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TheManOfBronze

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Everything posted by TheManOfBronze

  1. Just wanted to add my account of good service from Banzai. I bought some motors and ESCs, which arrived in 3 days or so via EMS, and realised I had the wrong ESCs. This was my fault, I'd ordered the wrong thing. Banzai offered to chase up the ones I wanted, and allowed me to send back the wrong ones (provided they were unopened) for a refund. Email turnaround was usually a day or so, sometimes up to a week. They were apologetic if it took them a while to respond. I ended up not taking advantage of this and figuring out that I could use the things in combination anyway, but I thought they handled my mistake pretty well. Cheers, Will
  2. That's an awesome truck, I love all the bodywork detailing.
  3. Soldered my first two pairs of Deans connectors.
  4. As mentioned in the thread in electrics, I ordered two 10.5T motors and brushless controllers from Banzai, but stupidly got the wrong things (sensored motors, unsensored controllers). I was waiting for a while on a reply from them about returning and did some reading around suggesting that it was OK to use the two. Effectively the motors are just unsensored, the sensors are ignored, or that's how I understand it. So I went ahead and fitted the ESCs. I did the mods and it was all pretty smooth with the 14t pinions, so I put the kit pinions back in (and the old spur gear, so my clean one is saved for the steel pinions) and it's a bit of a missile, but not really wheelie-ing like mad yet. http://youtu.be/XsTDkF5cqn0 I suspect the weight of the 2x5000mAh NiMHs is a factor, as are the Tamiya connectors. I can get both front wheels off the ground briefly on totally fresh packs, but only briefly. Cogging is not too bad, it is noticeable from a dead stop, but not consistently so. I set the gear mesh so that the motors aren't in phase (one rotor is between the magnets where it wants to rest, the other is 'at the top of the hill') and that seems to help a bit. No issues with the drive train so far, but I did pull the rod end off the steering linkage by running into a curb, so I need to put a new one on. Is using a drop of CA a reasonable option to secure these? Cheers, Will
  5. So I got impatient and gave up waiting to hear back from Banzai, and after reading around it sounded like it was safe to use the sensored motors with the ESCs I have, effectively ignoring the sensors. Getting it all installed was a bit of a mare, not for any good reason, but silly things like one of the gearbox spur shaft screws rounding off, and having to slot it with a file and then get it out while holding other end of the shaft with pliers (!) I got it sorted out in the end though. And it works, although I did have a nasty moment after getting the yellow and orange wires swapped over one one side, plus confusion with my radio (Futaba) needing the throttle to be reversed. I also had some cogging issues but I didn't have the same endpoints set on the mixed channels. After fixing this I ran it around for a bit - nice and smooth, lots and lots of power, a little faster than the stock setup but not vastly. Everything stays cool/lukewarm, which was definitely not the case before. I thought I should check the transmission after trying to run the motors in opposite directions, but it was all fine, thankfully, and the motors don't seem any different to how they were before. In search of more speed I reinstalled the (19t?) kit pinions and their gunky spur (so I won't harm my good spur which has only been used with the steel 14t pinions) and I'm getting great speed, but more cogging than before. I'm going to try taking it to bits again and trying to set the mesh so that one motor is in the gap between "cogs" and one is in the middle , and see if that smooths things out a bit. If so, I'll try and find some steel 19t pinions. With the higher gear ratio, I get one front tyre lifting when blipping full throttle, and braking (at full TX rate, the ESC's default rate of 30%) is ridiculously effective and tends to flip the truck end over end. But no wheelies! I'm not sure what to blame for that - perhaps the cogging is causing slower power take-up than it should, perhaps I need to glue my tyres, or perhaps I need something better than NiMHs with Tamiya plugs? Still, it's a pretty fun setup, and not a little scary. I'm looking forward to taking it down the bike track next week Cheers, Will
  6. An important safety tip is to make sure that your kitchen extractor has the motor outside the airflow, so you don't get sparks from the commutator igniting paint solvent vapour. (I would have thought that would be normal for an extractor, since it's dealing with airborne grease, but I'd still check.) [edit] Found a filter material supplier: http://www.addfiltration.co.uk/paint-stop-dry-glass-filter-media-50mm-deep-1m-x-20m-roll I have a Benchvent spray booth for my modelmaking and it has I think two-layer filters on the "spray face" - one is the "paint stop" type with woolly fibreglass, and behind that is a thin layer of something which is supposed to catch the slower-drying paints like acrylics. Will
  7. The space shuttle and unimog are both awesome - I need to find my shuttle and put it together again. The great thing about the 'mog is that the compressor piston makes it rock on its suspension just a little bit, like the Tamiya MFC units do. Very entertaining! The dual power/air take-offs are a nice touch as well. Will
  8. I'm really intrigued by these bikes, and delighted to see a build thread. Thanks for going to the effort of photographing and posting this! Will
  9. Good to hear about good service. I mailed Banzai and they were helpful - they can do the return but need to check for stock first since they don't have any on hand. The motors are evil-looking things Will
