markbt73 5316 Posted June 30, 2022 I was just taking a peek at my newly-arrived TT02 Ford Escort kit, and I noticed something I didn't know they were doing now: Pre-cut wheel arches! That's a serious game-changer. Combined with the pre-drilled holes, that eliminates one of my major pet peeves about Lexan bodies. I can never get the arches right. Is this common these days? it's been a while (years!!) since I built a new Tamiya touring car kit. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alexei 547 Posted June 30, 2022 it's not a new thing, i remember buying a Calsonic Skyline R32 GT-R back in 2005 that had wheel arches and holes pre cut like this. it makes the build process easier, but if you are using the body on another chassis than Tamiya, the pre cut body holes might not fit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ferruz 11702 Posted June 30, 2022 The TT02 Lancia Delta I bought last december had pre-cut wheel arches too. That sure was unexpected, but I was glad to find out. No idea if they do it on all on road kits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted June 30, 2022 My Porsche VIP cup TT01-E that just arrived gas pre cut arches. Hopefully the Jäegermeister Alpine soo to be here will be the same?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kol__ 3377 Posted June 30, 2022 Yep, I bought a Rock Socker shell a little while back and was also pleasantly surprised to the wheel arches pre-cut Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Ax 9325 Posted July 1, 2022 I'm going to sit on the fence for the second time today. I don't really enjoy cutting arches, so to not have to do that would be great. That said, it could potentially impact my build options. Less so on a touring car, but it's nice to have the option to cut bigger or smaller on a monster truck. Particularly on things like HPI's awesome Graverobber body, which has a huge square arch up front. When I built my Graverobber touring car, I cut the entire arch out - but a friend just measured and cut a regular circular arch in the blank space, which looked much better over 1.9 touring wheels. I wish I'd done the same. Instead, I have a plan to fill my arches with some big open headers - when I eventually get around to it. Also with monster trucks - sometimes it's necessary to cut a much bigger arch out. My JConcepts Ford bodies fit fine over 2.2 wheels with the stock arches, but to get them lower over Clod-size wheels, a lot of people cut a much bigger arch out (full size trucks generally do this too). Now you can always cut a smaller arch bigger, but I've recently discovered that it's far easier to cut an arch when the body still has the original moulded corners in place. This makes it more rigid, less likely to fold while scoring. My cutting-outing plan was always to rough-cut the corners and edges first, then do the arches last, but recently I've been doing the arches first. Admittedly, cut arches on a touring body isn't really limiting my creativity, but I wonder if it's part of the same decision process that gave us pre-painted bodies. I don't really like that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedy_w_beans 4272 Posted July 9, 2022 I'm ok with pre-cut wheel arches, but I wish Tamiya would stop punching holes for the body posts. Just leave the dimples for a body reamer like they used to. If the body already has holes in it, then you're kind of stuck with body posts which hurts any realism in photographs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RC Perspective 511 Posted July 9, 2022 +1 on not punching the body holes. I could do with the standard dimples as well. So my 1991 and 1992 Audi V8's had the pre cut arches, The 1973 911 RSR and WRC Evo VII did not, But those were most likely old stock. I'd rather have the arches pre cut honestly. They aren't that hard to do for me, But not everyone has the same dexterity so it can be hit or miss. -RC Perspective Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted July 10, 2022 I’ve got 4 bodies too do. The Porsche VIP body has cut arches but the Europa, Eunos Roadster and Alpine 110 are uncut. I like cut arches but leave the rest to us. I don’t need big ariel holes any more and if I want to do magnetic mounts a dimple is all I need!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RC Perspective 511 Posted July 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Busdriver said: I’ve got 4 bodies too do. The Porsche VIP body has cut arches but the Europa, Eunos Roadster and Alpine 110 are uncut. I like cut arches but leave the rest to us. I don’t need big ariel holes any more and if I want to do magnetic mounts a dimple is all I need!! Yea, when I did my Porsche drifter, I wanted to do magnetic mounts to keep it clean. Wound up putting holes in it anyway, but love how it came out with "hood pins" with the small cables. Plus I have grown quite fond of using the body posts as a "no-plug" lighting connector. Hate having to plug and unplug lighting every time the body comes off. -RC Perspective Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raman36 1656 Posted July 11, 2022 This will help you with making sexy arches 😉 https://www.racepf.com/accessories/better-edge-system-sanding-drum.asp 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YelloMello 99 Posted July 11, 2022 3 hours ago, Raman36 said: This will help you with making sexy arches 😉 https://www.racepf.com/accessories/better-edge-system-sanding-drum.asp Do you have any experience with it? Is it worth the money? So far I've always taken a Tamiya paint can and wrapped sandpaper around it. Apart from that, my TA-02 Opel Calibra also had pre-cut wheel arches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raman36 1656 Posted July 12, 2022 On 7/10/2022 at 11:35 PM, YelloMello said: Do you have any experience with it? Is it worth the money? So far I've always taken a Tamiya paint can and wrapped sandpaper around it. Apart from that, my TA-02 Opel Calibra also had pre-cut wheel arches. I use a sanding drum that I attach to my cordless drill to do the arches.. it’s not the Protofom one.. but it does the job. The protoform one can attach to a dremel which is much lighter than my drill. So for less money you can find something at any hardware store. The drum does make the arches very nice and uniform. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RC Perspective 511 Posted July 12, 2022 50 minutes ago, Raman36 said: I use a sanding drum that I attach to my cordless drill to do the arches.. it’s not the Protofom one.. but it does the job. The protoform one can attach to a dremel which is much lighter than my drill. So for less money you can find something at any hardware store. The drum does make the arches very nice and uniform. +1 on the sanding drum. I don't have that one, but a sanding drum makes the wheel arches real nice once you get the hang of it. I've found cheap off brand Dremel's super cheap at my local auto parts store. It works just the same as a Dremel, at more than half the price. Plus all the regular Dremel stuff works with it as well. -RC Perspective Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pylon80 2629 Posted July 12, 2022 The 1mm bodies are never fun when it comes to cutting wheel arches. But the 0.7mm ones do really well with the score and fold method. I trimmed two 99' Impreza's a couple of month ago and the arches came off so easily. Then I did a thick Porsche RSR and it was a pain. Cut the arches bit by bit then used sand paper rolled on a tall thin glass jar (first suitable object that I found). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrowka 495 Posted July 13, 2022 I used sandpaper wrapped around a children's wooden mallet. This worked really well, because the dowels comprising the mallet are of different diameters, thus allowing me to choose the right size for the job. I also got hold of some expensive files from my LHS that suspiciously resemble ladies' nail files. Whatever, they worked well for flat surfaces. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
