bRIBEGuy
Members-
Content Count
1284 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Community Reputation
2875 ExcellentAbout bRIBEGuy
-
Rank
Member
Profile Information
-
Location
Alberta, Canada
-
Interests
RC Cars, Cycling, photography, outdoors anything. Knives, flashlights, gear in general......
Recent Profile Visitors
1638 profile views
-
TC-01 is a great kit, but it's complex and unique... which in general are traits that societal masses stray away from. TA08 is going to be a solid choice, and will be the most "touring car" in form and function. XV01 is OLD.... XV02 is very nice. But also more rally focused. No reason to run the TRF cars for parking lot antics, but any of the others will be fine. It's all a matter of what you are after.
-
Blazing Blazer Bruiser Mountaineer HiLux Sand Scorcher MK1 Sand Scorcher MK2 x3 Super Champ x2 Porsche 959 Wild One Blackfoot 3x Tamiya Tanks Plus boxes, batteries, radios, extra bodies in boxes, wheels, tires, all sorts of extras.
-
UK Monsters 'Ultimate' Lunchbox with Alu Chassis.
bRIBEGuy replied to toyolien's topic in The Builds
I'm irrationally excited about this build. I've almost pulled the trigger on most of those parts MANY times in hopes of doing a similar project, so I'm stoked to be living vicariously through your adventure! -
I went to meet a really nice local guy to look at buying his AMAZING Tamiya collection. My pockets weren't quite deep enough though and it looks like someone with a bit more disposable income than me just got a heck of a deal. You win some, you loose some...
-
So many years... so many missed opportunities..... ha ha ha ha! In all reality here, there are LOTS that I wished I bought at the time, but most had a reason, and don't really incur any long-term regret. Legitimately Regret: On a vacation to the USA some XX number of years ago, a LHS in Spokane had a NIB Kyosho USA-1 for something like $190 (they had a wall of other old vintage Kyosho buggies too...). I'm not talking about the straight axle version, but the original 1990-ish version. I always wanted one as a kid, and at that point hadn't seen one in what felt like a million years. I had the cash in hand... but I was there to look at helicopters... and somehow it seemed like a lot of cash at the time for "an old kit". As soon as I got home I started to question my choices, but by the time I could make it back a few month later, all the vintage stuff had long since been sold. Oddly this one is more recent and uninteresting... a sort-of-LHS (around 3rs away) had a special a year or so back where they were blowing out the Losi LMT Grave Digger for under $500cad. It was on my "to buy list", and at the time they were in shops for $790. I added one to "my cart", then hoed and hummed and pondered and spent a few hours questioning if I really needed another RC. By the time my wife asked if I bought it or not, the shop was out of stock, and I was out of luck. I actually STILL haven't bought this truck as now every time I look at the (now much higher) price, I just think about how much I would "lose" by picking it up now. My next batch is really my own fault (well... aren't they all?), as I have a bad(?) habit of applying a completely arbitrary number to something I see for sale on the secondary market. If it doesn't hit that number, I walk. This sounds fine in concept, except I find myself doing it on items that are already a really good deal. Mint OG Clodbuster with Chevy body for $250cad? How about $200? No, you're firm on that? Okay, I'll pass... Wish I wasn't so stubborn: Tamiya Honda City Turbo: New built, un-run and unpainted body. Seller was asking $270cad. How about $200? No? Okay pass... Tamiya Tractor Kumamon Version (NIB): I don't remember the exact price, but it ended up being only a $5 discrepancy between the price I was willing to pay, and the price the seller wanted. I walked, and every time I have seen that kit since it has been significantly more cash. I'm sure there are more... but it doesn't really matter... ha ha.
