speedy_w_beans

I don't understand why they would release upgrades for a truck that went out of production a year or two ago... Have they released upgrades for other models out of production? I'm going with an accidental leak for a new truck...

I'm half interested in the RM-01X; maybe that's the TRF version of the RM-01 shown last year... EDIT: Image of TRF RM-01 shown below...  I'm also curious about the TA-06 "steel" gear diffs -- maybe that's to correct for the plastic gears released last year... EDIT: References below... http://www.rctech.ne...ya-ta06-72.html http://www.tamiyaclu...53 http://www.tamiyausa...roduct-id=54428 They must be committed to the DB02 to continue releasing upgrades for it...

GPS or radar speeds would be nice to know. It's difficult to judge speed with just video...

Thanks for sharing this thread; I enjoyed seeing his handiwork. I smiled when I saw he was using a drill as a lathe; I've done that in the past as well.

Plasma Edge sold.

Let the speculation begin!!

Digger sold. Everything else still available.

Ah, but do you have this tool??? This is an e-clip tool that came in Dyna Storm / Dyna Blaster tool bags...

I pulled the Mammoth manual at http://www.tamiyausa.com/pdf/manuals/58268ml.pdf and found the MV1 description on page 36. It does appear to be a 4mm flanged bearing, but no OD is given. Do you have any calipers, small scale, or some drill bits to figure out the hole diameter and depth in the gear case? If you can figure out the OD, depth, flange diameter, and flange depth, then you'll have a pretty good description to search by. Tower has some options for 4mm flanged ball bearings, but I don't know if these are applicable: (4x7) http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD102&P=7 (4x8) http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD106&P=7 It looks like the description for the bearing also suggests it's really a solid flanged bushing, not a ball bearing, as only the 1150 bearings are called ball bearings. Tamiya has a habit of calling everything a bearing even if it's a bushing. The clue is they want you to lubricate the bushing before installing the gear. Have you contacted your Tamiya distributor for your country? I sent a question to Tamiya USA once regarding dimensions for a rubber O-ring, and they ordered parts from Japan and measured them for me. I was impressed they went that far for me.

They are in the middle of doing inventory right now. http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=593

That's awesome! Now, you need to suprise him with a pinion/spur change overnight so that motor can stretch its legs a little more, and glue those tires so the rims aren't spinning inside them. A little bit of ducting to direct air on the motor would be good too; I don't think enough air gets under the DF02 shells to pull heat away. Some inspiration for you:

Looks great with the narrower width!

I generally use 3M blue painter's tape on all edges, leave some overhang, and then cut the exact line I want with an Xacto knife. It's worked pretty well for me on Parma bodies in the past. For this specific body I started with the included window masks, then I laid a thin strip of Pactra masking tape for the silver trim line on the sides/front of the body. Next I applied 3M blue tape where the green is. I also applied 3M tape over the motor and trimmed the edges with an Xacto knife to get the exact contour of the motor. Shot a few coats of black, then lifted the blue tape and shot some fluorescent green, then pulled the Pactra trim tape and the motor tape, and shot some bright silver. Then I used a light coat of black again, pulled the window masks, and applied some window tint/smoke. The Pro-Line decals were used on the motor, tail lights, headlights, and door handles. I used a fine Sharpie to accent a few spots on the motor. The wing was easier with fluorescent green, silver, and then black in sequence. Did your daughter pick out Pactra Grape Pearl? I love that color -- it looks rich and deep when finished.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry... Once I hit Christmas break, I just played with my kids a lot and was pretty lazy overall. I reorganized my hobby area, sold a few chassis and shells locally, and drove a few vehicles for relaxation, but just didn't have the motivation to dig into anything new... The project ideas are still percolating; I just need some time to do the research and planning before jumping into anything...

Tower Super Saver club members generally see 15% to 16.6% off at the various order breakpoints below $300. If you're a Gold member (due to buying a quite a bit from them and being a Super Saver club member) then the discount percentages are still the same, just applicable at higher dollar amounts. If you can break a large order up into a few $300 increments you'll do just as well as the Gold members do. On big items like the Bruiser you obviously can't break that up into two or three orders, so it's either the holiday codes (good) or the Gold member codes (better) for the best price on a big ticket item.

