New to the world of 1/14 Trucks!

[carparkthrasher 1]

Hi all,

Doing my usual long time lerker, occasional poster thing!

Having been itching for a new build for a while and seeing some trucks recently at St Albans model engineering show (and many times on line and TC!) I really fancy one of them as my next 'treat myself because work sucks and you cant take your money with you' moment and I feel like buying something. Well, myself and MBNA anyway...........

Having been used to this being an expensive hobby I was still a little shocked by how much it costs to get into tractor trucks and trailers! My current thinking is something like 56318 - Scania R470 - yes I know some will think it is missing an axle............ Whilst I know I need 4 ch radio and at least 2 servos and I will ball race from the outset, my attention then focused on the MFC unit which cost so much that I can only assume it has been assembled on the thighs of virgins and flown to modelshops via Pegasus. Whilst this unit adds great realism for running at shows etc. my truck will get occasional outings and as such I was drawn to the light kit - 56501.

My questions is - can the light kit be installed in the R470 without losing the interior? I understand the full multi function job does mean sacrificing the interior?

Oh and one other question then - motor - was looking at the LRP truck puller or Carson equivalent, mainly to drop the speed down so I don't ding the thing at silly speed. Can these high turn motors run on a basic ESC like the Tamiya ones?

Thanks all and with any luck I will post updates and photos as and when I have added to my debt - whilst doing my bit to boost our flagging economy by spending money I don't have just yet.

Cheers

CPT

[gozone 30]

Welcome to the fun of RC-trucking.

But be warned, it can be VERY addictive..

Well, if you want to go the "cheap" way, the electrical unit set is just fine, and yes, you can put it in the truck without sacrificing the interior..

The MFC-unit is, in my opinion, very outdated and very primitive compared to other similar products today, for instance, i only use Servonaut electronics in my truck builds, which by far exceeds the capabilyties of any of Tamiyas sets. (again, in my opinion. Furthermore, they are modules so you can start with only an ESC, and then buy more stuff and put on the truck later on.. However, it is much easier to have all the "ingredients" when starting the build.

Another thing to remember about stuff like Servonaut is that if you want all the bells and whistles, you end up paying at least 3 times the value of the truck kit itself in electronics, but i think it is well worth it, as it enhances the overall appearance of the truck, and adds much more fun to the running part of it..

And last.

Yes, standard Tamiya ESC´s like the TEU-101-BK will have trouble whatsoever running the high turn motors, as they require less power than the lower turns motors.

The more turns, the slower the motor.

Instead of the LRP and Carson motors, i would recommend using a sæcalled "lathe-motor". These are used to power lathes to skim the rotors of racing motors, but are also great powerplants for trucks and scale rigs.

Personally, i mainly run the Integy Matrix pro 75 or 85 turn motors in my trucks, however, the latest of the trucks (my white Scania 3-axle rigid dumper) uses a Servonaut TM72 motor