speedy_w_beans

I just watched this on Netflix and I think this is possibly the most important documentary of the year. As we watch far-left and far-right protest/riot/domestic terrorist groups acting against each other and against society in general, the influence social media has on perception, beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions should not be underestimated.

Probably ought to get yourself a rally chassis, then. XV01 it is!

Beware, all ye who enter: Tamiya Motor Specs Torque-tuned should be 25 turns (second from the bottom). Should work fine with the TBLE02.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." I sold a few things recently and the first step/sale was probably the hardest. There was a lot of second-guessing about whether I'd buy another one of the same in the future. But, as I sold more and people started receiving their packages, I felt satisfaction in knowing each person was pleased with his purchase. Several of us had good exchanges over PM, email, and in person. I'm happy they're happy!

Did you see this?

I think you did very well for $65. Someone is trying to sell a hemi motor kit (no car chassis or body) for nearly $200 on eBay at the moment, although there's an online retailer showing it went for $17 originally (but discontinued now). Looks like you can still get spare parts directly from Parma if necessary.

Now for the big question: Will ACCEL actually drive it when he's done? I know I hesitated after building my metal CR01!

They say "variety is the spice of life," but I hope you don't give up on the hobby entirely. Your custom builds have been a delight to see on the forum.

I never had great success with passive heatsinks like 54571; they work best if you have some airflow (which might be challenging under a buggy shell; less challenging under an on-road shell). When I need to keep things cool I prefer fans because air flow is guaranteed.

I'd be super patient in this situation. I ordered a difficult-to-find static model kit from a place in Australia two months ago, and it took nearly six weeks to arrive even though it went by plane and not boat. Customs was backed up quite a bit as shown in the USPS tracking status, so there wasn't anything to do except wait. I didn't feel any disappointment with the seller, and the shipping situation just simply is what it is. It's not like the package is lost or attempted delivery and returned.

Lots of things to think about; that's part of the joy of the hobby. It's possible the motor is making more noise, but since the kit isn't that old it's not the first thing I would suspect. I just pulled an older, used silver can motor out of my parts box the other day. Spinning it by hand, it sounded pretty loud. I put a drop of oil at each end of the motor, one drop per shaft/bushing location, and worked it in by pushing the shaft from side to side and spinning it by hand some more. Virtually all the noise was gone except for the sound of the brushes sliding over the commutator inside the motor. So, it might not hurt to pull the motor and put a drop of oil in each end. The kit should have included a cardboard spacer that fits between the motor and the mount. The purpose of the cardboard is to isolate the motor heat from the plastic mount. If the motor gets too hot and makes direct contact with the plastic mount, it might soften slightly and then the screws you tightened will appear to come loose on their own. Hopefully you installed that piece of cardboard or fiber board or I would guess the screws will magically loosen on their own again. There might be some value in putting the smallest amount of blue thread lock on the end of the screw before installing it in the motor, but I haven't had to do that in the past. When the motor loosened and pivoted slightly, maybe the mesh between the pinion gear and spur gear spread apart enough to cause some light damage to the gears. It would be difficult to inspect and determine unless there was gross damage involved (uniform teeth become sawtooth-shaped, for example), but I doubt anything major happened. Take a brief look at your gears but don't obsess over them. If the kit pinion is steel (I think it is -- check with a magnet), then really the only gear that might see some early wear is the spur gear. It's pretty much a blanket statement around Tamiyaclub to replace all aluminum pinions with steel ones. A little bit of heat management never hurts; if there's room next to the motor consider getting a cooling fan like one of those Yeah Racing Tornado fans and mounting it to blow on the motor. Brushed motors can be 50-70% efficient which means 50-30% of the power is turning into heat and not mechanical movement. Brushless motors can be up to 90% efficient and can run cooler in the same application. But, for starters a cooling fan to force the air under the buggy shell might help a little. Summer temperatures are more challenging than autumn/fall/winter temperatures. It also doesn't hurt to invest in a cheap infrared temperature gauge to check the case of the motor and the heatsink on the ESC; when temperatures start climbing over 140F-160F or 60C-70C then it's time to take a break or look into gearing the car differently.

A few ways to reduce spring retainer movement: Add a small zip tie or O-ring immediately above it on the shock shaft (although this cuts into suspension travel slightly) Wrap the lower shock eyelet in a layer or two of tape for a tighter friction fit between the two parts For the body: It's helpful to bend the body clips so the "head" and "tails" are no longer horizontal. For inner body clips, bend those segments down but leave the middle flat. For the outer body clips, bend those segments up and leave the middle flat. It also makes it easier to remove the outer body clips later. I use a pair of needle nose pliers to do this. There are several sources for foam body washers out there; these go between the inner body clip and the body. You can also make some washers out of cardboard from a cereal box or some other material. Aluminum tape applied inside the body can help wherever it rubs against something. For cleaning: Brushes/toothbrushes can be helpful to knock the big crud off the model. I've been using an air compressor with a nozzle to blast other dirt and debris out of the model. A damp paper tower or rag to wipe the rest of the parts down along with a little bit of partial disassembly if necessary...

Paint, and plenty of it. I have four body shells trimmed but not painted yet. Need to at least paint these before the weather gets cold.

I think this is what you need for another $4 USD: https://www.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-suspension-pivot-ball-10-pcs-for-tamiya-3-racing-spec-r-rc-car-kits-pb-001-00036946 Edit: Sorry, maybe you meant the suspension blocks that are a part of the chassis tub? The Tamiya part number is 54033, but I don't see them in stock at RCMart, Stellamodels, AsiaTees, RCJaz, Vellrip, or TQ RC Racing...

Why not try the carbon reinforced parts for $6 USD? Link: https://www.rcmart.com/tamiya-db01-carbon-reinforced-m-parts-54036-00026468 The carbon parts are meaningfully stiffer than the kit glass-filled parts.

My son and I took a DF03 Dark Impact to the local indoor clay track 10 years ago and here's what we found: Various self tapping screws would loosen after every run including those holding the rear gearbox to the tub as well as a few upper tub screws. We had a consistent issue with a lower screw loosening in one of the steering knuckles, even after replacing the knuckle several times. The rear ball diff is weak in kit stock form and needed a lot of service. Running a set of front metal outdrives in the rear, and using some tungsten carbide diff balls, helped. But the diff design itself is too compact for the power going through it (based on the TA04 onroad car). The internal gear on the spur layshaft is made of aluminum and will eventually wear into a sawtooth pattern, cutting into the nylon gear it mates with. The front outdrives had a tendency to chip and crack; I never figured out why. The front damper stay is weak; we went through several of them in crashes. We had one or two instances of the body pin falling out of the battery cover retainer, which led to the retainer nearly falling out. By default the spur gear is 0.5 mod pitch. No one uses that pitch except for some RC helicopters. Most everybody who makes a racing buggy uses 48dp spurs and pinions. The stock pinion/spur cover doesn't seal against dirt very well. The improvement is to get the cover from a DF03Ra parts tree. Good luck finding one now! The motor doesn't get enough air flow to stay cool under hard use. A DB01R, RR, or RRR or used TRF501 or TRF503 would be much more durable and usable as a track toy than anything else Tamiya makes. Otherwise it's time to switch brands as stated earlier.

You're starting to kill me with all the carbon fiber and aluminum goodies shown in this thread... Must. resist. urge. to. buy. more.

@Room335, some thoughts: 1. These plastic tub cars tend to collect microscopic pebbles in them from driving in parking lots/asphalt. Collect enough of them and a few are bound to slip under the motor and get to the spur. I'd say get yourself some aluminum tape and just cover over any gaps you find around the center gearbox and tub (there aren't too many) and you'll probably be fine. I complained a little when I did the build because I had previously built some TB03s, and all gears are enclosed on those chassis. Likewise, the TB05 PRO gears are protected as well. 2. Referring to the base TB-04 manual here (https://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/tb04_t.pdf), some parts I would consider upgrading or addressing include: Step 4: Replace the BA25 O-rings with TRF orange O-rings to avoid oil leaks between the diff cases and the out drives. Coat the mating diff surfaces (where the gasket goes) with a thin coat of silicone RTV or Associated green slime to avoid oil leaks between the diff cases. If you're going to run a hot motor and bash the car hard, I'd consider metal cross pins and diff gears for added durability. Step 5 and 6: Again, if you're going to run the car with a hot motor then consider replacing the 20T miter gears with metal gears from the DB02 center gearbox. Because the spur gear mounting screws are so thin, be sure to have some decent JIS screwdrivers (not Philips) for the best locking action between the driver tip and the fastener. Steps 7 and 8: You might assess how much play there is between the bevel gears and shim them a little. It seems like I had to shim a fair amount in my build, but it might be better with later production parts. Step 9: Turnbuckles can be a pain to build; it's helpful if you have a better turnbuckle wrench, adjuster holder, and calipers to take measurements. Step 12: Note that M3 needs to be filed slightly so the steering doesn't interfere with it later. Step 14: Recommend upgrading the 630 metal bushings with 630 ball bearings for the steering. Step 16: Recommend upgrading the 850 metal bushings with 850 ball bearings for the IFS rocker arms. This makes a noticeable difference in suspension friction; I've witnessed it directly on my TB03. Step 22: For casual use the kit CVA dampers are fine; I just think the kit oil (yellow, 400 cst) is a little thin for them. I'd get a bottle of 500 cst from any brand and use that instead. Step 25: Recommend upgrading to a steel pinion to replace the kit aluminum pinion. If you can find the upgrade, look into replacing the kit T5/T7 motor spacers with aluminum parts from Tamiya or Exotek. Both brought parts to market that allow slightly larger pinions to be installed if you run a slower speed motor. The flexibility is nice to have. Step 31: Recommend upgrading the A4 plastic wheel hexes to some aluminum clamping hexes (5mm thick). I think you can find a set from Yeah Racing for about $7. It's just really nice to remove a wheel and not have the cross pin fall out of the axle because the hex shifted. For casual fun, that's about it. I wouldn't worry about lots of blue aluminum bling. Most of the suggestions are minor improvements or ways of adding durability for higher power levels. 3. You don't have to be as careful about shimming as I was. The front and rear gearboxes are pretty good; just pay a little closer attention to the center gearbox. I hope you enjoy the kit!

