FatherDagon

Ahh found the tires. Anyone use these before? https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/tiresspareoption/rc-2wd-rib-spike-f-tires-2/

Well my son and I had a lot of fun bashing with the Rising Fighter and the Sand Viper at the park. I have learned they are both very different cars with a unique set of issues. The first issue I corrected from the other day, was the squishy tie rods on the Rising Fighter. I have replaced them with custom ones I made. No more bending, but I assume that this puts more pressure on the servo and servo saver. So I will see how long those last. The Rising Fighter handles pretty well on grass and concrete. The only real issue I noticed is that the friction shocks make it bounce like a pogo stick. But it does nice tight turns and handles well otherwise. Are there CVA upgrades for this? The Sand Viper however maintains a smooth even contact with the ground. I can really see how the old filled dampers make a huge difference. But it corners like crap. I don't know if I am lacking grip from the tires, or too much weight in the back end. What works best to solve this? Weights in the front? More grippy tires in the front? I thought I one time saw a Tamiya tire that was a hybrid rib and spike for fronts, but don't remember what car they came on.

Tamiya Fan 1 indicated that they believe the first shell is a Lexan (IE polycarbonate) body. With clear Lexan, you can spray translucent on the first coat, then white or black on the second coat to change how it looks or add depth. For example, PS39 with a white undercoat would give you a baby blue color. **Edit: Sorry I was referring to the topic image of the Nissan King Cab.

Just a thought, but since it is Lexan, is it possible they did a translucent color with a white undercoat?

For the sake of comparison, I color adjusted the first image to make the letters white. This should give you a better representation of the color (assuming those letters on the truck are white and not baby blue lol).

Didn't realize that was a Lexan body. Sorry. I would have guessed PS-3 as well. Keep in mind that outdoor lighting can range from bluish, white, and reddish depending on time of day, so it can be hard to tell. Here is a decent color chart though:

No problem. The stuff is stupid cheap and easy to come by. I came across it as a recommendation when I was researching lube to use for my old Red Arrow, so I already had some.

TS23 maybe?

That is interesting. I will mention that I did not use the Tamiya supplied lube at all. I instead used Multi-Purpose Super Lube. It is a Syncolon/PTFE(like Teflon) based synthetic and has high compatibility with plastics.

Funny you should mention that brace. I had just been reading about that (both the DIY and aftermarket upgrades). I would love to get a hold of this, but I am guessing this is now hard to come by: Which steel pinion gear do you recommend? The 17T or the 19T?

Been thinking about getting something like this. I don't know if we have that brand in the US though.

I got the bearings, but didn't get a steel pinion. Do these stock alloy ones strip or something? Is that the reason for going to steel? I ended up scratching the 1060 for the Rising Fighter. As it turns out, the LiPos I have are too tight of a fit, and the leads are a bit short for the battery compartment design, so I ended up using NiMH. Since it came with the tble-02s (which will do brushless), that is what I ended up installing. But I will use the 1060 in the DT-02. I will have to research tires. They use a hard packed clay/soil mix here that is supposed to offer a good combination of grip without eating the tires as much. I don't know what kind of tires they run on it yet though. I haven't put together the DT-02 yet, but it seems like a lot of the aftermarket parts are out of production. I found a company called 3Racing that seemed to have a bunch of really nice upgrades, but most weren't in stock. Any idea of a current source for DT-02 parts? The radio I got for these is the Tactic TTX300. It was both inexpensive and had great user reviews. I think it has both trim and rate for steering.

When researching lube for a vintage Radio Shack Red Arrow, I came across this information as well. While initially I had found a recommendation for moly, other places indicated that over time it can penetrate plastics. The grease that I ended up settling on was multi-purpose Super Lube with Syncolon (PTFE).

