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Mechanic AH

The Tamiya F1 Thread

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I was wondering if there are forum members who fancy Tamiya F series cars (including Group C, RM series, Road Wizard, B2B chassis)? Thought of making an F/racing thread to consolidate posts on members’ F shelf queens, runners, and technical information on these chassis. 

Within Tamiya’s first 20 RC cars there were 6 F cars and 1 Le Mans type. In the last three years these are the F car releases and it’s interesting to see in 2020 that there was only the TC-01 (although a new chassis). It would be nice to see an F1 come out in 2021 but that’s probably unlikely. 

2021
?

2020
Aug 2020: #58681 TC01 — Formula E Gen2
Feb 2020: #58680 F103GT — Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid (updated decals and black wheels instead of gray)

2019
Nov 2019: #47427 F103 Six — Tyrrell P34 1976 Japan GP (Factory Built)
Apr 2019: #47392 F103 Six — Tyrell P34 1977 Monaco GP Special Edition

2018
Dec 2018: #58665 F103GT — Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid
Oct 2018: #47374 F104W — Ferrari 312T3
Jun 2018: #42318 TRF103 — TRF103 Chassis Kit
Feb 2018:  #58652 F104 Pro II — F104 Pro II w/ Body

Anyway, I hope some will find interest in this thread and that it won’t die! Post F series, RM series, Group C, Le Mans, Road Wizard, B2B, and like chassis cars. Would be nice to see shelf queens, runners, rare ones, custom work, unique and rare parts, motors and servos, etc. And information and advice. 

I hope someone can start and post something first because I don't have anything interesting enough, yet. Thanks!
 

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This was my F103LM sold forward to a member here from the states.

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this is a F103 with F104 front and rear.

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This F103 was bought used for 50€, I bought all parts of tamico and rcmart. Really everything from chassis plates, replaced silver screws with brown screws. Alu heat sink motor mount, rear carbon F104 axle and diff housing, front arms, f103gt rear motor case... everything that was possible I believe.

 

I am just sorry I did not buy the blue heat sink motor mount.

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Excellent thread idea👍

I've 3 group C's and 2 f103's (GT and LM TRF) 

The bodies which came with the GRP C chassis's are some of the best tamiya made especially the Jaguar XJR12, less so the Daytona Thunder(which I have🙄). 

The F1 bodies have never "done" it for me! I much prefer Le mans and tin tops. 

I'll take a few photos later with some details. 

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One of these chassis has been on my ‘bucket list’ for a long time but I had always resisted as I had nowhere to run it (until recently) and nowhere to display shelf queens (that may change).

Your list omits 58680 released last year? Though I believe it is only the previous Gazoo with updated decals. I’m debating pulling the trigger on one of these so I can have it to build in the future. I’ll need some decal practice first!

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I have a soft spot for the on road models. All of mine are vintage though, my collection stops at the F103.

F1: I have all the early F1 and F2 cars, and the Road Wizard in all liveries

F2: I have the complete set of F2

B2b: A complete restored one

Goup C: I have an original Toyota Toms, and a Porsche 956

And a huge collection of vintage F1 body sets.

Have a look in my showroom.

I'm not obsessed though... Honestly :blink:

J

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I have an F104 pro ii  which I have raced against 'proper' RC F1 cars and it was interesting.

 

I used to have an F201, which I raced down south in Southampton. Loved it.

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Ooh! This should be a good thread! Before the Coronapocalypse put a stop to such things, F1 was my favourite racing class. I'll post some pics of my cars in a bit. Looking forward to seeing everyone else's!

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I loved my Group C car but sadly I moved up here and there was nowhere to run it so I sold it. I do regret that as I thought it was a great chassis, so quick and so responsive (well, at least it was for its day!)

I fitted a touring car shell to mine and ran it on a local car park and it was SOOO fast when running on newly laid smooth tarmac.

car1.JPG

car2.JPG

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Great idea! 
 

