So, What Have You Done Today?

[Tamiyastef 1966]

I tested my MST CMX with a 3S Lipo and a 55T brushed crawler motor and standard spur and pinion. Just a bit quicker than walking pace so ideal for trailing. It's possible to crawl real slow and has enough torque. Might change the stock tires to something with a more sticky compound. Now the tires are dirty so I have no excuse anymore, I really need to finish the body for this one...

Used the remaining power in the 3S lipo to run my Aqroshot again. Is on stock silver can and TBL02S and pretty fast on 3S especially compared to the 2S run I had before. 

It's not made for 3S power apparently (or maybe it has something to do with my driving style...) 

[Ferruz 11702]

Not directly RC related, but here it goes...

I had to do this at work. The words are really just part of a long poem, but, taken out of context like this and given the nature of our hobby, they gave me an uneasy feeling that lasted throughout the day 😰 😅

[Willy iine 18805]

Sorry for bogus update.. I had to go to the office today and before and after work had to do other home related things so did not have much time for RC.

nichrotors generously notified me that there is a new bumper holder online already for the Wheeler so placed order for that and the revised bumper posts.. and since I was not too happy with the print quality of the Quattro bumper (by another designer) due to me selecting the lower grade material last time by accident, I reordered that as well using the higher print material. 

That said, if anyone is planning to purchase this kit, I highly recommend you order the highest quality material selectable as there is a huge gap in print quality.   Yes, more expensive, but you're already paying a good chunk of change so who cares...?  

Painted the dash and center console, will do the darker gray next as I want it dual tone.  I also removed and sprayed the hood scoops from my WR02 City Turbo as it was turning yellow... I didn't paint this body, and for some reason the scoops are discoloring although the body itself is still white (unpainted).  

Update.. final pictures for the day.   More tomorrow.   

Edited June 10, 2022 by Willy iine

[Tumbi 476]

6 hours ago, Willy iine said:

Sorry for bogus update.. I had to go to the office today and before and after work had to do other home related things so did not have much time for RC.

nichrotors generously notified me that there is a new bumper holder online already for the Wheeler so placed order for that and the revised bumper posts.. and since I was not too happy with the print quality of the Quattro bumper (by another designer) due to me selecting the lower grade material last time by accident, I reordered that as well using the higher print material. 

That said, if anyone is planning to purchase this kit, I highly recommend you order the highest quality material selectable as there is a huge gap in print quality.   Yes, more expensive, but you're already paying a good chunk of change so who cares...?  

Painted the dash and center console, will do the darker gray next as I want it dual tone.  I also removed and sprayed the hood scoops from my WR02 City Turbo as it was turning yellow... I didn't paint this body, and for some reason the scoops are discoloring although the body itself is still white (unpainted).  

Update.. final pictures for the day.   More tomorrow.   

Oh this looks allready great! This cockpit will be sweet (of course all the rest too) Keep us updated - looking forward

[Tumbi 476]

Yesterday I got my new Body for my Optima Mid.

so i masked and painted it…white

 

decals will follow

[Juhunio 6830]

Mrs J has headed back to Ireland for the weekend to catch up with Uni friends, so I've got three days of guilt-free me time!

I've a bit of work to do today, but other than that I'm going to be watching the Test Match and RC tinkering 

I'm planning on converting my TA03-RS to a double deck chassis and got hold of this conversion set (53387), but unfortunately the plastics are grey so won't match the rest of the kit 

 

Does anyone happen to have the TA03-R FRP conversion set (53358) and could tell me whether the plastics in it are grey or black?

[Unknown Driver 262]

Sorry boys, this is going to be a tough one but I think this is the only venue with people mature enough to let me vent. -takes a deep breath-

I hate the Avante.

After building the Egress which I absolutely LOVED, it's abundantly clear to me why the Avante was a failure as a race car. It's over-designed, heavy, miserable to put together, and  (based on the assembly) difficult to tune, and I blame 90% of it on THE STUPID END LINKS.

I don't know HOW someone at Tamiya in the 80s didn't look at this design and ask "are we really going to tell people to use shims to set the ball-end orientation?" or "why don't we use plastic ball-cups like everyone else on threaded rod?" or "why are we using parts that are SO heavy and over-designed?"

Every link is a nightmare to assemble and requires 5 hands. I cannot TELL YOU how many times I had the ball ends on/off in the process of shimming them to "just the right orientation". And the little sway bar receivers on the links are a pain to orient and on TOP of that: the sway bars don't move freely and don't stay centered (rear)!

You'd think: "well, with all those metal parts, surely the car is slop free!" - but no Shirley, it is not. This is one of the sloppiest cars I've put together. Like...approaching Blackfoot front suspension sloppy.

I've built lots of cars in the last few years and this thing is by far one of the biggest let-downs of my RC life. I expected a Ferrari and I got a Gremlin.

-end rant-

Let me know how much I owe you all for the therapy session. LOL

[GeeWings 2830]

@Unknown Driver that’s all well and good but you have to admit it’s beautiful to look at…

[Frankster 2031]

31 minutes ago, Unknown Driver said:

Sorry boys, this is going to be a tough one but I think this is the only venue with people mature enough to let me vent. -takes a deep breath-

I hate the Avante.

After building the Egress which I absolutely LOVED, it's abundantly clear to me why the Avante was a failure as a race car. It's over-designed, heavy, miserable to put together, and  (based on the assembly) difficult to tune, and I blame 90% of it on THE STUPID END LINKS.

I don't know HOW someone at Tamiya in the 80s didn't look at this design and ask "are we really going to tell people to use shims to set the ball-end orientation?" or "why don't we use plastic ball-cups like everyone else on threaded rod?" or "why are we using parts that are SO heavy and over-designed?"

Every link is a nightmare to assemble and requires 5 hands. I cannot TELL YOU how many times I had the ball ends on/off in the process of shimming them to "just the right orientation". And the little sway bar receivers on the links are a pain to orient and on TOP of that: the sway bars don't move freely and don't stay centered (rear)!

You'd think: "well, with all those metal parts, surely the car is slop free!" - but no Shirley, it is not. This is one of the sloppiest cars I've put together. Like...approaching Blackfoot front suspension sloppy.

I've built lots of cars in the last few years and this thing is by far one of the biggest let-downs of my RC life. I expected a Ferrari and I got a Gremlin.

-end rant-

Let me know how much I owe you all for the therapy session. LOL

I have heard many similar comments and complains.  But to me it still looks sexy and would be a shelf queen 😂.  
 

Sorry to hear you are having hard time building this car.

 

I also see many of the Kyosho cars are metal. Same weight problem?

[Unknown Driver 262]

3 minutes ago, GeeWings said:

@Unknown Driver that’s all well and good but you have to admit it’s beautiful to look at…

Absolutely! Which is all I plan to do with it. LOL

1 minute ago, Frankster said:

I have heard many similar comments and complains.  But to me it still looks sexy and would be a shelf queen 😂.  
 

Sorry to hear you are having hard time building this car.

 

I also see many of the Kyosho cars are metal. Same weight problem?

Kyosho used metal for their chassis, usually stamped aluminum I think - which makes much more sense to me. The Tamiya design puts all the weight on the suspension arms (unsprung weight) which makes for a poor handling vehicle whereas Kyosho used more composites in the suspension.

At the end of the day I realize it's a very old design and I should grade on a curve, but I couldn't help but be a little bummed. On the one hand they did some REALLY cool things on the car (center diff, gear diffs, CF chassis, locking rim centers, all that) - but then missed the fundamentals.

Definitely makes you appreciate how far car design has come!

[Willy iine 18805]

22 minutes ago, Unknown Driver said:

 

Definitely makes you appreciate how far car design has come!

I agree.  I consider TopForce Evo is where it ended for this platform although quite different, but a similar overall concept.   Dual deck CF is just absolutely cool.  I still haven't considered getting the TD2 nor TD4... unless Super Egress shows up as TD4 model, I probably won't get one mainly just for this reason.  

Avante to me is a display (museum) car and conversation piece.  It is a piece of Tamiya's important history and that alone brings value...   I cherish mine.  

HotShot is also a pretty lousy car for modern times, but still very cool to own as part of Tamiya's history.  

 

[Willy iine 18805]

Started painting the Billy’s today.. I hope to finish them later today..

In the meantime, glued the hood scoops back on my WR02 CityTurbo..   I need to make a front splitter for this car for sure.. The Wheeler on the right came with one. 

Update.. my hands kept shaking so it was very difficult to paint Billys’ faces today.  I changed my strategy to use hope halfway and I think it worked out.   

When in doubt, use hope.. 

Going to paint the torso’s next.. 

Final update for today.. painted Billy’s and applied a decal on the cluster I found.. 

Will spray the seat backs tomorrow and start the dreaded window trims which I will paint with hope.. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Willy iine

[bRIBEGuy 3044]

4 hours ago, Unknown Driver said:

I hate the Avante.

You're a monster.



I think everyone hates the Avante...

Tamiya likely hates it because it never really worked, and all their attempts to fix it (Egress, Avante 2001, Vanquish...) pretty much flopped from a performance and reliability perspective.

Lots of folks hate it for the reasons you said... over engineered and underwhelming fit.

Many hate it because of the polarizing styling (you know, unlike most things from the 80's that aged so gracefully...).

Most hate the Avante because they could never afford one as a kid, and as an adult the situation isn't much better...

BUT... as many here have pointed out, that's also the charm of it.

No one is bragging about their collection of sensible 1:1 cars..... people want flawed and eclectic... it's where art and engineering surpass quality and performance.  No one buys a Studebaker Avante, DMC DeLorean, Lamborghini Countach, or Ford Edsel for the fit and finish or street prowess.  They buy them because of iconic styling, quirky personalities, and to remember that life is too short to take everything seriously.

Welcome to the Tamiya Avante... one of the most beautiful, over engineered, expensive, steaming hot turds in the history of RC.

You gotta love it.

[Tumbi 476]

7 hours ago, Unknown Driver said:

Sorry boys, this is going to be a tough one but I think this is the only venue with people mature enough to let me vent. -takes a deep breath-

I hate the Avante.

After building the Egress which I absolutely LOVED, it's abundantly clear to me why the Avante was a failure as a race car. It's over-designed, heavy, miserable to put together, and  (based on the assembly) difficult to tune, and I blame 90% of it on THE STUPID END LINKS.

I don't know HOW someone at Tamiya in the 80s didn't look at this design and ask "are we really going to tell people to use shims to set the ball-end orientation?" or "why don't we use plastic ball-cups like everyone else on threaded rod?" or "why are we using parts that are SO heavy and over-designed?"

Every link is a nightmare to assemble and requires 5 hands. I cannot TELL YOU how many times I had the ball ends on/off in the process of shimming them to "just the right orientation". And the little sway bar receivers on the links are a pain to orient and on TOP of that: the sway bars don't move freely and don't stay centered (rear)!

You'd think: "well, with all those metal parts, surely the car is slop free!" - but no Shirley, it is not. This is one of the sloppiest cars I've put together. Like...approaching Blackfoot front suspension sloppy.

I've built lots of cars in the last few years and this thing is by far one of the biggest let-downs of my RC life. I expected a Ferrari and I got a Gremlin.

-end rant-

Let me know how much I owe you all for the therapy session. LOL

Uiui

I‘m still waiting for my Avante Black Edition to arrive… you think I should‘t unbox it? 🤣 

I won‘t be able to ressist… still think its super hot looking!!!

[Unknown Driver 262]

16 minutes ago, Tumbi said:

Uiui

I‘m still waiting for my Avante Black Edition to arrive… you think I should‘t unbox it? 🤣 

I won‘t be able to ressist… still think its super hot looking!!!

Zero doubt: I would build a Black Edition and ENJOY the suffering to look at those rims. Hubba hubba! 

[Tumbi 476]

Done my Decals… 

pretty happy with the Outcome… and very surprised how well the Tainting-Window-Sticker is sticking to this window-bubble!

 

and I mounted the Discbrakes 🤣

its just for fun… I know! The benefit is that my car is now a little wider - those disc/hexes are around 2mm wider than the original Hex (is this the correct word? Sorry…🤓)

 

@Willy iine again: you and Hope did an amazing Job again!

[Re-Bugged 10117]

👆🏻 Very nice indeed @Tumbi  

[FoxShot 280]

18 hours ago, Unknown Driver said:

Sorry boys, this is going to be a tough one but I think this is the only venue with people mature enough to let me vent. -takes a deep breath-

I hate the Avante.

After building the Egress which I absolutely LOVED, it's abundantly clear to me why the Avante was a failure as a race car. It's over-designed, heavy, miserable to put together, and  (based on the assembly) difficult to tune, and I blame 90% of it on THE STUPID END LINKS.

I don't know HOW someone at Tamiya in the 80s didn't look at this design and ask "are we really going to tell people to use shims to set the ball-end orientation?" or "why don't we use plastic ball-cups like everyone else on threaded rod?" or "why are we using parts that are SO heavy and over-designed?"

Every link is a nightmare to assemble and requires 5 hands. I cannot TELL YOU how many times I had the ball ends on/off in the process of shimming them to "just the right orientation". And the little sway bar receivers on the links are a pain to orient and on TOP of that: the sway bars don't move freely and don't stay centered (rear)!

You'd think: "well, with all those metal parts, surely the car is slop free!" - but no Shirley, it is not. This is one of the sloppiest cars I've put together. Like...approaching Blackfoot front suspension sloppy.

I've built lots of cars in the last few years and this thing is by far one of the biggest let-downs of my RC life. I expected a Ferrari and I got a Gremlin.

-end rant-

Let me know how much I owe you all for the therapy session. LOL

I know exactly where you are coming from with the Avante, but I love mine and use mine. Admittedly only in the garden or park etc. I have the Egress too, and that gets more use, to the extent i broke the front gearbox and snapped the upper deck just in front of the gearbox.

