carparkthrasher

Skottoman, I should just give you my bank details and credit card as your builds always encourage me to spend money way better than any Tamiya advert ever could! Great work and to repeat others, that is a TOP paint job, your patience must go hand in hand with your attention to detail. Keep on trucking!

Problem solved. Fitting Carson steering arm and flipping the uprights not only gave better steering but also cleared the issue I was having. Why Tamiya dont include that in the box............... Simon

Hi all, Playing the long time lurker and no such thing as a silly question card............... Having finally finished the killer of painting and wire work that goes in to an 1850l, the first test drive presented something that I believe to be a know issue but I wondered if there was a solution that didn't involve relocating the steering servo. The issue is that when on the ground (doesn't do it wheels off) and when applying full steer, testing the indicators for example, the wheels turn as far as they can physically but the servo goes a bit further and then locks itself out in a tricky spot past the midway point and unable to return to centre. With forward momentum this isn't an issue so I am guessing that with the weight on the front wheels there is no give from the wheels themselves yet the play in the steering rig allows the servo to keep turning. A quick search here has shown the solution as relocating the steering servo next to the gear shift one like on the US trucks (my other truck is an Aeromax). Whilst I might do this eventually, I just want to be able to run the thing at the remaining shows this year so wonder what my options are - simply to never put on full lock when stationary? Modify the servo with some end stops to prevent it going past the half way mark whilst allowing for the travel that matches the wheels turning? BTW - being a tight old bag of sick I have a basic radio that doesn't allow me to modify end positions.......... In my heart I know that the full solution is to relocate the servo - read some interesting things on here about Ackerman steering but for now, how might I get round this so as to not look like a berk at Wings and Wheels as my lorry gets stuck on full lock and careers through the fences or worst still, Ant's traffic lights! Thanks Simon

Cheers for thoughts all. Skottoman, great piece of work there as always. Gozone, yes measuring the output and matching up LEDs seems sound as well. I figured I would need to do something like that as whatever I do I don't want it to hinder the regular lights in any way.

Hi folks! On the basis of 'no such thing as a silly question'...... What might be the easiest (and cheapest) way of me adding a light to my cab to show the driver? After 3 shows now I have come to realise that when people get interested I tend to pick up the truck to show them and for the kids I like pointing out that I have a Dr Who figure driving - helps break the ice! Problem is that the 'glass' component is heavily tinted on the Aeromax (and my new, in progress second ever truck build) and I wonder if a cheeky light is needed? I HAVEN'T got the MFU, just the lighting kit and I was wondering if I could get a couple of LED or bulb's and wire them up from the existing unit? Like an extra couple of roof spots as it were just inside? So no extra power supplier, switches etc? Maybe have them in the roof above the driver or at dashboard level pointing up? (Like Simon Cowell has on his X factor desk!) I figure like everything it will be a compromise between lighting up everything and showing the wires etc. or just the man but I would like to have a go. Simon (dupe post from Tamiyatruckin so apologies to anyone reading thsi twice!)

Proper job there sir! Very nice indeed and great to work from such a 1:1 source as that!

Beautiful piece of work and thank you so much for sharing the build. I agree with your comment about how enjoyable the build was, even more so when I finished the tanker trailer recently - opening up an 'A' screw bag that has more components in the some builds all together shows how involved these trailers are. Can almost explain why they cost so much. Almost....................... Keep up he great work!

Hi all, Doing my usual long time lerker, occasional poster thing! Having been itching for a new build for a while and seeing some trucks recently at St Albans model engineering show (and many times on line and TC!) I really fancy one of them as my next 'treat myself because work sucks and you cant take your money with you' moment and I feel like buying something. Well, myself and MBNA anyway........... Having been used to this being an expensive hobby I was still a little shocked by how much it costs to get into tractor trucks and trailers! My current thinking is something like 56318 - Scania R470 - yes I know some will think it is missing an axle............ Whilst I know I need 4 ch radio and at least 2 servos and I will ball race from the outset, my attention then focused on the MFC unit which cost so much that I can only assume it has been assembled on the thighs of virgins and flown to modelshops via Pegasus. Whilst this unit adds great realism for running at shows etc. my truck will get occasional outings and as such I was drawn to the light kit - 56501. My questions is - can the light kit be installed in the R470 without losing the interior? I understand the full multi function job does mean sacrificing the interior? Oh and one other question then - motor - was looking at the LRP truck puller or Carson equivalent, mainly to drop the speed down so I don't ding the thing at silly speed. Can these high turn motors run on a basic ESC like the Tamiya ones? Thanks all and with any luck I will post updates and photos as and when I have added to my debt - whilst doing my bit to boost our flagging economy by spending money I don't have just yet. Cheers CPT

Hey! Sorry for delay, I used a CVA short shock but with the spring as supplied with the Hotshot. This combined with the better mouting position of the B parts maeks all the difference.

