212 - About A Small Part And Some Doubts

Well, this week I haven't found the time to sit in front of the workbench to assemble my Acto Power motor but, during this week, due to the delivery of a small bit coming from the UK my thoughts have changed their course for some days.

All it's due to a small bit purchased some weeks ago from UK and received last week.

The stuff I've received is a fine milled support for the idle gear of the trasmission shared by Astute/Super Astute/MadCap/Saint Dragon/Monster Racer/King Cab family, the seller on Ebay (vintage-rc31) claims it's made in 6082 strong alluminum and, to be honest, it looks really tought and not only shining.

I can't wait to use it but in which car? My first proper RC car of ever? The Mad Cap?

My Toyota Hi-Lux Monster Racer (ok, it's on sale but I love it!)?

Or my original and heavly modified Super Astute?

I guess it will be the Super Astute that it's candidate to receive the Acto Power and, at this point, some other upgrade... At the end I will need only a time machine to allow me to race it in the good old days!

211 - Acto Power Off Roader 2WD Motor #53122 (part 5)

 

Finally the can of my Acto Power have been completed with the touches needed to be assembled: a new bearing have been fitted in place and the repro decal from MCI Racing have been applied. Now it's all ready to finish the restoration, parts will be assembled and the motor will be alligned with a proper tool.

210 - Acto Power Off Roader 2WD Motor #53122 (part 4)

Today the pink paint have been sprayed in light coates, the result is not a masterpiece but it seems to be enough to gain a decent full refurbishment of my Acto Power motor. To be honest I'm pretty sure that in origin the primer and paint coats weren't much thicker than the new ones because they have been totally and easly removed with a single application of paint stripper leaving it working for only  an hour or two.

So now that all the parts to refurbish have been refurbished and all the parts to swap have been collected I'm ready to finish the work!

209 - Acto Power Off Roader 2WD Motor #53122 (part 3)

This morning I've reached my parents home in my hometown for my weekly visit, so I had some spare hours for my RC projects. Since some weeks my attention is for my Acto Power motor and in the last week I've received the new rotor ordered from Tony Tamiya Parts in the UK (that is one of the most correct, precise and well furnished seller of Tamiya parts on this planet) and a pair of Tamiya spray cans from Amazon... and I've realized that I ordered the primer in the wrong color: light gray instead of white. It isn't a huge error, primer will stand under the main color... but I know that its color is wrong and I will remeber it for the eternity.

Before spraying the motor can with primer I've cleaned it for the last time using warm water, hand soap and a nylon brush for bottles. Considering that today have been a nice, windy and dry moorning so I've decided to lay it outside for drying (and Bora wind dries everything in few minutes) while I went to the supermarket so, before lunch with the can perfectly dryed, I sprayed the primer and I like the result A LOT.

208 - Acto Power Off Roader 2WD Motor #53122 (part 2)

 

Work on my Acto Power is ongoing: paint have been easily removed this morning applying a paintstripper and letting it work for a couple of hours. Then the paint mash have been removed with a nylon brush and a paper towel.

The result is superb and I guess it depend by the thin layers of paint applied in origin (I'm pretty sure that are Tamiya Fine Primer and PS29).

The next step will be removing the paint leftover with fine sand paper and order two new cans of paint to complete the job.

I will also try to better clean the inside of the can with a small cilindric brush (if I will find it 😅).

207 - Acto Power Off Roader 2WD Motor #53122 (part 1)

In december 2021, from a local site, I've purchased in bulk this Tamiya Acto Power #53122 motor and a Reedy Ultra Mr. L motor. A kind of impulse buy but I've desidered the Acto Off Roader 2WD for ages. Both motors were used and abused, dirty and with the scars of a thousand of battles.

I've started to clean the Tamiya motor months ago and for the whole summer it have been forget between two windows in my parents home under the hard hits of summer sun and this worsen its conditions: the can color has faded, mea culpa.

This week I found the spares needed to refurb this motor: a new endbell habe been already delivered, a new armature is on its way and a repro decal have been ordered.

