New To The Scene

[m0nk666 0]

Am new to the forums and indeed new to the RC model scene. My mate "rustypole" has been posting on here and recommended I do the same. I recently made my first Tamiya purchase in the form of the Midnight Pumkin, and a 2 Channel Futaba Attack 2 ER radio setup. My build is coming along slowly but surely and cant wait to get out there with it . I was hoping you guys could answer a few techie questions and maybe a few not so techie questions for me !!

Am based in the Newmarket region of Suffolk ( in the United Kingdom) so was wondering if there are any clubs/meets that go on around here ? Would be cool to pop along and get a feel for how it all works

Regarding the Pumpkin... is it worth investing in some aftermarket bits to ensure its a bit sturdier or are the stock builds pretty good ? ( can you recommend any ? )

How does the Pumpkin compare to Buggys ? Are the a totally different driving experience or are the stock perfomance's similar ?

If all goes well with this, I plan for my next build to potentially be a buggy.. Can you recommend any good starter ones ? Also, the radio gear I have will work with it I assume, what other components do I need to purchase in order for me to use the same radio ?

I apologies if the questions seem a bit noob(ish) .. Like I said, am new to the whole scene and not 100% down with the terminology etc

Thanks for your time.

Regards

m0nk666

[Blacque Jacque 4]

Welcome to TC,

The local meet is the Eastern Bash which swaps between Red Lodge & Snetterton, keep an eye on this thread for upcoming dates.

EB are running an "official" TC meet at Snetterton in August, see this thread.

A couple of other members are trying to setup a circuit at Caxton on the former outdoor portion of the karting circuit, see this thread for details.

And of course, you're always welcome to join any bash that you feel in within striking distance for you.

As we seem to be getting numbers building in the local area I think it's about time we invaded Red Lodge again.

[rustypole 0]

Hey,

as soon as I've bought and built then lets have a bash

Rusty

[m0nk666 0]

Welcome to TC,

The local meet is the Eastern Bash which swaps between Red Lodge & Snetterton, keep an eye on this thread for upcoming dates.

EB are running an "official" TC meet at Snetterton in August, see this thread.

A couple of other members are trying to setup a circuit at Caxton on the former outdoor portion of the karting circuit, see this thread for details.

And of course, you're always welcome to join any bash that you feel in within striking distance for you.

As we seem to be getting numbers building in the local area I think it's about time we invaded Red Lodge again.

Thanks v much Blacque Jacque Will be cool to hook up. Rustypole and myself are heading up to Snetterton tomorrow afternoon. I think he wants to get his DF03 Buggy .. so will be interesting to check out what they have up there !!

Regards

m0nk666

[Jonny Retro 12]

The Pumpkin handles nothing like a properly sorted buggy - it's top heavy so will roll laterally very easily on grippy surfaces, bounces around all over the place, and has a really poor turning circle ... but it's one of my favourite Tamiya creations - and probably the most fun. Throttle technique helps a little with cornering - go on & off the power to make a 50p piece out of each apex

The main thing you can do to improve a Pumpkins handling is the "3rd shock mod" - out of the box, the front end of the gearbox rotates upward, effectively making a hinge, so when one back wheel hits a bump, both move up - which leads to a very bouncy drive. The 3rd shock controls the rotation, giving you something a bit like independant suspension

Take a look at http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=80817 & http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=81573 - this is how I fitted a 3rd shock to my VLB (same chassis) and my red pumpkin - there are plenty of other examples in the gallery, mine were just easier to find

Another cheap mod is to put small spacers over the sticky out bit of the "damper" rods on the front suspension, this lowers the front end & hels reduce the adverse camber on the front end. Stiffer front springs help a little, but if you really want to improve things, you need to be looking at proper oil shocks.

[m0nk666 0]

The Pumpkin handles nothing like a properly sorted buggy - it's top heavy so will roll laterally very easily on grippy surfaces, bounces around all over the place, and has a really poor turning circle ... but it's one of my favourite Tamiya creations - and probably the most fun. Throttle technique helps a little with cornering - go on & off the power to make a 50p piece out of each apex

The main thing you can do to improve a Pumpkins handling is the "3rd shock mod" - out of the box, the front end of the gearbox rotates upward, effectively making a hinge, so when one back wheel hits a bump, both move up - which leads to a very bouncy drive. The 3rd shock controls the rotation, giving you something a bit like independant suspension

Take a look at http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=80817 & http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=81573 - this is how I fitted a 3rd shock to my VLB (same chassis) and my red pumpkin - there are plenty of other examples in the gallery, mine were just easier to find

Another cheap mod is to put small spacers over the sticky out bit of the "damper" rods on the front suspension, this lowers the front end & hels reduce the adverse camber on the front end. Stiffer front springs help a little, but if you really want to improve things, you need to be looking at proper oil shocks.

Thanks for the advice and tips .. I just completed my build a few hours ago, so now know what you mean hehe .. I was grinning ear to ear as I tore around with it outside my house with just bare chassis .. Had a few strange "Whats that all about then?" looks from people as they walked by .