davemk

Ah, sounds like mine was the standard version in that case. Sounds like you have a good plan for what you want to achieve. I agree about not getting it back to 'perfection'. Is the plan to build it and use it, and will it be a shelter? Parts must be hard to come by?

@bertberr Feel free to post the pics; I'm not precious when it comes to threads I've started. 😁 I've just had a quick Google. I definitely wish I'd kept mine - some of them go for mega-money!! In all honesty, I don't remember which version mine was and I barely remember there being different versions. I'd imagine it was the standard version though.

@bertberr I read on another thread that you're restoring an Optima. How's that going? I had one of those back in the day. Any pics?

NiMH for now. I did consider 2S but I've been away from RC for so long and did a bit of reading up about the different batteries. The 2S batteries seem to need a bit more care which I why I went back to NiMH. Plus, I'd already spent more than I'd originally intended - it was supposed to be a cheap kit to get my kids interested but there was hardly anything available. I'd previously had a ProCat as a kid so the man-maths kicked in and I went for the XLS 😂.

Thanks @bertberr. I just went with the standard transmission as I wasn't looking for big power; it was more about enjoying the build process and letting the kids play with it. Same with the motor and ESC - I just went with the ones Wheelspin offered in the bundle deal, which was the Hobbywing Quicrun 1060 and Core 15T motor. To be honest, they're fine for now and it has plenty of power. I'm sure it'll get upgraded eventually. 😂

Evening. Finally finished the car yesterday. I saw finished, there's a couple of jobs to complete - a bit of trimming to the undertray & shell, stickers (not sure.on this yet but will cover some dodgy painting bits) and the windows need tinting. Took it in the garden for a run and it was obvious there was a problem with something; it didn't sound right at all. Tinkered with it today and I hadn't tightened the belts anywhere near enough. I knew something wasn't right when I built in and should have sorted it then but 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' as the saying goes. Anyway, I took it all apart today, realised my epic fail and rectified it. Working perfectly now. I suspect it'll end up sitting on a shelf when the novelty runs out but I've really enjoyed the build. I've not built an RC car for 25+years and it took me back to my youth. Back then, I only ever applied paint by brush so this was my first ever attempt at airbrushing. Given the many problems I had with the airbrush (don't ask!), I'm happy with how the paint turned out. It's far from perfect but it'll do and, as I said, I'm hoping a sticker or two will cover the dodgy bits. I know people say the build is a tricky one but I didn't think it was too bad. If anyone is going to build a Cat XLS though, I would really recommend doing step 43 - the steering bits - and attach it to the deck before fitting the deck. It would be a nightmare to do so after and I've no idea why Schumacher advise to do it later. I'm so glad I found that gem of advice on the internet before building. On to the next one. 😜

Good work on that repair 👍. I didn't realise that getting spares for this model was a problem.

Really like this. Would have got one if there had been stock. 👍

Great...thanks. That's one 'problem' sorted. Just need to sort the trim issue now 😁.

Thanks @Oh How Original Yeh, it works fine apart from the crackling. Are they noisy even when not operating? Any ideas why the transmitter trim function won't work?

Got my Cat XLS kit last week and decided to paint it all first. Got my spray area all set up and started spraying... No paint coming through. Took the airbrush apart and cleaned it. Started spraying and then hose blew off. Reattached it. No paint. Took the airbrush apart again. Started painting. The hose blew off again. Gave up. The following day, gave it another go and got it working eventually. Then started to build the car. Discovered a piece was missing. Build stopped. Started doing the shocks. My circlip pliers have gone. Bought some new ones. They've been poorly made and don't fit the holes of the clips. Great. As the build has now gone as far as it can whilst waiting for the missing part, I checked the electrics that came with the bundle. The servo is making a crackling noise. Tried the trim function and that's not working either. Feeling a bit unlucky tonight! 😂 Any advice on the servo / transmitter issue appreciated. It's a Varioprop transmitter and Savox servo.

I totally feel your pain with regards to painting this evening. Today, I thought I'd get the body painted as I wanted to paint the undertray so it made sense to do it all together. Got a little station set up in the garage with the compressor, hot air gun and airbrush. The airbrush didn't work. Took it apart. Then the hose blew off. Then no paint would come out. Took it apart again. Then the hose come off. I have up and I now have a half painted undertray. Think I'll just get an aerosol next time. 😜

Slightly OT (sorry), but how did you get on with the build @ml_b? I've just started mine. Having built a similar model 25+years ago, I'm fairing ok. Not in any rush so I'm doing a bit here and a bit there. I started a thread on here about the design of the battery clamp. Seems hard / almost impossible to be able to swap the battery over because is screws from underneath. How have you dealt with it?

I've gone for a pistol grip, purely because it was in the kit I bought. Like you though, I've always used a stick controller and I'm a bit of a traditionalist (read: old-fashioned). Will see how I get on with the pistol grip. I reckon my lad will want his own RC car as soon as he sees mine up and running, which will give me the opportunity to change the transmitter. I suppose kids do have their uses 😂