Tamiya Toyota Tom

[Webphut 11]

I got this kit a few weeks back still in shrink wrap. I had some left over Traxxas electronics so I dropped them in there and to my surprise it looks pretty decent with the blue. Anyways I thought it was kind of neat seeing a Tamiya with Traxxas electronics. I was not sure if anyone had gone this route before so I thought I would post it. I am just waiting on a Corally Pinion to show up in the mail. The motor shaft on the Traxxas Titan 380 is a bit short.  

[alvinlwh 5891]

2 hours ago, Webphut said:

 Anyways I thought it was kind of neat seeing a Tamiya with Traxxas electronics. I was not sure if anyone had gone this route before so I thought I would post it. 

I had considered using FTX "2 in 1" RX + ESC combo thing for my 370 cars as the Tamiya's own TRE-01 system is impossible to find for a sensible price where I am at. However I do not know enough about FTX to try using them. Still, interesting way of reusing old parts that you have on hand. 

[Webphut 11]

I always wanted to try painting flames and so I took the body from my TA05 and Americanized it. I started doing the flames. I had made the stencil and got the rattle can Tamiya paint and started, but in the end the flames got absorbed by the next coat of paint and well ..........LOL

I need to buy an airbrush and compressor and the necessary supplies to do it right. I know I can do it as I do have an artistic side to me. With a little luck and GOD given patience filled time in between the calls of "Daaaadddddy", I will be able to. Anyways this is kind of sort of what I am going to do with my Toyota Tom body. There will be less blurr, more flames and its RED, White, and Blue baby!

[Webphut 11]

I hate the tail piece! ugly...lol

[Webphut 11]

I am going to shorten up the Servo wire too. I been watching the u toob vids and I need to get the pliers, jaws, and connector and then I can do that. It will look cleaner.

[alvinlwh 5891]

It is almost impossible (as you found out) to stencil with a spray can as the spray is too strong and cannot be controlled. Yes, graffiti artists do it all the time, but they are doing it 1/1 scale, on the outside. Doing it on the inside of a 1/10 shell is just (almost) not possible. 

[Webphut 11]

I kind of figured that before trying it, but I wanted to see. I watched a few more vids this morning and I quickly realized I was actually doing it wrong. Hindsight is 20/20. LOL The stencils look to be home made for most these artists, but they all use nice airbrushes. I am going to buy a compressor/airbrush combo I think.  Also, patience! They all have this total kick back take your time attitude and it really is reflected in the finished product. I watched one guy purposely mess up real bad and then turned it into something really awesome.

 

[El Gecko 1343]

Probably the biggest problem with that paintjob was the initial coat getting absorbed by the subsequent colors. I had the same experience once, and it turned half of my bright orange car brown! (because the next color was blue) I really like how the colors on yours turned out though, kind of a cool fade thing going on that could look really ace with some sponsor decals and numbers.

I'm not sure if you're using actual stencils, but it is indeed possible to mask off the details and paint with spray cans, even on a car as small as 1:64! You just need to make sure to do a solid color backing coat behind each color, since they tend to be translucent. The Lexan body on this HO scale slot car has 4 coats of paint applied to the inside, using a mix of Tamiya and Pactra, and hand-cut masking tape for the stripes and windows: 1. metallic blue, backed by 2. the same gray as the windows, and then 3. the neon orange followed by 4. a white backing coat to make the orange pop. The grille and headlight detail was hand-painted (as you can probably guess) before any spray. If you used more colors or had more complicated designs, I could see 6-10 coats of paint easily, so the challenge then becomes how to mask (or unmask) so that everything is backed by the right color, without using too much extra paint.

[alvinlwh 5891]

27 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

I'm not sure if you're using actual stencils, but it is indeed possible to mask off the details and paint with spray cans, even on a car as small as 1:64! 

Masking yes, stencils no. They are different techniques in spraying. Masking gives a sharp edge whereas stenciling gives a feathered edge. 

[Pylon80 2622]

11 hours ago, Webphut said:

I got this kit a few weeks back still in shrink wrap. I had some left over Traxxas electronics so I dropped them in there and to my surprise it looks pretty decent with the blue. Anyways I thought it was kind of neat seeing a Tamiya with Traxxas electronics. I was not sure if anyone had gone this route before so I thought I would post it. I am just waiting on a Corally Pinion to show up in the mail. The motor shaft on the Traxxas Titan 380 is a bit short.  

