PandaBear

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…so order quantity must be very low.

If order qty very low, that’s called “retail” LOL :p

Some suppliers don’t want to provide stock unless you have a bricks-n-mortar shopfront, but some others are willing to open an account for you if you have the right bonafides, but you have to make it worth their while – Ordering constantly in dribs & drabs won’t gain you much respect from them.

The other drama is… have you really done your sums?

You will be expected to provide SUPPORT for the items you sell, one cannot rely on the wholesaler to provide service to your clients. If you cannot prove that you have the resources (skill, capital, parts backing) to provide adequate support for the product then you’ll just bring that Brand/Product into disrepute.

The market already has had enough of that kind of rubbish.

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…when under load like accelerating the steering is very slow, acting the same as if the batteries were flat.

Put a voltmeter (preferably analog) across the battery.
Check if the V is dropping a lot at full load.

Some brands of (I’m assuming) AAAs have very high internal
resistance and when you load them high, they can’t pump
out enough juice & the V drops. Battery gets hot.

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was there anything left of them by the end of the race?

I only ran a pack or 2 thru it that day, just out of curiousity more than anything. The LeMans/GrpC cars come std with a SportTuned motor so that’s what it ran, on original kit stock tyres. Performance is only so-so… 2WD RWD is a handful to drive, -kept up with the Minis but definitely need to slow down for corners- not something you’d try for a newbie.

Then again, same motor & gearing in a 4WD TC wasn’t much faster either. Just heaps easier to handle.

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I guess I’m not the only one looking forward to the M3 shell re-release… want to do a Motul tarmac rally one if I can…

58323 Schnitzer BMW M3 Sport Evo is a TT-01 and its the common Snchitzel one… not Rat’s AutoTech hehehe.

Strange… Tamiya don’t seem to be releasing a spares bodyset for it. Don’t think they’ve released a spares bodyset of the Guilia Alfa either (earlier re-released on M04M).

So if you want one you’ll have to buy a TT-01 kit. 👿

Which, from sounds of it, won’t be arriving in Oz?
Ditto M04M.

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btw, you had a go with your f40 sbcg yet?:)

nope, last touched when we wanted to know its freq. :p

(hmm… I got that for xmas 2003 didn’t I? brother gave be a Garfield for b’day 2004, so must have been xmas 2003. getting old, everything’s getting too hazy…)

I did end up running a Tamiya F40 at the track earlier this yr though. Interesting handling with 15yo sponge tyres.

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Don’t get jealous just because your marketing skills aren’t up to scratch, Mr K. :smiley2:

like How much does it “cost” to make a $695 copy of M$ Office anyway???!

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The Tamiya M3 shell is nearly 10 yrs old now & a highly collectible item – they change hands today for crazy prices. Wing, grille & mirrors are ABS plastic and there’s real chrome cups behind the headlights – can put bulbs in them.

That shell was painted for display only, never ever run. Its just sitting on an old TA03, one of our retired race chassis. TA03s were a very good car for its time and still a very interesting design but a little outclassed today.

The “AutoTech” M3 variant is rarer than the others too… Tamiya didn’t ever make a full kit of that car, it was only available as a bodyparts set.

Have a look under the side mirror too… top name is “R Ratzenberger”. Name mean anything to anyone?

(hint… exactly 10 yrs ago, Senna wasn’t the only fatality at Imola)

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You must have rocks in your head panda – the e30 platform is a modern classic. Light weight, nimble and affordable. Any true BMW enthusiast knows the e36 was a step back in development of the brand, everything was made cheaper and more throwaway. Enough of the soapbox.:angry:

Nah, I like some Beamers too and I think 1992 E36 makes the grade. They are a heavier shell (more of a cruiser) than the 10y older E30 but I think they’ll survive age better… all the E30s I’ve been in lately are getting rather creaky & wobbly. :smiley2:

More impressively are their larger cars… love affair started when I had to punt a E28 728i waaaay faster than a limo should go – and wow, you’d never believe how well it hangs on. The Fives are great too, even the E34… but the bigger cars are annoyingly complicated with little fiddly things that can go wrong.

Try move an S or E-class too quick and forget it – Think Diana. :dead:

imho I think BM went downhill when the Z3 (ugh!) came out. Someone threw me the keys to a first-batch 1.9 and it was horrid – underpowered, overtyred and build quality wasn’t that flash.

As for the recent Bangle bungles… :shock::dead:

---

Still have a softspot for E30s though, especially the ones with the raised bootlids!! 🙂

But yeah, most examples of the cooking models are getting towards their 20th birthday. Fixing them will be a big headache & wallet-pain for newbies, but they’re pretty straightforward & simple if you know your way around. Parts never cheap though.

