rajicon

Im with you Big Al, I think they are a nice looking car (van, or whatever in between). I see alot around here on the roads, look quite funky. Tall and short. And the original M chassis is a very flexible chassis for configuration. Although only mono shocks, it sort of adds character.

Coming from Melbourne, Aust, I would love to 'support my local hobby store'. Unfortunately that this is not the case with Tamiya. My LHS has been great with things not related to Tamiya, or even cars. If they did not sell Tamiya, I dont think they would miss it. In the case of Tamiya, basically they do not have the stock, as other brands have taken a larger share of the market than before. What stock they do have seems to be overpriced, compared to both other brands and the prices of Japan or South East Asia (we are not that far from Japan, and shipping is next to nothing). Somewhere between Japan and the retail is a large mark-up. The Australian importer is doing a poor job. A have tried to get parts ordered in (cash up front) only to be told that they are not available, when I know full well that they are. This is only after two shipments have arrived on-shore, which is about two months each. So around six months later I get my money back and try to source elsewhere. Last Christmas while in Japan I bought ten kits and many spares that I wouldnt be able to get in Australia. Japan does have a RRP which is usually discounted from most shops, more from the lager ones. One month ago I was talking to a shop keeper here in Japan about the price of a kit which is less than Aud$100 as opposed to Aud$250 at home. I am sorry if I seem frustrated with the current situation in Aust, but I somehow think it highly unlikely that there will be a global price. Even with minor differences with exchange rates, plus a little extra for getting from A to B (or in this case C, D or even E). I do believe there is room for improvement though, but exporting and retailing around the world is an extremely difficult situation. And as Japanese refuse to pay high prices for consumer goods, the price will not rise in Japan.

Theres an excellent example of a Land Rover in the forums here by RA1028, Tamiya general discussions >> Tamiya XC Land Rover Defender project Be sure to check the links to his hosted pics, top notch quality.

Thank terry.sc, your pan tourers are fantastic. My knowledge of F1cars/foam tryes is some what lacking. But I guess with a larger rolling diameter there would be a little less force transfered to the point of traction (which might even be a little longer at this tangent point, for the same reason being the larger diameter and longer rolling distance). Of coarse also all in relation to the gearing. A little off topic but what about this car? http://ccn3.aitai.ne.jp/~chevron/115-challenge2.htm A six wheeler running 11 and 12 cell (2/3 C cells) pack that reach 115kph. And thats with a brushed motor too. Also somewhere in there, there is a Corally with the battery pack placed lengthways, straight down the centre of the chassis. I know even less about Corallys, but would I be right in guessing that this is not the OEM placement? It was brought up (elsewhere) that with the servo placed vertical on the F103GT would effect the COG, even though the servo's motor is still at the lower point. But this would not generate anywhere near the force rolling on the COG that a battery pack protruding soo far out the sides would. Thus if you were to place it running down the COG it would create less of a pendulum effect.

Peewee, you said the tyres on the indy/f1 car didnt grip on anything less the perfectly clean surface, and terry.sc, you mention about the F103GT (DDT) tyres being not as big as the 50mm ones. I have seen what looks like rubber glued onto foam tyres. Would some sort of bycycle tyre inner tube glued on some foams work? Now that this is a definate release, would be great to get. Maybe get a nice sleak body for it, hmmmmm[^o)]

Wow Ed, thats a fine bit of information there. Looking through I then went on to the link to The Crawler store and saw this one at http://www.thecrawlerstore.com/Xtreme.htm called "The Stick" Took me a few minutes to figure out the two shock (all up) theory. Then realised if one reaches full extention then the chassis (if thats what you call it, its just one pole) will twist and wind up the other end. The chassis is mounted directly onto each gearbox via a bearing (to accomodate twist). Pretty nifty hey. Doesn't show too well, but the battery is a small lithium pack mounted on one gearbox opposite side to the servo. Lee, how about trying your hand at one of these? Also another place to check out is http://www.cool.per.sg/bloodclod/index1.html Goes through his builds and rebuilds, explianing why. Jamie

I always use as many small containers as possible, prefferably with good locking lids. Keep the paper that tells you which screw bag it is and put it inside with the screws. Because this kit has so many, I had boxes inside boxes. Thats why good lids are needed, this kit needs lots of space and the last thing you want is knocking over a pile of screws. And a nice sized bowl to put the screws from which step your up to in, so its easy to access. Then after, put them back into the container.

Ah Ferris, the smell of two stroke. Its not particularly the nicest smell. But its a hooks you in. I had a Suzuki RGV 250, a race bike with lights and indicators. Mine actually was an ex-race bike before I put it back together with road fairing. Everywhere I turned up I smelt like I had just been cutting the grass. But the smell and sound while tuning it (these bikes need this done alot) is a addictive, almost as much as the sound of a ported rotary engine. (-basically anything that revs over 10,000) My younger brother has a modified Suzuki RM 250 motorcross..... the smell will always be around. But I still strongly remember openning my Wild Willy and 959 when I was a kid, the smell of birthdays.

