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BruiseWayn

BruiseWayn's Xpress FT1 build

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So, the fiasco continues. That night i did dig out my Tamiya kit for e clips. But not before deciding i needed to do some due diligence before spend effort to pull out boxes and ****. Pulling out boxes is one thing. but having to sift through bags and not making a mess is another. 

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Xpress asks for 2.5mm e clips(lost them, or they didnt come with kit, cant rmbr) on their damper shafts. yea, e clips. they are all the same across manufacturers, no?

Apparently not. 

I looked through PDF versions of XV01, CC01, DB01 (kits that i have) manuals and to my surprise (but obviously, its common knowledge for everyone here) i am to assume Tamiya kits all use 2mm clips for damper shafts across all their kits. 

dafuq. where am i gg to find 2.5mm e clips in the middle of the night then... I know.. its just e clips. whats the big deal. but i would like to follow the manual as much as i can, and not deviate away from using other parts(upgrades exception). anyway, i thought abt it... i rationalised that i am already using Tamiya damper shafts... so Tamiya 2mm e clips isn't much of a crime is it. Ok then fair enough. 

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So i cut the pistons from the tree.. and there are burrs. and i sand them off right? I realize... what if i am sanding more material off than i should? In my obsession with getting everything smooth and burr-free, i mean, i am not exactly known for precision... That would make all the dampers inconsistent wouldn't it? Thats when i realized there are actually flush cutters. Maybe flush cutters are... what, flushier than what i am using? Something i need to explore. 

Anyway i tried to install the 2nd e clip over the Xpress 2 hole piston as stipulated in the manual. I couldn't get the e ring in. And also the e clip seemed to cover the piston holes. wow, obstacles obstacles. 

That got me thinking. Tamiya pistons then. Which means raiding my XV01 kit again. 

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Picture stolen off Tamiyabase coz i forgot to snap. Sigh. So have to cut it off a tree. 

But what if this doesnt fit the damper cylinder. LOL. but no it does, i measured. 

Anyway while sanding the burr off 1 piston, again the thought hit me. I don't want to deal with inconsistencies in damping (not that i would know) by my own hand, if i can help it. Are there actually TRF pistons or something along these lines that are sold not on a tree? Something that i can use? 

Turns out, there is. 

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It was a saturday night. I hope that the Tamiya distributor would be open the next day.  these were recommended for Tamiya's alloy damper units, but i don't see why i can't use them for plastic damper bodies.

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So anyway, i couldn't be luckier. @cat007 had a pack of these to spare me, and also lent me a toy to aid my damper build. I also got my hand on a borrowed pair of damper pliers. Oh boy, were these a joy to use! I need one of my own!

So i was curious as to how thick the Xpress piston was compared to the Tamiya. i thought all pistons (@ least in the same class, in this case, 1/10 onroad) should be very very similar but obviously it just thick enough that i can't fit on. 

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Xpress.

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Tamiya. 

Its a pair of cheap plastic calipers, but you can see the Xpress piston is a wee bit thicker. Wow that bit of thickness is a make or break situation huh?

Turns out, i was the idiot. 

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Close up camera. Apparently there is enough space even with the Xpress piston. So why couldn't i fit it in the night before? pardon the slant; i didnt fit the e clip in properly. 

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ideally, I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Now the camera shows that the e clip actually doesn't cover the piston hole, but the precious night it looked like it did. Anyway, its way too close to the hole for (my) comfort.

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Sorry for pic quality. But as you can see, Tamiya piston makes a world of a difference. They feel... more pliant too. Or maybe its just me lol.

 

 

 

 

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So it was due to my incompetence that the Xpress piston didn't.... "fit". The Tamiya ones didn't fit as well, until i realized i should be holding the nose pliers horizontally, not vertically. Thats why they kept slipping. I had to refit the clips twice because they were not sitting in the groove properly. Maybe i should get an e clip tool.

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squishy squishy squishy. coated these with damper fluid. these go into the adjustable spring collar. 

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 put some on the threads as well to ease installing. 

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o rings and these spaces go into the bottom. i only coated the o rings with green slime. they smell like they r a mineral petroleum based product. so bad. urgh. 

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Generally is this enough green slime, or too much?

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the Ride air remover was a joy to use. doubles as a damper stand. Its actually something one can live without really, but this speeds up things so much. 

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i found a can of this in my car lol. Just what i need. Dampers were coated with fluid. I inhaled abit of this even though i did it outdoors. gave me a bit of a headache. 

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a good spray down later. mostly dry to touch now. need a pair of digital callipers to accurately measure length, and the springs can go on. Funny enough, the speed of rebound seemed to have slowed down after spray. Did the temperature change cause that (motor spray is really cold) or just pure coincidence?

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NON BUILD RELATED POST.

Today was a rather nice day. Didn't manage to get my dampers adjusted; havent had time to go buy digital calipers. I am not sure i would have time tmrw or the day after either. Or to be quite accurate, i am not sure if i would be in shape to. 

I am about to receive my 2nd Covid vaccine jab tmrw, and i have been informed that i would definitely fall ill after the 2nd jab. We shall see. i am taking the Mordena vaccine, if anyone is curious. 

Anyhoos, good day, because my package from japan arrived. I been waiting for this for.... more than a week. Its... overdue.

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Quite stoked. Whats in this box?

