E28_M5

I bought one a few years ago although it’s looking a bit tired now! They are hugely more detailed than the Kamtec Sand Scorcher shells and better quality lexan.

Those are the F parts mentioned, which are too short to use on the Monster Beetle.

I’ve just realised I have some Blackfoot rear mounts - they’re about 20mm taller than the Brat F parts and should do the job nicely.

Hmm yes, looks like you need to increase the height of the rear post mounts for the lexan body.

Done a bit more research via the Mudblaster and re-re Brat manuals online, and it looks to be a straightforward fit using the F parts.

I’m thinking about the above on my MB as a basher shell. I’ve recently bought a Kamtec beetle shell but the detailing is so poor I can’t bring myself to spend time/money painting it, even as a basher. Apart from needing to buy the appropriate Brat F parts rear body mounts, will it essentially fit straight on (I.e. no height problems with the MB front body mount?) or is there anything else I need to know from those who may have done this already? Thank you.

Crawler motor not a bad idea thank you. Luckily I was able to obtain a new chassis for less than a tenner on eBay. With hindsight I probably should have gone for a Lunchbox or Madbull to be somewhat more robust than the Hornet, but it was something I had wanted since about 1986 so...ha ha.

Just wondering if anyone has been in the same position?! I built a new Hornet up around Christmas time for me and my 5 year old son. Enjoyed the build but poor weather meant we didn’t take it out properly for a couple of weeks. When we did it was to the local AstroTurf hockey pitch to give it a shakedown in a wide safe area. Unfortunately within 3 minutes my son Henry took partial control of the transmitter and despite my attempt to save it at the last moment we clipped the corner of a five-a-side football goal. Snapped servo saver! New parts arrived and I replaced it quickly. In the meantime I restored my original Monster Beetle pulled from the loft. More bad weather down here in Kent and it was only last weekend that we managed to get out again. Back down to the park and this time (against my better judgement in hindsight) we went onto an empty basketball court. 2 minutes later he had hit the wire fence hard at a 45 degree angle whilst looking at me rather than the car! This time the fos chassis/suspension leg mount had sheered clean off - new chassis required! We carried on with the MB and with close guidance he actually did really well and his control is getting much better. I’m looking forward to the weather improving and getting out onto wider grass areas. I now have a new Hornet chassis here waiting for an evening to rebuild it all. So, to make me feel a little better, has anyone else had to completely rebuild their new and otherwise unblemished car after less than 6 minutes running?!!

Sorted - tried setting up the TBLE-02 again, this time ignoring the instructions where it states to pull the reverse stick back when switching the receiver on. No problems this time - working well and trim levers are in the middle! Now it’s a case of which bit of 30 year old plastic is going to break first, especially as my children are now aware it’s running!

Just tried swapping the motor wires over anyway as the Quicrun manual suggests this. Forward/reverse was then correct apart from i had to double tap for forwards and once for reverse. I.e. it is still effectively running the opposite way round to how it should be. Changing the transmitter over from N to R again stops all action. i suspect the oldish Acoms Techniplus transmitter is to blame here. Any other ideas please?!

Ok thank you. I’ve actually just swapped it out for the Quicrun 1060. Very easy set up, apart from reverse is now in the forward plane and forwards is reverse. Switching the throttle from N to R on the transmitter renders the 1060 non-functional! The motor wires to esc are connected black to blue and red to yellow, which I believe is correct. Frustrating...

I recently built up a re-re Hornet with the included TBLE-02 and Carson 2.4 radio set with no problems, and it inspired me to find my original Monster Beetle in the attic and get it up and running with an esc to replace the mechanical one which iirc had been arcing and smoking when last used around 2001. All good rebuilt with some replacement and upgraded parts and a Sports Tuned motor, and ready for the TBLE-02 that I intended to use with the 27Mhz Acoms Techniplus transmitter that I already had, and which is in great condition. The issue I have encountered and not resolved yet is setting the neutral for forward/reverse despite following the (somewhat confusing) instructions several times. With the throttle trim lever set in the middle the car wants to go forward at about 33% speed. I can manage this by simply moving the trim lever down until I find neutral, but I feel it should be in the middle! Is this likely to be because I’m using an old 27 Mhz system, am I overthinking this and should just leave it as it is with the trim lever pushed down, or will it be worth me trying to follow the TBLE-02 set up instructions again (any tips welcome!) in case I haven’t done it correctly? Thanks for any advice. I do have a new Quicrun 1060 here which I’m tempted to bung in instead if that would be better.

Lovely, thank you!

Do you have any more pics of the whole truck? I’m waiting on a CW01 Unimog being delivered today

Perhaps a little OTT, but pretty amazing nonetheless. Great taste in full size cars - Alpina B10 V8s.