M05 Ver.II - In-Depth Build and Setup

[JimBear]

@Pylon80 - could you perhaps, if you haven't put the masks on, scan them and upload a pdf file somewhere, so that one could print them and use as templates?

 

[Pylon80]

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

@Pylon80 - could you perhaps, if you haven't put the masks on, scan them and upload a pdf file somewhere, so that one could print them and use as templates?

 

I think I kept templates for the windshield and rear hatch so that's that at least. I will try to scan them for you. If you look carefully on second hand Golf bodies a lot of them have some rather "creative" outlines around the windows 😅

[Pylon80]

@JimBear MCI Racing actually have the window masks for that body available for sale, I just remembered now. That is an option.

I was able to back my paint in white and it looks great. However last night we had the occasional day of rain so I could not spray the black... but as it turned out this was a blessing since I noticed that some of the white had somehow managed to bleed past the tape! I was able to correct for it before spraying the black and sealing this defect for the rest of eternity under the black

I think that for people who can afford to spray it all same day (or people who like pulling all-nighters working on their RC cars) this would not happen. But somehow the first coat of paint does something to the masking tape over the course of the next 24h or so, and in certain areas it caused the tape to lift slightly. I think I was able to correct it and it should be ok. I am trying to remind myself that this is just a runner body and there is not point diving too deep, but I just can't bring myself to making a sloppy job.

I will wait another day or so to get the relative humidity back under 40% and then spray the black. I could technically work on the ABS front grille too, which will be done by brush painting acrylics:

The grille will be semi-gloss black. Ditto for the cabin air grille at the rear of the bonnet. The headlights will be either silver... or perhaps flat white? As if they had some sort of cover on them like rally or hill climb racers sometimes do? Not sure yet. The VW logo will be black with the letter in silver (very tiny). Finally the entire bumper will be hand brushed gloss black since I am too cheap to spend another 12$ on yet another can of TS paint just for that one bumper. Just like I should-have-would-have-could-have bought a can of TS white to cover the gray primer on the front end before spraying TS-102, which would have yielded a better color match to the lexan body. Lesson learned. 10$ here and 10$ there is how these cars always end up costing around a thousand bucks each 

All the above wining aside this particular car has been extremely enjoyable to build so far and after having run it (naked) so much already  I am still amazed how it is my nicest driving one, beating even the pan cars. I just can't wait to see it with the Golf body sitting on top of it. I have done some 'dry runs' of Postal Racing and it is very well suited to the tracks indeed... It certainly is competitive  and hopefully will remain so with 200g of body weight added!

 

[Pylon80]

Well! It looks like I am doing this after all

A quick look at my usual weather source revealed that humidity was back at 40%; with the kiddos fast asleep for their nap there was no valid reason to delay painting! So I forged ahead and sprayed the black. I must say I am enjoying painting more and more. I think I improved my technique a lot thanks to the videos that @Re-Bugged suggested (HemiStorm RC). In particular I now:

1) warm up the cans in hot water which makes a huge difference in how the can sprays

2) I have completely changed the distance and speed at which I 'sweep' the can over the works. I think I am wasting less time, less paint and I get a nice almost glossy finish in only 3 sprays and about 15min total. I guess one just needs to 'see' how things are done sometimes!

3) I inspect the evenness an thickness of the paint between each coat with a small desk light as suggested by HemiStorm and know what to focus on for the final touch-up coat.

Note how the smart camera gets the focus on the background perfectly but the subject is all fuzzy. Credit for all this smartness goes to Google (I am sure there is the way to help the very smart camera figure out what to focus on but apparently poking the screen with my finger does not always work).

I always insist on backing the entire shell in black at the end as it looks better when you see the body through the wheel arches and the windows. Credit is for the master craftsman @Truck Norris for this  The black covers very quickly over the white and I got all the white parts done in one coat.

Next up will be the red windshield banner which will require removing the windshield mask and re-masking most of it, leaving the top part only exposed.

[Re-Bugged]

Very tidy, job well done 👍🏻 

[Andreas W]

Nice job. I keep on telling myself that it's a runner every time I get a bleeding or other errors. But of course I try my best to do a best possible job to begin with. 

