YourMicro.com - HPI Micro RS4, Losi Mini-T, XRay M18, Forums, News, Pictures, Parts, and Shop
Forums, M18, M18T, RC18T, Mini-LST, Mini-T, Micro RS4, XRay, 1/18, 18th scale
M18 Hop-Ups, M18 Parts, Mini-LST Hop-Ups, Mini-LST Parts, Kyosho, Atomic, 3Racing, Country Alloy Works, Castle Creations, Trinity, Intellect, United RC, Battery Packs, 2/3A
  #16  
Old 12-01-2008, 01:54 PM
kavvika's Avatar
kavvika kavvika is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IL
Posts: 119
Send a message via AIM to kavvika
I hate to report that I've run into a few snags, but here it goes: Unimoger replied back that all the TLT-1 bodies have been sold. The other seller turned down my offer of $14 for two TLT-1 bodies. Then on Thanksgiving Eve, my parent showed me a letter from Lowe's; I've been laid off. The top deck and rear hubs did arrive, though, so I installed them and the chassis is officially now a roller only waiting on the body and wheels. I really don't want to have to cancel this projekt, but progress may be slow now. I wanted to have it finished over Winter break which starts in two weeks, but it looks like I'll spending my time be job hunting, and until I have one, I don't know how many more parts I can afford to buy. I do have a 30% off coupon for eBay, so the DP gear cover will be the next hop-up that I can snag for under $10. And the XPS ESC I bought still hasn't arrived. Christmas is just a few weeks away, I suppose I could ask for some buggy wheels and tires.
__________________
Projekt R/C
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 12-01-2008, 06:42 PM
arstron arstron is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 10
Perhaps a small break could be a good thing. Traxxas is releasing a 1/16th scale electric slayer, there is no telling what size it will really be, but maybe one of the bodies will end up being small enough to fit.

http://www.bigsquidrc.com/traxxas-16...breaking-news/
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 01-08-2009, 11:43 AM
kavvika's Avatar
kavvika kavvika is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IL
Posts: 119
Send a message via AIM to kavvika
I believe I owe you guys an apology and a huge update. It's been over a month since my last post, so surely I must have something to show for it.

I had wanted to to keep this RC18 brushed for the sake of price, smoothness, and so I could let others drive it. Back in November I found a Toyz member selling a XPS ESC and sent paypal. Then came Thanksgiving break and shortly after, finals. I was so busy I had forgot about my purchase and it wasn't until a month later that I noticed it hadn't arrived yet. Of course, the seller sent me a PM with a run-around and I decided to give him another week. By then, it was too late to file a paypal complaint. So that really put a damper on things. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do: sell the chassis, change direction, or finish what I had started.

But around the same time, I found a somewhat-local R/C'er and fellow RCTech member selling a pre-painted RC18R Scorrpion shell. It was drilled for T body posts, but the price was right. Think half the price one sells for new on eBay. So I couldn't pass up that deal and when I came home on the 28th, I tore open the package and mounted the shell. The shell was alot bigger than I expected and I thought I was well on my way to having this projekt completed, as I now had one of the two most important parts. Only, the cut RPM bumper was now hidden under the large front overhang.

But the shell never fit right, no matter how I trimmed it. After a nearly an hour of fighting the shell with the help of a pair of kitchen shears, I realized that maybe it wasn't the body that was molded wrong. Sure enough, the chassis was tweaked quite a bit. I took a look at Slash body picture online, and began trimming the wheel wells, front, and rear, in the same style, then mounted the body to check for clearance. Perfect fit! And not a bad job for using a pair of straight kitchen shears, if I do say so myself. I then took a black Sharpie and darkened the headlights, grill, and rear radiator area to break up all the blue paint. To make the wheels line up perfectly, I flipped the rear arms over for a longer wheelbase, like I had done with my previous RC18. Only the body posts were too short, so along with the new chassis, I have to pick up a new set of RC18R body mounts.