I recently ( Xmas ) had to good luck to convince my wife to buy me a f103rs off @svenb so means I can join the party! 😁

picked up a carbon plate ( the thicker one ) and the top deck kit for very cheap so used the last of my Grandpsrents-in-law Xmas cash and got them.

made the swap and fitted out as plan to run it a bit at my local track in gt10 class, should be fun.. whilst doing that I nodded the servo mounts so I could lie it down. Not sure if it gains much, but I feel it looks better, had introduced some angle on the steering rods, but I’ll space the ball connectors slightly to reduce it. 

next thing to find is a body to run that’s not a Tamiya one.. could always use a tc body but I think something in keeping would be better..

the hunt continues.. 😁😁

989F9C94-5BD4-4AA3-9D5D-D50FD1B348B4.jpeg

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18 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

One of these chassis has been on my ‘bucket list’ for a long time but I had always resisted as I had nowhere to run it (until recently) and nowhere to display shelf queens (that may change).

Your list omits 58680 released last year? Though I believe it is only the previous Gazoo with updated decals. I’m debating pulling the trigger on one of these so I can have it to build in the future. I’ll need some decal practice first!

Updated the list and added it. Just looked at it. I think aside from the decals, the wheels are different (black vs gray). You should get it. Reminds me of every racing chassis/kit I've held off on because they are abundant and tend to sell slower (or maybe Tamiya produces more?), and now they're gone.

@Fabia130vRS, @Mark3gti what brushless motor is that? Seems like you two the same motor/esc setup.

10 hours ago, mud4fun said:

I loved my Group C car but sadly I moved up here and there was nowhere to run it so I sold it. I do regret that as I thought it was a great chassis, so quick and so responsive (well, at least it was for its day!)

I fitted a touring car shell to mine and ran it on a local car park and it was SOOO fast when running on newly laid smooth tarmac.

 

car2.JPG

One day (or maybe next year, I want to get a group C chassis. Always on my mind.

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10 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

 

@Fabia130vRS, @Mark3gti what brushless motor is that? Seems like you two the same motor/esc setup.

 

I have a trackstar 80A esc and a 13,5T trackstar v2 motor.

I wanted to have a ROAR legal combo in case I decide I want to race it in our club.

 

Also I am using a 64P spur, 80T and 64P pinion with 35T. So a fdr off 2.28. before I rebuild it completely I made speed runs, 82 was top speed. But it could go faster on 2s. I am afraid of crashing it

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Brilliant idea.....

Just started my resto of a f103rs Williams fw18 but have let a few c chassis parts go to fund the project.

 

 

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Here are a couple of pics of the oldest RC F1 I have worked on - an ancient 1980 Mardave Mk. 2 model belonging to a mate, which I restored for him. The shell colour was his choice - since he wasn't expecting it to be in any way competitive, he chose Force India pink.

2018-02-11_09-42-59

 

20171023_140220

 

Super-simple - no diff, just a solid metal bar as a rear axle, with spur gears moulded as part of the wheels. The main chassis is just a rectangle of fibreglass PCB material! If one is used to a Tamiya F1 that goes where you tell it to, this one is a real handful to drive, with understeer that turns into snap oversteer  seemingly at random, absolutely no tolerance for irregularities in the running surface, and a loud distracting whine from the coarse pitch gears. Things have certainly come a long way since this was considered current technology in anything other than banger racing!

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Although the thread is titled "The Tamiya F1 Thread", I hope nobody minds a couple of pics of another non-Tamiya F1 that I built for a mate, this time a HPI F10 in the livery of Damon Hill's "Buzzin' Hornets" Jordan.

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2021-01-26_01-16-21

 

The chassis is a plastic tub with a tiny fibreglass top deck. Barge boards are integrated into the chassis. The steering is via a bellcrank with the servo mounted further back than we are used to seeing on Tamiya F1s. The diff is a geared item with minimal adjustability. The chassis uses 12mm hex fittings all round (front hexes not installed in pic), so standard F1 wheelsets will not fit. The suspension is pretty standard fare though, featuring a T-bar at the rear with a disc type friction damper and a coilover shock, and undamped sprung kingpins at the front. Although relatively stable and free of handling vices, it is heavy and thus not as nimble or precise as even the most basic Tamiya F1, and therefore not much of a threat on the track.

 

 

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Having grown tired of his uncompetitive HPI, my mate finally let me build him a proper Tamiya F1 - the Tamiya F104 Pro II to be precise, which he asked me to decorate in Caterham livery. 

2019-07-11_09-17-11

 

2021-01-26_01-43-14

 

This chassis was an absolute joy to build, with quality hex hardware, superbly cut fibreglass and carbon, accurately moulded plastics and a good dose of shiny alloy, including the superb TRF damper. Easy to set up, with the razor-sharp handling of a proper lightweight F1, it took him from the back of the field straight to being a podium contender on its first outing, and is now his most treasured race car.