Is the FM radio in the back a Traxxas too? 😜

[hIghQ 149]

Also on Lexan, always start with the dark colors and use the light ones after - never the other way around (unless you back the lighter color with white or silver first)!

[Webphut 11]

My radio? >---  I love my radio! Its my third one. It goes everywhere my pillow goes and I only sleep on my pillow. LOL, our daughters laugh at me and my wife says its gross, but I love my pillow. 

I listen to AM talk radio about 6 hours a day. CCRadio is the best radio I have found for tuning in AM stations. I have tried many radios and always end up back with my trusty CCRadio.

Very expensive for an AM Radio, but worth it. It does have FM, but I never use it for FM. I buy them from ccrane.com.

They start out as a Sangean radio. CCrane goes through them and modifies the antenna so AM stations can really be tuned in precisely.  Its just a darn good radio. Works on batteries too. I use batteries. 

 

Painting >--- I made a paper stencil real quick. It looked something like a flimsy French curve, but worked fine. Anything will work as long as the curves are not the same. The problem is I did not wait long enough between coats. Thus the paints just blead into each other.

That is impressive, the little 1/64 car you painted. 

Here is that TA05 Body I was messing with. I hate the way the rear tail piece came out, but it is what it is. I will do better on my RM-01 Body.

[alvinlwh 5891]

1 hour ago, Webphut said:

Painting >--- I made a paper stencil real quick. It looked something like a flimsy French curve, but worked fine. Anything will work as long as the curves are not the same. The problem is I did not wait long enough between coats. Thus the paints just blead into each other.

That, is your main problem. 

Also, what you have done may work on the outside of the body but is very difficult to get it to work on the inside due to the body trapping the spray throwing it around. 

So... If you insist of using stencil and spray can, my tip to you is, use double sided tape, a few mm from the edge, tape the stencil down to the inside of the body. Spray from the paper side, at a 45 degree angle so that the paint will not force itself down the stencil. 

Personally, I still don't think this will work well, a cheap'o airbrush will serve you better, even if you do not want to go the whole hog with compressor and dual action airbrush, then just a starter set with canned air maybe enough. RC cars are rather large 1/10 scale so you probably will not need pencil thin precision. It is possible to decan spray into an airbrush if you still want to use PS paint. 

[El Gecko 1343]

4 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

That, is your main problem.

Agreed, and the paper may have let the next coat bleed through once it got saturated (unless the stencil was different each time).

However, seeing it on the chassis with the details added--it looks like something straight out of Burnout Paradise (in a good way). @Webphut I really like it! And it's unique, so you'll always know which car is yours

[Webphut 11]

LOL, thank you all once again. I been painting rc car bodies like this since my first one when I was a kid. I always liked being different with my painting. I am going to get me a airbrush and proper stencils and that thin-line tape for pinstriping. There's a PPG store close to me. 

[Webphut 11]

I received the pinion gear. If anyone swaps out a Tamiya 380 motor for a different motor, it may have a shorter shaft. This is what I found when I replaced the Tamiya 380 with the Traxxas Titan 380. The shaft is roughly .375" to .500" shorter. After some searching on the web, I was able to find this;

https://www.corally.com/Pignons-Couronnes/Pignons-48DP/48DP-Long-Acier-3.17mm/Team-Corally-48-DP-Pinion-Long-Boss-Hardened-Steel-17-Teeth-3.17mm/

 

I installed it and it just fits. It has clearance but only a few thousandths of an inch. I had to file down the top of the set screw so it would not rub on motor mount, but other than that it works like a champ. Well contour the top of the screw is probably a more correct, and this was so the top of the set screw followed the outside diameter of the pinion gear shank.

I have all the airbrush stuff except for the compressor. I bought the Patriot 105. I found a good deal on one of them California Air Tools light and quiet compressors for $95 with free shipping out of China. Just waiting for it to arrive and then i can start learning to airbrush.

[Webphut 11]

Just an update as for the progress on my Toyota Tom. I finally received all the airbrushing stuff and dove head first into the paint. I grabbed some old box and whipped up a few stencils and tried my hand at it. For my first time airbrushing, I am quite surprised at how my practice piece came out. Mind you, it is not all professional looking and I have some things to figure out before I start a new practice board, but after a few different colors, i think I got the jest of it.