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JNSD1

So many questions... Tundra, Hilux, Bruiser... Red Pill

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Well firstly this is a large hello to you all. Been lurking around for a bit and have unfortunately / fortunately now FIRMLY taken the plunge.

As there's no official "Welcome / Into yourself" thread I'll do that here as well...

Brief history of me + RC.

  • Child of the 80s, had a Frog, Pajero, Mauri samurai (still got it in pieces!), mauri Big Bear (still nearly all together!) Kyosho Turbo Optima Mid then slipped into the 90s with Kyoso MP5 but never really had much success with nitro.
  • Fast forward many years and I discover the HPI savage nitro...
  • THEN I discover 1/5 Baja... Basically the same as choosing the Red Pill on the Matrix. (FYI made my first Baja a Frog tribute... pics at the end if you like)
  • Deplete bank account many, many, many thousands of dollars and many, many hundreds of hours
  • Finish up with a 60cc skopod engine in an uncontrollable 5T with hydraulic disc breaks and any other hop up available to man whilst on your own custom build 1/5 scale track and you realise it's time to pull the rip cord and exit the hobby.
  • Sell EVERYTHING. (Including my poor little MERV which I loved so...)
  • Have an unopened Lunchbox sitting at home for five years, daughter finally wants to "build" it with me...

Annnnnnddddddddddddddd I've taken the Red Pill again.

Currently have on their way from countries far abroad:

  • Tamiya Tundra - non-scale, more practical build going to happen
  • Tamiya Hilux - Scale build going to happen!
  • Negotiating on Bruiser - True to 80s build will happen. (JUST missed out yesterday on a Mountain Rider :( sad, as I like that body more...)

Have also had to re-buy all gear - basically a nightmare / incredible fun...

However I have NEVER done the "scale thang" so there is a steep learning curve for me. Also, only dabbled in electric / Lipo land with the MERV so am still scratching skull often on that one.

Admittedly Medic's thread on his Tundra fired me up for a non-scale but awesome build, so have taken a lot of the learning curve from that thread and also ideas. I have specific questions that to get answered in a practical way should be structured as such. There will be many more I do not think of no doubt, but for now (apologies in advance team). Just need to share the burden of obsession with others equally inflicted.

These will all be Tundra specific... for now...

Bits so far:

  • Junfac highlift kit + Steering mod
  • Tekin FXR + Tekin 35T motor
  • Waterproof servos all around
  • 3racing winch
  • 3s lipos
  • Bearing kit

What I am struggling with:

Wheels. Want 2.2 but simply can't decide on the right style / look / functionality blend. Problem is I still can't really decide on what colour and style I'm going to paint it to be honest and it's killing me. So while it's not going to be strictly a scaler look as it'll be all jacked up, really want to get something that works well but looks awesome. I do like the baja body painit job and also the Top Gear ice truck... pretty cool also. If I give up, it'll be black.

Shocks. While they're dependant on wheels to a certain extent, I want that Graceland again of scale looks and functionality. Either plain silver or probably plain black I would think. Thoughts on size and supplier?

LED lights. I got a (Turnigy don't judge me) 9ch radio so have plenty of buttons to entertain myself with. What comes with the kit and what do I need to make a rolling disco on this bad boy? Help!

What are the best fenders? RC Model Ex? I think I saw someone, somewhere put screws into the holes of them which looked VERY nice, how's that done?

Winch. Do I need to run separate saddle pack batteries like Medic did? If yes, is 1500mah at 6v ok for this on the 3racing winch?

BEC... Do I need one? I know that the FXR has one, not sure if I need another one with the juice running through it. If yes, can someone recommend for me?

I think that's it for now. World's LONGEST first post? I like to be up front in relationships, and you guys know straight out what i'm up to!

JD

To prove I'm an 80s tragic:

IMG_0259.jpg

IMG_0262.jpg

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Thanks, that one car went through a lot of different iterations. But the theme (apart from a black stint) stayed as the Frog. Everyone loved her... Have a lot of footage and video of it getting destroyed over time!

I made the decals (No Guts, No Glory) myself and had them custom printed. Just loved the look of her.

Couple more:

IMG_0382.jpg

I used to REALLY drive this car hard... Jumped the thing many times very far and very long or large mountains. Thing of beauty.

28.jpg

All three at one stage lined up, hard to really giver persepctive of how big that MCD monster truck it. Magnificent but MAN they're loud, expensive and hard to maintain.

