JimBear

Depending on where you live and what you want to spend, the unpainted Landfreeder body is available at Tamico.de.

Speaking of small things happening: not acorns, but body clips. I really enjoy the Grasshopper II (to my surprise), but I am not a fan of having to get the clips out from the battery lid. Even the small Tamiya clips are a bit too big and I need to use a tool to get them out easily. I was trying to come up with some Clever Engineering to get rid of the nuisance until it struck me ... the Axial ones for the SCX24, with the little flap thingy? Ran off to do a test, and yes, very nice - works a treat. It's the AXI206000, should of you three who actually run a GHII, need them.

The W. Schrott Racer is now moving under 380 Healthy Racing Dad power (I had a spare 7 channel receiver for the Carson TX, totally overkill for a GHII but you run whatcha got). The big brain melt was spending an hour and a bit trying to figure out why exactly nothing (and that's a whole nothing, friends!) works ... tried 4 different esc, several batteries, other batteries in the TX and I was almost off to buy new stuff and throw the Carson in the bin, when I happen to look at the ESC and notice that hmm... the channels are reversed - 7 on top and 1 on the bottom. And then while powersliding over the kitchen floor, I managed to fail again (better) ... I hit the dog water bowl, turning the whole thing into watersports ... You see - "Dads go wild" when nobody is at home. 🐹

Eeeh ... headless driver onboard!

I just happened upon an example of a scratchbuilt race truck on german ebay - probably an older one since this one is done on the 959 chassis (!). There is another from the same builder, done on the FF01 chassis. Pretty nice, I think. I nabbed one of the photos, just to show you - no affiliation, etc:

35 years and counting ... (for me, that is). One day, one sunny day ...

@tamiya3speed - good to know that there was spares in circulation - in Europe there is nothing as far as I know - only the 834b kits (299 euros at the moment on Tamico).

I'd say the same - the Lunchie is a top test for throttle management, the lower speed of the Hopper might be better suited. Of course, one could modify the Lunchie, or just set the throttle at 50%. It all depends.

@urban warrior - perhaps just painting it would be better, since the linseed oil doesn't protect much against water.

If they get up to actually providing spare parts ... which the 834b never had. Not even spare tyres. Nada. Zilch. If it will be same thing this time around, it'll just end up on as another "collectors' item". I have the impression that the 870c has sold well, because it's a well-made and slightly updated version, but also the fact that it is supported with Yokomo spare parts, and some 3rd party supplier doing their stuff too, which probably makes into a viable vintage racer. I'll believe it when I see it. And I was excited when I saw the 834b, thinking it would get spares and a bit of support. They really bodged that one up.

Thanks, @silvertriple. It gives me an idea of what to expect. Would it be possible/meaningful to cut the chassis plate oneself?

Hmm ...

Just asking - I assume trying to build one of these would be pretty expensive without a 3D printer at home (ordering the pieces)?

Hmm ... good question. A Grasshopper, perhaps: bouncy. Put in a 540 motor and you'll be all over the place, like most squirrels.

@Andreas W Aah, syttende mai! Even for a Swede living in Norway back then, it felt like a big, wonderful day. So, it's Friday again (again) ... Too much stuff going on during the week, too much going on during the weekend (birthday celebration, the dreaded Sunday Dinner etc) ... I just need a break. Preferably with a screwdriver, some coffee and something to build or rebuild. If the weather is good, maybe Junior and I can get out for a drive-around with the Schrott Buggy. Have a great weekend, folks!

Here is part I (there is a video in there showing some of the racing):

It was my hunch too in passing, thinking that it would need adjustment. The idea in my head was too work-intensive and complicated; involving moving the axle, so your idea is obviously better.

Well ... knowing our own Junior, although he is a pretty careful driver, I'd say it's a good day for Dad when the run is over and nothing has fallen off any given RC vehicle. That said, I've been lucky lately - the Pumpkin, the C11 and the 380 Schrott Racer have survived several runs. The 380 Racer is pretty much the sweet spot - take it out, have a blast around on the road outside, chat a bit, enjoy the moment ... and then go inside for cookies. The crawling should generally be more gentle, since you seldom crash horribly above the speeding limit, but big wheels and gnarly terrain can put some sticks in the works.

Delivery truck for cats ... who are the masters in the household? Now we know.

@magnumcyclonex - a sweet little thing! It reminds me of some sort of rock buggy I've seen (Losi?). It's never gonna happen, but a 1/10 version would be fun.

The decals look fine to me, but as you write, a couple of more might do it even better. Thanks for showing a bit of how to take the Bruder cab apart ... I rescued a cab (Mercedes one, less the windshield part) from the recycling sack at home, to squirrel away for better times. We'll see if they come or if it gets re-recycled eventually, for lack of time.

Ouch ... on the box of my program card it says ROHW30501003 (or P/N 30501003) and that one works? In theory, it should be possible to program the 1080 G2 on its own, without the program card, but in practice I at least would end up at Arkham Asylum ... that way lies madness, methinks.

Yet another TT-02?

It was good to see the Fun-Wroom in action but otherwise not much. It struck me, speeding through this video, that "we" (read I) am so used to the information flood of "new, next, best, something other, ding-dong" that it gets hard to sit down, take a breath and enjoy what is actually there (or well, real soon now, looking at you, Mini Cooper!).

Most of the spare parts are floating around Juniors room, and excursions are often set upon, trying to unearth the rare and wondrous Rear Wheel Hub (10+ points, with Magic Abilities). Oftentimes, Something Else of Importance is found and marvelled at. Worst case, when something isn't found, the mission is aborted and then we retreat to the kitchen, munching cookies instead. For my own spare bit and pieces, a few yellow (PS-6) containers are used, together with shoeboxes containing hopups for a not begun Project (of whatever kind).