Driving the Details

A car needs a driver.

When I used to run 1/12 Pan Car in about in 1985!!! , a driver was a MANDATORY item.

With so many figures (including the Wild Willy from 1985) on sale these days. Let's make it so for drift.

While making a new body recently, I matched this Wild Willy Bus Driver to the colour scheme. And started to prep a few more.
  

I use the reliable Tamiya paints for simplicity.

 
After doing some black outlines, I work back to cover these as much as possible.

So the closer I get to completion , the outlines almost disappear.

NOTE: These pictures on your PC are about 4x bigger than the actual size.

You can spend as much time on tone and contrast as you like. But simple is just as effective. 

I already have a Tamiya Sand Rover Buggy Driver painted like Luke Sykwalker, But I wanted a similar head to match my current machine.   Making some details out of off cuts is pretty easy.

Some small stickers and a few sharpies later, the Beardman is ready for action!

180SX2X Update... Goo-tiful.

Goo Time!

Shoe goo is a nice imported toxic American chemical composition that is targetted by glue sniffers and therefore protected and can only be bought under the counter in Australia.

But when you are working with it... it makes you feeeeeeelllllll  GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!

Jokes aside, RC hobbyists have been using it for years to re-enforce bodies.

More recently, ABC hobby started making Lexan bodies with separate bumpers. But it was Kazama Auto who really exposed the Japanese RC world to Goo. He imported it and re-branded it in Japan to support the Kazama S15 which paved the way for deep bumper mouldings and separate panels.

After making sure your panels will fit perfectly. Smear it on and act quickly to spread it out with a "finger or similar". The black type gives a bit more setting time, but the clear is pretty quick to go off.

I only use the black when the body colour are dark. I've got black inside these machines but I'm only using black goo on the red car.

once you have everything in place. tape the panels in place. If you accidentally get some bleed, it's pretty easy to slice through and peel off once it's dry so don't worry about that too much.

you can use pegs, or whatever you need to make sure you panels stay in the right spots.

on the white machine

I used clear goo  but even stopping to take this picture risked leaving the goo to dry too quickly. The clear recently dries a bit fast. Even just smearing it over the panels is marginal.

you have to work quickly with clear.

The pandora bodies fit pretty well so you just need to press down hard to make the goo thin enough between flat panels

leave to dry for a good few hours for the clear and a good day for the black.

I'll be re-enforcing the inside with goo and plasterer's tape to make sure the strength is there and to add some weight to the body.


last thing I good was the rear roof spoiler. just scrape the goo onto the leading edge of the spoiler, spread it along and then stick. too easy.

so far I've used goo for the following.

bonnet vents.
mirrors
rear light buckets
front intercooler
front oil collers
front indicator buckets and led holders
front light buckets inside the popups with led holders
front bumper
rear bumper
roof spoiler
I will be using for

cage,
popup light servo mount
dash
mesh inserts etc etc

and Pipes!

Wheels, Weights and Wheel Weights.

These are currently some of my favourite wheels. En Route WedsSport SA-55M
 

Available in only black or white, 6mm or 9mm they need a bit of TLC.

First I usually machine the support rings off on the lathe. While you can use O-rings with the support rings in place, I find it easier to mount tyres with the flat surface.

If I use paint. I always apply numerous coats of hard enamel.

The result with tyre is 28g.

The other day I tested the heavier alloy rims which  I found to be quite good. So I decided to use this flexible weak magnetic material with adhesive backing as a weight.

The result is a 7 gram gain. not too much, After I check clearance I may add another layer for a 14g gain.

By the way. If you want to add weights to your body or chassis. Instead of buying Kazama, Wrap Up Next or other brands, Just go yo your local tyre dealer and get some of these adhesive lead weights for Apply Wheel application. Usually they will give them to you free of charge.

If you spend a bit more you can get the carbon print versions etc.

They are all separate, in 5g and 10g sections. Just cut the backing tape where desired and apply.

Have fun with weight tuning.

Basic Wheel Offset Solutions

Hey there... Lets look at some wheel solutions for that perfect "Stance".

How can I stuff the biggest/deepest rims under my rc body? the answer is always three fold; Tyre Sidewall/profile, Offset and Camber.

While some people don't like the latter, I am a proven believer that an rc "drift" chassis can run just as well with a lot or a little.  Anyway...

If you don't know the offset, just pad the spacers in the rear until the match the hub.

A 1/10 RC wheel is 52mm diameter and 26mm wide.

in RC

0 offset is actually a hub face of 5mm from the outside edge (usually) but these days it's better to measure 21mm from the back as different lips are being added.

0 offset allows 5mm for the hex nut to be fitted and still remain flush with the wheel rim.

the material around the center hole is usually 2mm thick. so lets check

far right is a Yokomo Drift Package Enkei NT-03  OFFSET +3 which is usually pretty stock on Yokomo.
there is a 16mm spacer to the rim flush +2mm of hub = 18mm .... 21mm-18 = OFFSET +3 or

5mm +3mm = actually 8mm to the hub face.

