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El Gecko

"Builds" vs. "Evolutions"

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Are any of your cars ever truly "done"? Mine aren't. They've been constantly evolving ever since they entered my life.

I think that's why I've never gotten bored with them--even though they all run (and are running fairly well now thanks to some new electronics) they're never really done the way I'd like them to be, so there's always something else to tinker with or improve.

What I've realized over the years in my other hobbies too, is that I don't need perfection in order to enjoy something. As long as I have my "nostalgia" stuff (things I've had since I was a kid, or a gift/hand-me-down from a family member or friend), with a few backups and decent interchangeability, and they all work well enough for me to have a bit of fun with, that's all that matters and I can upgrade as I go. How they look has historically been a distant consideration for me, although I'm paying more attention these days now that the mechanical side is a little more reliable.

As with my other hobbies, I may end up doing a newbuild eventually with everything planned out and perfect, but that's way down the horizon. There's a distinct possibility I may go the opposite direction and end up scratchbuilding my next chassis :ph34r:

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My ORVs will always be works in progress.  There will always be something that could be improved or moded or fixed or tweaked.  Its a proper Evolution.

My Dragon is a different story.  I planned out all the hop-ups, installed everything I thought I would want the first time around, and the only changes I've made have been to the motor.  It was a proper Build.

The Dragon was (and still is) very cool.  I liked how it all went together, I like how it performs, I liked hunting the parts and hop-ups.  But now that its built, the only thing I may ever do to it is maintenance.

My ORVs may change drastically from one moment to the next.  Currently, I'm thinking of stealing some ideas from the Dragon and applying them to my Bushy D, like suspension pins instead of screws.  I'm also thinking of adding a second set of shocks to the front to help with some of the slop.  And because it looks cool.

Terry

 

 

 

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Since I'm primarily a racer, I'm not very nostalgic about RC cars (with very few exceptions) and I tend to get all useful tuning options right from the beginning and build the car with them. There's rarely any chance for improvement later, so yes, I'd say most of my cars are done quite early in their life.

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I think it depends on the car.  My M38's are done.. vintage cars are done after they are restored to original specs and cleanly painted.  

Modern chassis I tend to get bored because they drive well after some hop ups.  So I start making one off versions of them for Willy and Billy.   Then they are done.  

I guess I'm not really into cars where just anyone with some extra cash can conveniently buy and build.   One-off cars rule.  well, for me at least.  

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Some of mine are "done" on the first build, good example being my M07R - only hopups added (shorty lipo straps, heatsink for the motor, and carbon shock towers) were done when I built it.

I have really enjoyed the evolution of some cars I've built though - it's been really nice to gradually hopup my CC02 & XV01 from stock, but I find it frustrating on some models. 

For anything that's going to be raced - I want it ready to race once build is done - I don't mind adding tuning parts, or parts for pure aesthetic reasons on race cars over time, but for something that's more casual / fun I find constantly evolving project cars more enjoyable.

Race cars that come with everything you need in the box are great though - was really refreshing recently to build an Xray. You know you can showup somewhere and chuck it down with all the stock parts and it's going to be absolutely fine on track (to be fair the TRF cars, M07R, and some of the TA/TB cars have also been like this though!).

My current evolution car is and XV01 that's slowly turning into a hopped up rally monster, but my next car is a TRF201 parts build that will have everything it needs to race on astro turf from day one 

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For me it varies between car.  Often I'll buy an NIB or a used, built runner and plan on keeping it stock.  Since most of my cars are bashers and I don't actually have that much opportunity to bash, there isn't any point in doing anything to them.  Although sometimes I'll plan in upgrades for reliability or performance.  An example - my KBF is a great runner but the steering is terrible, so I've long had plans to tear apart the front end and build my own improvements.

My race cars tend to be limited by class rules.  I prefer clubman classes, so generally once the car is built and the limited hop-ups added, that's it - it just stays like that.  After a couple of seasons it might get a new body, depending on how bad it's got.

I've often had plans to make custom improvements for my vintage racers - I recently saw an awesome modified Blitzer Beetle, and it would be great to take inspiration from that for my Bear Hawk.  Also I really want to do my own take on the TMS / Jim Davis Hotshot chassis.  But the Revival rules for modifications are going to get stricter for 2022, so it might not be worth the effort if I can't race it.  A Hotshot or Bear Hawk will never be competitive in a modern class no matter how modified they are, and if I can't race them in a vintage class either, then why would I do it?  "For the fun of it" is a good answer but if I don't even get to bash them that often, is it worth doing?  So possibly my vintage cars will remain static from now on.

Cars built for scale appearance will never be done.  My trail rigs and crawlers will always get more scale parts.  They won't always be improved for performance - last year my class 1 Toyota got smaller wheels and my SCX10 had a new body and reduced articulation because they looked better that way.  Much of what I add does nothing for performance, but makes the rig look better.  Adding a sticker to a rig after every event it has attended is something of a ritual.  Likewise, my big rigs will never be finished, even if they might sit untouched for 4 or 5 years.  Given how my finances look and how much prices are going up, it's possible my plans for my rigs won't come to fruition for a very long time.

My customs / scratch-builds - particularly my monster trucks - are another matter again.  I'm not competing against anyone but as they tend to handle like a pig when first built, performance improvements are not just fun but necessary to get some enjoyment out of driving them.  Adding scratch-built sway bars to my scratch-built 2.2 TLT-based monster was one of the best things I've done.  For now, that particular rig is "finished", but maybe I'll learn something from my next custom monster truck build and want to retrospectively apply it to my older ones.

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No, never...

I think as long as modern cars evolve, they'll be ideas to build into vintage cars.

For example, my Mid I thought was done, now has a Schumacher K2 multi plate slipper, and 3d printed lipo saddle holders, carbon towers etc, then thought it done. But now LCG saddles are getting harder to find ,and LiHv shorty lipos becoming the norm, I'm going to look at finding a way to mount a shorty, (across the belt, not to the side, surely a lipo is heavier than  a esc and rx? 🤔), and probably get a chassis and top deck made in carbon too! 

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The done-ness of my cars is largely dependent on the output of the hop-up industry.

I like to research each project beforehand and include any mods and/or hop-ups during the build, after which I consider the project complete. That is until someone comes up with a clever mod that could make it even better, or a useful hop-up part is released. I then go back to thinking of the project as unfinished again until said mod or hop-up is applied to once again finish it.

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My boomerang is mostly done. Changed tble02 to hw brushless esc for lipo cutoff and stock shock to aluminum, and other minor upgrades. Im keeping the front single shock setup, coz i think its a trademark. Shelf it for now as my tamiya rc first build momento and not going to change anything else.

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I tend to set out with a plan of where I want to go with a build, then accessorize or upgrade bit-by-bit until I've reached that goal.  Once I'm where I want to be, it's usually just driving enjoyment and maintenance.  

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Most of mine have evolved, my Stampede is probably the best example of that, it started 22 years ago as an abused 2nd hand truck with AM radio, mechanical speed control, all bronze bushings, the then current Dodge Ram style body and a 1500mAh NiCd pack. Over the years it’s had a Novak Rooster AND Super Rooster ESCs, not sure how many brushed motors leading to a VXL swap and gradually better radio systems from the stock Traxxas AM, to Futaba FM, now on the 2nd Gen of Traxxas 2.4 radios that have the stability control systems, went from NiCd, to NiMH, then LiPo batteries, tires, and stadium truck style bodies slammed over the chassis, which is at least 75% RPM parts now with bits and pieces of factory VXL model parts on it.

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