOO's lines of micro 4x4 crawler and this time i got myself a 1:35 scale ORLANDOO OH35P01 F-150 truck...its another tiny engineering marvel that i need to have.  Ever since i got my first 1:35 scale ORLANDOO OH35A01 Jeep last year i got so deep, had some fun, spawned some creativity and enjoyed growth of micro crawler development, also ended up building my own custom track which prolonged further interest in R/C hobby.   So you've read my previous review on ORLANDOO OH35A01 the JEEP in February 2017 and now i would like to post my thoughts and review about the 1:35 scale ORLANDOO OH35P01 F150 which luckily manage to grab for $15 during spring season clearance sale...hahahaha!! i just saved my pocket. Then a week later i grab another one; the ORLANDOO OH32A02 PAJERO priced almost half at clearance sale too, i'll put that on separate review article soon.  So this year i felt happy that i've own complete collection of micro crawler and the best part was the indoor crawling track that i made months back is all here waiting to be exploited by these 4x4 micro marvel.

The most distinct differences between between F150 packaging vs JEEP and PAJERO is the size of the box, its bigger than i expected almost almost extra 1/3 box size than the latest model. The packaging has the vibe being old and felt 'Beta' version since it decorative information on the box majority are written in chinese character than later version which are in english.   The inner contents looks just like any other except it include extra tools; a handy drill tool.  Parts tree slightly bigger  because it has bigger one piece 'tub' style chassis and parts count also slightly lesser than OH35A01 and OH32A02 because of monocoque style chassis which require less assemble on it.  Not much metal gear parts because some b-level gear for axle drivetrains made out of plastics so i've already bought extra metal upgrade just incase i ran into trouble.  I'll explain more down below about specs, builds and performance.

Specification (as describe by vendor/manufacturer)

Package included:

1x Orlandoo OH35P01 Kit
1x Grease pack
1x Tools
1x Manual book.

Quality, performance and builds.

I guess you've heard the article i written last year about the Orlandoo second release JEEP which truly a happy model to build, play and admire about, however it was a huge differences in comparison against the F150 where i'll have to strip few stars out of it because it seems it lost few attributed in build quality and crawling performance. The most annoying thing about building the OH35P01 kit is you'll have to drill bunch of holes to install tit bits of ball linkages all over the chassis where as the latest OH35A01 already have holes and slot for it, plus some holes are easily stripped and loose when screwing in the ball link which prompt me to add plastic cement glue around the threads to secure the ball link into the holes. Don't forget you'll need to drill more holes too on some sets of axles which can be very difficult to hold steady between my thumbs and fingers especially the axle size itself almost as small as your own thumb.

Other than having tub style 'monocoque' chassis another major differences between this truck and latest Orlandoo truck model is that the tiny 1.7g servo is mounted directly on the axle itself while the latest model have bigger size durable 2.2g servo mounted on the rail chassis high above the axle well hidden within the scale plastic bodies. Having servo mounted on the chassis instead on axle allow improve suspension flexing and unobstructed axle articulation at max axle. The suspension struts on OH35P01  doesn't align straight down parallel to each other  linking from chassis to axle, it slightly bent inwards toe-in almost rubbing the chassis. Installing the nano LED rear lights provided from the Orlandoo integrated ESC kit can be challenging because there's no holes to route thin wire into the rear light bucket.  Fitting some ball bearings into the axle's outer plastic knuckle can be challenging and it took quite a beating for me to fit the bearing into the socket as if the plastic knuckle fitting was poorly made where as on my previous OH35A01 and OH35A02 the bearing fitting on the axle outer plastic knuckle was much easier and effortless.

