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Team Durango Dex410 Build Thread

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Indeed, it's NOT A TAMIYA! It's the Team Durango DEX410. 'Exclusive, expensive, and sacrilege to even look on their website in the first place' - Or is it? :)

From the first time I saw the DEX410 I loved the looks of it, the engineering ideas behind it... I knew I had to get one at some point. A few weeks back I saw an original (=2009 spec) NIB Team Durango on ebay. I made a deal with the seller and received it. It's serial number TD00555. I checked it with Team Durango, and yes, this is the 555th DEX410 ever produced! Not very relevant now you might think, but in a few years highly collectible I expect! (And a nice touch to your car as a collector).

I started building the car yesterday night, and decided to take pictures of the build. So here it is then, the build thread of my DEX410!

The first thing to behold is the box. It just looks stunning! Satin, Matt kind of finish to it, and then the logos and a few lines are thickly printed onto it afterwards in gloss. Hard to see on the pictures, but believe me, a work of art!

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As I had already opened the box before the pictures, the inside was a bit messy and not like Durango would deliver it to you. Therefor, I nicely put everything on a table to make pictures of it:

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All parts have such an amazing finish. The plastic parts have VERY accurate and precise moulds, you might notice it later in the build pictures. And everything - no exceptions - feels high-quality. Even the bags in which the parts are feel like they are expensive... It's soft and feels silky. There aren't any staples to be found, and many of the aluminum parts are seperated by putting them into even more bags, so nothing can become scratched. The manual is glossy and has CAD images in it - I like Tamiya's manuals a bit more (their drawings are so cool and can be more clear at times), although I must say the high quality paper is very nice. What's also really nice is that the stages of the build match to the bags. So apart from cutting some plastic parts off their sprues, you just need the bag with the corresponding letter to do that part of the build (or at least that's the plan - it doesn't correspond 100% everywhere as I needed to open the bag that came that came after a certain stage sometimes to finish the stage I was working on - still works well though).

Anyway, I'll just start building...

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The first step is using Bag A (Step 1) - The Slipper Clutch:

The parts for building the slipper:

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Putting it together seems straight forward. However, if you read the Oople review (like I did prior to the build), you'll know that some trial and error is needed to get the slipper pads fitted right. They are a tight fit and tend to pop out. So a normally easy job turns to a challenge right away. I inserted the pads until they were almost fully in on every corner, then put the pressure plate against it. I then pushed it completely in and at the same time put some pressure on the plate to make sure it didn't pop out. Do the same on the other side and it will be done quickly and easily ;) It's a light unit, and although the slipper pads seemed like brass to me on the pictures on Oople (which wouldn't make sense), they are (luckily) of a far lighter material. I don't know what material it is, but it's definetely not the kind of ceramic disc Tamiya uses - perhaps it's not even ceramic on the DEX410... :)

Anyway, here is the finished result:

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After this, you open Bag B and you take the diff housings and oil out of their bags, because it's time for (you guessed it), the Differentials (Step 2 and 3):

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The diffs are very nice in my opinion - I wasn't a fan of ball diffs initially, and still I'd prefer a gear diff over a ball diff (especially if you can put oil in it), so these diffs in theory are just perfect. The outdrives slide in after having greased the axle of it, a rubber ring and a washer go into both ends (on the inside) of the diff and the axles are retained with C-clips. It was a bit difficult to fit the C-clip in the plastic diff housing, as long nose pliers are too big to fit between the clip and the side of the diff housing when it's not yet snapped on. The bearings are fitted to the outside of the diffhousings, and it's funny to see that Team Durango used copper or brass rings for the metal to metal surfaces (bearing and ring gear), and aluminum or steel (silver coloured metal anyway) for the plastic to metal surfaces.

Following this is putting the internals together. You need to push bevel gears onto the axles, and this requires quite a lot of force. On Oople they called it 'a few gentle taps', but instead, I was busy for 10-15 minutes getting them on (so I doubt whether they'll be able to ever come off again). It can be done though, just be patient and make sure you put them on straight to ease the process a bit further. Then the small bevel gears are added, along with their axles and some shims. It's a bit fiddly but it works, and once you get them in, they fall into place perfectly and you are again reminded to the quality this kit is engineered at. You can add the gear oil after that (Included is a big bottle of 2000WT oil) and it's ready to be assembled.

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This requires a 1.3mm hex driver, and whilst I thought they wouldn't have it, a local tool specialist did have them (so I wasn't actually expecting to be building it so soon)!

And once assembled, they look like this:

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Who cares if its not Tamiya...everyone likes a properly detailed build thread. Nice work.

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Who cares if its not Tamiya...everyone likes a properly detailed build thread. Nice work.

Hehe thanks :) I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the build thread as well. There's much more to come of what I did today, so I better continue quickly!

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Up Next: Driveshaft and Gearbox assembly (Step 4 and 5):

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These are the first steps where you'll be joining completed components: The diff and the driveshafts. First though, you have to assemble the driveshafts. It's funny to see that the manual shows a different type of driveshaft than the one you actually get with the car. It's also very nice to see how nicely machined these shafts and parts really are. very nice and flowing lines, attention to detail, and small differences in design from what the existing big brands do, it's nice to see that.

After putting the driveshafts together, they look like this:

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Then it's time to put the whole lot together in the gearboxes. Both boxes are the same, apart from the driveshaft length. The gearboxes are very nicely made, the moulds for these parts are very accurate. No play whatsoever, and there runs a rib/profile over the side of the seams so that they are fully closed without the need for anything else to seal it off. The finished gearboxes look like this:

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Up next is one of the features that clearly distinguishes the looks of the DEX410 from the competition: It is time for Bag D (and part of Bag N), the assembly of the first Main Chassis Parts (Step 6,7 and 8):

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You might notice that the two chassis rails appear to have a slightly different shade of grey. This is because they are a slightly different shade. A tiny imperfection really in my opinion, I actually like it (makes mine recognizeable from the rest once finished). Apart from that, the parts look absolutely flawless! Amazing finish, high-quality anodizing, right choice of colours and breaking the trend of the flashy anodized aluminum parts nicely :)

The assembly is pretty straight forward. The chassis rails are just screwed on, you screw the two pieces of the motor mount together and you then screw the motor mount onto the car to end up with this:

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Beautiful build thread.

I have a Dex410 myself and I absolutely enjoyed the build.

The Germans know how to build cars, and Durango are the Mercedes of the RC makers. Tamiya would be Toyota then I guess, but the TRF511 is right up there with the Durango, so that would have to be Lexus :lol:

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Beautiful build thread.

I have a Dex410 myself and I absolutely enjoyed the build.

The Germans know how to build cars, and Durango are the Mercedes of the RC makers. Tamiya would be Toyota then I guess, but the TRF511 is right up there with the Durango, so that would have to be Lexus :lol:

:P Yeah the DEX410 is quite exclusive. Although I must say that (at least this early version I have here) has the tolerances so small that some of it's design features that should ease working on it actually come undone. You will notice that later on in the thread (I'm currently still adding pictures of yesterday).

I'll finish Bag D now... The chassis is put together, and this will give you some pictures of the Carbon shock towers! (Step 8):

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The ball connectors are slightly different than you might be used to from Tamiya. You have a small ball and a collar (the orange piece) which together are fitted to a screw. It is sure good looking, but not actually as practical as one piece ones or ones with a hex collar like the Tamiya ones. The materials are much harder than Tamiya's aluminum and copper ball connectors though, which is nice B)

After fitting these pieces, you have to fit what looks like what will be a body mount, and to the chassis you will fit a suspension mount/block and a plastic part with a ring in which the gearboxes will be aligned later on. A small step, but here's a picture anyway:

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Following to this is Bag E (Step 9,10 and 11), where the carbon parts will be joined to the chassis with bulkheads:

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The parts fit together pretty tight, the tolerances are extremely small. It took me a while to put it together, but afterwards, it was my lack of ability to line up the parts correctly the first time (as I am used to kits with bigger tolerances). What is funny though is that once the screws have started threading into the plastic, they are surprisingly easy to screw in. It was much harder with my TRF201 to do this, and many parts even had to be threaded before screwing it in - even though both plastics are definetely of a hard, reinforced type. I've even had screws being harder to screw in on my DF03! This is how it looks once fitted.

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Now the bulkheads are fitted, it's time to open Bag F and fit the lower suspension arms and the battery holder (the last of which is not pictured in parts):

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The suspension arms have the same length as the Tamiya TRF501X ones. However, they are a bit beefier. The suspension pins are milled down in the middle section, I think it is to make the friction lower and/or to make it the first part to break in a crash. The suspension balls are steel and there are rings on either side of the rear suspension arms, and in front of the front suspension arms. The arms are fitted to the car by adding a front and rear block/brace, as the other pairs were fitted earlier. Everything went together pretty nicely on the front end and everything moves extremely smooth and without play. On the rear however, the fit was a bit tight, and I decided to sand down the thick rear rings to make it move freely. I removed 0.1mm, it's now much better but I may remove some more as it's still not moving as freely as the front. The car is now finally starting to look like a car:

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I then went to assemble the battery holder to it's pivoting point. I decided that I would be using the LiPo holder because it's more fitting to this age where LiPo is more suitable for the high performance demands of modern motors, even though the Sub-C mount actually looks better. It's a tight fit to get the thin pin through, but once assembled, very smooth (and it's a very light construction too). I then wanted to fit the battery holder snap pin, but there was a catch... It was a little too true to it's name, and it snapped!

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I immediately contacted Team Durango to ask if I could order one without the high postage costs (26 euros by UPS is the cheapest postage in their store). I got a quick reply with the message that they will send me a replacement one! :D

Anyway, despite the battery holder snap pin, the result is as desired:

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Why is the number 555 so collectable then?

I'd have thought #410 would be the collectable one? Or am I missing something.

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Why is the number 555 so collectable then?

I'd have thought #410 would be the collectable one? Or am I missing something.

1. It´s among the first 1000 ever produced :D

2. For some strange reason, people seem to prefer numbers that end with a 5 or a 0 - and preferably they'd like the first one, the 100th one, etc... But as those are not out there in big numbers, they quickly start looking at the other numbers as well Just for fun, an example: The TRF414X (touring car prototype) was numbered on the chassis (the rear bulkhead to be exact). You can bet on it that on average, a collector would pay more for say #50 than for #51.

And yes, I think the 410th Durango would become just as collectible :P Or even more as it refers to the '410' of the DEX410.

The only thing is, a batch of 1000 could be a lot if the production numbers are low (and the car wouldn't be rare). However, they are high enough to afford making what I think could be amongst the most expensive moulds for plastic parts in the RC (car) industry, as these moulds are beyond any detail and accuracy I've ever seen on an RC car.

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Time to add the next step to the thread: Bag G (Step 16, 17. 18 and 19) - The steering assembly:

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It's a pretty unique setup I have to say. I've never seen a servo before that had a steering brace (to which both arms mount) that goes over the servo. It's a very neat system and saves loads of space on the car - which is also necessary to have any space for the electronics too!

Anyway, assembling it is not too hard, apart from tightening the two nyloc nuts and screws that connect the brace with the steering arms. There is not enough space to use a box wrench once it's about 60-70% on it's way to being fully tightened. I decided to protect the black anodizing with a cloth, get my plumber wrench to have as much grip on it as possible and tighten it by screwing the hex screw further into the nut. I could've turned the nuts around but I really wanted to build the car as described in the manual :lol: I got away with just minor scratches on the anodizing of the nut, so I guess it's not too bad. I decided not to fit a servo (or any other electronics) as it's a shelfer anyway. There is a plastic framework put over this assembly after it's been fitted to the car (I didn't picture this in the 'before assembly' picture), and it now looks like this:

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It's time for step 20, 21 and 22, which includes using Bag H, the slipper clutch and the gearboxes:

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First off, it's time for fitting the slipper clutch. According to Team Durango, the Oople review and probably others too, this should be done in seconds. However, I spent at least 10 minutes fitting it :) No, I hadn't put the slipper clutch in backwards. The problem was that the holes of the plastic cover didn't like up 100% with the aluminum part - it was only about 0.1-0.25mm of misalignment. However, the quick release clip has no smoothed edges on the ends of it, so it didn't actually go into the plastic part. A bit of sandpaper or a vile will do - but I wanted to keep it looking shiny and original and everything (I did sand the shims on the rear suspension as you don't actually see the modification of it), so I took the time to get it in without modifying it. Eventually, it did go in, and luckily the clip went from the plastic through the second aluminum bit without any trouble really. Here is the proof that I did complete it :)

