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RoGuE_StreaK

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  1. Dunno about "good" or "easy to take off/on", but recently I lost the clip from my OG Frog and after messing about for a while trying to source one, drawing up replacements in CAD for 3D printing, etc., I bodgied up a dirt-cheap replacement; a section of one of those plastic tubes they stick balloons on and give to kids at shopping centres. Diameter was right, heated the end with a lighter then squished it against a non-stick surface until it cooled for a holding lip, then drilled a hole through the other end to take a body clip. I'm sure you could substitute a wooden dowel etc. in place of the plastic tube. Worked fine, a little fiddly to take on/off but it wasn't falling off anywhere. About a week later I found the original clip after scouring the track again for the tenth time.
  2. Thanks, so not hex wheels, just adding the hornet kingpin? I had a bit of a look at them the other month but stock is hard to find at decent prices at the moment
  3. @RizFiz, I can't quite see in the pics, are the front wheels hex, and if so what have you used as the bearinged knuckles? Or even if they aren't hex, as I'm getting sick of losing the screws holding the knuckles in and could do with a bolt-through solution.
  4. A different beast but potentially worth looking at, "commiedoor" converted a Hornet front end using Traxxas bits. Depending on local availability and price, I think I've tracked down stub axles on aliexpress using the same codes, but significantly cheaper. Bearings seem to be one of the biggest costs, but perhaps those currently on your wheels may fit the holders? (only just thought of that bit, pretty sure the bearings on my Hornet and Frog are the right size for the Rustler carriers) If you zoom in on this pack you can read the codes for each part and search for them individually https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-Steering-Caster-Stampede-Rustler/dp/B015JJZZQ0 Another hex conversion was discussed here: Think I've seen another one somewhere which used larger carriers which fitted over the... knuckle? instead of within, but can't find that one offhand. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, it's changing from having a static axle and bearings in the wheels, to having the bearings in the axle carrier so the axle itself revolves. There are hexes with bearings built-in so they theoretically slip over a static axle, but they are just as expensive (or more-so) as doing a full conversion, and apparently don't work properly.
  5. I lost one of mine the other day (first time in 35 years I think), couldn't find any so have ordered these as "near enough" replacements; yeah they're hex head and may well need a washer as well, but they should suffice. ~AUD$4.50 shipped for 10. But really any 8mm M3 shoulder bolt should do the job if you have a fastener supplies shop local to you, the shoulder's just a built-in bushing for the pivot. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000726228162.html In the meantime I've just whacked in a standard M3 bolt. If I had something that could cut accurately I might just try chopping a few mm of the 4mm OD / 3mm ID brass tube I have lying around and sleeving standard bolts with that. Not exactly like the Frog ever had precision steering, it's a basher and I'll part it with whatever I can make fit.
  6. Old servo should work, but I believe I had to swap two wires in the connector for mine to work with a DSM2 receiver; pretty certain most receivers use the same layout nowadays, so find what a modern servo cable pinout is and track down what the original servo pinout was and swap it around to match. Get yourself an ESC to replace the mechanical speed controller, if only for the failsafe of not having the car go tearing off over the horizon when you accidentally turn it on without the radio turned on. Another bonus is that it frees up a servo so you have a spare if your steering servo dies. And of course built-in BEC means you can eradicate the 4xAA battery holder... Personally I run a Devo 6S running Deviation firmware, I've got a buttload of planes and helis so it's justified, running Deviation allows a Devo to do DSM2/DSMX (Spektrum) natively, which also means you can pick up RXs for $5 or so. Sometimes Spektrum stuff comes up cheap on FB MP, otherwise there are multiple cheap(ish) options. If you are happy with sticks just grab anything, the old "surface vs air" just doesn't hold true anymore. Only thing is I don't run a spring on my throttle as it's used for planes etc., so I've had to come up with some funky mixes to get a deadband that's usable without too much issue. Myself and my two brothers are all reviving our original frogs, though I'm further along with modern upgrades than they are.
  7. From the looks of it electro plating of plastic is quite involved, and from past enquiries very expensive. This page seems to give a good overview of the process https://www.vacuum-metalizing.com/plastic-chrome-plating/ If you can get away with fwdjump's suggestion then go for it. Personal experience of cheap "chrome spray" left a LOT to be desired, virtually indistinguishable from just silver paint, but seems that this pen one's giving pretty decent results.
  8. Hi El Gecko The motors were tested with no load outside of the models, running off the one ESC and battery setup to reduce variables. The Frog silvercan was noted to sound like it was revving significantly slower. Prior to my last gearbox change I'd been running the torque (16:52T) gears. Frogs originally ran ball bearings in the gearbox and plastic bearings in the axles, but I upgraded all bearings a few years ago. No slop in my driveline, gearbox sides are flat, and I run one shim on the diff with no slippage (gears are all in good condition).
