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bytestorm

Just got my 2 first kits! Any must have upgrades? (Please also see the Lunchbox green/blue paint code question)

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Hi all!

When I was young and got my first RC car, I had to choose between the lunchbox and neo fighter.. i choose the lunchbox and had a blast untill the esc cought on fire and stopped working. After a couple of years I threw the car and controller after hearing it was not repairable. Needless to say I have regretted that for many years :(.

But today I received BOTH kits (rereleases). I couldn't stand the emptyness any more.

I also bought bearing kits for both cars.

What else do I need? I am about to order some paint tonight or tomorrow so I thought I'd just ask if there are any other items I will most certainly need when building the kits. Grease? Glue?

I also need to buy servos and batteries.. haven't decided if I should go brushed or brushless yet.. i don't need the cars to go faster is is there any other benefits or should I just stay brushed?

Thanks for your time!

2017-04-11 17.53.15.jpg

Edited by bytestorm
Looking for paintcodes

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1 hour ago, bytestorm said:

What else do I need? I am about to order some paint tonight or tomorrow so I thought I'd just ask if there are any other items I will most certainly need when building the kits. Grease? Glue?

I also need to buy servos and batteries.. haven't decided if I should go brushed or brushless yet.. i don't need the cars to go faster is is there any other benefits or should I just stay brushed?

Apologies in advance for any advice which you already know or seems too basic.  ;)

  • Ensure you purchase the proper paint type for each body.  Lexan bodies are painted from the inside out and use PS paint.  The ABS bodies are painted on the outside and use TS paint. 
  • I'd get some grease for the diffs.  Use Tamiya Antiwear grease or Associated Black grease.
  • You can spend a small fortune on servos but for a basher you really don't need to.  Personally I have abandoned nylon geared servos or those lacking bearings.  I find the Tactic TSX40 "high speed" servo to be a great value.

Motors:  The motor question is about priorities rather than which is better.  Keep in mind the TBLE-02S ESC that I think comes in both kits you have will operate either brushed or sensored brushless.

Brushed:

  + typically cheaper
  + waterproof
  - wear quicker

Brushless:

  + more effecient
  + better longevity
  - sensor board can be damaged in impacts

I tend to prefer brushless in anything not explicitly built to withstand puddles, ie my CC01 and upcoming TT-02 rally car.  A 25.5T brushless is close to a silver can.  A 21.5T is close to a Sport Tuned.  A 17.5T is close to like a Super Stock.  A 13.5T is a bit faster than that.

Batteries:  LiPo is the best choice currently available.  Don't use the old Tamiya style battery connector.  They aren't rated for the amps of today's batteries and motors.  They can and do melt.  Use something like a Deans or XT60 connector.  Deans is more popular but I think the XT60 is the better option.  Get a quality balanced charger.  I have been very pleased with the Duratrax Onyx 245.  I've used it for almost 3 years now.  A 4000 or 5000 mAh 25c or better battery should work great for you.  Keep in mind that the TBLE-02S does not feature a low voltage cut-off point for LiPo batteries.  If you choose LiPo (choose LiPo) and if you use the TBLE-02S, get yourself a low voltage alarm.  They're dirt cheap.  Get a couple.  :) 

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Thanks alot both of you! :D

Hm.. the sizes of the batteries worries me a bit.. wich sizes fit without mod? I am looking at 3200mAh and 4-5000 mAh. I did only get 1 stock ESC, the lunchbox is without.

The Neo Fighter has included ESC thou. 

Since I found that the opinions about the stock ESCs varied quite a bit, and also the ESC models also differed, then I choose to find a good one myself instead for the lunchbox :D

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TS paint is spray right? The original manual said Lemon Yellow, but cant find that one in spray :S.. need to check my old VHS tapes and see what colors my car had.. i know it was green and blue but wich was where? haha :) man this nostalgic feeling is awesome!

 

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I use the 5000 mAh LiPo in most of my kits but there is a thread somewhere on here that lists LiPo compatibility with chassis.  Hunt it down.  ;)

If it were me-

In the Lunchy I'd use: a HobbyWing QuicRun 1060 ESC along with the silver can motor that shipped with the kit.  The 1060 is small, durable, cheap, and will properly work with either NiMh or LiPo just by moving a jumper.

In the DT-03 I'd use: a Speed Passion 17.5T Competition 3.0 MMM sensored brushless with the TBLE-02S ESC that came with your kit.  Get a low voltage warning alarm like this.  There is also a way to mod the ESC for proper voltage to protect LiPo.  That info is also posted somewhere on this site.

