The Hornet - Build with Wheel Nut's custom mods

[JimBear]

11 hours ago, Wheel_Nut said:

The upper bracket is made from epoxy fibreglass composite, which is the same material used for circuit boards (except for not having any copper).

Thanks, that's a great help!

I didn't know that the Hornet lacks the motor plate - I thought it was sort of standard fare in most kits, but hey, learn something new every day.

[TurnipJF]

On 12/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, JimBear said:

@Wheel_Nut I have to ask, this "Gearbox Torque Reaction Arm" or rather the part that is the upper bracket - how thick is it? And what material - some sort of plastic?

If I understand you correctly, you are just substituting the standard motor plate, using the upper bracket instead, right?

I am thinking of using some of these ideas for the Rising Fighter (Grasshopper II chassis) - especially changing the steering rod setuo since it is so flimsy (we managed to bend one of the original rods on the first test run).

Fitting a gearbox torque eliminator to a Rising Fighter is simplicity itself, since it uses the gearbox from the DT-01 which features one as standard. There is an opening in the front centre of the gearbox through which you can see the pivot pin. This is where the gearbox torque eliminator fits on a DT-01, and you can use it to mount one on your Rising Fighter too. The other end can be secured with a ball nut or ball stud on the rear of the chassis tub between the shock tower bases. You'll need a bit of a kink in the rod to avoid binding, but this angle is not critical - you'll see how much of a bend is required when you fit it. 

[Wheel_Nut]

I came across some youtube videos of something called a "rising fighter transmission brace".   It's another approach to the same / similar result.

 

[Wheel_Nut]

I finally added the electronics:

• Tamiya Superstock BZ. 23-Turn.
• Hobbywing Quickrun 1060 ESC.
• Futaba R314SB Receiver

The battery is 5000mAh NiMh from "Tornado RC".

Next I will slowly start masking and painting the body shell.  I'm aiming to have some more progress around the end of the month.

[JimBear]

@Wheel_Nut - any updates on this build? I re-read the whole thread again - a lot of good stuff in there.

[Wheel_Nut]

Not much to update yet, since I have been distracted with other things..   Easter seems like a good time for painting the polycarbonate body shell.

[Wheel_Nut]

I spent a few hours this weekend cutting and trimming the body outline, and preparing for paint.   I masked the roll cage hoops / roof structure of the body so I can paint them black.   I'm pretty amateur at paint preparation, so I'd much prefer having the PC series of polycarbonate paints (discontinued item) and paint by hand with a brush.   My masking job wasn't ideal, so there were places where the paint bled in the gaps of the masking tape.   Luckily it was easy to remove the recently applied paint with methylated sprit (alcohol) and rubbing with a cotton bud.  The body has now been cleaned up and I can spray the PS-63 body colour tomorrow.

[Wheel_Nut]

Without decals the lines of the bodyshell look really clean.   I'm about to apply decals though.

[Wheel_Nut]

I prefer to keep the looks as simple as possible so I have eliminated some decals.   I trimmed the yellow part of the stripe decal in some places so it shows the window line a bit more.

[Andreas W]

It's looking gorgeous. I like seeing our old heroes in nicer metallic colors relatively near the original. 

 

I'm curious to see how you like running it on 2,2" wheels. I got myself a bunch of Ultima Pepper Pots from JC (before he started making the Wild One wheels,  which would have been an obvious choice), but I found it that little tick to tall and it would roll too easy. The biggest problem was that the slim rear tyres not absorbed bumps in the same way as more beefy tyres giving it more hop than ever. The best tyres for me was Kyosho Scorpion giving it a smooth ride on loose surface. 

I have the same damper setup in the front as you have BTW. 

[Wheel_Nut]

Thanks for your comment and interest in my thread.  I haven’t run the car because I needed to get decent pics for the gallery first.  I’m expecting there to be some handling vices and it’s probably over-powered too.  The un-sprung weight of having the motor on the rear axle is definitely a disadvantage for rear grip.  The thing in it’s favour is the extra front width from Grasshopper 2 front arms.   I didn’t fit any inner sponge in the rear tyres so they are softer than what is normally used.  It would be good to test the standard kit tyres to make a back-to-back test in the same conditions.   Looking at some of the stock tyre and wheel combinations on similar buggies such as The Super Hornet and The Grasshopper 2, they are all different but not as large diameter as what I’m using here.