Reply With QuoteRecently restored my original Monster Beetle and add a couple of mods. What brilliant fun.
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Now re-bodied, with ESC
I seem to remember a past thread but couldn't find it....
Anyway, I have a week of annual leave coming up next week and as we're having a staycation, thoughts turned to what I could do with the odd day if the weather isn't the greatest.
For a while now I've been reminiscing about the two Tamiya RC cars I had in the late 80s (Monster Beetle and Clod Buster) and, as these things are often dangerously easy to do, a few clicks on the internet opened up a bit of a rabbit hole in terms of vintage a re-issue Tamiya RC models.
I had to stop myself from buying a NOS in box BigWig and turn to more prosaic and cheaper entry points. I've gone for a Grasshopper, which back in the day wouldn't have qualified you to play with me and my Monster Beetle, but now seems an appealing way to see if I enjoy the hobby again. I went for the candy green version as it's less hassle to paint, but couldn't leave it stock, so have bunged in an upgraded 540 Tamiya Sport Tuned motor and the ballrace set. This is what I'm getting and should be with me tomorrow:
I think I will have reached the limits of what the chassis can handle with the hotter 540 motor so next steps might be some oil-filled shocks for it. In all honesty I can see this spiraling out of control!
Has anybody else returned to the hobby I wonder?
Recently restored my original Monster Beetle and add a couple of mods. What brilliant fun.
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Now re-bodied, with ESC
Last edited by notnowkato; 10th September 2020 at 12:29.
Its all about the scale chaps!!!
Small but mighty... my modified 1/32 scale Team Losi Micro Baja. Great craic indoors and out (on a smooth driveway!)
I currently own every Tamiya Re Released vintage buggy. The Vanquish is being re-released next month. If you have the money, the Avante 2011 re-release is about the single most beautiful RC Buggy ever made and a superb shelf queen. Costs a bomb though
it funny, literally last weekend I decided to sell all of my i/c cars and trucks an electric cars as a job lot as they just don't get used anymore.
Guilty!
Got half a dozen kits in a cupboard - from my first built (and trashed) Cosworth Michelin Pilot from 1995 to several still boxed, and a work-in-progress Globeliner truck that I started circa. 2002!
Love that! Takes me right back. What motor are you running in it?Originally Posted by notnowkato
Recently restored my original Monster Beetle and add a couple of mods. What brilliant fun.
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Now re-bodied, with ESC
I did hover over a pre-order for the next batch of the Avante but I really hankered after the BigWig when I was a kid and I think I'm going to try and find a vintage kit in the box and build one of those next. Love the Technigold motor and always dreamed of having two in my Clod back in the day!
Ive just recommissioned my Escort Cosworth Tamiya rc car for my grandson. New speed controller, tyres, battery. Its running like a good one despite resting for 20 years! The ESC is an eye opener, so smooth and controllable compared to the metal tang on the servo operated original.
Still has the original motor but might go for a brush less version. The new ESC has made the thing way better but I don't think very much more power is for me, the diffs aren't that tough.
The speed controllers are new to me. I used to hate the mechanical ones and how they sometimes arced and smouldered!
I had a sand rover at 13yrs old, fantastic fun. Wanted to rebuild a couple years ago but found parts in short supply and cost too much. Then found a re release version of the Sand Rover, easy to build and the new electronic control is so much better, now have a fun hobby I share with my daughter.
Battery life dramatically increased as well as power is not being wasted .
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i have a losi mini 8. Crazy fast with a lipo 2s, apparently a 3s breaks them without upgrade parts so i didnt bother. 2s is funny how fast the accelerate
I’ve got these from ages ago. The Subaru was a birthday present for my then 4 year old daughter, the Mercedes I got a few months later, it sat unbuilt in cupboard for something like 20 years and was only built around 5-6 years ago so that my 2 sons could race each other. They are both stock except for an ESC as the standard speed controller I think just has 2 speeds, fast and mental.
You call that an RC vehicle? Watch and learn:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGsolD5Ip1U
Real big boys toys!
This thread is a trip down memory lane.
Used to race 10th scale electic in the days of Nicads. I don't recall all of them but the more memorable ones were Tamiya frog (absolutely hideous design flaw of the chassis just behind the front axle), Associated RC10 and Schumacher CAT.
