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Bash day @ Canterbury
Posted by Mutley , 07 November 2008 - 09:52 AM
As i mentioned before, the weather was not the greatest, that said though their was still a good turn out, with plenty of people (Nutters) braving the weather.
The track was surprisingly dry, no standing water, in fact it was quite slippery on the corners, the track did look very inviting but as i said before, it was a little intimidating at first, everyone else seemed to be the Michael Schumacher of the RC world, i was struggling to to go in a straight line.
After a couple of hours of watching the others chasing round, i decided to pluck up the courage and have a go, so i signed up to the Club and started up my buggy which had a few tuning issues, their was 2 other new guys their on the day, Dean and Kenny, Dean wasted know time in twisting the screw drivers and getting my car singing.
To start with i stayed to a part of the track that know one was using, just to get a feel for it, i found out very quickly that the gravel surface was a totally different ball game to the grass i had been running on, their was know grip compared to the grass, i also learnt that you couldn't just throw full power at the track as it would just light up the tyres and the car would snake all over the place (The start of a steep learning curve), once again, Kenny and Dean helped out, we softened the suspension, changed some other bits and bobs which made the car handle alot better, i was still driving it like a 60+ Sunday driver, but i was learning all the time, my main priority was to do one complete lap without crashing or weaving like a drunk down the track, well, i managed a lap without crashing, the weaving we wont go into, suffice to say, i didn't cure it on the day (still haven't).
All in all it was a good day, throughly enjoyed myself, met some helpful people and had a good laugh.
Next instalment will be the Westcliffe Bash.
The track was surprisingly dry, no standing water, in fact it was quite slippery on the corners, the track did look very inviting but as i said before, it was a little intimidating at first, everyone else seemed to be the Michael Schumacher of the RC world, i was struggling to to go in a straight line.
After a couple of hours of watching the others chasing round, i decided to pluck up the courage and have a go, so i signed up to the Club and started up my buggy which had a few tuning issues, their was 2 other new guys their on the day, Dean and Kenny, Dean wasted know time in twisting the screw drivers and getting my car singing.
To start with i stayed to a part of the track that know one was using, just to get a feel for it, i found out very quickly that the gravel surface was a totally different ball game to the grass i had been running on, their was know grip compared to the grass, i also learnt that you couldn't just throw full power at the track as it would just light up the tyres and the car would snake all over the place (The start of a steep learning curve), once again, Kenny and Dean helped out, we softened the suspension, changed some other bits and bobs which made the car handle alot better, i was still driving it like a 60+ Sunday driver, but i was learning all the time, my main priority was to do one complete lap without crashing or weaving like a drunk down the track, well, i managed a lap without crashing, the weaving we wont go into, suffice to say, i didn't cure it on the day (still haven't).
All in all it was a good day, throughly enjoyed myself, met some helpful people and had a good laugh.
Next instalment will be the Westcliffe Bash.
The smell of nitro.
Posted by Mutley , 02 November 2008 - 04:49 PM
My entry into the nitro scene was a rocky start, the reason it was rocky was due to a itchy trigger finger on the PC and not enough research into what was good and what was not so good.
I ended up with a not so good, that said though, it did get me into the hobby for very little money, had i spent what i have since spent and not enjoyed it, then i would have been more than a little dis-pleased.
Anyway, it was May 2007, i had sold some fishing gear on the "bay" for more coin than i was expecting to get, so while on the "bay" i went looking for a nitro 1/8th scale, not sure what i wanted to be honest, did what most i suspect do, looked at the savage/muggy etc, but they just looked a bit to weak to me, anyway, after some searching i saw a Rex-X RTR,
in my defence it was a pro version, it had lots of nice shinny blue anodised parts on it, which looked good but as i found out was not that strong (More on that later), well, the order was placed and 4 days later i was the proud owner of my first 1/8th scale buggy and being a ready to run it came with everything i needed to get it going.
The Saturday arrived and it was time to start it for the first time, now i chickened out at this point and went round Sean's, as he has had all sorts of nitro's in the past and not wishing to wreck it before i even got a chance to try it, i packed the car with all the bits and bobs and headed for Sean's, now, anyone that knows Sean, will know he is a man of few words, what you need to do is watch the facial expression, and i can tell you, it was not good, but not wishing to hurt my feelings, he said it was ok, a little heavy.
