Schumacher Cat XLS is back

[moffman 5752]

3 hours ago, scoobybooster said:

if were talking about NiMh, i agree.
But the kit also features LiPo straps for the use of modern shorty's right out of the box. So i think Schumacher left the original Batt straps for those who want to build these for collection purpose (e.g Shelfers). To be honest, i'm very happy that they left the car as original as possible.  For runners, they offer enough option parts to make it handle modern motors & equipps. It's common use that you would have to switch to LiPo's nowadays, especially on a competition buggy.
The LiPo straps are also offered as an Carbon Fibre option part U7267 btw, i've ordered these right away from the start.

 

Yeah they do have lipo straps in the kit but that doesn't make it ok to put items in which don't do the job they are there to do! Brushless is fine but their is people who still like to use brushed and NiMH all my re-re's have brushed in them and are always used (very well looked after but never a shelfer), And my other gripe is the soldering of the front roll bar! Don't get me wrong it's a absolutely beautiful looking buggy and I hate having to be so negative about this kit I really was looking forward to getting and building a first generation cat and it was going to be my highlight of the year so I've packed it away for a few weeks or less until I regain my liking of it!

[Robert5000 928]

Once again I've decided to let my impatience get the best of me and try a few fumbling steps on this build before I've painted the undertray. I never got around to painting the undertray of my Egress either, so I'm going to claim it's just how I like things. 

Thingamajig for clips is sourced and I've informed a parent of his upcoming duties with the soldering iron, + thanks to @moffman's excellent demonstration I'll go for the shorty option instead of the stick pack route. 

[tamiya3speed 464]

I downloaded the manual the other day out of interest after all the comments.  Then it happened again!  After looking over the build I had to order myself one.  The last thing I need is another car (I tried to sell an Optima recently and couldn't bring myself to do it) but some of the design of this thing I had to experience first hand.

The YouTube video may have helped too.

[Robert5000 928]

Not made much progress on my cat yet, but I must say it's sort of a finicky build -I'm still enjoying the heck out of it though so hopefully I'll avoid the disappointment @moffman is feeling. 

Edit to say: I really like how they've packed each step of the build in seperate bags. 

[moffman 5752]

3 hours ago, Robert5000 said:

Not made much progress on my cat yet, but I must say it's sort of a finicky build -I'm still enjoying the heck out of it though so hopefully I'll avoid the disappointment @moffman is feeling. 

Edit to say: I really like how they've packed each step of the build in seperate bags. 

I haven't even looked at my cat all week so I'm calming down a bit!.........but I'm still miffed at the soldering the rollbar and those battery straps but I may start painting the body this weekend if I get were I want to be with my ranger re-build I must give credit to the cat though it is a handsome beast when it was sitting on the table unpainted last weekend!. The individual bagged steps is very good because it makes it a lot more neat and organized when your building it instead of going from one bag to another you just concentrate on that bag!. I am glad your enjoying your build let me know if you have any tips on the soldering and battery straps it will be very gratefully received!

[Robert5000 928]

Good to hear you've been able to suppress the undying rage @moffman Haven't gotten to the soldering part yet, that should prove ..interesting. As for the battery straps, I opted for the shorty set up to avoid your headache alltogether. 

[scoobybooster 248]

8 hours ago, moffman said:

.. let me know if you have any tips on the soldering and battery straps it will be very gratefully received!

Regarding the soldering, an often made mistake is when using a soldering iron which cannot provide enough heat. An iron with 30W is good enough for soldering electronics such as cables etc but pointless when it Comes to solder heat - absorbing components such as batt cells etc..In such case, your iron should provide at least 100W (such as most soldering guns). Of course, Best would be to have a professional solder station with possibility to regulate output power. But i have one simple and cheap solder gun from do-it yourself- market with 100W, will do a perfect job for this, i'm sure.

[tamiya3speed 464]

Has anybody given any thought to using some other end links with a set screw?  I have some spare Hot Shot end links I may try and see if they work.

[Robert5000 928]

That's good advice @scoobybooster, I'll have to check what kind of power my iron is putting out. 

Has anyone any idea as to what the benefits are with the soldering instead of the regular ones that screw in? 

[moffman 5752]

2 hours ago, tamiya3speed said:

Has anybody given any thought to using some other end links with a set screw?  I have some spare Hot Shot end links I may try and see if they work.

That's a good idea hotshot ball links!

[MAD RACER 566]

5 hours ago, tamiya3speed said:

Has anybody given any thought to using some other end links with a set screw?  I have some spare Hot Shot end links I may try and see if they work.

