JWeston 493 Posted December 20, 2012 I'm part way through my Axial EXO build and I'm absolutely loving it. I thought I'd start this thread for TC EXO owners to share their experiences and tips. I am very much in the Tamiya corner but now and then I have to partake in some 'non-tamiya'. I had to put 3 Tamiya dudes in the EXO though ;-) Cheers :-) J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Willy Speed Shop 73 Posted December 21, 2012 Currently about 1/4 into mine, i would say the quality of these kits is very high. Busting to get it finished and give it a good thrash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 22, 2012 Agreed. High quality and great instructions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GregM 1109 Posted December 22, 2012 I had to put 3 Tamiya dudes in the EXO though ;-) Tamiya dudes... sounds awesome. Now I know how to name them instead of "driver figures" or something else. Thanks. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr crispy 2293 Posted December 22, 2012 Been thinking about getting a kit Exo myself. What electrics are you guys intending to fit and are you making any upgrades as you build? I've only built Tamiyas in kit form so how do the axial instructions compare, easy to follow? Loving your "Dudes" BTW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 22, 2012 Been thinking about getting a kit Exo myself. What electrics are you guys intending to fit and are you making any upgrades as you build? I've only built Tamiyas in kit form so how do the axial instructions compare, easy to follow? Loving your "Dudes" BTW I'm going with a 4000kv brushless system. This is the first non-Tamiya I've built and I have to say that the instructions are refreshing, easy to follow and each step has its own bag so very straight forward. Ta J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamiya1/10 382 Posted December 24, 2012 I'm part way through my Axial EXO build and I'm absolutely loving it. I thought I'd start this thread for TC EXO owners to share their experiences and tips. I am very much in the Tamiya corner but now and then I have to partake in some 'non-tamiya'. I had to put 3 Tamiya dudes in the EXO though ;-) Cheers :-) J That is an excellent idea. Look forward to your finish work. You do the work and we get to enjoy it. Happy Holidays! Curlly , Larry and Mo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 24, 2012 thanks Not too long now. She's almost ready. J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 25, 2012 (edited) I love mine. It gets used a ton. Only advice I would give is go easy with the screws, especially building the diff. The plastic is soft. Go 35wt front 45wt rear on the shocks. Regarding the motor mount, DO NOT overtighten it. When it sits down, maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn more. I opted to go with the 50t spur and 14t pinion. I run a Tekin Pro 4 4000kv motor and I can run with the inner shell and not worry about heat. If given a chance, buy a second set of front dogbones for rear if yours keep throwing them. I have not had this issue but others have. Only things I have broken are the batt tray(?), don't know how that happened, and the rear part of the roll cage right next to where the wing mounts (twice). Feel free to go to my YT channel listed in my sig to see a couple videos of mine in action and enjoy yours! Hope to see some pics and maybe a video of yours in action. Just realised I don't have a sig lol. I have a thread on my EXO here somewhere with the videos posted. Found the thread: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66769 PS, love the interior with the Tamiya dudes. I want a Lara Croft action figure to chop as my driver. Edited December 25, 2012 by Theibault Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 25, 2012 Great info Theibault many thanks :-) I've heard about the front dogbone issues so I've packed mine out slightly. I also have leaky front shocks but the rears are fine.... I've greased the fronts to stop the leaking but will probably hop up all the shocks some time soon. Have you got a link to your youtube channel? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 25, 2012 (edited) It's actually the rear dogbones that have a tendency to pop out for some. The easy fix if it happen is to place an oring in each cup or use another set of fronts which are a few mm longer. The stock shocks are iffy lol. All you need would be the aluminum bodys or if you are feeling spendy, the proline big bores. Here's the link to my channel. I haven't filmed in a while, but considering I have about 5 new cars to shoot, I'll have new videos early this year, Colorado weather permiting. Merry Christmas! http://www.youtube.com/user/theibault Edited December 25, 2012 by Theibault Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 26, 2012 It's actually the rear dogbones that have a tendency to pop out for some. The easy fix if it happen is to place an oring in each cup or use another set of fronts which are a few mm longer. The stock shocks are iffy lol. All you need would be the aluminum bodys or if you are feeling spendy, the proline big bores. Here's the link to my channel. I haven't filmed in a while, but considering I have about 5 new cars to shoot, I'll have new videos early this year, Colorado weather permiting. Merry Christmas! http://www.youtube.com/user/theibault cheers and subscribed J 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 26, 2012 Thanks! I returned the favor. By the way, you are an evil man having that Celica grb vid at the top of your page. I had the 959, and I'm desperately holding out for a re-re of either. For whatever reason, I can't bring myself to get a used one. Here's hoping we get a re-re with some update parts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
