jonboy1

As promised, here's the latest update on the AstuDF. The new rear strut mount, turnbuckle mount and front bumper all arrived and fitted perfectly. I also fitted some new spacers between the mount and the chassis plate, as these were made up of 2 different length ones previously. So we've fixed the angle of dangle and the space between the rear wheels and the chassis being too big. I haven't actually put this next to the other Astutes to see how they compare in wheelbase yet, but visually if nothing else, it looks a lot better, to me at least! The camber arms to the rear wheels look much better now they are just about parallel to the lower arms, so I'm happy with that too. Job done, right? no.... I couldn't leave it with the thought that @kontemax would be having sleepless nights about my gearbox destroying itself, so I resolved myself to fixing this Off to the googleweb I went, searching and searching for an answer. As luck would have it, the answer appeared to be on the TamiyaClub forum all the time: The mythical pinion slipper for the mythical Jamie Booth Astute-Mid! It's fair to say it's not a direct fit. Firstly, it seems to take an imagination the size of Scun-thorpe to work out how the thing goes together, as there don't appear to be any instructions anywhere for it. If someone has some, I'd love to see them, because I'm still not 100% convinced I've done it right! Secondly, it takes some fettling to get in in place. You can just about see the end of it poking it's nut out of the end of the gear case. Don't worry everyone, it won't be run like that!! I'm in the process of making a dust cap for it. Not only does it poke out too far in that direction, it does the same in the other direction too, so I had to get creative with how I mounted the motor too: So I've fitted some spacers between the motor and the mounting ring. Again, I don't foresee this being a permanent fix, I'm not sure how the torque of the motor would appreciate it not being mounted flat across the whole face, so I'll make a proper full diameter spacer for this. But, all that faff aside, it seems to fit together ok. Unfortunately, pushing the motor out meant that it now just catches the spring on the damper, so I had to move the rear arms back again a millimeter. and it also means the end of the motor just pokes out of the back of the body. If it had something like a Sport Tuned in there it would still fit nicely in the body, or even if the orientation of the motor was slightly different, so when I make the mount I might see if I can turn it 90 degrees. Last thing to do was trim the other side of the body and hey presto, it's done! I think I'll do a new body for it at some point, or at least change the stickers around a bit, as the sponsors aren't relevant anymore, but I can't see that happening any time soon as I've got several other projects in the works..... Next stop - time too see how it goes! I've almost convinced myself to give this a run around the park along with the CWM06 mashup, as I'm really interested to see how that handles, so hopefully I'll muster up enough courage to do it.

that's beautiful - you are right too, the lights really make a big difference - awesome work mate!

what size bearings are there in the outer hubs? I remember this being an issue when fitting CVDs to the Astute, and you get around it by fitting thinner bearings (3mm thick instead of 4mm) https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/42379/index.htm

I bought this a little while ago on a whim - I'd completed my Durga and TRF201, had a few bits waiting to be printed on the AstuDF and a need of some sun to paint a couple of remaining bodies - so I fancied something to tinker with in the meantime. Having enjoyed my TA02 build I thought I'd have a go at another road chassis. I nearly pulled the trigger on a FF but I just don't think I'm ready for something that futuristic yet! RWD I can cope with, 4WD I've recently accepted - FWD in an RC???? Hmmmm. So a nice 4WD chassis it was, and as this had a nice selection of blue alloy bits on it I thought I'd give it a go. BTW, I'm not putting this in the builds section as @Juhunio has already done a far more comprehensive and lovely build on this chassis, and he has also been a great source of help - so, thank you! 👍 As it turned out I got super lucky, as not only did it have all the blue alloy hop up kit, it also had titanium screws throughout, tamiya bearings, titanium turnbuckles and... an ESC 2002!! That said, it wasn't perfect. The chassis was pretty scuffed, the shocks were tired and made up of tamiya and non-tamiya parts, the springs and stabilizer bars were tired and flaky and some of the screws were scuffed. After stripping it all down some more issues arose - there had been a very heavy impact at some point, as both suspension shafts were resembling non-EU bananas, as was the front, rear suspension mount. Further digging showed up that the front one way pinion was mullered and I was missing a retaining clip on the rear axle shaft. So, doing what I do best, I decided the best thing to do was throw money at it and replace everything needed and annoy kind people on the forum by asking them to help me buy stuff So here I must say a big thank you to @Frog Jumper for his invaluable help in getting some key parts. Never one to rest on my laurels of a good find, I figured there must be some more hopups available, so I managed to find a set of rear alloy uprights to accompany the new chassis plate, rear mount, new titanium screws, fluorine ball mounts and ball ends. I also got an alloy servo arm and screws, new stabilisers (and ends) and springs. The damage to the front concerned me, the last thing I wanted was this chassis falling apart at an important moment on a shelf. So I decided the only sensible course of action was to upgrade the suspension arms with titanium coated ones, and followed the same course with the damper shafts. The dampers themselves I put together using the Tamiya parts that were correct and a hop up set for another chassis that had the smooth caps rather than the ribbed ones. The rear diff is still a work in progress - I couldn't find a new hardened version anywhere, so I bought a TRF419 version which looked to be identical except for the screw going through from the other side (and being for a pulley rather than a gear) - plus it also had the benefit of having s*******y blue clips for the drive cups! Unfortunately I just cannot get it to fit - the screw doesn't seem to go through far enough, which is odd as the balls are the same diameter. Anyway, I've transferred the clips to the old one which I've cleaned up and uprated the balls to ceramic versions. I think it looks spankingly good now. Body is purchased, stickers are on their way, so in another year I might have this finished 👍 I'll probably add more details and pics in a showroom entry. Here's a before pic: And after:

I think @Grumpy pants had one up for sale last week?

yesterday I spent at least an hour and half, in a state of rapidly increasing anxiety, searching for a really important part of my latest build. It was a J3 shown here: Itt I looked everywhere - in every single corner of my garage (all 4 of them, corners that is, not garages) in every kit box and spares box but I could not find it anywhere. I could find one of them, just not the other. Distraught and disheartened, I gave up, resigned to having to try and find one online somewhere. Going back to the manual to find the part number of the sprue I looked again at the images. "How can there be 2 of those when they both have screw holes through to the plate?" Some time later, after more looking at pictures, photos of the original car and some intensive head scratching it finally dawned on me..... There aren't two are there. They have just flipped the part to show where you trim it. I've just spent all that time looking for a part I already had.... I clearly need a holiday.

Finished off one of two projects for a mate (same guy who had the Brat and Sand Scor-ver) last night. He built the TT-02 chassis, bought the Sunbeam body, promised to do it himself then took a look at the stickers and literally dropped it on my desk for me to do. I've heard some less than complimentary remarks about the quality of L&L bodies and stickers so I approached this with a lot of trepidation and some very sharp scissors. As it turned out I was both p[leased and disappointed. The body is quite good quality, although there are some rather heavy mold lines across the bonnet that are a shame, but overall it isn't too bad. The stickers though, are another matter. I think that considering the amount of bodies they make it wouldn't be beyond their capabilities to make window masks that are specific to each body, for there is no way on earth these were designed to fit this body! So I ended up making a set of my own. In hindsight, they probably didn't need to be as accurate as I made them, as the window stickers are quite chunky (more on them later.) He then told me he wanted a cockpit set - could I do one for him? I've not done one before, but I have been very impressed (and scared) by the quality of some of the ones being done on here, so I found this idea quite intimidating. Especially as I had no idea how it was going to fit. Amazingly, the fit is just about perfect! It's a little narrow maybe, but the length is absolutely spot on! Who knew!? As for the stickers.... I can't say I'm impressed with them, either their printing or my fitting. It took a long time measuring and marking to make sure the body stripes lined up on the 3 faces, and the bit around the rear hatch was a real pain in the rear. Every time I got the pinstripe in the right place over the number plate recess I would try and get the sticker to stretch into the recess and it pulled the pinstripe down. In the end I cut the number plate out, made 4 diagonal cuts in the blue around the recess and paint matched the blue in the gaps around the number plate. I don't like the window surround stickers either. I found it almost impossible to get them to match up as they are all in either 2 or 3 pieces and they looked horrible when in place. So I went over them all with a coat of flat clear which I think makes them look much better, but still not great. I'm tempted to remove them altogether and paint them instead. The wheels are some drift rims (can't remember what brand sorry) that don't have an outer lip fitted, instead they have a "stretched tyre" look ring that fits on after the tyre. It looked horrible with these tyres, and completely out of keeping with the body, so I designed some new rings and 3D printed them and painted to match the tyres. They almost blend in perfectly, and for a first attempt I'm pretty happy with them. A few other little details like the wing mirror, spot lights and the rubber arch protectors and it has actually turned out better than I expected. The body is on magnetic mounts, which I might try and tweak a little. I fitted a battery to make sure the tyres didn't scrub on the aches and it looks much better with the extra weight in, unfortunately I'd taken the battery out for the pictures, but it is on adjustable shocks anyhow so it can be tweaked a little anyhow. Waffle over, here are the money shots:

you know you can really go off people sometimes..... 🤣

come on now @Re-Bugged - there's some camera trickery-pokery going on here - it just looks too perfect!!!!!!

Ooo oooh! I get the bonus points!! Most body lubricant I have freed came from grappling with a pair of TRF rear wings - honestly, the plastic is so thick around the corners of those I ended up clipping away at it with a pair of heavy duty side cutters and then managed to slice my thumb open on a row of razer sharp edges.

I can confirm that this is the correct way to do it and it actually shows a lot more skill. And yes, this is the way I do it - as if you had to ask!!

