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TurnipJF

Dyeing Thundershot arms?

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Hello.

I have a colour scheme in mind for my Thundershot restomod, but it doesn't go particularly well with the blue suspension arms. Has anyone tried dyeing these black? (I know some Tamiya plastics take dye while others don't - just wondering which type the arms are made of.)

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17 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

Hello.

I have a colour scheme in mind for my Thundershot restomod, but it doesn't go particularly well with the blue suspension arms. Has anyone tried dyeing these black? (I know some Tamiya plastics take dye while others don't - just wondering which type the arms are made of.)

Yes, dyed (re-re) Thundershot suspension arms with black Dylon brand dye a couple of years ago and they absorbed the dye very well. Can post photos, if interested. (?)

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2 hours ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

Yes, dyed (re-re) Thundershot suspension arms with black Dylon brand dye a couple of years ago and they absorbed the dye very well. Can post photos, if interested. (?)

Yes please!

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Very interested to see how the dyed arms turned out when you get some time @Mokei Kagaku.

If you want to go brighter it's worth considering 3D printed arms on Shapeways.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/VS627YQB9/hd-thundershot-arms-x4-tamiya-terra-scorcher-d1?optionId=62206279&li=marketplace

He has standard and heavy-duty variants. I bought the HD in black PA12. They turned out pretty well. I think his CAD designs are spot on, but the through-holes don't turn out perfectly when printed. Good enough for a shelf queen, time will tell how they hold up on a runner. I got distracted midbuild and haven't had it out yet.

 

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1 hour ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

Here you go:

66268990_10156046752857407_2088983448944

That looks great! I like the 4-shock mod too. What length shocks are you using there?

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1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

That looks great! I like the 4-shock mod too. What length shocks are you using there?

Yes, the blue plastic absorbs dye very well. Not my achievement! 

The shocks are CVA II "Mini" up front and "Short" in the rear (based on # 49435 DF-03 transparent blue damper cylinders"). Springs are # 49431, but of course any CVA II's in the "Mini" and "Short" lengths and suitable springs can be used. I built this chassis for looks only, so performance and durability weren't any factors at all. So, instead of using the more suitable Fire Dragon shock towers, I used Thundershot shock towers, even though the chassis was built from a re-re Fire Dragon kit. 

When I state that I built it for looks, it may sound strange because the combination of colours isn't particularly tasteful to say the least. :P However, the intention was to create a scaled up version of the Mini 4WD Momoi-Halko Special and the chosen colours was just about as close I could get by dyeing and using the "parts bin" available for the Thundershot.

 

ts0001.jpg  

T92190_1-733708.jpg

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1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

That looks great! I like the 4-shock mod too. What length shocks are you using there?

The official twin shock for the Thundershot and Thunder Dragon using the very narrow kit shock mount is 64mm CVA fixed to the third hole (one in from full outer) on the arms. This needs VERY stiff springs, but it does work quite well. If you are running it and getting a set of modern CVA i had good results using the 70mm long eyelet setting in the outermost hole. 

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