Here another good point about F150 (OH35P01) chassis, the mid cabin space where mid gear box located are very spacious enough to put bulky battery provided if you are able compact the electronics to smaller size.  On my build i stripped out the integrated ESC board's and radio receiver's pins, connectors and cut the wiring short to make a clean electronics build, light and small enough to save space under the cabin.  The integrated ESC unit placed under the truck hood or most frontal side of the chassis laying flat and clean stripped radio receiver board placed flat on mid chassis, altogether compacted electronics build resulted more spacious placement for battery pack in contrast comparison to  OH35A01/OH32A02 ORLANDOO rail type chassis. 

When it comes to crawling performance the F150 had some hit and missed since i could compare it with with my existing 2nd (OH35A01) and 3rd (OH32A02) generations ORLANDOO models .  Its hard for me to describe but let's imagine trying to drive a city limousine over mud and over pot holes in country side up the hill that's how the truck perform.  The truck is sluggish when doing some tight turns on my custom build "Rubble Wasteland" indoor track, to highlight the issues below are lists of performance issues on my track as opposed to 2x existing ORLANDOO variants:

• Wheel base too long
  Cornering through tight obstacles are more difficult with OH53P01  F150 when compare against the OH53A01 Jeep or OH32A02 Pajero version.  It took huge turning radius no thanks to its long wheelbase and may may not suit for people seeking for serious competitive indoor crawling. Long wheelbase also prone to get stuck easily over small bolder hitting the undercarriage or drive axle a lot.

• Too heavy
  The F150 version by far most heaviest 1:35 ORLANDOO models every build period when compare against the Jeep and Pajero which makes it harder to climb and tilt properly over steep sideway terrains.  The top body shell plastic are heavy, rigid and thicker than its latest models while the base chassis also added to its weight due to 'tub' style construction instead of thin 'railed' chassis.

• Poor undercarriage ground clearance
  Due to the fact it has longer wheel base when over come boulder or obstacles the under carriage gets bumped causing the truck to see-saw around.

• Poor axle articulation
  The axle linkages articulation movement are limited by plastic stop tab from the chassis itself rather than using the suspension struts to control and float the articulation.

On the good side, like the Jeep the F150 truck has enormous of torque to climb over steep incline and with extra body weight pushed down giving extra grip on the tire rubber over ridges and slippery slope. For this truck i've upgraded the stock plastic rims to metal alloy because the original stock plastic looks pretty ugly. I've tried increased the suspension lift clearance however some linkage movement is limited by the chassis 'stop tab' itself however DIY solution by shredding those plastics will help.  As mention before the most frustrated feature about this truck is about big turning radius, unable steer narrow cornering unlike what the Jeep and Pajero capable off due to its long wheel base.  So running on my custom 'Rubble Wasteland' track is not ideal for this truck. There was several report in the R/C forum among owner of ORLANDOO OH35P01 F-150 having problem with 1.7g servo plastic gear keep stripping about during crawling however after running mine for several days on my track and on top of desktop through various obstacles i didn't fine any issues mentioned but i do carefully thread the front wheels as i crawl about to avoid unnecessary steering load. Upgrading 2.2g servo on this truck can be a bit challenging without some DIY works because by default the servo place holder is build for 1.7g size only and since its attached on axle i don't see much point putting a bulky 2.2g servo because the size differences between 1.7g vs 2.2g is tremendous.  However Orlandoo did release a metal alloy axle upgrade kit for F150 (OH35P01) that claim to support 2.2g servo at a hefty price....yes those alloy axle are sliver and shiny...you'll get extra bling.

I guess with all those flaw the ORLANDOO learned few things and made some improvements which led to the release of 2nd generation OH35A01 (Jeep) as huge improvement over OH35P01 model. 

Videos/Medias
Here are sample of video of  i posted on my Youtube channel contain test review on Orlandoo OH35P01 F150.

