PraetoR

"This 1/10 2WD Buggy, part of the EZ series, features a new color scheme for enhanced ease of operation and maintenance." Sorry, am I missing something? How does a different colour make it easier to work on?

It's not bad. Feels pretty chunky and weighty. It's not super-premium, but it's perfectly adequate for most purposes.

Thanks. Yeah, the colour is great. Couldn't be having it understated! No worries!

Last day! I've never painted a driver figure, before. However, I think I did a pretty good job! A bit heavy-handed with the paint, but I'm happy, at least! Went for a properly retro design and paint scheme. And now, with the bodyshell fitted, the build is done! What a weird model. I'm very much looking forward to trying it out.

Bodyshell masked off. This was very fiddly, as getting your hand in was not easy! I don't see any man hands ever being able to get in there, without struggling. I have no idea what really big men are supposed to do! Anyway, after much struggle, it was masked off. Most were fine. The headlamps were squint, but that didn't really matter, as I'd be using the standard headlight stickers. I figured a really lairy paint job was in order. As the box art grey/silver was waaaay too understated, for something this bonkers. Fluorescent orange... now that's more like it! All stickered up and mounted. It was looking good. Now, I just needed to paint the driver and tidy the cables. Most of the stickers were great. The side panels, especially, I did a really good job of. However, the headlights and the beams that go up the side of the windscreen... those were a different story. The curve of the polycarbonate caused real issues. The stickers are on, but they're lumpy/ripply, with air bubbles. Bit of a shame, but it looks good at anything but right up close. Unfortunately, my Voltz 1300mah 2s lipo didn't fit, but Overlander do their own 1300mah 2s that just fits. I bought one of those.

Day two saw me starting with the servo. I used the old one out of my FTX Outlaw. It's a cheap Etronix item, with plastic gears, but it's more than up to the task of moving this thing from side-to-side. The servo mount is reversible, so you can get the height correct. Servo arm is weird... obviously. Instructions to build the AA battery box. Ignored! Servo mounted. The servo saver was very fiddly to build. Definitely the most awkward part of the build! The servo slides into place, along channels, then is bolted on. It's a nice design. Got the rear end/gearbox mounted. Then fitted the electronics tray. I was worried the 1060 ESC might have been a little big, but there's plenty of room. There's another tray that can be bolted above this one (if you have the ESC clearance), for fitting a transponder. A racing scene using these would be fantastic! A bit weird that having the servo saver centred causes the rear end to be off-centre. There is no adjustment in the servo arm. This is what you have. I'd have thought that Tamiya would have had this dead straight! Front end on. We are getting there! With the wheels/tyres and rear guard fitted, the chassis is basically complete! Funky looking thing! I just had the driver and self-righting arms to bolt on. Chassis completed! Again, because the servo saver isn't straight, when the rear end is, the self-righting arms aren't at equal heights. I've messed around, but that is how it is. Anyway, it's very cool and I'm looking forward to showing you the painted body (it's already done!).

It certainly does. And it only gets more barmy. Yes, so I've been told! I've used superglue and if it starts to slip, I can always upgrade to the proper driveshafts. As much as I know you like a good, limited Tamiya... the standard one will still be a laugh!

You're welcome.

Team Associated RC10 TC3.

Limited batch Scotch Whisky is definitely worth investing in, but it takes a long time.

But don't throw money after trying to make them handle better... it's a hiding to nothing!

Greetings! Recently, some of you have been very guilty of putting together nice Tamiya builds. This made me jealous and I had to build one! For something whacky, unusual, interesting, silly and oh-so-Tamiya, I went for the T3-01 Dancing Rider. This couldn't be any more "Tamiya" if it tried! Going for a mildly upgraded build, with the 370 size Tamiya Torque Tuned motor, 2s lipo, Tamiya-branded Hobbywing 1060 ESC, Carson radio gear & RC Bearings... uh... bearings. It'll go perfectly well. I ran the Torque Tuned vs the standard motor, before I started building, and the Torque Tuned sounded quite a lot faster. Much higher RPM. The kit comes with this stand, which is used to hold half of the gearbox casing, while you work on the other half. Then, when the build is completed, it acts as a stand for the model. Bag A was for the complete transmission/gearbox. This was a pleasure to build. Very simple, very straightforward, yet utterly bonkers and weird. Just like a Tamiya should. You can just see the little Torque Tuned motor poking out. I was surprised as to how much of an upgrade this appears to be, over the standard 370 motor. I expected a very small power increase, but it sounds quite substantial. Most of the front half of the chassis (this is upside down). That isn't a driveshaft; it just allows the entire thing to pivot, independently of the gearbox/rear half. Remove one body clip and pull out the peg, then the whole thing splits open, for inserting the battery. A very neat solution! This was as far as I got on day 1. I liked what I saw; it seems small, yet chunky and you could already see the potential Tamiya personality we all know and love. Next update, shortly!

Mini-Ts are good fun and drive very well when upgraded (I'm selling one with upgraded electronics and suspension, running on a 2s lipo), but parts are EXTREMELY rare! Feel free to get them ripping around on the road, but don't be jumping it hard!

His very first time racing!

I do like the TA-04. This should be a nice addition to your collection.

I does, but it isn't enough to compensate for how far off-centre it is. It's a shame, but it'll work, fine. A 25t servo and servo saver are the best bets, long-term. Thanks. I'm very relieved. How well it holds up to crashes... that remains to be seen!

Finished the video, for those interested:

Do you glue your tyre sidewalls? I'm in two minds over this. Yes, it seems to offer better protection, but when they do go, they get much worse and the entire sidewall gets crispy and brittle. Hmmm, sounds like it probably isn't the diff and/or dampening. Ah, well... worth a try! The Atom CC I built had silver springs all-round. I hope they are the same, because I treated them as such and don't know if the sides are different to the front! Yeah, LMP12s are amazing to watch! Absolutely rapid! My goodness, you're spoiled! Amazing selection of classes. I wish I had the same! I agree about the outdoor TC. I'd even be tempted to run a heavily modified TT-02, just because wrecking a nice TC feels wrong!

Ah, yes, that's a fair point! Although, mine generally get "chunked", before "coned". There is, but it's weird. They seem more involved, while having less adjustability. They are just more awkward, really! Rollout, I've never bothered with. So many folk at my club are like "...but rollout says this would be faster!" I just gear it by feel. Perhaps using rollout would be more accurate, but I've never had an issue. I'm old school! To be honest, if your car also has the adjustable roll centre and the low-profile frontend, then your car is already as good as an Atom 2. There's a guy at my club, one of the best drivers, who's ALWAYS in the A Final, and he runs his old Atom CC, with these upgrades. For the tracking, I found my Atom 2 did that, until I changed to very light oil in the diff. The car found it easier to spin one wheel than to "diff" properly. I'm now running 1000wt oil in my geared diff and it hasn't done it, since. With trying to slacken your diff and seeing if it helps. It was also not allowing the pod time to return to centre, out of a corner, throwing the lateral weight distribution off. Are you running 12k in your side dampers? If not, try it. Although, for what it's worth, the quick Atom CC guy uses only 7k in his dampers. Ahh, TC... how I envy your ability to run in that class! I miss it! I'd also LOVE to try TT-02 truck racing! I'm really glad you're enjoying it. I'm honoured! I'll definitely update it. The video on the car is done, but I want to record his reaction and add it to the video, so perhaps Saturday.

Welcome! Nice to see another Scotsman join the forum. Losi released a Mini-T 2.0, a few years ago. Still sold. Not as small as micro, but it's still pretty small! Losi do some really nice models, but ever since being bought by Horizon Hobbies, they cost an absolute fortune!

Yeah, we use only Contact Controls. That's club rules. Never bothered truing tyres, in my life!

Cheers. I'm hoping he really likes it.

Managed to save the shell. Mixed-up black & white acrylic paints, until I got the right shade, then backed the entire thing with it (to fill-in the gaps and act as a barrier, so the blue wouldn't bleed through), left it to dry, then painted the blue. It has come out great! You honestly can't tell. I'm so relieved and even more surprised, because it really was a mess! Unfortunately, I made a bit of a booboo! This shell doesn't come with lights and grills, but you can get them from rcdecals.co.uk. I ordered them, without paying too much attention. I ended up buying the ones that you put on the inside, before painting. Didn't realise until after it was painted! I've ordered the correct ones, but we'll see if they arrive in-time. In the meantime, ignore the lights (or lack of)! It looks good. The paints are amazing! Although, my liquid-masking skills could be better! Overall, the effect is good. He may not be an MSUK Forum member... but he's still representing! Unfortunately, I had to remove the 40mm fan, because it was so big, it was fouling on the roof of the shell. Had to replace it with a 30mm one. Obviously, the smaller fan covers less area over the motor. However, it runs at a far higher RPM and seems to move a lot more air! Overall, I think it'll do a better job, thankfully. Also had to add some foam to the front bumper, because it was too short and couldn't reach the front of the shell. In other words, it didn't offer any protection. These have been added using double-sided tape. I could have glued them on, but there is a bit of a beater bodyshell that came with the car. The bumper was already correct for that shell, so this way, he can add/remove the extra bits and run whatever shell he wants. Maybe he'll choose to get some practice in, before running the nicer shell. Anyway, just the lights to go and then it's done.