Ok, I'm calling it - best photo of the year award goes right here: Loving your work @Re-Bugged

that's a gorgeous Bronco - top work mate!

I find keeping them in a glass cabinet works best for preventing crash damage. I even went as far as putting a security detail on each, just to be safe....

this weekend I have pondered the many hours I have cursed, grimaced, searched under tables in dark corners and many other tedious things, all because I didn't have one of these: Honestly, best tool I ever bought. Might not use it often, but no more e-clips springing off to places unknown, no damage to plastic, shaft or clip - just a simple controlled push and clip is either engaged or disengaged depending on what way round you use it.

says it all in the title really, but I know there was one by Toy Trader for the first 20 or so of the 5800- series, and then I've seen the official Tamiya ones that seem to start around 2014, but is there anything for the 2000's?

Thanks Max. So I've been doing some reading on this subject and there are several topics that seem to contradict what you have said about the gear train breaking, and on a couple of them you agree with the solutions: In my build (and I think @Thommo's too) there is a ball diff fitted, lightweight pressure plates and a mild motor (Dynatech 01R) - which matches what you say is ok above. Have you discovered something else since then? I can fully appreciate how a gear diff with a high power motor on a grippy surface could get explosive, but a ball diff with a brushed motor on a gravel/grass surface should be fine, surely?

A quick little update on this. After lots and lots of head scratching and measuring I worked out what was going on with the slightly odd look of the rear dampers and the wheelbase. The latter was exactly what @Thommo said it was, the Madcap front arms give a longer wheelbase - confirmed by @kontemax's great post of the differences between the variations over on the forum that cannot be discussed here. The visual disparity turned out to be the shape of the Madcap rear arms - the leading face that the lower damper mount is on is much further back than on the Astute versions (the arm is thinner in simple terms) so it sits much further back from the body. The other issue is that I think I put the rear damper mount a little too far back. So, I've redesigned the mount, which will also mean the dampers sit more upright, as they are leaning back a bit at the moment. Hopefully it will also mean I can bring the rear wheel axles forward ever so slightly, which will get them running perfectly in line with the gearbox (not necessary as anyone who has ever looked at the TA-02 rear axles and thought "that can't be right" but I'm a bit of a perfectionist if you hadn't noticed.) I've also designed a new rear turnbuckle mount that drops the angle slightly so the turnbuckles should sit parallel to the lower arms and I've also printed a new front bumper for it (only had an old used one, and that just would never do!) I got an email from the printers yesterday to say they had sent it to print, so I hope to have these by the end of the week. Oh, and I also fitted the steering servo and linkage. Once I get the new printed parts fitted I'll borrow an ESC from another car and then I can compare the weights and centre of gravities.

You don't want to listen to that @jonboy1 - he's a right wrongun! Surprisingly it broke exactly where i thought it would! Right at the intersection of the two parallel bits. It looks like there might have been a sharp edge there on the inside surfaces which are big stress crack propagators, so just whacking a big radii in there might be enough to solve it. One other thing I'd suggest trying is tapering the thickness as you go round into the curve section - so instead of it being say 2mm thick all round, start at 3 down by the bit where it broke and gradually get thinner as you go around the curve - as this will not only beef up the current weak point, but also move the bend stress away from the same place and up into the curve where you actually want it to bend. A final thing to try would be to make the upper part one long curve (so not have the upper straight section leading up to the wing mounts) as you again enlarge the area it can bend rather than focusing it all in the small curved section currently. Love what you are doing here - keep it up!

absolutely beautiful, great work mate!!

love this build thread, so much detail and explanation! Pictures are awesome too. Thank you!!! Really looking forward to the mini and 300zx builds. Oh, and thanks again for the advice and tips with my TB-Evo.III

sadly not - as with @MadInventor I had to sell one to buy the next, so my first, which was a Blackfoot, got sold to buy my second, the Astute, which I did get back : https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=134978&id=33463 and this is going nowhere!! At the time I always thought I got the wrong truck, as I'd see the massive chunky tyres on the Lunchbox and wish mine were that big..... In hindsight I don't think I appreciated how good the Blackfoot was as it is arguably a much more capable chassis. My first first rc car was actually a Taiyo white jeep, probably around 1/24 scale, which was actually brilliant. It had a high/low range gearbox and a working winch and would pull great wheelies if you ran it in reverse and then slammed it in forwards..... I was only 8 or 9 at the time ok! Anyway, that was the cause of its demise as the gears got shredded. I know it sat up in its box in the attic for years, but I am wondering now if it ever made it over to my attic. I might have to go and have a rummage at lunchtime..... just checked it was one of these! https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=99525

i've never had any issue with PS paint on either a tamiya or TBG body. One thing I always do though is to rough up the inside surface of the body with a scotchbrite pad before washing it. I'd never expect regular paint to stick to a glossy finish panel, so why should I expect PS paint to stick to a super glossy poly panel?