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Lunchy

VW KARMANN GHIA Sill level

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Hey everyone - 

 

I was looking to get the Tamiya VW KARMANN GHIA.  I saw that in RC car action that the skill level for this car is on the high side.  I have only built the Lunch Box so far... pretty easy.  Any idea if this one might be too difficult for a rookie?

 

thanks!

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Also - If I do decide to get this kit, what would be a good servo, receiver and transmitter to get?  Not looking to get anything really expensive but do want what would be good fit.

 

Was hoping the Futaba s3004 would be OK.

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I would have thought if you have already built a Tamiya and found it pretty easy you shouldn't have a problem. Just take your time and ask questions if you aren't sure.

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It's not excessively difficult.  The skills required, beyond an "easy" kit are a) lots of patience to carefully follow the instructions, and b) a steady hand to trim the body & decals.

The S3003 or S3004 will fit with no issues.  It' s a decent servo for this car; the plastic gears in the servo will be protected by the springy servo-saver.

It is advisable to get aluminum steering parts (Yeah Racing), ball bearing kit, Tamiya M Chassis oil dampers, and softer springs.

 

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I’ve found all the builds straight forward regardless of kit rating, some just take longer than others, the instructions are very good for all the ones I’ve built (re-re character models not track vehicles which might take more set up experience) For me the only difficult bit is keeping the parts bags organised and having poor eyesight telling some small screws apart.. The vernier callipers are very useful for this..

The only bit that might trip you up i.e. you don’t get to do over is getting a perfect job on the body. I’d definitely get a practice shell, something cheap and have a dummy run on those bits, because unlike following the build instructions it does require some technique. 

As Manix92 said,  ask as many questions as you need, people here are very experienced and super helpful. 

While I was waiting for my first kit to arrive, I watched a few YouTube builds of the same model, so I knew pretty much from that how things were going to go down.

Oh.. I wrote a guide to Lexan trimming off the back of my first build you might find errr.. useful... 

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/88015-avante-2011-lexan-body-trimming/

 

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With Tamiya realistic polycarbonate bodies there’s a lot of fiddly stickers for window rubbers and tricky curves. That’s probably where the skill is.

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1 hour ago, Lunchy said:

I was looking to get the Tamiya VW KARMANN GHIA.  I saw that in RC car action that the skill level for this car is on the high side.  I have only built the Lunch Box so far... pretty easy.  Any idea if this one might be too difficult for a rookie?

My 2 Cents; NEVER trust RCCA. :)

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Going from Lunchbox to M06?  It's definitely more involved.  But Tamiya makes THE BEST instruction in the industry. You can rely on that 98% of the times.  The other 2%, TC members can help. 

It's just more of the same things.  Cut parts off the sprues, trim them, fit them and screw them together. My M06 came with friction dampers. I got a set of Yeah racing shocks for $25. (I forget if it was 50mm or 55mm)  So that would be something new.   

Spraying paint requires a bit of a learning curve.  But Tamiya spray can tells you "under 60% humidity, over 60F temperature" or some such thing too.  Masking takes some trial-and-error; they need to be stuck on tightly. Cut stickers using only sharp knives or sharp pair of scissors. Putting on the stickers with a hairdryer helps.  Tamiya sells curved scissors, they are quite useful when cutting the poly carbonate bodies.    

While some people hate painting bodies, you won't know until you give it a try.  Also, learning new skills is fun.  

 

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The Karmann Ghia was my second too build after the Land Rover CC01 and yes its a little more involved but if you just take your time i think you will really enjoy it. A bearing kit and the Dampers were 50mm that i put on. Definitley the trickiest bit were the decals around the lights and the window trims but slowly does it and i also use a hairdryer to warm them up. Dont try to rush it, just enjoy it.

 

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First....... @stuhas Just WOW!!!! 👌💯👏👏👏👏🍻   I see you found a few BLUE goodies along the way. 😉

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As others have said, it's not more difficult, just more involved. Getting the body to turn out well will be a challenge. But I gotta say that @stuhas rose to that challenge beautifully - well done!

One trick if it's your first Lexan body -  cut up a clear water or soda bottle and practice painting the inside of that first, before painting the actual body. This lets you get a feel for how thick to lay the paint down, how many coats, etc, as well as preview the color.

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@Lunchy I'm glad to chime in too...

I can't add a lot that hasn't already been said. The takeaway is, Tamiya sets the standard for Build Manuals!! Just follow it, however tempting, don't skip ahead.

You may have to build a threaded Turnbuckle or two. Don't fret! In the Manual, are 1:1 drawings showing EXACTLY how long to make them! That's one of the new but not difficult techniques that you can learn, moving up to this Kit. 😁 

Everything is outlined clearly in the Manual. Most importantly of course... We're HERE! Most of us have done more than a few, and very Happy to help you!! 😁 

ONE of the many satisfying things about this Hobby, is SHARING our experiences AND vast number of MISTAKES we've made over the years. So maybe you won't have to make as many. 😉

I have built the M06. I promise it's not an overwhelming Build. Just a few "New to You" steps... 