Edit:  As far as the TBLE-02S goes, it's a fine ESC as long as you understand its limitations.  I raced my TRF 201 on it for almost a year.  It's a better brushless ESC than it is a brushed ESC.  It's smooth and has great brakes.  It's a bit fiddly to get programed.  I can't easily discern between the red and orange on the LED which makes programming it that much harder.  Of course its lack of a proper low voltage cut-off for LiPo is a bit of a pain.  I suggest using it in the DT-03 and see how you like it.  If you're happy with it, yay.  If you try it and decided that want more features, something smaller, something with a bit more punch, then my go to basher ESC is the LRP Spin Super.

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16 minutes ago, bytestorm said:

TS paint is spray right? The original manual said Lemon Yellow, but cant find that one in spray :S.. need to check my old VHS tapes and see what colors my car had.. i know it was green and blue but which was where? haha :) man this nostalgic feeling is awesome!

Yes, TS are spray paints.  You could use the TS-16 Yellow if you wanted re-re box art color.

04.11.2017-14.26.png

Edit: Am I a good guesser or what?

04.11.2017-14.31.png

They did make a blue Lunch Box but it's discontinued...

04.11.2017-14.27.png

Here's a link to the paint chart

 

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Thank you so much for all the info! :D

I will check the paints out.. Original yellow would be easiest.. but would sure be nice to get it as close to the old one as possible :/.... man i regret throwing it..AHH.. but its about 20 years ago so no point ;)

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Welcome to the forum Bytestorm! Where in Sweden are you located? I'm in Sweden myself, in Gnarp (about 350km north of Stockholm) ;)

As Effigy suggested, I'd go with a Hobbywing Quicrun 1060 ESC for the Lunchbox if I were you. They are cheap, very reliable and are Lipo compatible. For the DT-03 you can always start out just with the brushed motor that comes with the kit (I believe that is a Torque Tuned, isn't it?) and see if you want to upgrade to brushless later.

NIMH batteries will work fine, but if you decide to go Lipo then make sure the batteries fit the battery compartment of your car. For the DT-03 that will probably not be a problem, but the Lunchbox is a bit more 'picky'. Two batteries that I know fit in both my Mad Bull and my Novafox are the Yuki Brainergy Lipo (http://tamico.de/Yuki-Model-LiPo-2s-74V-4000mAh-45C-T-Stecker-Racing-Pack) and the NVision Lipo (http://www.autopartner.se/bilar/batterier/lipo/nvision-lipo-7-4v-3700mah-45c)

 

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22 hours ago, werewolf said:

Welcome to the forum Bytestorm! Where in Sweden are you located? I'm in Sweden myself, in Gnarp (about 350km north of Stockholm) ;)

As Effigy suggested, I'd go with a Hobbywing Quicrun 1060 ESC for the Lunchbox if I were you. They are cheap, very reliable and are Lipo compatible. For the DT-03 you can always start out just with the brushed motor that comes with the kit (I believe that is a Torque Tuned, isn't it?) and see if you want to upgrade to brushless later.

NIMH batteries will work fine, but if you decide to go Lipo then make sure the batteries fit the battery compartment of your car. For the DT-03 that will probably not be a problem, but the Lunchbox is a bit more 'picky'. Two batteries that I know fit in both my Mad Bull and my Novafox are the Yuki Brainergy Lipo (http://tamico.de/Yuki-Model-LiPo-2s-74V-4000mAh-45C-T-Stecker-Racing-Pack) and the NVision Lipo (http://www.autopartner.se/bilar/batterier/lipo/nvision-lipo-7-4v-3700mah-45c)

 

Hey! :) Thanks!

I am located in Skövde. A friend of mine offered me 2x WP-1040-BRUSHED ESCs for 12$ (for both).. worth getting?

Man was I happy to see this on the side of the box!!! (see pic)

This is the way my father painted it for me as a kid... please tell me that these color codes are preserved somewhere?
Would love to paint my new one the same.. :D

 

20170412_182747.jpg

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If you take your buddy up on his offer, I'd suggest getting rid of the Redcat style battery connector and using a Dean's connector instead.  Personally I use the Duratrax "Star" connectors which are Deans compatible but a little larger.  I find the Deans and Deans-clones to be too small to get a proper grasp.  I end up yanking on the wires to disconnect a battery which is bad form.  The Star connector also eliminates the need to use heat shrink tubing.

Star-Plug-RC-Connector.jpg

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44 minutes ago, Effigy3 said:

If you take your buddy up on his offer, I'd suggest getting rid of the Redcat style battery connector and using a Dean's connector instead.  Personally I use the Duratrax "Star" connectors which are Deans compatible but a little larger.  I find the Deans and Deans-clones to be too small to get a proper grasp.  I end up yanking on the wires to disconnect a battery which is bad form.  The Star connector also eliminates the need to use heat shrink tubing.