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I open the box... and out of that box, i pull out.... another box. Now this was a pleasant surprise really, as i was assuming there won't a box for this; the advertisement didn't show, or state anything about the existence of 1. 

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Advertisement listing says that its only been purchased and used, for a year. But whether the previous owner bought it new or used, was never stated. So there is the possibility that i am the 3rd owner lol. But the condition of the TX was very good.

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Came with a non sanwa but compatible receiver. The story is that he accidentally stepped on the original receiver and damaged it, and that this was bought as a replacement. Supposed to work, but i don't have the electronics to test it out yet. I am intrigued by the size of these receivers; no antenna, and so frucking small. how?!

Anyway, now that i am back fiddling with rc cars, may i consider myself to be... back in the hobby?  I been taking my time to building new kits which i have acquired a few over the past year or so, at my own pace. I am more interested in building them than running them, to my own wonky standards and spending way way way more money than i should. 

But fact of matter is that i do need electronics. TX/RX, Esc(s), batteries and a charger/balancer bla bla bla. 

maybe i can borrow batteries for that occasional bash, but the TX/RX & Esc is more important. I been looking at a proper TX/RX to buy, ideally new, something not too expensive. 

Honestly i was looking at something like a Sanwa MTS or Futaba 3PV. Like i said, no need to be fanciful, and not too expensive. But i don't want any badly built rubbish that looks like they were cobbled together with bad fitting plastics and what not. 

So anyway i was at a mate's, fiddling with one of those 1/76 scale rc mini coopers while he was talking to a customer. Its slow enough to drive on carpet without me crashing into anything. and me, being a leftie, suddenly wondered... how would it be like to hold the TX with my right hand, and steer with my left? 

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I mean, honestly, when i played arcade racing games as a child/teenager, i would predominantly feel more comfortable with steering with my left hand, and rowing the gears with my right. When i learned to drive (1/1 scale) as a 20 year old, it was abit challenging for me because being in Singapore, we have RHD cars and thus drive on the left side of the road. But over time i got used to it. Now its kindda like 2nd nature. 

As far as RC is concerned i am a revered crash dummy. But in those days all TX were made for right handed people, as with many things of this world. Correct me if i am wrong, but don't remember anyone making a left handed TX 20 years ago. Oh, back then i had a Futaba 3PDF and a 3PJ. So, was the crash dummy part due to me trying to drive and steer with the wrong hands? I cannot remember if i tried to hold the TX with my right hand and steer with my left (maybe it feels so weird i gave up on the idea). Anyway with this 1/76 toy TX, i tried just that; holding the TX with my right hand and steering with the right. Obviously my wrists and hands were in an uncomfortable position but i thought it felt more.... natural, if weird. Because muscle memory dictates that i feel more comfortable with the TX in my left hand and steering wheel on my right. 

I reached the conclusion that i should get a TX capable of been converted for left handed use. If for what stupid reason it doesn't work out for me i can always convert back.flysky-nb4-radio-11_1200x1200.thumb.jpg.ab6447726589b3a648ddf05f8215c5c0.jpg

Flysky NB4. New, convert-able to left handed use with a simple swivel of the steering wheel arm. mechanism is really tight, so no QC issues here. latency is very very decent. colored lcd touch screen and more importantly, its around the price of a mid range branded TX.. Made in china but whoa man, the build quality of this TX is unprecedented, in a good way. 

Did i say colored LCD touch screen? man this thing is really awesome. Everything from Sanwa or Futaba that was LHD capable was way too expensive. Also.. no colored LCD and touch screen. what's going on guys.... but to be fair these ones have been around for a couple of years..... 

Though i have to admit that seeing a not-very-expensive Sanwa ESC made me research more on Sanwa electronics features. SSR.. SSL.. Telemetry can be read on TX if you use a compatible Sanwa ESC. 
Wow?

The more i looked at the M12, the more i liked it. Honestly i hated the LCD screens mounted on top of their TX since the days of the M8. Ugly.

And also whats with that handle on the M12? Absolutely silly. Over the next few days i would gradually not mind it that much. And i realized that the LCD on top design was actually a decision that made sense, ergonomically.

Decided that if i found an S or RS at a decent price, i would go for it. as long as it didn't cost too much over a new NB4. 

Anyway i missed out on the bids on 2 M12S on yahoo auctions because....i was occupied with other things and bidded too late. I was quite annoyed actually, but i told myself, @ least i now know how much people are still willing to pay for these. 

But i think it was fate that i missed those 2, because the one i preferred popped up, an RS. The latest variant released. Not much different from the normal M12 and M12S, but the latest one nevertheless, and still available new. Means its not that old. 

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First thing i did was to do the left hand conversion. 5 cap screws later, I must admit it does feel kindda good with left hand on the steering wheel. Can't wait to test it.

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Bought the Mars R with the UR wheel and drop down some months back. Safe to say i definitely won't be using these now, but back in the day i really liked the look of these. Friend was a KO Propo user and he had a Precious, a Mars, and then the Mars R. When the chance came to buy that for SGD70/USD51, i dunno, i just went for it. I have no love for the UR wheel honestly, I always loved the mesh wheel of KO TXs. Then 2 weeks ago the one in ziploc bag popped up locally for SGD50/USD36. With a receiver. And that mesh wheel. omg, say no more. 

I know its weird, but i feel i could dig the look of the KO mesh wheel on the M12. Which would necessitate a custom 3d printed adaptor. We shall see. 

 

 

 

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