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Saito2

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  1. From the first Tamiya family of 4wds, I'd follow @Pizza Frog's Hotshot II suggestion or the Boomerang. There aren't really any bugs to be worked out in either of these for a beginner. The Hotshot II probably has a higher parts count with its roll cage but both buggies share the same drivetrain. The problem areas would be the issues with small parts you mentioned. I could see the small screws the affix the ball plates to the front upper and lower suspension arms giving trouble and possibly the small silver set plates that are stacked in the motor mount to set the pinion mesh. The second family of 4wds, the Thundershot series offers problems that I would avoid for a beginner. The A5 part mentioned needs braced or replaced with an alloy version. I wouldn't expect a beginner to be expected to sit with a sharp hobby knife carving the deformities from the prop shaft's bevel gears, carefully trimming and shaping affected teeth. The recent batch has plastic formulation issues with the blue nylon suspension arms splitting on impacts. Vintage parts don't have these problems. Lastly, there are e-clips in the suspension that might be difficult to install. All of these things can be overcome to make a very nice buggy but for someone as a beginner with tremors, I wouldn't recommend it. The forth family (we're skipping the 3rd Avante family for the purposes of this discussion) is the DF01 series. Given the facts provided, the most basic of there models, the Manta Ray would probably suit the best. Their construction methods are newer and more streamlined. There are no tricky fasteners in the Manta Ray (e-clips are found in its big brother, the Top Force). While an alloy motor mount and the touring car all-plastic gearset (to remove the wear-prone aluminum gears in the rear gearbox) are recommended, they are not required to get the car up and running with its basic 540 silvercan motor. Its the best performer of the lot too. None of this is to put down any of the other buggies. They all can be great (I have many multiples of each from each family and enjoy them all) but for a true off road 4wd that fits the needs given, my nod goes to the Manta Ray.
  2. For someone with a Hornet Evo, could someone give me the length of the E2 hex adapters? I'm curious to compare that to Wild One adapters and see if there's enough extra axle length to run Fox/Wild One rear wheels. Thanks!
  3. Why? I agree. I feel if you truly love something, you can criticize it and yet still love it. Blind, defensive love is fanboyism. This forum, overall, is a fairly positive place and I didn't want to bring too much negativity as I'm basically making petty gripes here. Truth be told, economics in my country have been tough for the growing numbers of us on the bottom and the new regime (I'll avoid politics and the utter dread I feel for the future) will only worsen the situation it seems. This winter has been rough so far and constantly advocating for our special needs daughter (who herself is heading in the rough patch of teenagehood) against a school system who prioritizes sports facilities over educational services is wearing us down. I guess I needed to vent a bit about something a little less crucial. I also feel weird voicing opinions, particularly those counter to the majority. There's no desire to be a killjoy. On the opposite side of fanboy is the "professor". The "professor" professes to know what Tamiya should be doing and what they should be re-releasing if they want to be "successful". Its fine, in my opinion, to express desires and disappointment but I'd never be so bold to think I know the business better than Tamiya themselves, even if they do produce some misses occasionally. So basically, I don't want to be either a fanboy or a professor. I expressed my disappointment in Associated's method of marketing these new re-releases but its they're business and they certainly don't owe me a more affordable RC10. After a long wait, it was just a bit of a let down and with rising prices on everything, I had to be smarter about spending my money. I would have liked to get into a Yoke, just as I would have a Schumacher as well, but I had to draw a line at some point. When you type it out like that, the 834B return really is a disappointment.
  4. The Avante was always heavy. Many of the components Tamiya made as hop-ups back then were aimed at not only improving performance but also reducing weight. Its basically how we got the Egress. The lightweight wheel option (which the Black Special already has) was lighter than the original Cam-Locs. A titanium screw set (53010) was offered to shed weight. The carbon graphite chassis set (again, the current Avante features carbon) not only lengthened the wheelbase but also included all the lighter, simpler, more durable nylon suspension components later found on the Vanquish, Egress and Avante 2001. While flawed as a platform for deeper reasons, I don't think weight loss (at least what's feasible) will make a ton of difference in performance. You already have the lightweight wheels w/narrow fronts and ball raced steering and ball diffs from the Egress. The only thing lacking is the suspension arms and the longer wheelbase (which was aimed at adding straight line stability and calming the car's "twitchy" nature) and the added front travel afforded by the Egress's front shock setup.
