nel33

Got my steering servo in today. It the 2nd spare one I have as neither have a current setup for them. These 2 are reserved for the TD and Manta Ray.

got some paints for the Manta body i ordered PD metallic blue and metallic purple, i also got in my TD team associated wheels the Jconcept sprinters look goon on them. i hate taking pics of parts at night where the lighting isnt as clear as daylight...

its been a .... obsession of mine for many years. its mostly under control due to space time and storage but the occasion purchase isnt odd at all... disregard the short BB model paint, its one of the earlier ones where i used flat black, i soon moved over to gloss black and got a matt/semi gloss finish. like RC there are so many Gundam models on the market that i dont have the ability to own... that clear model is very tempting but the prices they are asking are high and try building your RC jeeps with clear plastic. im sure locating parts and where they fit would fit in with the other parts would be interesting. i dont think i can pull off a feat like yours to have multiple kits of the same size/grade, at most i could go for 2x but all the others in collection stop that option. i can name +5-7 models id like from the top of my head to purchase at any given time...

LOL i can see 2-3 more in your future easily. it would be rude to make your extra driver hoof it to their next posts... you definitely win that race for most of the same models. my weakness is the GATx-207 Blitz Gundam. i like to have multiples of that one though im usually happy to have one of each scale/size though a few variants with other equipment are in my collection has 5 of them, the 100 scale master grade one hasnt yet been built yet and the proper 144 scale i dont have as i got one of that size already granted its a no grade cheap knock off. there is even a clear 1/100 scale that is just too rare and $$. the 1/100 MG Blitz hasnt yet started the build as i got 3 more in line before i get to it the first 2 pics are min and the clear one is a google search but its and actual kit (it has a stealth mode) though i dont know if i would buy this one. i only have 25 kits in total of the Gundam series...

against the best idea of driving in traffic today to make it to the LHS. took 35 minutes to clear the worst of it before (early part of rush) it was smooth sailing but i came back with some good things. i need to buy more PS12 silver but i still have some left of the first can, used it a fair amount for backing the colors on the body. i purchased metallic blue and purple for the Manta body and will also use silver on the body. the purple choices were a bit bleak on tones i was looking for but the metallic purple is very close to GTR midnight purple shade so i cant complain there. decided to go with metallic colors for the Manta body. i also picked up my TD rims, the Jconcept sprinter tires are almost in, the rears are coming in a week but i think they would look good on box art scheme TD. i mocked up one wheel and rim to see the appearance and it looks good. i ordered some of the usual electronics for the Manta that kits dont usually include, steering servo and HW1060. .

Does this mean you have 3 more jeeps hidden? You must have a fair amount of jeep supply in your hands.

that Peugeot is rather distinct to say the least. that hot wheels car of mine probably had the same effect of just being an outlier design though a few in that series had few interesting window designs. those mini 4wd models are interesting but very toyish... i believe they were more gravity powered on high walled tracks than battery powered. to avoid going off topic too much, id suggest you google the Mcdonalds hot wheels design called the back burner. like literally slap exhaust manifold like design on the door panels and huge motor in the "bed of the truck" i just noticed this correlation not even a minute ago. that Peugeot design was either stolen by hot wheels or Peugeot... LOL

i see, so its not the mountain dew, it must be subluminal instead. i think i have my subluminal thing also, the 1995 happy meal toy car radar racer and its influence on me loving the Thunder Dragon design... this particular hotwheels car one oneting i clearly remember from back in the day and ive always liked it design.

there is one big flaw in your plan, they wont have rides and that wont sit well with you... i wonder if the Comando Elite will be able to break past your lines ("Small soldiers" film 1998)

i just realized this, did you happen to see a bottle of the new water melon flavored mountain dew somewhere?? i bought 2 591ML bottles at a gas station recently and the colors are a perfect match...

ive gone ahead and ordered a DYN1172 Dynamite 15-Turn Brushed Motor for a Manta Build. it ended up being a bit cheaper to a sport tuned 540 with some voucher. i can still try a RS540 but this is one motor i can get locally if order online. the price difference isnt much. not sure of its comparison to a sport tuned 540 though im willing to give it a shot to see if it can get close to the speed the 12T motor my 2wd slash has. not exactly sure which gear set would make a good match for it. i'll be running NIMH with this one.

