Monkeyhanger

Found the e-clip, or more precisely - it found me. Opened the shipping box (which I've been in and out of to get to the tamiya box, and it slid down into view. So I was able to get on with the front gearbox that had held me up. I'd already done the oil filled shocks last night, did the chassis fitment of the electronics and then the rest of the chassis build and putting the wheels on. The car is mobile now - and seriously quick by my standards. Just have the roll cage and shell to build/paint. I have cut the shell out. Will look to mask and paint tomorrow if the kids give me the time to do so. I'm surprised at the number of unused moulded parts (shared trees with other models) and the number of other spare screws/o-rings etc, yet they couldn't give a spare 4mm e-clip? I have been back over my build to make sure I didn't forget to fit something.

Just ordered a 10 pack of 4mm e-clips for £1.56 on eBay as my local model shop (Just a mile from my house, and apparently the only proper RC model shop for 35 miles) has every size except the 4mm I want. Should arrive Tuesday - I'll get on with other stuff in the build until then. A fiver wasted on the tyre glue (it's like super glue, I imagine?) - silicone makes far more sense for the tyres if I want to secure them to the wheel - easier to peel/scrape later. I think cutting the body/cover and painting is the task I'm most anxious about getting right. Thanks everyone.

Thanks Kev and AJB. I Have looked everywhere for the e-clip, including the motor casing to see if it had stuck to it. Checked all the bag folds etc. I'm hoping my local model shop carries e-clip spares as I'm so keen to lash on with my first build! I can do the next few steps without it - fitting the electrical components to the body and screwing another few bits to it. I'm pretty sure I'll have lost it, I was hoping TAMIYA would have a small bag of spares for the smallest components to save me from having to source some (for the wait, not the nominal cost). I will get those 2 uprights swapped out too. Just another question... Tyre gluing. Can't find any info about what to do. I have bought tyre glue. Do you put a thin bead of glue down on the inside rim of each wheel and fit the tyres then wait for it to dry? Thanks!

Hi all, Hit a snag putting my Big Wig together. Could not find the 4th e-clip for doing the front gearbox. Just wondering where the best place to buy another might be? Any specific national tooling/fixings shops to try? Or are TAMIYA ones in someway special (specified thickness etc)? I have a model shop in my local town centre that does kit RC cars (Not a TAMIYA stockist). Would clips from another brand (if they carry spares) do? Can't imagine a 4mm e-clip being too thick for the shaft groove on the ball thrust bearing. So far I have built the rear gearbox fully and attached the motor. Built the front box as far as I can without the e-clip, built and attached the rear arm assembly and built the front arms, but not attached to the incomplete front box. I have built the front arms with the uprights from the main "C" tree, but there is a pair on their own on a small tree of its own - should I have fitted those? In the manual the uprights aren't called anything, but on the main tree they would've been C3 and C4. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, As per the title, Following a childhood of coveting my mates Hornets and Grasshoppers in the late 80s, but never managing to get a TAMIYA myself, I thought I'd scratch that itch and buy one for the kids (for me really). Settled on a Big Wig as it is 4WD and looks reasonably robust with plenty of standard items that would be upgrades on other models (oil filled shocks and ball-races all round). I did my first hour of build last night - the main gearbox and screwing the motor to it. Given the size of tube of ceramic grease that came with the car, it had occurred to me that I may have been a bit frugal with it. How much grease should I be using? Should every tooth be greased, or (as I did) is a blob the size of a match head on 4 spots on the larger gears enough to spread around when things get moving? I'd rather clarify and correct now before I get too far into the build. I had a bit of trouble with getting the circlips into their shaft ridges, mainly as the ball races didn't fit nicely into their holes, and so the ridge wasn't exposed. Is this a common issue with the TAMIYA mouldings? One ball race went in properly after a little scraping around the moulded recess with what I thought was a very hard press. I have read about plastic differentials stripping themselves quite quickly - can anyone advise how quickly and where I can get (presumed) alloy replacements, and how much they'll be? I'm sure the build will be enjoyable - I do like to build stuff, being a huge Lego Star Wars fan (Just built the 7500 piece ultimate Millenium Falcon) Thanks!