Gebbly

If you were going down the rescue services route as you mention the police, a variant would be the fire brigade. That ties in with the squirt gun/water canon that are on some fire trucks. You could also add a ladder to the roof which could extend and retract via the transmitter. For style points flip a switch to then use the transmitter controls to rotate and extend/retract the ladder to aim it at a window to rescue people. You could even add large extending support legs like you get on some heavy vehicles (cranes?) to hold them stable when stationary. The sort that extend by remote control e.g. https://www.dreamstime.com/hydraulic-foot-crane-extended-side-truck-outrigger-stabilizer-support-to-mobile-telescopic-close-up-image163771924 You could add a digger arm to front or back. A tow truck rig to toe away naughty parked RC cars that dad left on a double yellow The automated sort I have seen in the US where the truck backs up to the vehicle and then arms automatically slide under the car behind and lift its front end. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WkIi_XF8KE about 3:30 in)

I am toying with getting the Pershing 56016 kit and as it has been around for a while I wondered if the kit has had any changes made over time or if a brand new kit today would be the same as one from 20 years ago?

Is the "Rowdy Bull" based on a real car? I love the sweeping curves of that body.

It looks fantastic and watching it whizz around the sand was fun but I winced when that lovely finished body took a role at the end , eek!

You had to take the wheel off to change the battery?! yikes. My mother in law had a Smart Ka and the battery was in the passenger footwell but because of its shape and size you had to take the dashboard panel off to get the battery out.

If you are ok with stick controls there are a bunch of transmitters which can handle multiple protocols and also store all the settings for multiple different vehicles in their settings. Then in the menu you can just select which vehicle to communicate with and all the settings change. They tend to use the OpenTx operating system. For example FlySky make some controllers that work with a whole bunch of protocols. Alternatively I have a Taranis x9D+ from FrSky and you can buy a 3rd party module to plug in the back to add a load of different protocols. I bought this one because my intention (in the very long term) is to try a couple of different cars, maybe a tank and a long way down the road, a submarine and I am planning on using this single transmitter for all of them.

I dont have any LHS near enough to me in Surrey to visit in person. When looking for a seller online I at least try and find a site that has a real store in the hopes it helps the actual store stay open. I have found the following all who had good prices and great service : https://www.snmstuff.co.uk/ - They have a shop in Farnborough. I have bought both RC and static kits and paints from them. They have also been extremely helpful when I have just phoned them up for advice. Further afield I found https://www.modelsport.co.uk/p/visit - With a real shop up in Leeds. I've also bought from them before and they have been helpful too. https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/p/1/ - In Staffordshire were extremely helpful answering lots of RC questions when I was getting back into the hobby and offered lots of advice about parts choices and compatability. https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/ - Way up in Edinburgh. I got some good stuff from them.

This is all fascinating. The amount of detail you go into is brilliant and so educational, I'm loving all the info on wiring up LEDs and arduinos and getting them working. The wiring is looking extremely tidy, very professional. Giving the fuel tanks an actual function as storage was a good idea too. I definitely approve of the correct technical jargon : "hazard flashy flash flash mode", "pluggie-innie plug for the LEDs" Maybe you could be coaxed into a little video clip of the lights working? Brilliant job. Keep it up.

Ouch! I believe for Guinness World Records speed attempts have to be done with 2 runs. You better install a dragster parachute Good luck, hope to see video footage.

I cant tell, are you being serious? 50mph?? Blimey.

This was almost a request for suggestions I'm fascinated by the continuing evolution of Willys workshop. I think its a good few steps beyond what I am capable of or have the resources to even try. So I treat Willy's workshop as the local virtual garage I can visit. So a suggestion if I may. No garage workshop is fully operational without a car lift, the two posts with the swivel arms that swing out to lift a car. For bonus points, a working version. Even if it was just that the arms had to be slotted into place at various heights. As long as they could actually hold a car aloft whilst the mechanics worked under the car.

I had an old garage very similar to this with walls made of concrete sheets and the roof was that corrugated shape (which turned out to be asbestos). It was functional for storage but not much fun to be inside. I paid a company to tear it down and remove everything including the asbestos. Then I hired another company called Keops who design cabins to your specification and build them on site for you. They were very good and built on the old concrete base and I now have a nice wooden workshop that is a pleasure to be in and work in with lots more light in windows that open, double door at front, single door at side. I had to save up for it but it was so worth while.

This all resonates with me and I would imagine it resonates with anyone involved in a creative hobby. I too find if I am part way through working on a model kit and I see something new that catches my eye its distracting. If I actually buy a new model kit before I have finished the previous one suddenly the current model kit becomes a chore I have to push through in order to get to the new kit. Either that or move to the new kit and leave an unfinished item in my wake which leaves an uncomfortable itch in my mind. For this reason I force myself to not even look at new kits let alone buy them until my current kit is complete. Give the current kit my full attention. It helps avoid the distraction from occurring and I can carry on enjoying my current kit. Sometimes we are able to look at a project and start breaking it down in our heads and we can see up front that there may be one part of the project that is going to be less exciting than another. If this is the case it can pay to (if possible) do the less exciting bit first whilst the first flushes of excitement about the project as a whole are fresh. We can ride that excitement through the boring part and get a fresh hit of excitement to know although the project isn't new we are about to start that bit we were looking forward to. For me it is incredibly important to avoid that feeling that there is something I have to force myself to push through when it comes to any hobby. It is incredibly important to remember a hobby is something we do for fun. If we start doing things that we dont want to just because we feel we ought to it can kill the hobby. I have certainly found myself with an interest that felt there were things I *should* force myself to get on with and it gradually changed from a hobby I do for fun to an obligation. I stopped enjoying it and interest in the hobby faded. We are incredibly lucky in this forum because we can spend some time on our hobby and then talk about it on this forum and even show others our progress with pictures or video. The feedback from others, the interest and enthusiasm helps keep the excitement of our project alive. As I was investigating my GF-01 and all through building it I was asking questions and making tiny postings in the "So, What Have You Done Today? " forum thread. The response from everyone on here was always positive and kept me excited to move on to the next bit. I would suggest if a build starts to feel stale put a posting on the forums, talk about what you have done or maybe ask a question you have been toying with. The interest from others in your project is quite invigorating. How about picking one of those waiting projects you mentioned and posting some pictures to the What have you done thread or start a thread with a picture or two discussing your thoughts on what you would like to do to the car?

Looks awesome! That giant lawnmower looks like quite a track hazard. Does it chase the cars? Nice looking car by the way. The body shape looks a bit Ford escort or cortina from this distance?

I've heard the "its for the kids" from many dads before I remember visiting a friend and joining his 2 year old son to play with his train set. His wife called upstairs why we werent watching the kid and we shouted that we were, then we realised the toddler had toddled off and it was just my mate and I playing with the train set, oops.