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AMPro Upgrades the Rising Fighter - Operation Hornet 3

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Hello everyone, I know I have been away lately but I have been busy with a lot of things to fill my life. I picked up a Rising Fighter for a little project I am working on. As I am enamored with the Hornet and its derivatives, how could I not get one. I looked over Wood5tocks Super Hornet II build and rather enjoyed it but much like him, the stance of the rear is kind of weird. I will be keeping the RF’s rear floating axle mounts as I would like to keep it as much RF as I can but I cannot get my head around the rear shock mounts. Obviously as you look at the RF, it is no doubt that the trans was in no way designed for it. The Mad Fighter and Mad Bull had a nearly horizontal rear shock which used the rotation of the transmission as the suspension where the RF uses the near vertical movement. Since my plan is to go down the Hornet/Super Hornet route with the car, I will be designing a “super hornet-esque” rear shock mount as well as longer rear shocks. May compromise the functionality of the rear end but improve the looks. I have a plan for functionality but for the time being, I will focus on the rear shock mounts first.
Here is the car as it arrived. Fully ball raced and happily used. For $40 shipped, it was a bargain. Plus, I don't like new cars, they make me not want to use them for fear of scratching the chassis.
21828879805_ca72617e33_h.jpg
The stock rear uses an 82mm shock attached to the trans. For usability, I think it is the best of the solid axle cars Tamiya has ever made. I am not used to this transmission but it seems to be a well built unit:
21640818810_0947bf233b_h.jpg
This photo is not related but how did this happen? I have seen it on my Grasshopper II and my Super Hornet as well. Glad I bought several new chassis years ago.
21641000398_359105681b_h.jpg
The cars ride height is way to high at the rear so I will lower it to give it a lower look. I will retain the RF’s floating axle stays as I mentioned earlier though I know that will make it a lot faster to drop the car to a more attractive stance.
So for those not familiar with the Super Hornet rear end, here is a shot of mine (pre resto) and SuperFly with the re-engineered rear end that I designed:
16081029157_8cc1f74385_h.jpg
And a closeup of SuperFly:
16241946596_1f5cb2b030_h.jpg
The rear end design did create a noticable increase in stability under load but not a massive difference. We are working with a torquing solid rear axle after all. I have designed large prototype plates here so that I can vary the shock placement for both appearance as well as aesthetics. Once I find the correct placement I will redesign it and run some load tests on it. What you cannot tell is that the lower bore (the large one) that the axle shaft goes through is tapered to match the axle tube. The upper hole is where the screw mounts it to the transmission. I will also have a link between them like the Super Hornet.
21677261880_f5ac65305b_b.jpg
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The thickness of these for prototype purposes is 0.5mm. This makes them cost about $2 to print them here at the office.
I need to print them today and then test fit them. This will be fun! Keep you posted and I would love some comments and ideas.
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At last! I have been waiting for you to get a Rising Fighter!

As a test, I have swapped the default gearbox mounts with the grass hopper 2 ones that come with the rising fighter but are unused (on the C tree), to get the stance even lower I have used 4x front shocks which lowers the rear.

I'll be following your updates with interest

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with over 30+ hours of runtime through my Rising Fighter I have found the rear hex's are not quite large enough for the wheels, even from new which accelerates wear, I have mine now bulked out with tape because the slop is very bad, this model could so with new ever so slightly larger hex's?, how's yours?

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Parts have been printed and roughly fitted. Ill bring them home and test it all out. Remember that the size if for testing to see where I want to place the base of the rear shocks so they will be very pretty when done.
21685739189_2aba5865c2_b.jpg
21846448746_968a2e9780_b.jpg
21846447356_e80e821412_b.jpg

with over 30+ hours of runtime through my Rising Fighter I have found the rear hex's are not quite large enough for the wheels, even from new which accelerates wear, I have mine now bulked out with tape because the slop is very bad, this model could so with new ever so slightly larger hex's?, how's yours?

Do you mean the rear wheel hex is ruining the rim? Mine looks fine but I must confess that I have only buzzed it around the yard once. Could you post pix?

