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This is very sad news, gone but never forgotten @Shodog, may you rest in peace and may your loved ones quickly find peace. Whilst this is a terrible loss I'm so glad I didn't read it was Covid, rather it sounds as if he was doing something he loved. 🙏

Looks like a DF01 buggy setup to me (Manta Ray, Blazing Star, Dirt Thrasher). DF01 is effectively the buggy version of the TA01.

@middleagedgrup is correct.

They're great for cleaning stripped diffs... to clean a diff that's had oil or grease in it by hand is a thankless, time consuming, maddening task. With an ultrasonic cleaner and a dilution of degreaser it's a trivial job (and very satisfying).

Nothing exciting but I installed 4 x 48.5mm Ti Coated Suspension Shafts in my Hopped-Up M05 Pro which I think is the end of that journey, it has over 40 Tamiya Hop-Ups installed now (who knew there were that many for an M-Chassis?!?). If I find a set of 49308 TRF Damper Aluminium Top Ends for a sensible price I might nab them but they seem unobtainable at the moment. Otherwise I don't think I can install any more Hop-Ups on this chassis. I actually thought I'd completed this chassis 11 years ago now... I still hold @berman accountable for this recent extra spend! 😉

@BuggyDad - your current power switch is two switches (that, I think you know). The red and black wires are for on/off and the white wire is for the settings and is a momentary switch (although it will presumably need a power signal from the red wire also, unless they're using the black wire to ground the connection but that would be unusual). You don't need to replace them with an integrated unit, you can deploy two separate switches. Snip off switch and connect the red and black to practically any low voltage switch you prefer, in the pics below you can see I've used a very, very robust toggle switch and it's fantastic, easy to use, very safe and bullet proof. Then you can use pretty much any momentary switch you like, you tap into the red wire and use that with the white (signal) wire, both connected to the momentary switch. On the off chance that the black wire is used this can be easily tested before soldering. The benefit of this approach is that you can then locate your power switch and settings switch (button) in different locations and with different wire lengths which is actually quite useful.

FWIW, I never look at the main site trades, only the forum, I'm not sure if you can do Q&A on the main site and I need that, and not via PM, I want public replies to my purchase enquiries. I used to keep an active eye on the main site trades section via the very useful RSS feed but that seems to have gone dead, it certainly went silent on me (years ago now). Pity.

Nice work, tidy job. 👍

Yeah, standard brand tools would be far more sensible from a cost perspective, I have Teng tools for my 1:1 endeavours, including hex drivers and compared to RC branded tools they're 1/5 of the price... and probably higher quality. Having said that... my 1:10 hex drivers are LRP branded and probably silly expensive (can't remember)... doh! 🙄😂 But hey, ~15 years in they're still fine.

I don't think I've ever changed the pistons... 3 holes every time and I use different weight oil if needed... I'm pretty sure I'm not good (or consistent) enough to notice the difference in the number of holes!

As I said, it doesn't look like it will fit a full length battery without modification. 😉

So this confirms the transverse battery possibility but it doesn't look like the Avante body can accommodate a full length battery that way, and the Astute body doesn't look like it will fit over the Avante front end. If this is correct some body modding could be required unless they release a different shell for the Avante.

My ~13yo charger recently died, I tried to revive it but couldn't, until I tried again a few weeks later and succeeded. I'm not sure how long it will last but I'd say if you're getting a decade or more out of almost any electronic device these days you''re doing well.

To be honest I find it quite incredible that you're actually able to to find what you need in NZ and get it shipped internationally. Which store are you buying from?

