Bin ^jammin^

I anm so getting a few of these, just hope it's not very limited in numbers!

you haven't seen my painting skills (or should that be kills) yet if anything can ruin it it'll be the paint.

I have a set of four of these on one of my TT01's and they are fantastic quality, i've left the og nylon cups in because titanium is very hard and will wear out other metals FAST, but the nylon og cups have faired very well so far. I say go for it, they're much better than the standard dog bones.

Excellent stuff Andi, thanks for the info, i'm looking forward to getting a production kit. The overall flexibility of this kit is the winner i think (in terms of what you can do with it i mean not how much it bends). The addition of heads and the extra parts, including the fire extinguisher/NOS bottle, will be the icing on the cake. Vin it's funny you should say that, as it's the opposite for me with the base plate being a bit narrow for the subaru shell. It's not a problem in any way and i don't think it should change size or anything, as it needs to be in the middle ground & the base is easy enough to extend or trim down. Nice job btw!

Now that the height of the roll cage is correct for the shell, i've cut the long ends short and used some plastic weld. I find that holding awkward shapes together for some time while sticking can be tedious, so i came up with this method of using string and a spring clamp. You must wind the string around a few times for the best results, and it's easier to clamp the two crossed over ends together as well. You could alternatively use CA glue but i like the way the plastic weld actualy melts the two surfaces together, you can also get some lovely scale looking welds. That's it for now i've run out of the 3mm styrene tube that i'm using for the roll cage cross braces. I might have to start the painting now.

I'm leaving the ends long so that i can get them the right length inside the body shell. A quick try out with the driver figures in place, i've marked with pencil the position of them so that i can cut out a hole in the base under each figure. This is so that i can adjust or remove the head at any time, as both figures will be permanently attached, and i'll seal it from underneath with some tape to stop the dust getting in.

The round spike file is very usefull for cutting the curve in the face end of each tube, so that they marry together nicely, and also for making the holes in the base for the roll cage to slot into.

I'm using some more styrene tube of a larger bore, to make a roll cage with. The base plate is an ideal shape to mount the tube to and should be quite an easy job. The thickness of the base is good for the strength it has given, but i don't think the thinner production base will be a problem at all. A few bends done in the same way as the steering wheel save the tube from splitting. To make the right shapes i just turned the body upside down and tried the tube inside tweaking until i was happy.

There is currently no steering wheel with the kit, but this is a very easy thing to make, with some styrene tube, i've used 3mm stock. You just need to boil the kettle and dunk the tube in to soften it then wrap it around a suitable cylindrical object and run it under the cold tap. you end up with something like this The holes in the drivers hands are marked with a bump, which i pushed through from the top with a round spike file, to try and simulate gripping the wheel Once the tube is pushed through it's easy to cut the excess from underneath. A little drop of plastic weld has secured it in place.

The Co driver doesn't fit without the arm overhanging the center console, so i've trimmed away part of the right arm, no drama. some of the off cut going to good use as the co drivers pad you can see where i've scraped the surface of thebase plate, this is to remove the little bumps ready fo mounting the figures. i like to use plastic weld to stick this stuff together with and it's worked well on these materials

I tried the fit inside the subaru shell and decided that the flat needs to go, so a bit of putty was needed Also used some putty inside the driver figures so i can remove the webs And a trial fit of the driver figures..

The pod seems to have some ridges in it, i'm not sure if these are intentional, i cut the base of it to fit on the right hand side of the dash ridge. I want it to look like it's meant to be there not just plonked on top The shape isn't bad, but when it's mounted there is a flat at the very front

The detail level on both driver figures is low due i think to the thickness of the sheet used, and correct me if i'm wrong Andi, but you're going to be using thinner material on the production kits. Because of this i've cut them out higher up than usual The instrument pod cut out

Ok i've finally got a little time to get some pics up of the **** pit set build up. First thing i want to say is thanks to Andi, and secondly any criticism is purely constructive This is the selection of parts that came in the post as "the kit", and it's nice to see some extra off cuts, although with the amount of space around the moldings i don't think necessary on the final production kits. (to keep the cost down) The webs are quite obvious but with a little work i'm sure even the least confident modeler can deal with them. The other thing i've noticed in the way of a fault is the base plate has quite a bowed shape, i'm not sure if it was just mine, but it's quite pronounced.

I would imagine that your old 15min timed charger is for NICAD batteries and you'll want to buy new NIMH batteries so the charger will be no good.

Well the TT-01 chassis, although fun to frive with a few hop ups is a very basic starter level car, and the TA02 isn't so basic, with some money spent on hop ups you could have easily as much speed in the TA02, but would you then want to race it around knowing the rarety of it? If i was you i would make the choice based on your wants, like do you want a car that you can use competetively? if so sell them both and buy a better standard car like a later model TA, maybe an 03, 04, or more likely a TA05 that you could hop up to your hearts content and have something that's pretty capable. If you want a car for it's shelf apeal then keep the Taisan and buy a new shell for it. I personally would sell it in the best state i could, and put that towards what you really want, but then i'm not really a shelfer, i like to drive all my cars (apart from the two early models i have). Just my two pence.

With a few tweaks the CC01/XC chassis is very capable, in most cases i would say a well set up XC would surprise you with it's ability. You should get one, they're bags of fun, you'll want a 55turn motor, bearings, and some work on the steering (i've done a how to in my showroom).

Excellent, thanks for the info, i've got a few TA01/02 projects that this is going to make so much easier.

Weeeeel now being subjective with no right answer leaves me thinking of a scenario that Captain James T Kirk was once left with in his training at the academy, where it was an impossible situation to win rather than no right answer, and in true gung ho fashion he re wrote the simulation to win. I'm left thinking that there are many answers for me depending on the 'where' i would be taking the one. So if i was taking one to; A- Deserted island presumably sandy, it would have to be a Sand Scorcher. B- Exile (known in these parts as Coventry) probably my hop'd up TT-01 as i think it would be the most usable without being really theft worthy (No offense like) C- emigrating to an obviously hotter climate with much better on road facilities than here probably me new project TA04s with all the carbon and alloy D- Iceland always wanted to go and haven't yet- would need to be the XC G wagon to make the most of the terrain E- The after life most likely my original Hilux 3 speed as it's the one i always wanted and now have. Hope this helps Ben

Have a happy Christmas Tamiya Club people, and may your new year be filled with Tamiya goodness, best wishes from me in frozen Hampshire, England home of: King Arthur and Camelot, King Alfred the Great and the original Capital city of Winchester, Jane Austen, Titanic, QE2, Charles Dickens, Benny Hill, HSB and my neighbour Bob the village idiot

I agree, keep it plastic & keep it reasonably priced. If anyone wants to add rear view mirror and other stuff it's a very simple task with some styrene.

Sorry thought i had already replied to this but just noticed that i hadn't. The cockpit set came really quick, about two days after you sent it, it's the other parts i'm waiting for to complete the set (heads). Cheers Ben.

That's come out really nicely, i can't wait to get started on mine, still waiting for the Z parts to arrive then it's all go.

I always trim first then paint, and never have any problems with the overspray either, but i imagine if you paint first then trim you could easily damage your fresh paint.

The sidewall and tread pattern are both different.