  10. So it turns out it was confusing enough that I got it wrong! After lots of dithering I ordered the motors and escs last week and was excited to find a Banzai packet on my doorstep today. Unfortunately I've managed to buy the 2*TBLM-01S motors I was looking for, and 2*TBLE-01 (NOT S) speed controllers So it looks like time to contact customer support. Unfortunately it looks like the TBLE-01S escs aren't in stock... Will
  11. I agree about the engine section by the way, I was thinking of cutting it out and building something. I also wish Pro-Line provided some window trim stickers, but I guess I can make my own from lining tape, or perhaps mask and paint. Next thing to think about - while I want to use some (resized) elements of the original stickers, I might not go for a red body. I guess this is a bit sacrilegious, but I think while the gold wheels went nicely with red, a cooler colour might work better with silver? Plus I really like blue RC bodies for some reason... Will
  12. I thought I couldn't have been the only one to want to try this That looks vety fine! I will still try talking to the guys Brom recommended to see how much custom decals would be, but the 1/10 ones look like. a great fall-back. Will
  13. Thanks chaps, that's all useful information. The only breakage I've had so far is the prop shaft grub screws backing out, leaving the shaft flailing around until it took out one of the rear links. I didn't notice for a while as it was still making good headway on 2WD! I've replaced the shafts with the Traxxas plastic ones now so hopefully that won't happen again. Not sure what's going to break next but I wouldn't be surprised if new rod ends are a good idea eventually! Totally agree about this being a money pit, but I kept it fairly stock (and enjoyed it) last year so it's probably OK to add some new bits this year. And it's so big and satisying and awesome in a way that buggies aren't. I *think* I'm going to try dual mild brushless - not the 10.5T motors I was intending but something higher. I like the idea of spreading the high current draw (the TEU-106BK esc I have at the moment is rated up to 150A!) across two batteries. Knowing that reasonable size NiMHs give a decent runtime is really helpful. It'll be a bit more expensive than buying an EVX-2 but the bits will be useful for something else if they turn out not to suit the truck. Cheers, Will
  14. If the Tamiya PS paints in the cans are the same as in the jars, you can decant them like njmlondon suggests. I do this a lot to airbrush with the TS lacquers. Couple of things to watch out for though - if you decant into a jar, leave the paint to outgas for a while (maybe overnight) without touching the jar and without screwing a lid on tight. It doesn't take much for it to boil at room temperature and go everywhere. After that it's just paint and you can use it like normal. It shouldn't need thinning at all since the consistency from the shaken can is just right for spraying. For small quantities it's easiest to decant straight into the AB cup. I spray about two short squirts into mine (any more will go all over) and paint with it, then repeat. I tried doing things with straws to make it neater (like WD-40 cans) but basically whatever you do is (potentially) messy, and going direct into the cup wastes less paint. You don't need to wait for it to outgas if you do this, you can paint straight away since the AB cup is open and the quantities are small. HTH, Will
  15. Decals are an interesting question - I think a set of reproduction MB decals would look a bit too small on this, so I might have to try and do most of it with paint and use decals for race numbers and sponsors. Assuming I want an authentic MB, my wife wants me to do Herbie Thanks for the advice, maybe I should draw some mockups? Will
  16. Hey guys, can I ask a couple of questions? @mheald, what kind of runtime did you get with your bigger NiMHs and the EVX-2? @skip665, what brushless setup did you use, and do you know what the current draw is? I'm still dithering between brushless or over-voltage brushed in mine. I also want to replace my knackered NiMH packs and dodgy charger, but I'm not sure I want to go lipo as I don't have a good place to store/charge them way from flammables. I'm hoping that I can find some decent capacity NiMH packs which will give me a 30 minute runtime (maybe using two) with my TXT-2, using either single brushless, dual brushless or more volts through my sport tuned motors with 14t pinions. Sorry to ask lots of questions, it's just nice to have an idea what you're getting into before spending money Cheers, Will
  17. My Beetle shell finally arrived, of course I had to roughly cut it and try it out: Stupidly I nicked one of the rear mudguards while trimming (the cut line turned right next to a bend so it was hidden by the highlight) but it's not too bad. I can either trim away the curved lip on both sides, or patch it with something - 5 minute epoxy? - and sand/polish out. Size-wise I think it works - it's a bit narrow but that's only really a problem head-on. I would've taken a picture from that angle but it's really windy here and the shell kept blowing away. Now I need to get some new body posts and decide what colours to use, but in the meantime I dub this the MONSTROUS BEETLE Will
  18. I think his TXT-2 video post-upgrade definitely demonstrated that he knows what he's doing Look forward to seeing how yours turns out, it's a really fun kit to build. On the 12T/10.5T thing, it's a bit confusing as I think the same motor (same 5-digit number) has been sold as two different turn numbers? http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=502 I don't really know if they changed the motors and had to update the competition rules, or if the motor stayed the same and the declared number of turns changed? [edit: re-reading the information on the US site, I think maybe they changed the specs before the motors were released? In which case any confusion is just in my head!] Will