Generally I agree with the above advice, they're not going to make a huge difference to a backyard basher with the following exceptions IMO: Top Force isn't ball raced, Evo is and that's a huge improvement Evo comes with 4 x universals, IIRC the TF only comes with fronts, that's a helpful upgrade Standard TF comes with soft metal outdrives, Evo hardened ones are much better, the soft ones will notch quickly I much prefer turnbuckles and would even recommend them for a basher, standard TF doesn't come with them Thrust bearings are the only upgrade I'd recommend for the stock TF diffs The other differences are nice enhancements but ultimately unnecessary. YMMV of course. Most part numbers listed here:

Sorry, I didn't read all the posts in this thread but this... ...is true. Quit the hobby if you wish but, if you can afford to keep and store some of your favourite kits, do so and you won't regret it. Either you'll come back in some years (I was once 12 years out of the hobby then back in) and relish the kits you still own or you won't come back and can then still sell what you have if you have no interest.

Started building my Avante, I'll throw up a build thread in due course (although I'm concerned it won't be up to the same standard as some of the awesome build threads we have here). I also learnt about the differences between the 2011 and Black Special, I didn't realise there were any until I saw the different blister packs. Fortunately I want the original build experience and don't need the Black Special included Hop-Ups so I wasn't bummed out. I assume the BS steering upgrade is just the Egress version and I'll be building one of those soon anyway. Ball diffs, meh, I've built dozens of them and I quite like the standard Avante centre diff.

You're correct, Tamiya tend to be quite conservative. 8.23 is close enough to 8.1 that you don't need to worry. However, a 15 or 16T will be (marginally) more efficient. I'd not bother with the 15T but I would try the 16T to see if you preferred that, if not I'd have no concern going back down to the 14.

This unassuming thread is like 1:1 car porn for an antipodean, from Evo X to R32 GTR, ooft, also remembering Longhurst in his B&H E30 M3, times of legends. And, speaking of racing, thank the heavens that the Supercars are back, Bathurst in 32 days FTW.

It's a good theoretical discussion but I suspect the applications are limited at 1:10 scale. That's an unsuitable heatsink for the motor, no amount of tape or paste can fix that problem.

I wonder if I can do this off the top of my head? And in order of release? 🤷 OG Egress x2 (NIB) OG Super Astute (NIB) OG Top Force Evolution x3 (Runner + Shelf Queen + NIB) OG Dyna Storm (NIB) M01 Mini x3 (Shelf Queen + NIB x2) TA02 Racing Special Chassis (NIB) Taisan Porsche x3 (Shelf Queen x2 + NIB) M03 Mini (Shelf Queen) Dyna Storm re-re (Shelf Queen) Top Force re-re (Runner) 30th Anniversary Porsche (NIB) TRF501X x2 (Driven hard, retired) Sand Scorcher re-re (Shelf Queen) M05 Mini (Shelf Queen) TRF511 x3 (Driven hard, one chassis as my primary runner) Avante re-re (Build in progress) Hilux High-Lift (Light runner) Fighting Buggy re-re (NIB) 40th Anniversary Porsche (NIB) So I think that's 29 and I may have forgotten one or two? I could probably also build 2x DF01's from spares and 2x TA02's from spares also. Feel free to critique my release order! 😇 Edit: This is what I own now, I've run and either sold or destroyed many more!!

Bullet connectors are fine but this: ...is true. The Tamiya connectors are "bullet" in shape but not in capability but this is more likely a result of mixing up terminology. A "banana type" bullet connector, which the Tamiya connectors are most certainly not, is ideal for high power requirements. They would also ideally be of the gold coated (conductivity), brass (strength) type. For example (random search example): https://www.amazon.com/20Pairs-Gold-Plated-Bullet-Connector-Battery/dp/B07THX14R9 I think "bullet" is ambiguous whereas "banana" is not.

@simalarion: https://wd40.no/produkt/dry-ptfe/ https://wd40.no/produkt/high-performance-ptfe-lubricant/

Found my parts tray (exactly where I left it in the wrong place) so decided I should start something I've had since the day it was released, more than 10 1/2 years after I purchased it!

What happened to all of the OP's posts and pics? Somebody throw their toys out of the cot? 🤷‍♂️😟