 

I say it's more to do with cost factor.  Back in the day everything was very expensive to produce. So to produce a ball without threads for a grub screw would have been cheaper to do.   I recently added a front roll bar to my  Gold pan and the genuine AE roll bar set was the same had to solder the ball end on and bend the bar to the template provided.

Well that's  I think.

[moffman 5752]

Even the window masks leave all the glue on the windows (absolute mess) can't show any pictures at the moment for some strange reason the site won't let me download pictures?

[TeaMonster 506]

Mine did the same, very poor material used for the masks.

[moffman 5752]

Mine is not as bad as yours mate! Hot soapy water and a lot of elbow grease got mine off! Good luck with yours though

[scoobybooster 248]

This is really annoying.

I'll use the original masks as a stencil and create my own masks out of tamiya ones. They offer complete masking Sheets for custom cuttings

[TeaMonster 506]

Going to give it a clean this afternoon and see how it comes off. I noticed there was some shrinkage on the masks when I left it to dry overnight, never had this before on other Schumacher kits.

Also I have tried my batteries in and my nimh fit. They are Voltz brand of that helps. Let me know of you need anymore info

[moffman 5752]

On 12/08/2017 at 1:39 AM, MAD RACER said:

 

I say it's more to do with cost factor.  Back in the day everything was very expensive to produce. So to produce a ball without threads for a grub screw would have been cheaper to do.   I recently added a front roll bar to my  Gold pan and the genuine AE roll bar set was the same had to solder the ball end on and bend the bar to the template provided.

Well that's  I think.

I perfectly understand cost cutting to keep the price down but not at the expense of the items that have to work!  eg the window masks! That just becomes annoyingly irritating!

[moffman 5752]

46 minutes ago, TeaMonster said:

Going to give it a clean this afternoon and see how it comes off. I noticed there was some shrinkage on the masks when I left it to dry overnight, never had this before on other Schumacher kits.

Also I have tried my batteries in and my nimh fit. They are Voltz brand of that helps. Let me know of you need anymore info

I'm sure I have a voltz battery ! Thanks for the heads up!

[moffman 5752]

Well you learn something new everyday! The higher the ratings NiMH the fatter it is!,  it seems 3000ish or less fits the straps perfect but any higher is a struggle all of mine bar 2 are 4200+!,  the 2 lower rates are 2300 and 3000 and fit perfectly (well almost) the size difference is hardly noticeable!

[TeaMonster 506]

Going to have to try my other sizes now👍

[moffman 5752]

Got my sanity back to finish off my cat xls! Mind you still got to sort out them soldered ball joints on the front roll bar! Like I've said before it fought me all the way right until the last thing I did which was to take the masking off the windows and it left the glue behind!

[tamiya3speed 464]

So Moffman, was it worth it all in the end?  I have all four cars in your pictures nib but undecided which I want to start first.

[moffman 5752]

7 hours ago, tamiya3speed said:

So Moffman, was it worth it all in the end?  I have all four cars in your pictures nib but undecided which I want to start first.

Yeah it was worth the "oh my god really" moments and the "this is just getting on my nerves now" moments (and there was a lot of them) the kit is definitely a patience user! And I'm in no hurry to build another one (ever) but as it sits on my table it is a handsome beast still haven't used it properly yet because I haven't decided what to do with the soldering (hotshot ball joints with grub screws me thinks but that pack the cheapest I've seen is £15 for two grub screws I only need out of the packet!. As for your first build if you're a guy with a LOT of patience go for the cat to get it out of the way if not it has to be the top force it's easy!, then the Optima total pleasure to build and the avante is very interesting (piece of art IMO).

[TeaMonster 506]

11 hours ago, moffman said:

Got my sanity back to finish off my cat xls! Mind you still got to sort out them soldered ball joints on the front roll bar! Like I've said before it fought me all the way right until the last thing I did which was to take the masking off the windows and it left the glue behind!

It is a gorgeous looking buggy. Can you tell me how you found the masking for the paint? I had some bleed on the red to yellow. I do like the silver on your as well👍

[MAD RACER 566]

Mine went together quite well.

This is a pure racing machine from the 80's and just like the RC10. Yokomo & PB these kits needed a lot of hand finishing and fine adjustments during the build. 

Having said that the CAT RE re is a lot easier to build with today's tools and Schumacher's excellent fit. Just very different in it's design in some area's which is what made it a world class racing machine . The right screwdriver  for the pozi screws is a must I feel. The soldering of the ball joints on the sway bar was super easy. The material used took to the solder very easy . I just scratched the surfaces to be soldered with a X Acto blade..