I've bought several bulk packs of ball bearings off eBay and they generally work fine for our models. You may see ball bearing part numbers that are not familiar; there are some standards and company-proprietary methods for creating part numbers. Worth a glance: https://www.astbearings.com/radial-ball-bearing-nomenclature-and-numbering-system.html

I think the lower suspension travel will be limited by the upper arms and the ball connectors they press over.

Assuming the workshop / tools / software / hardware / learning / experience issues are all worked out, I'd say there are three categories of projects I'd like to chase... Continue to build commercial RC kits, but aspire to Truck Norris levels of detail and/or higher levels of creativity. There are many talented builders on Tamiyaclub who are doing great things, but his work resonates with me the most. From my point of view he picks interesting subjects, goes all-in on details, and does a great job photographing and presenting his work. I have no desire to compete with him, but I aspire to be like him and take more pride in the kits I do build. There would be a lot of focus here on making custom scale details to make these models pop. Take 1/24 scale model kits, enlarge them to 1/12 or 1/10, and make them RC. I've been hunting down static model kits that feature cars my family and relatives have owned over the past 50 years, and I thought it would be cool to bring some of these to life. For $20 it's a no-brainer to get a complete kit with body surfaces, bumpers, accurate wheels and tires, full interiors, etc. as a set of reference parts for doing modeling/printing/machining to make larger parts. Combine the reference model kit with online photos, and it would be exciting to see some family history brought to life. Will I be the only guy on the planet with a radio control AMC Gremlin? How about a base Chevy Beretta? There's always the Silverado my son is driving now, or the Honda Odyssey my kids rode in for decade... These aren't exotic subjects; rather, they're personal ones. They'd likely be very basic pan car chassis with lots of room for packaging all the cosmetic details of a large-scale model (think of the first 25 or so Tamiya RC models; current product isn't made like that any more). As my engineering career starts to wind down, I'd love to take all those years of experience in hardware, embedded software, control systems, communication systems, etc. and do a 1/24 pan car chassis for the scale model kits I'm collecting. Right now the batteries, speed controls, motors, servos, receivers, etc. we're buying all come in some fairly large, fairly standard sizes. I'd like to push myself a little on the engineering front and design a circuit board that integrates all the electronics and mechanisms and acts as the pan chassis at the same time. Basically miniaturize the RC electronics and chassis, and then animate those 1/24 reference models I enlarged in #2. It doesn't really matter if I succeed or not, what matters is to identify some exciting challenges and work towards them. Make the hobby a journey, not an outcome.

Thanks for all the detailed photos. There are some familiar parts, but the overall assembly is very different.

@burakol, no, sorry, I don't have appropriate electronics for anything here except the pan cars. Both helis are collective pitch, not fixed pitch.

When you get it figured out you're welcome to come to my place and help me sort through my pile, er, collection as well...

Years ago I bought these items with intentions of exploring and learning other things, but I've never made building, flying, or driving these kits any priority. I think I've come to terms with this and am ready to pass these on to someone else. Here's what I have: Pair of Hobbyking HK-250GT helicopter kits, clones of Align T-Rex 250s (description ) Pair of Hobbyking HK-500GT helicopter kits, clones of Align T-Rex 500s (description) Pair of Hobbyking Teksumo flying wing kits (description) Pair of Hobbyking BAT-1 land yacht kits (description) Pair of Turnigy GT-10X pan cars with many spare parts (description) Pair of BSR Racing 1000R motorcycles (description) I generally bought pairs of kits to have a ready supply of spare parts, but since the helis are clones of Align products then spares are not really an issue. Also, I have a box full of spares for the pan cars. There's not much to the flying wings or land yachts to break. Pricing is as follows; shipping is extra. PayPal accepted. Please PM me if interested. $60 for the pair of HK-250GTs $120 for the pair of HK-500GTs (one of the 500's has a cracked canopy as it came from the factory; I taped over the crack with some aluminum tape) $50 for the pair of Teksumo wings $50 for the pair of BAT-1 land yachts (PNF version comes with servos already) $80 for the pair of GT-10X pan cars (box of spare parts and chassis plates included) $80 for the pair of R1000 motorcycles HK-250GT: HK-500GT (mine have red canopies): Teksumo flying wings: