PraetoR

My all-time favourite transmitter

Long-overdue update! Still enjoying the racing! Winter Championship for this year is well underway. I'm currently first in the standings, but only because every one of the very fastest guys have missed at least one round, each. My average score is currently 95.88, out of 100. That checks out, the computer ranks me at a skill level of 96/100. Again, Steve and I are swapping paint! I've decided to build my brother-in-law a GT12 race car. He has never raced, but I know he quite fancies trying it. He doesn't have a lot of money, so would never buy his own. I wanted to get hold of an Atom 2, like mine. I figured a used one would be affordable, but they hold their resale value (because the Atom 3 is barely any better and a lot of people haven't bothered upgrading). As a result, Atom 2s were simply out of budget. Decided on a second-hand Atom 1. It's still a lot of money, so not only will it be a joint present between Rachel and I and my mum and dad, but also a joint birthday and Christmas present, since his birthday is only a week before Christmas. Managed to get an Atom CC (the carbon version of the Atom 1), with ESC, servo and 1 battery, for a good price... From Steve, funnily enough! It was pretty dirty, needed a refresh and smelled of cigarettes, so I decided to strip it down, clean every single part, nut and bolt, then reassemble and set it up. It's now looking pretty good! Had an issue with the included KO Propo servo. The right steering link hits the servo body, on left turns. As a result, maximum steering throw was very poor. It's not really the correct servo, even though it fits. I tried many mounting solutions, but the standard one is the best, so I decided to keep the servo and servo saver as is, then just trim the edge of the servo body. It's not an elegant solution, but it has provided a much better steering throw. Not full, but that's not necessary. It's now got almost the same amount of steering throw as my Atom 2. Another issue with the servo is that it CANNOT be centred, with the servo saver perfectly straight and in the middle. One spline is too far to the left and the next spline is too far to the right. There isn't enough trim adjustment on the transmitter, to compensate. Really frustrating. So, I've had to accept that to have arrow-straight tracking and equal left-right steering throw (with same-length steering links), not only does the servo saver have to be off-centre, but the servo has to be mounted slightly to one side. It looks a bit rubbish. Especially since my Atom 2 servo is bang in the middle, as is the servo saver. The KO Propo is a 23t servo, rather than the usual 25t. Therefore, the gaps between splines are slightly bigger. I think if he eventually buys the standard Core RC 25t servo and servo-saver, these issues would be sorted. Moving on, the Atom came with a Hobbywing XR10 Stock Spec ESC. Which is a fine, little ESC. I've updated the firmware and set everything up. Works great. It also came with an Intellect 8200mah lipo. I've added my Reedy 6600mah lipo, so he'll be getting two very good quality batteries. I bought an Absima SR2S radio system, because my brother-in-law prefers stick radios, as do I. The Futaba I'm using would be great, but they no longer cost £60... now they are up at £100! The Absima is only £40 and the receiver has an extra channel, over the Futaba! For the motor, I've given him the SkyRC Ares Pro v2, which I first had in my Atom 2. It hasn't had a lot of use. I had forgotten how pretty this motor is! When I was using the Ares, it went pretty well, but found it lacked a little bit of top-end. However, I couldn't risk gearing it up, too much, as I had no cooling fan. Now, with the big 40mm fan mounted right behind it, we should be able to gear it 1, or 2, teeth higher. That'll make a bit of a difference. It won't be the fastest car at the club, but it'll be much faster than the other cars in the bottom heats and probably hang with the B-Finalists, without too much trouble. His Atom CC and my Atom 2 look good, together. The 2 looks more substantial, owing to the "top deck conversion" (side strengthening beams), top servo mount, thicker camber strap (steering brace thing), larger trailing arms and the fact that my Hobbywing HD ESC is much larger. Now, I want to be clear... the Atom 2 is MUCH better than the Atom 1!! However, this particular Atom has had many upgrades... so much so, that not only is it basically as good as my Atom 2, but also the Atom 1 instruction manual that I bought was next to useless! Most importantly, it has ditched the utterly woeful, standard Atom 1 frontend (lifted straight off the archaic, original Schumacher Supastox) and sports the expensive, low-profile front end kit. This frontend is so good, that the Atom 3 frontend is loosely based on it. It's arguably better than the Atom 2 frontend! This completely transforms the car. Other upgrades include an adjustable roll centre, for the rear pod (something that that the Atom 2 has). And a proper battery hold-down (another thing that the Atom 2 has). The dampers are the same, the springs are the same, the axle and diffs are the same (albeit, mine is running the optional geared diff), so there really is very little to split them. Finally, I've been painting the bodyshell, a Phat Bodies GTM. Unfortunately, the first can of paint reacted with the bodyshell and it made a real mess of it! I think I've managed to rescue it, as best I can. It should turn out OK, but we'll see. Stay tuned. I won't go into any more detail, but I'm planning to make a video on this car and release it after his birthday (in-case he sees it!) I'm not worried about the forum, as he doesn't use it! If you're interested, I'll have the video out probably next weekend. Cheers.

As far as I'm aware Sharkfat does still do it, but he's under such demand that he isn't taking any new orders just now and the queue is months long. Totally Average Paintjobs has done my last two shells. Same sort of price as Sharkfat, but less of a delay. Worth sending him a message on pussbook and see if he's available.

You can still get a reasonable amount of parts directly from Schumacher. The website tells you what parts fit it.

The Blackzon Slyder is the same model as the FTX Tracer, but it retails at only £64. 1:16, brushed, 4WD. Truggy and Monster Truck. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/search/?search=slyder

Thank you! Thanks. Yeah, Sharkfat and Totally Average Paintjobs both know what they're doing! Thank you. Yeah, that was a bummer. Especially since he turned one of my front wheels oval! I agree. It's the same colour I've painted for my old Losi XXX-S and my Gmade Komodo Double Cab. It's stunning, in the flesh. Photos never do it justice. From memory, it's Tamiya translucent red, backed with bright silver, backed with black. Thank you. Yeah, agreed. I love a "real" race livery. It was clear; the white, red and green are paint.

OK, I've realised that I seem to go through a LOT of GT12 bodyshells! So, rather that starting a new topic each time, I'll put photos in here. Makes more sense! Anyway, here's the story... I started racing in early 2022, for the first time in 17 years. GT12 class. It has been a big learning curve. I've never raced with brushless power, lipos, 2WD, non-independent suspension, 1/12 scale, tyre additive, motor timing adjustment, nor 2.4 GHz radio systems. Loving it, though! Bodyshells used: Kamtec Porsche 911 GT3 R in Castrol livery (based on the 1990s Castrol Tom's Supra). Painted by Sharkfat RC Customs. This is my favourite shell, so far. It's just a shame that the "proper racing" bodyshells make such a difference in GT12. I'm at the point now that I'm scrapping for hundredths of a second. I think I'll still use it on non-championship, fun nights. Christmas and that sort of thing. Front sticker got changed to "Trinity Power", when I upgraded to the fantastic Trinity Revtech motor. After that, I tried a Bittdesign Agata. It's a Lamborghini. Lamborghinis are my dream car brand. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long, as I didn't understand tyre prep and the car was all over the place. It got damaged, quite quickly! After that, I ran a Phat Bodies GTM (it's a McLaren). One of the staples of GT12 racing. I've ran this shell for longer than any other. Up to my last time of racing, in-fact! This photo was taken at the end of last year and almost 12 months later, I've still been using it! You can imagine how beat-up it looks, now!! Tried another Bittydesign Agata "Lamborghini", because I really wanted to run one. This one was painted by Sharkfat RC Customs. I've decided that white, gunmetal grey, yellow and orange are my colours. Ran it a good while, but it's a little beat-up, by this point. Biggest issue was the sheer size! It's soooo much longer and wider than every other shell I've used! That did cause a few issues. After I'd stopped using this, I went back to the Phat Bodies GTM (above). After that (and very recently) I had Totally Average Paintjobs do me a Mika Häkkinen tribute paint job, as the Bittydesign Seven20 is clearly meant to be another McLaren. This looked fantastic, but it very much blended-in with the colour of the track! I should have thought of that. It lasted a mere 2 weeks... then got stood on, by a Marshal. Game over for this one. And just finished today... again, painted by Totally Average Paintjobs, a Montech MLGT3. In "my" colours. Again, a McLaren. Very similar to the Phat Bodies GTM. I'm not a fan of the way McLaren road cars look, by the way. They're just the current shells to have. This one should stand out and shouldn't get stood on!! It looks fast standing still!

That's what we like to hear!

What a cracking little car! Puts me in the mood to do my own vintage Tamiya restoration. You've done a lovely job.

Haha thanks, yeah... the guy knows his stuff! Oh, aye? I'll have to get back to them! I've been pretty poor at keeping up with the forum. Really need to sort that. So, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is... my Mika Häkkinen tribute bodyshell is done, after just 2 weeks. A Marshal stood on it. I guess I shouldn't have ordered a bodyshell to be painted the same colour as the track! The good news is... Totally Average Paintjobs has, once again, delivered. I'll get this thing all cut, stickered and mounted. At least this paint job will be perfectly visible! I should probably put all my GT12 racing body shells in one thread. That would make more sense, since I seem to go through them.

I'll say you did! Took me a moment to even compute that this was a TL-01.

You can always employ the "hot glue in diffs" technique.

EDIT: Body is polycarbonate and you can get a good look at the chassis on the youtube video. The video is quite misleading, though... the running videos show a brushless system, but the truck comes with a basic, brushed motor. So, it'll be a fair bit slower.

Brand new chassis from Tamiya: GF-02. 4WD, many gears, à la GF-01. Panel Van body. I haven't found any concrete statement on whether ABS, or polycarbonate. Chassis not dissimilar to GF-01, but lower-slung and (according to Tamiya) "more realistic and less comical". Taken from Modelsport: Tamiya is delighted to announce a new off-road car featuring big tires; the name is the Squash Van, and it is paired with a new gear-driven 4WD GF-02 chassis. While the GF-01 chassis features a comical design, the GF-02 chassis employs a more realistic wheelbase and a frame with ladder / pipe motifs. This R/C assembly kit is inspired by 1950s American panel vans, and offers an excellent drive even on grass or uneven surfaces. About the Model This is a 1/10 scale R/C model assembly kit. Length: 454mm, width: 280mm, height: 238mm. Wheelbase: 267mm. 123mm large-diameter lug pattern tires allow powerful performance and superior handling feel. Stickers feature designs such as squash illustrations, product logo, and triple pin stripes in gold, black and blue. ESC & Type 540 Motor Included About the GF-02 chassis The gear-driven 4WD GF-02 chassis features its motor in a low, central position in the lightweight, durable monocoque frame, and transmits power to front and rear via gears. The long wheelbase and wide tread setup ensures stable off-road performance. The slim frame features ladder/pipe motifs and features integrated sealed gearboxes which help keep stones out. Front and rear gear differentials allow smooth cornering, while separately sold pinion gears offer a choice from three types of gear ratios, and a motor guard enhances reliability off-road. The 4-wheel double wishbone suspension employs four friction dampers, and the steering servo is positioned on the left with identical-length tie-rods Wheelbase same length as the long CC-02 wheelbase chassis same body mount positions as the long CC-02 wheelbase chassis Tread F : 223mm / R: 221mm Tyres As Blackfoot [58633] 122.8mm diameter Gear ratio 18T (18.03:1), 20T (16.23:1), 17T (19.09:1) 20T and 17T pinion gears are sold separately Motor Guard included Lower servo mount to enhance attachment durability and lower more central motor position for improved balance and weight distribution. Required to complete: 2-channel radio, steering servo, 7.2-7.4volt battery with compatible charger, and Tamiya PS paint. RRP of £245. Personally, I'd need to see photos of the chassis, but it will be nice to have a 4WD Tamiya truck with a similar design to the GF-01, which doesn't constantly fall-over and wheelie. View full news article

Price drop to £150 ONO.

No worries. I can get some for you.

You're very welcome. Glad it has been helpful. That's very unfortunate, but great that CML have sorted you out. I perhaps should have done the same thing!

Hi all, For sale, a Team Losi Mini-T, 1/18 scale RC truggy. This is the original, vintage, extremely rare model (from 2003); not the new Mini-T 2.0. This truck/truggy is in great condition for age and drives really well. It has the much-desired genuine Losi oil-filled shock kit upgrade, which completely transforms the handling. I recently gave it an entire overhaul and many additional upgrades, which were all brand-new and sourced from all around the world, including: - Hobbywing 1625 ESC (originally, the car had an awful 2-in-one, 27mh ESC/receiver). - Code CR277 2.4 GHz Radio System (see ESC). - Turnigy 1600 mah, 2s lipo (this car used to run on 4x AA batteries). - Hitec HS-55 steering Servo. - Losi LOSB1226 Servo Saver conversion kit, for Hitec HS-55 servo. - RPM "Spider" front & rear wheels. - Pro-Line "The Edge" front tyres. - Losi LOSB1164 Mini Step-pin rear tyres. - Team Trinity TRI34000 Soft Foam Inserts, for front & rear tyres. All of the above have only been used twice outdoor and tested once indoor. Also included: - The brand-new, unused Pro-Line (front) & Losi (rear) tyre foams. - Brand-new, unopened, Fastrax Millennium blue aluminium front bumper (FTMT11). - Brand-new, unopened, Fastrax Millennium blue aluminium battery hold down (FTMT24). - LOSB1039 friction damper set (used twice). - Original aerial tube. - Original servo & servo saver (servo saver compatible only with original servo). - Original wheels & tyres (tyres are knackered, but it may be possible to remove them from the wheels). It is running the original brushed motor, which goes great on 2s power. Please be aware that this is a 20 year old RC truck, so do not expect perfect condition! That being said, it is very good and looks great tearing around! These are extremely rare and hard to come by, so I have priced, accordingly. However, feel free to make me an offer. £150, ONO, as this owes me a LOT of money! I'd prefer cash on collection, but for MSUK Forum members, I'm happy to come to an arrangement! Thanks!

I have an unboxed Jun Watanabe Hornet that I intend to sell, at some point. It's been used, so there would be no guilt in running it. Would you be interested?

The camber adjustment is ingenious. I've never seen a design like it.

Good gravy, that's pretty!!

Yeah, good. Really enjoying it.

Mika Häkkinen tribute body shell, for my Schumacher Atom 2 GT12 race car. Now it's just a case of driving well enough to do the name justice... no pressure, then!! Body is a Bittydesign Seven20. I'm not a fan of McLaren road cars, but as this bodyshell (one of the best on the market) is a McLaren, there was only one livery for me! Based on Häkkinen's 1999 McLaren MP4/14, as seen at the Belgian, British and French Grands Prix, where they weren't allowed to use the "West" cigarette branding. Paint job courtesy of Totally Average Paintjobs.

Looks cracking! I'd say you've done a fair amount better than you're giving yourself credit.