WANTED: Maverick DesertWolf Centre Diff

[wintersdawn]

You could always get the white HoBao wheels and dye them black using Rit fabric dye.

I have used it on several sets of Tamiya wheels and worked well, although it only works with certain types of plastic.

[wintersdawn]

Seems Hobao did do them in black at point but with different tyres it seems:

Black Hobao Wheels

[wintersdawn]

And here, although out of stock from this seller, again with different tyres:

More black Hobao wheels

[TrueBlue]

So they did... black ones. Yet we can't really find them anywhere, except that eBay auction, where the seller only has two. Not very useful when most cars have four wheels.

And the one's in the second eBay listing are brand new which is good. The black ones appear in stock at the moment, although they have the black and white images mixed up. I'm always cautious when buying from a seller from China supposedly based in the UK. I try to buy from sellers with 99% or more feedback. I'm picky, lol. 

I'll probably stick to these JetKo wheels. They fit fine, are decently cheap AND readily available. I'll still look out for original DW wheels, but I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery. But you never know.

[wintersdawn]

Had the 4 HoBao tyres come and decided to fit them to all 4 wheels so there is even wear. Just glued them, not the neatest job but the tyres are sealed up pretty good (picture below taken pre-gluing).

How did the rest of the refurb go on the Tamiya Mustang shell? 

[TrueBlue]

Are they the wheels you purchased off eBay with the new HoBao rubber on them? They don't look as beat up as they did in the original photo you showed me. Or are they your original DW wheels with the new rubber on? Saying that.. those don't have the marks in the centre made by the wheel nut.. so those are indeed the ones you purchased off eBay.  

Those fresh tyres do make them look quite good though, almost brand new! Almost... the shiny rubber helps, lol.

The Mustang shell refurb has gone well, better than expected. It' on eBay now, lol. Very little interest, which is quite surprising given how rare this shell is. A few niggles with it that make me not want to keep it. I might actually try to sell it to the person who gave it to me! Fresh coat of metallic blue, backed with white then black. New plastic parts for the spoiler and wing mirrors that I also painted metallic blue, and a brand new set of decals. 

[wintersdawn]

Yes, they are the wheels from eBay with new HoBao tyres fitted. I was going to leave two of the old tyres on but realised there would always be uneven wear.

I can't fit all four to the DW till I remove that last rounded wheel nut. I removed the wheel yesterday by unscrewing the hub/steering link and tried again to unscrew the rounded nut with the pliers but still couldn't get it to budge. Looks like I'll need to get another rotary tool to shift it.

The body shell looks great, good work. What are the niggles with it?  All looks good in the pictures.

[TrueBlue]

Yeah, always a good idea to have even wear, that way they continue to wear evenly as you use it. Else one tyre will have more or less grip than the others and you won't be able to control the buggy very well.

Ah, that rounded wheel nut still give you issues I see. Unfortunately, it does look like a rotary tool may well be your best bet. Would you cut a slot in the nut and unscrew it like a flat-head screw? Or just cut that nut off completely?

Well, there's a bit of damage on one that I couldn't fix, so I cut the damage out. The result is now a hole. The hole is neat, it's not rough or ugly or anything, but it's there. But the main issues, which you can't really see in photos, is the previous owner widened the front wheel arches, as if to accommodate bigger wheels. So when the shell is on the chassis, the wheels don't fill the arches snuggly like they would normally. It looks odd when on a chassis and not very appealing, at least to me. So I threw it on eBay.. still only 18 views. Surprising really, it's a rare shell. 

I even tried to convince the original owner to buy it back by telling him it's on eBay, my way of saying "I don't want it, do you" but he didn't bite, lol.

[wintersdawn]

Pity about the damage to the shell that you needed to cut out, assume you can't cover the hole with a decal etc or fill it with a piece of painted lexan.  Understand about the wheel arches being widened and how it affects the look.

My plan with the rounded wheel nut is to cut the flange off in pieces first because I think it's embedded in the wheel plastic and then try the pliers again. Good idea about cutting a slot in the nut to unscrew it but I can't as the wheel axle is sticking out.

Felt motivated this morning to cut out the TW clear body shell.  Went into it with the attitude not to fuss too much and just get on with it. It came out well and next will smooth the edges with fine sandpaper and places where my cutting wasn't quite right.

[TrueBlue]

Ooooh... all cut out ready to paint! Have you decided on the final colour yet, or are you still pondering? I feel it's easier to pick a colour for the TW than the DW, since the DW has decals on the wing with orange, black, white and gold colours... trying to find a colour that can match them and not look too goofy. The TW has no such problem, with the exception of some of the colours of the decals. Go for metallic colour, it glistens in the sunlight!

Ah yeah, the wheel axle. Hm, don't want to cut through that. I suppose cutting it into pieces might be the best, and easiest, method to ensure it's TOTAL DESTRUCTION! Ahem...

Sucks about the Mustang shell. No-one wants it.. it's even some how LOST a view, when from 18 to 17... no-one is interested whatsoever! All after all the work I put in to it. waiting for months for the decals to come in stock... couldn't even convince the original owner to buy it back, lol. oh well.

[wintersdawn]

I usually find that things sell eventually but some take longer than others.