There is a lot to like about this car, including how Tamiya appear to have learned from the weaknesses of previous T-bar F104 chassis, going back to a design wherein the T-bar forms an integral part of the motor pod, rather than simply being attached to it as on previous T-bar F104s, where the motor pod plastics often broke at the attachment point. I also like how the shell can be built with or without undercut side pods, allowing space for even the bulkiest of electronics.

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@TurnipJF Thanks for sharing those excellent F cars! When I saw the Mardave it sort of gave me a pause, an idea to later make a simple F1. I think I can make a basic chassis, and then do 3D printed parts or use parts from various kits, just something to tinker with. One day.

The HPI F10 plastics/tub looks somewhat bulky and reminds of of a stripped down TC-01--it's heavy. Don't mind seeing non Tamiya ones as well, probably makes me more curious. Definitely a different chassis design. And regarding the f104, how much of a difference does the integrated T-bar make? I'm rebuilding an F103 and thought about the separate T-bar. I was wondering if it was designed for flex for corners and bumps and if one solid chassis would've been better, but I'm no engineer.

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14 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

@TurnipJF Thanks for sharing those excellent F cars! When I saw the Mardave it sort of gave me a pause, an idea to later make a simple F1. I think I can make a basic chassis, and then do 3D printed parts or use parts from various kits, just something to tinker with. One day.

You might be interested to know (if you don't already) that Mardave themselves are about to release a significantly updated but still relatively simple and affordable F1 model, called the FP1. Initial photos look very promising.

139491009_3621147441256233_1364131000478

 

14 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

@TurnipJFAnd regarding the f104, how much of a difference does the integrated T-bar make? I'm rebuilding an F103 and thought about the separate T-bar. I was wondering if it was designed for flex for corners and bumps and if one solid chassis would've been better, but I'm no engineer.

The F104 Pro II's T-bar is still separate from the main chassis, like the F103, and also like the F103 it is integral with the bottom of the motor pod as seen below.

2021-01-26_02-32-27

This is a lot stronger than previous F104s where the bottom of the motor pod was a separate plastic moulding which was screwed onto the T-bar at the front. With the original F104 design, it was not uncommon for drivers to go through two or three sets of motor pod plastics in a single afternoon's racing due to breakages at the T-bar attachment point. With the F104 Pro II's design, I have yet to witness a single motor pod breakage. 

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Thanks for the heads up on the Mardave. Don't know much about it but I don't think I can get it in the US. I'll still check it out.

I don't have an F104 or know much about them but I think I get it now. So it looks like on the previous F104s the T-bar design is different compared to the F103,—like a shorter plate instead of the full T-bar. Then that attaches to the motor base plate/diffuser, and then the motor mount goes on top of the motor base/diffuser? And the F104 Pro II went back to the F103 T-bar style. I hope that makes sense but getting too deep into it. Wonder why they redesigned it.

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27 minutes ago, Mechanic AH said:

I don't have an F104 or know much about them but I think I get it now. So it looks like on the previous F104s the T-bar design is different compared to the F103,—like a shorter plate instead of the full T-bar. Then that attaches to the motor base plate/diffuser, and then the motor mount goes on top of the motor base/diffuser? And the F104 Pro II went back to the F103 T-bar style. I hope that makes sense but getting too deep into it. Wonder why they redesigned it.

Yes, that pretty much sums it up. Why they went for that design I don't know - possibly to make T-bar changes easier? (As you may know, swapping out T-bars of different thicknesses is one of the ways one tunes the rear suspension of these cars.)

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While building my mate's HPI F10, I was also busy building a Tamiya F1 of my own. An eBay find, the build started but not completed, this F103 kit was too good a deal to pass up. It didn't come with any decals, and I know the shape of the shell is meant to represent that of a McLaren MP4/13, but my eyesight is more compatible with the bright yellow Camel Lotus livery, so I chose to decorate it thus. Here it is with the aforementioned F10, which had to resort to running touring car foams due to its 12mm hex wheel fitment:

2021-01-26_02-38-06

 

2021-01-26_02-45-36

Shorter, wider and significantly lighter than the F10, wearing proper wide F1 foam tyres, it was hardly a fair contest. Even in box-stock form, the F103 was up there mixing it with the latest TRFs and Xrays, leaving my mate with his F10 in the far distance. It was only with the arrival of his F104 Pro II that it could be said that we were actually racing each other.