 

You are making it a more work intensive job by going for more colors. Hat off for that. Looking forward to read more race reports when it is finished. 

[Pylon80]

A Word On The Livery

I was able to complete the paint of the main (Lexan) body over the week-end which is a great milestone for such a slow builder as me. I took some time to think the windshield banner over. The temptation to skip that finishing touch and just plow on with the stickers was great but I was strong  and took one evening to make that banner.

The original inspiration - a loose one - for the body livery was this Carl Fogarty Petronas bike that I like so much:

The blue is a bit too blue for me but the general idea was to have something green/blue/teal with the lower part of the body black (using the original Kamei livery line) and some touch of red/orange. So I used PS-54/TS102 for Cobalt Green and then I needed a touch of red and/or orange. One color I find interesting from my 911 RSR build is what Tamiya call "Fluorescent Orange" PS-20. It is in fact a translucent orange that becomes orange once you back it in white, which is what I did. I think the resulting color is somewhat similar to the rear wheel fender of Foggy's bike. I figured a windshield banner was a cool way to include that orange touch.

 Windshield Banner

I had wanted to make a painted windshield banner for some time and this body was the occasion. I think the shape of the banner is what matters the most as it can make the windshield look more square of more rounded. I decided to make it arch down with the edges 2mm lower than the center; I used my Tamiya masking sticker sheets again. I could not locate my set of french curves so I twister a metallic ruler with my fingers to draw the desired arc (no pictures since you already need 3 hands to do the job!):

 

... breaking up the post in 2 due to picture size...

 

 

[Pylon80]

Paint Completed (Main Body)!

I then masked the entire inside of the body again to avoid overspray from the so-called Fluorescent Red and it's White backing, then unmasked everything except the bottom of the windshield and did a touch up of Black and I was done. Lifting the overspray film was pure joy as always:

I am really chuffed with that banner. This body was supposed to be a runner 'blob' but I am spending a bit more time than I wanted. Since postal racing is the goal and it involves running the car by yourself and away from obstacles and curbs there should not be any reason to worry about damaging the body anyway. Hopefully these are not famous last words :D

Here are a few more pictures:

 

Next will be the stickers and then the ABS front end paint. I hope the Golf will have its Postal Racing debut this month. That is still achievable!

[Andreas W]

Looking good. That cobalt green is just outstanding. I almost went back on my decision last year and wanted to paint mine in that color,  but I already had both the PS, TS and acrylic in park green,  so then it was that way. It was also the color that reminded the most of the Rheila Golf,  which was my inspiration. 

 

As you say the chance of crashing or rolling during postal racing is next to none. After I stopped using conical markers (effectively acting like a flip ramp) I have not rolled once. And as long as the spot is large enough (or the driving skills are good enough) you will not crash. 

 

Looking forward to see you and the lovely Golf in the postal racing. 

[Carmine A]

On 11/29/2023 at 11:43 AM, Pylon80 said:

I have been busy driving my cars all the while feeling guilty for letting spray season pass without getting the Golf body done. We are expecting our third child soon...

So here is a modicum of progress on the body...

Window Masks

....the Golf does not even come with window masks! So I decided to get the Tamiya masking sticker sheet (87130) and make my own. I briefly considered just hacking them roughly with masking tape but since I never know when I am going to be able to spray, I prefer having a set of window masks at the ready and stick them on at the last minute.

...For the side windows I made the left ones then cut a mirror image for the right side. The rear hatch was done using a half template that I flipped to obtain the other side... not sure that was the most efficient way.

 

On 11/30/2023 at 8:02 AM, Pylon80 said:

....it did take 2 full hours to mask the body correctly and then spray the PS-54 Cobalt Green.

....I think it went well so far. And I absolutely love this color.

First, congratulations on kid #3!!! 👏🙏😊😊

I REALLY want this Golf body. I haven't made my own window masks in a few... decades! 😳 But that detail won't stop me.

It looks GREAT so far! I may copy the PS-54 Cobalt Green. Never used it before, love it!