Star-Plug-RC-Connector.jpg

Great tip there! I actually got a few deans from him also but as you said, they are small and I find it difficult to disconnect them. I'll search for the Duratrax star ones! :D

About radio.. would a sanwa mx-v do the trick?

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Yeah, as Effigy said those two ESCs for $12 seem like a great deal and if you plan on running the Lunchbox with a plain silvercan motor then 40 amps should be enough for your ESC.

The Sanwa will do fine, but if it was me I'd spend just a little more money and get a Futaba 3PV (but I'm partial to Futaba). You can get very simple 2 channel receivers for the Futaba for about $25 a piece if you want to expand your collection later ;)

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13 minutes ago, werewolf said:

Yeah, as Effigy said those two ESCs for $12 seem like a great deal and if you plan on running the Lunchbox with a plain silvercan motor then 40 amps should be enough for your ESC.

The Sanwa will do fine, but if it was me I'd spend just a little more money and get a Futaba 3PV (but I'm partial to Futaba). You can get very simple 2 channel receivers for the Futaba for about $25 a piece if you want to expand your collection later ;)

Hmm I'll look into the futaba :). I just need something that would be enough for my tamiya rereleases. So hopefully not over 100usd since that might be overkill for running them?

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4 hours ago, Effigy3 said:

It looks like the WP-1040 is a re-badged QuicRun so I'd say yeah, 2 are certainly worth $12

http://www.redcatracing.com/HW-WP-1040-BRUSHED

I too was hopeful they were, but turns out they're nowhere related :huh:

DSC08274-1280.jpg

QuicRun with red heat sink is 30% smaller & different board layout.

WP1040 also doesn't have "crawler" setting.

Both work fine for general RC'ing.

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1 hour ago, WillyChang said:

I too was hopeful they were, but turns out they're nowhere related :huh:

DSC08274-1280.jpg

QuicRun with red heat sink is 30% smaller & different board layout.

WP1040 also doesn't have "crawler" setting.

Both work fine for general RC'ing.

oh? I take it I shouldnt buy em then?

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2 hours ago, WillyChang said:

I too was hopeful they were, but turns out they're nowhere related :huh:

QuicRun with red heat sink is 30% smaller & different board layout.

WP1040 also doesn't have "crawler" setting.

Both work fine for general RC'ing.

Well, maybe they're built by HobbyWing for Redcat?  They certainly look to be "related".

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1 hour ago, bytestorm said:

oh? I take it I shouldnt buy em then?

As WillyChang said, for general bashing, I think they're fine.  Especially given the price.  You can always upgrade the ESC in the future if you feel you need more features or want to run brushless.

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4 hours ago, Effigy3 said:

Well, maybe they're built by HobbyWing for Redcat?  They certainly look to be "related".

Nah, they're alike like Apple vs Android :rolleyes: they both start with 'A' and they both do the general same job but that's about it for similarities :P

HobbyWing would do a much better job OEMing... :lol: eg they're serious about "waterproof", their switch has a silicone dustcover. The WP doesn't, dunno how many times it'll survive getting wet before corrosion etc.

Both work fine (when new) ^_^ 

They costed me about A$20 for WP, A$30 for HW... at that price difference I'm ambivalent choosing either.

But if I can get them for $6ea (I assume USD6, so that's A$9) I'll take a crateful :lol:

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Hehe ok :). I am really tempted to buy the original radio I had for it but that might be taking it to far ;). Might get a lot better radios for same price now days I think. 

Now I just need to figure out the paint codes for the blue/green so I can place my order!

By the way, any special type glue needed? And should I put foam inside the tires? 

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What do you mean by 'original radio'? If you'd like an old AM band stick radio, I have one of those lying around that you can have for close to nothing. It's a Futaba Attack R and I think I even have two sets of matching crystals for it. Here's a picture of one like it (not mine).

lg-1229865-0-9450.thumb.jpg.2d3daf3336ba9761e96eb63d4b28dccd.jpg

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1 hour ago, werewolf said:

What do you mean by 'original radio'? If you'd like an old AM band stick radio, I have one of those lying around that you can have for close to nothing. It's a Futaba Attack R and I think I even have two sets of matching crystals for it. Here's a picture of one like it (not mine).

 

Thanks for the offer but I meant "Acoms Technisport". It was the one I had originally I should have said :).

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Radio sets used to be $2-300 same price as car kit BiTD... but these days can get brands like FlySky that cost less than $50 steak dinner & work fine for general bashing around.

In Europe I'm led to believe brandname Absima is quite popular; internally they're same as FlySky afaik.

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