Grastens

Painting it on the inside is probably the better use; I tried it outside the shell/wing endplates on two of my projects and ended up with a sparkling finish that was not really desired and vulnerable to damage.

Maybe he only had a small job to do that day...

The ESC AND servo parts arrived much earlier than expected today: So I got to installing the servo, ESC and receiver. The manual actually suggests to loop the motor cables in between the rear bulkhead and the left rear damper, which makes sense and does not appear to compromise anything in the suspension. But then again, where would the cables go? The receiver was put in: And now it gets exciting: However, I am missing a servo saver. There is one from my Avante sitting in my parts bag at home, but I am not exactly at home right now... It is just as well, since the steering bellcrank is too long for my currently-mounted servo, and I will probably fashion one out of the spare threads and connectors in said parts bag if I get a hold of it anytime soon. So the Super Astute G parts are the only new pieces I am waiting for, and then paint comes (with hopefully my spare parts bag as they will be brought up with family when they come to visit). Chassis-wise, this was a quick project; it will probably be more rewarding when the bodywork is finished!

More parts for my project: I just realized I can complete the chassis now...

Custom auto maker Bill Carter was on the initial design team

TCer mongoose1983 posted this reference entry for the Tamiya Bigwig: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=104764&id=23692

Some work today, enabled by the arrival of the rear suspension blocks! The website had them finished in red, so I was a bit surprised to see them in this polished finish. Not complaining, though! The first time, I installed the block first but it led to difficulties sliding the suspension shaft through the holes and securing it with the c-clip. On the other side I fit the shaft in the block and rear arm and then attached it to the chassis, which was a bit simpler. I was missing one lousy c-clip, but by complete luck had four shot Buggy Champ dampers, each of which used the correct c-clips. After one shot into space when I was removing it, I took another; hence the two missing clips in this picture. This picture was taken as I was attempting to identify which screws went where. This one fit the rear upper arm link; again this car had the Madcap rear suspension conversion and so I had no reference in my printed Astute manual, and my electronic Madcap manual failed to bring up results! Another view of the rear suspension, useful if I have to strip the car down again! The few pictures I took when I first received the car have actually proven useful. And now the chassis is almost complete, or it certainly looks more that way compared to how it was before the rear suspension blocks arrived. I still need servo stay pieces, and am waiting on the Super Astute G parts and ESC. The body and undercowl again have been trimmed and drilled; the rear wing still needs the smaller endplate holes drilled and cutting. Once I cover the undercowl on the outside (no overspray film), I can actually begin on that part, while I will wait a bit for the shell due to my plans for a tri-colour scheme. Idle observations: I am not really liking the sheen on the CRP front tires, but original fronts are very difficult to find and rather expensive, and after use the tires should be dirty enough anyways... I am kind of curious to see how I can route the motor cables so they do not interfere with the rear suspension; either receiving the ESC or reading the manual will solve that for me... I wonder where that c-clip could be?

Very excited for these: I can continue with my Astute chassis and dye some wheels...

On my Astute build, I have attempted to temper the problem using a combination of standard Ball Diff Grease and Anti-Wear Grease inside the diff to slow down the parts' rotation. which should help them last a bit longer. I received it second-hand, and the previous owner appeared to have done something similar; the rebuilt diff (with both greases) feels like it did before.

Just a Losi Micro-T for now, but I am beginning to look at other brands for a change of perspective...

The Aero Avante looks like it is polycarbonate and the BRZ R&D Sport is absolutely gorgeous, no questions asked! I could pore over these photos all night... Nice to see the Yardley McLaren in model kit form, too.

I will agree on the Sorex tires. The racers at my local club use their Type C compound; it does depend on the surface being run on but these were the most common tires at the track.

I actually have a number of them, and I know the feeling as I have already bought a set of 16 to replace two lousy units... PM sent.

Most likely! haha I used drill bits after reading about how someone drilled body mount holes with them, and used it on my Avante. I succeeded (more or less) there, so thought I would try it on this project. The Lexan appears to be thicker, though... I own a Dremel, but do not have it on me as I am at school; chances are it will be making it back to me when I next go home! And speaking of which: I also managed to cut the body and undertray today! I may clean up the edges when my Dremel returns. None of my paints made the trip with me after the Thanksgiving break as I flew back to school, but my family visits on the 26th and are travelling by car; I could ask them to bring the paint and Dremel by then. For now, though, I am happy with how the large cut surfaces turned out and not so much with the more complex curves. However, I did bring one can of PS-22 Racing Green and one of PS-5 Black, so my undertray is actually ready to paint once I mask off the outside (no overspray cover).

Pieces for my Losi Micro-T arrived today; after losing that one puny e-clip I can finally run it again...

Spent some time cutting out the new Astute bodyshell, with some results: No Dremel this time; just scissors and assorted drill bits.