I'm looking at a transfer/job change in the next few months, so the plan is to do more selling than buying to lighten the load.

Associated generally makes good stuff; I am a little worried they're starting to dilute their lineup with rebadged Thunder Tiger product (Thunder Tiger owns AE). The Apex V-type and Prolite 4x4 come to mind. The SC10 and SC10B are still good core product designs of theirs. Most Associated product is available in kit form, especially the Factory Team stuff.

What are some of your favorite Android or IOS games? My kids and I have been playing the following from time to time... - Angry Birds - Bad Piggies - Cut the Rope - Flight Control - Flow Free - Fruit Ninja - Magic Piano - Minecraft - Solitaire - Stupid Zombies - Temple Run -Paul

Nice looking truck!

Hi Mad, Since this your first Lipo battery, here are some do's and don'ts to keep in mind: - Lipos are usually shipped with a storage charge which is not a full charge; do a full balance charge before first use. - Always balance charge your battery before each use to make sure the individual cells are closely matched. - Never leave a charging battery unattended. - A fully charged 3S battery should measure 12.6V and not higher (4.2V per cell). - Use a decent connector between the battery and ESC, like a Dean's plug or bullets. - Have a Lipo cutoff installed, or confirm your ESC will cut off at ~9.6V to prevent discharging the pack too far and damaging it. Stop driving as soon as you hit the cutoff. - When storing the battery for a period of time, keep a storage charge on it and keep it in cooler temperatures -- it will survive for months with almost no degradation at all. For a 3S Lipo, a good storage charge would be 11.1V to 11.4V. You can use the same balance charger, just keep an eye on the voltage display and cancel charging when the battery hits the target. Saving 130 grams is appreciable, but I think the discharge capability of the Lipo (120A), the higher initial voltage, and the flatter discharge curve will have more of an effect than you might anticipate. Also, you mentioned having to set the motor efficiency at 65% to match the real world speed with the calculated speed. Part of that is the battery, part of that is using a 2-pole motor, part of that is running a lower voltage. In my OFNA NEXX8 I'm running 4S (16.8V) with a 4-pole motor, and I have to set the calculator's efficiency at 88% to match calculated speed against real world speed. In my RJ Speed Sport 3.2 pan car I was running a 6-cell NiMH pack with a 2-pole motor, and in the same calculator I had to set the efficiency at about 60%. Good luck!

I haven't done a survey of the broad market, but going back to the Castle examples I cited earlier: - The CM36 2-pole weighs 198.4 grams (http://www.castlecreations.com/products/cms36-4600.html) - The 1406 4-pole weighs 169.5 grams (http://www.castlecreations.com/products/nc1406.html) - The 1410 4-pole weighs 227 grams (http://www.castlecreations.com/products/nc1410.html) Relative to the CM36 they do talk about how the 1406 has a slotted stator (less material), and how the 1410 has a longer stator and rotor (more material). I'll gladly pay a 30 gram penalty to get 50% more torque and higher overall efficiency in the 1410. I've tried both CM36 and 1410 motors and love the 1410; you can gear it so much more aggressively than the CM36. -Paul

The 4-pole setup should generate more torque and run more efficiently (cooler). The 4-pole setup would be a better choice for a heavier offroad application, while the 2-pole setup would be more suited for a lighter onroad application. Because of the increased torque you might be able to gear up a little bit more for higher speed. Always check your ESC and motor temps to make sure neither is higher than 160F. I know you're talking about Tazer vs. Reedy, but from a Castle point of view: - Castle CM36 2-pole motors generate some baseline level of torque versus speed. - Castle 1406 4-pole motors generate about 30% more torque than the CM36 motors (http://www.castlecre...cts/nc1406.html) - Castle 1410 4-pole motors generate about 50% more torque than the CM36 motors (http://www.castlecre...winder_sct.html and http://www.castlecreations.com/products/nc1410.html) -Paul

I've shot some PS on ABS wings and then covered with a gloss clear for extra protection in the past, and it worked OK.

PM sent with shipping details.