Kyosho Optima Mid 60th Anniversary - kit 30643

[silvertriple]

I had this kit for some time under my desk awaiting I take the time to build it. I have some ideas of printed parts in mind, and to make them, I need first build the car...

I also have next to it an Optima driver figure i'm likely to modify to put it in the cockpit of this buggy - Yes, I simply do not want a buggy without a driver


The 60th annyversary kit are actually calling to build them, as there is no nice blisters, and everything is in bulk in the box, with bags of parts...


The build starts with the diffs. They are ball diffs and they are the same at the front and the rear...




And once the ball diff are done, it's already time to open Bag B, and prepare the rear gearbox...





And once the gearbox is assembled, it's time to open Bag C and to work out the slipper clutch and the shock tower...



Then we move at the front for the diff box, and next we install the gearboxes on the main chassis plate...



And we have a third bag completed...

[silvertriple]

4th bag is opened, and the bottom belt cover join the chassis...



Then the work is focused on the front end...This edition has universals for the front, and turnbuckles (practical for settings but cumbersome to build)...




The we are doing the same at the rear, for which we need to open bag 5th... Note the settings for the toe-in on first picture (there is few possibilities, and it would be possible to add more with 3 printing, which I won't do, as the standard setup is usually perfect to my taste)...



Next is the steering mechanism... Again with turnbuckle and an adjustable spring setting for the servo saver (there is an option for metal parts I believe, but I never broke any of the servo savers of my Kyosho, and none of my legendary series have hop ups, so not sure it is worth the money, beside the blink of the aluminium parts...)


To be continued, with 6th bag... That's were I stopped yesterday evening...

[silvertriple]

Sixth bag... Steering mechanism is in place...


And then it's time to build the shocks... This gun metal is nice... And I remind about my shock gastket helper which makes it easier to push those shock gasket in place...





The steering servo is installed logically before the upper deck... And there is a hole in the chassis in order to be able to put the screw to fix the steering link pivot ball on the servo saver (something that could have been done on other models too)...


Next come the upper deck and the upper belt cover, for which the front is a bit difficult to deal with as there is no easy way to hold the bottom part while putting the screws...


I put a motor in there, the gear cover and the wing support...


I don't lke the way the battery is supposed to be fixed, and this car will run with hard packs so it is time to prepare something to put the battery in place with a smart way and with no possibility for the battery to move laterally... I won't put the ESC right away : first the battery need to be in place so we know which length we need for the cables and last, I need bullet connectors for the motor.
I'll also have to find a way to put a driver in this car... Not sure how I deal with this...

I trimmed the bodyshell (and even with finger cutter, it's complex) and the wing...



A this stage, I don't know if I will use this rims or the standard white Optima mid "Peugeot" rims, which I definitely prefer to those green rims. And as ususal I don't plan for box art. I'm not fixed yet, but I lean towards gun metal and white, and probably another color...

[silvertriple]

To have clues about my wiring, I need to deal first with my battery support...

For this I started to draw the chassis section (before checking, I also thought the lip for the Mid standard chassis would go along the edge of the chassis at the place where there is the battery and it is not the case).


Then I designed supports for the battery. They include provision for M3x5.7 inserts for the screws at the end which are the one that are going to be removed often (just like I did on my Fantom battery support).


Those parts are fairly simple and I printed them right away in final mode without test print first (PETG should be enough for this application)...

This is working nicely with the bodyshell (I'll just have a to add some protection within the bodyshell in this area to avoid rubbing the paint.


One screw only is removed to place the battery, make it quite convenient...


The overall setup is as follow...


You may note the R and L on the parts are they are not symetrical to adapt to the battery. It would work as well with the second set of holes which is 7 millimeter behind the first set of holes (I check the design would be good as well for this).



There is a provision under the left side to channel the motor wires properly between the battery support and the chassis (and unlike the original setup, it doesn't require additional parts).

[RogueIV]

To have clues about my wiring, I need to deal first with my battery support...

For this I started to draw the chassis section (before checking, I also thought the lip for the Mid standard chassis would go along the edge of the chassis at the place where there is the battery and it is not the case).


Then I designed supports for the battery. They include provision for M3x5.7 inserts for the screws at the end which are the one that are going to be removed often (just like I did on my Fantom battery support).


Those parts are fairly simple and I printed them right away in final mode without test print first (PETG should be enough for this application)...

This is working nicely with the bodyshell (I'll just have a to add some protection within the bodyshell in this area to avoid rubbing the paint.


One screw only is removed to place the battery, make it quite convenient...


The overall setup is as follow...


You may note the R and L on the parts are they are not symetrical to adapt to the battery. It would work as well with the second set of holes which is 7 millimeter behind the first set of holes (I check the design would be good as well for this).



There is a provision under the left side to channel the motor wires properly between the battery support and the chassis (and unlike the original setup, it doesn't require additional parts).

Very cool! I'm doing something similar to this on mine as well so i can use my shorty packs without risk of them shifting when i'm driving.

[silvertriple]

I've did a few version for the ESC support as I'm not sure how it will finish at the end...



The angled version will give easy access to the on/off button on my ESC (I made two version : one for cabon chassis and one for the standard mid chassis). The flat version maybe preferred by many. I'm awaiting the confirmation for the chassi lip on the standard chassis, but the flat version should not collide with the lip.

[silvertriple]

Battery support have been slightly modified to ease the cable passthru...


While at it, I also worked out some 25 mm hard pack version, Shorty version and as well one dedicated to Stick packs version.




I'm just doing a final check and I will make them available soon...

[silvertriple]

Last checks are now done...

The files are available on makerworld : https://makerworld.com/en/models/748905
All versions are included with both versions of ESC supports. I made one plate per version (Hard pack 20mm, Hard pack 25mm, Shorty 25mm, Stick pack) and one plate with the two versions of ESC supports.

I'll add them on cults3D and other plateforms after some time.

[silvertriple]

A bit later...
I finally took the time to do the paintjob and almost finish this car...


The lexan wing is quite exposed, and I'm just realist on my capacities as a driver : it won't last long. I decided to do something about that with a TPU wing.

Just in case it is of use for you, I put the file on makerworld : https://makerworld.com/en/models/1342964-wing-for-kyosho-optima-mid-and-optima-mid-60th

And here is the TPU wing on the chassis with the bodyshell...


Last, I had to take care of electronics. The motor is a 10.5T and the ESC a 120A.


There is still a bit of work as I need to put some stickers on this car, but that will be for an evening during the week. The car will be ready for the Montluçonnaise event