SGNAS

C'mon, 2 days without an update. You're killing me with the suspense! Have you been sacrificing build time to go to work or something[8o|]

MMbiB, Can you weld ally? It's a sod as It does not go red before it melts! Now, if you clean the oxide layer off and then etch wouldn't you be able to do a decent 3rd party bond (braze or glue).

I think they make it look like the Mountaineer. The truck a lot of people were bemoaning that this was not a successor to! I'm hoping beyond hope that the UK stockists ship mine on Monday!!!

It's gonna be white. Right?

I got real bored of trying to fill the roof without leaving a "tell tale" mark. In the end I covered the wole roof with plasticard and blended the edges into the roofline. Not as good as yours but a good tip for those less able, like myself. These are called fairlead rollers Keep up the good work. I am struck dumb by what some of the "modellers" on TC can do to detail a car.

I have, from the nice man at Time Tunnel[] My first "new" car since WW2 was released[]

can someone recomend a (cheap) cycling battery charger. Due to infrequent use/storing deadflat/storing charged/half discharging/peakcharging/slowcharging/timercharging etc some of may batteries are dead (one cell gone), a good number will not work on the peak charger and the good ones among them seem to be loosing their punch. I'm guessing a decent cycling charger could rejuvenate some of them. I'm sure there was a thread not too long ago but couldn't find it on the search. Thanks

How big is the truck? Search Sindy Range Rover on Ebay! They're a lot bigger than 1/10th (probably 1/8th)

Great stuff! Works well on Humbrol paints. Reasonable on Auto paints Used on Lexan paints (may have made the shell a little more brittle, or I may have just treated it very roughly since!) Paint surface could do with a light sandpaper as it seems to work quicker/better on a matt as oppossed to shiny surface

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

quote:Originally posted by GruntfugglyI was getting quite tempted to get a Nitro car, but the other day a guy arrived with one at my local 'driving area' and spent the time it took me to drain two 3000nimh packs (half hour) to get it running. Actually that's a lie. I left after that - he still didn't have it running... id="quote">id="quote">I have absolutely no luck with "small" engines. I can take 1/2 hour to get our petrol strimmer going. My once "one pull and she's off" chainsaw is going the same way now and thats been treated right since day one[] I'd love a nitro heli but if I ever got the engine going to take off I could guaratee it would cut out sooner or later.

Dislikes: Noisy (Hence limited areas you can use them) Smelly Oily (burnt fuel leaves a residue on body and chassis) No reverse (generally, some have optional g'box with reverse) Pain to start Pain to keep running Likes: The noise and smell make it seem like a real car. Can be balistically fast Some of the trucks are indestructable (as per Madbull and not as per TL01 for example[]) I have a love/hate relationship with nitro. When they run they are great but unfortunately with me they don't spend much time running. I sold my 1/8th a while back and I still have a 1/10th. Neither have been started for at least 7 years. Electric are a lot less hassle. It would seem that the current nitro models are a little more reliable though.

There seems to be a 50:50 consensus on whether NiMh have a "memory". Personally I think they do. For sure, if they do, it is considerably less than NiCds. From, http://www.batteryrefill.com/faq.phtml "Ni-Cd batteries, and to a lesser extent Ni-Mh batteries, suffer from what is called "the memory effect." If a battery is continuously only partially discharged before re-charging, the battery "forgets" that it has the capacity to further discharge completely. For example, if you, on a regular basis, fully charge your battery and then use only 50% of its capacity before the next charge, eventually the battery will become unaware of its extra 50% capacity which has remained unused. Your battery will remain functional, but only at 50% of its original capacity. The way to avoid the dreaded "memory effect" is to fully cycle (charge/discharge) your battery at lease once every two to three weeks. Batteries can be discharged by unplugging the device's AC adaptor and letting the device run on the battery until it ceases to function. This will insure your battery remains healthy. " From, http://www.digibattery.co.uk/ni-mh_store1.html "NiCad batteries gradually lose their maximum energy capacity if they are repeatedly partially discharged before being recharged. This is termed the memory effect. A major advantage of NiMH battery technology, apart from lack of toxicity, is the absence of any memory effect - NiMH batteries are remarkably tolerant of frequent 'top-up' charging."

Li-on and Li-po are not quite the same. Li-on are well established in the mobile phone market and I've not heard of any of those spontaneusly combusting! Li-on don't suffer from the memory effect as NiCd/NiMh and you can charge them whenever.