[Carmine A]

@Pylon80 The finished painting looks AWESOME!! 👌😊😎‼️

Hemistorm has been unprecedented in his unique painting methods, and his results with only spray bombs is always incredible. 

im going through my 5th financial crisis in the past 16 years. 😢😭😭😭  But I try to work around it as much as possible, even with the incredible amount of inflation in the past 3 years.... 

I ordered a set of 12 M-Chassis tires from AliExpress, should get them... eventually. I think I'm long overdue to get back into Postal Racing...  Our parking lot has recently been repaved!! So if I can still handle it, expect to see me soon! 😉

[Pylon80]

@Andreas W it's funny I did the same and bought training cones in 2021 for postal. They are the worst thing in the world! If you barely tap one it flies 10 meters off the course ruining your stint. If you hit it it launches the car which flips on its back  So I now use bright orange Duck Tape. Not cheap and I use a lot every time I setup and tear down a track but it's the best stuff.

@Carmine A thanks for the kind words. Please pm me if you need any M chassis parts and I will see what I have and send them over to you for Christmas. I might have new in plastic paint cans that I won't use as well. I do have a full set of 4 slick tires (55mm) I can send as well. I have a lot of respect for our veterans.

[Pylon80]

Mini-update as I was able to work on the front of the body a little bit.

Hand Brushing Acrylics

It was my first time opening a jar of acrylic paint in probably 2 years. I really like that it dries in 30min and can be done inside the house with no discernable smell. It is not as satisfying as spray painting and I am lacking the skills to completely avoid brush strokes. I am sure it could be made flawless if I thinned my paint more and would do multiple coats rather than one thick coat. Since the body is a runner I think I am better served by doing one quick coat; the result is not too embarrassing anyway!

The grille is semi-gloss black while the bumper is gloss black (also known as 'black' on the jar itself).

As I have mentioned previously the color match for the Cobalt Green is not 100% perfect but this is largely my fault as I should have either used a white primer or apply a coat of white TS paint before the TS-102. The effect really depends on the ambient light though and when you look at the body as it stands today it is probably the last thing that comes to mind. All in all I am very happy with it!

Stickers?

As for the stickers I have decided to skip the window trims. These require a considerable amount of time and always seem to end up looking like what they are... stickers

I did use stickers for the headlight, thinking that I could always peel them off and use paint as originally planned if it turned looking toylike. I am glad I tried them as they do look very good! It is a bit of a shame as the plastic had some very nice surface details that are now hidden. But I was pleasantly surprised with how the stickers can be made to conform with the spherical shape of the headlights. I used a hair dryer and damp Q tips, but it was 90% there just rubbing gently with my fingers and nails. Tamiya stickers are always of the highest quality in my (limited) experience.

The VW emblem will remain black for that stealth looks  The idea is that a black emblem looks better than a poorly painted one, and much better than the sticker slapped onto the surface details of the plastic.

I also tried the technique suggested by @Willy iine - cutting the stickers with an x-acto or similar blade and then peel them off the backing sheet, rather than trying to cut them with scissors. Thank you sir, you are going to make me save an enormous amount of time and frustration on this body and all the coming ones!

 

Next up will be all the sponsor stickers and then protecting the body from chaffing and wheel rub with aluminum tape. Then the little racer will give a try to Postal Racing Round 41! @Re-Bugged IT'S ON!

[Willy iine]

Sounds awesome @Pylon80   I use a cheap-o cutting knife from Olfa.  It looks like this.   I like it because it's easy to snap off the blade once it starts to catch the decal.  I also like that the housing is metal so it is firm and lasts a very long time.  I've been using the same knife for like a decade, no issue.  I only use Olfa blades when it comes time to replace as it's just not the same.

https://www.amazon.com/OLFA-5018-Stainless-Slide-Lock-Utility/dp/B0006Q9CMK/ref=sr_1_2?hvadid=634018708737&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3011569908289958085&hvtargid=kwd-100173719602&hydadcr=29012_14670977&keywords=olfa+slimline+knife&qid=1702080591&sr=8-2

 

They also make the 'graphics knife' if you want a pointy tip like your exact-o.    And it snaps off when blade becomes dull.  

 

BTW, body's looking great so far!  👍

 

[Kowalski86]

3 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

Next up will be all the sponsor stickers and then protecting the body from chaffing and wheel rub with aluminum tape. Then the little racer will give a try to Postal Racing Round 41! @Re-Bugged IT'S ON!

I see window stickers as optional, they're more or less there to fix where the masking may not have worked out. You are correct that up close they look a bit "stickery", almost cartoon-like.

I am glad to see that I'm not the only one who uses arcylic paint for some details. It's a bit safer to use than polycarbonate paint, and a lot cheaper. If it scuffs off you can just apply more.

Funny thing is, back in the old days they'd race VW Golfs at Mid America Raceway (where the most recent postal event is based off of), so your entry will be very fitting!

[Pylon80]

Just now, Kowalski86 said:

Funny thing is, back in the old days they'd race VW Golfs at Mid America Raceway (where the most recent postal event is based off of), so your entry will be very fitting!

That is awesome!

[Pylon80]

1 minute ago, Kowalski86 said:

arcylic paint for some details

It is interesting that a single stroke of acrylic with a simple hand brush left a shiny coat of paint that looks just like the Lexan next to it. In comparison the TS paint did not come out shiny at all and would require polishing.

[Re-Bugged]

Excellent job @Pylon80 👍🏻 

See you at the start line 😉

[Kowalski86]

45 minutes ago, Pylon80 said:

That is awesome!

Heres a photo to give you some inspiration

[Pylon80]

Stickers

I changed my mind and decided to do the stickers properly, including the window trims. The windows are what takes the most time and the result could be said to look good from a few feet, at best. The next body I am building will have the window trims done in black paint, from the inside. The annoying thing with small narrow stickers pasted across the ridges of the windows is that even when using heat they always seem to come undone in a few places. When handling the shell in your hands, you feel the edges of the window stickers 'catch' and lift in various places. But I am still glad I invested the time to do them as I admit that the body looks a lot nicer now.

I then moved on to the fun part, which was applying the sponsor decals. I scored every stickers off the sheet with an x-acto knife and then use distilled water in two spray bottles: one straight and one with a bit of soap. I am very happy with the result and I will take proper pictures outside with the body installed on the chassis. The sponsor stickers really pop on the Cobalt Green as well as the Black. Ditto for the Fluorescent Red windshield banner!

Body Posts

One of the small things the 'annoy' me is the trend of not cutting body posts on an otherwise nice build. I am not sure if it is a trend or people just not knowing to cut them (the instructions don't mention it I think) or anxiety over cutting them too short  or making them unusable for a future, taller body. But I can't stand the sight of dorky body posts sticking out the shell by 4in. So I cut the posts using my trusty mini pipe cutter

This time I used some black o-rings that Tamiya makes specially for body adjustment. They also protect the body from the lower clip chaffing on the paint. One thing that is always a bit of a problem is the pitch between holes in the posts: there is one hole every 4mm! That is a huge amount for an on-road car and you really have to get lucky to be happy with the height you pick. These o-rings measure 2mm in thickness and so they alleviate some of that concern by providing a finer adjustability. I got lucky using 1 o-ring at the front and at the rear and the body looks just right: as low as possible without getting tire rub as I drive under normal conditions. On the picture below the car is propped on wood blocks so what you see is the wheel fitment at full droop rather than at normal ride height.

Reinforcing Tape

Something that has happened to me in the past is that inevitably over time the tires will rub on the body even when you don't expect them too - perhaps it is when you hit a small bump? In any case when that happens you get a skid mark through the paint and showing on the outside through the Lexan. The rear over-fenders are black so that would probably be less visible. The front are Cobalt Green and would show the skid marks very quickly. So I protected all 4 over-fenders with Tamiya reinforcing tape (53351). That, and the o-rings mentioned above, are typically something I would never buy if it wasn't for PJ as they are only a few $ there but would be grotesquely overpriced here in the US!

I never thought I would dare giving tips on bodies  but here goes: to make a nice on-piece reinforcement that does not show on the outside (the edges will fray slightly after you cut them), I made a template with masking tape. Then I transferred the template over the tape. The result is protecting the body nicely without showing frayed edges on the outside.

Another place that was a surprise is the very back of the chassis: it will chafe at the body and will go through the paint in a few minutes. This is just how this body is on the M-05 chassis. A piece of reinforcing tape protects the body against this problem.

