So, What Have You Done Today?

[catman79 210]

1 hour ago, Busdriver said:

I didn’t think you paid duty below a certain amount, just VAT?

I think your right, there’s vat and I think it was also an £8 handling charge ! 

[Mechanic AH 446]

While waiting for some Blitzer Beetle parts I decided to finish building the Kyosho Scorpion instead. I wanted to customize this build a bit and so I kept a spare shell, set aside the chrome wheels, etc. I only had one problem and I need to get a replacement part—one of the front shaft arm blocks had slightly stripped threads even before I set a screw in it, unfortunately. This kit was a real delight, like one of the chillest kits I think to build.

Here are some pics of the finished work. It's intentionally low hence the negative camber, just for show and character but when I run it I'll set it slightly back up.

I also put a time lapse build video (youtube link) if you want to see more of it.

 

[Busdriver 2022]

9 hours ago, catman79 said:

I think your right, there’s vat and I think it was also an £8 handling charge ! 

To me the £8 is the bit that stings. On your £31 order you’ve paid best part of 40% on top. If it was just the Vat and duty I get it but don’t handle it and let go through and we’ll all be 😊 

[Badcrumble 2215]

2 hours ago, Busdriver said:

To me the £8 is the bit that stings. On your £31 order you’ve paid best part of 40% on top. If it was just the Vat and duty I get it but don’t handle it and let go through and we’ll all be 😊 

I agree and this is where ‘man maths’ comes in handy. 

I try and make the order as large as possible so the £8 isn’t such a high proportion of the total cost. Same with offsetting postage.

I have a good scout around the UK and Europe to make sure that what I’m buying will still be cheaper.

This is where buying for a single project isn’t necessarily financially viable..so you have to buy more cars!!!

[jonboy1 1476]

21 minutes ago, Badcrumble said:

This is where buying for a single project isn’t necessarily financially viable..so you have to buy more cars!!!

You just can't argue with logic like that!  

[Re-Bugged 4121]

16 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

And the award for most unlikely body on an M07R goes to...

I think that’s what’s called a ‘Sleeper’ these days isn’t it??

[Re-Bugged 4121]

Cracker of a Scorpion @Mechanic AH 👍🏻

[mastino 811]

I bought my first hotshot and it will probably be the latest model in my collection.

[pininfarina 910]

did a slight mod on the D12, given it functional dampers.

still thinking how to mod the rear axle for these 1/24 scale dampers.

got them a while back.

nasty wired spring

clearing the steering

 

make shift.

 

 

[Ferruz 2635]

Today I drove over an hour into the countryside in order to get these tires from a very creepy guy in a very creepy place 😳 

I was happy to do a local transaction rather than an online one for a change, and I guess the set and the character made it feel more like an adventure to us (glad I wasn't alone, lol).

As for the tires, it was a good deal that I just had to take. I really love how they drive and how they look, plus they don't come up often around here. Counting today I purchased a total of eight pairs of vintage 8410 Eagle tires in the past three months! As long as a set stays pristine for the shelf.. guess I'll be good for a while!

[Nicadraus 2124]

On 11/3/2020 at 11:48 AM, Mechanic AH said:

This is too beautiful to get dirty or ruined.

Fantastic build! 

[Mechanic AH 446]

@Nicadraus Thanks! I actually thought about how I might feel bad when it gets dirty. When I start a kit I tell myself it will be a daily basher and I shouldn't care. Then when it's done I hesitate running it aggressively. But so far I've run all the kits I've built and they now have scratches underneath. I just clean them after. I have to admit that I mainly like the build part. 

But, I do see a lot of people in this forum with nice builds and kits that look pristine. I'm amazed at how many RC cars some people have and I can't imagine how much people spent! I always wonder if people even run them or just want to show off the cool and expensive upgrades/parts . Nothing wrong about it but it amazes me.

[Mechanic AH 446]

5 hours ago, Ferruz said:

Today I drove over an hour into the countryside in order to get these tires from a very creepy guy in a very creepy place 😳 

I was happy to do a local transaction rather than an online one for a change, and I guess the set and the character made it feel more like an adventure to us (glad I wasn't alone, lol).

As for the tires, it was a good deal that I just had to take. I really love how they drive and how they look, plus they don't come up often around here. Counting today I purchased a total of eight pairs of vintage 8410 Eagle tires in the past three months! As long as a set stays pristine for the shelf.. guess I'll be good for a while!

 

That made me laugh. And, that would be a sad story if someone actually perished in the hands of a creepy/serial kller for a set of pre-owned RC tires.

[Ferruz 2635]

6 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

That made me laugh. And, that would be a sad story if someone actually perished in the hands of a creepy/serial kller for a set of pre-owned RC tires.

Don't worry, the tires were actually new in package, so well worth the risk 

[toyolien 1093]

Today I've been doing more on my 2cv sleeper.

[Nicadraus 2124]

9 hours ago, Mechanic AH said:

@Nicadraus Thanks! I actually thought about how I might feel bad when it gets dirty. When I start a kit I tell myself it will be a daily basher and I shouldn't care. Then when it's done I hesitate running it aggressively. But so far I've run all the kits I've built and they now have scratches underneath. I just clean them after. I have to admit that I mainly like the build part. 

But, I do see a lot of people in this forum with nice builds and kits that look pristine. I'm amazed at how many RC cars some people have and I can't imagine how much people spent! I always wonder if people even run them or just want to show off the cool and expensive upgrades/parts . Nothing wrong about it but it amazes me.

Two years ago I was contemplating whether to come back to this hobby or not. I have other hobbies and was afraid I'd have to sacrifice one or two because I knew that RC is just way too expensive. But surprisingly, it's cheaper now compared to let's say 10-15 years ago. Brushed motors back then costs $30-60 each. Now you can buy a modified motor 10T and up for only $10-15. ESCs are dirt cheap. I remember spending over $200 in a Twister Hara 2.1 brushed ESC in 2005. The Hobbywing Quicrun 1080 ESC is just $40 and performance is even better than a $200 competition grade ESC back then. Plus the parts like shocks, bearings, aluminum and carbon fiber goodies, etc.

I've only planned to build an on-road car, a rally car and re-build my dad's CC-01. But one thing led to another and I now have 7 heavily modified kits. 6 of them are all running, and my old FF-01 will be running too soon once I've completed the upgrades and electronics. Also like you, I enjoy the build. I enjoy staring at them, taking pictures and driving them to see how they perform and improve if needed. Like some here, I choose quality over quantity.

I actually plan on an old school build. First in mind was the Wild One (my dream kit in the 80s). But after seeing the re-re Kyosho kits especially your Tomahawk build, it really inspired me and want a Turbo Scorpion now. Will also be doing some custom work, cf shock towers, other cf parts, aftermarket Kyosho gold shocks by Xtraspeed, custom wheels, etc. But that will have to wait until next year.

[Juhunio 1573]

On 11/3/2020 at 5:15 AM, Busdriver said:

To me the £8 is the bit that stings. On your £31 order you’ve paid best part of 40% on top. If it was just the Vat and duty I get it but don’t handle it and let go through and we’ll all be 😊 

As of today I can top that. $28/£21 worth of rims from eBay, £4.16 VAT and £8 card printing service = £12.16. An extra 58%! Grrrrrr

[CoolHands 587]

That sucks where was it from? I never buy parts from USA for this reason.

[Juhunio 1573]

1 hour ago, CoolHands said:

That sucks where was it from? I never buy parts from USA for this reason.

Hong Kong. I always get hit from the USA so either don’t bother or factor it in if it’s a no-option thing. But this is the first time I’ve been hit on an eBay order from the Far East, and full whack charges on a low value order really stings!! 

[catman79 210]

8 minutes ago, Juhunio said:

Hong Kong. I always get hit from the USA so either don’t bother or factor it in if it’s a no-option thing. But this is the first time I’ve been hit on an eBay order from the Far East, and full whack charges on a low value order really stings!! 

Same here ! 

[DeadMeat666 1261]

Thanks to @Gazzalene, @CoolHands, @TWINSET, @speedy_w_beans,  @ACCELand others, I was able to continue building the MF-01X with hardened steel hex machine screws without that horrible popping sound from the plastic lol.

I'm building it to 225mm wheelbase spec, with whatever hopups I have at hand. I'll just tear it apart again once the rest arrive. This will end up being my XV-01's baby brother. It's really a toss-up as to which one ended up costing more, but neither were cheap by any definition of the word  

[Mechanic AH 446]

10 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Two years ago I was contemplating whether to come back to this hobby or not. I have other hobbies and was afraid I'd have to sacrifice one or two because I knew that RC is just way too expensive. But surprisingly, it's cheaper now compared to let's say 10-15 years ago. Brushed motors back then costs $30-60 each. Now you can buy a modified motor 10T and up for only $10-15. ESCs are dirt cheap. I remember spending over $200 in a Twister Hara 2.1 brushed ESC in 2005. The Hobbywing Quicrun 1080 ESC is just $40 and performance is even better than a $200 competition grade ESC back then. Plus the parts like shocks, bearings, aluminum and carbon fiber goodies, etc.

I've only planned to build an on-road car, a rally car and re-build my dad's CC-01. But one thing led to another and I now have 7 heavily modified kits. 6 of them are all running, and my old FF-01 will be running too soon once I've completed the upgrades and electronics. Also like you, I enjoy the build. I enjoy staring at them, taking pictures and driving them to see how they perform and improve if needed. Like some here, I choose quality over quantity.

I actually plan on an old school build. First in mind was the Wild One (my dream kit in the 80s). But after seeing the re-re Kyosho kits especially your Tomahawk build, it really inspired me and want a Turbo Scorpion now. Will also be doing some custom work, cf shock towers, other cf parts, aftermarket Kyosho gold shocks by Xtraspeed, custom wheels, etc. But that will have to wait until next year.

The Wild One is one my favorites as well. But, that won't happen any time soon because it's sold out everywhere and I probably have reached a point where I practically have to finish some kits in storage first. Definitely lots of cheaper options now. By the way, I didn't build the Tomahawk, that was Killajb fine work. I did the yellow Scorpion .  I guess one day I'll get to see that Turbo Scorpion build.

[Nicadraus 2124]

9 hours ago, Mechanic AH said:

The Wild One is one my favorites as well. But, that won't happen any time soon because it's sold out everywhere and I probably have reached a point where I practically have to finish some kits in storage first. Definitely lots of cheaper options now. By the way, I didn't build the Tomahawk, that was Killajb fine work. I did the yellow Scorpion .  I guess one day I'll get to see that Turbo Scorpion build.

Oh yeah. Sorry, I got confused. The yellow Scorpion. I really like it.

[Dakratfink 380]

So, no photos to accompany but I swapped the Gool RC 3500kv system I was trying out in my MP into my Stampede and paired the Traxxas XL5 with a standard Silver can.

I call the swap a Win Win . The GoolRC set up runs better on the higher discharge 60c full size square pack that fits in the ‘Pede. 
Also I was really tired of damaging The  body on my MP with all the standing backflips the brushless system was prone to. 
The only drawback is I have to take the body on and off each run because the XL5 has a power bottom ON the esc. 

[Badcrumble 2215]

Thanks to RC4WD providing a replacement body, I was able to rebuild the front dampers for my JK Jeep.

Now to get the reinstalled.