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c64orinoco

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Everything posted by c64orinoco

  1. While everyone fights in the aisles for toilet paper (seriously - there have been fights in stores in Sydney), I'm putting together a list of the survival items I'll need for the inevitable 2-week work shutdown. It's mostly spray paint I'll need to paint up to 5 bodies; two M07s, a Hornet, Comical Hornet and a Comical Frog. I'm hitting the LSH tomorrow to stock up; hopefully I won't have to fight anyone for spray cans! I think I'm ok for pretty much everything else. I'm planning on heading out to some nice empty nearby ovals and parks to give the new cars a run.
  2. These are great as they are very strong and also easily removed. The only problem is that they are a tad pricey for how many you get in a packet.
  3. I restored a 35-year old Sand Rover recently; it's definitely fun to keep it as vintage as possible. I had to compromise on rear wheels / tires, although I do have the orginals the rubber is so hard that if I use them it justs drifts in circles . I also installed a modern radio, although I am still using the original MSC. I'd recommend stripping out radios / motors, dismantle the whole thing an chuck it all in a bucket with water / detergent or de-greaser and spend a fun afternoon with an old toothbrush cleaning it all up. The only thing I didn't clean was the body as it had (in the opinion of many on this board) a lovely patina of 35-year-old dirt, stickers, bad paintwork, dents and scratches. I had to rebuild the front suspension mounts (a common failure on this kind of chassis) so I made them out of aluminium, in the same way I know I would have done it 35 years ago. As for your Frog - I always wanted one, but if I got one today it will be a re-release. Back in 1984 I wanted a new one, so a new one it will be. I would love an original Super Champ, but those things are rare as hens teeth and cost a bit beyond my budget.
  4. I'm in the midst of re-organising, as a side-project to our main task of clearing out 10 years of junk Marie Kondo-style. Handy hint for renters - don't rent a bigger space than you need, you'll just fill it up. At the moment my tools are all mixed together - RC, model making, soldering, retro-computing, woodwork, plumbing bits all spread across the table, about 6 tool boxes, 4 multi-compartment boxes, 5 biscuit tins, and many cardboard boxes. In an effort to try to bring peace and serenity to my tools I have bought a nice plywood desktop storage unit specifically for model making; the RC and modelmaking stuff will go in that (there's overlap of those parts). The tool boxes will be sorted into tasks and all biscuit tins / carboard boxes emptied. Screws and general small bits will go in the multi-compartment boxes, which will then get stored on my (theoretically) tidy shelves. The biggest task is weeding out the multiples - eg, the two exactly the same crimp tools, one bought because I forgot I already had one - a nasty side effect of having everything in a disorganised mess. The excess tools I am considering donating to the local Men's Shed or to a nearby school, if they take such things. Hopefully they do with the focus on STEM these days.... hey they should run classes in building Tamiya cars - great life skills! If youre in the Sydney area and know of any places that take tool donations, I'd love to know - I also have my father-in-law's old tools (he passed away last year, ex-RN diesel mechanic, so lots of heavy engineering tools) to donate to a good home. We just can't keep hold of so much stuff that we aren't likely to use. And then there's the 3 cubic meters of lego to deal with... also mostly stored in tool boxes. Which of course I forgot to index with what sets are in each box.
  5. The account history is available, just not obvious. They appear to have split the account history in pre and post website change. I found a link on my RC Mart account page that gave me access to previous orders. I put in an order on the 1st March, and I've had notifiication that its on the way. My previous order (3 cars!) got here (Australia) in just 5 days, two of which were a weekend. I think thats a record for an overseas order.
  6. Yep, 50% off, so buy two! And the full size Hornet was (I think) 52% off. I really couldn't pass that deal up. I was planning on getting a Hornet at some point; and the wife wanted a pink, esay to drive car. Of course I then needed a comparable car to race around the backyard with her. At least that's how I justified it all.
  7. Hey, we have those same cushions from Ikea!
  8. This is the result. The previous site was great and easy to use. While there is a list view that works a little bit like the old version, it's about 5 or 6 clicks to find it, instead of 2. The filters and search terms being nerfed is not great. Hopefully somone from RC Mart reads this forum!
  9. Two Hornets and a Frog. They were on sale at 50% off at RCMart so I couldn’t resist. The Frog is for the wife!
  10. Yes, yes, I did. Well I bought a Comical Frog because my wife wanted a pink car, and I saw the Comical Hornet and thought yeah, thats cute they look like fun, lets get that. Oh, look actual Hornets are 52% off, yeah thats spare change! OK, got that too. I just bought three cars. I would warn people about the effects of Sunday night interneting while under the influence of a lovely Japanese gin, but it would fall on deaf ears. More cars it is. Edit: Roku Gin for those wishing to follow the same path.
  11. An original 1983 Sand Rover spur gear A is pure unobtainium. I might try the local 3D printers before committing to Shapeways. I only considered them because of access to stronger materials than I can get locally.
  12. Sand Rover question again; I need new rear tires. The 80's originals I have are bald and hard, the car is pretty much uncontrollable as a result. I can identify new (re-release new) wheels - any of the Tamiya 5-spoke rear wheels, eg Frog, Brat, Buggy Champ, etc. will work; but what tires? Back inthe 80's I had a set of Rough Rider (Buggy Champ) rear wheels, and I can still get Buggy Champ rear tires, but will the Buggy Champ rears fit on, say, Grasshopper / Hornet rear rims? I'm trying to save a little bit of money by just buying rear rims; I don't want to buy the complete set of Buggy Champ rims when I only need the rears. Although if anyone has a set of original Sand Rover rears I'd be interested!
