racing fighter Racing Fighter DT03 Build - REAR TYRE UPGRADE - Updated 29/6/20

[Dan_Ox 42]

Hi everyone!

Newbie to the site, but a fair veteran of RC Car building!

Having not built a car for the last 20 years, the whole bordom of lockdown saw me buying my first Tamiya car in a longgg time! I couldnt wait!

 

So i wont bother showing the build of the Chassis, as at this moment its completly standard as it arrives out the box, and i'm sure most people have seen many pics of standard DT03 chassis's! However... i do have a whole plethra of Hop-Up parts on order and so i will show there fitment as and when each arrives in the post.

But for now i thought i'd share my body shell paint up, as i never tend to paint the factory colours, i prefer to make mine abit more unique!

So my plan for this car was to do a fade. Something which is pretty tricky with spray cans and not an airbrush system, and can go very wrong. But, i have plenty of time on my hands, so i could take my time. I'm going to do a Candy Blue fading to Black. Now i could have made my own life easier and just picked a Blue from the exsisting Tamiya Paint Pallet, but they dont do Candy's, and...well....i want a candy colour. So to do this, you need to use a Transparent Paint in this case PS-38 Trasparent Blue, and then use a Chrome/Silver as the backing colour... in my case PS-48 Semi Gloss Silver Anodised Aluminium. So now i have to fade THREE colours into each other DOH!

First i start with the Blue, building up with lots of very light coats, and being very careful with fading towards the back of the car. I actually initially masking an area at the back of the car i wanted to make sure would definitly become BLACK. But because you dont want a obviously masked line in the paint, you have to take this off halfway through and still allow some over spray into the area. I also made a little carboard blocking board to again help with the overspray.

I think in the end, i must have done around 10 thin coats of the Blue, untill it was a level in the of the areas of the car i was happy with. EG more heavy layers towards the front, and getting thinner towards the back.

Next came adding the Chrome Silver backer. Now, this i ONLY want ontop of the Blue, and no where near the area i want Black. Now as Silver/Chrome is an opaque colour, and i want the candy blue to darken into Black, you actually have to leave some exposed thin blue towards the back, so that when you spray Black, it darkens the Blue down. But Black won't really have an effect on the silver chrome. So its tricky, and you just have to be so patient, and take your time building lots of the thin coats up, as if you whack a big heavy coat on and its in the wrong place, its game over.

So i think in total i must have done around 6 or 7 coats of the Chrome. Pay attention to the fact the Chrome fade is further up than the blue actually is!

Now comes the Black, in this case PS-5 Black. At this point, again taking your time to build up lots of even thin layers rather than being tempted to ruin all your hard work with a couple of thick laters of paint. I started to build the black up from the back, making sure to cover all the way past the fade point. As the back of the car was intended to be black, i decided to paint the spoiler just plain black, so i didnt bother showing that getting sprayed up.

Then once you've checked your work by holding it up to a light, checking for weak patches. Time to leave to cure overnight.

This is the result. Still with all the masking and overspray film on! But you can see its looking good!

In total, i think it must have been around 22/23 coats of paint.

THEN is the moment of truth....removing the masking and film!..... see next post!

[Dan_Ox 42]

And here she is in all her Candy Blue to Black glory!!

It was exactly how in my mind i wanted it to look. There is a couple of tiny dust marks in the black section at the back, but arnt that obvious.

Just love the POP of the Candy Blue effect to the paint.

 

Then the task putting the decals begins.

Now i choose to put NOT put the decals on, as i didnt want to cover lots of the beautiful blue up at the front, so i left off a few of the biggest decals off that cover the front section.

Here's an in process shot...

 

See the next post for the FINISHED ARTICLE

 

[Dan_Ox 42]

TAA DAAAAA!

 

I really look forward to hearing everyones thoughts!? And any questions i'll do my best to try answer.

Keep posted for the build up of all the Hop-Up parts when they arrive, including Carbon Damper Stays, Lots of Anodised Blue Alloy parts, New Springs and Roll Bars! Hehe.