This is worth looking at. http://i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=14294 If the tree wasn't there he wouldn't of gotten out of the way in time. I dont uderstand the lack of common sence at rallies around the world. This guys a marshal too. Thought he would of known better. All events in Australia wont allow people to stand on the outside of a corner (or either side if its a slight bend).

That would be nice if Tamiya made this as a model. They could put it on the new DDT chassis. I always wanted to put my R8R body on an F201. Realised it wouldnt fit and sold the kit. Besides I heard they're not that great a chassis anyway. Diesel, thats an interesting idea. I see they allow turbos on a motor that is that big (nearing 6 litre). The R8R and R8C, **** they were nice cars. Read many articiles in the mags like Racetech. But always had a soft spot for the LMP 675 cars.

Dont know much about these cars, but do these fit? They say they are for group c. Would be interested to know as I have a Toms back home. wheel set, http://www.stellamodels.net/catalog/produc...roducts_id=1890 rear tyres http://www.stellamodels.net/catalog/produc...roducts_id=1888 front tyres http://www.stellamodels.net/catalog/produc...roducts_id=1889

Ah brings back memories. My first introduction to rc was when I was kid and someone had a Wild Willy. I too hounded my parents. I went to work with my father (a carpenter) and saved about a third of it. At about 8 years of age I didnt really help much. I still remember how excited I was that birthday. It was so much fun to make. And ,because I did nearly all of it myself, had great satisfaction in driving an owning it. I joined a club. Most members were serious racers, but still were all outgoing and acccomidating towards me. I would do wheelies into the barriers and only do two of the three laps. Once I came second last. Best fun I ever had as a kid. Good on you for introducing these kids to a great hobby. Sometimes they have a few accidents (I have had two cars run over by cars at the hands of keen kids), but I just think about the ones who lent me theres. Theres also a bloke (whose name escapes me) who is a teacher and getting a club going at school with the help of donations from tc members. I wish him all the best.

I had a friend who worked in a nursery growing flowers. They use some different stuff. Weed matting and cappilary matting. The first is obvious. The second is for hydroponics. It draws water up to fiberglass blocks that the plants are potted in. Its green (not always), really tough, weeds wont grow through and water can still pass through, allowing the soil to stay soft. And its **** hard to rip, needing a knife or a mighty strong pair of scissors. I always thought this might be good to use. Not sure of the price. But its probably more available. Its also a smoother surface. Like a wooven mat sort of (actualy spunbound, not wooven so it wont fray), not like a fake grass looking thing with 20mm grass blade lenghts. I also saw a garden show use it layed an inch or so under the grass to hold water in drought like areas.

I saw these too, didnt want to buy coffee so didnt look to close. Just saw the pic of a frog on front. Doko ni imasuka. (where are you?)

With these tire/wheel combos, how do they go on a harder surface such as ashphalt? With better clearance do you do many jumps? Has anyone tried slicks, and if so what brand and specs? Do they rub? I dont see much nice gravel. But some of these seem cool for a bit of bashing around the traps here and there.

I guess your right about it not being a Gravel Hound anymore. Not yet run it. Still working on it. Im a bit busy as in 3 weeks I will move to Japan for a year. I want to finish it and give it a hoon before I do. The arms are pretty hard and wont bend at all. Ill keep you posted.

I bought a Ford RS200 rallycar body from incredible_serious a long time ago. Being 210mm wide and 270mm wheelbase it didnt fit anything I had, so it sat around for almost a year. I guess these truck bodies are similar widths? That was until I bought a Gravel Hound. It has the same wheelbase, but a its little wider.So I thought why not make some 10mm shorter arms. After drawing up what I wanted I made a rough mock of the arms. These were file and sanded to the right shape. Then I used this to make a silicone mould. Mixed up some extra strength epoxy (the stuff with 99% hardener and not the stuff with heaps of filler). Allowed for a week to fully harden and cure, then drilled the holes for everything. As the driveshafts have thicker balls on the ends, I found it impossible to find anything the right size. I still wanted to use the original outboards as these worked with the ball and one way diffs I have installed. So these were then cut and welded shorter. The suspension bulkheads were next as they dont fit under the body. These also allowed a better ground clearance. Just had to put a screw through, a spacer, and a nut ball end for the suspension to connect to. I fitted TGX wheels which rub on the rear wishbones. I now am making new rear wisbones that are not as wide at the wheel end. To keep them thick enough for strength, I will file the hub thinner at the bottom, where the screwpin goes through. The DF02 is still a great chassis for this car, and keeps it 4wd too. Just got to finish the body and find a way to mount it, the standard posts dont work. The car is in my showroom, http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...d=37924&id=4953 Jamie.