IMG_1535.jpg

Final beast, the 60cc Skopod monster, this thing was insanity.

IMG_2063.jpg

napoleon-dynamite-sweet-jumps-300x351.jp

Anyhow, sorry for the 1/5 scale memory lane.

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To prove I'm an 80s tragic:

IMG_0259.jpg

Firstly welcome to TC, the home of tragic 80's!

Before attempting to answer your questions, I have to congratulate you on that Baja / Frog. Looks awesome.

  • Wheels. Want 2.2 but simply can't decide on the right style / look / functionality blend. Problem is I still can't really decide on what colour and style I'm going to paint it to be honest and it's killing me. So while it's not going to be strictly a scaler look as it'll be all jacked up, really want to get something that works well but looks awesome. I do like the baja body painit job and also the Top Gear ice truck... pretty cool also. If I give up, it'll be black.

Head straight to RC4WD.com for all your wheel needs. Amazing selection of styles and tires too.

  • Shocks. While they're dependant on wheels to a certain extent, I want that Graceland again of scale looks and functionality. Either plain silver or probably plain black I would think. Thoughts on size and supplier?

RC4WD again. May I suggest their rather lovely Old Man Emu shocks in a dashing yellow. They are scale, functional and yet a tiny bit jacked-up. Nice! 70mm or 80mm I think for your Tundra.

  • LED lights. I got a (******, don't judge me) 9ch radio so have plenty of buttons to entertain myself with. What comes with the kit and what do I need to make a rolling disco on this bad boy? Help!

Once you have worked out how many lights you want talk to this chap... modellightingsolutions@yahoo.co.uk. He will do you a custom loom for a very good price.

  • What are the best fenders? RC Model Ex? I think I saw someone, somewhere put screws into the holes of them which looked VERY nice, how's that done?

RCModelex fenders are great. You can easily drill holes in both the fenders and the truck body and just use 2mm socket screws and bolts.

  • Winch. Do I need to run separate saddle pack batteries like Medic did? If yes, is 1500mah at 6v ok for this on the 3racing winch?

I think you can run a winch off any normal battery. When crawling you are not draining huge power and neither does a winch so you should be fine.

  • BEC... Do I need one? I know that the FXR has one, not sure if I need another one with the juice running through it. If yes, can someone recommend for me?

Unless you are going to put some silly overpowered motor in it you will be just fine. The FXR is awesome.

Enjoy yourself!

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Firstly welcome to TC, the home of tragic 80's!

Before attempting to answer your questions, I have to congratulate you on that Baja / Frog. Looks awesome.

  • Wheels. Want 2.2 but simply can't decide on the right style / look / functionality blend. Problem is I still can't really decide on what colour and style I'm going to paint it to be honest and it's killing me. So while it's not going to be strictly a scaler look as it'll be all jacked up, really want to get something that works well but looks awesome. I do like the baja body painit job and also the Top Gear ice truck... pretty cool also. If I give up, it'll be black.

Head straight to RC4WD.com for all your wheel needs. Amazing selection of styles and tires too.

  • Shocks. While they're dependant on wheels to a certain extent, I want that Graceland again of scale looks and functionality. Either plain silver or probably plain black I would think. Thoughts on size and supplier?

RC4WD again. May I suggest their rather lovely Old Man Emu shocks in a dashing yellow. They are scale, functional and yet a tiny bit jacked-up. Nice! 70mm or 80mm I think for your Tundra.

  • LED lights. I got a (******, don't judge me) 9ch radio so have plenty of buttons to entertain myself with. What comes with the kit and what do I need to make a rolling disco on this bad boy? Help!

Once you have worked out how many lights you want talk to this chap... modellightingsolutions@yahoo.co.uk. He will do you a custom loom for a very good price.

  • What are the best fenders? RC Model Ex? I think I saw someone, somewhere put screws into the holes of them which looked VERY nice, how's that done?

RCModelex fenders are great. You can easily drill holes in both the fenders and the truck body and just use 2mm socket screws and bolts.

  • Winch. Do I need to run separate saddle pack batteries like Medic did? If yes, is 1500mah at 6v ok for this on the 3racing winch?

I think you can run a winch off any normal battery. When crawling you are not draining huge power and neither does a winch so you should be fine.

  • BEC... Do I need one? I know that the FXR has one, not sure if I need another one with the juice running through it. If yes, can someone recommend for me?

Unless you are going to put some silly overpowered motor in it you will be just fine. The FXR is awesome.

