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

Another one arrived, think I ordered in February, so was a nice surprise when it turned up. Last of the “cars I’ve always wanted”, so the aim is to stop after this one.

After being distracted with some birthday Lego, I’m currently building a Top Force Evo, then it will be the Kyosho Optima Turbo, and finally on to this. In no hurry so might take a while to get to it…

I can’t remember when I actually got this? February rings a bell but it may even have been last year. Anyway, after much procrastination the shell is finally done. I need to look at the steering linkage as it seems to have limited range turning left but not right.

Heng Long Challenger 2. All 730mm of it!

…and with the T34/85 and Tiger.

Quite a beast when you see it next to the Tiger. I have too much other stuff on at the moment but would definitely be up for a Leopard 2 at some point I think. Decent paint job too.!

Ah that’s cool, I thought they were all on the same basic chassis

would definitely be up for a Leopard 2 at some point

MUST RESIST

Actually, forget that last link as the postage is a bit cheeky.

https://www.wickedimports.co.uk/tank-model

Harry I first spotted these a few years ago. They look hugely impressive, quality of the parts looks amazing. I have no idea on cost but I’d imagine they’d be cheaper than the likes of Armortek. Definitely on the lottery win list 😀

http://www.chunwai-model.com/

Wow. The Abrams is 1300mm mm long and weighs 65kg!

It would need its own garage.

Those tanks are massive!

I’ve set up a little crawler course at the back of the garden. Actually quite good fun getting around on it. Have flipped pallets upside down and cut the supports so it’s like having two lanes, one pallet with rocks, one pallet with logs, then some other bits

I wonder how well the tanks would get around a crawler course, apart from maybe being too big

After finishing the Scooby on Sunday I took it to the local park. The servo saver promptly came loose and pissed off into some undergrowth never to be found. Annoyingly Tamiya only supply one with the kit so I’ll be ordering the high torque servo saver fairly soon.

Tempted to order one of these as well. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/roc-hobby-1-18-atlas-6×6-rtr-scale-crawler-blue-1331377

I wonder how well the tanks would get around a crawler course, apart from maybe being too big

The Heng Long 1/16 Tanks or the massive 1/8 ones?

Sadly, the Heng Longs probably wouldn’t do that well on the gradients. They are more like models that move than Tamiya type cars.

If you are going that small a scale check out WPL https://www.wpl-rc.com/collections/b36

Spotted a 1/18th crawler for sale in the local Facebook RC group last week, ended up buying it! It’s a lovely looking thing:

Drives really well, indoors and out, and I’m loving the whole crawler idea. Just got to resist the whole modding and accessory black holes now!

Resistance is futile.🤗

So… I find myself drawn towards another tank.

Decisions, decisions…

https://www.wickedimports.co.uk/product-page/leopard-2a6-rc-tank-heng-long-1-16-smoke-sound-bb-shooting-function-2-4ghz-v6

https://www.wickedimports.co.uk/product-page/rc-tank-russian-t90-heng-long-1-16-smoke-sound-bb-ir-2-4-ghz-v6-1s

I made(another)Quattro.

@reluctantjumper

What model is that, I have a mild LC80 obsession

It’s a ROC Hobby Katana. Be warned though, once you get a small crawler you want a bigger one. Hence why this arrived a few days ago:

They’re as contagious as bikes for N+1 🤣

Looking forward to seeing that!

@Marek – Another LFGSS lurker!

This is a bit left field, but using some really poor foreign plans that I found on Aerofred I have constructed my first RC Boat. I picked this plan as it looked easy to build as didn’t have many parts to it (I soon discovered it was because a lot of the faces had to be freestyled into position to cover the open parts around the bulkheads…) anyway, it turned out ok but is incredibly narrow and unstable under throttle with a single prop.

I added some additional sponsons on the side which did help make it a little more stable, but the most recent upgrade has been some custom designed and 3D printed hydrofoils.

Final result is actually pretty good for what is something of a bodge rather than well thought out design. It’s very stable at around 75% throttle and cruises around up on the foils. Due to the angle of them they provide too much lift at max throttle and it leaps out the water and nose dives. I plan to attempt to remedy this by adding weight up front to try and keep the nose down. If this doesn’t work then either a rear foil or more tapered front foils so that they generate less lift when higher might be the answer.

Either way, a nice project to work on with the kids. The fact that it’s not worked great first time has given us some practical engineering to overcome too.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AW2ShvB6ZurGo4uR8

That is very Noyce Tim.

I like it, good on you for building and developing it. Have to say those foils remind me of a sealion though 😀

Eeek I want an RC hovercraft kit for Morecambe bay sands now 🙂

Ha! You’re right, i’d not seen them in that light before! I wanted them more angled up but my in work foil procrastinations weren’t done with any measurements of the actual boat, hence why they came out like they did. I just superglued them on as they were as I was interested to see how it worked.

I’ll cut them off and try a new design soon. I want them to be tapered so that they become thinner and produce less lift as the boat lifts higher and faster to try and keep the boat in the water (I can’t adjust the depth of the propeller so need to keep it low enough that it stays in the water at the stern)

I’d say you definitely need a small rear foil….but tricky if that lifts the prop out of the water

I did put a small t-foil on the rudder to start with but it worked better without. I might try again with that at a different angle too. The issue with foils is that they are basically weed catchers, so if you use it anywhere with weed then you need to stop it quite regularly to clean them off.

But talking about Christmas…our 11 yr grandson says he would like an RC car to race with his friends on asphalt in the park and on pavements. He keeps saying he’s seen something great on eBay etc. but I’m not sure.
So what’s ok for about £100 all in?

As an antidote to the talented body shell painters on here…

Bought my son a Tamiya Neo Fighter for his 8th birthday. I thought it’d be a project to last us all half term but we’d built it by mid morning the day after he opened it. Had to cancel his party for a covid contact and all he wanted to do all day was build more car. We have no paint so to buy time and keep the body shell pristine in the meantime we knocked up something temporary.

Gah! How do you post an image again? I’ve tried to follow the guide in “help” but to no avail…

Anyhow, really impressed with the Neo Fighter, compared with my limited experience from way back in the day (Falcon, endlessly bodged, upgraded, broken, glued, drilled, reinforced, squeezed into ill-fitting saloon body etc, c. 1987).

I wanted to build a proper kit with him so ended up going for this over various perhaps more “age appropriate” things, and I’m glad we did.

Pretty entry level kit and this thing is more balanced, stable, has better suspension, is not slow with stock bits even. Things have come on a bit haven’t they…

Struggles with not short enough grass though. Am going to try to fit bigger wheels.

Reduce Reuse Recycle by luketurney[/url], on Flickr

AH HA! Finally got the posting a pic thing. I’m not the quickest….

We built up our Neo Fighter. I couldn’t make an 8 year old wait before smashing it round the garden so we knocked up our own shell to keep the proper one clean and tidy before painting.

And then the next day I was looking at truck wheels and tyres to improve it on the grass. At the same time boyo decided on orange and black paint and, as luck would have it, the in stock wheels were orange too, so that sealed that deal. Needed longer steering axles to take the wider fronts. It’s now essentially an Aqroshot but with off road tyres.

20211022_185147 by luketurney[/url], on Flickr

It’s a brilliant thing. Fast enough but not lightening quick. I’m sure we’ll upgrade the motor to something brushless soon enough. Plus it needs stiffer rear springs and a set of cartridge bearings. Seriously tempted to get a second one, just so he’s got something to race against, like…

It’s so beautiful

I couldn’t make an 8 year old wait before smashing it round the garden so we knocked up our own shell to keep the proper one clean and tidy before painting.

That’s proper Blue Peter stuff there!

@luket I did that to mine too. Watch out with the longer axles as they are a lot easier to break. Make sure you stick to the smaller of the two pinion sizes as the motor gets too hot with the 18t.
Kamtec make a nice cheap beetle shell which looks mint with the big wheels.

@clubby I was thinking about a beetle/dune buggy/Brat or similarly retro shell. Which Beetle one fits? Could you put up a link? DT03 has a pretty long wheelbase.

Ours does cut out sometimes, which I presume is the ESC managing heat. We’ll stick with the 17t for now and fit bearings to hopefully lighten the load. Took it to the beach today, which I think put more pressure on it than the grass, largely because an 8 year old ran down most of a battery just doing doughnuts at constant full throttle. At some point probably not too long away I think we’ll try a brushless motor as well, for a little more speed but they’re meant to generate less heat too.

The other thing I need to avoid buying is a repro Wild One. Another iconic car I hankered for in my youth and just being rereleased again.

Think this was the one

https://www.kamtec.co.uk/epages/BT4645.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4645/Products/K0043

Needed a lot of trimming, especially the right rear quarter, to clear the gearbox. Wheelbase is near enough for a beach bashed. Two tone paint job was a pain and very messy but looks ok from a distance. Like all these things, messing about with things is half the fun.

Brushless is fun but get expensive with repairs. Chassis not really as lot designed to handle that much power off-road. I cracked the chassis barrel rolling it countless times trying to clear the doubles at the bmx track!