-
Cordless Blower/Duster for Post-Run Cleaning?
bRIBEGuy replied to Pylon80's topic in General discussions
They last a while, but you can't spray for long as they tend to "freeze up" due to cooling from the accelerant. They are NOT just compressed air, and you can also "freeze" components if you get too close. Best for small bursts in it's intended use rolls (keyboards, etc). Also works great for blowing lint out of pocket knives. Cleaning RC Cars? Not so great... -
The worst part about being and adult for sure, is how you can be working diligently on something, blink an eye, and then realize that 4-6 weeks have passed. To my credit, I certainly haven't been completely static on this project (or projects in general)... I've just been fairly quiet on the update front since, well........ there hasn't been much to report. So..... where were we again? Ah yes... the body dilemma. In all reality, I feel like this pretty much sums up this project in general at this point. I had 90%-ish of a vintage Thunder Shot NIBags, and I figured it would be quick and cheap to just get the last few bits and bang it out. But much like every time I take on an old car, I find myself introduced to a world of subtle differences and mold changes (etc) that send me down a spiral of collecting parts for knowledge and overthinking what should have been easy. The short (and applicable to this thread) version of where we are now compared to mid January, is that I now have an unpainted new Thunder Shot body without the wing mount divots that were added to the 2022 rerere version. Along with the OG sticker set I had since day one, I was posed to finally wrap up this project... And then........ LIFE. Family stuff took over for a bit. It got too cold to paint. And honestly... I just straight up got distracted. While looking for a body (and then finding one and waiting for it to fly around the world...), I couldn't help but notice I had enough 1987/2005/2022 parts laying around to ALMOST build another Thunder Shot. Really, I just needed a chassis... then I could have a runner too. Hmmmmmm......... So I ordered a new chassis, and built up the F&R ends in the mean time... Then I got tired of waiting for the chassis, set aside Thunder Shot 2 and figured I'd dive into my full-ish option TD2 build instead. When the TD2 got stalled out by needing paint, I set it aside next to the also needing paint Thunder Shot body which had arrived..... then picked up the TS chassis that had also arrived, and kept spinning screwdrivers instead of waving paint cans. Finished up the second Thunder Shot, realized I didn't have stickers for it, then started to think about paint. TD2 will likely share a paint color scheme with my (unbuilt) TD4. Maybe I should paint both those at once? Thunder Shot will share colors with a NIB Bigwig body I have been meaning to do. Maybe I should paint both those at once? TD2 + TD4 + TS(x2) + Bigwig also means I have 5 interiors and drivers I need to sort out and paint..... sounds overwhelming. Set most of it aside, started to trim out the chassis cover for the Thunder Shot and the lexan cracked. So now honestly I'm kinda just back on pause and taking a breather. I need a break in weather and some free time to get some body painting done, and I need some free time and some motivation to start painting drivers. Also need to get some TS stickers for the runner... Hopefully this wont be another long stretch with no updates, but for now... at least the thread has a lame bump with almost no pictures to look at.
-
^^^ THIS. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Tamiya, but value and performance are not their strong points. Note: I apologize in advance, as this is likely about to get "ranty", and while some of this is in reply to @Shazamo, none of it is specifically directed at them. One of my biggest current frustrations in RC, is how people will try to save money up front by buying the wrong thing, and then complain about how it sucks or doesn't work for them. Savox servo's are a waste of money, so I bought this 1 million KG servo on amazon for $2 but it blew up after not being able to turn the wheels on my [enter car here]! People buy a cheap Tamiya buggy instead of an XRay and then can't figure out why the XRay's at the track are faster and more durable. I just read a post elsewhere about someone freaking out about how "crap" Tamiya rere buggies are because his kept braking under hard running with a high kv brushless setup with LiPo's. Those cars are not designed for modern "bashing". They're not designed for brushless. They are not even designed for LiPo in some cases. They are a true-to-the-time reproduction of a car that is 25+ years old. You can throw all the tamiya blue at your car that you want (or likely the off brand version since it will save a few bucks...), but you're not gonna transform a DT03 into a B7. If your car came with a silver can motor... give some thought to what it was designed for. The TT02 is what, like 12 years old now? It's cheap, looks really good with the shells Tamiya pumps out, and is fun for scale driving or spec classes. Beyond that? Proceed at your own risk. So where is this all going? Probably nowhere productive... into the abyss of the internet to upset some, and make a few nod in agreement. Tamiya can be a GREAT way to get into the hobby if you like building, tinkering, scale details, fun, and realistic driving. If you are after speed, durability, and your focus is hardcore shenanigans, there are better companies out there who would love your $$$. Most general RC people would probably be far better off with a Traxxas Slash or an Arrma somethingorother if they're looking for turnkey antics for the digital age. Just my 2 cents...
