Aeroberts Project Thread - Currently a Top Force chassis

[Aerobert]

As already posted in the "Postman-thread" I've picked up a lot of three cars and two radios today.

These cars were owned by the cousin of my wife who died way too young almost 20 years ago. His parents gave away a lot of his stuff to his friends but these three stayed up to now. Now they found them again and though it's broken and just garbage and wanted to throw them in the bin. My wife told them they should bring it to my in-laws and I will have a look. It's definitely too good for the bin.

The first one is the CC-01 Isuzu Mu with low ride kit. The body is incomplete, but everything else seems to be in decent shape. I will rebuild it for their grandsons if they want it.

Next one is a M-02. Also not complete as at least the battery bracket is missing. But it looks like new and includes a Mini body which also seems to be like new. I will keep it for myself and maybe put the Escort on the chassis.

The third car is something I don't know, never had something like this. It's got a funny Beetle shell. Maybe someone knows what it is and could give me a hint. Don't know what to do with it, time will tell.

The last part of the lot are two old Futaba 40 MHz radios. One Megatech FM and a Megatech Junior. Also not sure what to do with them. Maybe just for display as I love the look of the Megatech FM.

So, I guess I have enough to do for the next few months. It will start with a good clean...

 

[bavee]

Some nice pieces of familiy history you've got there! Have fun saving them.

[Aerobert]

Long time nothing posted in my own project thread. But now I've (almost) finished the build of my TD4 Super Avante. The build started this time in a different way as usual as I first done the body or at least the most of it. The plan was to adapt the design of the P-47 Thunderbolt as I think the Super Avante body has some visual connections to those planes. The body was cut, sanded and masked and then sprayed with a few thin layers of PS-48 Silver anodized aluminum followed by black. After removing some of the masking tape I sprayed some PS-34 bright red backed with white and again black. After removing the protective film I had some dilemma as the layers of PS-48 weren't thick enough and the result doesn't remindes me on a WW2 fighter plane anymore. The first thing I though of was the McLaren F1 cars from the Kimi Räikkönnen era. So I decided to set some accents with black Oracal 751C car vinyl around the recesses on the side pots and the nose. In the end the disappointment of the partial insufficient coverage is gone and I like the outcome very much.

The build of the chassis was fun and very smooth. I had directly installed universals an the front axle, the slipper clutch, the aluminum diff nuts and the metal bevel gears. The plan was to install a brushless motor which I have i stock but due to the cable routing it is impossible to fit. Therefore currently an older 12T brushed motor is installed.

The first run at very warm weather around 30°C was fun but short. After about 5-6 minutes the esc (WP1060) shut down due to thermal problems. At that time the motor was already very hot. I need to think about a better air flow inside the car. Currently everything is very tight which has the pleasant benefit that even when car was very dusty on the outside there was almost no dirt inside the car. The downside are the thermal problems. Maybe I will cut some vent holes in the body. Another challenge on this chassis is the lack of space inside. with a standard racing pack everything is very tight. I have some slightly problems to fit the Sanwa receiver in it as it collides with the clip which put the steering  together. Currently I'm thinking of removing Paranoid Perry and change to shorty Lipos for this car.

The car itself handles very well. It's smooth and suggested that it will handle a lot more power than 12 brushed turns on 2S lipo. So I will increase my search for a brushless motor with enough power and a suitable cable routing for a reasonable price. Additionally I will do something with the wheels. The kit wheels are now on my Dirt Trasher and look great on it. The white wheels are looking a bit odd, so I've ordered a sheet of bright red vinyl and some metallic silver grey. I have something in mind but I have to see if I can realize it.

But here are some more pic of the for now finished car...

 

Here you can see the dark spots where the PS-48 didn't cover enough and also a close up of the vinyl sticker. The black 'winglet' behind the canopy is painted:

 

I'm currently unsure about the fenders. On one side..., but on the other... 

 

Was unsure where to cut the wing, so I didn't cut it at all:

 

The body post still needs to be cut.

[Room335]

Great job @Aerobert. I think you’re onto something by conjuring images of those old fighter planes. I think this color scheme is so much more pleasing than box art (no disrespect to Avante purists!)

[Aerobert]

9 minutes ago, Room335 said:

Great job @Aerobert. I think you’re onto something by conjuring images of those old fighter planes. I think this color scheme is so much more pleasing than box art (no disrespect to Avante purists!)