Can't help on the speed controller bit, other than at about this point the servos start to pull the swashplate down to change the lift. You can see what happens if you unplug the motors and go through the motions. Also check for "gain" and "proportional" pots on the speed controller/mixer/receiver board, check your instructions and have a tinker with them. Don't turn the gain up too high though as it will kill the tailmotor real quick. I can advise to definately get trainer legs. Flying the real thing is nothing like the simulator, it will not hover stationery without input! I've got the 6ch version. They are ARTF if you can already fly a 'copter! I tried in vain to fly mine for ages, and only after a major crash and rebuild did I work out that the angle of attack on the blades was not quite right. With adjustment it gave more lift at lower headspeed which made it more controllable ( or more precisely, when it went off out of control it was travelling more slowly!!) Recently I bought the training kit as it was cheap in the model shop. It has made all the difference and in about 5 flights it has suddenly clicked. I can now hover and stay in a 3 x 6m area for the full duration of the battery (5mins ish). I think the big orange balls give you something to judge the 'copters attitude and makes it easier to see your adjustments and feedback. Good luck, be prepared to buy plenty of spares. I've spent about the same on spares as the initial cost of the 'copter. Could have saved a whole lot of rotors if I had bought the legs in the first place. Try these for q's on the controller http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/ http://www.runryder.com/

"Back in the day" most people ran SS and RR with F150 front and rears. The rears were longer lasting than the SS padlatraks and the wider fronts reduce the rollover tendency with the narrow fronts.

The standard post mounted servo saver in good condition is fairly good, with little or no slop. There is probably more wobble in the steering from the bent push rod set up. However, slack in the steering system is the smallest concern with controlling the direction the car is going. The car will only steer if the wheels are on the ground. On a "stock" SRB on rough ground that isn't very often[] and with no diff in the gearbox the difference in turning circle power on/power off is enormous[] and then there is the heavy, bouncy rear end. This can easily overtake the front end mid corner. These are really great fun to drive[]

Fortunately solid wood is suprisingly incombustible! I got away very lightly. A little more plastic in close proximity, like if I had left the battery in the heli as normal (taking them out always upsets the balance) and it might have been more serious. Now, one going up on a car seat is a different matter[:0][8)]

Just had a lucky escape. Basically LiPo batteries are very popular in mini electric helicopters and planes. They are tiny, light, but pack in a lot of MiAH. However they are a bit delicate! Very few of the places that sell them give sufficient warning of what can happen when it all goes wrong. In fact most give no warning at all. If they are damaged or over charged they can spontaneously combust[xx(] and reach temperatures of a few thousand deg C[xx(] I've had a "dodgy" pack or a while now (should have binned it). It went bad because I discharged it too much, another no no. It was on the bench today, charging. I was outside, but fortunately nearby. When I heard "FSSSST" (a bit like the initial sound from a firework). For some reason I knew exactly what it was and as I looked into the barn sure enough the corner of my bench was alight. I think only one cell went up 'cos the fire was real easy to put out. Didn't even need the fire extinguisher! I think the 1000 deg C thing is only for the initial burst as it took the shrink wrap off the closest NiCds and melted the connector on one. If the other 2 cells went up it could have got the bench really going, melted the telly above it and then started on all of the cars on the shelves set light to the timber frame of the barn etc. Moral of the story. When they say don't use damaged cells, DON'T. When they say don't leave to charge unattended, DON'T Now I'm going to have to dress HASMET style and check out/clear up the mess.

If prices are falling, I haven't noticed. Bits n pieces are still going for far more than I am willing to spend. TA01 / 2 chassis are more expensive now than a year or two ago. I consider myself to be more of n "accumulator" than "collector". Before I discovered TC or Ebay I already had From being a kid: Sand Scorcher Sand Rover F1 Ligier F1 Lotus From being a young adult (OK, kid earning own money[]) 3 Kyosho Optimas Kyosho Nitro RS200 Kyosho RS500 Fire Dragon 1/8th nitro Buggy Isuzu Mu Chevy S10 Clio Williams Discovering TC and Ebay enabled me to get the Sand Rover running again and find some odd bits for the Sand Scorcher. Both done, relatively, on the cheap by finding those mis labeled sales[]. What has been my downfall is those **** TA01 stadium trucks. They are agile, good off road and great for mounting scale bodies on. I must have 8 or so in various guises. Nothing I have is a shelf queen, everything I have can be run, but I have nowhere convenient to run the on road stuff. I haven't bought a whole Tamiya vehicle for some time. My ebay account has a serious itch and I've gotta scratch it soon[]

As the Humvee and Japanese Self Defense thingy use the same gearbox you should be able to order the parts new. Just need to find out the part number!

Can the pinion be fitted the other way round? I.E. Boss away from motor instead of to the motor.

Got mine from Fusion in the post yesterday. Only had a fleeting look through it(Busy building my new hobby area and bench[]). Didn't see anything too spectacular. But it keeps my set (1981-2005) up to date[8D]

Here is another. If(while on eBay.co.uk) I want to see items "available" to the UK, I'll check the little box. I'm pretty fed up at trawling through page after page of items listed in China whilst looking at UK based items! Another simple fix for eBay, but then they wouldn't get all those listing fees would they[!]

Sounds like Worn brushes Worn springs or a dirty com basically the motor needs a bit of a clean and service.