I ordered a bunch of parts for a TA-02 Manta Ray from ebay, RCMart and bought parts from Micheals topforce relating to Manta Ray. This hobby most certainly is a Wabbit hole, thankfully I haven't seen another body style/kit that has held my mind hostage yet... This would make for kit #4 though some parts still need to be ordered. I'm going to pick up my team associated buggy rims I set aside for the TD 2021 which is scheduled to be released at the end of this month and delivered to the store for pick up a week or 2 after. May looks like a busy RC time for me... i honestly cant thank MICHEALs TopForce17 enough for helping in this Manta build. his help is indispensable in getting the parts required for this build. That ABC 1:10 Sileighty body on eBay looks mighty tempting but it's gonna cost $130 with shipping and I already have 3 bodies for the tt02, one being a basher I don't mind breaking, the other 2 are more to baby along. Im having trouble trying to make a logical excuse to buy a 4th body for it, if only it was a bit cheaper... I got around to putting my 4 seasons on my daily driver now that no freak snow storms are foreseen. Not a fan of having 1 set of car tires and swapping the rubbers 2x a year. I prefer having both on rims to make things easier on my schedule and wallet.

LOL i dont think any toys will be invading your residence with that MP guard staff...

i was doing a bit of daydreaming at work for a custom paint scheme for a Manta body and i figured out one but it wont be fun to paint with the pattern and the body geometry it has.

I really like that paint job on your Manta ray. If i happen to get one myself I have a good idea on a multicolor scheme. It must have been an interesting process to paint yours... 4 battery packs, that must have been a good few hours of fun :).

thank you for the reply. i figured the rear body post mount was a bit too low with your current top force body setup just going off the current body lines. im still new to the hobby so my knowledge of aftermarket parts is till rather thin. im still trying to think out what sort of possibilities would be needed to make the body sit higher and where to locate them. i do see a hole for a screw on the right rear corner on the diff housing?? that might serve as some sort of mounting point in some way. one hole might not be sufficiently strong but it does provide a possible starting area. the 5th pic does has some wiring hiding a possible second hole where a under tray tray can be put on with 2 mounting points. is a bracket to mount the wing included in the spares? if i read correctly the original rear body post is still available with the spares, thats a very interesting prospect. if its true, i would be very interested in getting this Manta/Top Force. i dont really mind the combination of all the parts on the kit as it currently is, its actually a plus with original, rere and carbon parts. i do have some spare TT02 body posts that i can repurpose one if needed. that was a nice looking Manta body that was shown in that showroom area.

just giving a heads up here but this is one RC im rather interested in. im not sure if i should even ask this at all but is fitting a Manta ray body on it possible? im in Canada and a manta ray is unfortunately something on my wanted list, the kits are hard enough to come by as is. im trying to keep my kits at a low number but im itching for something that can run that sort of body.

I apparently forgot how my Traxxas charger works... i usually chargd the battery asap when i get back but didnt last time i used it. I plugged it in today for a few seconds and saw a green light flash and disconnected it. When i got to the park it gave 1 speed jump then slowed to a crawl... I didnt actually charge it... The green light flashes 1-4 times for progress and that always takes a few seconds for me to remember each time i charge it. I still got the equivalent of a good walk before getting to the park so it wasnt a waste. Got some good shopping done, masking tape and small roke of fiber tape to ensure i have enough for the RX7 body, sandslash and upcoming TD.

took the time to actually make progress on the tt02 just now. the less than smooth road was too bumpy for the battery pack. the sealed edges were getting a bit damaged, scrapes on the plastic protective wrap. an amazon bubble pack was a stand in while i figured out a solution. i didnt find any rubber mat that was thin enough until i notice my tool box at work has rubber mats i put in long ago. its a parralel line pattern of raised ridges. the ridges were too high for the battery clearance hold down but the ridges were cut with a razor knife very easily. with the ridges gone it fits perfectly and the rubber will protect the battery and absorb a bit more shock. it beats the heck out of the plastic ridges of the tray itself from making tooo much vibrational contact with a charged battery pack.

LOL, i think you now need to make mods to the hornet to climb trees... that sounded like an epic run.

Thank you for the reply, that brand of paint does have a color named spirited green metallic. It could be that one.

I put a 2nd layer of fiber tape and shoe goo on the sides of the shell and a bit on the roof. I just noticed one thing about the paint job, I put the front window block out sticker a bit off to the side or the sticker they provided was a bit short. Its a bit off to the left if you look at the hood from the front, Can't do much about that now...

Very nice green color, which paint code is that? My daily driver is almost the same color bit with a hint of yellow in the paint.

You got it, I was thinking of the R33 or R34 but either answer was good.

I did make a tool to remove the eyelets on shocks from the mounts with scrap aluminum and also made some aluminum disks from similar scrap to make it very easy to use my MST drift tire removal tool. Hand pressure wasn't doing the trick so aluminum plates and big C clamp worked wonders.