As far as Shock selection, 50mm does work, if you want a low center of gravity ride for good Handling. 55mm absolutely fits also, giving just a bit more ground clearance, if you have rougher surfaces...

On the M05 I'm currently finishing up, I got 60mm Shocks, but put an extra O-Ring on the Shaft, right under the Piston, for a final length of 57mm.

As some of us were just discussing on another Thread, M Chassis Cars in general, are extremely versatile, adaptable, even modular to some extent! You'll figure that out soon! 

I know I'm a bit of a blowhard!! 😖😜  But the point we're all getting at is - just BUILD it! 😊  It won't be that difficult... And you WON'T BE BUILDING IT ALONE, if you need anything. 👊

For starters, take a look at any of our Build Threads. That will give you a more illustrated look at the process!

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When you mention building a threaded turnbuckle... is that something that is in the manual?  I have no idea what that means.  But thanks for all the comments and advice!!

 

thanks

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3 hours ago, Lunchy said:

When you mention building a threaded turnbuckle... is that something that is in the manual?  I have no idea what that means.  But thanks for all the comments and advice!!

thanks

Not to oversimplify.... But it is EASY! 😉  Since this isn't an upper spec Chassis, I won't bore you with details you don't need yet. 

In this case - a Turnbuckle is a 3mm short Threaded Rod, that you'll remove 2 Rod Ends from your plastics Tree, and screw one End on each side of the threaded Rod.... 

In fact give me 5 minutes. I'll screenshot that page out of the Manual. 😊

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3 hours ago, Lunchy said:

When you mention building a threaded turnbuckle... is that something that is in the manual?  I have no idea what that means.  But thanks for all the comments and advice!!

 

thanks

If you have built the Lunch Box, you'll have built two of them already, in step 14.

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JUST to refresh, the circled area is the Turnbuckle in question...

Two little Arrows point to where the parts for it are. 😁

IMG_20200819_184704.jpg

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15 hours ago, Carmine A said:

First....... @stuhas Just WOW!!!! 👌💯👏👏👏👏🍻   I see you found a few BLUE goodies along the way. 😉

Thanks, yes just a mixture or yeah racing and Fastrax goodies. also got a great deal on the lights. I still haven't run it in anger lol i cant bring myself in case i bump it :wacko:

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T

22 hours ago, Lunchy said:

Hey everyone - 

 

I was looking to get the Tamiya VW KARMANN GHIA.  I saw that in RC car action that the skill level for this car is on the high side.  I have only built the Lunch Box so far... pretty easy.  Any idea if this one might be too difficult for a rookie?

 

thanks!

Tamiyaclub is your best bet here, friendly bunch and they don`t bite so go for it and if you get stuck on anything ask. Also Tamiya destructions are very very clear i find, with good clear indications of sizes needed

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I see that there is also a body kit for the Karmann.  I could get that to practice with painting.  Was also thinking if I get the second body kit... I might try and do some weathering.

 

Thanks all for everything.

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15 minutes ago, Lunchy said:

I see that there is also a body kit for the Karmann.  I could get that to practice with painting.  Was also thinking if I get the second body kit... I might try and do some weathering.

 

Thanks all for everything.

Good plan! You can then use the best of the two for display, and the other one for guilt free running. 

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+2 !! 😁  

I hope that the page I shared from the Manual was helpful... If there's any questions about that - PLEASE don't hesitate to ask!

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When you mention building a threaded turnbuckle... is that something that is in the manual?  I have no idea what that means.  But thanks for all the comments and advice!!

 

thanks

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On 8/19/2020 at 1:39 PM, J@mes said:

With Tamiya realistic polycarbonate bodies there’s a lot of fiddly stickers for window rubbers and tricky curves. That’s probably where the skill is.

I have to agree with this. The M-06 chassis version of the Miata (Eunos) roadster was my first Tamiya Kit and I found placing the decals on the realistic body more time consuming than the mechanical aspect of the build. 
All that said the kit was a joy to build and a blast to drive . I still have my standard ESC and silver can 540 stock motor in mine. I also installed full ball bearings and a set of  oil dampers. 

This forum is a wealth of info and everyone I have interacted with here is helpful friendly. 
Incidentally, I’m curious. Are you a fan of 1:1 air cooled VW? I know I chose the Miata kit because I own the the full size version. Just curious 

CA294C5B-AAA3-4FE9-ADAE-6F9C90CC068B.jpeg

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14 hours ago, Lunchy said:

When you mention building a threaded turnbuckle... is that something that is in the manual?  I have no idea what that means.  But thanks for all the comments and advice!!

Thanks

As per the circled area on the Manual Page I shared above........

Screw a BB23 into each end of the BB6 threaded Rod 😉

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I looked at some tamiya dampers for the this kit.  They were around $75.  Are there any other brands out there that are less expensive?

 

thanks!

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