Hi all! Finally an update on this! As suggested, using the Boomerang B parts works a treat! So the front end now has a CVA shock with B11 and B10 to bring the movement to the more usual - from the out in not halfway along the shock! With the original spring back on it this shock works really well and the nose diving has gone! CPT

Hi all, quick update! A good few weeks ago now (sorry for rubbish updating!) i fitted the 3rd shock mod thanks to some creative dremmeling and guides from this site and I rebuilt the front shock (CVA,oil) to include all the spacers to get rid of the toe in/funny hang from the front. With stiff springs all round and shocks well topped up and re built she goes very well as a recent beach run proved. Have also braced the chassis at front and rear, again folllowing the guides from TC users! Only the hard stuff do I really see any awkward wobble or diving but even then it is all manageable. All just goes to show that searching on here for tips and answers really does pay off. That and actually using the Dremel in action made it all an enjoyable continuation of the build!

UPDATE! Have now got a multimeter and tested at the battery connector and on 2 of them I get around 8.10 and the other 2 both around 3.63. So I am guessing that means the meter just picking up from the cells that work where as the charger reads the whole pack, finds a fault with some and then says NO!

Thanks Backlash, re multimeter, for my sins I dont have one. Am looking at a Draper unit on Amazon to fill that gap in my hardware cupboard! So I guess I am using the meter to pass voltage into and through the pack which will then show if the cells are taking current? Sorry, am very good at some tech but flounder a bit with the basics!

To be honest I probably dishcarged them to around 6.3 (as they are 7 cell packs, 8.4 volts) so 0.9 per cell, on the basis that I would be using them within a couple of weeks! Well, you know how plans change! So could it be that I have wickered them up somehow? Forgive my ignorance but what is the best way to leave them charged to 40%? Run them down then charge them a 1C as normal but stop it at 30 minutes or so? Thanks for speedy reply BTW!

Hi all, Further to recent build weekend, thought I would dust off the EMaxx for some bonkers bashing while letting the paint dry on Blitzer Beetle. So I gather up my chargers and my 4 x 4500 NiMh Orion Rocket Packs with TRX connectors and set about charging them up. Now, these batteries are under a year old and have sat unused for about 3-4 months but have worked well in the past. Setting them up this time however, results almost immediately in an 'Open Circuit' error and the charger then standing down. Chargers all work well, Pro Lux 104 and this error is the same you would get if nothing plugged in, battery wise. I use a TRX to Tamiya adaptor so I tested all of these out with the dinky 1200 stick packs you get with Traxxas 1/16 cars and they work well so it has to be the batteries themselves. However, to have all 4 go has confused me! My best guess is something wrong with the connector or wiring - ends look OK with minimal or no corrosion as these have never been through deep water like some of my packs. Wires seem OK and haven't got obvious breaks in them and through the clear shrink wrap, I can't see anything to horrendous. Any thoughts folks? The batteries came from Modelsport and they also did the install of the TRX ends and these have performed beautifully. What could have gone wrong internally to effectively sever all connections coming out of the stick pack? Your time starts...............now! Thanks! CPT

Oh and 'diametrically opposite' - get you and your education and words and that!

Man those set plates are a nuisance! All present and correct - just annoying! A regular 540 was my next test actually so I will see how I get on. I do like it when a kit allows you to remove the gearbox cover and see the gears in action or the TA01/2 with that motor mount that you fix to first that then guides you home.

As ever Twinset, you have a great diagram to explain the issue! On this basis, if using the pairs correctly leads to the issue then I guess I am left looking at stripped gears? Ta!