[TurnipJF 7975]

Interesting technique with the fade. I do mine a bit differently by alternating coats, but yours appears to have come out very nicely.

[ThunderDragonCy 6908]

@Dan_Ox Nice job! May i recommend a couple of things for your hop ups? Get some sticky wheel balance weights for a full size car and stick them around the front of the chassis tub. I got about 45 grams on mine. Secondly, at the very least ditch the kit front tyres. Unless you are running in sand or deep gravel they are pretty useless IME. Get some good fronts for the surface you plan to run on. Finally, the rear kit springs are very soft. I found getting some stiffer springs very beneficial. I got the DF03 53926 set so i had some options for my 4wd buggies too, and used the gold medium spribgs from that set. There is a DT02 springs set, but i have no experience of it, but that has a stiffer spring option in it too.

Enjoy your buggy. A DT03 got me bqck into RC about 3 years ago. It's still one of my favourite runners, although mine is set up as a truck now. 

[Dan_Ox 42]

9 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

@Dan_Ox Nice job! May i recommend a couple of things for your hop ups? Get some sticky wheel balance weights for a full size car and stick them around the front of the chassis tub. I got about 45 grams on mine. Secondly, at the very least ditch the kit front tyres. Unless you are running in sand or deep gravel they are pretty useless IME. Get some good fronts for the surface you plan to run on. Finally, the rear kit springs are very soft. I found getting some stiffer springs very beneficial. I got the DF03 53926 set so i had some options for my 4wd buggies too, and used the gold medium spribgs from that set. There is a DT02 springs set, but i have no experience of it, but that has a stiffer spring option in it too.

Enjoy your buggy. A DT03 got me bqck into RC about 3 years ago. It's still one of my favourite runners, although mine is set up as a truck now. 

Cheers thanks for the advice!

Yeh, I've worked out the rear sus is very soft, so i've already got coming the DT02 spring set with the Hard (blue springs) in the set, so i intended on fitting those, which should improve the sus.

Interesting Tip about the weights at the front! I can see the car is pretty unbalanced weight wise, and if i tun it up further its just gonna wheelie all over the place, especially as there isnt a slipper clutch kit for the DT03.

I've noticed nearly everyone seems to being putting diff front tyres on haha. So gonna look into some diff ones. To be honest, at the moment its mainly tarmac im driving the car on, so any recommendations would be welcome!

 

Yep well an truely hooked back in again lol. Typically soon as i finished building the car, the weather has turned to rubbish here....so i'm having to be patient and wait for the sun to come back so i can get some proper running time in!

[Problemchild 2138]

You did the same as I did with the large side panels and just cut out the insets 

 

looks stunning 

 

JJ

[Dan_Ox 42]

1 hour ago, Problemchild said:

You did the same as I did with the large side panels and just cut out the insets 

 

looks stunning 

 

JJ

Ahh thanks man! Eagarly awaiting all my hop up parts to arrive in the post at the moment haha.

Yeh wasn't a fan of those big silver bits? They covered up to much of the front end paint too. So yeh, just cut out the black inserts.

[Problemchild 2138]

snap haha

 

JJ

[Re-Bugged 8593]

Very nice @Dan_Ox Looking like a top shelf competition Buggy now rather than a budget basher 👍🏻
It’s such a relief when the time consuming jobs go to plan. 

[Dan_Ox 42]

27 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

Very nice @Dan_Ox Looking like a top shelf competition Buggy now rather than a budget basher 👍🏻
It’s such a relief when the time consuming jobs go to plan. 

Thanks dude! Yeh really pleased how it came out. Makes it look alot more purposeful!

Looking forward to getting all the hop-up parts fitted which will again add to the look, and of course handling and performance!

[Dan_Ox 42]

My first shakedown today! As of course in typical english style, soon as i finished building this, we had like 3 days of rain lol.

BUT it's dry now! Very impressed with the out the speed box. The only hop-up i have fitted outside the ones that came with the kit is a full Bearing kit.