The Associated in particular was a work of art, fabulously machined piece of kit.
Great hobby, especially for a kid as a learning experience. Racing, just like the bigger brethren gets silly expensive though.
Brings back some memories, I have a Tamiya madcap in the attic somewhere I built with my dad when I was at school I might dig out.
Used to race my friends bearhawk and lunchbox, good times
Was there one called a Frog? I had an RC car in the 80s, think it was called that. Great fun. A mate had a Fox which was faster though. He went on to race RC cars, spent a fortune.
EDIT...just seen WTRacer's post, glad my memory still works.
Oh dear. At a loose end for 10 minutes and my itch for the BigWig got the better of me.
Now got a 2017 re-release coming my way...
Took my “old” rc car to an rc shop earlier this year ( see post above) I asked about the speed controller smoking, the response was “ they all do that sir” . I am guilty of using the conductive grease liberally though.
If you want to see some state of the art RC mania including a bid to hit 203 mph , put Kev Talbot into youtube
A few more before it gets all dirty
Must resist...must resist.........
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Takes me back to the days of racing my Tamiya Sonic Fighter against my brothers Tamiya Bear Hawk. Building, repairing and modifying RC cars gave me skills which I still use today. I've been tempted with a Monster Beetle re release as I always fancied one as a kid.
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I raced various Tamiya's then a PB Mustang and Schumacher Cat when I was a teenager. Had a brief dalliance with nitro 1/8 about ten years ago (too much hassle and the noise draws a crowd), then around this time last year got the urge again and bought a s/h Associated B64 on Ebay.
It was in mint cosmetic condition having only ever been raced on carpet, but a full stripdown revealed exactly the type of wear you'd expect on a race car. Much money was thrown at it replacing the worn out parts, then I discovered the range was crap with the supplied radio so a new Spektrum DX5C was bought, then the magic smoke escaped from the esc and now the motor has died too. The plan was to join a club and go racing but then CV19 arrived and I've still to buy a new motor for it.
Instead I bought a Losi Mini T 2.0 at the start of lockdown for driveway fun and it's been awesome, highly recommended. The only problem with it is the upgrades available so now it's been converted to brushless along with a new receiver so I can use my Spektrum with it, aluminium shocks and other alu upgrades to remove the slop in the steering. My little Ł140 car now owes me over Ł400 plus I've had to dial down the throttle to 50% for driveway use. With the throttle at 100% it's faster than anything I raced back in the day and will wheelie on demand but it's undriveable on a loose surface.
It is a fun build but the body is a barsteward to paint! No Technigold motor or 8.4v battery though. Tamico.de do cracking deals btw in Tamiya and Kyosho.
When I was a young teenager I used to race my mate's Hornet at a local RC club, we used the school car park with old hose pipe marking out the circuit layout. The car itself wasn't much cop however that didn't matter, I learnt how to drive it and held my own all things considered. We had a major falling out over something non-RC related so I bought myself a Kyosho Ultima (with its proper oil filled shocks and independent rear suspension!) and trounced him when he raced his own car, I even did well against the then new 4*4 models coming through. When it became obvious that the 4 wheel drive cars had an advantage we split the 2s from the 4s and I became the club's 1st 2wd champion.
Coloured pegs on the transmitter aerials denoting which crystals you were using... Ah, those were the days.
Last edited by CardShark; 10th September 2020 at 23:35.
For a trip down memory lane you won't go wrong with these re-releases.
Dare someone to stick a brushless motor and lipo setup in a Grasshopper!
I used to be into Tamiya RC and had a lot pass through my hands as I would buy wrecks from eBay then repair and sell on.
Here are few that I still have
My Original Bearhawk
Blackfoot Extreme
TLT-1 with Junfac Tracer Chassis and jeep body
TLT-1 standard
Lunch box with customized wheely bar and suspension upgrades
Long gone
2 TL-01 Baja Champs
4 Mad Bulls
5 Fighter Buggys
2 Clodbusters
Lunchbox
Stadium Raider
Falcon
Pumpkin
3 Grasshopper
I should probably try to sell the remainder as I rarely use them.
