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Jamesbeat

Racing Fighter Body - Is This Normal?

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I received my DT02 Racing Fighter yesterday and started building it.

After I had put the tires on the wheels and got the two chassis halves together, I happened to look at the body shell and noticed what appear to be two imperfections.

I'm probably going to have to return the shell anyway because of the first fault, but I'm curious to know if the second one is actually an imperfection or if it is normal?

1. Tamiya has pre-cut the holes for the mounting posts to pass through.

I guess this was intended as a thoughtful gesture towards the beginning modeler, but unfortunately the front hole is badly off center.

I don't think I would be able to get the body to sit straight without 'egging' the hole out substantially.

 

2. On the left side window (if viewing the body from the front) is a small circular depression, roughly 2mm in diameter.

At first glance it looks like a hole, but it is actually a deep depression.

I have done some vacuum forming in the past, and it looks to me like the plastic was overheated and got sucked into a vent hole.

If it was elsewhere on the body I would just ignore it, but being on the window it stands out like a sore thumb.

I guess it's possible it is supposed to be there for some reason that has not occurred to me.

Has anyone else got this shell?

Could you take a look at the window and see if yours has the same issue?

 

 

 

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Is the depression on the window in the same position the instructions specify to make a hole for the antenna pipe? If not pre-drilled there's usually a dimple to indicate where the hole needs to go.

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16 minutes ago, Truck Norris said:

Is the depression on the window in the same position the instructions specify to make a hole for the antenna pipe? If not pre-drilled there's usually a dimple to indicate where the hole needs to go.

Yes it is!

Well, that's that cleared up, thanks

I feel a little silly now, but in my defense this is only the second Tamiya model that I have built, and the first one had a hard ABS body (Lunch Box).

It's a shame about the front body mount hole being off, I'm still going to have to return it I think.

 

Tower Hobbies disclaims any responsibility once you have started building the model, and directs you to the manufacturer.

 This is of course completely illegal, but it's not worth the argument, so I called Tamiya.

 

It seems that Tamiya considers the day before New Year's Eve to be a 'major holiday', so the office is closed.

 

What is Tamiya like to deal with regarding returns?

Will they allow me to return just the body, or will I have to send the whole kit back?

Will I have to pay for shipping it to them?

I'd like to carry on with the build if possible.

 

 

 

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Any chance of a picture?

dimples and extra holes are a Tamiya quirk, they think we still run old radios with huge antennas.

I painted mine the other day and the hole is ok

313AAD42-A128-4E4F-ACE8-CC57B09F7AE3_zps

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I'm at work at the moment but I'll try to get a photo uploaded later.

The hole on yours looks to be spot on. I love the purple by the way :)

Mine is pretty far off the centerline - probably 5-6mm.

I told my wife (who has never so much as touched an RC car) that I may have to return the body, and when she asked why, I handed it to her and asked her to take a guess.

She looked at the body for a few seconds, pointed at the hole and said 'is that hole supposed to be in the middle?'

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6 minutes ago, Jamesbeat said:

I'm at work at the moment but I'll try to get a photo uploaded later.

The hole on yours looks to be spot on. I love the purple by the way :)

Mine is pretty far off the centerline - probably 5-6mm.

I told my wife (who has never so much as touched an RC car) that I may have to return the body, and when she asked why, I handed it to her and asked her to take a guess.

She looked at the body for a few seconds, pointed at the hole and said 'is that hole supposed to be in the middle?'

Not good. You do not hear about many non deliberate faults with Tamiya stuff, loads of design flaws, but not faults

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No, I am aware of Tamiya's reputation for quality, and my opinion of them is still high.

These things just happen sometimes. I hope they make it right without me having to pay to ship it back to them - I don't believe I should be expected to incur any out of pocket expenses to get this fixed.

The rest of the kit appears to be of superb quality. I was especially impressed with how well the two halves of the chassis fit together.

Having built a good few models in the past, I know that long narrow sections often don't meet well along their full length and often have to be persuaded with heat, but this chassis is perfect.

 I guess the bodies go on a fixture to have the holes punched, and my example must have not been aligned properly.

Not the end of the world by any means, but I don't want to have to enlarge that hole enough to have the body sit straight, because that will introduce other problems.

I'm pretty sure that if I was to enlarge it enough to fit the chassis properly, it would also be large enough for the body clip to slip through.

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On 30/12/2016 at 6:37 PM, Nobbi1977 said:

Any chance of a picture?

dimples and extra holes are a Tamiya quirk, they think we still run old radios with huge antennas.

I painted mine the other day and the hole is ok

313AAD42-A128-4E4F-ACE8-CC57B09F7AE3_zps

Hi Nobbi, can you please help me identify the rear bodyvpodys needed to mount that Racing Fighter body onto the DT03?

I'm looking to change my Neo Fighter shell ( narrower at rear) for the Racing Fighter but it needs different rear posts ) Neo Fighter used the grey chassis  knobs whereas the RF looks like it needs 2 separate rear posts attaching over 2 small raised cubes right at the back of the chassis.

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23 minutes ago, Jason1145 said:

Hi Nobbi, can you please help me identify the rear bodyvpodys needed to mount that Racing Fighter body onto the DT03?

I'm looking to change my Neo Fighter shell ( narrower at rear) for the Racing Fighter but it needs different rear posts ) Neo Fighter used the grey chassis  knobs whereas the RF looks like it needs 2 separate rear posts attaching over 2 small raised cubes right at the back of the chassis.

I will take a photo of the manual this weekend, I cannot find one online

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28 minutes ago, Nobbi1977 said:

I will take a photo of the manual this weekend, I cannot find one online

Thank you! I can't find it online either, I got a DT03 manual printed at home but it shows Neo Fighter only and doesn't lidt any other body posts ;) 

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On 03/02/2017 at 8:57 PM, Jason1145 said:

Thank you! I can't find it online either, I got a DT03 manual printed at home but it shows Neo Fighter only and doesn't lidt any other body posts ;) 

Sorry little bit sidetracked 

 

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