Losi XX Kinwald Trinity build

[Lavigna]

^ Essajay - Wow! That is an amazing looking buggy. I love the body and paint. I was a little unsure on using this body as there are almost no good pictures of painted examples I have found. But yours looks soo good! Thanks so much for posting!

BTW - did you paint it?

[Essejay]

Hello Lavigna
Thanks for your comment!
This body was painted by Aka Body, a french painter but I think that he stopped his activity since some time.
Most of my cars have a similar paint scheme (now my bodies are painted by VP Design, also a french painter).
Have a nice weekend !

[Lavigna]

I decided to remove the center triangle pieces of material from the rear tower after all. Getting the radius of the edges and the corners to match is not easy. With the material removed, I started to wonder how a shiny blue Fantom bulkhead may look nice poking through.

I wasn't planning on opening and using this unicorn part. It has been securely tucked away in my box of ULTIMATE XXT parts box. I planned for it to sit until my son wanted to build it some day. However I convinced myself this couldn't be the ultimate XX build without it. Honestly, it may be a little too much blue bling, but I don't care.

The blue anodizing on the Fantom bulkhead isn't a perfect match to the Trinity. Someday later I may have all of the aluminum pieces from this buggy re-anodized together for a perfect match.

[Lavigna]

The rear end is coming together. One of the only non vintage pieces on this buggy will be the Fast Eddy bearings.

The Trinity rear hubs are one of my favorite pieces. I love how they look. It is painful to open these sealed pieces of Trinity gold, but it sure is nice to see them mounted up.

I am considering putting on a rear sway bar kit that Losi made for the XX series, but I'm not sure if it would look better without? Suggestions?

[Lavigna]

I'm a big fan of aluminum cvd bones. They are one of the best upgrades in my opinion, and I think they look great.

To go along with the MIP aluminum cvd bones are these amazing Barracuda titanium outdrives. They are serious works of art. The machining finish is so impressive.

Taking pictures of all the individual parts and progress of the build takes a lot of time, and is a huge pain in the ass. I really don't like to do it. However I think having detailed pictures of parts and packages, part numbers, assembly, etc can be very useful. I know I have actually gone back to my own build threads to review a picture, get a part number, or remember how something went together.

I eventually forget a lot of the details I learn each time I build something. Having the build thread is a way for to save some of that information. RC10talk.com is an amazing site to host and share all of the pictures and information we all contribute. I have found so much help and resources from the members and the threads on this site. I hope my threads will help out someone down the line in one way or another.

[DerbyDan]

I'm a big fan of aluminum cvd bones. They are one of the best upgrades in my opinion, and I think they look great.

To go along with the MIP aluminum cvd bones are these amazing Barracuda titanium outdrives. They are serious works of art. The machining finish is so impressive.

Taking pictures of all the individual parts and progress of the build takes a lot of time, and is a huge pain in the ass. I really don't like to do it. However I think having detailed pictures of parts and packages, part numbers, assembly, etc can be very useful. I know I have actually gone back to my own build threads to review a picture, get a part number, or remember how something went together.

I eventually forget a lot of the details I learn each time I build something. Having the build thread is a way for to save some of that information. RC10talk.com is an amazing site to host and share all of the pictures and information we all contribute. I have found so much help and resources from the members and the threads on this site. I hope my threads will help out someone down the line in one way or another.

I'm absolutely loving this build Adam..... seen snippets on the Facebook page but seeing your build thread has compelled me to write a reply here! I must admit that the FB pages are killing/killed the forums (Photobucket changing their terms didn't help either), but they are such a useful resource for going back & looking back at other people's builds, but also to document your own builds for future reference..... I'm always looking back at my own build threads on here for my own needs or when other's ask for advice. So - many thanks for taking the time to take the photos & document the parts that you are using - having reviewed some kits for a UK R/C magazine in the past few years I know just how time consuming it is! You have so many rare & desirable parts!.... I thought I had some nice bits in my XX box of ''ultimate' parts! - definitely would love to find both the Trinity bulkhead..... & those barracuda outdrives are lovely!

Of interest, would you be able to list of the part Nos. of all the NiTi hinge pins..... I would like to get a set for one of the builds I have in mind..... but want to be sure i'm ordering the right parts.... especially the inner front hingepins… as I understand there are two lengths - ones to suit the original front end, & ones to suit the CR front end which incorporates the brace, if you can that would be great, if not - no worries

[jb7778]

Amazing stuff and greatly appreciate the time you put into your build threads! Had hopes of doing similar but cant time to wrench let alone the photography and post....

