Ann3x

I made this, it's 2wd truck but principle could be applied for a buggy i think:

Just love that shell.

Watercolour paints come in many types and chemistries, some are film forming emulsions, some are much more simple - little more than dye suspensions. Watercolour is simply a colloquial categorisation of paints - not a definition. Once an Acrylic (which is a type of latex) film forms properly (the full film, not just touch dry on the surface) it's pretty water resistant actually. There's no magic here, the polymer film is just formed as the water evaporates. Once all the water is gone (a few days in some cases, 24h in others) it's effectively a solid polymer film on the substrate, before this, it's a very dense latex still (ie a liquid emulsion), under a thin film of polymer. Thats why is easy to wipe down soon after painting, but much harder after a day or 2. The solvents in the paint are used to control the polymer's particle size which in turn controls the speed of film formation, texture, viscosity etc, they are not the solvent for the polymer itself. It's actually the solvents that are incidental, not the water. Latex simply doesnt work without a polar solvent (ie water). Being a paint chemist was one of the worse jobs I ever did. Literally watching paint dry.

Sorry but this is rubbish. Acrylic paints are water based, they contain trace amounts of solvent to aid composition but it's minimal. I speak as an ex paint engineer here - I used to develop these things. You wouldn't want to drink the stuff and breathing any particulate is a bad idea but compared to rattle cans acrylic is infinitely safer. Airbrush is definitely more effort than rattle can but FAR more accurate and not at all difficult to learn the basics of if you try. It really depend how many bodies you paint and the designs you want to achieve - some are very much harder with rattle than airbrush - some effects simply cant be done without airbrush. If you are painting 1 or 2 simple designs, stick with rattle. If you have lots to do and/or complex designs, learn airbrush.

Get a dual action airbrush with a. 3-.5 tip. Buy spare needles. Use proper thinner / additive. Get a decent compressor with an air tank if possible and practice on plastic bottles. Also spend a few hours on YouTube.

Where are you finding this stuff ebay. Fr? Nice haul.

For solvent clear, at least 24h in a warm room, longer if possible. Straight on yep, 100% sure it'd kill it. Between airbrush colours, just until dry is OK if you are careful (film is soft but intact).

Painted over 50 shells and this has never been a problem for me. Faskolor, wicked, created all backed with Tamiya or core rc clear.

Yeah i mean TS clear. I back with wicked/fascolor white or silver as necessary THEN (after at least 24h) I back with TS clear matt/pearl/gloss doesnt matter. Never had any issues but the waterbased paints do take some time to cure (start off v soft even when dry) so i could imagine issues if you rush.

That's a pretty blaster. I owe you some measurements, will do now.

Wicked colours and/or faskolor. Thin to taste then airbrush. Back with tamiya clear spray.

You mean: Height from the chassis to lipo holder top plane? Width between mounting holes? Length of lipo it fits? Sorry just there are a lot of possible options for the dimensions. I can check stuff while I move, just not a lot of building going to happen ;).

Im moving house atm so all projects on hold. I think my TR-15T just needs a shell painting now. Electrics are redone.

tr-21t? go on.

One trick you might want to try is cutting down the aluminium body posts by ~10mm. This achieves an even bigger drop than removing spacers and also looks neater. I wouldnt run it with the lowered body (poor wheel arches!) but for display it looks far prettier.

I love these shells.

I put the wheels on a mini lathe then cut or sand on that for a consistent finish that preserves the wheel rim. Works OK.

I guess if you break the 3mm shaft on the brace it could be viewed as a decent sacrifice - kinda a crumple zone. Better than breaking the gearbox. This is turning into a great build. Kudos.

The optima is not cheap as it's pretty nice condition & quite rare. I was thinking £300 (was on ebay for £375 a while back, intending to relist soon for £350). I do also have a "project" Lazer ZXR which I'd sell for a lot less (probably £180-200) but tbh, it needs a fair bit of work (not even sure if everything is there). I was planning on restoring and selling on. Depends if you fancy a bit of effort or something immediately "done".

Ive got a mid turbo for sale atm, dont want a swap tho (the idea is to REDUCE #s! ;)). Assume you're after a swap tho?

Better to lose a motor than a car.

Problem is that the white grubs up super fast due to the texture. I agree it looks cool initially tho.

DYE IT!

Really good shout.... thanks. Any kindly US member up for helping me here?

Looking for the XR chassis upgrade for a TRF201. I bought an XM conversion kit for my 201 but didnt realise you needed the XR chassis AS WELL as the XM conversion :(. Anyone got one? Ideally new but would consider good condition used.