Mad Ax

It might be worth getting somewhere reputable to give you an official quote on repairs - your neighbour might think "badword, it's only a toy, won't be more than 50 bucks for a new one" - if you show up saying three hundred dollars he could think you're pulling his chain; I guess a lot of it depends on whether you value more the cost of the car or the cost of his friendship if he takes it badly [] It's a tricky one really - personally I wouldn't let my neighbour hold £500 of my cash, so I wouldn't let him take a ride on my £500 motorbike...

I've personally not had issues with signal echo with any of my AM radios (27 and 40MHz), and I've never used an FM radio. And TBH I don't think you should be using your RC anywhere near 1:1 cars anyway - just check the other thread on this page today [] FWIW signal echo only occurs if you're very close to a metal object - i.e. driving next to the fridge in the kitchen, or driving next to / under 1:1 cars. Personally I'd save the money and go for a basic 2ch AM radio, but if you really want FM then that's up to you. You could keep the money you save, and in a month or so use it, for example, to buy: extra batteries a faster charger (if you don't already have one) faster motors chassis hop-ups In a month's time you might be wishing you had better shocks or faster motors or more batteries, if you've spent your entire budget now you might not have anything over. Check out battlezone ebay shop - has 40MHz AM radios for £25 (UK) and he usually combines shipping on multiple purchases too []

Most ESCs have an extra wire that provides power from the battery to the receiver. The standard Tamiya ECSs come with a switch in a wire - this switch you bolt to your chassis for on/off, the wire coming from it has a standard plug that goes into the power socket on your receiver. I don't have details of your specific receiver / ESC combo, but most power plugs are a common size so you shouldn't need extra batteries. I run all my cars on 6-cell racing packs with no problems. If you run a separate battery box for your radio (normally 4x AA size) you will get longer running times, with a trade-off in weight and having to remember to charge the 4 AA batteries from time to time - otherwise it'll run out half-way thru a run and you'll have no control over it [] Just ask a Nitro car / plane owner how many times they forget to charge the radio batteries and have to run after their vehicle []

I remember Beaties, although I was a Bath lad and never went in there. Used to go past it on the bus tho, if I went into Bristol for any purpose...

[] sickening

Never thought about this, but had quite a few "juniors" when I was younger, I guess an XMod wouldn't be too different scale-wise but the depth of the shell might be an issue, the Junior buggies were very low shells and might need a lot of hacking to clear the gear on an XMod chassis... Let us know if you go ahead with it, might be a whole new genre of RC opening up []

sweet [] that looks absolutely lovely [] er.... what does it do, actually..? [*-)]

I think I might build a "Tame Willy". I'll put a Wild Willy shell on a Nikko RTR that runs on 8 AA alkalines, paint it in regular showroom colours and put standard steel wheels on it. I'll remould the character so that he looks like an insurance salesman called William, and then I'll use some modeller's putty and some old parts trees to make up a golf bag complete with clubs to go behind the driver's seat.

Welcome aboard, Ben [] I'm pretty new here too, but enjoying my stay. What Tamiya models you got these days?

Is anyone recommending a specific set of shocks now, or are generic DF-02 aluminium ones still considered the best option?

It's just a shame the pumpkin is 1/12 as opposed to 1/10, otherwise it would fit straight on a regular rear-drive chassis and be easier for everyone involved []

...and as old members leave, their cars and parts go into the trade rooms, and sell to other TC members. So, members might come and go, but by and large the cars stay as part of the club [] As with any hobby, people come and people go, but the club itself I'm sure will keep going as long as it's still viable for everyday working people to own and use RC cars.

Aye, that's why I was thinking of locking mine completely. I intend to be able to do balance-point wheelies once it's all set up properly, if the axle is allowed to twist it could affect the stability of the wheelie... We'll see, busy building something else right now...

cheers Martin, need to find me a suitable shocker now [8-|]

Out of intense curiosity, where does the bottom of the rear centre shock mount..? Do you need to drill the gearbox housing to bolt up a bracket? I'm tempted to lock the front swivel so the axle is locked, like a grasshopper, for better stability while wheelying. Also tempted to use the stock DI shockers on the pumpkin once I've replaced them with proper allu shocks, should bring the front end right down for better tarmac handling

I sold my Hilux 2 weeks ago, owing to it having been in my posession (given to me free!!) for over 10 years and never really used (apart from once when I broke a swivel hub). They are so impressive, in terms of weight and apparent quality. I'd really love to have owned one from new, had the joy of taking the bits out of the box and putting them all together, then taking it outside for some scale driving. I was looking forward to the new 3speeder, but money problems will probably make me put thoughts of ownership aside for several months - maybe even to next year, especially considering that for the cost of a new 3speeder I could buy 2 or 3 NIB kits and radios...

Cool [] I was going to keep the cross-mounted battery for stability, but the Pumpkin shell isn't actually wide enough for a battery to fit cross-wise in front of it. Fortunately there's enough space above the front end for it to fit under the bonnet. This will bring the weight forwards, hopefully making those rear-wheel drifts easier to control (hey, I can dream [] ) I also plan to make a flat undertray running the width of the chassis to mount the receiver and ESC

When I got back into Tamiya a few months back, it was just off-road buggies and trucks that I wanted. I got a good buggy, but immediately wanted a truck - so I got a Pumpkin. I decided the Pumpkin body was too good to run, so I bought an NIB BMW M04L so use the Pumpkin shell on... Then I saw some drifting videos, and the off-roaders have taken a back shelf while I get my drifters going. Again, all I wanted was current NIB kits - didn't fancy scouring ebay for hours on end or having to rush for last-minute bargains just 'cos they might not be there next month... Now I've got a bit of a thing for tarmac cars, and I'm tempted to buy a discontinued FF01-based car to see how fun front-wheel drive with a full-size touring car body can be. Really fancy a Primera, since I used to own a 1:1 Primera hatch, which was probably the best £100 car I had until I wrote it off in January [] ..but I'm pretty sure I'll be back into buggies / trucks soon - fancy a good 2wd buggy, and a 2wd monster like a Blackfoot Extreme...

Well, if not, there is now [] http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getuserimage.asp...006190010_1.jpg Aluminium pieces were cut from a template based on shortened M04 chassis rails. Cut to shape then polished in a bench polisher. Not quite finished - just need to widen the steering servo holes, fit the crosspiece for a little extra rigidity, and of course, mount some body posts and drill the beautiful Pumpkin shell. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/getuserimage.asp...006190010_2.jpg Once all the chopping and shutting is complete I'll probably put the aluminium pieces through the bench polisher one more time to get rid of some of the mess I made during drilling. Hopefully I'll have radio gear, ESC and a battery mounted up front by the end of the week, so I can take it to the car park next weekend and see how it behaves on the tarmac []

its true that the pumpkin is no mean off road monster. but the whole point of it is to be a fun to drive, wheelie popping truck [] with some mods they can be made to handle better, espicially oil shocks and adjustment to the front suspension angles. tamiya still make them, so they can't be that bad can they [] I agree - in fact I spent most of yesterday modifying the pumpkin chassis to drop the front suspension (just used some spare rubber tubing to lock it down) and mounted a battery holder under the rear tray, so it now wheelies on throttle without having to reverse. My efforts to decrease the hideous turning circle and get some kind of control over which direction it goes have failed miserably, tho

I think there's a valid point in the sudden improvement in electric technology - especially re: helicopters and planes. Back in the mid 90s me and some mates were into RC aircraft, my first was a Nikko 2ch that gave 5 minutes of constant motor speed before shutting off and gliding in to land - hence, you never dared fly it more than gliding distance from your airstrip. I moved into nitro aircraft - 4 channels, full aerobatic control, the difference in performance, fly time and general fun is incomparible. Recently, a colleage has got back into RC aircraft, and virtually all his new 4ch kits and customs are electric. We couldn't have dreamed of a good affordable 4ch electric plane 10 years ago. I for one prefer electric over nitro for simple convenience. I have one nitro car, and every time I run it I have to clean the rear axle and wing of all the oil that the nitro exhaust chucks out. I have to buy new engine mounts regularly, because the nitro motor shatters them with vibration. This in turn strips gears on a weekly basis. I haven't used it for over 5 years because every run turned into a spending spree. OTOH, people will still buy nitro because it's more "cool". 15 years ago, nitro was very expensive - it was for rich guys with planes and copters. Then, around 1996, Kyosho unleashed a budget 2wd nitro buggy - I got a complete kit (inc. radio) for £180. Since then, companies like Savage have been on the rise in the UK, and everyone wants one. Who wants electric, when you can have a "real engine" ? FWIW, electric buggies will beat nitro buggies on the right terrain / circuit layout, due to their better accelleration and traction. With your ESC you get direct control over the torque going to the gearbox - with nitro, you rely on clutch slip to prevent your wheels from spinning. []

Just waiting for my TT01 scoobaru and lexan pickup shell to arrive for some uber-cool drifting action now [] Might have to get shopping for some nice rims and then try to find some ABS "tyres" too

I was in a similar situation, always loved the look of big trucks but never liked the handling problems - one fast corner or badly-placed bump and they turn upside down. That's why I got into buggies when I got back into Tamiya. I'd be interested to hear what peeps have to say about latest Tamiya trucks, I personally love the look of the Blackfoot Extreme and have a strong desire to own one, however I'm not sure how good they really are out of the box. FWIW, I recently bought a Midnight Pumpkin and found it to be absolutely awful on anything other than very smooth gravel or tarmac - the primitive suspension isn't up to any kind of rough ground. Not only does it roll, it also bump-steers, meaning you basically have no directional control once the speed gets up. And it's really slow compared to a stock 4wd buggy... In comparison, my first ever monster - a Nissan King Cab - was really planted, went quick and seemed to handle well. I later bought a Mud Blaster, which wasn't as fast and didn't have so many adjustable parts in stock trim, and was a little more inclined to roll. The King Cab was a more advanced model and had much better suspension setup as standard, IIRC. Personally I'm tempted to go for a Blackfoot Extreme or Twin D - basically the same car, but the Twin D has 4wd twin engines, so in theory will handle better and accelerate faster.... hope that helps []

cool cheers homeboys []

Never an expert on painting, but if you've got plenty of black to basecoat, why not use it..? an extra layer won't hurt the detail, and will give that extra bit of strength to the paint []