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Jeepy2013

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Posts posted by Jeepy2013


  1. On 2/2/2024 at 7:44 AM, Marchie said:

    After a month of thrashing I thought I would de-brief what I've learned of the GH1 and GH2. Not supposing to tell anyone something they don't already know, but I will enjoy writing it all up!


     

    So...built both stock (albeit with proper ball bearings). Happy enough. The 380 motor meant the excitement always ended before the battery (both because it's a little slow, and because the battery life is so long!) Kids still managed to break the body and suspension, even at those speeds however.

    Quickly upgraded to oil-filled shocks on both as the general wisdom was they would handle better, but I got mixed results - the GH2 was prone to over-steer to the point of being almost un-driveable on gravel or dirt. It wasn't until I figured out I could adjust the front shocks that it started to get under control more.

    The GH1 was a lot more stable and controllable, but the front shocks were too long, affecting the camber of the front wheels, which caused problems when I upgraded the motor. They also leaked all over the place and kept detaching at the top (rears were fine - I never ran it with stock springs so can't say if they were an improvement, but at least aren't a problem the way the front ones were).

    Eventually put a sport-tuned in each, which is what really forced me to sort out the handling: in a nutshell both were un-driveable with the sport-tuned. The GH2 would spin-out on even gentle turns at speed, and the GH1 would simply roll and flip.

    For the GH2 I had to extend the front shocks (fortunately the set is adjustable) and add 100g of ballast towards the front of the tub, more-or-less under the driver, it now holds hi-speed turns on tarmac and slides in a controlled way on gravel.

    For the GH1 I had to revert to the stock pogo-stick front suspension, and again added ballast towards the front just under the driver, it now also holds hi-speed turns without flipping (as much as I do dearly enjoy scratching up my roof...).

    So, they may be scratched and held together with tape, and the tires bald (onto second sets already - those spikes on the GH2 scrub almost instantly on tarmac) but they're now both fast and fun!

    I would say the only nearly essential upgrade (if you want to run faster motors)  was adding weight: both cars really were undriveable without it. In both cases I gaffered a thin weight plate from a camera stabe underneath the chassis to keep the centre-of-gravity as low as possible (I keep the battery doors permanently tied shut).

    A lot of people say these cars are essentially the same, but I've found them to be quite different - the GH2 is a lot more nimble/temperamental and prone to oversteer, while the GH1 is more forgiving but prone to rolling (and really can't turn a sharp corner to save it's life). The GH2 has the psuedo-independent rear suspension of the hornet, but if anything I've found it to have more trouble putting power down, probably mostly due to the fact that the rear tires are about 20% more narrow, I'm going to try some fatter rear tires to test this theory.

    Oh yeah - and the steering rods pop off fairly regularly, anyone else get this?

    Anyhow, who else runs these (or ran them back in the day)? How do you find them?

     The originals hardly ever popped off, if ever. My original Hornet from 1985 still has some original ball cups on it. I've found that the re-re GH / GH2 / Hornet ones are either slightly oversized or the brass ball studs are slightly undersized so they pop off practically just by looking at them. You can fit a small rubber band (like for braces) over them to help keep them on if need be.

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  2. Try DOT3 brake fluid or oven cleaner, Any "real" paint stripper will damage the plastic. There is probably some plastic safe, hobby stuff out there...ive tried a few "safe" products and they didn't remove the paint. I've used the DOT3 method a few times to remove multiple paint layers from plastic bodies like the Clodbuster, Bllackfoot, etc.

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  3. On 12/15/2023 at 12:32 PM, Nick G said:

    Interestingly my King Tiger which I bought 30 something years ago , and which I spent hours making up the tracks on from seperate links and pins is still running those original tracks. And it's had lots of use over the years on all sorts of surfaces with no issues to date.

    I've only broken one Tamiya KT track as well, and that was in snow.  They do break I'm sure, but would rather have a track break than to damage a gearbox which is impossible to find these days. 

    • Like 1

  4. I had a Hot Shot in the late 80's, that being said, I just picked up the Hot Shot 2 Blockhead Motors, mainly because I wanted another HS and I like the Blockhead colors / decals and the price. Can't go wrong with either, or even the original HS (re-release). Going to come down to which version you like the look of and your budget really.


  5. 37 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

    Just finished reading a book a couplw of days ago called Brothers in Arms which was about a British tank regiment during D-Day and on into Germany who used Shermans throughout. Really interesting but a tank is definitely not somewhere I would ever want to be. Yours looks great!

    Sounds like a interesting read, thank you!


  6. Haven't posted pics of the old 56001 M4 Sherman 105mm since I finished it up. It's modeled after one the Bovington Tank Museum has awaiting restoration. I added some more detail pieces here and there that the old kit did not have, all marking are hand painting using vinyl stencils. I've also update to a Clark board so it has sound, MG flash, Cannon flash, etc. 

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