BodyShell Durability?

[eno801]

how strong are the bodies on these puppies , i ask because everytime i take the shell off i feel like i am gonna snap the thing. especially the little side body mount holder thingies. and as a side note where can we get the oil shocks?

[arch2b]

i was thinking the same thing! it is damn hard to get the shell off and on, there is almost no finger room to do it and the shells seem to be really thick plastic. you seem to need three hands. i have only taken mine off once and i was cursing the whole time. i hadn't planned on taking it off often, so it isn't so much a concern. the bodies seem to be well made and sturdy.

[eno801]

LOL , three hands seems about right if you look at the little instruction book there is a little drawing of how to take the body off and it has both hands pulling on the sides of the shell and the chassis magically floating.

[Draconious]

Yep magicly floating, your supose to hold the car right side up, and pull the sides apart I guess let the chassis just drop out.. ;)

I've yet to take a Overland body off, but the Speed Racer body was a pain in the .... to remove, fingers hurt for a few minutes after word.

They should have made the bodies held on different. a standard pin like RC cars have, but hidden under the shell or someting.....

[arch2b]

the question is, how are you supposed to get the shell back on? it took me much longer than it should have (embarrassed). i can't remember exactly i got it on, after much frustration, it just popped into place. the racer is so simple, the overland is so difficult.

is the speed racer shell attached differently, or just a pain in the @ss?

[Draconious]

Speed racer shell just very cramped onto the chassis... very tight... thick plastic etc.. hard to grip and the nose plate is made out of clearish white nylon (so are the body clips)... and the nose plate is like way way higher than the other mini-z nose mounds... so nothing is in favor of getting it off easy ;).

the only way to get a body off as easy as it gets is one side at a time, if any one tries to pull both sides off at once, its gona fight back...

At least thease bodies, wont come off during racing ;) hehehe... (yea right).

Also they realy should be easier to pull off since you have to remove it to change the batteries..... guess its time to add in charge ports ;) charge a car, while racing another ;)

[Free_Style]

No the way to do it is to use the suspension a-arma. You put two fingers on the sides of the arms front and rear and then pull the body away. Do the same on the other side. Works enerytime and no hurt fingers.

[killer]

:ö: how about hooking up a charging wire?, rather than removing the whole body to replace the discharge batts, with the charging wire hooked up and safely hidden beneath the chassis, you can just plug-in a charging jack and as soon as the batteries fully charged, you are clear and good to go!... downside the long wait on charging time :(, but if you have two O's, problem solved, play with one O and the other O on the charger!, the only time you for you to remove the body is when you have to do major mod on the kit. just a suggestion :) -æ

[379]

Originally posted by killer
:ö: how about hooking up a charging wire?, rather than removing the whole body to replace the discharge batts, with the charging wire hooked up and safely hidden beneath the chassis, you can just plug-in a charging jack and as soon as the batteries fully charged, you are clear and good to go!... downside the long wait on charging time :(, but if you have two O's, problem solved, play with one O and the other O on the charger!, the only time you for you to remove the body is when you have to do major mod on the kit. just a suggestion :) -æ

the charging wire should plug in at the little door on the real one for refueling just make a plastic hinge and route the charging wire there and voila realistic refuel hehehehehehehehe the only downside is actually hinging that little door in the first place and getting it to stay shut when u turn a hard right or left at speed

[Mondo]

In my opinion, the Land Cruiser is the easiest of the two current designs to remove.
I just spread the bodyshell with my fingers and gently shake the chassis from under it.
When re-fitting the Land Cruiser's bodyshell, I clip one side in, pry the body shell a little and get the other side over.
Yup, the Land Cruiser is fairly easy.

The Pajero is a different animal alltogether. The Pajero's sides are so tight against the battery holders, it's a cursing session.
I also worry about breaking the Pajero shell, but it holds up fairly well to the "abusive methods" needed to remove it and put it back on.

As for charging batteries while they are still in the Overland, that just doesn't appeal to me, I have 6 sets of 4 AAA NiMh cells and three chargers, two of them are quick (under an hour) chargers, so I couldn't be bothered waiting for them to charge in the Overland.
379 I guess your Overland hasn't arrived yet, cutting holes and making hinges is not quite as simple as it seems.

Of the entire 'Z range, I think the F1 has the best bettery layout, so easy to get to, no bodyshell removal required.

[379]

on the land cruiser the body is too easy to get on/off for it but the pajero needs it bad from what ive heard and yes it aint quite here yet

[MR - Z -]

I have to add to this, being my first mini z , taking the pajero overland shell off is a pain in the *** . everytime i do it im waiting for the big C-C-crack of the bodyshell splitting on me....however its holding up to the abuse i give it when trying to get it off and back on.

What i have noticed is that because you pull the shell from each side to take it off, it does damage your decals....notice on the pajero where the playstation logo is on the side back windows, where the window meets the body the decal has split...well for me it has anyway.


I hope this isnt the case on the mugen nsx i have coming :(

[Mondo]

MR -Z-

hehe, now that you mentioned it, I also noticed the Playstation 2 decal is also cracked on my Pajero.
Well, give it a couple of months and it will probably be repainted.

[BLiND]

Originally posted by Mondo
MR -Z-

hehe, now that you mentioned it, I also noticed the Playstation 2 decal is also cracked on my Pajero.
Well, give it a couple of months and it will probably be repainted.

what type of paint do you recommend mondo? I'm sure you saw the pics of my body when I posted it with my new tires on it the other day, the body has seen better days (mainly the paint job, however my front right headlight lense is popping out now, lol)

I plan on hand sanding the body down to its base, which I think is yellow (?confirm?).

Would Testers plastic model paint (applied with a brush) work on the Tamiya body?

[Mondo]

BLiND,

I've painted a few Mini-Z bodyshells. The best paint is automotive acrylic paint.
I use the stuff that comes in a rattlecan from the auto spares shops.
Just ensure you remove all all the old paint before spraying

[BLiND]

How would you suggest taking the paint off the rear windows on the overland?

Paint thinner would dissolve the body, and sanding it would mess up the window plastic I would think...

argh, stupid ugly factory paintjobs, why don't they have some bodies that come painted black with white and blue flames? lol...

[fraz]

If you want to strip off paint safely, there are two products I recommend. The one I have had the best success with but cannot recall the mfg. is Scalecoat Paint Remover. The other one is ELO (Easy Lift Off) by Polly-S and I have used it recently to strip my AMG mercedes and both of them will strip decals and all. If you want the job to come out right I recommend drilling off all of the extra pieces and gluing them back on separately. These products are also great for stripping chrome plating and I have used them in model building for years.

[herman]

a bit off topic...

hey fraz... what type of paint do you use to paint parts that require a high chrome finish? like fenders, rims etc? can you post pics some of your work? thanks...