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This is just what I needed for my lunchbox with DT-01 running gear. I could not get enough travel with the stock high shock mounts. Anyway that project is dismantled now and this looks like great work as normal.

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My mistake, new ones fit perfectly!

Looks like it just wears down quickly, maybe if the hex was made in steel rather than alloy it would last longer?

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I know problems occur with the DT-01 metal hex adaptors when the locknuts aren't properly secured. However, this wear is then mainly visible on the splines, not on the outer hex surface. Using only new locknuts and making sure they are secured before every run is advised.

I run my DT-01 Mad Bull rather hard for some years, and I never got the outer hex surface to wear out or having slop between wheel and hex. However, it is running its Mad Bull (Wild Willy 2) wheels, not the smaller buggy wheels of the Rising Fighter.

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yes my fighter rx, mad fighter and mad bull had no issues really but in this instance I had never ran all 3 as much as my rising fighter, skidding and sliding on tarmac, jumping etc, I have ran it hard compared to my other three

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Wow you guys are pointing out some interesting info on these cars that I had never noticed. I am so used to the venerable grasshopper trans that these splined out-drives were a bit of a surprise.

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Well that was quick. I installed the trans with the new mounts and after testing a few positons I found one that both dropped the rear, increased shock travel and did not interfere with the chassis upon full compression. Here is the stock profile:

21262152513_dcdd187e65_h.jpg

Here it is with some super hornet shocks and the revised lower shock mount:

21695171490_bee3f95dd0_h.jpg


Compared to its father:

21871295382_833650b4e6_h.jpg

And Grand Father:

21857054816_5984da3e98_h.jpg


This is the mounting location that I chose as it worked best for functionality and aesthetics:

21696345299_f9b10d8cbe_h.jpg

Clearance when compressed:

21696347099_2227ff0292_h.jpg

Spacing the shocks so far out was odd but this is how it is done on the super hornet. Then I took a look at my design on Super Fly and decided that mine was better than tamiya's as the shock is captured and supported on both sides. Here was layout one:

21262152053_388d101924_h.jpg

And the version I will be going with, layout two:

21857047656_a796265f58_h.jpg

Here is the comparison. Sorry SuperFly is a bit dirty, the last race was...aggressive.

21892860131_13db043405_h.jpg

So that's where we are now. I will tidy up the design and do one more test print before it's all off to shapeways for ABS plastic prints.
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I know problems occur with the DT-01 metal hex adaptors when the locknuts aren't properly secured. However, this wear is then mainly visible on the splines, not on the outer hex surface. Using only new locknuts and making sure they are secured before every run is advised.

I run my DT-01 Mad Bull rather hard for some years, and I never got the outer hex surface to wear out or having slop between wheel and hex. However, it is running its Mad Bull (Wild Willy 2) wheels, not the smaller buggy wheels of the Rising Fighter.

A drop of Loctite on the splines to keep the hex from moving on the axle should help, too. I do this with splined diff outdrives sometimes, just as a little insurance. If you can eliminate a "tick" of free play, it should keep any wear from getting worse.

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Now that's a good suggestion, thank you. I guess Tamiya's red gel threadlock might work as well, since I have some left over from kit building. I will give it a try.

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Revised the rear mounts and I think I have a winner! The angle is correct and the placement interferes with nothing, though in some areas the clearance is tight.


21929021391_57e2710123_k.jpg


The holes are there to make the prints cheaper. These two cost a grand total of $1.05.


21907282542_d63fdb3670_k.jpg


Compressed and clearing the original mounts:


21298205043_99bae9b6f5_k.jpg


From behind. The Super Hornet Cross bar will be added as well though it will be my take on it.

21919352975_5746dbf3df_k.jpg


And now the final look:

21296616784_294f56b51f_k.jpg
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lovely, excellent work!

on your shapeways store it doesn't look like the cross member is included with the super hornet/ hornet version?

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Looks great! I also appreciate your efforts to make it affordable to print. Nice one!

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lovely, excellent work!

on your shapeways store it doesn't look like the cross member is included with the super hornet/ hornet version?

Oops, sorry I didn't have it for sale. Here it is:

Center Bar, D1:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/5GDB54JW3/ampro-super-hornet-center-bar-58124-d1

Side Braces D4:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RW77UM4PB/ampro-super-hornet-58124-d4-parts

This is for the Super Hornet only, not the version I made for the Hornet. I do not think this will work on the Hornet if that is what you are trying to do.

The Hornet version is here:

Center Bar:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/2MPC5HYT5/custom-hornet-rear-suspension-bar-58124-d1-ampro

Side Braces:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/SR5TTRVR7/custom-hornet-rear-suspension-arms-58124-d4-ampro

Let me know if you have any questions

Looks great! I also appreciate your efforts to make it affordable to print. Nice one!

Well.....kind of...haha. I made these very cheaply so I could make a few test samples. What you can't tell easily here is that the wall thickness of the braces is 0.5mm so they will not survive any use. The production versions will be both thicker and user a more flexible material. I always try to keep costs down where I can and as I use more and more of these printed materials I find how they perform in the real world and make them lighter and more robust. I hate breaking parts as I am sure you do.

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Hi Pinto, thanks for sorting that out

I have been eagerly awaiting your Rising Fighter purchase for approx a year, one of my projects was to either create a Super Hornet or a Super Dragon from one of my Rising Fighter kits...... because of the high cost of Super Hornet parts (body, wheels, D tree etc) I went the Grasshopper 2 route

My Super Dragon is basically a Rising Fighter with a GH2 rear, Wild One wheels and tyres plus WR02 white oil shocks. I'm debating whether to upgrade it to your shapeways setup because its very low slung now already.....

Which brings us to the Rising Fighter setup, I'll definitely want to try this new setup out when it reaches the shapeways store!

If you are able to source a Rising Fighter C tree, I'll be interested how your new setup works with the GH2 gearbox holders (parts c15, c16)

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Just ordered the Super Hornet setup for my Super Dragon project, it will replace the current GH2 setup so will fit in with the 'unique-ness' of the body!

Thanks Pinto and i'm looking forward to the finished RF parts!

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Hi Pinto, thanks for sorting that out

I have been eagerly awaiting your Rising Fighter purchase for approx a year, one of my projects was to either create a Super Hornet or a Super Dragon from one of my Rising Fighter kits...... because of the high cost of Super Hornet parts (body, wheels, D tree etc) I went the Grasshopper 2 route

My Super Dragon is basically a Rising Fighter with a GH2 rear, Wild One wheels and tyres plus WR02 white oil shocks. I'm debating whether to upgrade it to your shapeways setup because its very low slung now already.....

Which brings us to the Rising Fighter setup, I'll definitely want to try this new setup out when it reaches the shapeways store!

If you are able to source a Rising Fighter C tree, I'll be interested how your new setup works with the GH2 gearbox holders (parts c15, c16)

Do you have any picture of the car? I would like to see. Ill keep an eye out for the RF c tree. There there a particular part you need on it? Just know that I had no intention of adding the GH2 mounts to the RF but I will try it out and see if they work. I do want to keep the RF's trans mounts so maybe we will get lucky and both will fit! Oh and how did you get springs soft enough for the WR02 shocks to work on the GH2?

Just ordered the Super Hornet setup for my Super Dragon project, it will replace the current GH2 setup so will fit in with the 'unique-ness' of the body!

Thanks Pinto and i'm looking forward to the finished RF parts!

Oh cool! What color did you get? I know black is the obvious choice but I always want other colors!

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So now I have ordered your parts the above GH2 setup will be replaced

I ordered smooth white versions to go with the shocks and wheels

It seems I'll prob have to change the rear shocks, at the moment the buggy has a set of WR02 'short' shocks all round, Ill prob need to find a set of CW01 white shocks for the rear

At half compression the motor hits the chassis, but then theres never much movement on these chassis's anyway!?

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With a battery installed and forward motion the front will compress and level out

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