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Tamiya Junkies Meets in South Yorkshire

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17 minutes ago, Andy Stewart1 said:

Next daft question - if I do bring my wife and kids do any of them need trackside BRCA membership ? 

You're are beyond my knowledge now. Post on the Facebook group. I don't think so. You just need BRCA for running cars. 

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Yes, but obviously not at the same time as anybody else running the same frequency. Frequency control is very relaxed as most people run 2.4 gigahertz, so you will need to be careful.

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Shock protectors, contrary to what the name suggests, don't really protect the shock. Rather they protect the running surface from being damaged by the shock if your car lands upside-down.

There are many approaches to fabricating them. Some people use flexible rubber hose, other people use pieces of lexan, while others simply wrap self adhesive draught excluding tape around the top of the shock tower. As long as your car can land inverted without gauging a hole out of the carpet, any approach is acceptable.

Of course, you only need them on vehicles with exposed shocks. If your body shell encloses them, you don't need them.

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3 hours ago, Andy Stewart1 said:

Thank you so much... and sorry for the repeated questions. 

No need to apologise. Questions are good! 

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Thanks to everyone who helped make today's meet a success. We had a great time, and look forward to the end of the Coronapocalypse so that the powers-that-be will allow another to take place.

A few last-minute changes to my line-up resulted in my Hotshot staying at home, and my DT-02 Desert Gator, DT-01 Mad Bull and M-06 wearing a Kamtec "Hot Rod Beetle" shell  coming along in its place, along with the Thundershot and Aqroshot that I had planned to bring all along. My F103 almost came too, but was left on the dining room table in the rush to get everything packed this morning.

All the cars behaved beautifully, with no breakages or failures. The Fibre Lyte carbon wing mount on my Thundershot held up perfectly with none of the bending of the mounting screws that occurred with its plastic predecessor when I rolled the car onto its wing last time I took it to RHW. I also ran it on LiPo this time, which gave it noticeably more pep compared to the last outing on NiMH.

The Aqroshot was a blast to drive with its new 10BL120ESC and 10.5t motor. The TBLE-02 and 13.5t motor it had before was plenty, but this is such a capable model that it almost demands to have a slightly silly amount of power on tap. The big chevron-treaded tyres didn't have a lot of grip on the dusty indoor track, but this added to the fun, enabling some rather satisfying drifts and power slides. It was also nice to be able to traverse the track barriers with ease, meaning that I didn't need to rely on marshalling or self-retrieval very often as the truck hardly ever got hung up on anything.

I continue to be impressed with my re-motored Desert Gator. The 27t brushed motor that it came with didn't do it justice at all, and while the 17t brushed motor I replaced it with was a lot better, it still didn't quite hit the spot. However the TBLE-02 and 13.5t Bluebottle are the perfect combo for it IMO. There is enough power to easily lift the front end under acceleration if you wish, but not so much that it flips on its back every time you breathe on the throttle. At first I was struggling a bit on turn-in, but a few tweaks of the front camber and a little more drag brake soon sorted that, allowing me to lap consistently and keep up with my mate's modern mid-motored RWD buggy.

The Mad Bull did an admirable job running standard buggy wheels, with the narrow ribbed fronts giving surprisingly good grip. It was great to be able to throw it at the jumps knowing that it would survive no matter what the outcome, which in most cases was a nice flat trajectory and level landing. It may be a bit sloppy and imprecise compared to higher-end models, but this doesn't stop it from being a load of fun to drive, as well as being surprisingly quick around the track given its spec. (27t brushed on NiMh.)

However the most surprising performer to my mind was the M-06. I basically just brought this along as my mate was bringing his M-03 rally car, so that we could have a few races. It is a model that I haven't driven very much, as I am lucky enough to have a fair choice of M-chassis in my fleet, and up to now I have usually been drawn to one of the FWD ones, typically my M-05 for casual running and my M-07 for more serious race duties. However based on today's experience, I think that the M-06 will be seeing a lot more use in future.

I have the chassis set up for rally, as befitting the Renault Alpine shell that it wears when on the shelf. The tyres are Tamiya's M-size rally blocks, and the shocks are Mini CVAs rather than the more typical Super Mini CVAs used on most of my other M-chassis cars. These allow me to run more ground clearance than stock. Originally this was a primarily aesthetic choice, since as those of you familiar with the stock M-06 Alpine will no doubt know, the stock arrangement has the chassis sticking out quite far below the body line. I wanted the bottom of the chassis to be level with the bottom of the shell while preserving the stock position of the wheels relative to the arches. As it turns out, this translates to a chassis that handles brilliantly on bumpy astroturf, takes jumps in its stride, and is an absolute pleasure to drive with none of the nasty vices typically associated with RWD M-chassis. I didn't spin out or grip roll once!

So how did the meet go for everyone else?

