Heresy ?

[juicedcoupe]

The Scorpion wheel and tire is 48g so still nearly 20g lighter each , that's with the foam fitted , the wheels I have are all glued so I can't weigh the foam , they are more damped than the hornet tires because of the foam but would be softer still without it .

They make these in medium and soft.

In addition, the 1.7 JConcepts tires for the RC10 fit the wheels.

[Dadio]

Scorpion tires arrived and the tiny front shocks , I wanted to try a run with and without foams to see what worked best so I just tried them without glueing the wheel just spun in the tire , I'm just waiting for glue to dry , I only glued the inner rim so I can still insert the foam by just pulling the loose outer off the rim , just drop testing the suspension there's no bounce at all so I'm hopeful that this is the big step it needs

[Dadio]

Ok without the foams it's marginally better on grass in my garden , with the foams it's noticeably more composed on the road , now my road is a patchwork quilt of road repairs that makes any car a bit Skippy so I'm not too sure , my gut says no foam as it's better on grass and slightly lighter , my head says put them in as the tires are too soft without
Just weighed the foams at 2g so nothing really .

[Dadio]

I just did a reality check by back to back running the Hopper and my Scorpion , the hopper is still hopeless by comparison, the front end is nicely composed but the rear makes heavy weather of ground the Scorpion glide's over , I'm still happy overall and it's been a fun project , now it needs paint .
Oh I decided to leave the foams in the rear tires , they are just so soft in the side wall without them that the tire pushes over the edge of the rim .

[Dadio]

This little Brushless combo arrived yesterday , was a little p!ss@d off at first as it was advertised on Bangood as having a 3.175 standard motor shaft but its 2mm so I to turn up a sleeve on the lath then I couldn't even use the stock pinion as thats 2.2mm so I had to rummage through my 0.8mod pinions and the lowest tooth one I had was a 15, so it was time to print off a new motor mount thats adjustable for pinion size , finally got it installed and the steering servo died , just kicked its little feet in the air and shuddered , at that point it was late so I gave up
Anyway fitted another servo this morning and gave I a spin , little overgeared as it cogged a little and warmed up a little too much for my liking but much much faster , I've got a 10t pinion coming but I'm thinking the sweet spot is more like 12 or 13t , I'll get some video in a bit .

Can't say I'd recommend this combo unless you can make the adapter sleeve for the shaft , 0.8mod pinions with 2mm bore are virtually non existent as I found out yesterday when I looked , anyway this will work for me with a lower tooth pinion .

[Dadio]

Little video of the little BL motor in the grasshopper .
https://youtu.be/wMCPv3T5Z-0

[Frankentruck]

That is a happy little Hopper, going where it wants with impunity. Maybe if it continues to disrespect the turf with these yard blitzes, the grass will give in and the Mrs. will see that this is a prime location for home track. It all started with that covert jump mound...

Any actual weight measurements?

[Dadio]

The little motor weighs maybe a little less than the 380 I think , when I swap out the pinion in a few days for the 10t I have coming I'll get a proper weight . I'm still a little peeved about the shaft size as it's not going to be something that most people can use , I'm just lucky enough to have a lath , I do know that there was a 2.2 to 3.175 sleeve that came in the original Tamiya Sand Rover kit so there may be a size of tube that could work , probable an imperial size but it's still 0.2mm too big , could work if you put a wrap of baking foil round it

[Dadio]

Still waiting on decals (BL**dy postal strike) but here are a couple of teasers.

[Dadio]

It didn't look right with white wheels up front and chrome at the rear so I've taken the axles out of the Tamiya front hubs and turned them down to fit the Kyosho front bearings , I think it makes it look a bit tidier .
While painting I was really nervous that it might not come out well or just look rubbish , I still was unsure after peeling the last of the masking tape and only really decided I like it once the decals were on , so many layers of paint it's untrue , Candy's,metallics , plain and pearl with a final coating of clear lacquer , all the while praying that nothing would pickle

A few final pictures , I widened the front end to match the rear , the louvered rear window will be on thingiverse soon along with the front end .

[Frankentruck]

That's a fantastic Hopper! The paint looks right on it. I'd also be nervous attempting a paint job that elaborate. Very well done!

[Dadio]

Even the yellow base is first a coat of white , then clear pearl and a candy (transparent ) yellow , then after all the other colours are similarly done a coat of clear , so even at its thinnest it's four different paint coats . The little diamonds then needed a base white before the metallic or pearl and candy , so on some of the diamonds including the clear lacquer it's seven different paint coats , really was praying it looked better once the decals were on and they were four days before they arrived , I was chewing my toe nails by that point
I just could not get a picture that does the yellow justice , it really shines and reflects , you sort of see it in places in pictures but not how it is in real life .

[Dadio]

The front suspension set is now on Thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5507303