Schumacher Cat XLS is back

[Lhodgo]

Well now I'm freekn annoyed.

as previously mentioned my rear wing lexan was disgusting. Anyway, I painted it nonetheless. Just went to mount it on my buggy and it completely disintegrated! To the point where I threw it into the fire out of frustration. So no photo sorry.

has anyone else experienced this???

is there a aftermarket option.

so annoyed!!!!

[scoobybooster]

Sad to hear such things that are indeed frustrating. What do you mean by disintergation ? Did the lexan wing break or is it a painting issue? Did you clean the wing before painting with any chemicals? 

As for an aftermarket option, i can highly recommend TBG from canada, have several bodies from them and they are all excellent fit and material.

[Lhodgo]

I cleaned it with warm soapy water, rinsed and air dried as I've always done. I did the first run of black PC paint and left to dry. I had a bit of bleed under the mask so used a little bit of tamiya paint remover. This was all fine. However I noticed the finish of the lexan was well below par before I painted. It just didn't look right. Lumpy uneven finish. It had a heap of hairline cracks in it after it dried, and when I went to paint the red, I bent the lexan slightly and it split in about 10 different spots. To see what would happen I gave it a little twist and pop, the thing shattered.

[scoobybooster]

Hmm that's strange. Did you use the paint remover 87183 or the polycarbonate body cleaner 87118? 
I'm almost sure that it is the use of the paint remover that caused this issue.
As for my understanding, for polycarbonates, 87118 is the way to go. Because the description for 87183 says, that it will remove also PS-Color and  acrylic paints, it maybe contain maybe small amounts of acetone, which is dangerous for lexan so i would be carefull when using it on lexan.

To be honest , i have no experience with either of these products because i always use carson paint killer (excellent stuff).

[Lhodgo]

Well it was 87183, says it's for use with polycarbonate. Also the lexan was stuffed before I painted it.

[scoobybooster]

By the way - has anybody ordered and received the transmission upgrade U7236? I'm still waiting for mine, ordered from the first day they were announced. Seems that Schumacher has sold out the tranny upgrade kits within a few days and haven't come with a second batch yet. They're sold out all over the world.
Quite annoying as i cannot start with the build without

[StueyS]

The upgrade has not been released yet! The last I heard was mid to late September. I am waiting to strip mine down and rebuild with the upgrade.

[scoobybooster]

On ‎02‎.‎09‎.‎2017 at 6:49 PM, SuperChamp82 said:

Ok guys - the kit + upgraded transmission just arrived !

I'vd read everyone's thoughts above but are there any other build tips to note before having some fun ?

Also what essential hop ups should I source / why ?

Finally, what ESC and motors are you running with the upgraded transmission  ?

Are you sure? At least SuperChamp82 seems to have received it???
Edit: Just wrote an email at Schumacher UK to ask

[moffman]

Just a bit of a strange question but does anybody know if the hotshot ball connector's (the grub screw one's) fit on the front roll bar of the cat XLS?

[Lhodgo]

7 minutes ago, moffman said:

Just a bit of a strange question but does anybody know if the hotshot ball connector's (the grub screw one's) fit on the front roll bar of the cat XLS?

I tried it but the balls seemed to be the wrong size. Some others mentioned this within this forum but I couldn't get it to wok. Perhaps others had more luck? Soldering worked fine though.

Metro hobbies sending me a new wing BTW. They appologised and sent one free of charge! Now that's service!!! Onya Metro!

[moffman]

18 minutes ago, Lhodgo said:

I tried it but the balls seemed to be the wrong size. Some others mentioned this within this forum but I couldn't get it to wok. Perhaps others had more luck? Soldering worked fine though.

Metro hobbies sending me a new wing BTW. They appologised and sent one free of charge! Now that's service!!! Onya Metro!

Nice one thank for the information!  maybe I'm using the wrong solder? mine just keeps snapping!

[JonnyF1ve]

I've just had an email to say my Transmission Upgrade is ready to be collected tomorrow    

[StueyS]

Whereabouts are you?

 

[JonnyF1ve]

10 hours ago, StueyS said:

Whereabouts are you?

 

UK.   Didn't the kits all get dispatched to the shops at the same time?  I would have thought the same would be true of the transmissions.

[scoobybooster]

Still listed as out of stock at schumacher Website. When i asked them a week ago, i was told that they should be available mid to late September.

Maybe they got them now, but not in enough quantity to supply all of their backorders.

[TeaMonster]

Modelsport have them listed as available, £97.99

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-cat-xls-transmission-upgrade-kit/rc-car-products/408412

 

[scoobybooster]

Update: just got mine this morning. should have a look in the Mailbox next time before i post here

[StueyS]

I have assembled my transmission kit now. I found it impossible to get the plastic pulley side fences on. My mate suggested warming them up in just boiled water to ease them on. I clipped them on as far as I could (about 2/3 around) then dipped them in the hot water for 30 odd seconds. This then allowed me to clip the rest of the fence on using my fingers. I'm really not sure how you could use pliers as suggested without damaging something.

[tamiya3speed]

RC Kicks is reporting these are no longer on the Schumacher website.  Not sure that means they are going away but a heads up I guess.  Its a shame as the Masaki build his just getting uploaded which may spur more interest.

[CoolHands]

Yeah it’s going. It almost made me buy one, but on balance I think not as I understand the build is frustrating and just not that enjoyable. So I resisted.

[Saito2]

1 hour ago, CoolHands said:

Yeah it’s going. It almost made me buy one, but on balance I think not as I understand the build is frustrating and just not that enjoyable. So I resisted.

Same here, It may be super rewarding when its completed. but I have more than enough frustration in my life. Still trying to come up with some money for a Top Cat before they disappear.

[xcopy.exe]

Anyone know what parts break easy on the XLS?  I haven't built mine, but if it's being discontinued, I should probably grab the "guaranteed" to break/bend parts (like the Avante C and D parts).

[CoolHands]

In general Schumacher is well respected as continuing parts long after models are discontinued, so you might not have to worry in that regard.

[Avante2001R]

It’s been discontinued. I had confirmation from someone in the know earlier.

[Champ85]

If you are in the USA and were wanting the 3 alloy gear case hop-ups for the CAT XLS, they are now available on A-Main's website.  A-Main support gave me these links more than a month ago before the parts were in stock or available for ordering online when I asked whether or not A-Main would be stocking them.  I kept checking the links regularly.  For the past week or so, the parts were online, but not orderable so I knew it was only a matter of time.  A few days ago they became "live" and orderable, so I ordered them and they have shipped.  Now it's your turn!  Don't forget to use a coupon (check your email from A-Main, coupons are at the bottom).

SCHU7293 - CAT XLS Alloy Front Transmission Housing

SCHU7292 - CAT XLS Alloy Rear Inner Transmission Housing

SCHU7294 - CAT XLS Alloy Rear Transmission Spacer