Tamiya and other R/C vehicles (not just for Christmas)

Father Christmas got my daughter an FTX Surge Monster Truck, so it was only fair that I got the Surge Truggy as an early birthday present today to join in the fun.  We’ve already established that the only thing more fun that an RC car is… …two RC cars!

May need to fit some of the chunkier MT wheels at some point…

Will get a kit to build when I’m not trying to pack childcare and work into the same period.

Any tips on soldering?
Got a LiPo battery/charger for my FTX Carnage, came with deans connectors so needed to swap the Tamiya connector on the esc.
Tried tonight but struggled, either the solder would stick to the cable and the tab but wouldn’t stick both together or it just went clumpy/blotchy.
Managed to get a very messy joint, but not sure how secure/durable it will be.

Just using a cheap iron and sold from Wilkos, are more expensive ones easier to use with better results?

Theres a few good Youtube videos on Soldering.

Thanks, will have a look.

2 colts ordered, thanks Weeksy

Dammit, been lurking in this thread and hovering over the hornet but was resisting due to the cost. Those colts however are too much to resist so will get one. The potential for upgrades is a bad thing too as could cost a bit with lipo and brushless upgrades

Nice that ^^, always enjoyed a spin around the skate park.

This thread has sparked my interest again, dug my old Traxxas 1/16 summit out the other day thinking I’ll charge the batteries up and go for a drive around the garden. Oh how foolish!

Batteries were nearly dead, steering servo dead as well. Plenty of wear in the suspension and bearings as well means I’m now £85 poorer and there is a service kit, new bearings and ball joint ends and a new servo in the post. Full strip down, clean and a rebuild on the way😂

First minor mechanical today “Daddy, this doesn’t sound right when going backwards”

Quick peek and the engine/motor was loose.

Sadly it was an engine out jobbie to get to the 2 bolts and tighten them up… Only 10-15 mins but wasn’t too complex.

Quickly sorted and back up and running 🙂

Update to my problems with my Neo Fighter – a new ESC and it’s running again 🙂

That said, I do fancy building another one… any suggestions as to one that’s a decent build? I’d love another Grasshopper, but I fear that would be about 2 hours of build time and it’s done! Any suggestions for a readily available (I’m in Spain) yet fairly complicated to build RC car?

The Grasshopper took me about 6.

But was my first. I think I’d complete it in 2 maybe 3 now. So yes, maybe not the best for you

Been watching with interest. My heart says go Tamiya and have fun with building it, but I think for most part its going to be too fast for the 6yr old and back yard action. Looking at the Colt has led me to the Outback Mini which looks like it could be fun.

Love this thread. Am tempted to buy another car just for the fun of building it 🙂

@weeksy – Loving the Grasshopper. Are the shocks just springs? My son’s WLToys 12428 (crap name, ace car) came with dry shocks and was a bit bouncy. Rather than upgrade the shocks I added some 2mm o-rings and filled them with oil. Makes a huge difference to the handling.

My Zombie lost a screw on the steering arm while driving on the lawn the other day. No RC shops open under lockdown, long wait for a pack of spares from AliExpress (ordered anyway, they’ll come in handy).

Job jobbed.

Loving the Grasshopper. Are the shocks just springs

Yup and quite soft at that. But we’re not bothered as such. We’re only playing with it, not going racing or anything like that. So it doesn’t matter.

I took a punt on a cheap Mad Bull (with an upgraded brushless ESC but a brushed motor) from eBay a while ago, and it’s time to get it going. But I need two things: a charger (for classic NiMH batteries), and a transmitter and receiver.

Does anyone have any recommendations for budget-but-decent-quality? Generally digital transmitter / receivers seem to be £50 and up from the online shops (if they’re still open?) and then there’s something like this, which comes with a motor I don’t need and I’ve no idea of the quality:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401929778387

…and smart chargers look to have a similar variation in price – but I don’t know the brands or the quality.

I’m hoping that “running around after a possibly knackered RC car” can count as part of our daily exercise quota. 😉

SkyRC chargers are good.

Flysky transmitters are decent enough for bashing.

took ours with us on daily bike ride yesterday. empty car parks are fun..

View this post on Instagram

Lockdown distractions. Empty car parks rule.

A post shared by Less Bikes, More Stuff (@jim_gardiner) on Apr 20, 2020 at 10:42am PDT

Thanks @nwmlarge 🙂

Pierre
Subscriber

…and smart chargers look to have a similar variation in price – but I don’t know the brands or the quality.

The main problem with chargers is that there’s a lot of copies out there, and some of them don’t have the overcharging protection that lipo batteries absolutely need. I have a pretty basic Imax B6 which works great, but you’ve mostly got to be careful about where you source it.

Flysky GT3C still seems to be the king of the “good enough” radios.

So the ftx colt arrived today.
First proper rc car and it is a right laugh, glad I didn’t get a bigger one as our garden is only little, maybe once bits come back in stock I will do a little upgrading.
thanks for spending my money as a result of this thread

WOW the bearing kit for engine and wheels makes a MASSIVE difference on the Grasshopper… just wow… wow..

Video please.

Ah, Jaysus – every time this thread is bumped to the top it stimulates me to look at another car. We got my son an FTX mauler for Christmas which has been superb fun, he loves it. Now I want one (but, of course, an even better one!)

nightmare!

I can believe it, the little boy wants to have the colt, so as a result it made me have a look at something like the ftx outlaw brushless

Video please.

LAter, it’s school time again i’m afraid… after 3:30pm

@big_scot_nanny our FTX Mauker arrived yesterday and instantly every obstacle in the garden has been rendered obsolete, need to find bigger branches and logs! 😉

I ended up going for a pair of FTX Outback mini 2.0’s. Who knew going so slow could be so much fun. Been building a few mini courses with different obstacles to put them to the test.

Does the Grasshopper still come with a 380 motor?

no idea… none at all 🙂

Yep. 380.

no idea… none at all

A 540 might make a slight difference to speed, too 🙂

Work has started on my scratch build. Aluminium sheet has turned up and I’ve started working out where everything is going to go. Also had the shell turn up, ready for cutting up as I only intend to use the front half.

Although difficult to picture at the moment, this is what I’m aiming for

@flange Looks like a fun project, are you going to build a full tube frame?

I am indeed – 4mm tubing turned up today. It’s a lot of work if I’m honest, but quite therapeutic. Currently testing to see if I’ll MIG or braze – I’ve got a MIG so that’s the cheaper option but I think braze will look nicer. Then there’s the cutting and fish-mouthing of the rods themselves…lots to work out!

I find I enjoy the build more than running them sometimes. I’ve fairly recently started to braze a few bits together but before that I used mig for all my rc metalwork. The brazing gives a lovely finish with good prep but I actually found not doing fish mouths on the mig welded bits worked better as the wire filled the void. I tend to use fairly high amps and a medium wire speed then tack both sides of the joint.

Where did you source your tube? I normally use solid rod as it’s easier to find locally.

Here’s the last cage I used the mig on.

I’ve been playing in the garden with my Top Force, turning the boost & turbo up on the ESC. Made it fly 😁 but then bust it 😦

Needs a new rear diff as I’ve stripped the splines on the out drives. It was quick though! Briefly.

@weeksy
I’m sure I have a 540 motor in a box somewhere.

If you drop me a line I’ll send it to you.👍

Replacement driveshafts for my FTX Mini 2.0s still haven’t turned up after 4 weeks….
I spent an hour making a replacement cross journal from two bent brass pins, dental floss wrapped round and superglue.
Hope the replacement parts turn up soon as I’m not making another one!

Merak

Member

@weeksy
I’m sure I have a 540 motor in a box somewhere.

If you drop me a line I’ll send it to you.👍

And I’ve got a spare one too for when Harry gets around to building his. 🙂

Again, drop us a line and I’ll stick it in the post.