Next up was the engine, we put fuel in it, and some down the plug hole, tried pulling it over (Force .25 pull start) it stopped at the top, it had so much mechanical pinch that it was ridiculous, Sean pulled the head off and pulled the engine apart faster than a F1 crew changes a tyre, checked it to see what the problem was, and yes it was mechanical pinch, so he kept trying, Finlay after over half an hour it breathed into life, he kept it running for a couple of tanks on the stand then a tank around his garden, this done i was off to the field down the bottom of the road from where i live, to put some more tanks through it.
Now i had driven boats before, which are nice and slow, the buggy on the other hand, was a totally different ball game, it was quick and unpredictable compared to boats, my biggest problem was the steering, i was ok with it going away from me, and to either side, but straight towards me was a different story, i was all over the place (some, if not all, will say nothing has changed) but i put the rest of the fuel i had with the car through it and it loosened up a treat.
Next up was trying to find some like minded people to race bash with, as being out on a field on your "Jack Jones" is no fun, so i hit the INTERNET to try and find a local club, this was when i came across the "DoverBashers" saw that they had a bash day in a couple of weeks in Canterbury so i thought i would check it out, the weekend in question arrived, i packed the car with my pride and joy, headed off to the bash day, i was met at the front gate by Gareth and Tommo, who pointed me in the direction of the gate to the track, the weather was not that great that day, but it didn't seem to bother the other guys so i made my way to the track, decided to watch at first and that was probably not the best thing to do as it made me nervous about running, up to this point, i had only thrashed around a field, the confines of a track, thats a different story.
How the day went for me will follow.
I ended up with a not so good, that said though, it did get me into the hobby for very little money, had i spent what i have since spent and not enjoyed it, then i would have been more than a little dis-pleased.
Anyway, it was May 2007, i had sold some fishing gear on the "bay" for more coin than i was expecting to get, so while on the "bay" i went looking for a nitro 1/8th scale, not sure what i wanted to be honest, did what most i suspect do, looked at the savage/muggy etc, but they just looked a bit to weak to me, anyway, after some searching i saw a Rex-X RTR,
in my defence it was a pro version, it had lots of nice shinny blue anodised parts on it, which looked good but as i found out was not that strong (More on that later), well, the order was placed and 4 days later i was the proud owner of my first 1/8th scale buggy and being a ready to run it came with everything i needed to get it going.The Saturday arrived and it was time to start it for the first time, now i chickened out at this point and went round Sean's, as he has had all sorts of nitro's in the past and not wishing to wreck it before i even got a chance to try it, i packed the car with all the bits and bobs and headed for Sean's, now, anyone that knows Sean, will know he is a man of few words, what you need to do is watch the facial expression, and i can tell you, it was not good, but not wishing to hurt my feelings, he said it was ok, a little heavy.
Next up was the engine, we put fuel in it, and some down the plug hole, tried pulling it over (Force .25 pull start) it stopped at the top, it had so much mechanical pinch that it was ridiculous, Sean pulled the head off and pulled the engine apart faster than a F1 crew changes a tyre, checked it to see what the problem was, and yes it was mechanical pinch, so he kept trying, Finlay after over half an hour it breathed into life, he kept it running for a couple of tanks on the stand then a tank around his garden, this done i was off to the field down the bottom of the road from where i live, to put some more tanks through it.
Now i had driven boats before, which are nice and slow, the buggy on the other hand, was a totally different ball game, it was quick and unpredictable compared to boats, my biggest problem was the steering, i was ok with it going away from me, and to either side, but straight towards me was a different story, i was all over the place (some, if not all, will say nothing has changed) but i put the rest of the fuel i had with the car through it and it loosened up a treat.
Next up was trying to find some like minded people to race bash with, as being out on a field on your "Jack Jones" is no fun, so i hit the INTERNET to try and find a local club, this was when i came across the "DoverBashers" saw that they had a bash day in a couple of weeks in Canterbury so i thought i would check it out, the weekend in question arrived, i packed the car with my pride and joy, headed off to the bash day, i was met at the front gate by Gareth and Tommo, who pointed me in the direction of the gate to the track, the weather was not that great that day, but it didn't seem to bother the other guys so i made my way to the track, decided to watch at first and that was probably not the best thing to do as it made me nervous about running, up to this point, i had only thrashed around a field, the confines of a track, thats a different story.
How the day went for me will follow.
