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Tamiya Defender D90 build

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Hello! Thought I’d put a post up for anyone interested. Probably many CC 01’s been built on here, but not seen many Defenders so far?

 

Just as background, this is my first build for almost 30 years!, and first time building a Tamiya RC. I’d build up a few Kyosho RC cars as a kid, including a Raider.  I’d also had a Tomy Intruder, which was a really nice RC car and look like they command a fair bit of money nowadays and so wish I’d kept it.
 

As with many people I expect, I fancied something to do during lockdown.  I think I’d spotted the Defender kit in a magazine and so fancied something to build and that I could drive pretty much anywhere, as there’s not anywhere near with a large area of tarmac for road based kits.

So after a short wait the kit arrived.

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After unboxing everything, was impressed by the detailed build instructions and the way everything is In labelled bags so you know where to find all the parts. Unfortunately I was to enthusiastic to get on with the build to take too many pictures!

 

The kit was kept standard as I was impressed that you get a set of Oil shocks etc included. Only non standard item was to order a set of ball bearings half way through the build which meant I had to disassemble parts half way through to fit those.

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finished chassis which when I gave a first test drive was a little puzzled about why reverse didn’t work properly, but then realising that’s how the Tamiya esc is meant to work!

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First fitting of body shell.

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The only non standard thing I wanted to do was with the colour. I’d seen a defender online, picture below, and really loved the colour. Apparently it is called ‘Keswick Green’, and as I couldn’t find a close match with polycarbonate paints, I tried to find a match with the Vallejo range of paints which I’d previously used for a model plane I’d built. This meant I’d have to airbrush the paint, and I was also a little concerned that the paint wouldn’t adhere to the shell as it’s water based.

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After giving the inside of the shell a rub with a very fine paint prep pad and then a wash with detergent and fitting window masks (new to me!), I gave the inside a dusting of paint from my airbrush.

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After several coats of green, and a finishing coat of grey Vallejo primer, the shell was finished.  Not an exact match to the Keswick green, but happy enough with the colour. The paint also hardened off nicely and seems pretty abrasion resistant.

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And finished (nearly), after nearly a whole day fitting stickers (love the detail and quality of the Tamiya stickers) which luckily I enjoy fitting!

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Did spend a while making up extra LEDs from eBay to fit, but ultimately I think I’d just have stuck to the ones that come with the kit now.

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Also decided to add an eBay special lightbar. Wasn’t expecting it to be that bright but was surprised how effective it is! Had also ordered a RC controlled switch harness, but unfortunately the output is lower than from the Receiver and so dulls the light output.

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Close up of custom Ali brackets to fit the bar as the originals were a bit large.

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It’s been great fun to drive so far. Surprising how well it handles most stuff, and is actually pretty quick! Perhaps a bit hard to control at low speeds and so hard to control over rough terrain. Think I will keep standard for now. Had thought of converting to Lipo, but the run time of the Nimh packs seems a lot better nowadays? Perhaps a brushless motor for the future?

Now have a taste for RC Cars again, so new project soon..

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Nice Build. My 1st one back after 35 years was also the Defender. I love my land rovers so my newest project is a TT02 Rally spec Chassis with a Bowler Body. 

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Nice :) I like your attention to detail, great work with the colour.

I'd love one of these bodies but waiting to see if Tamiya release it on the CC02

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Thanks! :)

There are more detailed bodies out there but this is a nice compromise between realism and shrugging off a few bumps and scrapes. 

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I AGREE 100%!! 😁 I'm waiting for ANY other Body options for the CC-02.

On 7/16/2020 at 6:21 AM, Mad Ax said:

Nice :) I like your attention to detail, great work with the colour.

I'd love one of these bodies but waiting to see if Tamiya release it on the CC02

 

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