Aerobert 2145 Posted July 18, 2021 Hi and welcome to my project thread! 😊 After posting some of my progress on different projects in the "What have you done today"-Thread I though it is time for my own project thread. Currently I have several projects in progress. From builds I haven't touched for ages to my latest acquisition, a 58100 Top Force. This will be the car which will fill the first posts here. Last week I bought a Top Force chassis over a classified site here in Germany. The chassis was not complete but the price were reasonable. My plan was to mix the parts with my Dirt Thrasher and make one car out of both. But as soon as it was one my desk I knew that it will stay as a Top Force. So I started checking it for missing parts and made a first purchase for them. One chassis stay, some of the J-parts and the top deck were the obvious things that were missing. So I have ordered them together with some bits for the Dirt Thrasher. Yesterday I disassembled the chassis: During disassembly I found further parts missing, like the motor mount. Also I found the plastic-aluminium-mix in the gear box which will be replaced by the full plastic gears. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted July 18, 2021 Today I had to install a new mirror on my daily scooter and after that I found the other one to be a little bit scruffy. So I polished it with Nevr-Dull which makes it shiny again. So I thought I could try it on the tarnished alloy parts of the Top Force: It helped but it was not what I was expecting. So I went with Belgom Alu. This is an aluminium polishing agent and it turn out pretty good. Almost like new. Before and after: To be continued... 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
topforcein 1764 Posted July 18, 2021 looking great it did the same with all the alloy on mine plus the brass also but i used autosol luckly the part are plenty full of evo kits being broken and sold in bits have you came across any cracks in the plastics yet as i had to change a lot on my top force recently when i restored it. you gonna change the screws also i am currently restoring my original manta ray also and am just waiting on e parts tree to finish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted July 18, 2021 2 hours ago, topforcein said: have you came across any cracks in the plastics yet as i had to change a lot on my top force recently when i restored it. you gonna change the screws also Up to now the only broken part is the J12 part which is teared off. The screws will definitely be changed. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bavee 1032 Posted July 21, 2021 Your own project thread, nice! Good luck restoring your Top Force and keep us posted! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted July 23, 2021 On 7/21/2021 at 9:49 AM, bavee said: Your own project thread, nice! Good luck restoring your Top Force and keep us posted! Thank you! In the last few days nothing too special happened. Most of the parts are cleaned and inspected. Some of the aluminium parts still needs to be polished. This evening I rebuild the rear dampers with new O-Rings and oil seals. As almost all parts are in a good condition the difference between before and after rebuild is not so big. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted July 25, 2021 This morning I had some spare time and was going on with the Top Force. After all parts were cleaned, inspected and polished (if necessary) during the last few days it was time to re-assemble the chassis. Started with both gear boxes. A Turnigy 4250 KV brushless motor was installed together with a Yeah Racing motor mount. For the first time ever I have installed turnbuckles. Nice blue hop-up parts. What tools do you use for adjusting the turnbuckles without scratching the blue surface? 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frog Jumper 3661 Posted July 25, 2021 2 minutes ago, Aerobert said: What tools do you use for adjusting the turnbuckles without scratching the blue surface? This^^* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonboy1 2943 Posted July 26, 2021 loving the build thread @Aerobert There are two tamiya wrenches for turnbuckles: https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344536023/ and https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344421220/ I've got the first one and it works beautifully! Much better than a pair of pliers wrapped with electrical insulation tape 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeadMeat666 1675 Posted July 27, 2021 On 7/26/2021 at 10:19 AM, jonboy1 said: There are two tamiya wrenches for turnbuckles: https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344536023/ and https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344421220/ I've got the first one and it works beautifully! Much better than a pair of pliers wrapped with electrical insulation tape The second one is for Tamiya titanium turnbuckles; I made the mistake of using it on blue aluminum once and it DOES scratch off the blue finish, so be warned. Now it just collects dust in the corner of my tool bag. I currently use this: https://www.yeahracing.com/aluminum-7075-turnbuckle-wrench-3mm-4mm-5mm-5-5mm-blue-yt-0197bu-00086430 and I've had no problems. Also it can accommodate almost any size turnbuckle. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted July 27, 2021 Thank you @DeadMeat666 and @jonboy1 . That is very helpful. Today something strange happened: The project is finished for now! The postman delivered some missing parts and from one to next moment the chassis was done. And for now (unfortunately) the project is finished as the Top Force body is currently not available. It will be continued as soon as get a body. Thanks for watching and your kind comments. Another project will be shown here soon (as I have enough of them). 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted August 17, 2021 As the body was surprisingly available I could go one with the Top Force. Yesterday and today I've painted the body with colours which were available in my storage and which were already used so I could empty some cans. Started with some coats of PS-45 Translucent Purple, followed by PS-41 Bright Silver, PS-12 Silver and PS-5 Black. Turned out pretty good, even if it's far from perfect. But translucent colours aren't easy to paint (at least for me )and this shell have many small gaps. On the picture it looks like blue but it is definitely purple. Also started to install the electronics. For the first time ever I've shortened the wires of a servo. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted September 5, 2021 Finished the first project for a long time! I actually call the Top Force completed: I' very happy with the result, as I never owned a car like this: FRP double deck chassis, polished and blue aluminum parts. Also never done the effort of shortening the wires of the servo and ESC. It's none box art as usual for my builds and also a mix of Top Force and Top Force Evo parts combined with other manufacturers, e.g. Schumacher but I like it. Hopefully I can drive it on a rece track some day. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bavee 1032 Posted September 5, 2021 That is one beautiful rc car! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 2, 2021 After finishing but not yet driven the Top Force, I have decided to go to the next project: a 58231 Wild Dagger. I've bought this Truck over a classified site. Unfortunately the truck was not in such a good shape as it looks on the pictures. But it's possible that it was just me who didn't look right as I wanted a WR-01. The main issue was that the previous owner had mounted the shocks with M6 stainless steel screws to the shock tower / gear box. Which leads to cracks in all four mounting points. Some days ago I've started to disassemble the truck to get an overview about what was broken or missing. Besides the gear boxes and the shocks there was only the body posts and the wheel hexes to replace. Additionally I've bought two 20T steel pinions and a new JConcepts Ford F-250 body as I don't like the Wild Dagger body that much. During the last days I've rebuild of the front and rear axle and today I assembled the chassis. Front axle Rear axle Chassis assembled And now to the body... 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J@mes 2326 Posted October 3, 2021 Looking good, Lunchbox tires on Wild Dagger wheels didn’t work well for me, I didn’t glue them & we’re always coming off . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 3, 2021 1 hour ago, J@mes said: Looking good, Lunchbox tires on Wild Dagger wheels didn’t work well for me, I didn’t glue them & we’re always coming off . Thanks. Those tires aren't from the Lunchbox, they are some non-branded Monstertruck tires I've purchased about two years (or maybe more) years ago from Hobbyking. They are bit bigger and wider than the kit tires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 3, 2021 This morning I've cutted the F-250 body. Unfortunately it has a crease which I've noticed after cutting. But it's not so bad and I will keep it and leave it that way. Also fitted the roll cage and made a test fit to the chassis. Next steps are drilling the holes for the body posts, grinding the edges of the body and masking. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) Today I've grinded the body and started masking. As the is my first Jconcepts truck body shell I have not much experience with this brand but it's very unlikely that I will buy one again. The overall experience with this shell is not convincing. It has a crease in the rear, the window masking stickers do not really fit and for more than € 40 it seems to be not enough value for the money. Maybe I had just bad luck with this one. Edited October 5, 2021 by Aerobert 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Ax 9325 Posted October 5, 2021 Some JConcepts moulds suffer from creasing around the edges, I've got quite a few JC bodies and have noticed this more than once. Also the masks aren't always perfect, but for the level of detail I add to my trucks, it's never bothered me. I think those seeking paint perfection would rarely use a pre-cut mask anyway. For me, the huge range of shells available from JC and the amount of detail in the mould makes up for any minor problems like these - but I get that you don't expect simple problems in that price range. I do love a Wild Dagger though, looks like a good project base, it should be easy to reinforce the cracked shock mounts (just cut a plate of aluminium or FR4 that goes from one mount to the other) or do the right thing and get some extended towers for 100mm shocks. I strongly advise the 8 degree caster hub if you're keeping dual motors, as the complete lack of caster on the front end makes for some interesting handling https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/395711 Alternatively you can cut a custom chassis place to rotate the front gearbox back by 10 degrees to give both caster and kick-up. I'd love to say this gives brilliant handling, but mine is still a real handful to drive and probably not worth the effort and expense that went into making it 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whahooo 465 Posted October 6, 2021 Nice one. I have the same Tires i think. I would put in a new Damperbridge, so you can put long dampers in. I love the Bodychoice! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 6, 2021 Thanks for your input @Mad Ax. I know your Fifty-Fifty Monster Truck and it's some kind of guide for my truck. I will have a look for extended towers like you and @whahooo said. For now I don't think I will invest €40 in caster blocks and will try it without. Maybe later. This truck is a replacement for my Bullhead which I've sold (I think every collection needs a Monster Truck). So I don't expect this truck to drive like a buggy or something. It's just to have a little fun in the backyard. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 7, 2021 Started painting today. First colour is finished. PS-6 Yellow, the complete can. Next and final step is PS-5 as I want the yellow to be a bit darker. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badcrumble 4204 Posted October 7, 2021 I don't know if you need PS-5 @Aerobert, that looks great to me. This is is PS-6 backed with silver, then black. I'd be tempted to try it on some scrap first if you have any PS-6 left, just in case the black doesn't tone it down the way you intend. But then my Jeep is pretty bright! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aerobert 2145 Posted October 8, 2021 7 hours ago, Badcrumble said: I'd be tempted to try it on some scrap first if you have any PS-6 left, just in case the black doesn't tone it down the way you intend. But then my Jeep is pretty bright! You're right I should have make a test first. But as I don't think about that I've painted the whole can to get an even covering. I will try the PS-5 and see what happens. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites