So, What Have You Done Today?

[bRIBEGuy 3044]

14 minutes ago, JeffSpicoli said:

What sort of brushes are you using?  Are they high end brushes?

Nope...I'm currently using these cheapo disposable micro fuzzy tip things that I found them at the LHS (something sorta like THIS), and while they are good for some things... tiny detail is not their forte.

[Ziddan 947]

Today ive finished up the body for my Blitzed DT03, still to do is a driver.

Ideas beyond that are painting the rims, making hubcaps, maybe adding rear window louvres but all of those are of low priority.

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

32 minutes ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Nope...I'm currently using these cheapo disposable micro fuzzy tip things that I found them at the LHS (something sorta like THIS), and while they are good for some things... tiny detail is not their forte.

I see, your work looks good, so credit where credit is due.

[toyolien 4679]

Finished up my Optima Mid for next weekends race.

 

[nel33 870]

got to a bit of model making. had attended a anime convention in the first week of august and got a small Gardevoir figure gunpla style build. built that in 30 minutes?? the guy said it only took 10-15 minutes to build LOL (joke). cleaned the nubs properly, it was a fun build. decided to start another small build: Manta Ray MK2 JR white special and got a bit hung up. im presuming the wheels are a press fit thing? not sure but its a bit hard to put the circular hole onto the hexagonal shaft. do i just force it a bit harder to put the tires onto the thing?

i see there is a proper tool to install the wheel to the shaft, is there any sort of basic tool suggested to install the tires to the shaft?

havent tried the other wheel side chassis as the wheels are a bit tricky to install. the battery contacts are down and will try the motor install when the wheels are figured out. i dont really have a place to run this slot car type model but it makes a cute display piece. might glue the tires later if a place opens up for it. i still have a few body shells to cut/paint and a Super Saber to build. should last me a bit time well wasted.

i havent really made time for RC lately, life got in the way, other hobbies and i tend to cycle through my hobbies in phases of gung-ho and take a break for a few months or more. recently have been using alot of free time to do some biking. got a goal of 715->815 KM from march to October this year. currently have just under 300km to reach 815km this year, gotta take advantage of the nice weather... had some books i was reading on and off but now im going back in the direction of the RC cars. hoping to finish the manta ray mk2 jr and possibly start the TD 2021. biking takes a bit more priority to me than RC it seems... oh well its exercise.

[bRIBEGuy 3044]

3 minutes ago, nel33 said:

i havent really made time for RC lately, life got in the way, other hobbies and i tend to cycle through my hobbies in phases of gung-ho and take a break for a few months or more. recently have been using alot of free time to do some biking. got a goal of 715->815 KM from march to October this year. currently have just under 300km to reach 815km this year, gotta take advantage of the nice weather... had some books i was reading on and off but now im going back in the direction of the RC cars. hoping to finish the manta ray mk2 jr and possibly start the TD 2021. biking takes a bit more priority to me than RC it seems... oh well its exercise.

I tend to do the same thing... cycling thru hobbies (great pun, BTW...)... and personally I think it's a great way to keep from burning out on any one thing.  What type of biking do you do?  I'm big into cycling as well, and often find it too takes priority when the weather is nice (we get a lot of winter in Canada), since so much of RC for me is building and tinkering and can be done on cold days...

[nel33 870]

1 hour ago, bRIBEGuy said:

I tend to do the same thing... cycling thru hobbies (great pun, BTW...)... and personally I think it's a great way to keep from burning out on any one thing.  What type of biking do you do?  I'm big into cycling as well, and often find it too takes priority when the weather is nice (we get a lot of winter in Canada), since so much of RC for me is building and tinkering and can be done on cold days...

LOL i didnt notice the pun. i only had 2 proper bikes a before any training types when i was young. my parents bought me and brother 2 matching  18speed Shimano mountain bikes both red. i moved onto my first bike purchased with my own money: Intercycle CR-MO M300 21speed mountain bike. circa 2003-2005. back then when living with my parents my neighbor's some had a black?? and  gold one and i really liked it, so much that i "borrowed" it (LOL JK). i went to a bike shop with my parents and found the same model, chose black/white silver theme because silver/white/black looked great. had some fun times in the years that followed. i tried for some serious kilometerage of 300km back then, did it once on dirt road at campsite. hard to get that KM when not that many visits and relatively small circuit.

a bit on and off biking then until 5yrs ago when i got serious. still kept the bike in good condition, (it has a few flaws now) rode it on the road and the larger bike path that had some gravel paths at home in the city. dont recall exact numbers off my head and cant find all the KM logs but for 2-3 years i did 700-800 KM a year. one year i did 1100km and that was a mistake, hurt my knees specifically cartilage under knee caps. had some discomfort at 900km but kept going until it hurt moderately. took 2yr break from biking before i started again. forgot  2020  total, 2021 600km. i learned a lesson to listen to my body and not overdo it. currently at 6000km that i put on the bike though odometer/speedo battery died in that long biking break after 300km. had a stupid move where i tried to get onto a 90 degree turn too fast, wiped out on the grass and ended up bending the main gear cassette. its a bit warped now to see visibly when biking and can jump off if jarred enough. parts are hard to find on it these days so im procrastinating on it. want to keep it stock looking as much as possible. had a few close calls with the bike before knowing what can/cant be done at higher speeds. i put the OG front tire onto rear when OG bike tube went. got a new set of tires that looked similar in pattern given market availability. currently new front tube/tire tread with the OG front tire/tube that is being worn out on rear tire. its a bit dry cracked from age so id rather kill the tread before it splits and let a rock break it if it was on the front tire. got 2 newer tires just sitting in stock to place on the rear, got maybe 1000km left before i retire the OG tire. the old tire is fairly worn down, the wear markers are just barely there.

i dont have any interest in any other bike TBH. its like owning several 1:1 cars when you are the sole driver of all of them. cant really focus on specific goals/targets if its split several ways. got 1.7-1.8'' width tires. a road bike with thinner tires would be nice but they cost more and i still value my MTB too much to give up seat time on it. i bike to work and also on days off when weather is nice on proper bike paths. biking is still something i can do but when my body is telling me something i usually decide thats the end of biking for that given year. no winter biking but +14c temp is ok if i need to bike. biking in Montreal has some nice bike paths as to landscape, the path conditions usually are good. my bike cost me around $300 when i purchased it.

[Ziddan 947]

Right, i think ive settled on making Red Skull the driver of my Blitzed DT03.

He isnt generally a very happy character tho so i figued id change that:

  

[nel33 870]

10 minutes ago, Ziddan said:

Right, i think ive settled on making Red Skull the driver of my Blitzed DT03.

He isnt generally a very happy character tho so i figued id change that:

  

i think both faces work. casual running: smiling. any serious race: serious.

[Willy iine 18805]

Hey there @nel33   Good to hear back.   I’m actually off RC season right now as well.. 

Will start my builds late next month as my 1:1 car season comes to an end..  

[nel33 870]

9 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Hey there @nel33   Good to hear back.   I’m actually off RC season right now as well.. 

Will start my builds late next month as my 1:1 car season comes to an end..  

yeah, a bit of boredom and having reasonable time to complete other goals seems to do the trick to get me back atleast for the time being. i was tempted to drive the manta or TT02 a month or so back but time or weather called that off...

[Willy iine 18805]

1 hour ago, nel33 said:

yeah, a bit of boredom and having reasonable time to complete other goals seems to do the trick to get me back atleast for the time being. i was tempted to drive the manta or TT02 a month or so back but time or weather called that off...

Yeah, that's fairly normal, I think.  If you're ready to come back you'll know when you pick up your transmitter and fiddle around with the steering wheel.. and maybe check out your cars.   

I use to completely abandon my RC during off season like taking a hiatus, but decided if I make an RC lounge (aka pretend RC shop) then I would spend time in the space just relaxing and doing other things while enjoying looking at my cars.  For me, this has been great as there is no time or money lost in the hobby.. it just becomes a cool decoration in my room during off season.  I have no urge to build nor drive my RC cars right now, and that's perfectly fine. 

[Willy iine 18805]

@toyolien Good job on your MID.    Does the car come with those tinted (smoke) window decals?   (I stashed away my kit deep in my closet so a bit lazy to check out the decals).  I'm also wondering whether there is enough space inside to place an Avante driver.. (?)

[toyolien 4679]

1 minute ago, Willy iine said:

@toyolien Good job on your MID.    Does the car come with those tinted (smoke) window decals?   (I stashed away my kit deep in my closet so a bit lazy to check out the decals).  I'm also wondering whether there is enough space inside to place an Avante driver.. (?)

Thanks @Willy iine.

The car does come with tinted decals, but I used Tamiya's Smoke PS spray. This body is also a Penguin RC copy. I had this one because it comes with an undertray. I'll keep the kit body in case I ever retire this buggy in the future. There is very little room for a driver figure, but I guess it's possible.

[Willy iine 18805]

2 minutes ago, toyolien said:

Thanks @Willy iine.

The car does come with tinted decals, but I used Tamiya's Smoke PS spray. This body is also a Penguin RC copy. I had this one because it comes with an undertray. I'll keep the kit body in case I ever retire this buggy in the future. There is very little room for a driver figure, but I guess it's possible.

Thanks for the info..  I thought the car looked a little different!    Tells you how little I know about Kyosho cars and buggies in general.   haha. 

I will see if I can fit a driver, but if not, I suppose I will just tint the glass with the decal.  I'm going to start with the yellow body on mine..with black wheels.

[nel33 870]

29 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Yeah, that's fairly normal, I think.  If you're ready to come back you'll know when you pick up your transmitter and fiddle around with the steering wheel.. and maybe check out your cars.   

I use to completely abandon my RC during off season like taking a hiatus, but decided if I make an RC lounge (aka pretend RC shop) then I would spend time in the space just relaxing and doing other things while enjoying looking at my cars.  For me, this has been great as there is no time or money lost in the hobby.. it just becomes a cool decoration in my room during off season.  I have no urge to build nor drive my RC cars right now, and that's perfectly fine. 

thats true, no time spent on RC= no money lost on it. i think the mini manta ray will be a cool piece 100% of the time. the rest will be driven though a few body shells might end up a decorations.

i got the front and rear axles on the mini manta done, there is still 1mm of shaft play but i dont seem to find anymore give in the wheel insert holes. no biggie in the end. i'll try to see how far i an get on it today. i didnt actually test to see if the insert holes are all the same depth but the wheels are on securely. used a aluminum plate and table as a press to get one tire in and my hands for the 2nd wheel on the axle. 

[Willy iine 18805]

17 minutes ago, nel33 said:

thats true, no time spent on RC= no money lost on it. i think the mini manta ray will be a cool piece 100% of the time. the rest will be driven though a few body shells might end up a decorations.

i got the front and rear axles on the mini manta done, there is still 1mm of shaft play but i dont seem to find anymore give in the wheel insert holes. no biggie in the end. i'll try to see how far i an get on it today. i didnt actually test to see if the insert holes are all the same depth but the wheels are on securely. used a aluminum plate and table as a press to get one tire in and my hands for the 2nd wheel on the axle. 

Dang, reminds me of the rear Sand Scorcher tires.  I couldn't believe how stubborn they were to get the center piece inside the tire.  Part of me was wondering how the heck I was able to mount such tires back in the 80's.  Maybe being a youth had something to do with it.  

[Willy iine 18805]

@Ziddan  I'm looking forward to your photo's in the gallery thread!      Louvers.. that's a good idea.

Did any of these vintage Bugs come with a rear spoiler?    I'm thinking about doing a touring car street version down the road and was thinking ways to close up the rear window opening (louvers is a good idea) and possibly add a wing..

[lsear2905 1279]

I always have various RC things on the go, but because I have a wide variety of brands, types, scales, etc and boats as well, I tend to drift back and forth between all of them. My Tamiyas are generally a summer only type of thing (except the SW01 which is great on a cold, wet miserable day inside). Boats can be run all year round (water is water). I actually turned on my DJI Spark this morning to link it up to my new phone - turns out the DJI software hasn't been updated to run on Android 13 (or even later versions of Android 12) so now I have to figure that out!

[nel33 870]

36 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Dang, reminds me of the rear Sand Scorcher tires.  I couldn't believe how stubborn they were to get the center piece inside the tire.  Part of me was wondering how the heck I was able to mount such tires back in the 80's.  Maybe being a youth had something to do with it.  

yeah i saw some people had a fancy tool and puller to get them done perfectly but i dont see a reason to buy a tool just for that... its almost done, i dont know if i have the focus left tonight to put the stickers on it right now. the rest is put on except for the race lock piece??

[Willy iine 18805]

3 minutes ago, nel33 said:

yeah i saw some people had a fancy tool and puller to get them done perfectly but i dont see a reason to buy a tool just for that... its almost done, i dont know if i have the focus left tonight to put the stickers on it right now. the rest is put on except for the race lock piece??

I would definitely wait on applying decals while you're tired..!    Sounds like you're going have a fun time tomorrow?  Hope weather is good in your area.

[nel33 870]

1 minute ago, Willy iine said:

I would definitely wait on applying decals while you're tired..!    Sounds like you're going have a fun time tomorrow?  Hope weather is good in your area.

might not have that much time as i do have work then but im glad the building part is done. too bad the body wasnt shaped like the full size manta, id be tempted to do a 100% match. scratch that, the paint scheme i did on manta would be "fun" to recreate...

[Willy iine 18805]

1 minute ago, nel33 said:

might not have that much time as i do have work then but im glad the building part is done. too bad the body wasnt shaped like the full size manta, id be tempted to do a 100% match. scratch that, the paint scheme i did on manta would be "fun" to recreate...

Hummmm... now very interested in seeing how your car turns out!       

[nel33 870]

14 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Hummmm... now very interested in seeing how your car turns out!       

yeah, im just doing the box art for the mini manta for the time being. not sure if i got the paint for the custom tuxedo style.

i do have some hand paints though id need to use masking tape to make some clean lines. its an interesting idea to struggle with. i dont even know what i will do yet, oh the pain of it all...

[alvinlwh 5894]

Blinged up the LRP Twister Buggy with some Aliexpress lights.