PraetoR

Thanks, both!

Geez, it's been almost 2 years! I totally fell-off this project. Partially, because I have so many other projects to finish and partially, honestly, I was slightly doubting myself. The part I was about to tackle was critical and there would only be one chance! Anyway, I decided to just get on with it. I know I have the skills to do something like this, so long as I take my time and measure things, properly. So, the mounting system I decided on utilises these shelving L-brackets. I had to drill a 3mm hole in the rear two, as that was the only way to get the ride height where I wanted it. I used the existing metal chassis brace, which already has 3mm threaded holes, so that works perfect and is plenty strong. As there is only one mounting hole, there is a chance that these will pivot, causing the "bodyshell" (The Winnebago, itself), to tilt out of place, but I had a plan for that, as you will see. I'm going to cut the brackets, below the frame. I'll also paint them, to make them less conspicuous. Sitting the Winnebago on top of the rear mounts gave a pretty good fit, right off the bat! For the front, the bumper mount/chassis brace is plastic, so not really strong enough to mount to. The front of the frame sits lower than the rear of the frame, so the front L-brackets needed to be mounted lower down (making them sit higher). The existing L-bracket holes are 5mm, so these 3mm frame holes needed drilled-out. Drilled-out to 5mm. The frame is steel, so is still strong enough, despite the reduction in material. 5mm threaded rod, cut to size (sold as 1m length). I bought a brand-new mini hacksaw, as my old one is utterly knackered. However, the cheap, crappy blade blunted within 20 seconds! Out came the old hacksaw, which just managed to do the job! The stainless steel threaded rod has made the front of the chassis much stronger. Nyloc nuts on the inside of the frame. This was an utter pain! Would have been easier with non-locking nuts, but I wanted the additional security. Plus, the frame-channels would make this difficult, regardless. In this photo, I hadn't finished getting the nuts quite right. Installed and pretty solid! The inner locnuts can't rotate, as they are inside the channels. The outers have just been given some serious welly! All L-brackets mounted and secured. Again, there is a slim chance (despite the amount of force I tightened them with) that the L-brackets could pivot/rotate on the screws. However, note that plastic chassis-brace, near the middle, with the two holes in it, next to the ESC... It's sitting basically where I want it. Likely need to shorten my home-made rear links, but that isn't much of an issue. The bottom of the Winnebago is basically at the same level as the chassis skid-plate, so the ground clearance is as good as it can get, without sitting too high and looking weird. Approach angle is very nice! Decided to mount the electronics inside the old, cut-down battery tray. They'll be hidden by the floor of the Winnebago, when it gets put back in. No idea, where I'm going to put the battery, though! This layout didn't last, as I swapped it around, shortly after this photo was taken. Note the power switch on the side-plate. I moved it, because when powered-up, the switch button glows red. it was far too obvious and you could see the light under the truck. With the ESC moved in-front of the receiver, the power switch can now be hidden under the dashboard. So, I'll lift the lid to switch the truck on and off. I like that! Makes use of the original premise of this Tonka toy! The wires will be hidden by the floor. Now, onto my idea to stop the Winnebago moving on the mounts. I drilled two 3mm holes in the floor and inserted two bolts. They aren't exactly where they should be, as I was drilling them from below, up-between the rear links and driveshaft, where I couldn't quite get the drill in. Not to worry, the "Tonka" engraving isn't in the middle, so the holes aren't as bad as they look. The bolts go down through the floor (or up, as in this picture) and through that plastic chassis brace. That brace cannot move, as it is mounted in two places, per side. As a result, the Winnebago cannot move independently of the chassis. Well, she works! However, she's VERY wallowy! The springs and shocks are too soft. When she leans, there's no saving her and she cannot re-centre. Stiffer springs and thicker shock oil is needed. I'm already running the stiffest springs Gmade makes for these shocks, so I'll need to find alternatives. Shouldn't be too difficult, I'm sure I'll come up with something. Perhaps, a dual-spring setup, à la HPI Venture, would work better? 20250320_214448.mp4 Anyway, thanks for reading and apologies it's taken this long!

What a beast!

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/s/?q=spryte There you go!

First bash with the Sprytes. What a laugh this was!

Thanking you!

Nope! And we were smashing them into each-other, at full chat! Tough wee things.

Took these wee trucks out, today. What a laugh! We had a great time! I'll be editing the video, over the next few days.

Oops, it's been over a year since I updated this thread! Anyway, another Winter Championship has just come to an end. This year, I managed 4th, overall. My close rival, Steve, finished 6th. My brother-in-law, Matthew, (videos above: completely new to racing) finished a respectable 16th. These are out of 53 club members, plus a few guests. Not too shabby!

Not surprised!

Yeah, I think it's a winner, honestly. Looking forward to running them. Thank you. Yep, they have a good reputation. As does basically anything under the HPI banner, recently. Great to see. Boo! Hiss! Get off the stage! Etc. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Did the videos help you buy, or disregard the Gmade?? 😋

'lo all. I don't usually post my videos on the forum, because I dislike the thought of clamouring for views! However, I wanted to show this one off, because... well... £40 for an RC car in 2025?? Madness!! And the spec is good!

Just took delivery of 3 Blackzon Sprytes. One for me, one for each of my brother-in-laws (brothers-in-law?). RRP of £39.99, seemed like an utter bargain for 2025! RTR, brushed, 1/20 Monster Truck/Stadium Truggy (roughly the size of a 1/16 car). Come in 4 different colours, with either an MT, or ST, body shell. We ordered a green MT, a blue MT and an orange ST. Looking forward to unboxing and running.

My goodness, that's one HECK of a collection! I'm most taken by the Porsches, definitely. It's mad that you started this thread in 2009. To think, you've been updating it for 16 years!

OK, so I should have updated this AGES ago! However, better late, than never. For the Halloween event at my club, I decided to run this hotrod shell. I got it for £4, but it had no masks and no stickers, so I had to improvise. Masked off the windows with liquid mask; not perfect, but good enough. Drew-in the window seals and front grill, using a black Uni Posca pen, which gave it a satisfying "cartoon villain" vibe. I wanted a cool (as in "low-temperature", not "hip/snazzy/chic/righteous") flame look, so figured some Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin flames would look the part. Good choice, I reckon! Some skull Gmade stickers went well and I figured a baddy that owned a car like that could be considered an Outlaw, so on those went! Overall, pretty good! As you can see, I had to cut a hole at each side, to allow the shocks to poke through! I also had to remove the entire front bumper and mount, as well as make my own front and rear body mounts. Worth it! In the end, no-one else at the club ran a daft shell! I expected plenty of them (especially since I bought the shell at the club!). As a result, I was down in the C-Final, somewhere. Anyway, it was a laugh. The week before Christmas was my brother-in-law's birthday, so I bought and painted a new shell for his Schumacher Atom CC. He liked this Montech RS-01 "Renault" shell. I had free reign on colours and design, so he didn't know what to expect. I really like it! It seems to handle, superbly! His car is soooo stable and smooth, now. I was thinking about getting one for myself, however these are not BRCA-approved, meaning I would not be allowed to run it at the Scottish National events. Shame! Finally, we get to my most recent shell. As per my previous post, I painted the (yellow & white) Montech MLGT3 for myself, as it was more pointy than the Phat Bodies GTM. It certainly was! I enjoyed the shell on some tracks, with a satisfying change-of-direction, but on other tracks, it just did not have a nice balance. Once, I even ran it without any front tyre additive, which is something I never do, just to calm it down. This shell achieves very quick steering, partially by encouraging the inside-rear-wheel to lift, causing the car to pivot (akin to having lots of front caster angle). In the end, it was too inconsistent and often too flighty. Phat Bodies have recently released a new GTM shell, with a revised front end. Most easily identified by the new, very prominent, front bumper. I assume it give more frontal area, and, therefore, steering, compared to the old GTM. All I can tell you is it is more planted and stable than the Montech MLGT3! I painted basically the same as the Montech, as I like those colours. This is how the car is, currently. We'll see how long that lasts! I love how it handles, now. I'm back in the mid-pack, A-Final. Also, back up to second in my club championship. The Atom 2 is going great.