I wanted an Avante when they were first released back in 88. it is more fiddly that the Egress, especially re the battery, and can be a little more delicate. But the only bit I have broken is the front swivel hub that is the same as the Egress.

I built my first ever 3 NIB kits a couple of years ago. Egress, Top Force and Avante in that order.

I knew nothing literally of the chassis layouts and types and was blown away by the Egress compared to my FoxShot i made, and the HotShot I had just bought 2nd hand.

The Top Force I was informed was a much better, more capable racer than the Egress but felt it a lot more basic, and with more play in pivots.

The Avante I didn't know used the same gearboxes as the Egress, but the chassis plates being the other way round. (I have learnt SO much ion the past 2 years!!!)

The rose jointed suspension is a marvel, and way ahead of its time for when released. But it does have issues. I used Schumaccer CAT U7209 cups and matching balls on my FoxShot when i made it back in the late 80's, and they are still good today after a LOT of use and little maintenance, and have a set to go on my Avante. That will make it a vastly improved buggy IMO. May even paint them silver too!!

 

[Juhunio 6830]

So far today I have been for a 6 mile walk, got a haircut, done the butcher's run, made a char sui sauce to marinade some pork belly strips for dinner tonight and made a start on the body shell for my TA02SW bits-a-build

I'm not doing box art so want to keep the original sticker sheets in immaculate condition, so I made my own set of window masks 

A final little bit of sanding and it's ready to paint...nearly...just gave it a final clean so I'm waiting for it to dry

I also made a start on turning this box of bits into a TT02B Plasma Edge

Progress so far....

And it's only just struck midday Fun-packed afternoon ahead, and then.....pork!

[Grumpy pants 4474]

All ‘honey do’s’ and family stuff today - quite happy can see light at the end of this tunnel 😂

Only 8 boxes left in the whole house to unpack as and when - which is great progress 😊

[Yoshimitsu 3475]

[Willy iine 18805]

I'm going to work on painting the nicherotors Wheeler seat backs today  and start the City Turbo body window trim painting..    .. but, I got notice that my reprinted chassis half is now complete and will ship out soon.     so it's motivation to finish the body before it arrives.  

 

[topforcein 1764]

my son booked  car show tickets for today as it was a le-mans theme show but when we get there it was on a pub car park with only one le-mans effort their so 5 mins and we was done so we came away but about 5 miles away from their we kept seeing 80's style trucks going past us so i said see if there was a truck show near where we was and yep it was a a car museum so we ended up going their instead while we was their we went to a food van as we had not eaten and we looked at the menu and for a single slice of bacon in a bap it was just under £6  so we said forget that but ended up at the motorway services enjoying a burger kind instead  

[Juhunio 6830]

Completed TT02B chassis build  Been working on it on and off since 10:00 this morning, all in all it was pretty straightforward. 

It's gonna be a care-free runner-basher, so is built bone stock except for full bearings, a hardened steel RW Racing pinion and aluminium clamp wheel hubs

It was built from genuine parts rather than a kit...I had a deck left over from a TT02-R build where I used a blue deck, dampers left over from (I think) my DF03, all other screws, screw pins, step screws etc were in the spares pots left over from various builds where I used hex head screws, suspension shafts or ball connectors instead. I think in the end the only metal parts I had to buy were the two suspension U pins. 

The Kyosho motor has been hanging around looking for a home for a while now, and it's a good visual fit so we'll see how it goes with the 16T pinion

I'll install the radio gear tomorrow then it'll be time to tackle the body shell, which is going to be pretty minimalist

 

[Tumbi 476]

1 hour ago, Juhunio said:

Completed TT02B chassis build  Been working on it on and off since 10:00 this morning, all in all it was pretty straightforward. 

It's gonna be a care-free runner-basher, so is built bone stock except for full bearings, a hardened steel RW Racing pinion and aluminium clamp wheel hubs

It was built from genuine parts rather than a kit...I had a deck left over from a TT02-R build where I used a blue deck, dampers left over from (I think) my DF03, all other screws, screw pins, step screws etc were in the spares pots left over from various builds where I used hex head screws, suspension shafts or ball connectors instead. I think in the end the only metal parts I had to buy were the two suspension U pins. 

The Kyosho motor has been hanging around looking for a home for a while now, and it's a good visual fit so we'll see how it goes with the 16T pinion

I'll install the radio gear tomorrow then it'll be time to tackle the body shell, which is going to be pretty minimalist

 

Looking clean and good!  Lets see, what is „minimalistic“ in your world… guess its much  more than in mine :-)