  19. I think I'd seen that before when I was considering getting a monster truck last year - I really like some of the big Wild Dagger chassis-derived monsters and that body is perfect. I ended up with the TXT-2 since I thought it'd be easier to have something which I could build from the manual first (and it looked cool!) Although I suppose I've taken some steps down the dark path of custom RC now... Looking forward to the beetle body arriving, and hopefully figuring out an improved motor/esc option before the Christmas holidays. Cheers, Will
  20. Fantastic! Needs to be repeated with dizzying drops below the track though
  21. Hi folks, I'm looking at installing some kind of dual brushless setup in my TXT-2 since now it has TXT-1 wheels and tyres it's not quite as nippy as it was with 2xsport tuned motors and the Tamiya dual motor ESC. This is partly inspired by Matteo Meier's TXT-2 mods here: He used two 45048 TBLE-01S controllers and two 54272 12T TBLM-01S motors. I have a suitable radio with mixing so I can duplicate the setup. I'm not wedded to using Tamiya stuff (although it's always confidence inspiring!) but I was looking on Banzai and the ESC/motor sets seem pretty reasonably priced. The only thing is that the 12T set is out of stock (and I think not coming back). They do have the 16T set - is this going to do the job? Is it like brushed where more turns means more torque/lower RPM? Will the extra torque hurt the stock+ drive train (I replaced the prop shafts and added steel pinions, but the gearbox and axles are stock). I could also get the bits separately for somewhat more money, or go with a different brand. Suggestions are very welcome since I haven't done brushless before and I'm pretty clueless. Thanks, Will
  22. My small pile of bits arrived from RCMart during the week and I got most of them fitted today. I replaced the kit pinions with 14t 32p steel pinions from RC4WD. They seem to mesh fine, the gearbox sounds much the same as before. You can see how dirty the grease is on the removed spur gear - that's all Tamiya pinion residue! One gotcha - the pinions come with long grub screws installed which just foul the spur gear. You need to replace them with the included short screws, which are *really* easy to round off. One is now permanently attached to one of the motors so I might order a spare I was really impressed at how nice the chassis is for maintenance - isn't that something Tamiya often get faulted for? It's only four screws to remove the entire gearbox - you can just slide it out from between the chassis plates. While I was doing stuff I replaced the propellor shafts. Mine haven't worn noticeably but I have had a problem where one of the grub screws backed out and the whole thing flapped around and eventually took out one of the axle links. I looked at the RC4WD punisher shafts (currently reasonably priced) but read some complaints that they were "fussy" and heavy. The Traxxas plastic shafts cost the same for two as one punisher shaft and I could add them to my order, so I went that route. I haven't seen a complete guide to installing these, and I had to figure out some bits myself. What you need is 2 Traxxas 5451X, and one 5154 to provide extra screw pins. Start by removing the blue seal and saw 30mm off the end of the outer slider tube. It's worth spending some time cleaning up the cut edge because the plastic burrs and doesn't sand well, and the burrs will make the action less smooth. The sliders are keyed and only fit smoothly one way - make sure the UJ yokes are lined up with each other. You need to remove the pin and metal outdrive from the small end - that will fit to the gearbox, and the big end to the axle. The big heatsink plate needs a small divot filing out of it to clear the bigger UJ - easy to do by hand. On the other side of the gearbox you need to trim away the plastic around the drive shaft, again to clear the UJ. I used a small modelling chisel for this, sighting through to make sure it was clear all the way around the shaft. It'd be easier if you dismantled the whole gearbox. You also need to slightly lengthen the flats on the driveshaft - I used the edge of a small flat file, I would guess I took about 0.25-0.5mm off the shaft beside the flat, until I could insert the screw pin without forcing. The pins themselves need to be shortened - I used a big flat file to take about 1mm off the threaded head, and probably 2mm off the other end. Make sure not to remove too much of the head or the allen key won't be able to drive it safely. I cleaned up and chamfered the thin end to make it easier to fit. Finally you need to drill the pin hole on just one side of the small yoke out to 3.2mm (like the big end) to allow the screw pin to bite into and tap the plastic. And that's it - just put the bits together and it's done. I think they look quite smart and it runs fine so far. Apologies if this is teaching anyone to suck eggs (it undoubtably is!) but it's the first time I've actually modified an RC thing like this Quite fun, I do find myself wanting a Dremel more than ever though! Running with the big wheels looks awesome, but my old NiMHs are getting really poor and I think I need either a better charger to recondition them, new NiMHs, or LiPos. The 14t pinion means that once the initial 7.2V punch is gone things are a little bit underwhelming speedwise, although kerb-climbing ability is good. I suspect that like everyone else I'm going to want to repower this sooner rather than later. EVX2, or dual brushless?? Cheers, Will
  23. My wheels arrived from jr-rc so I transplanted the tyres from the white ones. The extra half inch or so of offset sorts out the rub problems with the Clodbuster wheels, and while I liked the white a lot the chrome isn't bad either. Handling, speed etc. seems about the same and it can go over slightly bigger kerbs. I haven't changed the pinions yet since they're still in the post, I guess that'll slow things down a little. Should probably looking at BTA steering to clean up that front axle, but I'll sort out the shafts and pinions first. Cheers, Will
  24. Thanks! I think I took a car to the knee to get that one
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