Parts that you hate

[Pablo68 1049]

This has probably been done before, but what the hey. Maybe the mods can merge or redirect it.

Has anyone else got a part from these Tamiya cars that you absolutely loathe. Any reason will do.
It could be poor design, weakness, difficulty in fitting......

For me it's those tiny wire c-clip things in the original Boomerang gear box. They hold the outdrives in. My hatred for these things burns on a sub-atomic level.
It's a modern miracle that I didn't permanently lose any of them.

Fire away guys.

 

[MadInventor 3884]

40 minutes ago, Pablo68 said:

This has probably been done before, but what the hey. Maybe the mods can merge or redirect it.

Has anyone else got a part from these Tamiya cars that you absolutely loathe. Any reason will do.
It could be poor design, weakness, difficulty in fitting......

For me it's those tiny wire c-clip things in the original Boomerang gear box. They hold the outdrives in. My hatred for these things burns on a sub-atomic level.
It's a modern miracle that I didn't permanently lose any of them.

Fire away guys.

 

+1, especially as I don't remember the kits including spares.

I'd add frog / hotshot Monster Beetle diff gears. Made out of cheese and too easy to shred. Thundershot diffs were a huge improvement.

 

[Static Age 65]

The rear shock mounts on the lunch box, the ones on the gearbox. They snap so easily. Those company's that make alloy versions must have sold thousands lol.  

[markbt73 5316]

Screw-in hinge pins in general, but especially those tiny stepped 3mm screws that Tamiya love to use on upper suspension or steering links. (How can they be so hard to screw in the first time, yet back themselves out so easily?)

[mongoose1983 3335]

The bodyposts of the Midnight Pumpkin!!

And most every mechanical bit of the 1988 Avante, so darn hard to find and overpriced! Must be the most overrated pos ever released by the two-starred company!

[Mad Ax 9329]

Shocks and turnbuckles.  Not just Tamiya but any company.

Even with a proper turnbuckle spanner (why to they never seem to fit properly?) and Tamiya's special shock assembly pliers, assembling them is still a PITA that leads to blistered fingers by the end of the page.

Assembling turnbuckles is the kind of job that ideally needs a makeshift jig on a bench vice.  Unfortunately my indoor build area doesn't have a bench vice (I have a suck-on once that doesn't suck) and the one in the workshop is always covered in oil, grease, swarf and metal filings, and it's not a pleasant place to stand while assembling fiddly little things like turnbuckles.

The Tamiya handbook section on assembling shocks always makes me laugh sardonically.  It shows wrapping a piece of cloth around the shaft before turning on the ball end; as if that makes the blindest bit of difference.  Tamiya's tool is the only thing that will assemble shocks without marking them.

[NWarty 1325]

2 hours ago, mongoose1983 said:

The bodyposts of the Midnight Pumpkin!!

 

My two front posts are broken right now...grrrr

[racer1 117]

Cutting out modern Tamiya Lexan bodies. The detail on modern bodies are so poor that its almost impossible to see where to cut.  The Jimny and Tumbling Bull bodies are good examples.  

Thankfully the re-re Bigwig has good lines and seems to be made of slightly thicker material. 

[mongoose1983 3335]

1 hour ago, NWarty said:

My two front posts are broken right now...grrrr

BY THE WAY, come across some photo not long ago. Wish this crossed my mind back in 1992! If I'd try I know I can make them better myself, so not at all a bad idea.

[KEV THE REV 2319]

2 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Shocks and turnbuckles.  Not just Tamiya but any company.

Even with a proper turnbuckle spanner (why to they never seem to fit properly?) and Tamiya's special shock assembly pliers, assembling them is still a PITA that leads to blistered fingers by the end of the page.

Assembling turnbuckles is the kind of job that ideally needs a makeshift jig on a bench vice.  Unfortunately my indoor build area doesn't have a bench vice (I have a suck-on once that doesn't suck) and the one in the workshop is always covered in oil, grease, swarf and metal filings, and it's not a pleasant place to stand while assembling fiddly little things like turnbuckles.

The Tamiya handbook section on assembling shocks always makes me laugh sardonically.  It shows wrapping a piece of cloth around the shaft before turning on the ball end; as if that makes the blindest bit of difference.  Tamiya's tool is the only thing that will assemble shocks without marking them.