I just recently got started in the hobby, and picked up a cheap magnetic parts tray from Harbor Freight on a whim. It got me thinking, wow, this was such a helpful item, but very inexpensive. So I started to wonder what else you guys have found that just makes life easier? I know how I have read how the official Tamiya tool set was a big quality of life item for some people. But what else is there? So let's see them! Do you have any "value" items that have just made life easier? I would love to see your "quality of life" items and get some ideas. Here is my first - 6 In. Magnetic Parts Holder from Harbor Freight for $3.99:

If anyone saw the other thread, we got the Rising Fighter assembled. We took it out for some bashing, and, well, we bashed the tie rods pretty good. hehe One of the members here mentioned that cheap Futaba servos might not survive track use, but I don't think that will be an issue. The tie rod ends bend waaaaay before the servo busts. lol So I guess the question is, are there any current production heavy duty tie rods? I have come across a few vintage upgrades for the frog/grasshopper/hornet, but they seem to command a fairly steep price, and I am not even certain they would fit on a rerelease frame. I also found someone on ebay selling what appears to be a home brew kit, but I don't know how well I should expect these to work or fit without some Dremel love.

Well, me and my 7 year old assembled our first Tamiya kit together. Our Rising Fighter, sans stickers. He gets to put those on (all the while triggering my OCD) tomorrow morning. Where they stick they stick... lol

I might goof around with them with my son at the local track. I already got the Futaba servos though. That said, it won't hurt my feelings to have to replace these $10 servos if they aren't up to snuff, and will keep the Savox in mind since they stock them locally. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies everyone. I went ahead and picked up a couple of the Futaba servos.

I am not sure this is a mistake or not, but the Rising Fighter kit I got didn't have a servo included. On the store website I got this from, it didn't list it as one of the items needed to complete the kit. That aside, I now need to get one last minute from our local shop. These are the servos my local store has in stock (with a reasonable price), so which of these would work well with the kit? I am installing a QuicRun 1060 ESC and a Tactic TTX300 remote with TR325 Receiver. Thanks in advance! 1) Futaba S3003 Standard Servo (least expensive) 2) Traxxas 2018 Plastic Gear Standard Servo 3) Spektrum RC S6170 Standard Digital Surface Servo 4) Savox SC-0254MG Standard Digital Servo 5) Savox SC-0252MG Standard Digital Metal Gear Servo

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Do you get these from the hardware store, or are there specific ones you get? I am a bit afraid to play too rough with the Red Arrow for that very reason. Things I can glue or rig are fine, but gears on stuff were a bit unique, and impossible to replace. I already cannibalized a Radio Shack Black Wolf that I bought on eBay for parts. Yeah, the ESCs at $21 and the bearings at like $12 was pretty easy to manage. Found some other parts of interest from a company called 3Team, but it seems like they are either going out of business, or having COVID production related issues.

Cool. Thx. He picked the Rising Fighter because it was similar in appearance to the old Red Arrow we fixed up (driver and all). I liked the price and because I knew it would be easy to get inexpensive replacement parts for it. That way I wouldn’t have to sweat him bashing the crap out of it. The Sand Viper was something I came across and liked, but found it was discontinued. So, when I found one, I jumped on it. I may have jumped the gun, but I wanted to be able to run LiPo and not bother with an external BEC, so I bought a couple of Hobbywing QuicRun 1060 ESCs for the first “upgrade”. I also ordered a bearing kit for the Rising Fighter, as suggested.

Hello everyone. I am new to the hobby. The closest thing to hobby grade I have owned up to this point was an old Radio Shack Red Arrow with an RS-540 motor. I have tinkered around restoring this car with my son, and he has shown an interest in RC, so I am thinking about taking him to a local track here. We have an indoor off-road clay track that is pretty active. My son has taking a liking to the Tamiya Rising Fighter, and I have also picked up a DT-02 Sand Viper. I realize neither one of these are anywhere close to race spec vehicles. And I realize that they aren’t going to be competitive with the top spec vehicles at all. Nonetheless, I would like to take them to the track to goof around. We just want to get out and have some fun. If he maintains an interest in the hobby, we might eventually get something like a Team Associated buggy, but for the time being, I would like to stick with the Tamiyas. That said, what are some suggested upgrades that make them more drivable at the track? I know I am not looking for a magic upgrade to make them competitive, but more along the lines of quality of life improvements. What upgrades would you suggest to make them corner better as well as be durable enough to survive jumps and rolls? Ball differentials? Carbon fiber stays? Etc? Thanks in advance!