How i got into rc
Posted by Mutley , 31 October 2008 - 07:07 PM
Well, it all started for me with RC Boats, my first kit came about when i was 16 (Yes, i can remember that far back), i had just had a ruptured Apendix removed and was informed i would need at least 8 weeks off (torture) their was know way i could sit around for 8 weeks and do nothing, so a little trip to the local hobby shop and a kit of a Tug Boat called the "Samson 2" was in my possesion, the kit included a molded fiber glass hull, plywood for the super structures and a mixture of plastic, white metal and brass sheet/wire completed the componants to build the model, i also had to purchase, battery's, radio gear, 2x540 size mototrs with reduction gear box's and the paint/glue to build it.
It took me a bit longer than 8 weeks to build but was a nice model once finished, it was a little over a meter long, 12 inches wide and fairly heavy, it ran very well, was stable on the water and looked good on the pond i used to use, i used it for about 6 months then sold it to fund another purchase.
My next Kit, a Billings kit again (see pic), i descided to take the challenge and do a plank on frame kit, what this entails is, indervidual strips of wood on a wood bulkheads, just like a full size wooden ship, this kit contained manly wood, some plastic and brass wire/sheet, once again, glue/paints and car body filler where required, this kit took me the best part of 6 months to complete and by the time i finished it i was very satisfied with it, it was alot of work, but worth it, you see, for me, it was the building i enjoyed the most, so after using it for a few months, a fellow modeller made me a very good offer, so i sold it and purchased another kit.
Billings Kit, (Smit Rotterdam)
So once again it was off to shop for yet another kit, this time i tried a different manufacturer, this time round i tried a Model slipway Kit, the "Drumbbeat Of Devon"
This kit came with fiber glass hull and a mixture of timber, white metal, brass rod, tubes and sheet, paint glue etc was needed to complete, i was getting the hang of these by now, they are not as easy as the RC Cars, but that was half the fun, i built this one in about 3 months, you are probably thinking, "My god thats ages" which in the Rc Car world it is, but in boat terms it is not to long at all, by this time i had also joined a model club in my local village and met some interesting people, a mixture of novice through to experienced, i took my model along to a club compotition and got a distinction for it, not as good as a 1st 2nd or 3rd but i was more than happy with that, once again the time had come to sell the old girl and move onto the next one.
I enjoyed the build and quality of the last kit, so stuck with them again on the next one, this time i went for the Bouy laying vessel "Vilestroom" (see pic) and with the help of the club members, i went a little overboard with this one, it had working lights, crane, fog horn if i could make it move or light i up, i did it, this one was the last ship i built, it took about 6 months and was a joy to build, i kept it for nearlly a year, before i sold it to pay for some spares on my real car
Thats it for this part of my start into the world of RC, more will follow.
It took me a bit longer than 8 weeks to build but was a nice model once finished, it was a little over a meter long, 12 inches wide and fairly heavy, it ran very well, was stable on the water and looked good on the pond i used to use, i used it for about 6 months then sold it to fund another purchase.
My next Kit, a Billings kit again (see pic), i descided to take the challenge and do a plank on frame kit, what this entails is, indervidual strips of wood on a wood bulkheads, just like a full size wooden ship, this kit contained manly wood, some plastic and brass wire/sheet, once again, glue/paints and car body filler where required, this kit took me the best part of 6 months to complete and by the time i finished it i was very satisfied with it, it was alot of work, but worth it, you see, for me, it was the building i enjoyed the most, so after using it for a few months, a fellow modeller made me a very good offer, so i sold it and purchased another kit.
Billings Kit, (Smit Rotterdam)
So once again it was off to shop for yet another kit, this time i tried a different manufacturer, this time round i tried a Model slipway Kit, the "Drumbbeat Of Devon"
This kit came with fiber glass hull and a mixture of timber, white metal, brass rod, tubes and sheet, paint glue etc was needed to complete, i was getting the hang of these by now, they are not as easy as the RC Cars, but that was half the fun, i built this one in about 3 months, you are probably thinking, "My god thats ages" which in the Rc Car world it is, but in boat terms it is not to long at all, by this time i had also joined a model club in my local village and met some interesting people, a mixture of novice through to experienced, i took my model along to a club compotition and got a distinction for it, not as good as a 1st 2nd or 3rd but i was more than happy with that, once again the time had come to sell the old girl and move onto the next one.
I enjoyed the build and quality of the last kit, so stuck with them again on the next one, this time i went for the Bouy laying vessel "Vilestroom" (see pic) and with the help of the club members, i went a little overboard with this one, it had working lights, crane, fog horn if i could make it move or light i up, i did it, this one was the last ship i built, it took about 6 months and was a joy to build, i kept it for nearlly a year, before i sold it to pay for some spares on my real car
Thats it for this part of my start into the world of RC, more will follow.
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