Next Up

Next up will be painting the small grille at the back of the bonnet (fine surface primer then semi-gloss black). Then unfortunately since the chassis has developed a strange sound in the gears I will need to split it to investigate and clean. This puts me out of the race for this month's postal  Finally the body with it's multiple coats of paint, plastic parts and the assortment of M3 screws holding them is extremely heavy and the chassis will have to hop onto the setup station to get it setup properly.

[Carmine A]

26 minutes ago, Pylon80 said:

One of the small things the 'annoy' me is the trend of not cutting body posts on an otherwise nice build. I am not sure if it is a trend or people just not knowing to cut them (the instructions don't mention it I think) or anxiety over cutting them too short  or making them unusable for a future, taller body. But I can't stand the sight of dorky body posts sticking out the shell by 4in. So I cut the posts using my trusty mini pipe cutter

(I'm right with you on that one!!!) 😮😜

This time I used some black o-rings that Tamiya makes specially for body adjustment. They also protect the body from the lower clip chaffing on the paint.

On the picture below the car is propped on wood blocks so what you see is the wheel fitment at full droop rather than at normal ride height.

Reinforcing Tape

Something that has happened to me in the past is that inevitably over time the tires will rub on the body even when you don't expect them too - perhaps it is when you hit a small bump? In any case when that happens you get a skid mark through the paint and showing on the outside through the Lexan. The rear over-fenders are black so that would probably be less visible. The front are Cobalt Green and would show the skid marks very quickly. So I protected all 4 over-fenders with Tamiya reinforcing tape (53351). That, and the o-rings mentioned above, are typically something I would never buy if it wasn't for PJ as they are only a few $ there but would be grotesquely overpriced here in the US!

Don't be shy about offering body tips... especially since they're GOOD ideas!! 💡

... Pipe cutter for trimming posts, brilliant! I'll bet they're always neat and even. 

And the placement of reinforcing tape... another solid idea, that will save inside scuffs. Thanks, sincerely! 

[Pylon80]

I decided to enter the car for Postal Racing Round 41, getting 3 rather poor stints, on the 31st of December at 10pm - talk about entering in the nick of time!

Finishing Touch: Bonnet Vent

However there was one small detail still missing on the body: the bonnet vent.

I decided to spray it with fine surface primer as I wanted to help the hand-brushed acrylic paint stick correctly. There was no sanding nor corrections required after one single spray and so the next day I hand brushed the Semi-Gloss Black. Again it went easy with only a single coat. As a comment for all the acrylic paint that I brushed on this body: I only applied 1 single coat as this is an RC model which does not need to look perfect. I think on a static model I would have thinned my paint a lot more and done multiple coats ... over multiple days

The screws securing the vent are supposed to be 2x8. With my dread of JIS screws I had to search in my parts bin for something with an hex head. Don't buy titanium screws just for this  but if you have P/N Racing screws in your 1:27 stash then use them!

Postal Racing Debut - Round 41

With so little time before the end of Round 41 it was a mad rush to get the car ready and the first attempt was cut short due to a strange noise coming from "somewhere". So I dismantled, cleaned and oiled the DCJ's and went for another test run but the noise was still there. I knew I had to split the chassis to investigate... After having done it a few times I at least didn't need the manual. But it is still quite a few screws to get there! I am sure I will be able to do it in less than 30min once I get the hung of it.

The inside of the gear box was an absolute mess with sand, small pebbles and even twigs  having somehow found their way inside. I am glad I opened the car rather than letting the gears chew themselves up. I think the contamination starts on the bottom of the gear box, attacking the differential (which is the most expensive part) and of course the counter-gear meshing with it. I flipped the diff so that it would mesh with the other half of the counter-gear, with fresh teeth at least on that counter-gear.

While I was at it I also installed the lightweight (hollow) shafts. This is an inexpensive hop-up and I think makes a lot more sense and feels a bit more RC grade than the solid chunks of steel that come in the kit.

So how did Postal Racing go? Well... To perform you need to 1) drive you car a lot and 2) have it well sorted out. I failed on both fronts!