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Soldering -like welding- is an Art not a Science.

It takes patience and lots of practice. Which means the average woman can probably master it better than a guy… if she can be bothered trying.

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smp, i just got given a red 318.1 (1998) from my mum. cant wait to get the beast up here

nice score!! that’ll be a E36, a much better body than E30.
Very solid car without much unusual problems and a basic 318i will
have less electronics than bigger cars to bugger up with old age.

Eurovox headunit isn’t too bad, just needs decent speakers. 😀

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Did anyone end up going??

I looked out the window when I woke on Sun and the ground was wet. 🙁

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If anybody wants the full trilogy #1/#2/#3 of Dick Smith’s FUNWAY project books in mint condition pls let me know… $10 postage and they’re yours. 🙂

Electronics is 90% common sense and 9% theory, 1% pure luck. You can do it “hard knocks” style and read basic primers like the FUNWAY etc, then Silicon Chip (SC) magazine or back issues of Electronics Australia (EA) — with these mags, the older the better as imho current issues don’t teach you much ‘basics’.

btw MOSFETs and stuff like that come into “power” & “signal” electronics, then you need “communications” for the RF & coding side of things. These are only 2 parts of elec eng… about 10%.

Eng is a fun career if you’re the right type for it. A strong maths background, patience & logic thinking are good prerequisites.

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01: 0001
02: 0010
03: 0011
04: 0100
05: 0101
06: 0110
07: 0111
08: 1000
09: 1001
10: 1010
11: 1011
12: 1100

no idea how the LEDs are aligned; supposedly 3 lots of numbers H:M:S.

Probably groups of 6/7/7 LEDs able to read max of 24:60:60 that’s all I can imagine.

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Couldn’t you have just used the clear shell as the light tube?

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… with or without xBox on board? :smiley16:

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CRAZY. Everyone knows VeeDubs use drums. 🙂

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Unlike some of the hacks (ouch :p ) that I have seen, “durability” is always a big consideration for the engineering equation.

Engineers shouldn’t design things to break.

hmmm… where’s James K lately?? 🙂

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Just put it in a HPI or Yokomo Mini and be done with it 😀

That would be uninterestingly TOO EASY, wouldn’t it?? :p:p:)

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M04 is hard enough to drive with a 540 as is, RWD is too twitchy. Needs stickier tyres on the rear.

An M04 has one tooth more than a M03 (ie higher gearing, slightly) plus all the current M04Ls have full-size touringcar tyres. But on a track, an M03 with mini tyres will outrun the M04 with larger wheels only because the M03 is so much easier to drive.

The willy skunkworks has just hacked up a 4WD mini with 225mm wheelbase. Interesting… 🙂

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Aaron:- just wondering how do you differentiate between machines?? Sticker or serial #?

Any way of telling from an unopened carton?

Also any chance that the translucent (Gotham2) edition ones are v1.4??

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TFTR is a council/public facility so its available for outsiders’ use whenever they are not racing there.

The TFTR club welcomes any new racers to join up on their racedays as long as you get there early enough to register – can’t join in after they’ve started racing. They’ll slot you into a suitable race class available, you get to use their AMBrc electronic lap counting etc. Good fun!

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…going to your local friendly green netball court surface and you wont have to run at TS…

Funny one should mention that, ‘cos there’s some very nice netball courts at a school nearby TFTR. (no guesses how I know)

But they’re only available on Sundays, as on Saturday they have school games during term time.

You also don’t have a drivers’ stand. :p

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Alex:- 20th is RobRoy… might pop in, huh?

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Mr Leon’s hinting at another meetup at TFTR… thought I might have missed reading it but I don’t see anything posted here. 🙂

TFTR’s current Winter commitments are:-

June 13th Club day
27th Club day
25th-28th Winter Champs (TBA)

July 11th Club day
25th Club day

August 8th Club day
22nd Club day

TFTR 2004 Calendar

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BL has more torque than anything else, nitro cars especially. I’m told there’s enough torque to rip the hub out of foam-tyre wheels.

Even when geared high, it’ll still launch like a catapult. 4-tyre wheelspin… erm, yes.

warning:- speed is addictive.

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yeah, most of those 10 guys are probably on par in terms of equipment & driving skill. Luck plays a big hand especially when there is mega-carnage on the track.

Reedy Race is interesting as they ban one-ways (Tamiya 415 comes std with one-way, no option diff or spool even). Cars had to be constant 4WD.

This makes drivers change their driving style a bit… like braking real late into corners and using that to maintain corner speed instead of a one-way/spool’s superior acceleration out of corners.

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