Grastens

Funny; I remember talking about those dampers some time ago. When I ran the same setup, the exact same thing happened: Initially my concern was that since I set up the front dampers to be very stiff, the primary damping forces were travelling through the uprights themselves instead of being suppressed by the dampers, but I used Gorilla Glue and the upright has been the same since. It helped that the dampers have since been 'broken-in' a bit, with some give. I was running mine with a far-milder setup, however.

This build gives me goosebumps... Honestly, the whole thing looks so scale, and not just the bodyshell! This entire build is a study in RC car detailing. Looks like you have gone far beyond succeeding at just making the Lexan look like a hardbody!

The biggest surprise for me was seeing the Holiday Buggy driver at the wheel of the tractor! That Grasshopper reminds me of the old promo videos where they have several examples of one model running in different paint schemes, though I do not think a green one was in the original video... Still, it looks good, as do the Ferrari and the XV-01TC!

I heard that the DT-02 is in fact more resilient than the Blitzer Beetle, mostly in its drivetrain but also other items like suspension mounts. One of its great weaknesses is its 'proprietary gear system' - motor choices are governed by pinion size instead of the other way around. It would seem, then, that the DT-02 is at least tougher than the Blitzer Beetle chassis.

It will depend on numerous factors, many of which I do not fully understand. But I am guessing that models 58601 to 58700 will take 2 years as more older models get re-released, though assuming that the 84***-code models do not count. A very interesting fact!

Right; it was the Astute wheels... Which would address whatever concerns about front-end grip that there would be. Astute front wheels can still be found, but original tires seem to be entirely different.

Good to know! Admittedly, after seeing Tamiya1/10's post I started to see the point of an XB model...

Another TC member actually had the hybrid spike tires and lightweight wheels mounted all around on his Frog chassis (forgot the name, though), so I am sure they would fit. I cannot comment on the consequences of front-end grip, however.

This was clearly not a kit I expected to feature an XB model... While many buy it for the build, I can see people being interested in an RTR; fully-built it is still very cool, and it can certainly be appreciated. Still, even if I did have the money I would not.

Those would definitely be Willy's agricultural vehicles of choice! But I wonder, on the off-chance that they could have meant 'tractor truck'... Yes, the wheelie may be because of the sled this rig is pulling, but personally I can see Wild Willy in the cab of one of these things! The body would be polycarbonate and the majority of electronics situated in the rear section of the chassis...

Great to see that video, as I could be taking my Avante out for some track work soon. While it still looks a bit tricky to keep the car stable after jumps and the car itself is not stock, at least the chassis can handle it.

I remember this site; he really does amazing work, even if his English drives me nuts sometimes. As if I were one to talk, though...

Probably the coolest project I will ever see... Remembering how you talked about scale inaccuracies: I think the wide stance and the other dimensions are very much in Willy's character (like a Willys M38 - in tank form), and the 'Wild' bit obviously comes from the fact that it is an APC! It looks nothing short of fantastic! The weathering and all those little details make it a show-stopper!

RICO AND MURPH! Funny to see them just chilling in the background haha Great-looking project so far! Looking forward to the finished shell!

All are still very interesting releases, particularly the Jimny on the TamTech chassis. I admit it looks a little strange on those small tires, and I was beginning to wonder if it as a TamTech was going to be 1:10 or 1:16, as the other TamTech cars on the off-road chassis were.

My Avante returned from home for some track time now that I found one I could practice on. In the meantime I prepared my Astute for painting, made a new steering bellcrank from Avante pieces and stuffed copious amounts of grease into the gearbox.

Mine was a double issue of Radio Control Car Action I received from my uncle when I was 11 or 12. I still have that issue somewhere... It talked about the hot new products of 2005, and despite having no experience with hobby-grade RC cars I remember drooling over the Tamiya TB-02 one of the writers built for an article about RC on a budget. With my love of the Gran Turismo series of video games, I fell in love immediately with Tamiya's scale-realistic products and cars that I saw in both their catalogue and my video games, like the various Skyline GT-R racers and the GT-One. The latter eventually became my very first RC car, and since then the hobby has become a part of my life.

I seem to recall that the F104 has a longer wheelbase than the F103, by about 10 mm (270 mm for the F104 v. approximately 260 mm for the F103). Mounting points for bodies would also change due to the F104's centrally-mounted battery compared to the F103's placement, but from photos it does not appear to be by much. You could try to make it fit, but I feel the end result will not be what you were looking for unless you do not plan to make a McLaren for your chassis. There is at least one aftermarket company that makes both modern and vintage F1 bodies for the F103, though.

The Fire Frog? Frog Dragon? Red Menace? Hard to put a name on a car this awesome! I love the look!

At least the cages were not mixed up, which I would see myself doing if I had those three cars... Glad they are in your hands, then; they look fantastic!

Thank you; I did use threadlock for the rear suspension blocks but will see if I have some 3mm locknuts lying around. And thank you! For some reason the diff felt thick, but I figured it was good as when I rebuilt it the thing was spinning too freely. It loosened up a bit after some static testing to ensure all the electronics were in order, but with my current setup I figure the diff should last as long as I do not trash the car! Since I could not fit the undercowl to the chassis plate without the cowl flexing excessively on the sides, I filed away a bit of the chassis plate on each side. The Velcro strips I attached did not last long, but with the flexing body and undercowl I may put some of the Velcro spots (pictured in the last post) on to both facilitate removal of the bodyshell and keep the upper and lower assemblies together.

Greetings: I have been thinking of putting a driver figure in my Astute project, partly because my bodyshell arrived with window masks instead of window decals and most of my other cars have drivers. However, I do not have much of an idea how to do this beyond possibly using the MSC mount on the chassis to place a driver bust (maybe one from the Buggy Champ). That said, has anybody attempted this before? I would believe it if nobody had as the Astute is primarily a racer and did not feature a driver figure in the kit unlike the Avante.

G parts arrived, so the front reinforcement part was fitted. Thanks again to kontemax who pointed out its usefulness: I did not get the required screws, though, so once again my Buggy Champ parts came to the rescue: The number of tools I need for this car keeps growing, as I put the shell on the chassis to make sure the ESC and receiver did not foul the body: But the big news today is the painting of the undercowl! I spent a lot of time masking the outside with automotive tape, and it worked beautifully. Some light bleeds through the cowl, but I figure the paint will more or less get chipped off by rocks making it between the cowl and chassis plate. My preferred colour was PS-31 Smoke, like my Avante's undercowl, as paint chips are less visible and the chassis plate is semi-visible. It was a windy day and I set up too close to a field; very fine dirt stuck to the undercowl. Phooey... I never thought extra Velcro strips could prove useful for an RC car body, but here they are on my newest project! Great value indeed... I will be getting the stock servo saver from my Avante and a host of other parts in about a week, and no new parts are coming in through the mail (yet), so the next step will be to attach the undercowl once the paint has cured.

Went outside and spray-painted the undercowl for my project. Unfortunately, I set up too close to a field and so my paint work has become a stucco finish... Not noticeable here, though! I also fitted some parts that came in through the mail to the chassis.

Still way cool! I love how the cars are drawn...