  5. I try to take things as they come and realize that everything an RC company makes, even my beloved Tamiya, just might not be for me. It doesn't mean its bad or the company should have done it another way to better suit my taste, just that its not my cup of tea, so to speak. I've had some disappointments in the land of RC of late but I felt guilty about vocalizing them in the General section as not to sully it. My disappointments may also go against the grain so I don't want to anger folks either, but I felt like putting some down to get them out of my system. Please don't hate me too much, lol. TD4/2. I'm disappointed that Tamiya has apparently given up on these two. I'm not going into things like naming or body designs but I'm sad to see them go. They were unique. I didn't find my TD4 to be perfect with its poorly executed gearbox sealing and slop in the gearbox, but overall it was fresh and I liked it. I wish it could have been reborn, but who knows. Hornet Evo. I love it but I can't get over how it looks. The Hornet will always be mid-motor to me and seeing the big gearbox hanging out the back somehow bothers me to no end. On the Fox its fine because it was born that way, but not the Hornet in my feeble mind. I don't like that Tamiya put a lot of effort into getting the rear the same width as the original but made the front awkwardly wide in comparison. Together with the gearbox, it kills the aesthetic for me. I love everything about it in concept and I want to love it, but I just can't. I hope Tamiya sells a million of them. If I trusted 3D printed parts (I do not) I'd probably be looking at an Ampro Superfly 2 rear to quell my desire for an IRS Hornet. I kinda like the DT04 but I fear it will be too much like the DT02 I have so I want to spend the money but can't justify it in my head. I wish re-re Super Astute bodies weren't so expensive. Heck, I think a lot of lexan bodies are overpriced. Speaking of being cheap, I wish the re-re RC10s we more affordable. I can't justify what they cost now. Well, those are my petty gripes for now. Sorry, but I had the vent. Its been a rough year so far, lol.
  6. This is the crux of the matter isn't it? Its certainly something I study and ponder over during my observation of the creatures of this planet, lol. When things are really cooking upstairs, the closest way to describe my mind is like the "noisy" sections in the song "A Day in the Life". This can be punctuated with periods of intense, laser-like focus. Is it any wonder my work area is a complete and utter mess to the outside observer? Like others here, I do know where everything is at however. I rarely, if ever, throw anything out. I am stingy and the thought of buying something twice because I tossed it out two years ago is maddening. On the other hand, using something I've held onto for 10 years is ultimate satisfaction. Combined with about a dozen projects running in my head at any given time, I guess that's why I'm "messy". There is a garage called the 12 gauge garage that makes supreme use of a two car layout. I dream of being able to have something that neat where everything has its place. At my age, its just that, a dream. Like MadAnt, in my wrenching days as a mechanic, the resto shops I worked in were messy too. There's a shop in town that we would take our cars to run on their dyno and you could eat off the floor. With that much time spend cleaning and polishing I always wondered what wasn't getting done mechanically, but I digress.
  7. Yeah, I debated putting that in there when I read that elsewhere because we're talking 2wds here. I saw that helpful pic with arms you posted in a separate thread and thought I botched up mentioning toe in the new rear hubs somewhere else but couldn't remember where, lol.
  8. Out of curiosity, does anyone know where some of the Evo parts can be sourced, specifically the E parts?
  9. Hi Stu, yes it was exactly that I don't know if this will help, but here's what I've done to help with that specific situation: I did this to both front and rear (pictured) wishbones. Normally, I wouldn't consider bridging the inner wishbone pivot points' gap with tubing like this as an impact would transfer energy to both mounting tabs more directly. With the case of these re-release Thundershot family cars and their splitting wishbones, the tubing seems to trap and support both sides of the wishbone pivot point keeping them from splitting as easily.
  10. Well, less kickup reduces weight jacking when the suspension moves and supposedly less dive under braking. It should also give you more steering. Bumpier situations and jumps are better suited to more kickup.
  11. I used to be all over the place too, buying whatever grabbed my eye. When I started to curate an actual collection, I did so by car families and set a limit at the first 100 cars since that's what I love and what resonates with me. Some newer ones like the BBX, TXT-1 and CR01 among others I got for fun. First I got all the classic monster trucks. I moved on the the Hotshot family, then Avante family and just recently finished the Thundershot family. While I have Foxes, Wild Ones, SRBs, Frogs, etc I made no effort to get all the classic 2wds. For some reason, I prefer the classic 4wds. Strangely, I gathered up all the Kyosho Car Crushers a couple years back. I'm not sure if they'll stay in the collection indefinitely, particularly if we move and downsize someday, but its cool to have them at the moment.
  12. Thanks @Mouc-RC, @Otis311 and @chris.alex! I'm also quantifying the differences between my old DT02 and the new DT04 to determine purchase worthiness. The gearbox and suspension arms are all the same. The rear hubs seem to offer toe-in, the chassis has better kickup and the steering is more sorted. I'm not overly concerned about the front bearings being in the hubs or not.
  13. Does anybody know the front kickup angle of the DT02? I'm curious how it compares to the DT03's 25 degree angle and find it of interest that Tamiya chose to reduce the DT04's kickup angle down to 22.5 degrees. Thanks.
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