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bangstick

super clodbuster build!

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hi again, you may have noticed im a born again tamiya nut and it seems infectious lol. i have in the past two weeks bought a baja champ off a friend, then a twin det for my 1st kit build which thanks to the excellent advice of some you is now running brilliant due to gluing the tyres to the rims. i also bought a b3 rc10 which is ok i spose. my friend after seeing the twin det running, climbing up 6"kerbs and eating up the gravel went out this morn and bought the most expensive tamiya kit in the shop, a super clobuster! it looks like a hard kit to build with the thousands of screws. can anyone give me some tips i could pass on to him as its his 1st build and he seemed a little overwhelmed by it. thanks in advance, it looks like it gonna be awesome by the size of those massive tyres!

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Just take your time and read carefully. It's not that hard of a kit to put together until you start buying crawling and racing chassis's.

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the clod buster is a great kit to build, the parts fit is perfect and everything is big so it isnt too fiddily to assemble!

like minijosh said, take your time with the build and make sure you understand all of the steps.

like all builds, make sure you take off all the little burrs left on the parts after you take them off of the parts trees, espicially important on the gearbox cases to make them fit together.

make sure you assemble the steering links carefully, noting the direction the rods and link arms are facing. dont overtighten the front and rear servo savers or the truck wont steer [;)]

also, think about buying a hi torque steering servo. i've only got a standard one on my clod but a high torque servo will make the steering more effective.

make sure you know what stages of construction you'll need to do twice. the front and rear gearbox and axel assemblies are identical.

only take the parts off of the trees when you need to use them, and dont get the hundreds of little srews mixed up.

the gears go together easily, just assemble it all as the insructions tell you to.

take care when fitting the little E clips, or they will fly across the house and go missing[;)]

its definatly an awsome kit [8D]

my runner clod is almost 20 years old now, and its never had any major problems.

have fun building and running it [:D]

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As with any build make sure you have a nice, large work surface with all the tools necessary .

Make sure not to strip or lose screws.

Read the manual thoroughly before starting to build and then double check all the steps while building.

Take extra care while assembling gearboxes and when you have completed building them, before attaching them to a chassis connect a battery directly to the motor to test they are all working and the gear mesh is correct.

If there is a problem think about it before using the ol' hammer.

Oh yeah and remember to have fun while building the clod.

Merry Christmas

[:D]

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Ahh thanks XanderP, I forgot to say read the instructions first before you open any bags.

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I always use as many small containers as possible, prefferably with good locking lids. Keep the paper that tells you which screw bag it is and put it inside with the screws. Because this kit has so many, I had boxes inside boxes. Thats why good lids are needed, this kit needs lots of space and the last thing you want is knocking over a pile of screws.

And a nice sized bowl to put the screws from which step your up to in, so its easy to access. Then after, put them back into the container.

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thanks, he has already seperated the bits in to various containers. i might pop round in a mo to see how the build is going. im very jealous looks like a fun kit to build and those tyres are massive!

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thanks for all the advice! my friend has finally finished building the chassis and fitted all the electrics. i sprayed the body for him then he spent about half as much time as he spent on the chassis on finishing the body with all the chrome. to be fair though what a lovely looking kit when finished. personally i think the body looks much better without stickers. we christened her in the 6" deep snow which was perfect for a clod, dissapointed with the steering though or lack of it?are they all this bad or have we done something wrong, perhaps a more torqey servo is in order? cheers for all the interest, bangstick.

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quote:Originally posted by bangstick

we christened her in the 6" deep snow which was perfect for a clod, dissapointed with the steering though or lack of it?are they all this bad or have we done something wrong, perhaps a more torqey servo is in order? cheers for all the interest, bangstick.


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hi again [:D]

wright, you have a few options to make the steering better [:)]

firstly, check everything on the steering is built correctly. make sure the axel servo savers arn't to tight, or set to loose. this is adjusted using the locking nut you can see on the top of the gearbox, facing upwards to the chassis.

secondly, adjust the rod lengths to make sure each wheel is getting its maximum travel. check the rod lengths acording to the manual.

thirdly, try changing the steering link position on the gearbox servo savers. you'll notice the ball connecter on the gearbox servo saver has 3 positions. if the truck is built to the manual; the ball connecter will be bolted into the middle position. try moving the ball connecter to the outer most position in order to get more throw on the wheels. try this on the back and front steering and see if it makes a difference.

fourth option, purchase a hi torque servo. hitec make very nice hi torque ones, check online or in your local hobby store. the higher torque will increase the power of the steering.

finally, you could consider getting an aftermarket steering setup, using a servo mounted directly onto the axel using special mounts. for four wheel steering the truck will then need 2 steering servoes. this is the most expensive option but will greatly increase the steering of the truck.

by design, the clod will tend to steer most with its rear wheels, or if travelling backwards - with its front wheels. this is because of the way the steering links are set up. the truck will also normally steer better one way than the other.

steering on snow wont be great either, as the snow gives a lot of friction to the wheels, and the lack of grip on ice will also make the truck steer badly.

i'd say mess about with the links and see if adjusting them helps, thats what i did and i'm pleased with my clods steering. then test it out on concreate after the snow has melted [;)] then you can decide if the truck needs a high torque servo. untill then, go and plow through the snow, thats what i'm about to do with my truck! [:D]

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cheers! yeah you are right im sure it just needs a bit of a setup and im sure he had his servo rod in the middle hole on the arm. also seems to steer more one way than the other which indicates to the servo not being centred. seemed a little slow but it does weigh about the same as a small outbuilding lol. hope to subscribe soon so ill get some pictures on here [;)]

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Bringing this back from 2005!

While I'm enjoying the build (Black Edition) I'm HATING the tie rods that need to be popped in. I end up either hurting myself or scratching a part when trying to pop those stupid things into place. Extremely frustrating.

I also would suggest a few edits to the manual for better clarity such as the small flat nut that goes into each gearbox for one screw to catch on the outside, which they did mention, but kind of blended it with the rest of the directions. Otherwise, aside from those 2 gripes (more towards the steering links), it's fine.

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Hey all,

Finished the build and love the way it looks and it all came out so it was worth it.

I do have an issue where the front chrome bumper that attaches to the chassis have screws that pinch and damage the front bottom painted piece of the body (under the chrome front).

Any tips on that? My only though was to reverse the nut that goes on top and put it on the bottom but it’s too wide so I would need to put a smaller one perhaps.

Does anyone else have this issue as well?

Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

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