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Also worth noting: although billed as an off-road event, even a F1 pan car can manage the indoor track surface:

The inherent unpredictability of the somewhat uneven surface would make serious racing a bit frustrating, but it looks fine for fun running. 

So come the next event, I think I'll bring along some of my older on-road cars that haven't seen exercise for a while. If a F104 Pro II can handle the track surface, it should pose no significant difficulties for a TA, TB or FF for example. 

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@TurnipJF Was great to meet you. Your M06 was running so sweetly, and i confused your Desert Gator for a Super Astute. It went really well.

A highlight was Lee Broadbent was their with his Euro Masters winning fleet of Tamiyas that he and Jamie Booth beat everyone with last weekend. What a lovely guy, and what cars! Race prepped and modified Super Astute, Dynastorm, Top Force and carbon chassis Hotshot. He is full Tamiya too, so i was chuffed that he was into my 3 gear laydown in the TRF211.

I had a lot of fun too. All my cars were running well, the Thunder Dragon particularly seemed to be dialed on this occasion. What a wonderful thing it is to drive these days.

Ultra G was great too, but on the twisty tech track (that i instigated, sorry!) it was cocking the rear wheels and hooking a bit, but slightly stiffer front springs sorted that. 

The TRF211 was good, and i had time to do a bit of tuning, with softer rear springs and stiffer fronts. I think the rear Dart yellow tyres are done though. It was struggling to put the power down, and they probably have 3 hours of track running on them now. Going to try some proline tyres as this is what Lee was running on his astute and he reckons they are a step on the schumachers, and more durable too. 

The Raptor (DT03) was ok, but seems a bit out of sorts on the indoor track, and wouldn't stick well enough to the outdoor wet carpet. Was great razzing around full throttle on the grass field though. I have suggested to the group that we seek permission to lay out a grass track at the next meet. Something a bit open and bumpy and old school with no jumps. I think it would be perfect for our tamiyas. 

The RR-03RA RS200 was mega! Brilliant balance, really fun to drive, even worked well on the carpet outside with very tricky jumps. Love that thing. 

The comical was also fun, but struggled a bit ob the tech layout. Was surprisingly good on the outdoor, but again was at its best razzing about on the grass. 

Looking forward to another once all the virus stuff blows over. 

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I *loved* Lee's Jamie Booth hotshot. And he was super rapid with that Top Force too!

I was somewhat disappointed to break a hub on my ancient Avante 2001, but I had a rere spare - hooray! Which then broke in the same place within 30 seconds. Gah! So, alloy one ordered. I also snapped a steering pivot on the Egress, but that's an easy fix from Tony's Tamiya Parts. And the reconditioned Trinity Ruby 16t motor in my SWB Mid overheated. Again. So that needs looking into.

But apart from those niggles, I had a fantastic time. LWB Optima PinkMid is epically good fun, both indoors and on the carpet (which only needed indoor tyres by the end of the day), and the DB01r was a revelation outside. Super poised, stable and planted. I was actually considering selling it, but it's now sticking around - I'm planning on racing this year, and it might be a suitable candidate. :-)

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Hi everybody. I absolutely LOVED yesterday. A great set of people all so friendly and I can’t wait for the next meeting. Thank you so much to everyone. I could go on and on, I’m hooked, again! 

I’m sitting here looking at my vanquish and optima mid. They look sad and very neglected. There’s a lot to do but I want them to be up and running for the next one... I’ll be out with my begging bowl and questions throughout this forum! 

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Just checking in, been a while but hoping for a better year in 2021, looking at starting up the meets at Robin Hood Raceway as soon aas we can. Stay safe everyone, keep buying Rc and hopeing to see many of you at a meet soon.

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On 3/4/2021 at 5:51 PM, ThunderDragonCy said:

Nothing planned until the restrictions lift. Probably mid-summer earliest.

Outdoor tracks possibly able to open in April? 🤞

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Oddly enough it's just over a year since I last made the long trek up to RHR for a Junkies meet.  Feels like a lifetime ago.

Hopefully we'll all get there in '21.

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On 3/15/2021 at 10:27 PM, Mad Ax said:

Oddly enough it's just over a year since I last made the long trek up to RHR for a Junkies meet.  Feels like a lifetime ago.

Hopefully we'll all get there in '21.

I was there too! I also managed to get to a few of the smaller meetings in late summer.

Interestingly, last week the BRCA recently issued Covid safe guidelines for track events which states that 1 day outdoor meetings, with limited numbers can start again from March 29th.

I guess its down to the organisers and the track owner as to when they feel comfortable with the risk. In the mean time, i'll just keep cleaning and polishing my cars :mellow:

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Hi all, like most ive been awaiting news, been on with James at RHR and keeping an eye on BRCA back on track, as soon as we are allowed i will be organising as many meets as we can get dates, i will keep everyone posted. Soon my friends Soon.

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