I've stuck with the colours I chose a few weeks ago for the TW, PS-1 White for the main body and PS-12 Silver for the back. Broke down doing the body shell into stages:

Stage 1: Cut out body shell...done

Stage 2: Smooth edges with fine sandpaper...done

Stage 3: Mask the back section...done

Stage 4: Spray the main body PS-1 White...done

Stage 5: Remove the masking and spray the back PS-12 Silver...done

Stage 6: Remove film and apply decals

[wintersdawn]

What's your next RC job to do?

[TrueBlue]

Oh no... you forgot the PS-57 Pearl White! Well, it was just a suggestion... looking forward to seeing the final result!

My next RC job? None yet... I do want to get some upgrades for my Maverick ION MT. I also want to get a clear body shell for my new FTX Carnage 2.0 that I got for my birthday today. I always like to clear shells for my cars, so I can keep the original shells in good condition. Thankfully, the shell in question is only like £15, so might get that sooner rather than later.

Also, you wouldn't happen to be interested in buying one of two Kyosho Optimas would you?

[wintersdawn]

Happy birthday 🎈 🎂 FTX Carnage 2.0 sounds good, what colour is it? Doing your own shell is good too and at £15.

Yes, the plain white might be a bit stark or sterile but I like the colour and hopefully the decals will break things up a bit.

I'm pretty happy with my RC's at the moment but will look up the Kyosho Optimas.

[wintersdawn]

Finished the back masking earlier, drilled the holes and washed the inside, then when dry sprayed with PS-1 White. Will leave until tomorrow to make sure it's dry and then remove the masking and spray the silver.

[TrueBlue]

Oops... a bit slow at replying lately... it's this heat, makes me lazy, lol.

Thanks for the birthday wish by the way! The colour of the Carnage 2.0 is a bit difficult to explain, it's a pre-painted shell, lot's of purple and black. I'll take a proper photo of it at some point,  but this is truck in question:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/1355104

Also got the clear shell.  It's... a shell, lol. Not the best polycarbonate I feel, but for £15, not too bad. Going to try and paint it translucent red, backed with gold, then black. The gold SHOULD give the red a nice vibrant candy effect. Hopefully.

Well, one of the Optimas sold within a few hours of putting it on eBay, but I still need to put the other one on, the better one that should be worth far more. Been waiting for a Tamiya plug to arrive though, to solder to the ESC. Royal Mail being their usual slow self, eBay says it SHOULD have arrived yesterday or today.

Oh wait, is that orange masking tape?? I thought you'd painted the rear end orange instead of silver! Looks good though. In fact, the orange rear looks pretty decent as well, haha. But I think the silver and white combo will look better. 

[wintersdawn]

I know what you mean about the heat, it was nearly 30 degrees here one day this week.

The Carnage looks good, look forward to seeing the body shell you do. Great news about one of the Optimas selling already. Hope the soldering goes well, one of my least favourite jobs but might be down to my crappy cheap soldering iron.

Yes, I used orange masking/insulation tape and it did look quite good for colour, reminded me of the DW. Anyway decided the white was probably dry yesterday evening so removed the masking tape, cleaned up the edges a bit and cleaned the lexan. Then sprayed the silver and removed the outer film. Has come out pretty good, will add some decals this morning and put a picture up, see what you think.

[wintersdawn]

Most of the decals applied. Not sure what I think about it...

[wintersdawn]

Also had a new rotary tool come yesterday and this morning used it to remove the other rounded wheel nut yay!

[TrueBlue]

Looks pretty good. The silver almost blends into the white, but the combination still looks good.

The rear wheels look a bit out of place under the arches. Have they always been like that?

[wintersdawn]

Yeah, maybe I should have gone for a stronger colour for the back so there was more of a contrast. Guess I was focussing on what would work with the decals. Still pretty happy with it...I think.

I see what you mean about the position of the rear wheels under the arches, they seem too far forward.  Just checked TW2 and they are the same so must have been designed that way.

[wintersdawn]

How are you getting on with your Carnage, taken it out for a run yet?

[TrueBlue]

Well, if you feel you're NOT happy with it, you can always buy another shell, lol. Or.. maybe not.

Yeah, I also looked for some images of the TW and the rear wheel really is that far inwards. Odd design choice, but what can you do.

Haven't taken the Carnage out yet. Been too hot for me to go outside lately, but it's been cooling down a bit... I might take it out tomorrow. The paint for the clear shell should arrive tomorrow. Nothing amazing, decided to paint it Tamiya Iridescent Purple/Green like the first DesertWolf shell I painted.

[wintersdawn]

Sounds good about the Carnage bodyshell. 

Did you decide to keep or maybe sold the iridescent purple/green body shell you did for the DW?

Hope the Carnage run goes well tomorrow if you go out.

I could do another TW shell but think two is my limit, I love the original the best and don't think I can improve on it.  That said, I might get another pre-printed TW body shell before they disappear.

[TrueBlue]

Well, finished the Carnage shell. Looks OK. Went well, could've been worse. I'll take photos a bit later.

Nah, I decided to keep it, for now at least. I took it off eBay, it wasn't selling, no-one was really interested. Been up for a while and o takers, so thought sod it... I'll keep it and use it as a basher body.

Annoyingly, just as the days start feeling cool enough for to want to go out, it starts raining! I don't want to take it out when the it's wet, at least for the first ever run. So now I have to wait for the ground to dry up.

Yeah, same... I've done two DW shells, although only one came out OK, the other got chucked as the paint job I did was naff. If I did another clear DW shell, might keep it simple... paint it gold or something to match some of the decal colours.