  13. Does anyone have any experience with getting old parts made by Shapeways? The spur gear A on my 80's Sand Rover has a chipped tooth; running it last weekend was a bit harrowing as the gears skipped quite badly. I worried I'll completely strip a gear if I keep running it like this. I have found some STL files for the gear train, and I'm thinking of gettign them made by Shapeways. Has anyone done this? What is the right material to select for a spur gear?
  14. I've thought of that here in Sydney, but I suspect the Fun Police would be on you in a flash. This city has really embraced the 24-7 security force state. That said, anyone tried that super-center out at Marsden Park where the Ikea is? That looks promising except trucks might be an issue. A mate and I might have found a decent spot that is some abandoned tennis courts; they only problem is that they are astroturf coated with sand. That's ok for buggies but might be a bit abrasive for M07s. Secret for now in case some council busybody turns up and calls the Fun Police. As for things I'd never do: any really destructive activity, like driving into water or high jumps. I'm not into conspicous consumption, which is what most of the Youtube destruction videos seem to be. The worst I've done lately was my first drive of the TT02B at the old St.Ives track; the car couldn't quite get enough speed in the run to the ramp-to-ramp jump, so it nose-planted straight into the vertical ply-over-metal-frame vertical face of the ramp. Sickening thump and brand new car not so new now! Nothing broke by the force was enough to rip the receiver and ESC off the velcro tape I had used to secure them.
  15. That looks exactly like what my wife uses to store and catalogue her Diamond Dots. Be careful....
  16. My first car was a Super Champ as well. I bought it at the end of 1983, right when the Frog came out so it was obsolete almost immediately, but I loved it. I've only just recently reaquired the Tamiya Virus so I missed the SC / Fighting Buggy re-re in 2014; they're all out of my price range now, barring lotto wins (yeah, right). I raced at the local club (St. Ives, Sydney) and I think I managed a third place with it, once, probably due to an almighty pile up under the bridge that the 'Champ just speared right through, what with being an aluminium ingot and all. I remember it as being a bit bouncy at the front but rock solid at the rear. No diff so it tended to slide through corners. Once it got up to speed in a straight line it sailed over washboard bumps through shear momentum. I sold it around 1986 I think, and bought a Hornet. I don't remember what happened to the Hornet - I probably sold it during my uni years to pay for food or drafting supplies (don't let your kids grow up to be Architects, unless you are already a multi-millionaire!) If they ever re-re-re the Super Champ / Fighting Buggy I'll definetely be re-addign one to my collection. For now my vintage ride is my brother's '83 Sand Rover.
  17. I've had myopia all my life, last few years my close-up vision has started to go. I tried progression tri and bi-focals but I found them very disorienting. I'm current using my distance glasses, just moving them down my nose until I can focus. My hand steadiness is totally shot though; I used to be able to paint fine details easily; but as I found it this weekend working on the Alfa bodyshell I've lost that ability!
  18. My wife bought 2 new diamond dot kits today, so I feel completely justified with the light kit and hop-up parts for the M07.
  19. I always liked the Frog in mid-sproing. Definitely not in the Aldi parking lot.
  20. Ah, Diamond Dots. My wife has just caught that virus. It makes me not at all concerned about my severe case of T.Virus which has seen me go from 0 Tamiya cars in December 2019 to 4 (3 NIB, 1 resotration) today. I assume this is the normal growth rate. Next acquisition is likely to be a Frog, and if the Super Champ gets another re-re one of them, too. I also have the same Fountain Pen virus (Lamy strain) as WillyChang. I have recently managed to overcome the Lego virus, although the proceeds from the sale of that collection will be diverted almost immediately into more cars.
  21. I sort of get your idea. I've just got back into the hobby, along with a mate of mine. He has an original (and much abused) Hornet. I got back into things with a relatively modern TT02B; but I also restored an original Sand Rover. Some of the parts I had to replace using re-issue parts; I had to make my own front suspension uprights. I made them the same way I would have done that in 1984; 0.8mm aluminium and some trusty tin snips. I didn't even paint them black, because I know I wouldn't have done that back then. It didn't feel 'right' doing it now. I repaired the ancient silvercan 540 instead of a 'newer' (only 29-yr-old) motor - honestly the newer motor would have shredded the poor Rover's gears. The one damaged part I'm worried about is one of the spur gears is missing a tooth, so I'm a bit aprehensive about running it. The fun has been getting the original running again; it will have it's first (very, very careful) drive in 36 years this weekend. Anyway baaack to the point: I'm hardly a collector; I barely have the room for the cars I have now. I'd love an original vintage Frog (because I always wanted one) and I would dearly love a Super Champ - it was my first car back in '83. But I'll be happy to go with the re-re Frog - to me it's not that much different; I'm not enough of an afficionado for the original.
  22. Eeep, just checked Hobbyco - they've even sold out of Hornets, let alone Frogs. Hmmm impusle buy coming this weekend I think.
  23. Watching Hobbyco (QVB store is 2 blocks from my work, they had some 2 weeks ago) and Frontline (online - out of stock). I notice they are out of stock at RC Mart, too. I'm thinking of forgoing some parts I was going to get and maybe get a Frog instead if they are becoming rare. Is it just the post Xmas 'waiting for the next ship' thing we get with everything in Australia? Or are they running out? Are they still in production?
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