[Lavigna]

^ - Thanks for the nice words guys. I really appreciate it. I will get together a list of the gold hinge pins. It is a difficult task to figure out what lengths fit where. I still struggle with it.

I got the transmission built up. I used a nice looking HG aluminum (or maybe titanium?) screw nut in the diff. I've never actually used one before. It looks nice peeking out from the outdrives, although it's mostly blocked once the cvd bone is installed.

I have read that Kinwald used a XXT 2.61 ratio transmission on his buggy, so I followed along. I have a HG titanium idler shaft and Thorp 64 pitch transmission kit I thought about using. However since these pieces won't be visible, and this is an expensive paper weight, I figured I would rather keep them sealed for now.

This is the first time I've installed a Factory Works motor centering kit. I never realized it requires you to drill 2 holes in the underside of the motor plate. I didn't like doing that to a pristine MK1 lightened plate, but the end result is very nice. I like the look of the machined spacers next to the lightened plate, and it positions the plate perfectly. Losi probably should have placed it like this from the factory.

[Lavigna]

It's starting to look like something now.

I ordered some Lunsford titanium screws for the transmission, but I forgot to take into account the longer length needed due to the Factory Works motor centering kit. So I have some new ones ordered and I'll be swapping out these black ones soon.

In looking at the car as it sits, I may prefer the aesthetics of a standard black plastic rear bulkhead. There is so much blue in the rear end, and the Fantom bulkhead is a slightly different color to the Trinity parts. Also, the radius of the Fantom edges are sharper, and not exactly matching the Trinity pieces somehow.

There is also a lot of blue up front with that bulkhead and brace, but imho it still looks clean. I can't really say the same for the rear end as it sits. I think I will leave the Fantom rear bulkhead on long enough to get some completed pictures with it, but eventually I may replace it with stock.

I am open to any opinions. Thanks

[Essejay]

Wow!
Incredible building!
Thanks again for sharing with us.

[radioactivity]

Lavigna
First off, I just love this car... awesome.

But I like the matching rear bulkhead and might wait before replacing it.
Wheels will tend to mute the carriers "blueness". A body and shocks will tend to mute the bulkhead.
And could a blue esc and/or other blue anodized parts bring the balance forward??

Just an opinion

Chuck

[matt1ptkn]

As I seem to say with all your builds, fantastic work! The bulkhead appears to match well in the photos, but I'm sure its different IRL. If you remove the blue bulkhead, what will you do with it then? I'd hate to see it demoted from a beautiful build to storage.

[Lavigna]

^ Thanks guys. I'm not sure on electronics yet. Yes, if I remove the Fantom bulkhead, it is likely doomed to a life hidden away in a box.

Like most of you, building and installing turn buckles is my least favorite part. For this build I decided to use the traditional style Lunsford tie rods, however I used the beefier units. These are thicker, and I believe match the diameter of a modern buggy. I like the look of the thicker rods. It looks less spindly to me.

The thicker rods required I drill out the rod ends. I considered the white ends found on the XXX series, or standard Losi ends. In the end I decided on RPM short length rod ends. I think they have a clean look.

Because of the drilling and overall pain in the ass of building these units, I didn't take any assembly pictures. I am just happy to have them done and installed.

Just for FYI - From my experience I have noticed 3 different colors of Losi rod ends in this style. From the comparison picture below, the left side shows the nearly uniform grey example. In the middle is what I call the swirl. It has an appearance similar to the Graphite chassis. On the right is the black example.

[romulus22]

I dislike building shocks the most. Kinda like turnbuckles but with the added oil aspect. I always put in a hair too much or a hair too little.

Car is looking good

[Lavigna]

I realized that the Trinity shock stand offs I have are not correct for a Losi vehicle of this vintage. I should have realized this when I found they had matric 3mm threads instead of standard 4-40 threads.

The good news is I just found a new set of correct Trinity stand offs. Plus, this will allow me to use the nicer looking Lunsford 4-40 screws I had originally wanted to use. The new units should hopefully be arriving this week. Once they come, I should be able to get this thing to roller status.