I bought a wee Mini-t 2.0 as well during lockdown. Brilliant thing but I'm now needing more power for sure! Front arms and links are wobbly and could do with alloy hop ups. It's a slippery slope isn't it!I raced various Tamiya's then a PB Mustang and Schumacher Cat when I was a teenager. Had a brief dalliance with nitro 1/8 about ten years ago (too much hassle and the noise draws a crowd), then around this time last year got the urge again and bought a s/h Associated B64 on Ebay.
It was in mint cosmetic condition having only ever been raced on carpet, but a full stripdown revealed exactly the type of wear you'd expect on a race car. Much money was thrown at it replacing the worn out parts, then I discovered the range was crap with the supplied radio so a new Spektrum DX5C was bought, then the magic smoke escaped from the esc and now the motor has died too. The plan was to join a club and go racing but then CV19 arrived and I've still to buy a new motor for it.
Instead I bought a Losi Mini T 2.0 at the start of lockdown for driveway fun and it's been awesome, highly recommended. The only problem with it is the upgrades available so now it's been converted to brushless along with a new receiver so I can use my Spektrum with it, aluminium shocks and other alu upgrades to remove the slop in the steering. My little Ł140 car now owes me over Ł400 plus I've had to dial down the throttle to 50% for driveway use. With the throttle at 100% it's faster than anything I raced back in the day and will wheelie on demand but it's undriveable on a loose surface.
Thinking of trying a mini crawler. That's a side to RC I've never tried yet. Looks like fun......
My radio contol efforts are a tad slower, at my age I don't need anything to be too fast..
Moved my RC cars out of my rental garage before it was broken into thankfully. I have:
Losi XXT - I have owned from new and bought when I was perhaps 14
Losi 1/10 Desert Truck - running brushless
LC Racing EMB 1/14th buggy - bought in kit form and running brushless
Schumacher Cougar Laydown - kit form and currently still sitting in the box waiting to be assembled
I have never owned anything from Associated, so I will probably get a kit made by them at some point. I'd also like an Arrma Notorious and an MST RMX 2.0.
One day I'll grow up. :D
I now have some toys to play with:
The servo saver is where most of the slop occurs and a common trick is to wrap a cable tie around it to tighten it up. I went one step further and filled it with epoxy but there's still some play. I looked into ditching the servo saver for a regular servo arm but the spline count is exclusive for that servo and no regular arms available, so I'll just have to wait until it breaks and buy a different servo.
The Losi brushless motor is silly fast in such a small car but it does highlight the need for an adjustable ball diff or a sealed diff where you can use high viscosity oil. There's a ball diff for the old one which supposedly drops straight in but I'm not sure if the plastic gears would hold up with brushless power. Sod it, I've just bought one and will report back - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180955644233
As for crawlers, I had zero interest and never saw the point, but after seeing a few videos I'm strongly resisting the urge to buy one and set up an indoor obstacle course...
Another ex car racer here , trying to avoid revisiting my youth . Fridays at the local youth club were the highlight of my week, as I raced my rear engines kyosho optima . Gave it away to a friends kid , which was silly as far too much car for a youngster , and I am sure it broke after ten minutes and was never fixed . Optima mid long wheel base were the cars to have in my day. I would love another but no where for me to run them around here , unless I join Crystal Palace Rc club who I saw racing the other day . Still got a mini stock and an old meteor in the loft I think .. Enjoy all .
Last edited by jeromeo; 12th September 2020 at 10:01.
Used to have a Mardave Meteor as a kid and thought it absolutely flew. Ran out of patience charging it for twenty five minutes to get a fraction of that in running time despite having a few batteries.
Never knew what happened to it but browsing EBay one night, a rolling shell in a sorry state was nearing the end of auction and decided I’d have it to occupy a bit of time stripping it down and cleaning it etc. Nostalgia bit and I’ve now got three including one that was built and was never used so essentially a shelf queen once I get it painted up. None of them currently run so that may be a job over winter.
The Kyosho Optima and Optima Turbo have been re-released with some upgrades BTW. Superb cars and that 80s styling still IMHO looks much better than the modern buggies
Finished the rolling chassis on Friday, but then had to go visit the MiL on Sat. Came back yesterday and painted it and applied the decals.
