PaulHCumbria

The card modelling is a bit insane. It takes hundreds of hours, but the kits are dead cheap for the enjoyment/torture you get out of them. Here's another. Sorry for going off-topic.

I've only ever owned one rc car before. That was 40 years ago, when I had a Tamiya XR311. But memories of the fun I had with that prompted me to use furlough-time to build another. I chose a Capra, because here in Cumbria I'm surrounded with great crawling terrain. As I was starting from scratch, this was going to be expensive, and a steep learning curve too. I have a nice workspace (I make card models - more later). But I had no rc-specific tools at all. And of course, no transmitter, no receiver, servos, batteries, charger, paints etc etc. After an online splurge, an avalanche of kit starting turning up on my doorstep (what an amazing job delivery drivers are doing, keeping us all sane through lockdown!) I won't bore you with the build details - by now everyone knows about the issues with the instruction manual, and the kit went together without incident - not so much as a flying c-clip. I did shim the driveshafts, to keep it all quiet and smooth, I used SSD weighted portal covers and SSD steel wheels. But apart from that, everything is standard. I've not even fitted the dig (I won't be competing and I can always retrofit it if I like). For the rest I've used widely recommended kit - Spektrum DX5 Tx, Hobbywing Quicrun 1080 ESC, Savox 1210 servo, 3s lipo, Reedy Radon 16t 5 slot brushed motor, Pro Line Krawlers and so on. I decided the paint job should be in honour of someone who lost his life to another virus (HIV) a few years back. New York Street artist Keith Haring died at the tender age of 31, having produced some of the most striking images of the eighties. I decided to use rattle cans and masking tape, largely because of the amazing work produced by Hemistorm using these simple tools. In addition to that great photo of Haring (by Robert Mapplethorpe - don't look up his output if you're of a tender disposition!) I started off with two key images, the Flying Devil (hence the title of this thread) and an untitled image that some have unkindly suggested represents the body count of all the people I'll be running over! I tried using Tamiya flexible tape to begin with, but it kept lifting at the tightest turns. So I scrapped that, and went with masking each panel completely and then cutting out. Now I am reasonably handy with a craft knife. I mentioned those card models - they require patience and precision cutting. Here's an anti aircraft gun I've just completed. Yes, it's card. But even so, cutting the mask for this took some doing. In the end though, the results speak for themselves. The interior is OK, but a bit rougher than I'd have liked. A Molotow Liquid Chrome pen worked well on the fuel cell, and added some shiny trim around the crew's helmets. I added a wedge of epoxy putty in the driver's neck to give him a bit more 'attitude'. You can see it in the reverse-angle shot of him. A simple fix that really works well I think. The technique of using a heat gun on stickers works brilliantly - it ensures that stickers mould to complex shapes perfectly. I've seen some terrible pictures of the helmet visors with creases in them - totally ruining the illusion. I've not used the lightbar that came with the kit, as I'm intending to put a rack of four headlights in front of the grille (which I think is the ugliest bit of the kit - it reminds me of the front end of an early VW Polo). So after a bit of mucking around in the garden I'm waiting to take it out on the fells for its first proper run - wish me luck!

Yeah, that's me. Thanks for the good advice.

I've just finished my Capra. This is my first rc car (rc anything, for that matter) in 40 years and I'm pleased with how it's turned out. As a total newbie I decided to keep it pretty standard to begin with. That way I can actually judge how much difference the mods make as I add them. I've not even fitted a dig. The one obvious mod I have gone for is SSD weighted portal covers. That seemed a no-brainer, even to me. I've also fitted super-soft purple springs up front (waiting for a second set for the rear). Apart from that, it's standard. Oh, and the wheels - I wasn't going to use the plastic wheels, so it's got steel SSDs with G8 compound Krawlers. ESC is Hobbywing 1080, Reedy Radon 5 slot 16 turn motor, Savox SW1210 32kg servo, 3s lipo.

Hi everyone. I've returned to RC cars during the Covid lockdown, as something to keep me occupied. I've been into this before - a long time ago! Forty years or so ago I had a Tamiya XR311 - I remember the plastic torsion suspension rods were forever breaking - and that was the only vehicle I had. Me and my younger brother had great fun bashing it round Greenwich Park, but I never took it any further. Scroll forward to the lockdown and my younger brother has got himself a Hornet. I thought "I should do that" and, surrounded by great rock here in Cumbria, I got a Capra, which is now built and running. I'm just painting it and then I'll post pictures. I have rockwork in my Lakeland garden (pictured) that offers minimal crawling opportunity, but I'd love advice on suitable crawling sites near me - I can think of a few, for sure. What's your favourite Lake District bashing site?