  9. G'day all Probably the first of multiple questions; my brothers and I are reviving our original Frogs we got as kids in '87, I did some updates a few years ago (ESC, DSM2 RX, replacement shocks, new boots and tyres) but my brothers still have the OG fitout at present. I'm kinda doing all the research and reporting results for them to follow my footsteps. I got my re-re Hornet and OG Frog out to a track the other day for a shortlived test, and the Hornet blew away the frog in terms of speed, despite running a "standard" gear whilst I'd updated the Frog to the "speed" gear. Note that I used the same battery for both. I later took both motors out, hooked them up in turn to the Hornet's ESC, and gunned the TX; to my reasonably well trained ear the Hornet motor sounded like it was revving probably a good 20% faster than the Frog motor. Dunno if it's just old and tired, dirty, or what, but looking at alternatives. By all reports the cheap austar/surpass/goolrc motors are essentially all the same motor, and actually quite good. My question is, for a Frog gearbox (with currently no issues) should we go for the 23T option, which equates to a sports tuned but apparently runs faster than those as the cheap ones have actual bearings, or should we push it more and go for a 21T? I do have all sets of the frog gears, so can go back to "standard" or even "torque" gearing if required. I saw a video last night where the guy built a re-re using a 19T, but he had concerns over how long the diff would last. And yes quite definitely will be recommending an update from the MSC to ESCs for my brothers. Any thoughts/alternatives greatly appreciated.
  10. Hi Unknown Driver, cheapest I can find the aluminium ones is about Aus$25 shipped, cheapest plastic I can currently find is Aus$17 shipped, but if stocks become available again thanks to the upcoming rereleases then plastics should be available locally for about Aus$7. By all accounts the plastic ones are pretty durable, and aluminium not necessarily more-so, so I'll wait to see if I can get new plastic ones instead. Have moved to the inner holes (outer one has completely snapped on one side), to my untrained eye the steering looks like it should be "fine". There's only about half of the original hole left, so capturing would be a fairly dodgy proposition. I pulled apart the gearboxes the other day to check for hidden damage, and I swear this thing's only been run once, smashed the front left into a wall, and then put away for a few decades. Maybe not once, but extremely little use. Metal motor mount arrived yesterday, awaiting some 7mm M3 spacers to retrofit the front suspension tower, combined with brass washers and 4mm brass tubing (3mm ID), need to solder new wires between the ESC and motor, apart from that she looks ready to go!
  11. Thanks Alangt4, I won't be racing or doing anything serious in any way shape or form, just mucking around. Can't imagine the turning circle could be much wider than a frog/hornet Haven't checked out the servo to see its specs, but seemed pretty heavy duty. Saw yesterday that the Top Force Evo is being re-released, which hopefully means the front knuckles will be easier to source; looks like they should be more like $7 if the "local" shops stock them, and supposedly my local toyworld does order such things in (it's the closest I've got to an RC store). Metal parts are looking like $25+ for the cheaper ones, so that's quite a few broken plastic knuckles to justify. I've figured out that some old 10mm aluminium tube I had lying around has an ID of a little less than 8mm, so sleeves quite nicely over the front tower ... erm ... tubular sticky-outy screw-receiving bits which have an OD of about 7mm. Figure I can epoxy them on to inhibit splitting, and/or rebuild the split-off bits, maybe get rid of the screws and go for bolts right through instead. Or just chop of the nub bits and replace with spacers, ala the TF Evo? I'll need to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb to see if there are any other cracks I've missed among the dirt/grease (pics below are before any cleanup)
  12. G'day all, I've just picked up a Blazing Star (DF01, essentially a Manta Ray?) for a steal at $20, it appears to be in quite good condition except for a broken motor mount (ordered a metal one) and some damage on the front left; suspension tower has cracked holders for the shocks, I'm attempting to DIY a repair for these until I get it running, but the left red upright / hub / steering arm (?) has split right through where the ball screws in. Parts seem to be hard to get / expensive here (cheapest I can find is $17), wondering what the effect would be if I moved the ball in to the inner screw hole? I've moved both sides in and adjusted the linkage length and it "seems" like it would work OK, but is there a major reason NOT to do this? I'll continue to try to track down replacements, or a possible "upgrade" to aluminium, but I'm hoping to get it to a testing phase with minimal extra cost until I've actually proven it to work. I'm not familiar with this era of Tamiya, I'm also currently reviving my original Frog, and my wife had gotten me a re-re Hornet a few years ago.
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