So, today, my Blitzer project have been set aside to deep clean the motor can emptying an entire can of brake cleaner, original shims have been saved and I've started to look for the info to remove the old paint and to refresh the motor also with a brilliant hand of pink one.

206 - "Three Is Company"

My collection of vintage brushed motors marks a +1 this week, it is a mint condition LRP Super Series motor that here is shown in company of its two brothers I already own.

As the others two it carries a "team tested" sticker but this time it says "37000" (rpm, of course), great!

I own (and use) another two or three LRP motor but this ore the ones with that sticker, a time or another I will gather my entire LRP bunch for a family photos.

205 - (Turning a) Stadium (In A) Blitzer Beetle

My attempt to turn my neglected Stadium Blitzer in a (sort of) Blitzer Beetle is going on. A brand new Kamtec body have been cutted and trimmed to allow my vision of a lowered body Blitzer Beetle to become real. The body height shown is definitive not the body position that will be moved forward.

I've switched the cracked and unsuccessful modified chassis with a new one and in re assembling the car I've noticed that upper holes in the front bulkhead were ovalized allowing the front end to move if pushed from the bumber so, playing with screws and with my Dremel, I widened the two holes using the Dremel and swithched the two self tapping screws with two step screws and now the front end look rock solid and the small movement disappeared. I will check the real improvement in chassis durability after a period of runs.

I have also placed all the electronics in place, its layout is definitive and easy to reach thanks to the wide room available in this fantastic chassis (that would deserves more attention by Tamiya), only the motor needs to be installed and my choice is for the LRP Super Series that already powered this car in the past years.

To delivery its power a steel pinion will be used but I will purchase ASAP a Robinson one because the Carson I've bought months ago is going rusty only awaiting to be used the widely boasted german quality -_-

204 - Tayaki Model's

 

This weekend I've been in the condition to find some time to spend some hours at the workbench, finally.

Mainly it have been spent in upgrading my Stadium Blitzer and turning it in a kind of Blitzer Beetle... unfortunately when not much time is available I prefer the screwdriver to the camera so: no pics :-)

But the pic I want to share comes from a long waited packet arrived from Japan, it took two attempts and a back delivery to Japan but after months and despite italian post I own this beautyful full set of 3D printed shock towers made by Tayaki Model's for the Tamiya Manta Ray / Top Force that I plan to use in my Delta Ray buggy.

203 - Kyosho Mega 16x2 Motor

 

I'm not the kind of modeller that make stocks of everything and I'm not a collector at the point to buy two or more of everything. I collect only useful spares and some vintage brushed motors that I intend to refurbish but this motor is different: it was my first high grade motor, the one I've ran in my Yokomo Works '91 and the only RC present I've ever received from my family. I own yet that motor but anyway I've decided to buy this second one, it have been an impluse buy but it's fine. 

202 - Holidays

 

As usual between july and august we spend a pair of weeks in the alps in regenerating our batteries. Unfortunately this year (due to health reaseons) I can't dedicate time in discovering new local breweries and beers so I mostly do gardening works (we have more ore less 1000 square meters of lawn to care) and I increase my knowledge of interesting cheeses.

My ride for 2022 summer holidays 😅

I've also renounce to bring on holidays a Tamiya to have some fun because neither my Blitzer and my Wild One were ready and because I didn't feel confident to bring my Delta Ray without basics setup and without a proper shakedown: too much risks of breakages without not much possibilities to work to fix it properly.

Often when we discover a new cheese the only leftover is paper 😇

201 - Stadium Blitzer Update Detailed

My Stadium Blitzer has been neglected for a long time without a reason because it is a car that I like and that I've lightly upgraded in the past (handmade crossmembers for shock towers and radio plate removing).

I've also some good memories with it.

Weeks ago I've swapped the old chassis, that I've ruined in the attempt to make room for Lipos, with a new chassis bought last year (if I'm not wrong) and more recently I've swapped the dogbones with DT02 unis as I have planned for ages.