The car felt very strange after having driven my rally car a lot this month. In particular the steering is very nimble but the turning radius is exponentially smaller the lower the speed. This is normal; just much more noticeable on this car. At low speed it turns over less than 2ft which is amazing and welcomed for Postal, but if you enter a corner just a tad too fast you will run massively wide. Another thing is that in my haste I was using the hard/dried-out shelf wheels and tires, with no tire sauce of course. The temperature was also the coldest I ever run that car (I know, this is Arizona... it was +10degC not -20!).

The other part of the problem is that I did not take the time to de-tweak the chassis after re-assembling it. I also suspect that some of the shock collars had been turned inadvertently while I was handling the car. In any case, the same car that normally leaps straight as an arrow was heavily tweaked. It would go off to one side under hard acceleration and veer off to the other side under hard breaking. This made it impossible to go full throttle down the straight without wobbling left and right and loosing the rhythm after the straight. That is a very common sign of suspension tweak and will be easily resolved. On that subject I have some ideas of how to prop the car on the equivalent of droop blocks, in spite of the chassis' bottom having nothing flat! I am hoping to finally be able to set down-stops symmetrically. I will make a write up after that is all done and sorted.

 

Next up will be the de-tweaking I mentioned above as well as a shock re-build with longer piston rod.

[Pylon80]

A bit of a random post on setup.

Measuring Ride Height on the M-05

Those familiar with the M-05 know how nothing, or almost nothing, is flat under the car. The chassis' bottom angles on the sides as in certain modern touring cars which provides clearance as the car rolls around the corners. This makes measuring from the sides impossible. Then the M-05 also has this insane 5deg or so of front kickup (or anti-dive as I think it's called for on-road cars). This causes the front to curve up like the hull of a boat and that makes measuring ride height from the front impractical. So one would need a feeler gauge of just the right thickness to measure anything.

Well I might have solved this issue...

If you remember how I balanced the car literally a few posts before, I had drilled a hole exactly down the center of the bumper. Today I rebored that hole to 2.5mm and tapped it to M3. Now I can insert a screw temporarily for setup. I adjust the screw until it's aligned with the rear and middle of the chassis.

And I now have a sharp and accurate reference for measuring ride height with a step gauge!

Note that the rear of the car is super easy as the suspension block is already nice and flat and using the step gauge is a cinch.

So I lowered the car to 5.6mm from 6mm which of course increases my droop settings "for free" as a byproduct. Droop is now close to 3.5mm rear and 2.5mm (including the remaining play in the C hubs / knuckles) at the front. That's a lot, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes on the track.

 

Next up: that's a bit in reverse order, but I'll show how I was able to jack the car accurately on a diy rigging jig to be able to accurately set the down-stops symmetrical.

Edited January 7, 2024 by Pylon80

[Carmine A]

That's CLEVER! 🏆 I'm always looking for ways to improve my old M-05.... I'm trying that! 

As far as the bottom of that BUMPY chassis... I'm trying to fabricate and fit a lexan under tray. Something that goes all the way to the body sides, to catch *some* of the air pressure that swirls inside the body from underneath. Realizing it's not an absolutely critical mod, I'm trying to keep the cost....and weight as low as possible. 

[Pylon80]

Well! It's been a while. I found my thread with a Google search actually 😅

Setup Tips - Droop Blocks

You have to be pretty creative to measure droop and set symmetrical down stops on this chassis because there's nothing flat underneath! So Tamiya provided droop screws but the very process of measuring down stops is impossible. So far I have done it indirectly through measuring shock length. That's assuming everything else is dead straight which isn't true; also when you measure a damper it tends to shorten a bit so it's never easy. 

This time I think I found a solution. There are two screws under the chassis, sufficiently far apart from each other and from the centerline and sufficient far behind the CG to make it possible to create a horizontal datum. They sit inside small recesses, but you can use longer screws and a 1.5mm spacer to make the screw heads come level with the underside: 

Installed, for setup propose only: 

And the car sitting proud on my trusty 10mm droop blocks:

Now I can easily make the down stops symmetrical as well as measure the height of the axles and from there know what my droop is, which is how it is done on a regular (modern) TC car.

Hopefully helpful to some!