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I also happend to own a F104 ver2 Pro, I get confused of how many F104s are out there.this chassis design is closer to a TRF102 or idk. In terms of t bar.

 

This particular car was raced in the xray winter series in italy and austraia from a guy me and my buddy bought it. Myself swapped out some hop ups from this car with standard F104 parts and sold it as a bargain.

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This is also sold forward to a member here. This particular motor mount as seen on the X1 and TRF models can fit high pinions. My buddy had 80T and 54T in 0.4. thats a fdr of 1.48!! Tops speed 92kmh on 3s, barely controllable 

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On 1/25/2021 at 4:20 AM, Mechanic AH said:

@Fabia130vRS, @Mark3gti what brushless motor is that? Seems like you two the same motor/esc setup.

Hi there, sorry for the delay! 😁

im running a trackstar 80amp Had to take the fan off but reckon it’ll be ok. 
the motor is a old trackstar  17.5t 

Think it was a 94t 0.4 spur 35t pinion, FD 2.68.. i was advised 2.6-2.8 on a 17.5t 

not sure if it will be on pace with the other gt10 in the class I’ll run in but maybe one day I’ll see! 🤞

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59 minutes ago, Mark3gti said:

Hi there, sorry for the delay! 😁

im running a trackstar 80amp Had to take the fan off but reckon it’ll be ok. 
the motor is a old trackstar  17.5t 

Think it was a 94t 0.4 spur 35t pinion, FD 2.68.. i was advised 2.6-2.8 on a 17.5t 

not sure if it will be on pace with the other gt10 in the class I’ll run in but maybe one day I’ll see! 🤞

I run my esc, also without the fan, same model as yours, with slightly boosted esc settings. Without the fan very good. I extended the wires and moved the fan back to the motor mount.

 

here is a video 2 years ago fresh build!! Different gearing tho, took some time to find the correct spur. (Now 80T 64P and 35T pinion.) it could eventually fit a 64P 72T spur if the diff plates are shortened in diameter for 2mm and exotex diff parts used. The MST 2.0 LSD gyro was a perfect fit with the sanwa reciever just behind the servo. I love how neat it looks shiny new. Lots of scratches now since its was my only rc back then and a hardcore runner. F1 bashing :D

2 enormous hard crashes and 3 broken spoilers in 2 years. The first big crash was on a speed run hitting 92kmh and crashing due to diff coming off. A complete F104 rear diff with axle and tires lost!!!! 50€ damage there if not more.

second crash was a broken spoiler and motor mount. Bought the rear section completely twice including diffs. 

This is now from the last postal race I attempt, bad weather here constantly and only having dry weather cars.

 

and this here is a build from a friend. F104 ver2 rear motor mounts on a normal F103.

the ver2 mounts fit but two holes need to be drilled. Since its shorter. Also the t bar needs to be dremeld a bit.

 

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4 minutes ago, Fabia130vRS said:

I run my esc, also without the fan, same model as yours, with slightly boosted esc settings. Without the fan very good. I extended the wires and moved the fan back to the motor mount.

 

here is a video 2 years ago fresh build!! Different gearing tho, took some time to find the correct spur. (Now 80T 64P and 35T pinion.) it could eventually fit a 64P 72T spur if the diff plates are shortened in diameter for 2mm.

 

That’s a neat idea! I like it!  I’m gonna be in blinky, I won’t know if I need to get fans on till I race it. I’m hoping not. It’s only a small track. 👍 but I like the fan mounted at the rear! 👍👍👍

 

I tried to test it outdoors the other day but handnt glued the tyres, got 10mph and the tyres rolled away! 😂😂 gonna glue and try again. 👍

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6 minutes ago, Mark3gti said:

That’s a neat idea! I like it!  I’m gonna be in blinky, I won’t know if I need to get fans on till I race it. I’m hoping not. It’s only a small track. 👍 but I like the fan mounted at the rear! 👍👍👍

 

I tried to test it outdoors the other day but handnt glued the tyres, got 10mph and the tyres rolled away! 😂😂 gonna glue and try again. 👍

Check the videos I added to the last post. Quite some time had gone into the F103 obsession leaving me with a F103/104 coversion :D

so cant really decide what I have. I wanted it to look like a F3 car

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