nowinaminute

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July 28: Ok here's yesterday's run with the Hobbywing motors and ESCs. It starts off with a little demonstration of how free of cogging it is. A great performance for a sensorless setup, especially considering the weight and gearing of this vehicle made life really difficult for the cheaper ESCs (which work much better in lighter stuff) Some stupid clouds went in front of the sun while I was at it, so I might go back later today and try and get more "pretty" footage, I wasn't about to run around behind it with a selfie stick in anything but perfect light, I already looked like a plonker with the head cam as it was!

July 27: Omg that was fun and eventful! Broke the goofy back bumper off Made the fatal mistake of trying a little jump and realising it jumps quite well for what it is. Then the whole "treat old stuff gently" wisdom got lost in red mist for a while. I usually keep it off for running, cause it's asking to be snapped off, but I keep it on when I make videos cause it's all part of the look. It's ok, though, I have plenty of spare parts. The hobbywing ESC/motor combo is superb. I still think the other gear is great for the price, but there's a clear difference. Much smoother startup and it's just as smooth on 3s whereas the other controllers I had in there seemed to cog more on 3s. I'm interested to try the cheaper motors with these escs, and the cheaper escs with the better motors etc. Very fun and interesting drive. I'll elaborate a bit more soon. I went to a place that has short, bumpy grass. Suspension is better than stock but definitely needs more tuning.

Looks like I missed out some posts from last year! July 27: Tried to see if if I could fit two Hobbywing ESCs in my nikko project.... Like a glove Now, I wonder if there will be any improvement on the cogging with those cheap Chinese moto....wait a minute!! Testing the cheaper motors will have to wait. But I can tell you the combination of hobbywing esc and motors is much, much, much better. Probably the best I've seen outside of a sensorless system! Just about to take her out for a run!

Characteristically long message incoming: I can only speak for myself, but I'm a little bit on the spectrum and probably have ADHD so I tend to drift in and out of projects. Put them down for years on end sometimes before picking them back up. I tend to have bursts of enthusiasm but then lose momentum and it all falls apart again. You might remember that fluorescent orange 2CV rally I still haven't finished after so many years. It depends a lot on my mood, as well. I know a lot of people find escape in hobbies when life gets stressful or depression sets in but I'm almost the opposite. When I feel relatively content, that's when I'm in the right headspace to enjoy hobbies but if I feel stressed or anxious or down, as is often the case, doing things I actually enjoy goes right out the window. I lost my job a couple of years ago, which really threw a spanner in the works, but ended up becoming self employed selling on ebay and slowly but surely managed to build it into a viable livelihood after a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Last year was the first year since then where I really started to feel content and relaxed and like I could breathe, and the RC bug bit hard. I had several really good months where I picked up an old project that had been sat there for years (Twin brushless motors nikko Dictator) and made massive progress with it and I got a Falcon up and running that had been sat there with a broken bulkhead since I acquired it in 2016! But alas, work got stressful again, so almost overnight, I just couldn't stomach it again. That Nikko behemoth is still sat on my desk where I put it at the end of last summer. I was feeling good about this year, but then my old boss passed away just after xmas. We were very close friends and he had not wanted to make me redundant, but there just wasn't enough money coming into the company. When I told him I was going to have a go at selling on ebay, he was only too eager to offer my former work space free of charge to do my ebay stuff, so that's where I've been based for the last couple of years and it meant out tight knit friendship of 15+ years was maintained. His passing was a massive shock and cast uncertainty over my place of work. I could do it from home if need be, but I hate change and it's location was very convenient both for work and it's proximity to my daughters school allowing me to kill two birds with one stone in terms of the commute and school runs. For the meantime, his brother is going to try and keep the place running, so I'm still there for now, and at least still get to spend my working day with someone I am very familiar with, but the whole thing has been devastating and it just doesn't quite feel the same any more. I miss Mark terribly and I've realised how much of a father figure he was to me (my own father passed over 20 years ago when I was a young man) Anywayssss, between recent events and now, the prospect of having to find a new place to live, which is also terrifying, I just haven't got the inclination to go anywhere near an rc car at the moment. I often wish I could stress, obsess and worry less about things, but it's just not how my brain is wired unfortunately. These things consume me and I just have to make the most of the fleeting moments of freedom that occur when the planets are aligned and I'm briefly free of this mental headlock.

I have been using lucas red n tacky for several years now. I was using super lube, too, but find it separates after a year or so and needs mixing back together whereas I have never yet seen the red n tacky separate under any circumstances. I used to obsess over stuff like this, but the Lucas stuff works fine for general purpose stuff, I just add sparingly and don't worry about it. I'm almost certainly on the autistic spectrum with a helping of ADHD, and prone to obsessing over certain things briefly, so I had to have an intervention with myself before I found myself with 500 different tubs of grease. The old "let's spend £500,000 on grease to work out which one is the best, and then I can save myself £15 by not buying overpriced "RC" grease." Anyway, I eventually forgave myself for not allowing me to continue my grease testing quest, and the red n tacky has worked fine in the meantime. I haven't had any plastic compatibility issues with either grease. From what I can see, most multi purpose greases you'll see in stores are relatively plastic safe, even mineral based etc, it's the Ester and Polyglycol stuff that can be a problem, but if unsure, silicone is pretty fool proof. Rubber is a different story, though, and seems to effected by a wider range of stuff. Whatever you try, stick to NLGI 2 or lower. Anything higher will be too thick IMO.

That's a superb price. If I didn't already have a TD plus the rest of the ridiculous hoarded piles of "projects" I would be all over that. I remember whining a few times that I missed the Manta Ray a few years back when it fell as low as £100. Great to see some decent kits fall that low again.

Obviously a homage to another Kyosho Beetle. I have to say, I'm liking the way companies finally seem to be getting the idea that people like retro/realistic body styles. https://rc.kyosho.com/ja/34312.html

Amen, brother! Nearly everything I do in RC is because it's fun/interesting/weird/different. If all that mattered was technical superiority, there'd be no point to 90% of the RCs out there. I spent most of the summer working on a ridiculous twin brushless Nikko project that will never win a race or out bash a Traxxas or Arrma, so what's the point of it? The point is.....It's a Nikko.....with TWO brushless motors....it's ridiculous.....that's awesome! Look at it go!!! Even with my justifications (it was one of their "pretty much hobby grade" models, it has a lot of unleashed potential etc) it's still at a best case comparable to a low/mid range late 80s/early 90s Tamiya or Kyosho so putting two brushless motors in it, from a logical point of view, makes absolutely zero sense, but I have hobbies for my own enjoyment, not to be optimal! Some people say the same about my 4 link lunchbox "not worth it" "polishing a turd" I couldn't care less, it brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction getting the rear suspension to actually work. I love the stock Lunchbox for all it's flawed charm, but that didn't make it any less rewarding making it work so much better. I'm not competing with anyone or anything else. All that matters is that I saw a massive gain for that specific vehicle. Comparing it to a Tekno or something is completely irrelevant and missing the point.

Absolutely love it!

Finally hobbled together the footage from my first proper test run of the Falcon I got up and running. 4 hole discs and adding some weight on the back of the tub to simulate the old AA pack and absent MSC servo really sorted the rear suspension out!

I was getting the little aliens

Pushed my luck with some old plastic The only thing that ended up showing some damage was the old body shell which was already in bad shape. Going to hit it with some shoo goo. The cracks on the suspension arms etc didn't get any worse after giving it a spirited drive, but I'm still going to do some kontemax style wire tying to add some reinforcement. Surely only a matter of time, otherwise.

Still wish the front had more articulation. I like it, though.