As i expected its abit understeer'y at the moment and the rear end is too soft, but i have things coming in the post next week that will start to help to cure both of them and a little more speed.

 

[Dan_Ox 42]

So the Hop-Ups have started to arrive!

This is my first haul, and there will be another in a few weeks.

For the first batch it was mainly suspension and chassis parts + Pinion.

I ordered:

• Tamiya Hop-Up 19T Pinion
• Tamiya Hop-Up Carbon Rear Damper Hanger
• Tamiya Hop-Up Carbon Front Damper Hanger (not arrived yet)
• Tamiya Hop-Up Anti-Roll Bar Kit (fitting the Blue ''Hard'' sway bars)
• Tamiya Hop-Up DT02 Spring Kit (fitting the Blue ''Hard'' Springs)
• Tamiya Hop-Up Alloy Servo Mount (blue)
• GPM Alloy Front Shock Hanger Mounts (blue)
• GPM Alloy Front Knuckle Arms (blue)
• HSP Alloy Wheel Nuts (blue)

 

 

I've fitted the Pinion and fitted all the parts for the rear end of the car, but as i'm still waiting for the Front Carbon Shock Hanger to arrive, which is a pretty central part to the front end, i'll have to hold fire fitting all the rest until that arrives.

But for now below are a few fitted photos so far of the all the rear parts!

 

[Dan_Ox 42]

[TurnipJF 7975]

While adding hop ups, how about fitting the alloy gearbox bridges? They don't add a lot of bling value since they are mostly hidden, but they are really useful as reinforcements since if the stock plastic ones break, they usually take the chassis and/or gearbox with them. 

[Dan_Ox 42]

13 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

While adding hop ups, how about fitting the alloy gearbox bridges? They don't add a lot of bling value since they are mostly hidden, but they are really useful as reinforcements since if the stock plastic ones break, they usually take the chassis and/or gearbox with them. 

I have those very things in my basket for the second order i'm gonna put in! haha.

[Dan_Ox 42]

So the front end is now 95% complete, just waiting on the delivery of my Carbon Damper stay....which is rather a annoying.

Did a couple of before an afters progress shots, i'll post the fully rebuilt job when the part arrives HOPEFULLY beginning of next week, and then be able to do a shake down and compare the difference.

Also as i was changing the servo mount, i took the oppotunity which i realised once building the original i should have done, and re-route the servo wire under the servo, much neater.

 

 

 

[Dan_Ox 42]

Finally my front Carbon Damper stay arrived, so i could finish the first phase of my hopup build.

Really pleased so far how it looks and feels in hand, and im charging the batts as we speak to see what it handles likes now.

The adjustable turnbuckles are very much the top of the next list, and what may inspire me to just go ahead and order the second load of bits fairly quickly haha.

But anyway, here she is for now!

 

[ChrisRx718 3292]

Looks fantastic, great job. 

I'd like one of these, wish I'd have bought one at the beginning of lockdown when they were cheap and plentiful!

Love the fade job and guide too. I have been putting off a fade paint job for ages because I know it'll go wrong!

[Dan_Ox 42]

1 hour ago, ChrisRx718 said:

Looks fantastic, great job. 

I'd like one of these, wish I'd have bought one at the beginning of lockdown when they were cheap and plentiful!

Love the fade job and guide too. I have been putting off a fade paint job for ages because I know it'll go wrong!

Cheers Chris!

Yeh i was lucky, it was the last of of these particular models my local model shop had in stock, and one of the last 10 kits they had it total. Apparently once they sold those it was gonna be like a 4-6 wait before Tamiya re-stocked them, as the 3 ACRE warehouse Tamiya have in the UK in Milton Keynes had 14 kits left in stock....for the WHOLE of the UK lol.

Ahh cheers, my biggest advice i can give with doing fades from spray cans is..... be PATIENT! Do many thin, but good layers, rather than try rush it with a handful of thick layers. Much bigger chance of making a hash of it! lol.

