The Champion That Wasn’t: Kyosho 1987 Worlds Optima Mid LWB Custom

[Anthroxoid 190]

Had a moment to think about color schemes. I ended up not really liking any versions that included cobalt green, so I think I’ll for for this on Body #1, as I’m toying with anodizing a set of Pargu 7075 wheels a pseudo-Tamiya blue-greenish. It looks nice in white metal as well, and OK with the mint wheels. Anyhow, concept sketch before killing fifty bucks worth of lexan with something that I’d hate:

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That should keep me busy for a few nights. I’m a slow painter. 
 

—XOID

[Anthroxoid 190]

Still back at it trying to get that PS-54 into the design so that it carries more of the ‘87 flavor over. Not impossible, but I’m struggling to design a livery that isn’t a complete ripoff of other teal race cars while merging the OG Mid’s patterns into all four models that this is built from or incorporating design cues from.
 

I like the Southewestern, early 80s colors above, too, though they may be better suited for one of my trucks. Anyhow, that last one was followed up with changes from gold and red over to the cobalt and deep yellow-orange (forgetting paint number ATM) for a rather different look. It’s a bit tricky considering how lines should be pretty, complement the body, and also create high-contrast areas for sponsor decals and the position number decals. Fun stuff. I think that this could be close if I swap the champagne for Corsa grey as my primary color. I hope that I have more time soon to finish this and the Top Force that I’ve got awaiting some TLC:


More soon, and thanks for reading my build log,

—XOID

[Anthroxoid 190]

OK, this will remain a predominantly cool livery. The decals do have some pops of red and yellow, so it’ll be accented. Perhaps this will also solve the issue of dressing in two different wheel styles. Looks OK in both. Ugh, off to buy another paint color. 

[Andreas W 3030]

Both the last two color schemes are nice, but the last one with less gold and more cobalt green is a little horsehead ahead, if you ask me. It looks more relaxed, harmonizes better to the green wheels and given it's an anniversary model it feels correct to have more cobalt green. 

 

A very inspiring build btw. Now that I got my own I am gonna read this thread from the start again throughly. 

[Anthroxoid 190]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:35 PM, Andreas W said:

Both the last two color schemes are nice, but the last one with less gold and more cobalt green is a little horsehead ahead, if you ask me. It looks more relaxed, harmonizes better to the green wheels and given it's an anniversary model it feels correct to have more cobalt green. 

 

A very inspiring build btw. Now that I got my own I am gonna read this thread from the start again throughly. 

Hey thank you for the feedback—it’s great to have unhindered commentary on design process as I find that learning from others’ tastes has turned into a lifelong education. This build’s body has been a fun process of reduction in noise, and then hammering on color theory. After reading your comment and parsing that you prefer the latest post with two sketches, you’re probably cueing off of the Corsa Gray having far less simultaneous contrast than champagne and deeper gold metallics do. This is also a higher contrast which when losing color value between adjacent colors loses a visual “pop” as they have the same luminosity—a tricky part of incorporating the Cobalt Green as it’s close to full saturation like a red, strong gold, or neutral gray.
 

One important thought about the end result here, is that this vehicle is an amalgam of three vehicles which existed and then the final result which gets to pull influence from my imagination with a good deal of liberty while trying to look like a release. The hardest aspect for me is settling on a system that pays a decent homage to its predecessors while becoming its own, distinctly recognizable fork of the Optima Mid lineage. And I believe that after stepping away for a few days that I’m about there. I may say that again, heh. 

The missing paints are ordered but I’m out here in Hawaii so things take a bit to arrive. Not terribly so if US-based or from most Asian retailers. Anyhow, there’s a bunch to do on it once I do have some shop time, then I’ll post my final livery as a portfolio shoot. The entire project has been a wonderful meditation, and I’ve really enjoyed sharing this with the community. 

Oh yes, those mint green Ultima wheels that Kyosho used on this car were repulsive to me when I first began this undertaking and now I’ve grown to rather like them. It’s funny how that happens, and how it also put a very heavy emphasis on color coordination when setting out to create a decent paint job. If you look at the ‘Optima Mid LWB Custom’ body that I’m using the box art is shall we say, not Kyosho’s most lovely effort—it’s just spackled with jaggy red accents. The Optima Mid’s livery was clearly a wink towards Masami’s winning Schumacher CAT yet also original, and well ran with the form over the brick-plank body giving it some dynamic at rest. This was a large departure from previous Optimas. With the Mid being my all-time favorite RC car I wanted to pull heaviest from that scheme which turned out to be hard to do (it’s too busy) then once we distill down to a simple livery with cobalt green, the slightly lighter tinted mint wheels, and the incorporation of value contrast with Corsa Gray, lots of gray metallic details, and a surprise highlight to come then the homestretch becomes visible. 
 

More soon. I’ve got to go spend a few dollars over at RCMart before I can’t get another one of these chassis for my next LWB Custom. I’ve also sussed that it’s highly probable that a modern Schumacher slipper clutch and spur could be adapted, so my own Custom Mid may yet receive a hop-up or two. 
 

Meanwhile I’ll likely install my radio and solder in the ESC. That’s been waiting out in the shop for nearly two weeks now. Soooooon.  

—XOID

[Anthroxoid 190]

Well I’m finally back in the shop for a bit this weekend. I got terribly side-tracked on a vintage 540 research project while awaiting my Corsa Gray and also started a second LWB Mid, though hope to get this one’s clothes on it soon. We are having good weather for both painting and driving so detailing and conclusion may yet both be afoot. 

Something else grabbed my attention which was looking again into how Schumacher’s team is engineering their modern belt driven cars. The belt races are elaborate, and utilize many idlers to steer wide but thin belts around their respective courses in order to handle huge brushless power. One easy observation is that 3/4 or so of each pulley is engaged by the belts in order to avoid slip. The L1 Evo is a nice contrast to the Mid as is the original Optima on the other end of the spectrum so plans are to take them all out to see where things diverged from the 80’s engineering to fairly recent approaches to mid-motor, split belt driven buggies. I’ve never driven the L1 Evo, so it’ll be a good excuse to put some dirt tires on it and take it out front for a maiden. 

 

[toyolien 6546]

@Anthroxoid Any updates on this build? Waiting to see what colour you went for....

[Anthroxoid 190]

2 hours ago, toyolien said:

@Anthroxoid Any updates on this build? Waiting to see what colour you went for....

It’s still not done! Sorry to say I’m not sure if I’ll have time to complete this one for a bit longer, though I’m very much looking forward to it and will share the shots as soon as I get there. Meanwhile I’ve gotten ahold of some other related items and have gone down a rabbit hole chasing after vintage 540s for this model’s twin brother build or maybe we should say, cousin perhaps more fittingly. Too many projects, and too much real life interference happening but soon!

[kyoshofan223 25]

Anyone have an opinion on the Annimos 45KG High Torque Steering Servo for this car? I've not heard of the brand, but it seems to be a good budget-friendly choice for an application that'll really just include fun-laps at the local track. The thing is way too pretty to get it all jacked up bashing in the random desert wilderness, and I'm not into racing. I already blew the budget on the shiny Kyosho electronics (I know, I know, but I couldn't resist... I have them in my Fantom & Turbo Optima & they run as good as they look). I am thinking I probably won't notice the difference between this & a Savox brushless servo for 2x the price. Any opinions on this model or experiences with the brand itself? Thanks.