NobbySideways

I always find the long grass....

2200 would probably give you half an hour but I tend to go for over 3000 if I can.

Kyosho Lemans 360 Gold?

Worth mentioning here that there is an RC club in Sherbourne, YeovilRC. It's where my son races his GT12, very friendly, supportive and lighthearted. http://yeovilrc.org/

The technique behind the colour fade has always eluded me. I always get blobs of paint where they shouldn't be. I'll be getting a lot more practice now my son is racing, i think we will be changing shells on a regular basis. Luckily Schumacher shells are much cheaper than Tamiya.

Parcelforce do not accept spray paint. But they do accept medicinal aerosols etc... maybe you forgot and you are actually sending hairspray....

I've got the TT-02 as I couldn't quite stretch to the XV01 and I have to say the amount of wheel travel up and down is very disappointing. I would say the TT-02 is a lot of fun and all, but it would be a lot easier to go for the XV01 right from the start.

If you are interested in selling to me direct (I appreciate this wasn't the reason you started this post!) contact me on a private message and I'm sure we can sort something. Obviously I don't want 20 cans with a dribble in the bottom but I'm happy to buy a job lot with a bit of variety.

Are these Polycarbonate paints? Potentially interested, I often only use a bit of each colour. I'm on the border North Dorset/Somerset/Wiltshire if that helps.

Everyone was new once.

For the clear, polycarbonate/lexan or similar bodyshells you need to use specific polycarbonate paint or it will flake as soon as it flexes. You spray on the inside of the shell (after carefully washing it with soap and water and leaving it to dry completely), in a room temperature environment. I sprayed one half of my sons Schumacher shell in too cold conditions and it quickly flaked. The paints are sold under the tamiya name as PS, for example a colour code will be PS19 or whatever. There are plenty of non-tamiya brands too which give many more colour choices. But it has to be a polycarbonate paint so it doesn't flake off as soon as it bends a little. That is of course just my opinion, others may disagree.

I have a vintage book on the subject of scale slot cars (Scalextric style). Most of it is a guide on how to make them as they were only just becoming commercially available. Some were powered by IC....

Yeah I agree, keep a cheap weak link, its easier than repairing the main chassis tub!

I bet those tyres are sketchy on the road....

Are you not going to kick yourself for the sake for not just waiting a few months?

Not crashing isn't something I can work on from the comfort of home (it's carpet racing). Good upkeep of the car I can at least attempt. I forgot to reply earlier to the question of what car it is, sorry, not Tamiya this time, its a Mardave VRX oe. Our club rules state Mardave G2 motor, but we couldn't get hold of those (nil stock) so they relaxed the rules for generic silvercan. The battery is restricted to NIMH up to 5000mah, 4 cells. I only really started doing it as my son races the Schumacher GT12 in a different class and the Mardave Hot Hatches looked like a bit of fun without all the faff of the GT12. Although they do get brushless and lipo in their class!

Thanks, that's good stuff right there. I've only done one race, but no point giving myself a disadvantage with substandard maintenance. Smoothness will come I guess, the racing lines are coming more naturally now. Strange, it comes a lot more naturally at 1:1 scale!

Brilliant, thank you. I had seen the water technique but another source (there seems to be a lot of conflicting info!) said that running in the motors is something that doesn't need to be done any more as its done from the factory. I suppose I could peer in and see how well they fit the commutator. I don't really have the budget to buy a lot of them, but I will see if I can get the best out of this one. As mentioned, I'm not allowed to open it. Some good advice and thinking points, thanks.

I'm in a championship that uses stock 540 silvercan motors, no mods allowed. I want to stress at this point that I wish to stick entirely to the rules; nothing outside the spirit of the competition (I can't stand cheating). Has anyone got any tips for getting the best out of the silvercan? Gear ratios are not allowed to be changed, the can must not be opened. I figured keeping it clean (cleaning out with Isopropyl alcohol for example, and re-oiling any bearings I can get to), I heard something a few years ago about Commutator drops, is that snake oil or actually worth doing? Thanks for any help you can give, Jon.

Have you fitted all the bearings in the prop shafts? (I think there are two at each end). If you spin it by hand does it do it then? Faults inside the diff will only be apparent if the diff is actually operating; i.e. the two wheels on that axle are operating at different speeds.

Another one for eBay?

It sounds daft, but working somewhere that isn't dusty helps.... when I painted my (real) car I damped down the garage with a fine spray to damp the dust down. That seemed to help. Maybe if the lint free cloth is causing the issue, don't use that.

I've bought all mine over ebay, shipping was never really an issue. Hard case is the way to go, you don't want to be damaging one.

I'm in the rubber-bands-and-old-phone camp too. Spend the £50 on beer.

It was a good tip earlier about making sure it is plugged in to something when you solder it. They do get a bit loose and melty otherwise.