• Product gallery: 1/35 Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 4WD Crawler
  • Video:  F-150 Orlandoo OH35P01 1:35 scale micro 4x4 crawler

Vendor/seller

Here are list of reputable vendor/seller which i bought from and also verified by community forum discussion groups. Also i've experienced buying from these places that have good support and services:
1. Seller Banggood.com (Kit only):  Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 KIT Assemble Climbing RC Car
2. Seller Banggood.com (Kit + electronics combo):  Orlandoo OH35P01 F150 1/35 EP Scale Climbing RC Crawler

Spare/upgrade parts:

• Required - motor: Orlandoo OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts Gear Motor
• Required: - Battery: Orlandoo OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts Li-po 2S 7.4V 260 mAh Battery
• Required - Micro servo: 1.7G Low Voltage Digital Servo Orlandoo OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts
• Required - ESC/PCB unit: Orlandoo OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts Mini 2S ESC
• Required - Radio system:  Flysky FS-GT3B 2.4G 3CH Transmitter With Receiver With Fail Safe
• Upgrade metal gearbox: Orlandoo OH35A01 Kit 1/35 DIY Upgrade Gearbox RC Car Spare Part
• Upgrade metal drive shaft: Orlandoo Upgraded Metal Transmission Shaft 22mm MD5-220 For OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts
• Upgrade Metal CVD: Orlandoo Upgraded Metal CVD 2mm MA2-V01 For OH35P01 KIT RC Car Parts
• Optional alloy wheels: Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 KIT Upgrade Parts #1 Wheel Hub 4 PCS
• Optional alloy wheels: Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 KIT Upgrade Parts #2 Wheel Hub 4 PCS
• Optional sound system: DasMikro Programmable Sound Unit for Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 KIT Micro RC Crawlers

Support group:

Places where you can find help and resources related to this product:
Topic (Orlandoo collection on track): Rccrawler.com - DIY scale rock crawler track made from foams
Topic (Orlandoo collection on track): Rcuniverse.com - DIY Foamy rock crawler track
Topic (Shared topic with OH35A01): Rctech.net - 1/35 scale Orlandoo OH35A01 Jeep crawler build
Topic:  Rcgroups.com - Orlandoo F150 OH35P01 build

Summary

Is 1:35 ORLANDOO OH35P01 F150 worth buying consider the fact it was the first model release with some assembly flaw? Despite some pain in the ass build spending hours over the work table to complete the assemble it was very rewarding and i did have fun with it seeing how challenging it was to climb over ridges on long wheel base. Driving was challenging took some effort like 3x time to reverse and forward just to do a sharp 90 degree turn after climbing a steep obstacles and also try not to tilt side ways too much due to high CG weight.  There was this opinion pop up in my head thinking that this truck meant just for the looks...putting some upgrades and keep it as shelf queen since there are bunch of nice shiny metal alloys hop up parts online to make it look cool  than what offered for other latest variant.  As for me its worthy buying it just to complete my collection of ORLANDOO crawler series. But if you're new to micro crawlers the i'd strongly suggest you get the Jeep (OH35A01) or Pajero (OH32A02) version. F150 is the largest, heaviest and longest chassis by appearance and sometimes i felt it was slightly out of scale when i put it side by side with my Jeep and Pajero.  It felt more like Diecast model  by looking and holding it, you'll need to be more careful with the assembly  especially when drilling holes and screwing the ball linkages because some plastics are 'chewy' and plastic linkages break more often if you screw in the linkage rods too deep.

The ORLANDOO F150 may not have all the build quality and handling unlike its later models the OH35A01 and OH32A02 version but when it come to having a complete lines variety of 4x4 micro crawler under the roof the F-150 shouldn't be missed as part of complete collection if you're enthusiast of micro marvels. If  you wanted to have first taste of 1:32 or 1:35 scale Orlandoo's 4x4 i'd recommend picking up OH35A01 JEEP for serious crawling performance and scale mods value because its easier to build, less hassle to run, more fun to drive around the desktop and motivates you to build a custom track for it.  Later then if you have enough financial resources then your last investment will be the ORLANDOO OH35P01 F-150.  Hope this article above helps you to go about choose the right Orlandoo's micro, spending more time indoor with explosive 4x4 creativity and being imaginative on your desktop.