Hi all, Whilst risking breaking the rule that 'there is no such thing as a silly question' but.......................... here are two efforts! 1) - have found this weekend that my recently built Hotshot blasted round the garden and field quite happy for some twenty minutes before all of a sudden the high pitch whizz of a spinning motor not making contact to any drive gear greeted me. Pinion gear and drive gear no longer meshing. No problem thinks I, I must have used the wrong holes when mounting the motor - FYI, motor is a LRP unit 19x2 (also the following comment applies to the Orion motors I also use). This is the bit I can't understand - the standard silver can has 2 or 3 holes with the two being at exactly half way round the can and in line with each other, only those holes exist so you cant really get it wrong. On the modified motors however they all seem to have four holes with each pair on either side of the centre point. Now I have spent so long staring at these that my eyes have gone but - should one pair of holes work exactly as the stock can, i.e. dead in line and mounting as the stock would with the other pair allowing the pinion gear to be closer or further away to the drive gear? If so, how do you figure out which is which? Only I have tried all the combinations I can think of - top screw in hole A with bottom in A, top in B with bottom in A (as it seems to reach?) and nothing gets it to mesh with the drive gear properly. The drive gear seems intact with no teeth missing and a 20 minute run should hardly have worn edges down and the pinion gear is on tight. I haven't stripped the car yet to be 100% sure of what is going on but am convinced it is something to do with the motor mount. Any thoughts what else I can try at this stage before disassembly? 2) - Is it just me or when building a new kit - 'ensuring servo is in neutral, attach the relevant steering components and according to the diagram everything will be lovely and straight. Using standard Acoms servos I have never, never had one gone on perfectly with the steering trim in neutral and have it give me a straight line for the steering, it is always off. Just had to share that one really.............. right, best get back to work................ CPT

I wish I had the money

Hi all, As per my showroom updates I built a 58347 Lunch Box this weekend as I felt I needed one in my life after all these years! Build was fun and I even enjoyed the painting. Aside from a slightly hot motor and ESC, the only off plan addition was to build it with the CVA shock upgrades from day one and not retro fit. Built exactly as per instructions so piston, spaces and damper end as manual and soft spring as manual. All good when standing still and when popping a wheelie, however when the front end comes back to earth - at any speed - the whole thing collapses in and the front wheels bow in so much as to rub on the springs on the shocks, binding the whole thing up. To rectify this I used the strong spring on the front with a pre load spring jobbie and this has stopped the collapse. Whilst I know the Lunch Box is no high spec club racer with pin point steering but does this sound right that she is that bad? Fair enough she is a fun little car but to not actually be able to drive it at slow speed seems odd! Am pretty sure I did everything right, build wise - is this just a quirk of the Box? Also, while I have you! The other problem I have is with the front tyres coming off the wheel, specifically front left. Now I have put this down to the fact that after spending ages trying to get the tyres on perfectly, I noticed that the inner rim of the tyres (that fits into the grooves on the wheel) is a different thickness from one side to the other. I could understand this if this was for tyres that were left and other that were right - particular tread pattern etc. However, these are ambidextrous and should be identical. However what I am finding is that the tyres on the left of the car (looking down on it, nearside to relate to a 1:1) fit perfectly on the outer rim of the wheel but not on the inner. The reverse is true for those on the right. I have a whole second set of tyres and gold wheels that all exhibit the same problem. Is this the norm? Does anyone else see this? Will a dab of glue shut me up? Thanks all! CPT

Joining the party late on this one but my two pence worth re Clod ESC - I too spent time dabbling with the best way to run my Clod as I wanted better speed out of it but am a big wimp when it comes to soldering and running two motors from one ESC. So I went for the 2 ESC approach and have 19x2 Motors each run by its own Mtroniks ESC and battery. So thats twin battery, twin ESC and twin motor. To connect to the receiver I used a Y lead to join the two ESC leads together, removing the red (I think, check first) from one due to the BEC circuitry only needing to get power for the servo from one battery. The result is she don't half go! Have run it with 2 8.4V 4500 Mh batteries and its a blast. CPT

Right, further to Saito's suggestion - I have just ordered the parts to make this plan happen! I like the mono shock approach so will give this a go and let you know how it turns out!

Cheers both for thoughts, as suspected it is inherent to the beasty!

Hi all, After a weekend spent building my re re Hotshot I am pleasaed to say it goes like the clappers and is coping well being blast around my front garden and the road outside my house. My only query is probably a self answer sort of thing but.......... She is very nose heavy - is this normal for Hotshots? Anything close to a jump/bump will see the nose and its massive bumper bury itself in the ground and the car goes A over T. I guess this is to be expected but the thing I am not sure on is why when under full braking, the nose comes down so much that the bottom of the chassis will hit the road. Is this normal or have I got something wrong in the build? She drives ok and I am pretty sure all is in order so I think it will come down to being a personality trait of the Hotshot - do you agree? Thanks CPT