As I mentioned in my previous post. The air filter is something special on this model. It is in fact hidden within the drivers helmet.
I soaked the filter sponge in filter oil before screwing it into the helmet structure. Decals were then applied to the helmet to give it the detail shown in the photos.
Who would of though Mark Webbers head would become an air filter?
I wanted to make my Twin Hammers more unique so I started by replacing the standard plastic body with a set of aluminium body panels.
I decided to paint the panels in a basic desert camo scheme of sand and earth.
Some decals were applied to the side panels to add a bit of detail.
I also replaced the vehicle race number plates on the back of the vehicle with recovery boards. These are also aluminium and were painted desert yellow.
To complete the new look I ordered a pack of rock crawler accessories from eBay and strapped some gear to the roof and recovery boards with bungee chords .
For the first time recently I ended up with an Electronic Speed Controller that did not have built in Low Voltage Protection but did support LIPO batteries. You should never let a LIPO battery drop below 3V (You should get rid of it if it does.)
As the esc did not have LVP and independent solution was needed. After a little research I found these usually come as a little circuit board with an led screen that connects to the balance charger on a LIPO battery.
A LIPO battery generally has two connectors. One to connect to your model and one to charge the battery and balance the battery cells. The charge connector is not needed when the battery is in your model so you can leave a low voltage protection unit attached to it.
I managed to buy some units off ebay that work perfectly and only cost a few pounds each.
The units are simple enough. You give them a voltage you want them to warn you at and they will buzz when they drop down to it. They work well and I have never had any trouble hearing the buzzer.
Here is a video of them in action. The display even cycles through the voltage of each cell
My Twin Hammers had a head on crash with a monster truck. This shattered the monster truck chassis (my blackfoot) and snapped a metal tie rod on my Twin Hammers. I am not too fussed about the Blackfoot which still runs but its gearbox kinda just floats between the wheels. The Twin Hammers however being my flagship electric car I wanted up and running ASAP.
This was a nice test for me to see how easy it is to back order Vaterra parts. As a brand new company they have already shown they can make good cars but I had no idea how good their parts support would be.
I ordered a set of tie rods and rod ends from modelsport and had them in under a week. I needed the rod ends because the rod had actually snapped inside one of the current ones making it impossible to remove.
The repair was easy. All I had to do was remove the body, cut out the old tie rod ends and snap the new ones into place.
When I first saw this kit on modelsport I was intrigued. It was only £39 and I wanted to know just how good a car you would get for the price. You have to supply your own Electronic Speed Controller, Servo, Receiver and Motor bringing the total minimum build price to around £70- £80. I spent a bit more as I wanted to but some more decent bits in it.
The packaging and parts were a decent quality considering the price and the manual was easy to follow. This would make a nice inexpensive first kit.
Things I used to complete the build:
It seems I made a bad choice with the esc as the 13×3 motor seems to overheat it very easily, I am looking into a solution for that. On top of this I melted a battery connector to the esc so I ordered some traxxas connectors to deal with the current.
Soldering the new connectors
I also ordered a set of UK buggy bearings to ball race the kit. These replaced the bronze bushings that come as standard.
I do intend to replace my battery connectors with deans but the reason I went with a traxxas in this instance is I got this rocket pack battery in a sale. Its a 5100Mah 8.4 V Orion Rocket pack and really makes the thing go.
The bad thing is its too big for the battery compartment so I have to tape it in each time!
In summary this kit is easy to build, robust and well its cheap enough to buy a second one for a complete set of spare parts. I will upload some videos of it in action soon!
I wrapped my receiver up in a party balloon and taped it and the Electronic Speed Controller up for use in the rain on Sunday. This worked fine but unfortunately did not stop me burning out my motor. This the first time I had a motor smoke and burn out on me and it was not that old.
It’s getting pretty blue with hop ups now. I can now set the camber on all 4 wheels. Not played with it too much but will adjust it for drifting.
Last time I was out with this buggy a gear stripped and I later found out the gears were not meshing properly. When my ball-race bearings arrived I took the car apart upgraded it and re-meshed the gears. Its now running at a decent pace and it great fun to drive!
I was filming in one hand and steering with the other which is way the steering’s a little crazy.
Arms with adjustable camber, oil filled shocks and propeller joints for the drive shaft. All are Aluminium replacing plastic parts. Shocks need to be built and filled with oil so they will need to set overnight.
Today I fitted a part aluminium ball joint steering upgrade to my TT01 chassis. This replaces the stock steering track which is all plastic and screwed in. This upgrade has improved steering control which is especially handy when drifting.
The upgrade item is a 3Racing Steering Track. It says it is for the TT01E but comes with the parts also needed to fit it to the TT01.
New steering track in action.
Shane's Shed 