First run last night on a gravel car park was epic! I forgot though how dust gets everywhere...
Impressions are that the chassis is at its limit with the Sport Tuned 540.
Got the BigWig coming today and I may go 2s lipo with that with the stock can.
Nice!
Yeah with those spring shocks that will bounce along like, well, a Grasshopper. Oil Dampers are a must. The Bigwig has those although it is a heavy car / back in the day it ran on 8.4v. Lipos will make that run like a demented thing lol.
For the rereleases that can still handle going like stink have a look at the Top Force, Egress and the Avante. Also the Vanquish is getting released again next month and that should be suitably mental.
[QUOTE=j0hnbarker;5531770]
Finished the rolling chassis on Friday, but then had to go visit the MiL on Sat. Came back yesterday and painted it and applied the decals.
First run last night on a gravel car park was epic! I forgot though how dust gets everywhere...
Impressions are that the chassis is at its limit with the Sport Tuned 540.
Got the BigWig coming today and I may go 2s lipo with that with the stock can.[/QUOTE
[QUOTE=ryanb741;5531778]Nice!
Yeah with those spring shocks that will bounce along like, well, a Grasshopper. Oil Dampers are a must. The Bigwig has those although it is a heavy car / back in the day it ran on 8.4v. Lipos will make that run like a demented thing lol.
For the rereleases that can still handle going like stink have a look at the Top Force, Egress and the Avante. Also the Vanquish is getting released again next month and that should be suitably mental.
I think the Avante or the Wild One is next on my list. Tried and failed to find an Avante in stock anywhere though, which is probably a good thing as my wife was rolling her eyes when the BigWig turned up!
Finished the rolling chassis on Friday, but then had to go visit the MiL on Sat. Came back yesterday and painted it and applied the decals.
First run last night on a gravel car park was epic! I forgot though how dust gets everywhere...
Impressions are that the chassis is at its limit with the Sport Tuned 540.
Got the BigWig coming today and I may go 2s lipo with that with the stock can.[/QUOTE
Next one up!
My “stable”. All Traxxas (except the tiny one), some more beaten/modded than others.
The Slash 4x4 now looks like this:
Last edited by MadeOfCheese; 27th September 2020 at 20:32.
This seems to be the right place to ask a question to the knowledgable folk. What would be a good entry level car suitable for a 10 year old? It would be used mostly on smooth tarmac surfaces rather than rocks etc.
Thanks
I’d recommend any of the Tamiya Quick Drive series. Already pre built and includes radio so there’s minimal assembly required before you get going.
Ftx tracer and wltoys a959 get abused by me and my 8 year old… great fun and easy to master. The tracer has a speed controller to help learning … both cheap but pretty solid
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I’ve got a Traxaas Slash, 2wd, and my daughter has a Traxaas Rustler, 2wd, both of which are great fun. They are pretty robust and spare parts, if required, are easy to come by.
Would thoroughly recommend.
Ahh coloured pegs, remember that, did regional racing and a few at national. Mainly due to my friend was sponsored and raced at national level. He even got on the team to go to Barcelona for the Euros
Used to enjoy racing etc but my local club changed hands and location it went to On Road stuff and I moved away. Now it has a on road track along with off road.
Shame the local shop has gone under, way before covid, used to like going in there and getting something I didn’t need haha
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So many happy memories from me: starting out with my modified Sandscorcher I got as an Xmas present (had a PCB chassis versus the heavy std plastic), then onto a Hotshot. Both second hand, both like trigger's broom once crashed a million times. It's how I leaned to mix Araldite properly!
My biggest fantasy was one day being able to afford an Avante.
i need to stop reading the thread now before I blow about 400 quid on a new kit and some hop ups. Talking of hop ups, can't believe the base kits from Tamiya all came with plastic bearings.
I never had a Tamiya, my first proper RC was a Yokomo YZ10 as I was racing more or less straight away.
Still remember my late father saying to me - "You should come up the club, there are people racing radio controlled cars out the back, I think you would enjoy that"
5 years later I was still racing haha..
(The club was a local Sports Club/bar where the local government used if you were a social club member)
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