Bluefoot

Mowerman, Several of the sites listed above mention the effect of using silicone based products on your tyres. The first one includes: quote:Other DegradantsPetrochemicals and silicone oils can remove the protective waxes and increase the rate of degradation. Common automotive "protectants" and "tire dressings" are typically devoid of UV stabilizers of any type and contain petrochemicals and/or silicone oils which dissolve away the protective waxes and can actually aggress the sidewall. In the event of warranty sidewall failure, one of the first things tire manufacturers look for is evidence of the use of these types of products. When found, this is often cause for not warranting the sidewall failure. id="quote">id="quote">Is it just the removal of the waxes that is the problem or do these products actually "aggress" the rubber as this article suggests?

I'm glad it's not heat alone that does the most damage - having just boiled a pair of brand new oval blocks for half an hour. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...=29987&sid=2193 It has removed that waxy coating though so I will be on the lookout for one of those tyre dressing products. quote:Perhaps for the shelf queens you could get some of those little parasols that go in cocktail drinks and place them tastefully next to each tyre id="quote">id="quote">I'm ordring some in. Or maybe I should get the missus to knit some "socks" like what they put on golf clubs?

So...Keep them in the dark and squeeze all the tyres regularly. Or use one of the sponsors fine products! (non-silicone based of course!). Dang! I'm going to have to take all my cars out of the sunroom and hide them in the basement again! And the wife had just got used to them in there too. I should think the advice given in these sites would apply to most of the compounds used in our model tyres too (thanks for the links by the way []). I think they have all been reading the same textbook too.

Does anyone know what causes rubber tyres to crack and perish and suffer from "Dry Rot"? Is it humidity? heat? sunlight? proximity to toxic chemicals? termites? What are the best conditions to store rubber parts to prevent this from happening?

Can you heat the body posts and bend them back slightly?

You Know - I think Tamiya have pretty well go it right so far. Re-release some cars and make enough differences so that the originals are still "collectable" for those who are serious collectors. Of course they could mark re-release material to identify it as such (different parts numbers etc.) so that the purists don't get upset. The XR311 had small differences in the battery compartment, The Tyrell is on a new chassis, The Lancia has a new chassis and alterations to the body, Willy has a new chassis wheels and Grill etc. But you notice that the originals of all these cars still attract premium prices. On the "Run-'em vs Shelf-'em bit. Each to his own I say. It should be noted that Tamiya was fistly a Plastic Model manufacturer, and they just happened to put an RC chassis under one of their plastic models when they started down this track. I think the early cars are equally deserving of being made as a display model and a runner. I know that when I put hours of work into a model I would rather display it than trash it (ok so I don't drive them so well!). For many of my cars I have one for display and one to run. Very few of the modern cars do it for me in the display stakes, but then I'm an old fart. I like nice detailed hard bodies, not these flaccid rounded lexan "afterthoughts". Except for some of the M-chassis classics of course. Value vs cost of these cars? You're in the wrong hobby if you are looking for something to invest your money in. You'll get a better return by putting it in the bank. Ok, some people wheel-and-deal and make some money that way, but it is very time consuming and pretty much a full time job. Venting your spleen on forums? - Play the ball, not the man. Lie down, have a cuppa. It's only a game.

I'd like to see a new 3-speed released, with a new and different hard-body. With enough differences to make it really interesting. I'd suggest something like a Jeep Cherokee - leaf sprung at the back and coils at the front. Could be cos I own a real one []

I have a nib Wildcat too. They were made by Bluebird in Taiwan. The nice man at Traxxas told me they were an "Unauthorised release" by the manufacturer and should not have had the Traxxas name on them. Iterestingly, if you look at the Traxxas website history page you will see that they list their first release as being the Traxxas Cat in 1987. The manual and parts catalogue I have with my Wildcat is dated 1986. I have another Bluebird car - a Baja Growler. You can see it here: http://www.tcphotos.com/section.asp?sid=2193&secid=154 Also a couple of old Monogram "Toys".

It's a very poor imitation of an Optima. Some more pics here: http://www.tcphotos.com/section.asp?sid=2193&secid=154 Mine is nib but missing the speed contoller. Do you have a complete chassis or just the front end? I might be interested in buying it off you just for the speedo if it is in good condition.

Looks like a Baja Growler (no... really!) made by Bluebird. Made in Taiwan. I'll dig mine out tomorrow and post a pic or two. Wikedvette has one here: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...id=16120&id=192

Mike, there's a high concentration of us here in Auckland - 4 at the last count!

I might be able to help you with some of these if you get really stuck.

Thanks. I guess I'll fit 'em and see which way it goes when I twiddle me knob! [:0]

I have just received a pair of Mayhems from Tower and am about to fit them to my greenish Bullhead. I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with first: Which end for which motor? I am guessing that the foward rotation motor is at the rear and the reverse rotation motor is at the front? Will the standard MSC handle these motors or will I end up with a pile of slag? Cheers

Does getting two of us together in New Zealand constitute a meet? That's about 20% of the NZ membership!

I've had offers on some of mine too, but if they were for sale then they would be in my trades page. I wouldn't have a problem selling to (or buying from) someone with good ebay feedback.

I have a set of these. They fit Scorcher/Grasshopper/Frog rims. The rears are larger than Ranger tyres, and the fronts are slighly smaller than Ranger tyres. The fronts fit on the narrow front rims.

Yo Dude! h[8D]angin' downunder (as it were).

Our local auction site here in NZ runs what they call a "trust-web". On each members profile page you can see a list of members trusted by that member. You can also see a list of members who trust this member. When you are happy with your trade you can add someone to your trust list. No comments, no aggro. Not many people use it!

The Terra Conqueror/Blazing Star is pretty much a TA02 with long arms to make it wider.

Thanks for that. Had an opportunity to buy some, but if they don't fit they ain't no use!

Hi, can anyone tell me if the Imex Jumbo Claw Dawgs will fit straight on TXT-1 or Clod rims? Thanks, Don.

The Egress kit didn't come with a motor (mine doesn't have one).

The Grasshopper uses the three-piece rims which seal the tyre on and create a "semi-pneumatic" tyre. The rubber is quite thin and soft and the tyre/wheel will bounce nicely. If you poke a hole in the tyre it will lose this bounce. The Wild one uses the oval blocks which hold their shape by being made of harder and thicker rubber. They just sit in the one piece rims and are not sealed on. They don't add any bounce.

An old toothbrush is good for getting into the "hard to get" places. I've cleaned up aluminium parts using jiff to start and then Silvo polish to finish.