This just left me to figure out wheels and tires. I had previously settled on "B" fronts with mini-pin tires, but wasn't ready to swallow the ~$30 price tag since my T also needed new wheels and tires. I wore down a new set of mini-pin stockers on my T in a matter of 3 battery packs, and wouldn't expect the narrower pin tires to last much longer. That night, I read about the Radio Shack Pro-Pulse clearance and called the local RS's to see which ones had which parts in stock the next morning. I walked out of the Shack about $100 lighter armed with a B-100 and a giant bag full of batteries, Ti turnbuckles, aluminum shocks, and pre-mounted tires. Once I got home, I began sorting out my loot. I could open two packages of aluminum shocks and use the shorter fronts on Projekt corR and use the rears on the Pro-Pulse buggy. I would keep the Pro-Pulse remote and ESC and sell the rest of the car. After all, it was going to cost me the same amount to find a decent radio with a small enough RX and a brushed ESC, and now I had two NiMh battery packs to use.

However, the biggest pleasant surprise was when I realized the Pro-Pulse buggy comes with the perfect scale wheels and tires to use. The wheels were 12-spoke, and thin buggy style, and the tires were a very soft compound chunky-pin type. Very scale, IMO, and far better than AE buggy front pin tires. The thicker pins would wear much longer than the AE pins I had previously settled on. I boiled a set to remove the tires, dyed the wheels black, and mounted them to the T stubs. Then I topped off the aluminum Pro-Pulse shocks with a few drops of 30wt. oil, and that's how the chassis sits as of now. The shocks are a close second to the 3Racing shocks my other '18 wears. They haven't leaked a drop of oil and feel just like how a shock should. Can't say that about many mini shocks. The 30wt. might be a bit too thick for this chassis, though.

Going forward, I still need the three screws that mount the motor plate to the chassis and top deck, and will need to trim the top deck to clear the 370-sized can of the Pro-Pulse High-Speed motor. The suspension binding issue was taken care of by swapping a tie-rod end with one taken from a spare shock. It only took me two months to realize they used the same ball ends. Then I will buy a DP delrin rear shock tower to mount the rear shocks more vertical like a truck would have. Electronics will be borrowed from the Pro-Pulse buggy and steering will tightened up with the shock o-ring mod. If I'm not mistaken, that should be it to make the truck RTR. I'm not a huge fan of the paint job on the body, but it'll keep me going until DP releases their second run with window, headlight, and radiator stickers.



__________________
Projekt R/C

Last edited by kavvika; 01-08-2009 at 08:31 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 01-08-2009, 08:12 PM
monkey-1 monkey-1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 18
This project is turning out really well. How about a side shot with the body on?
__________________
-Monkey-1
Studmonkeyracing.com
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 01-09-2009, 01:46 AM
kavvika's Avatar
kavvika kavvika is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IL
Posts: 119
Send a message via AIM to kavvika
How's this?



If I could re-do anything, it would be the rear of the front wheel well. The curve should be more gradual and I took off a bit too much material. But I did the best with what the previous owner left for me to work with.

I would've posted earlier, but I decided to run my T in the salty, snowy street (bad idea) and it required an emergency tear-down.
__________________
Projekt R/C
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2007 YourMicro.com
Mini Inferno Sale - Up to $85 Instant Savings!
Micro-T Hop-Ups
RC18R, M18, Micro RS4, Mini-LST, TamTech-Gear, Minizilla, RC18T, RC18B, RC18MT
Mini-Z, Mini-Z Racer, MR-02, MA-010
M18, M18T, RC18T, Mini-LST, Mini-T, Micro RS4, XRay, 1/18, 18th scale
XMODS, XMOD, Micro Flight, ZipZaps, ZipZaps SE, Bit Char-G, MicroSizers, TTTT, Plantraco Desktop Rover, SuperSlicks, Digi Q
Mini Inferno, Mini Inferno ST, half EIGHT, 1/16, 16th scale
Epoch, Indoor Racer, 1/43, 43rd scale
E-Savage, eSavage, eZilla, e-Zilla, HPI
Robots, Bots, Bipeds, Wheeled, Manoi, Roomba, NXT, Lego, Hacking
Crawling, Crawlers, Micro, RC, Losi Mini-Rock Crawler, Duratrax Cliff Climber
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, Mini Inferno Hop-Ups, Mini Inferno Parts, M18 Hop-Ups, M18 Parts