Track will increase 3mm each side over the Offset 0 wheel.

get your width of spacer again to the inside rim 

this white top line wheel is Offset 12.
there is a 7mm spacer to the rim flush +2mm of hub = 9mm .... 21mm-9 = OFFSET +12

the silver M-type wheel is offset 10 but it has an extra 1mm lip making it 27mm wide.

there is a 9mm spacer to the rim flush +2mm of Hub = 11mm .... 21mm-11mm = Offset+10
If you calculated this from the outside face lip it would be different.

Offset 0
Offset +3 Track will increase 3mm each side over the Offset 0 wheel.
Offset +12 track will increase 12mm over an Offset 0 wheel. 24mm total, this makes things more stable, so Settings need changing as this will also effect spring rates as the pressure on a wider location will change.

If you need more to fill say a 200mm body then add some spacers
or

I love those wheels but they are the wrong offset. ... the simple answer is spacers. The RC square spacer system runs from 4mm to 8mm with thick and thin shims that optionally screw together for strength and they are clamp hubs for good setting on the drive shafts. I thoroughly recommend this. You can go wider easily and adjust within 0.5mm. 

If you want to go narrower. There are a few 3mm spacers on the market from RC926 etc, but sometimes the shaft still only accepts 4mm, so you have to drill the wheel slightly. Also the wheel hub may touch your suspension so be careful. usually 4mm is the standard minimum.

For intermediate level users, increasing track width and scrub radius should start to be considered in setup.

As usual effecting one thing changes many others. so getting that exact look, may change chassis behavior. 

This is an example of my setup for my FC. At full compression the body is sanded to allow a almost zero gap to the tyre. It never rubs even as suspension arc rises. 4mm hub and +9 wheel with RC926 tyre.
This tyre has a round sidewall so I cant get any wider.

If I run Yokomo R2 in this config, there is no way they fit. +6 is about the best I can do as the sidewall is MUCH higher.

So sidewall is important and companies like Street Jam and RC-Art offer 60 degree and 45 degree stretch look tyres. so you can get an extra mm without touch.

These are  Kazama FXR +10 which are 1mm wider than the Top Line +9. Still no touch.

Then recently there are wheels from overdose, M's and topline that give more poke with an exposed rim.

These M's M-type +10 @ 27mm wide give an extra 1mm (only on the outer edge.) for a wider impression.

FXR +10 with Street Jam 45 degree + 7 degree camber


I also run about 7degree of camber on the reargiving about 3mm of extra clearance. (note a crazy 13deg on the front) all these things effect many other components like drive shaft length and turnbuckle lengths etc so changing camber can only go so far with stock components.

note** asphalt tyre wear is flat for full contact patch. On carpet you need to choose the tyre that best matches your camber and castor settings with more scrutiny.

M-type +10 with Street Jam 45 degree + 7 degree camber

There is still a gap for suspension compression.

You could simply buy a wider body, but we all want that perfect look and performance. sometimes they aren't compatible, but we try our best.

You can also look into adjustable suspension arms and knuckles to push wheels out or in to maintain track.
there are lots of products (like Active Hobby) on the market these days.

Russ.

 

Yokomo 275 Powervehicles Chaser Update#10 Dashing the JZX

Lets make a race style dash.

all you need is some lexan off cuts (or a piece of clear plastic sheet.) 

A d1 dash is simply folded alloy, so my dash is simply folded Lexan. I used one of the body wheel cutouts as it had a raised section I could use for a dash hood. Double sided tape to add the hood in position.

you can see another example here.

Mounting... Unfortunately the steering wheel is very close to the DIB spur.

I remember why I don't like DIBs. I'm just lucky that these 275 bodies are high!

to install the dash... here is a little trick I found quite useful. Before I paint, I mark the points for the wipers and drill the holes. they "pop" in place and hold the dash pretty securely. I have a cutout for the imitation cage.

RC Photography Guide

Ever wondered how to get that special shot? Practice.

Whats wrong with this picture?

Not too much, but the glass and body are white. You can solve this with a polarizing filter. (if you have one)
the pandora windows are not clear, so I actually want the white on the screen.

Why is the front wheel in focus and the rear wheels not?

The depth of field ( F stop ) is set very low. Use F4 or lower number to get this effect. Higher numbers  for full focus.

If you have an Aperture Priority function on the Camera, use it.

Get down low. Don't be afraid to lie down. Scale height of 1m is 10cm.

Alternative is to put the car on a hill and shoot from below.

Don't be afraid of your zoom.

this photo is about 5meters from target. In scale terms thats about 50 meters. So use stand back and use your zoom If you are too far back, just crop the image on the computer.

How can I fit the spoiler in the shot?

Try different angles to include or omit detail. If this image were flat, the wing would be out of frame.

Be careful of details like bricks and trees. they really effect the scale of your background. Unless your trees are Bonsai.

Here is my shoot location. I hid the door handle behind the body.

This image is what most people do. so come come on... get creative.

Meet Grover

G'day mate! Grover here.

My head moves when I steer but my arms are not hooked up yet.  I need a race suit and gloves, but for now ... Fonzi style is ok.

I have a hollow body so someone shoved a linkage up to a belcrank. the other end is connected to the servo steering horn.

some custom pieces.

I've got my hands on the wheel.

and a simple flat D1 style fabricated dash gives me something to look at even if it doesn't work.

Shouldn't be long until I'm drifting at speed.