Ray_ve

Doing some mock-up for a semi-crawler with a M-05 chassis that is converted to rear wheel drive, and an old body. Final body will be polycarbonate from team Bluegroove, with lighting. Ordered some different shocks and servo horn, so I can continue at a later time.

Wheels and tires that I ordered in February came in. I had already given up on them.....

My best runner is Basher-Bear. 3S Lipo, 3900KV motor, 4WD HSP Himoto chassis. This thing flies! A drive today reminded me I need to glue the tires, get a wheely bar and to mount skid-plates on the roof.

Tamico.de seems to have them in stock. 11 euro for the part and cheapest shipping is 12 euro by DPD. But to get a better 'parts cost to shipping cost' ratio, you can always order more RC stuff from the website.

It was a while ago when I put bearings in my Ninja... They are I believe not the same as tamiya size, but are standard millimeter sizes. From the top of my head, bearing sizes are: Outside, Inside, thickness 8mm, 4mm, 3mm (small bushing, typically at the geraboxes) 10mm, 6mm, 3mm (large bushings, typically at the wheels) But simply measuring the axels and holes, or the old bushings that come out of it, will tell you that in more detail. Callipers would be handy. 2: You can use shim washers where the metal spacer sits. The whole point of the step is to prevent a washer from touching both the inner and outer race of the bearing at the same time, eliminating friction. If the correct metal part is unavailable, one option would be to use a bunch of 0.1 or 0.2mm thick shim washers to set the gearmesh correctly on the bevel gears. Use a couple until correct mesh is achieved. If the shim diameter touches the outer race too much, trim the shim diameter down with sciccors.

Been looking into doing a DF-01 Shogun. As I Iove to have drivable Marui's, but replica lookalikes that have spares available is a better option. Took the Blazing star DF-01 chassis (which already has all the necessary upgrades like bearings, metal motor mount and steering rack, etc...) and 3D printed a temporary front upper suspension arms mount to test if the chassis can be adapted to look more like a Marui Shogun. It looks promising, but it is fiddly. Goal is to sit the front suspension shocks much lower/horizontal (like an Avante) compared to the near vertical of the DF-01. The Tamiya CVA shocks will not fit, so ordered a set of shorter front and rear shocks, and a temporary tire/wheel combo. So to be continued when these parts arrive and I can finish the front tower, and the rear will get a custom tower/body mount too.

Wanted a RWD M chassis but a cheap used M04 or M06 were hard to find. So found a cheap used M03, managed to intercept the package and get it past the wife into the Ray-cave unseen. Now fiddling with it to convert it to RWD. Found a nice guide on this side so using that for inspiration. Nice little project.

Plenty of project cars for 2020. The list includes: - Strip/Clean/Rebuild the Marui Shogun. - Paint and rebuild the Marui Samurai. - Finish one Marui Big Bear as original, but modern electronics. - Strip/clean/rebuild one Big Bear, modern electronics and Lunchbox tires modification. - Finish the Mugen Seiki Prime 12 electrification. Specials: - Big bear long-bed version, 6 wheeler (konghead based). - (Not so) Big Bear Pickup Truck (M-chassis based). - Drivable Shogun and Ninja (DF-01 based). So with the time available to me, I'm good until 2050.

I got curious so took some pictures with a un-cut replica Shogun body on my Blazing Star chassis. It was actually very suprising! The Shogun body is much wider in the middle, so it fits over the sideways battery case! (The Ninja shell does not fit as its too narrow, hence the modicications I want to do for a ninja). Also, the cut-outs in the body for the front suspension shocks look like they might actually clear the existing set-up.In the rear, the shocks may need some form of lowering so they do not stick through the body. Just behind the front gearbox and the steering rack, the chassis is 80mm wide, the body is 75mm, but it will flex over it I guess. The front mounting post can be alligned with the body's original mounting hole. Note: in the pictures, I flipped the rear lower suspension arms, and mounted the shocks in front of the arms. Normally they are in the rear.I did this to see if I could get the rear shocks in the proper position to stick through a Ninja body.

Actually I did look into this to use the manta ray/blazing star drivetrain as a basis for a Ninja, which was nearly the same chassis as a Shogun . I would like these classics to run too with modern parts for maintenance. First impression was it showed potential, but needs custom shock towers especially on the rear as these shocks need to move forward to line up with the body holes, and custom chassis plates to hold the gearboxes. Edit: I see the Shogun shocks sit more 'horizontal' comared to the Ninja, but still needs adjustment and custom shock mounting. Also, because the motor is then in front of the rear axle instead of behind it as Marui did, battery placement is a though one, possibly needs conversion to a shorty lipo. I still want to do a mock-up, but that will be a long-term thing.

Another Marui Big Bear and Shogun replica body. Too bad customs liked it too, first time I had to pay import on these. Win some, loose some.

Another score!

Was trying some options with the Blazing Star chassis to see if I could re-use the drivetrain for a different car, when I realized the bottom screws of the front gearbox to chassis mounting points were missing. Must have come out when I last drove it, which means stripped plastics. So put in a order for TonysTamiyaparts, so I can fix it next time... Big plans and waaaay to little time for the cars these days.

In this set-up it's an RPM sensor. It detects if metal is present or not, so with that slotted disc it should give 8 pulses per revolution. https://www.digikey.be/nl/articles/techzone/2013/feb/sensors-and-severe-conditions

At this moment.... I'm really really struggling to resist a Marui Shogun that is advertised at this moment....