- 28 replies
-
- 10
-
Love the black and white combo... it's a clean and refreshing change from gold. I've been meaning to do an RC10 build (or two?) for a while now... I scored a reasonably nice gold chassis (A stamp, I think?) car a couple years ago along with a bunch of parts, a few transmissions and a graphite chassis. I've almost started the restoration a few times, then always seemed to get sidetracked with another Tamiya...
-
It's amazing how they managed to make a simple and intuitive process so darn terrible.
-
I'd have to check the CPE one, but I'm guessing it's 2-2.5mm? Looks like REEFS is using 2.3mm on their sets.
-
Is XV-01 getting phased out? Parts hard to come by now...
bRIBEGuy replied to nockiboo's topic in General discussions
I find there is an odd recurrent cycle with Tamiya cars where something new is released, and everyone complains about it's design and price. After a handful of years, some prices drop, cheaper used cars come available, and more people start to adopt the "new" platform. This in turn leads to a rise in popularity, and sometimes puts a strain on parts supply (which may be limited or even NOS at this point). People then turn around and complain about the "lack of support" for a car... even though it may have been discontinued or effectively superseded at this point. The XV01 is a 12 year old car, that had a newer version (XV02) released last year. No part of me is surprised to see spares getting thin... especially in North America where we are typically pretty bad at supporting ANY kit more than a few years old. -
It's been a while since I've posted anything "Thunder Shot" related, but rest assured there is still progress and insanity running around in the background. The most recent example of this, is summarized by being in the unique position to have a 1987, 2005, and 2022 Thunder Shot side-by-side. I'm not sure how far I want to (or will...) take this, but I can now say that there are at least definitive differences in the chassis themselves. Night and day, right? All jokes aside, it is pretty subtle (at least later...), but it is there. If you look at the mold stamps in the center of the chassis, you will find the following: 1987 Original TAMIYA RCC THUNDER SHOT MADE IN JAPAN © 1987 TAMIYA 2005 Re Re TAMIYA 58067 0987067 © 1987 TAMIYA Production Stamps at the top with the rearmost one pointing at "Y" and the forward-most one (marked with "0") pointing at "5" Material Stamp added showing: >ABS< This see's the model name removed, and replaced with a model number, and a part number. Material information was added, and manufacture location was removed as production left Japan. Production stamps were added, and I assume these to indicate "05" as the production year, with "Y" possibly denoting the first dial as a year indicator? 2022 Re Re Re... TAMIYA 58067 0987067-01 © 1987 TAMIYA Production Stamps at the top with the rearmost one pointing at "7" and the forward-most one (marked with "2") pointing at "1" Material Stamp still showing: >ABS< Here we see a change to the part number ("-01" added), and a modification to the date stamps. "05" becomes "21" (again, assuming this was the production year on the kit), and "Y" becomes "7". The 7 may be a month stamp (July)?
-
Printing stickers is easy. Printing good/professional level stickers is HARD. The equipment used for proper stickers is NOT comparable to a home setup, and is big $$$. There are lots of options for printable vinyl (etc...), but as @Rey_ve noted, they will not be waterproof. There are clear sheets you can "laminate" over them afterwards to make them more durable (and in some cases waterproof), but it adds another level of complexity, and makes an already thick sticker even thicker. At the end of the day, it's all a balance of what you want to put in vs get out.
-
Blue paint? Or window masks that were never removed?