TrueBlue

The orange does look good, that's for sure. It suites the car quite well. Hopefully the metallic orange will look even nicer, especially in the sun light. I'll also have some spare HPI Racing stickers from my HPI Bullet shell (comes with two sheets of decals) so I might use some of them as well. And I do indeed have quite a few body shells, an expensive hobby to be sure, lol.

This is a nice blue... minimal decals, usually the best way to go. I have some HPI decals I might throw on to the DesertWolf shell once painted. I'm a bit partial to Tamiya Metallics myself, lol... I often paint every body shell using a metallic colour. The DesertWolf shell will be metallic orange, my HPI Bullet shell metallic purple and Traxxas Rustler shell metallic blue. Still need to get the Rustler shell though.

Won't be anything special... just metallic orange. Was debating on whether to put some scale items on the body, like a NOS bottle, lol. I do have another body painted in Tamiya iridescent purple and green. Looks nice, especially in the sun.

Hm, I find one MSC-29BL-80WP on eBay for £50... so I could go original if I wanted. But since the new brushless system put in there was £135... I don't want to feel like I've wasted that, lol. The turnbuckle set is pretty inexpensive, so I might get them at some point as another upgrade. Other than the shocks, and body to paint, I think the DesertWolf will be pretty much complete at that point.

Ah, cool... all the pictures I've seen just shows a pair of turnbuckles. So I had a better look, and yeah... the set contains ALL the turnbuckles. So that's good, but the turnbuckles look so thin, will they withstand a collision? Could do that with the shocks. I do like the look of the original plastic shocks over the alloy gold shocks, for some reason. But the alloy shocks are a little cheaper. Very odd though, the front shocks are virtually impossible to find, yet the rear ones are a bit easier... well, not THAT much easier, but still easier. So it's not 3S capable out of the box? Or it IS but the original cooling fan isn't up to the job of keeping it cool. Carbon fibre would look good, but for the price... it's more bling than anything else. IF they were to ever go on sale, such as on Make It Build It, then might be worth investing.

Ah, you DID do the turnbuckle upgrade... actually looks pretty good Might have to invest in some myself. You also have a steering turnbuckle... haven't seen one of those anywhere yet. Before I get some Maverick alloy shocks, are the original plastic ones you have just as good? Or do they at least feel as good as a set of alloy ones? I can find some rear ones, but no fronts... unless both are the same? Thankfully the body shell is still available, both pre-painted and clear ones. Got a clear shell ready to paint, along with a small Maverick ION MT shell. Are your electronics still stock? Anything changed or upgraded? Mine came without any electronics so had to replace everything. Annoyingly, the new ESC was too tall to fit at the front, so had to place it in the receiver box, which is missing the top cover. As for the carbon fibre upgrades? Hmm... not sure. No idea if they're stronger. Looks wise, I'd say they were worth it. But for strength? Unknown to be honest. If you can still get them, and they're not too expensive, I'd say get them, because why not?

I assume you mean you HAVEN'T done ethe turnbuckle upgrade? I just found some threaded rod and tie-ends on eBay and was going to make up the turnbuckles myself. But since the plastic they're using is quite flexible, it shouldn't bend or break like a metal turnbuckle... so still undecided. Also notice you still have the original wheels and tyres. Nice. Can't find them anywhere otherwise I'd have snapped them up instead. Lot's of shock work going on, lol. I forgot you also had a TimberWolf as well. I'm just, hopefully, going to get some simple alloy Maverick shocks that should fit. I think they're for the Strada MT but should hopefully fit. Also, might get new shock towers. Mine are scratched and a little bent. So much to do, so little money to do it, lol.

Not a lot at the moment. Acquired another clear body shell, with the plan to paint it metallic orange. I know the original shell is already orange, but I think a metallic colour might make it pop a bit more. Also, I think orange suits the DesertWolf quite nicely. Also got some new wheels for it, a set of JetKo 1:8 Tomahawk wheels with belted tyres, and finally decided to get the rear centre CVD shaft to go along with the front one. Just want to get some new Maverick shocks, 95mm ones to lower the ride height just a tad. I was thinking of replacing the plastic toe and camber links with turnbuckles, but not sure on that yet. And a new Traxxas 2S LiPO since the one in there now is supposed to be in my Tamiya Aqroshot.

So this is a bit random, but I was wondering if you had any of the original Desertwolf wheel hexes with a part number of MV29070, or even HPI 86925? The 17mm hexes I bought for the Desertwolf fit, but not very well and had to bodge a fix to get them to fit properly. Unfortunately, they are the only ones I can find.. quite literally in fact. I've searched high and low for alternative 17mm hexes but none seem to exist anywhere in the world. So if per chance you had at least 4 original hexes (I think they're black) then that would be great! If not... any idea where I might be able to find some??

OK, I have an Absima CR6S transmitter, bound to several Etronix ET162 receivers, that are identical to the Absima R6WP receivers (just rebranded Etronix) and I'm trying to find out if they have a fail safe, and how to set it up (if it has one). The manual states it does have, and I quote "With brake and fail safe out-of-control protection function" ...and that's it. It doesn't mention anything about the fail safe function. All that happens when signal is lost is the servo resets back to centre. I have found out that if you press the button on the Absima / Etronix receiver 3 times, the LED changes from green to a yellow. And if you then press the button once, it flashes red then back to yellow again. There is nothing about this in the manual, nor is there anything... ANYTHING... when I Google search. It's almost like no-one has EVER asked this question, nor has it been documented anywhere. So does anyone out there know IF the Absima / Etronix receivers have a fail safe and if so, HOW do you set it up? I want to have the brakes applied when it loses signal. Please and thank you!

No problem. Yeah, I'll have to do the rear driveshaft upgrade as well at some point, it might actually eliminate the need for the rubbing tubing in the outdrive. So, currently need new wheels and the rear drive shaft upgrade... I need to win the lottery at this point, lol. It is odd about the E-Clips. I bought the size listed in the DesertWolf parts list, but still wouldn't fit completely without me bending them in a little. Hopefully, they won't pop off when the diff is spinning! Yeah, I've also bought the steer spur gear for the FTX diff, but I'm not going to install it until the standard plastic one breaks. so it'll be a future upgrade if anything. As for the screw stripping. That was annoying. Thankfully there's enough tightness to keep the diff closed. I did put a very small dab of CA glue on the end of the screw, and screwed it in so the glue lightly coated the thread. Should keep it from unscrewing, but still be able to break the glue if needed.

Both Modelsport parts are correct. Not sure about the pinion. It SHOULD fit, since it's also an FTX part, so the pitch of the teeth should match the spur. I had to use a pinion with a 5mm bore, since the motor I bought had a thicker shaft (snigger) so I bought an Arrma pinion which fits. But the FTX pinion you linked should fit with the FTX spur. I can't see why it shouldn't. As for the movement in the rear drive shaft. I just put a small piece of rubber tubing in the rear drive cup, which seems to have helped. And for other parts you might need? The only thing I can think of is possibly some E2.5mm E-Clips to secure the Maverick outdrives to the diff. Since the Maverick outdrives are bigger than the FTX ones, they need bigger clips. I bought some according to the Maverick manual. They fit but aren't very tight. So might need to squeeze the clips closed a little before putting them on.

It was proving difficult, but yeah.. I finally managed to find one that fit! Every time I came across a diff, I'd find the model it was made for, find an exploded diagram, find the measurements of the diff and bearings. NONE I found fit, except the FTX Zorro. Huzzah! They came out that long ago? Virtually vintage at this point, lol. Well maybe not.. but still rare and hard to find nowadays. Kinda surreal seeing the Desertwolf brand new in that cabinet, in that video. We both have a piece of history, haha. Yeah, running a 3S might cause something to explode spectacularly, lol. Shame I bought a 3S that I no longer need. Only my Traxxas Rustler can use it, but it already has one. But yes, you should be correct.. if the original ESC was rated for 3S, you'd think it would be able to handle that power. Not sure if you've seen my Part 7 yet, the quick run... but make sure you do up the wheel nuts tightly... Oh dear, that's unfortunate. Not sure if the FTX Zorro spur gear will fit. They do look similar: https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/1338483?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAibeuBhAAEiwAiXBoJJdbPbQ-FO3b3Z6bjoX7dakrhCyPUPT_EI34G1ZSAG4MGWFOhBQ8fBoC0iIQAvD_BwE ...but it's only 43T and I think the pitch is different, it's a Mod1 gear, so you'd also need to change the pinion to a Mod1 as I had to.

Haha, yeah... the centre diff was basically the be-all and end-all of the restoration. It would have been the only thing stopping it. Thankfully, after many, MANY days of looking at tons of centre diffs, I found one that fits. I think I also had to get a different pinion gear as well, as the diff uses a Mod1 type spur gear. Your Timberwolf now runs 3S? Good luck with that, lol. I tried 2S on the Desertwolf and it flew. I'm too scared to try 3S... feels like I'm going to break something! And good idea stocking up on some spare parts while they're still available. You never can tell when they'll suddenly be out of stock... everywhere... forever...

Hi! Well, the restoration is actually coming along quite nicely. Got a load of parts for the chassis from Wheelspin Models, and a new unpainted body shell. Also a bunch of (very expensive!) electronics from Modelsport UK. And as for the centre diff? Was a little difficult, but I found one that fits. It's from the FTX Zorro and it fits perfectly. I did have to replace the outdrives with some Maverick ones, as the FTX ones were too small. Once I installed the Maverick outdrives, it all fit. I was struggling to get a centre-front drive shaft, so in the end I got the front CV joint upgrade. Will also get the rear one at some point as well. If you want to see the progress for yourself, I've been documenting it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY-tSZT3PPJehmlvd2J9PmceD8TxU1pCZ 7 parts so far. Still a few things I need, but need to save a bit before I splash out again!