Wheel_Nut

Edit: As has been pointed out below, the Rising Fighter has a DT-01 gearbox on a Grashopper 2 chassis.

Thanks for explaining the benefits of the M-07 arms. It sounds good to me if you are able to accomodate the Tamiya M-07 front suspension mount or some metal reinforcement. To adjust maximum droop on the XM-01 arms, it could be done the old fashioned way of building spacers and O-rings internally on the shock shaft as done on earlier M series cars. Obviously the screws are more convenient.

I noticed the XM-01 suspension mounts are located on the end of the pins which is typical of touring car racing chassis. Due to the wider spacing of the suspension mounts I think they are less likely to fail due to crash damage. If so, it could be an advantage of using the XM-01 style arms. The M-07 suspension mounts are available as fibre reinforced injection moulded parts from Tamiya, which I'd expect to be quite strong. I don't know if you intend on using these items from Tamiya. If making 3D printed suspension mounts, it could be a possible failure point, but it obviously depends on the material.

I don't know but I'd like to have a guess. 1) Too short wheelbase for stability. 2) Not enough suspension travel and too firm suspension. 3) Suspension arms are too short, which means the roll-centre is typically too high and it also changes dynamically on bumps. 4) Front shock mounting angle will compromise grip and steering (should be more vertical). 5) Too heavy.

There is a solution for that. They just need to stamp the chassis plate "40th anniversary release". Then it will be ok for collector's original vintage models. It will be just like the RC10.

I was expecting a 10th scale version JRX2 to be released a couple of years after the "mini". They could potentially sell two model kits to each customer.

Sorry to see your mishap on the track. I wonder if the design of the front suspension mount can be changed to add reinforcement for the hinge pins ahead of the suspension arms. I also thought about bolting the suspension mount to the carbon fibre plate. It would become more rigid, but possibly less flexible and prone to breaking. That aspect needs some thought. I made a crude 2-D picture to show my idea, although I figure you might have thought of this already. The kick-back could be reduced to 20 degrees if there is not enough space.

That’s a slight difference. Do you think the DT02 suspension arms on the Ultra Hornet move the axles forward relative to the C.o.G position? If so, it would place more load on the rear axle in the Ultra Hornet.

Does the Ultra Hornet have a shorter wheelbase than the Ultra G EVO Black ed. ?

That’s good to know there is less bounce with the Buggy champ wheel and tyre combo.

Looks good. The extra height and smoother tread should give even more speed on smooth surfaces.

I think reducing the anti-squat must improve compliance and grip. I suspect it may have a slightly forward C.o.G, so it may benefit from higher front spring rate. I look forward to the news of your track test.

Removing the anti-squat may help with traction. Sounds good to me. Do you have a gear cover to fit on?

PS63 Bright gun metal. The ribbon decal has been trimmed and no numbers!

Problem for me is the association with the TD4. So much has been said about the design issues with steering linkage, battery access, and front suspension. I really dislike the delicate appearance of the front wishbones and uprights, so that in itself is the first deal breaker. I’m actually angry that Tamiya choose to design both TD2 and TD4 on the same chassis. By default this means that both of them are compromised designs. To me it seems obvious that one design approach will not be optimum for two instances. ( /rant)

Colours work well together. The bight colour scheme is very visible and helps with orientation too.

Thanks for your comment and interest in my thread. I haven’t run the car because I needed to get decent pics for the gallery first. I’m expecting there to be some handling vices and it’s probably over-powered too. The un-sprung weight of having the motor on the rear axle is definitely a disadvantage for rear grip. The thing in it’s favour is the extra front width from Grasshopper 2 front arms. I didn’t fit any inner sponge in the rear tyres so they are softer than what is normally used. It would be good to test the standard kit tyres to make a back-to-back test in the same conditions. Looking at some of the stock tyre and wheel combinations on similar buggies such as The Super Hornet and The Grasshopper 2, they are all different but not as large diameter as what I’m using here.

I prefer to keep the looks as simple as possible so I have eliminated some decals. I trimmed the yellow part of the stripe decal in some places so it shows the window line a bit more.

Without decals the lines of the bodyshell look really clean. I'm about to apply decals though.

I spent a few hours this weekend cutting and trimming the body outline, and preparing for paint. I masked the roll cage hoops / roof structure of the body so I can paint them black. I'm pretty amateur at paint preparation, so I'd much prefer having the PC series of polycarbonate paints (discontinued item) and paint by hand with a brush. My masking job wasn't ideal, so there were places where the paint bled in the gaps of the masking tape. Luckily it was easy to remove the recently applied paint with methylated sprit (alcohol) and rubbing with a cotton bud. The body has now been cleaned up and I can spray the PS-63 body colour tomorrow.

What spur gear sizes are available for your transmission? The BBX seems to have short gearing, but I don't know about the TD2.

This is beautiful and looks like an extremely functional design. I also like the stock items such as the front bumper and grey CVA damper bodies from the kit. .

Looks awesome. The overall layout of suspension and transmission really suits the Grasshopper body. CAD modelling seems to have paid off, as it all seems to fit. Can we see the underside of the chassis? How long is the wheelbase now?

Not much to update yet, since I have been distracted with other things.. Easter seems like a good time for painting the polycarbonate body shell.

The front end looks pretty awesome. Especially the chassis brace and shock tower. The 25 degree kickback looks like it fits perfectly. I hope the suspension mounting is strong enough to absorb frontal impact. Did you consider a front suspension brace like Kyosho use on the Dirtmaster?