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The diffs went in next. It was much easier than the slipper clutch. The front will get a cover over it later on in the build (as that same cover also retains the front stabilizer). On the rear there are aluminum retaining pieces though, and these are fitted in step 22, to make a very rigid rear end (although I have to add that it's extremely rigid already at the rear end before fitting them). Here are some pictures of the diffs fitted to the car:

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We're not done with the drivetrain yet though, so the universals will be built next in step 23 and 24, where Bag I is used:

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The universal shafts are quite similar to the shafts used between the gearboxes and the slipper clutch, so it should be easy to assemble them. However, I had to put the rubber boots on the driveshafts first. Like the Oople review mentioned, it's indeed easier using the nicely round joint side instead of the dogbone side. However, using a tiny dab of diff oil is seriously recommended, as it will ease putting them on a lot, and as they are really thin (to ensure a free suspension movement), it will possibly reduce the risk of tearing them when putting them on. The shafts are then assembled, and a plastic bushing (not pictured) is added inside every rubber boot at the outdrive side to fit them onto the outdrives later on. This is how it looks:

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Before completing the drivetrain, it's necessary to do the assembly of the uprights. This means that I need to use the shafts I just assembled, Bag J and closely look at the manual:

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The last thing however is something I should have done BEFORE starting the assembly. On one of the front uprights, I had already put both bearings in (which fit very tightly), when I noticed that I forgot to add a spacer between them. That meant getting one of either bearings out. Worst of all was that I didn't learn from that mistake, and made the same mistake on one of the rear uprights! I did fix this however, and decided that I should look in the manual as carefully as I did in the beginning ;) Anyway, here is the finished result, done right.

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Time for the last parts of the build to be added to the build thread :)

Now the uprights are assembled, it's time to complete the suspension assembly, add the front gearbox retainer and the stabilizers in Step 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 using Bag K and previously assembled parts.

First up, mounting the uprights and driveshafts to the car:

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It's a pretty straight forward part of the build. You line up the uprights and put the shafts through, you line up the driveshafts and click the plastic pieces of the boots to the outdrives (which works very nicely) and you tighten the shaft of the upright with a grub screw in the upright. It's funny to see that although the lower arms share some of the TRF501X/511 geometry, on these arms it is possible to actually push in the shaft from both ends (The TRFs have a smaller hole on one side and on the other side the shaft is retained by a broad headed screw). I might prefer the way the shafts are retained on the Tamiya ones, but needless to say this works well too as long as you do threadlock the grub screw that goes into the front uprights (they may come loose without as the front uprights are made of aluminum).

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To be Continued, as I stupidly didn´t backup my edit and lost everything I wrote down about the remaining parts of the suspension and everything about the dampers - and I need some sleep right now B)

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nice thread. there are a few of these cars that race at my local track, they are fast!

i'm tempted to get one but the class is so competetive and i'm not that good of a driver. lol

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nice thread. there are a few of these cars that race at my local track, they are fast!

i'm tempted to get one but the class is so competetive and i'm not that good of a driver. lol

Thanks :) I was stupid enough to lose the last part of my build thread though when I was searching for the translation of a word (I didn't use a new tab but being sleepy I guess made me use the tab in which I was editing the thread) - anyhow, I'll continue now with the suspension... So where was I? :)

Ok, sorted. I'll continue at Step 29, where the adjustable suspension and stabilizer links are put together. In the picture below you can see the links, adjusters and all parts necessary for completing the suspension assembly:

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These parts once more show how well made this kit is. The retainer/cover of the front gearbox is just so detailed for example, and not just the logo on the front. The pieces that slide over the cylindrical edges of the gearbox (in which the bearings are seated) are so sharp that you could almost cut yourself if you don't watch out. It is so detailed that it's hard to believe that these parts are moulded, not machined! And then there are the adjusters, which are moulded with the holes in the top for easy removal of the top links without damaging them. The turnbuckles are of titanium and very accurately made as well. To make sure you can tell difference between the rotation directions of the threads, they made tiny cuts on the anticlockwise side. All suspension and tie-rod turnbuckles have the same length, apart from the small differences of length you make with the adjusters that is.

As usual, I ended up with a sore hand and a blister on one of my fingers because I tightened the turnbuckles by hand. Afterwards I could just as well have put an allen key through the hole of the adjuster to use it as a lever - however, being me, I never do it the easy way, with or without intent :P

The tie rods and upper arms were added to the car, and I started on the stabilizers. The balls were put on the stabilizer rods, the grub screws in the retainers of the stabilizers (to reduce play when using the thinner stabilizers like I did - a very nice feature to make it fit as well as the rest of the car) and the parts were tightened onto the car. The result was a car that felt like it was coming to life - The seperate parts were awesome, but seeing it together makes the experience complete :)

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I'll quickly continue with Bag L. This is the assembly of the dampers (Step 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38).

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Once I had laid out all parts for the picture, I was surprised by the amount of parts involved to assemble the dampers. However, if I think about it, any competition damper has about this many parts. However, this doesn't mean these dampers are the same as the ones of the competition. These dampers use rubber boots, a nice feature for prolonged consistent and leak-free dampers. Another very clever and perhaps more important feature are the way the pistons are connected to the shafts. It doesn't use the nasty C-clips (actually the car doesn't use any of the small C-clips for 3mm shafts at all in the build), which I really LOVE about these dampers. They use a screw instead (which you do need to threadlock pretty well), which I think makes it possible to swap pistons without taking the shaft and piston out fist - and a smoother surface of the piston for in theory more consistent flow of the oil and movement of the dampers. The last thing that didn't so much surprise me - but shocked me ('nice pun man' :P) - was the weight of the damper parts (the cylinder specifically)! You could easily fail to notice you actually having anything in your hands because it's so light!

Anyway, I shall stop promoting Team Durango and start taking you through the build of the dampers. The manual needs to be watched carefully when the O-rings and other ring-ish stuff is put into the bottom part of the dampers - On the CAD drawings it's sometimes a bit hard to see which direction or certain parts need to go up (as some are not symmetrical), but once you've done one succesfully, it's easy. The piston is put onto the the shaft and the rubber boot is pulled over the shaft. Like the driveshaft boots, it is easier to put on some diff or damper oil on the shaft (this time on the thread) to ease putting them on. The lower mount of the damper is screwed on and the boots are now pulled over the bottom part of the damper cylinder. It is a good tight fit, it's sad they won't fit on any damper (but then again, I'm happy Team Durango didn't make the boots universal for any car, it would compromise the fit on this car).

The oil is poured in and... I should have put the screw in the pre-drilled hole of the cap first, because when I put the cap on after filling, I had to watch out not to spill the oil out through the hole of the cap. A mistake I made twice, too :lol: It made things more interesting, keeping the oil in and the table (and the dampers) clean :)

The pre-tension rings are then put on. These, like the TRF dampers (and probably any competition damper these days) use rubber O-rings for a firm rotation of the rings, so they don't change their setting while running. The springs and bottom caps are put onto the dampers, and they're done! I should've taken pictures of them while still off the car, but in my enthusiasm, I forgot that and put them straight onto the car. It uses beautiful mounts with crowns to spread stresses more evenly on the tower, and it fits tightly but easily into the holes of the shock towers. One nut on one end of each to retain the mounts, on the other end a nut to retain the dampers. The bottom sides of the dampers were quickly tightened too, and here is the result:

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With another piece to add - a plastic base plate for the electronics and the antenna (very nice feature for easy removal off the car), the Chassis is done!!! :D I am not yet done with the car though... Where are those wheels, tires, and the iconic body and wing? :)

Uh, Sorry... Like excitement got me carried away without making pictures, the same happened with cutting the body and wing, and adding the tires and wheels. I'm now charging my camera for some pictures - if lighting allows it, some outside pictures too! I'll promise you to provide these soon! :)

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That is a lovely enginered car.

I want one.

Is it going to be run.

Then get one - although I want to add that for running one, you'd probably need the money to buy 3 NIB DEX410's (1 for the car, 1 for the electronics and 1 for spares if/when stuff wears out) - that's about 1500 euros.

That's the partial reason why this will actually be a shelfer. The other reason is that this car is too nice to run (at least if you only have one of them :lol:), and if I were to run one, I'd get a 2010 version (which doesn't have the small imperfections this had being from the first batch).

Anyway, there wasn't enough time to make outside pictures, so these will have to do for now:

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I love it! :)

As you see, it's now got white springs... I thought the white TRF damper springs looked better with the car and it's white wheels, so hence why I added them... A small touch and the only thing on the car that's not in stock form. I still want to make a ballast weight in the shape of the Saddle packs, so the ride height is better (the setup sheets on the Team Durango website show that it's run at 19-20mm ride height - it's currently at 28-ish mm).

It is for I don't have the money for it, but if I could easily afford it, I'd immediately get myself a DNX408 as well (which the distributors ordered so many of that Team Durango can't supply the distributors new kits until March next year - they are available at the moment though from the distributors). 1/8th scale buggies aren't really in my interest zone, let alone Nitro powered cars, but the design really struck me - The aluminum chassis plate is unique I think - I've never seen an aluminum chassis plate which was machined not only in shape, but also for varying thickness! The parts are again put together very clever, using similar design ideas as the DEX410. The only thing I do hope that Team Durango doesn't stick too much to the same design in the future - as happened with the Tenth Technology/Team Xtreme Predator cars for example.

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Outstanding pictures.

I also have one of these great cars, and like you I was more interested in building it than running it. I am also attracted to the larger version because of the engineering values in it. But as I am not interested in I.C. power, I can’t justify the cost for just another ornament to put on a shelf.

My own DEX410 is serial no. 444, though it is one of the first versions which I built in October 2009. I have not updated it, though it has most of the tricks and mods incorporated from another forum. Fitted out with ‘standard’ Spektrum mini receiver, Tekin RS Pro ESC, 10.5 Redline motor, Thunder Ace digital servo and LiPo cells, the electrics were also an interesting build.

My revival of interest in rc cars came from the reissue of the Buggy Champ (I had an original Sand Scorcher), and having built that car from the dawn of the off-road model car craze I though it would be interesting to sample the current state-of-the-art.

The Durango is of course much faster than the SRB (even with an Orion 19t motor, racing ESC and ball diff) and, as is often the case with performance road cars, is far easier and more satisfying to drive.

Now I am wondering about the impending Avanti reissue, though that would of course be a bit of a step down from the 410. :blink:

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Outstanding pictures.

I also have one of these great cars, and like you I was more interested in building it than running it. I am also attracted to the larger version because of the engineering values in it. But as I am not interested in I.C. power, I can’t justify the cost for just another ornament to put on a shelf.

My own DEX410 is serial no. 444, though it is one of the first versions which I built in October 2009. I have not updated it, though it has most of the tricks and mods incorporated from another forum. Fitted out with ‘standard’ Spektrum mini receiver, Tekin RS Pro ESC, 10.5 Redline motor, Thunder Ace digital servo and LiPo cells, the electrics were also an interesting build.

My revival of interest in rc cars came from the reissue of the Buggy Champ (I had an original Sand Scorcher), and having built that car from the dawn of the off-road model car craze I though it would be interesting to sample the current state-of-the-art.

The Durango is of course much faster than the SRB (even with an Orion 19t motor, racing ESC and ball diff) and, as is often the case with performance road cars, is far easier and more satisfying to drive.

Now I am wondering about the impending Avanti reissue, though that would of course be a bit of a step down from the 410. ;)

Nice to hear you're enjoying the hobby ;) The Avante could be considered a step downward from the DEX410, but that's performance wise mainly. There are also some materials that they nowadays wouldn't use on a competition car, but that doesn't matter: The ideas behind the Avante were to make it so state of the art, that it became one of it's flaws I guess. Tamiya would have ended up with a more succesful car if they had started the project 4-6 years later I think. I'm glad they didn't though, as now it's a milestone in Tamiya's history, and otherwise, it wouldn't have been that even nearly so much as it is now :)

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That's a really nice piece of kit. The center slipper and gear diffs are pure quality. I really like the rubber boots over the shafts and shocks. The body is beautiful!

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