Buggy this for a laugh!
Fancied getting myself something cheap but not totally useless for a spot of more adventurous bashing. I prefer building 'proper' cars on the whole, but there are occasions where only a bit of buggy blasting will do.
I haven't built or owned a buggy since my Grasshopper back in the 80's (to which I lost my Tamiya cherry.....). I was almost going to buy something like another Grasshopper or maybe a Hornet just for nostalgia's sake, but really wanted something 4WD but didn't fancy blowing too much dough.
The original plan was to get a Gravel Hound but then I noticed that the Aero Avante was only £10 more and had metal bearings and oil filled shocks, so it was a 'no brainer'.
I know it's somewhat sacrilegious for Tamiya to apply the Avante name to this rather generic chassis, but it'll do for me for the time being. It would be nice if Tamiya would reissue the Avante in this country as they have in America, but in the meantime, this'll do.
I'm not planning on doing too much to this car as she's just for bashing about with and if things get broken I'm happy sticking with cheap to fix plastic parts. I've invested in a 10T brushless motor (just a cheap Etronix Photon) and ESC combo, so the likelihood of breaking something is high! Hence I'm not going to drop loads of cash on expensive aluminium parts when I intend to drive this thing fast and hard (probably into something.......)
So far all I've done is cut out and painted the lexan body (sprayed Metallic Blue whilst painting the 2007 STi Scooby body for my TT-01 and XV-01 chassis'). I've also painted the wheels yellow (in a nod to the 'proper' Avante). Not sure how much of the decal kit I'm going to use. I'm tempted to try and emulate the original Avante decal designs by drawing them onto masking tape and painting them yellow. I've downloaded some template images to copy, so I'll give it a bash to see how it turns out. The rear spoiler on this kit isn't exactly the same shape, so I'll have to work around that as necessary.
Aftermath of hitting a raised drain
She lives again
Fitted the Avante Mk2 wheels. No more paint flakes
Looks better than the stock decals
And undressed
Was very spectacular to watch
1
Exit one lipo
It looks worse than it is
Luckily the motor and all electrics are still fine
Sum total of parts that need replacing
Comments
Thommo
Great option for a low budget brushless basher. Enjoy the build and I hope to see it again once finished.
sammy skidpants
NICE!! Cant wait to see the end product, i've been tossing up as to getting one of these or a PLASMA EDGE, keep us all updated on your progress.
Chanco
Thanks for feedback. I've tried an initial attempt at the home made 'original' Avante stickers and unfortunately I ran out of yellow paint (used it all on the wheels). Thus the colour isn't as vibrant as it should be. As a proof of concept it was a success, but if I've got to buy more yellow paint it makes less sense. To that end, I've ordered an original Avante sticker sheet. The plan is to mix the the two. I'll use the main decals from the 'original' but the cockpit decal(s) that came with the kit.
neobrunox
interesting project as i already said, why not to try original Avante wheels on it
Chanco
As you can see I've now completed the old/new sticker mix and I'm quite pleased with the result. She certainly looks better than the rather dull box picture! Took her out for her first test run round the street and I was pleasantly surprised. She's a good basher buggy. Going to find somewhere a bit more adventurous to take her on the weekend.
neobrunox
Absolutely Neat ! the Avante decals fit Perfectly, bravo
Chanco
Thanks Neo. Definitely more interesting than the dull grey and silver standard of the kit in my opinion!
Chanco
Took the chassis to an unfinished side road at a local business park and whilst not paying full attention, hit a raised drain a full chat and the results were spectacular! The lipo exploded in a cloud of high pressure black smoke and melted its way through the chassis. Part of the rear shock tower, engine mount and pinion cover broke, but that was the sum total of the damage. Luckily the motor / ESC and Rx survived without issue. I've posted more pictures below. I've ordered a new tub (£11 inc p&p) a new Parts 'A' section (£11 inc p&p) and a new lipo (£25 inc p&p). So all in all, I think I got away with that moderately lightly! Wish Someone had been filming it because it was mighty spectacular to watch!
Chanco
Replacement parts and Lipo arrived this week, so rebuild completed. Cracking weather on Saturday so took the Avante and Scooby Brat out for a bit of (non terminal) bashing.
neobrunox
Really impressive ! the body seems still intact WOW
Chanco
Yeah, I was lucky. Obviously the tub was ruined by the LiPo, but wasn't damaged by impact, strangely. The affected parts were:- Tub (melted), front body mount (snapped), Spur/Pinion cover (snapped), engine mount (snapped), rear shock tower (left top mount snapped). I think the front body mount snapping saved the body. All the components from the mid section forward needed a really good clean to remove the soot, but that was all. She seems to be a really solid little basher and thus more than fit for purpose. I need to find some yellow cast wheels, as the paint flakes off too easily, despite good use of primer. I need to order another sticker set as the rear wing sticker has been ruined by flipping and sliding on roof when jumps have gone wrong.........
Chanco
I've changed the wheels to Avante Mk2's They don't look as good as the painted star dish wheels (imo) but at least the paint won't flake off when running. I'll repaint the star dish wheels and use them for shelf life only.
I've also treated her to a complete strip down. I've fitted an aluminium propshaft (the old plastic one was vibrating at full chat). One of the ball race bearings on the rear diff had collapsed (perhaps caused by the vibrating propshaft), so I've renewed all the ball races with rubber sealed items (bargain at only £5.50 for a complete ball race set from RC Bearings), re-greased everything (as well as topping up the dampers) and she's almost as good as new.
I need to get a new sticker sheet to replace the knackered stickers on the rear wing (it takes the brunt of any flip over accident on tarmac). Overall I'm really impressed with how much abuse this buggy will take. She's taken a real pounding (not to mention a battery fire) and keeps coming back for more. If I had a complaint then it's that she needs more ground clearance as she gets beached too easily, other than that a real bashing treat.
Want to leave a comment?