Good point. I think this was discussed somewhere in one of the threads where people ask if a TTC system can fit into an Astute and the general consensus seemed to be that a lighter-powered brushless system would work. But since brushless systems are inherently more efficient than brushed counterparts and tend to spin at higher RPM ratings, they can work far better with the TTC than the stock Astute gearbox, which I am also told is not saying much... Edit: On topic, I also bought drill bits and began drilling the holes in the body and undertray by hand. It got painful as I was using actual drill bits and bare hands, but I managed to complete the body and undertray; all that remain are the small holes in the rear wing for the endplates. I shall begin painting when I can find a place and a few hours...

PM sent. The A parts tree arrived today, so I got some more work done: The rear gearbox cover went back on after I took the aforementioned 540 silver can from home. A 17T pinion went on there; a perfectly-good 22T from my Avante project was unfortunately wrecked by an overtightened grub screw. It would not have fit with the 77T spur gear in there anyways. The plastic protrusion covering the motor is also a new addition. This was the main purpose of buying an entire parts tree, though. 3 hex-head screws from my F103R keep the rear gearbox door in, and the rear gearbox to the chassis plate. Still no rear suspension blocks, but I put the yellow CVA dampers on the rear-arms anyways. They are also still very smooth. Today I am also going to see if I can find some drill bits for the repro bodyshell I have on my shelf... Currently I am waiting on: - servo stay pieces - one Dynamite ECX1070 brushed ESC - Super Astute G parts to appear, at which point I will buy them I also require: - drill bits for repro body, undercowl and wing - masking tape (see if I can find some Frogtape) for the body - paint for the body (PS-22 Racing Green, PS-1 White, PS-34 Bright Red, PS-5 Black for the undercowl and maybe PS-13 Silver as backing) - a place to paint (should not be hard to find) I can still run the original body, which I may do if the ESC arrives before the body. All in all this is turning into a short project, but then again being able to assess the project does not guarantee a quick finish. Bodywork should take some more time as I have 3 colours involved on the shell. Edit: As soon as I began browsing, some brand new G parts for the Super Astute showed up... Now I am waiting on those instead of seeking them out. Looking forward to bulking up the front end! I also just picked up a new-to-me Super Astute TTC Gear Train Set... Brushless is suddenly a possibility...

Astute A parts arrived from Tony; made a little more progress on the build: The parts were crammed into my mailbox, though, meaning that several parts were off the trees, but nothing some trimming did not fix. Edit: OH YES

Greetings: I went to my local hobby shop the other day to buy some paint for my next projects. Since I do not go there frequently, I usually take my time with each visit, poring over the stock and some of the display models they set out. Two of them have my attention; this one I feel people will recognize right away: The other one I am not so sure what it could be at all: And some other cars I had no trouble identifying at the shop, just for the sake of it: Things like this just cannot be found at an online store - out in the open like this, anyways. All that said: can anybody identify the top two cars? They have been on display for a while now and I have no clue what they could be...

Bought six spray cans of paint, enough to handle my three next projects (I hope): one PS-22 Green, one PS-12 Silver, two PS-1 White and two PS-34 Bright Red. Did not get to run my car at home before I head back out to school, but with any luck I can try again during the holiday season...

Not to mention all those winter build threads! Looking forward to those once the season approaches.

Barely... But I did put a few things together: The universal joints and a set of 1150 ball bearings arrived recently, so I installed them on the front wheels and rear arms. I cannot join the rear arms to the chassis yet because I require D1 parts, which I ordered in aluminum. They should be arriving next week. Rear wheels and tires also arrived, so I glued those and attached them to the rear arms. The rear end is now completely rebuilt, having stripped down and regreased the differential, which is in surprisingly good shape. Perhaps against common sense, I put some Anti-Wear Grease to slow down the diff; with the special Ball Diff Grease the unit was alarmingly loose. That could mean I just have no idea what a mint ball diff looks like, but it rotates smoothly now and should last a bit longer. Electronics are on the way; I spent a total of $25 on a Dynamite ECX1070 ESC, and will take one of my standard Futaba servos, a 540 silver can and a radio I took from my Avante (which is now fitted with a Spektrum unit) to cut down on the cost of electronics. It will in time run much better electronics, especially as I have a brand-new TTC Gear Set on the way (many thanks to F2 Stu), but for now I want to see how it does as a budget runner... Having read Kontemax's fine Astute resource thread as well, I will be on the lookout for Super Astute G parts to brace the front end. I do still need some servo stays and A parts for the gearbox door. On another note, it appears I started this at a good time as many Astutes seem to be popping up... Plenty of people to ask for advice!

Astute universal joints and ten 1150 bearings arrived. Initially I thought my Astute D1 parts arrived today, but that was sadly not the case. Still, happy with the arrivals.

Sand Scorcher The Frog Porsche 959 Toyota Hilux Avante All are either prime examples of Tamiya's engineering prowess or left very strong impressions upon their owners, or both. Alternative to the Frog would be Vanessa's Lunchbox. Edit: And forgot about the Blackfoot...