Thank you! I think the PS-48 suits the body form very well.

[jonboy1]

I think this looks absolutely awesome @Aerobert - love the colour scheme, it suits the lines of the body really well!

[Re-Bugged]

Liking that a lot Mr @Aerobert I’ve just walked past these in the past, but yours stopped me in my tracks to take a proper look 👍🏻

[Big Jon]

Love your TD4!

The little VW Bug is a Bolink Digger.

[Aerobert]

21 hours ago, jonboy1 said:

I think this looks absolutely awesome @Aerobert - love the colour scheme, it suits the lines of the body really well!

 

19 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Liking that a lot Mr @Aerobert I’ve just walked past these in the past, but yours stopped me in my tracks to take a proper look 👍🏻

 

5 hours ago, Big Jon said:

Love your TD4!

The little VW Bug is a Bolink Digger.

Thank you guys, very appreciated.

And thank you @Big JonJon for the hint with the Bolink.

[Aerobert]

After more than 20 months I think I like to revive my own thread. Today I started to build my new Top Force 47350. I will not be build strictly to the manual, as it will not be a Top Force in the end. The plan is to build the chassis for my Dirt Thrasher. I've been thinking of converting my Dirt Thrasher to the FRP chassis of the Top Force for a long time, filled web shop baskets with parts, deleted them again as other things or projects came in the way. Eventually the German Tamiya distributor has some kind of Easter lottery where you could win discounts on their web shop. I won a 20% discount and got the Top Force for 176€ shipped. Pretty good deal I would say (atbleast for a German web shop).

As said before it will not be build to the manual as things like the aluminium gears will be replaced directly by the plastic ones. As the DF-01 chassis of the Dirt Trasher is currently not longer needed I raided some parts out of it like dampers, aluminium parts and turn buckles. 

I will not do a build thread but post some progress randomly. 

Picture of the day:

[Aerobert]

With April weather on this Sunday I had some time to continue the build of the chassis. I replaced all kit screws by hex head stainless steel screws. I've installed a aluminium center shaft, DF-03 aluminium shocks and adjustable turnbuckles. 

[Aerobert]

Finished the chassis.

Today I should receive a Tamico delivery with a new Terra Scorcher / Dirt Thrasher body as the old one is old and beaten. Additionally some other tires as the kit tires are to aggressiv for my garden, causing grip rolls all the time.

[Aerobert]

And only 7 weeks later the car is finished. Job is keeping me busy currently and when I come home the enthusiasm to work on a RC is not so high at the moment. But still manage to paint and sticker the car over the last weeks. The paint job was quit ambitious for my standard and my skills and is far from perfect. But the stickering was more on the easy side as only put a few stickers on it. The wing is wrapped with car foil as I'm not happy with it. It is the wing of a Kyosho Javelin, but for my taste it is too small for a Dirt Thrasher. Additionally it came with a light distortion which was a little bit a a let down after all the effusive prais for the Kyosho quality. Original plan was to paint the wing which is now cancelled. I will look further for a suitable wing for the Dirt Thrasher body. The undertray is the one from the Top Force kit which was a tad too wide. I've cut it down to the size of the chassis plate. It has now no function for keeping debris out of the chassis but will help to keep the chassis plate free from scratches. 

Overall I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Almost a bit scared to run it and damage it. 

As said before the chassis got new wheels and tires fitted. Sorry for crappy indoor pictures, I will take some better outside when weather and time allows.

Now to the next project where I'm right now already a little bit under pressure as it will be my holiday beach runner this year. And holidays starting in 2.5 weeks. Time's running...

[jonboy1]

Love it! Ultimate buggy mash-up giving the Terra Scorcher/Dirt Thrasher the chassis it deserved. Think the stripes on the under tray are fantastic!  

What's the beach runner going to be? 

[Aerobert]

1 hour ago, jonboy1 said:

Love it! Ultimate buggy mash-up giving the Terra Scorcher/Dirt Thrasher the chassis it deserved. Think the stripes on the under tray are fantastic!  

What's the beach runner going to be? 

Thank you! The beach runner for this year will be a TD2 with a Mad Fighter body on it. Not finished completely yet. Still need some paint after a first try with pearl white which wasna success at all. And some minor problems to fix. But be ready on time.