berman 5315 Posted December 26, 2012 Fantastic to build (Mind you I hadn't built anything for a year before it). Very nice to run. I assembled it with the stock mount, but found it hard to get a mesh I was happy with and the hex screw in the side would come loose, never broke the mount but got a Vanquish Products mount anyway and setting up that was easier. Never had the rear dogbones pop out, but had heard of it beforehand so ordered some fronts, then as they were in transit I stuck some fuel tube in the rear drive cups (was out of tamiya o-rings) and have never installed the replacement dogbones, at $17.99 I shouldn't have bothered as the fuel tube has held up just fine Never had a problem with the shocks either, dont leak and are nice and plush, but still have the stock fluid in them which is too soft for jumping, but nice for uneven ground. Super easy to drive on loose surfaces because of the 3 diffs, fronts scrabble for traction and the rear pushes it along nicely. So clinical, it almost drives itself! The Upside to building it is the instructions (apart from the front hubs/uprights, which is meant to be 1 and 1 - 2 and 2, not 1 and 2, - 1 and 2). and the screw bags are nicely in order and what you need. The downside is all the plastic parts trees are going to be all over the place as you need one part from each of the 50 trees by step 5 Nah it's lots of fun! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 27, 2012 Thanks Berman. I packed out the fronts with Tamiya O rings. Whoops! Will take them out and put them in the rears! Tamiya products saving the the day! ;-) J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 28, 2012 Thanks for the tips thus far chaps. I'm almost there with mine now. Just need to paint the bonnet (waiting for paint) and then sticker up. I used the stock motor mount but realised afterwards that the part you screw to the motor was in the kit as a metal part but I screwed the plastic version on. Could mean an epic fail(?) so will see what happens on the first test run. Cheers J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks for the tips thus far chaps. I'm almost there with mine now. Just need to paint the bonnet (waiting for paint) and then sticker up. I used the stock motor mount but realised afterwards that the part you screw to the motor was in the kit as a metal part but I screwed the plastic version on. Could mean an epic fail(?) so will see what happens on the first test run. Cheers J I've got it down to 9 minutes to get the cage off to work on the car. That's the only gripe I have, but mines been so durable, I rarely have to do that now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 29, 2012 Here's a photo. Just needs bonnet and decals 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 29, 2012 J, it's looking beautiful. Enjoy it and take some more pics with the hood (bonnet to you ) because after you start driving, it'll never be that pretty again . On a side note, I remove the lights now when I run. It has a tendancy to rip the upper hinge on a fast roll or chrash and you have to buy the whole parts tree for the silly little piece. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted December 29, 2012 J, it's looking beautiful. Enjoy it and take some more pics with the hood (bonnet to you ) because after you start driving, it'll never be that pretty again . On a side note, I remove the lights now when I run. It has a tendancy to rip the upper hinge on a fast roll or chrash and you have to buy the whole parts tree for the silly little piece. Thanks Theibault :-)I had mounted LEDs in all the buckets but then had connector issues so it won't have LEDs for the first couple of test runs but will consider binning them althogether as you suggest.More photos v.soon :-)J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks Theibault :-)I had mounted LEDs in all the buckets but then had connector issues so it won't have LEDs for the first couple of test runs but will consider binning them althogether as you suggest.More photos v.soon :-)J Lol, you've seen how I drive mine. If you aren't going to be as "aggressive", the lights will be fine. I purposely bought this car to drive it like I stole it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theibault 1535 Posted January 4, 2013 Saw the finished pics of youe EXO. Looks amazing! I like the Marlboroesque paint scheme. Can't wait to hear about your experience after running it. Enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted January 5, 2013 My EXO is finished and will get it's first test run today along with another debuting EXO. CANNOT WAIT!! :-) Thanks, J 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PaPeRo 30 Posted January 5, 2013 Very nice paint job there. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JWeston 493 Posted January 5, 2013 Very nice paint job there. thanks :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites