Boothy

I have the ones you can get for the Frog, I got them from time tunnel, about £12 IIRC. Regards Andy

I did not want to paint on the outside really, so there is no way I could paint on the silver and once dry overpaint the black spray? How do they react? will the black remove the silver? I might be better trying to get the silver ps paint by the sounds of it. Andy

Hi guys, Thanks for all of your help, I have not been online for a few days as I have been busy with work and home stuff The paint I have is Tamiya ps-5 Black spray and Tamiya X-11 silver/chrome, the latter is an acrylic paint but the chap at the model shop said it would be fine for the roll over bar, do you guys think it will be ok? Old RC lover, that photo is very small and I can't really make out what you mean about the shims? are the parts still available to buy? I'm loving the Hornet and Durga photo Also do you guys think it will go quite well with the GT tuned motor? Regards Andy

Well my Monster Beetle restore is on hold as the new Hornet re re my other half got for my birthday keeps looking at me and I fancy building that up Last night I built up the gearbox and fitted the motor and hopefully I'll get a chance to do a little bit more on it tonight. Its going to be standard apart from Ball races and a new GT tuned motor that caught my eye on ebay. If any body has any tips for the build or any help they can offer that would be great! Also I bought some black tamiya spray paint and a small pot of silver for the roll bar before I realised the roll bar comes as stickers... What do people normally do? Paint or sticker them on? Andy

All looking good My MB is on hold as after the MSC burned up I figured I would spend some time building my Hornet re re. I still need to buy a MB shell and an ESC and thats about £100, Gulp. I might se if the re re SC brings the cost of new shells down? Boothy

Tamiya GT tuned motor for the re re Hornet I have just started building

Well almost, I finally got all of the bits in place to try out my monster beetle so I figured I would give her a quick test run around the living room before I set up the steering etc. Anyhow I wired it all up and it seemed ok ie it went forwards, backwards, left and right but very quickly it started to smoke off the heat sink and then smoke off the MSC with a strong smell of electrical burning. Now being honest I did notice a small scorch mark on the rear of the MSC when I cleaned it up (I dont think its been run in over five years). So I am guessing the MSC is fubared but what else could cause that? Motor? Its an old technipower with rather goosed brushes and dodgy terminals (I am going to replace it). Can you tell I am a newbie?? Andy

The frog screw bags are very similar, I bought them and the only bits I had missing were the 24mm step screws I needed, Still they are great value and most if not all of the other screws are in there so you can re new most of your screws. Boothy

Well guys today is my birthday and my other half got me the Hornet I am really looking forward to getting it built up. I have just ordered a set of bearings for it ready for the build So I now own my old Monster Beetle which will be finished as soon as the parts arrive, a Hornet re re in bits and nothing that works I'll probably get a Lunchbox at some point but I guess its similar to the Beetle so I fancied a buggy, When I was a kid I had the Monster Beetle and a Thunder shot and my Brother had the Hornet so there is just the Thundershot left to get now

Well I thought I would add another update, I have been getting the car as far as I can without the missing parts. Here are a few photos of her as she is now. I am not really happy with the front CVA's, I have filled with oil but they feel totally different, I hve messed about with them and I cant see a problem so as the rears are off an old schumacher cat I think a full new set are in order, I am going to play with it first and change them later on so its not a total money pit Has anyone got any good suggestions? I have tried to find the 3racing 85mm ones but I cant seem to find them for sale anywhere? Also is it normal for the diff to feel a little crunchy at first? I have just changed all the bevel gears and I am sure everything has gone back ok. Feels fine when you spin it forwards, obviously there are no wheels on so I guess you feel everything. Other than that as you can probably see there are quite a few new bits at the rear and the new meatal parts off the frog, sadly though you dont get the rear trailing arm holders in the frog pressed parts bag Boothy

LOL, your beetle sounds like mine, full of oversize screws and little bits of damage. I got a spare chassis off ebay, there is a seller selling for £19.99 in red, I needed battery ends and on off mount after paint removing went wrong I am keeping the chassis as a spare though. Thinks to look for are incorrect upper step screws in the front suspension mount, mine had these which had damaged the metal holders. I got a frog metal parts bag for £6 off ebay, this had the gearbox side walls, a better front skip plate and new front brackets. As for the rear body mount, mine was snapped, (hidden under tape) So I bought Mooters blingy one off here. See the pic below.

Looking again the missing bits are more like £56 with postage and they were posted separate. The seller is really good and actually sent me an e mail tonight letting me know about the insurance and that he will sort it out. He seems like a really top bloke and I would highly reccomend him. Andy

Hi Ben, You may be better asking this question in Vintage or Monster trucks to get a better response. Your doing well, I got my old Monster beetle back off a friend I sold it to when I was 16, he gave it me for free and I have spent a small fortune on bits, it gets addictive Mine did not need any major repairs apart from the wheels being totally shot but I have gone through everything replacing incorrect screws and also replacing the gearbox inners and sidewalls (all weak points) The wheels have been expensive as I needed tyres, wheels and hex adapters the total is about £45 there. I think so far I am on £125 and I still dont have a beetle shell I also had to buy a new battery and charger. If I were you firstly I would re build the Gear box with the frog Bevel gears, get her in pieces and have a good luck at what you need to replace. After that there will be someone better placed than me to tell you about Motors and ESC's as thats a question I will be asking myself in time

I was having a hunt around on the net looking for gearbox grease for the Monster Beetle and I found a site talking about ditching the grease and using WD40. They said it worked better and made for a quicker car. What do people think of this? I am not risking anything until I am sure it wont damage the car. I have a spray lube for work which is much better than WD40 its PTFE based and temperature rated so does not burn off. I was thinking I could use that instead? Andy

They are £89 at Model sport, however local model shops seem more expensive. Ours wants £120 and has next to no Tamiya stock, Model Zone (there is one not too far away) want £99 for one. Andy

It looks great, I got it off you

The post has been coming and I actually ordered a screw bag off the same sender this week which has already arrived They are still not here and I am really worried now. £70 is alot to loose and I am not sure what can be done really. If the sender sent them and I have no reason to doubt him as he has been great replying to e mails and is a top seller, then I dont know? The items were ordered on the 30th and 31st of December.

I ordered some wheels, tyres and chassis parts before new year and so far none are here I had also ordered a screwbag off the same seller which came within two days, the seller is top rated and seems very good. He says he sent them the day after they were ordered first class. We have had the snow but I am starting to get worried they have been lost now, not sure what I can do and the total is around £70. Andy

Wow thats a good deal, It looks like she may of already bought the Hornet from a local model shop as we were supposed to get it online tonight but I have just been told I am not allowed to buy anything until after my birthday If she did she payed £120 eeek I am sure the Hornet will bring back happy memories

LOL. So is the Boomerang more fun to drive as well as build? thats Boomerang 2 Hornet 0 so far

Well my other half has kindly offered to buy me my next car for my Birthday so the question is as the title, She could buy me a Hornet which I quite fancy as my Brother had one when we were kids and it would be nice to see the old girl again, however I kind of remember it not being that much fun for some reason? Or I could put a little money too and get a Boomerang... So what would you guys do?

I did a bit more tonight, however how important is the gearbox grease? I used some silicone grease but I dont think I am happy with it so am I better getting some from the model shop? I am just waiting for bits off ebay now I ordered them well over a week ago but as of yet nothing, I am just hoping its a delay with the snow and that they are not lost.

Well I thought I would post an update to say this is going very slowly now, the snow seems to of stopped deliverys and so I am waiting for bits off ebay and time tunnel I did pick up some damper oil the other day from Model Zone but I think they gave me the wrong stuff, I asked for Tamiya soft and they said they only had Team Losi oil, I figured that would be ok and she gave me some red oil. I had no idea so I took it, but it seems that the one they gave me is medium as its Team Losi red 50, I cant really work the ratings out but it seems to be in the middle of what they sell, will that be ok? I think I am going to stick with the ally rear dampers now as they are the ones I had on as a kid so I'll see how they run before changing them.

I'm in the north west and will probably come to something once my MB is finished I normally go to full size car meets with my other toy but have never been to anything like an RC meet so will no doubt stick my nose in, I'm in Bolton btw, I'll going to have a look round here for some places to play with the MB, should not be too hard.