To complete the trasmission upgrade I've in stock a Carson steel pinion so I can push a little more in choosing the motor.

A new servo saver is the not planned upgrade but it will be useful in a car without bellcrank setup for steering.

The main update concern the ESC: I will swap the Mtroniks usend in the past with a brand new Robitronic Speedstar 2 (I love its square shape) that I use widely in my cars.

New tires are also ready to by installed and in future, with more time to spend in the search, I will prepare a secon set more specific for grass.

The more evident change it's about the body that will be swapped with a Kamtec Blitzer Beetle body mounted in a lowered position in the attempt to create something unsual.

Unfortunately both this car as the Wild One will not be ready for my next holidays.

200 - Wild One Upgrade Detailed

 

In my last post, due to not enough pics made, I haven't well detailed the upgrade of my WO chassis.

The aluminum chassis looks well made, it's composed by an upper and a lower deck with two options for the battery positioning and the servo screwed upsidedown on the upper deck. This position force the servo horn to rubs on the lower deck, in the past days I've received a new Tamiya servo saver that will be installed using the shorter horn to avoid rubbing.

I have to underline that I've ruined this car trasmission during 2021 summer holidays and the spares shortage experienced during Corona/Covid pandemic has delayed its fixing. I've also experienced my first unlucky purchase on Ebay: gears payed, never received and money refund not received... I will see how it goes. I've ordered spares to another seller that are punctually arrived.

Unfortunately I will not finish this car in time for next holidays (and my Blitzer also) so my Delta Ray Buggy it's the perfect (and only) candidate.

199 - Random Updates

 At this point my Delta Ray buggy is finished, only velcro tape to fix the body and the hole for its antenna pipe are needed. I can't wait to drive it, to feel how it handles and to understand if the choosen motor will be fine or not.

With the mind free my mumbling have been focused on two "quick" projects: refurbishing my Stadium Blitzer and reparing my Wild One that has its differential broken during 2021 holidays.

To be honest my Blitzer will turn in a Beetle using a Kamtec lexan body, its powerplant will be updated with a Robitronic Speedstar 2 ESC and its motor swapped with a more powerfull, its steel pinion is ready already one and, of course, it will gain a new chassis.

Concering my Wild One, tired to wait the differential gears ordered in april from the UK, I've dismantled the whole car to swap the ABS chassis with the aluminum one available on the Bay: it looks as a nice upgrade, the car looks more similar to a Kyosho, guess it will be more durable without a real performace improvement.

During the build of the chassis I've swapped all the original screws with Tamiyas just to avoid an excommunication from Shizuoka.

I'm also planning to pack the new differential gears in the same way I did with the one of my Brat years ago, just to keep the 23T motor that make this car so funny to drive.

I'm also realizing that I'm guilty neglegting my blog and it depends mainly by the habit to post my RC pics on Instagram, chasing some "like" but not talking about RC cars... it's all limited to hastags without a real sharing of kwonldege, it could sound a bit nerdy but I prefer to be more old schoold than mainstream.

198 - 99% Complete

My Delta Ray buggy is complete for the 99%, it needs only the hole for the antenna pipe and velcro tape to secure the body to the undertray. Some mistakes have been made while painting but are the same mistakes Iìve made when I'm 16 so it's all ok because this car has been built as a car from the 90s 😉

197 - The Delta Ray Buggy

The original idea to build a TA01 based car fast and rough is gone from months, I'm working hard to end the build of a never existed car following the concept that inspired the Yokomo Hot Dog 4: a mesh between a touring car and a competition 4wd buggy.

A better painted body is hard needed but I love this more boxy shaped one.

A sheet of stickers is already waiting for the body, the last step of a build that is taking almost 3 years.

A view of the layout that underlines the concept under this car: on road DNA hybridated with off road DNA.

Definitive ESC...

... and definitive motor: a refurbished 13x2 Peak!

I feel better when using Tamiya original option parts.

The paint scheme needs to be revised but I love this color choice!

A view of the definitive wiring.