[Dan_Ox 42]

Another day, another batch of HopUps! haha.

Next is defo a new Motor!?

Defo a must have, rear gearbox mounts! Back end takes abit of a pounding on these as i've discovered. So upgraded.

 

Next was get rid of the shocking standard Racing Fighter front tyres, with a contact patch about the size of a head of a pin.

 

And last up was Alloy rear knuckles and hex nuts.

 

[Gibbo78 12]

On 5/11/2020 at 4:04 PM, ChrisRx718 said:

Looks fantastic, great job. 

I'd like one of these, wish I'd have bought one at the beginning of lockdown when they were cheap and plentiful!

Love the fade job and guide too. I have been putting off a fade paint job for ages because I know it'll go wrong!

Just had delivered a DT-03 Black Edition from Germany.  Really good price and a few units left if interested and didn't get my pants pulled down on courier either! PM if you want to know the details. 

Nice build Dan, I am retiring after 2 decades away from RC'ing also! 

Cheers

[ChrisRx718 3292]

1 hour ago, Gibbo78 said:

Just had delivered a DT-03 Black Edition from Germany.  Really good price and a few units left if interested and didn't get my pants pulled down on courier either! PM if you want to know the details. 

Nice build Dan, I am retiring after 2 decades away from RC'ing also! 

Cheers

I would but... I've spent a fortune these last few weeks. Got put on furlough, bought some stuff to keep me busy... then got brought off furlough just as it all started arriving in the post!!

[Dan_Ox 42]

MOTOR UPGRADES:

 

So i made the desicion that because i'm not gonna get into the whole LIPO world, i'm perfectly happy with the good old robust Ni-MH batts, that i wont go to brushless for the motor upgrades, as i just won't reap the advantages with no LIPO.

That left me to stick with what i know from my past....BRUSHED.

I managed to win off ebay 2 vintage Trinity motors! One of which ''The Midnight'' i've had before, and a top of the range ''at the time'' Colbalt.

I also used Trinity motors and loved them, so i bought these with the view to strip them both down, clean them up, re-wire, with fresh connectors and cables, put new bushes in, and lube up with bearing oil.

 

First the Trinity Midnight

This is a 27T Stock motor, so nothing too extreme, but i remember it always being a punchy motor, so i stripped it down as much as i could as its not a rebuildable motor, got rid of the old wire and connectors, and binned the bushes which were pretty worn down.

The i made up some new connector cables with new bullett connectors, and fitted some brand new Hard Laydown Bushes. I then bedded the motor in water, as a way to also clean the inside the can out as i can't take this motor apart, and bedded in the bushes.

She looks good as new!! Other than few marks on the sticker on the outside!

 

BEFORE AND AFTERS BELOW.

 

Next Trinity Colbalt.

Now these used to be the flagship motors for Trinity, and new this motor was about £75. This one is a 19x1T and is fully rebuildable complete with metal bearings.

For this one did a complete nut and bold strip and clean, removing old solder where i could and dirt and grime and binned the old bushes.

I then re-oiled the bearings with Avid Bearing Oil, and sitted new Hard Silver Stand-Up bushes. Along with of course making up and fitting some new connector cables and bullett connectors.

I then beded this motor in, and man she SCREAMS!!!!

Now, im FULLY aware this thing will make mince meet of my Tamiya TBLE-02 ESC being a high end 19T motor, but IF i can run it long enough before the ESC cuts to workout that the car can handle it, and it doesnt turn into a wheelie machine, i'll then upgrade the ESC to a 1060. If not, i'll stick the Midnight motor in this, and put the Colbalt in the next buggy i'm eyeing up (4wd with a slipper) hehe.

Love how this motor looks as its matches my car so well with the Blue Heat Sinks on the back of the motor! Anyways here some pics!!

 

 

I'll post below some pics of the Colbalt fitted to the car in the next post.

[Dan_Ox 42]

Pics fitted!

I'll try get some running vid clips over the next few days when i can get a chance to run the car out.