Thunders TD4 Mod Log - Hotshot cage/body fitted for added awesome

[Busdriver 6438]

1 hour ago, toyolien said:

Trigger pulled. Build thread coming soon👍

Happy to have assisted ( or taken the blame) in any way!!!

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Never done this before!

 

 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Too much! Oh well. 

They ard red not orange. Used half the packet as advised on many YouTube vids, but the only pan I had was fairly small so I think there must have been too much dye for the amount of water. Anyone want to buy some red dish wheels? Brand new. 

 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

In the ongoing How Yo Make A TD4 Look Better I spotted a battered astute body on ebay for cheap so I bought it to try

It's not a great fit as the TD tub flares out sooner than the astute body, but I think it shows potential. Hopefully one of the body shell makers sees this and gets inspiration! A stretched Astute style body designed to properlu fit the tub would look really cool I think. 

 

[toyolien 5908]

I tried a penguin Astute shell on my TD2 and wasn't happy. Wouldn't be hard to do a re re Astute body to fit though. Probably what Tamiya should have done in the first place...

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

1 hour ago, toyolien said:

I tried a penguin Astute shell on my TD2 and wasn't happy. Wouldn't be hard to do a re re Astute body to fit though. Probably what Tamiya should have done in the first place...

Agreed. I reckon something based on the astute, but maybe 40mm longer, with cab further back than in my pics, shaped to fit over the spur and against the shock tower like an original astute. Would look great. 

[DaveBuildsRC 216]

Revive rc on ebay does a sweet avante body.

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

4 hours ago, DaveBuildsRC said:

Revive rc on ebay does a sweet avante body.

They aren't doing any more. Apparently he got a day job! 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

After second dying failure (less than half the amount of dye, still got red wheels) I gave up and bought some orange optima wheels off JC. Offset isn't ideal but it's definitely the look I wanted. 

Anyone want any red tamiya dish wheels? 

 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Track day! 

First time running at the track. I had my spare Saint Dragon shell with me for Ultra G, but noticed it might sit quite nice on the TD4. Needed to move a body post to the centre at the rear (which required almost complete disassembly of the rear transmission. Because Tamiya). I rather like it, especially with the new orange wheels. 

On the big astro track it ran really nicely in the morning when it was damp. Had nice front grip, but a little drifty. Really fun. But as it dried and gripped up the TD4 got a bit tricky. I really need to buy some proper cut stagger for the front at least, but I was pleased with how it ran, enjoyed the new shell, and everyone had a good look at it. They all dug the pushrod suspension and nice smooth drivetrain. Universally hated the stock shell. Come on Tamiya! This is a great chassis, give us a nice shell for it! 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Mark got a few pics of this running on the big track

 

 

Really warming to the Saint Dragon body seeing these

 

 

 

[Kol__ 3534]

Great work @ThunderDragonCy, a unique and inventive approach as always😎

Liking your mix of new shells to combat Tamiya's unbelievably bad choice of original shell for the TD4👍

So did you buy red Rit dye for the wheels? When I dyed my DT-03 parts a good while back I bought the Sunshine Orange and with half a bottle in a pan of water it took 65-70 mins at a simmer to get the right tone of orange -

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/100466-neo-racing-fighter-build/&tab=comments#comment-894977

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

@Kol__ I did use rit dye. Tangerine. I only ran the for around 20 mins and the wheels cane out red both times. Have up and bought these JC Racing Optima wheels. The offset is wrong, but they look nice. I also have two sets of red tamiya dish wheels I don't have any use for! 

[bRIBEGuy 3378]

I think the Saint Dragon is uglier than sin, but somehow that shell looks really good on there, @ThunderDragonCy!

[BuggyGuy 1140]

On 4/17/2023 at 1:50 PM, ThunderDragonCy said:

They aren't doing any more. Apparently he got a day job! 

Some stock left by the looks of it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354033223842?hash=item526e0648a2:g:s4wAAOSwLehiaD9w

[toyolien 5908]

2 hours ago, BuggyGuy said:

Some stock left by the looks of it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354033223842?hash=item526e0648a2:g:s4wAAOSwLehiaD9w

That's version 1 I think.

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Ran today at the track. Despite the damp it was fun to drive this, although steering angle could do with being a little more. It's limited by the shorter servo horn I use with the steering link mod. 

It's super bumpy the club track, and I tried my hand at the jump and was rubbish and crashed as usual! Car was making a bit of a ticking noise under power. Wondering if it's the plastic bevel gears. Doesn't do it on the smoother Robin Hood Raceway track or on the local park. Something to keep an eye on. 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Track day! 

I doors at Robin hood Raceway. This ran very nicely all day. Really planted and smooth with great, supple suspenson. It did click more under power and braking though, so I pulled apart the rear trans and sure enough, the bevels are beginning to break. I have the metal ones so will swap them at some point. Great buggy though.

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Metal bevels in the rear. There was a tooth missing on the plastic prop bevel. Haven't added shims, but it seemed pretty snug. Used some tamiya grease for first time in ages. Figured metal on metal probably ought to havd some lubrication. 

 

[toyolien 5908]

Just now, ThunderDragonCy said:

Metal bevels in the rear. There was a tooth missing on the plastic prop bevel. Haven't added shims, but it seemed pretty snug. Used some tamiya grease for first time in ages. Figured metal on metal probably ought to have some lubrication. 

 

Do you think the broken tooth was from running on high grip astro?

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

I think it first broke on wet astro at the other club, doing hard acceleration and jumps. Just got worse yesterday. Bit disappointing given it has a slipper and not super grippy tyres. Given my Thunder dragon has taken much more use with no slipper it's a bit rubbish IMO. At least they have a metal option. 

[toyolien 5908]

3 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

At least they have a metal option. 

Yep, there's always an option with Tamiya 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

A bit of trimming around the gearbox ribs and bumps and the shell fits much more closely at the front. 

 

[ThunderDragonCy 8380]

Track day running. Ran really fast and really well. I do like thing this. Not sure if it's enough to be a keeper, but it stays for now. 

 

[toyolien 5908]

2 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Track day running. Ran really fast and really well. I do like thing this. Not sure if it's enough to be a keeper, but it stays for now. 

 

I really must get to one of these meets next year. 

What's making you consider selling the TD4? I've got one here that I just can't get enthused to build...