bikerclubby

Light blue for certain panels ( to be decided) and the rest white.

If you’re UK then Kamtec also do an ABS one for about £15. With the amount of time my car spends on its roof, I need the lexan version!

Cut Stagger is really good and my go to off-road front. Proline blockade has a lot shallower tread than Tamiya spike, but so much softer and more supple even with a foam insert. Not as grippy on grass but better in dirt. Not had huge amount of running on the other Prolines but loads of grip on tarmac and handle pretty well on dirt as well. Baja body not a Tamiya replica but was apparently designed by someone on here. Fits wheelbase well. Bought white and light blue PS paint, but still to decide on exact scheme. Was originally planning blue fenders and possibly engine cover, but these are being trimmed more and more ever sitting for tyre and suspension clearance. Not sure how much will be left to colour! Not run the Vee4 on asphalt, but they did grip roll on grass coming off throttle in corners. Bit of technique adaptation helped as did swapping them from buggy wheels to truck wheels. Didn’t find it a huge problem in dirt and they worked great in sand.

Been lurking here for a few months and thought it was time to share my build. Firstly, this is my first build so be kind and also a lot has been done but I'll try and run through it in order. I used to lust after Tamiya kits as a kid, but was never allowed one. The furthest I got was one of the lovely catalogues. Can't remember the year now, but it featured the 959 and Boomerang. I want to say '88 but not sure. There has been an ongoing RC thread on the Singletrack bike website and I've almost bought in the past but never got around to it. Even though I've been working through lockdown, I decided now was the time to treat myself to a kit. Stock has obviously been an issue but I also didn't want to spend too much incase I got bored quickly. Loved the look of the Sand Scorcher but was a bit put off by the price. A bit of reading suggested it didn't make a great basher anyway. In the end I plumped for a Racing Fighter, as it came with Torque Tuned motor and CVA's as standard and only really needed bearings added to make it a decent runner. Kit arrived and I was a bit taken aback by just how many bits there were. Some assembly required by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Build manual was fantastic and logical and with the help of many little pots and a magnetic bowl, the bags were all neatly sorted and the build progressed over a few nights worth of work. Not going to bore you with the build process, there's been tons of DT03's before. Didn't fancy the kit art orange, so went for blue instead, which after a while on here seems like a common colour. Went with Tamiya Metallic Blue for the body and Black for the wing. Was nervous about the paint process but initially pretty pleased with the result. A few months worth of crashes have wrecked the wing though, with a lot of flaking. Think I might have gone too think with the initial coats. Paint and body by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Kit stickers were a bit fussy and a complete PITA to cut, so kept it simple. Finished by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Ran it for a bit and discovered just how crap the kit tyres are, so bought a set of blue wheels to try other front tyres. Went for a Schumacher Cut Stagger in yellow compound and it transformed the car. On the spare rears went a set of Proline Sand Slingers for use on the beach. These are great fun and make tremendous rooster tails. Car was bottoming out all the time and running really low, so I took the advice from other build threads and bought a set of DF03 springs. Swapped about a bit and settled on the medium set all round. Also tried out a stiffer damper oil, but didn't like it and went back to the kit oil. Rear diff is very loose and very wayward, so tried a thick grease in the diff. This didn't do much and when I stripped it back down it had all been pushed to the very outside of the casing by the spinning forces. Bought a bottle of 500000cst diff "oil" and half filled the diff. Although the diff isn't sealed this stuff is more like glue than oil and has stayed put with no issues. It has also made a big difference on loose surfaces where both wheels now spin. Made getting out of patches of weeds much easier. Also went to a 19t steel pinion at the same time. Many of the tweets are pretty cheap, but shipping adds up, so Ive tended to things in batches to keeps costs down. Tried the wheel weight trick as well and managed to add 40g secreted around the front of the car. In all honesty I can't tell if it made a difference or not, but it can't hurt. I run a lot on a BMX track and it's a pretty tricky surface. Thought I'd try out truck tyres on the rear but didn't quite realise how much bigger they were! Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr by Steven Clubb, on Flickr I'd fitted the truck tyres on a buggy wheel which wasn't ideal and the car grip rolled really easily. Only one solution, truck wheels front and back! Bought a set of Blitzer wheels and uprights on eBay and fitted the used plastic bushings front the build to space for the buggy wheels. Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr It was also my birthday, so my wife bought me a Absima Thrust Eco brushless combo and I ditched the kit rear tyres for a set of Proline blockade. With both kit tyres now in the box, I also had a spare set of wheels and wanted a set of street tyres that would also handle light dirt use. Was really taken with Prolines Chain Link and Angle but had to get them from Germany. By this time I had mismatched wheels and tyres of all combinations, so into the oven they went (while the wife was out all day) and I re-glued them in matching sets. Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr The increase in power with the brushless was immediately obvious but hard to control. I had to switch to the softest punch setting or the car would just flip. I thought at 3400kv the motor would be ok in the DT03, but on any dirt surface the car was really wayward. Lots of barrel rolls followed and the wing got worse and worse. One of my reasons for going BL was to clear the double jumps at the BMX track. Now I had all the speed I needed, but couldn't keep the car in a straight line. Cleared the jump a few times, but the car was now actually less fun. Final straw came last week when it lost control on grass and hit a tree, breaking the front axle. Was probably a bit vulnerable anyway as I had spaced the wheel out, but I put the motor and eco back to standard. When doing this I also noticed I had cracked the nose at some point, but at least the chassis is still in one solid piece (for now). Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Like I said at the beginning, I love the look of the Sand Scorcher. During my buying phase I also took a punt on a lexan Kamtec Baja shell. For less than 20 quid delivered, it was worth a try. Have been trimming bits while I have had a few spare minutes here and there and now have it rough trimmed. Still needs evened up, but I intend to do that once it's mounted securely. Rear needed a lot of cutting to clear the gearbox housing but fairly happy with the result. Will sand and smooth the edges once the final cuts are done. Need to re-fit the truck tyres and check clearances before deciding on mounting holes. Front mounts are easy, the kit has spare posts for use with an Aqroshot body and these line up great. The rear I still have to work out. Might be able to remove the kit wing, but use the mounting bracket somehow. Also thought about using velcro on the gearbox, but not sure how secure this would be? Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr Still a way to go, but with a full time job and a one year old, things tend to tick along at a slow pace. Also, now have a spare fast motor looking for a new home but nowhere with kits in stock.