Mad Ax :-

I use a thin rubber sheet to wrap around alu damper bodies or shafts etc and then use small mole grips to clamp around , never had a problem as the rubber grabs to stops spinning

Also - it sounds like your suck-on vice actually does suck :0  (like the one I have and don't use )

[christam 205]

Fitting pre cut window masks.

You may think that it saves you time by not having to cut out those masks, and it's a perfect finish! Even the ones that come with LED buckets that require masking out, but after fitting a few now I can report that it is easier to fit window masks that are NOT pre cut, and by cutting them out yourself.

By cutting out a mask, you can just nip the corner of the backing paper, spend as much time manouvering the mask into position and then hit the corner from which you removed the backing from. Then it's just a case of pulling the decal back slowly and letting it fall into the perfect position.

You can't do that with pre cut masks once you've peeled them I HATE PRE CUT MASKS

[Saito2 6686]

Virtually everything to do with painting. Hard bodies are total luck if a piece of fuzz/lint/hair doesn't land in the paint no matter how careful I am. Actually painting lexan is easier but I hate masking. My hands are big and I find it tough to mask buggy windows. Cutting out lexan is a pain for me too. Mechanically, I tend to love even the most fiddly of task. I will admit, screwing down all those tiny beadlock screws on a CR-01 wheel is boring. I'll do one a night or at least have the TV on while I do it.

[TwistedxSlayer 1290]

Masking and painting.

 

Why oh why cant the decals come precut?!

[Munchbox 100]

8 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Shocks and turnbuckles.  Not just Tamiya but any company.

Even with a proper turnbuckle spanner (why to they never seem to fit properly?) and Tamiya's special shock assembly pliers, assembling them is still a PITA that leads to blistered fingers by the end of the page.

Assembling turnbuckles is the kind of job that ideally needs a makeshift jig on a bench vice.  Unfortunately my indoor build area doesn't have a bench vice (I have a suck-on once that doesn't suck) and the one in the workshop is always covered in oil, grease, swarf and metal filings, and it's not a pleasant place to stand while assembling fiddly little things like turnbuckles.

The Tamiya handbook section on assembling shocks always makes me laugh sardonically.  It shows wrapping a piece of cloth around the shaft before turning on the ball end; as if that makes the blindest bit of difference.  Tamiya's tool is the only thing that will assemble shocks without marking them.

I used a small piece of paper towel folded over 3 or 4 times and pinched with needle nose pliers to hold the shafts for my Blackfoot shocks and they don't have any marks. 

There's always another way. 

My biggest pet peeve so far in the hobby is plastic pinion gears. I have a knack for melting them on my Losi Micro SCT. 

[Pablo68 1049]

Going back in time, and a bit of a cheap shot I guess, but the hex drive parts on the original Monster Beetle.

Not sure what Mr Tamiya-san was thinking with those. Dog Bones did exist back then. Some said that the hex drive was ok as long as you kept it lubricated, that was not my experience and I honestly don't think that they were ever going to be right for the big wheels on that design.

That made me give up on the Original MB and sell it on.

I could be wrong on this but I think the steering uprights on the Original MB were weaker than on the re-re too. I do remember breaking one back then.

[magpie 51]

how about e clips!

[Supercoolnothing 721]

E clips are the work of the devil himself. Horrible things that go on so far and just as you start to think it's all going well ping and it's gone forever. 

[Pablo68 1049]

I've also had e-clips open too far, bend slightly and stay in that shape rendering them useless. I suppose I could have bent them back but I don't think I'd trust them after that.
Good thing you usually get a couple of spares in a kit.

[WillyChang 1814]

you fellas need to get acquainted with this:-

 

 

[Rb4276 803]

11 minutes ago, WillyChang said:

you fellas need to get acquainted with this:-

 

 

One came with my astute years ago. Yes it helped and made it easier, but some still went flying to god knows where. 

[WillyChang 1814]

magnetise the blade and work inside a big plastic bag 

 

As for turnbuckles:-

T makes this

but if you ever needed an excuse to buy an HPI kit, they give you this

either way get TWO of them, a matching pair.

Load both, stick turnbuckle in between & start turning. 

I like this little T wrench

but the Alu is soft and they get dented/wornout after a while, plus they cost $

No doubt as a Tphile you've got a stack of these at bottom of your pitbox :-

i stack 3 or 4 and glue them together, makes a decent wrench as good as any other  save your shekels for beer instead.