Enjoy yourself!

Brilliant, thanks for the response and recommendations. The shocks look awesome, the ride height that is appealing to me is like the following cars (their overall style also looks great to me) the question is what ride height would the be running around? Also assume their using 2.2 wheels...

Red-1_zpslk3bw6uy.jpg

Blue-1_zpsgkcg2lrn.jpg

One other pertinent question that I forgot to ask is that I have a spare Tamiya ESC TEU-104BK. Would this ESC work with a Tamiya torque tuned or GT Tuned motor (have two turning up) as I can put that into my Hilux when it arrives and it will save me on buying another ESC. - Caveat is if they are terrible ESC's and I won't be able to get much fun out of the truck with it in it then I will simply have to get a better one.

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One other pertinent question that I forgot to ask is that I have a spare Tamiya ESC TEU-104BK. Would this ESC work with a Tamiya torque tuned or GT Tuned motor (have two turning up) as I can put that into my Hilux when it arrives and it will save me on buying another ESC. - Caveat is if they are terrible ESC's and I won't be able to get much fun out of the truck with it in it then I will simply have to get a better one.

Those photos are not showing so hard to guesstimate the size shock you should go with. There is also a nice spring set for the shocks with 4 different levels of stiffness.

That ESC will work fine but you will need an alarm if you plan on running lipo's, If you are going to be doing some crawling then you will want to upgrade your ESC sooner rather than later.

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Those photos are not showing so hard to guesstimate the size shock you should go with. There is also a nice spring set for the shocks with 4 different levels of stiffness.

That ESC will work fine but you will need an alarm if you plan on running lipo's, If you are going to be doing some crawling then you will want to upgrade your ESC sooner rather than later.

Apologies, was cleaning up my photobucket and it messed up the links, they are above now again. Really not sure what size they are, but would be good to get a guide as to whether 80mm, 90mm or 100mm will be best. As stated, the best blend of style and functionality is what I am after.

Do most people just run the Tekin FXR in their 3 speed builds?

Another question, does everyone run brass bushings if they plan on getting the trucks wet to avoid rust or is it still bearings the make sure you give a good clean and lubricate?

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My thoughts on scale running is to keep the truck suspension relatively stock. The whole challenge of scale driving is trying to drive a truck with not much articulation. The Tamiya Multifunction unit limits you in certain ways but it adds a whole new level of detail and scale realism. My Hi lift with MFC 02 is one of my most run vehicles

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Love the frog 5b! I seriously considered doing a hornet version with mine but hasn't eventuated yet.

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This just turned up in the office... And so it begins!!!

F49BB498-5713-4A1F-9F4B-7FBF312B9009_zps

The Tundra and Junfac gear... Man it came fast from Banzai to me. Ordered on Monday, here Friday!!!

Amazing. Truly amazing.

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This just turned up in the office... And so it begins!!!

The Tundra and Junfac gear... Man it came fast from Banzai to me. Ordered on Monday, here Friday!!!

Amazing. Truly amazing.

Welcome . If you take pic's , JUST remember to not show your address . You just don't

know who is looking . Just a tip !! .

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Welcome . If you take pic's , JUST remember to not show your address . You just don't

know who is looking . Just a tip !! .

Yup agree, I made sure this one's ok as can't see anything and even if you could, it's my work address ;) More pics of boxes sooooooonnnn!

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Ok so got some more pics, there's nothing like the delivery of a new car... it's been four years!

93D962A2-62E3-4B29-9429-E92734A6A008_zps

21529E94-BD25-4128-94E6-6C474F852096_zps

F08F4B5F-B871-4FE9-AC47-4CCC81DB3AA7_zps

FEBC7B61-F945-4009-8AC9-1AD7DC40146F_zps

B025C6E6-824C-4565-B545-8DAAE489F4E9_zps

D18D7537-7421-464E-A475-1EDC11DDAFD8_zps

Getting excited to start the build....

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What a lovely haul!

Re shocks, the photos you posted look like 90mm or 100mm to me.

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Congratulations,

Lovely kit and hop ups.

Here's a little build thread that I enjoyed;

http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73301

and another one on here;

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76822

Look forward to your build.

Cheers

Nito

Thanks Nito and also njmlondo.

Those two threads are awesome... very inspiring. I think I will move this thread into the build section now that I have cracked my first Tamiya bag open and been wrenching...

Ok have created the build thread for the Tundra here.

JD

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