Well I’ve never done it before so that’s why I was asking. Not buying a reamer that I’ll likely never use again, but I have a couple of tapered dremmel bits so looks like that’s the way to go.

Recently bought a Kamtec shell and now have it rough trimmed. Next stage is to decide on mounting position and make the holes. What’s the best way of doing it cleanly? Have a cordless drill and selection of bits, or a dremmel with some engraving and sanding heads. Also, is it worth using masking tape where I intend to drill to stop any skipping before the bit bites?

Have a look at 2.2 Schumacher truck tyres. I’ve just fitted them to Blitzer wheels for your dt03 truggy build. Nice fit and much nicer compound (yellow) than any Tamiya tyre I’ve seem.

Thanks for all your advice. This thread was one of the reasons I went for a Racing Fighter. Planning my next project which is a a Kamtec Baja Bug shell for a truggy makeover.

Stunk out the kitchen baking all my wheels and tyres (yes the wife was at work!j) Have been running mismatched random wheels and colours until I got a combo I liked. Placing some tyre orders today and wanted a blank slate before glueing up.

Replaced springs all round on my Racing Fighter with the soft option from the DF01 kit. These are still stiffer than dt03 build springs. Tried the medium in the rear which improved bottom out on jumps but lost traction, so went back to the soft. Also tried slightly thicker oil (500cst] but didn’t like it and went back to original. New tyres should definitely be on your list. Kit front tyres are crap. I went with Schumacher Cut Stagger in yellow and these have been great. Rears are good on grass but not anywhere else. I’m just away to order some Proline Blockade, as I do a lot on dirt tracks. Also tempted by some of the Proline Dirt Oval tyres, but none in uk so postage is looking pricey. Have been running some Schumacher truck tyres on rear as I ordered wrong size, but they rolled a lot on buggy rims. Need to get some truck rims and fronts to match. Already got Mad Bull steering arms ready to go on. Definitely go with ball bearings from the start. Big improvement for very little money and saves the hassle of pulling gearbox later on which dismantles half the car. Make sure you get rubber shielded ones though, cheaper sets come metal shielded and won’t last as long. I also found the diff quite loose so part filled it with 500000cst diff oil. Helps both wheels spin together in soft conditions (great on beach). Again a cheap fix at £5 a bottle that’ll last forever. Avoid carbon and bling upgrades until you’ve run it a bit. Very few around at the moment and prices are silly. This is my first build and I knew it wouldn’t be the best car around, but it’s cheap which left money for eventual upgrades. It’s still way better than I am. I’d spend your upgrade money on few sets of wheels and tyres for different conditions.

Looking at Mad Bull wheels for a truggy experiment. Do truck tyres fit these? Currently got Vee 4 truck tyres on buggy rears but looking to fit Vee 2 on the front but want matching rims. 2wd buggy by the way. Thanks.

Loving my Racing Fighter and being tempted by brushless and other upgrades. It’s great on firm sand and grass, but not so good on dirt. Brushless could make this worse. Other problem is that when I price up the upgrades, they come to more than the kit was! Seen some 4wd kits without esc at a good price and these already come with turnbuckles. Would get spare receiver to match current set up and share handset and battery to save some cash. Anyway, my question is which would you chose between TT02b and DF03 and why?

Had lots of grass to run on with the local golf course being shut but that won’t last. Enjoy the jumps at bmx track but hard to line up properly when the back end won’t stay straight. Forest tracks round here all pretty dry as well. Will check out the Prolines, already have Sand Slingers for the beach.

Hi, first post here. Have recently built a Racing Fighter but hate the rear tyres on dry dusty surfaces. They work great on short grass but just spin like crazy on hard dirt and make the car really hard to control. Already changed the fronts to Schumacher Cut Staggers and was wondering what a decent rear would be? Already done a search the Carson’s that come up are all out of stock. UK stock preferred to keep post costs down. Thanks for any suggestions.