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Old 2006.02.24, 12:32 AM   #1
herman
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r/c heaven part 3

1.1
hi folks… so its me again…. ahhh h.k.

weather during this time of year is cool … approx 20-24*c… although i brought a light fleece jacket, i couldn’t bring myselft to use it (except probably for covering my head during a very light & brief shower)… for me it was quite perfect, even though it was for the most part cloudy…

well enough about the weather… on this trip i actually had some time (but never enough) to visit the h.k. mini-z scene (once again)

hobby shops along kws (kwong wa st. - refer to map – take mtr and exit a2 head towards nathan rd. and take a right, after 3 blocks take a right on dundas st. and walk till you hit kwong wa st., you can’t miss it) and the surrounding areas are still there…


Attached Images
File Type: gif yau ma tei map.gif (85.2 KB, 212 views)
File Type: jpg take a2 exit.JPG (249.2 KB, 179 views)

Last edited by herman; 2010.09.20 at 04:34 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:35 AM   #2
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1.2
some of the shops that I got to drop by were action hobbies, and right across the street… hobby hobby, tq, rc model and harmony… there were lots more believe me… one shop in particular seemed to be missing… chin ngai hobby & co… sole agent for gpm… (i know, i know, some of you may have some mixed opinions re: gpm but personally, i’ve had more good than bad experiences with their stuff - mostly mr01/mr02 – so in my book they are pretty ok)

i later found out from one hobby shop that they moved just around the corner… cool new store if you ask me…




Attached Images
File Type: jpg action hobbies.JPG (272.6 KB, 197 views)
File Type: jpg hobby2 tq.JPG (289.9 KB, 180 views)
File Type: jpg harmony rc model.JPG (285.0 KB, 181 views)
File Type: jpg gpm.JPG (263.7 KB, 173 views)

Last edited by herman; 2010.09.20 at 04:36 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:37 AM   #3
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1.3
h.k. hobby shops sell most anything & everything… i’ve heard someone say that if you can’t find it in h.k., you can’t find it anywhere else… and to some extent i find this to be partially true…)

the shops i visited kept a good stock of mini-z parts… along with other bigger scaled r/c’s (1/5 scale cars)…

shops pretty much seemed to be up to date with their stocks, saw some newly released awd parts, and even got to see the much awaited n18 (nitro 1/18 scale car by x ray… sorry folks wasn’t able to take any pics) they hade one built as a sample complete with a spektrum receiver too… the guy at the shop said it would be available in 1-2 weeks time… it looked really cool & having seen a couple of videos, i figure that this thing would be wicked on any smooth track - the box said that it goes 50kph (approx 30 mph) pretty hefty for a micro eh?…

asked 2 shops for pricing they said…hk$ 1,700-2,200 – (approx us$ 220-285)… and if they shipped internationally (just in case)… they both said yes (just as i expected… imagine me mentally fist pumping a couple of times)… i also got to see a glimpse of the 1/16th scale nitro buggy being showcased in one of the shops windows…(can’t remember what they called it… i believe master moderator mondo did a review on it, ah found the link http://www.mini-zracer.com/forums/sh...ighlight=nitro )…

so ok, yeah i broke down and had to get some parts plus a ferrari 430 autoscale… mean looking autoscale… it’s just wicked... i find it quite hard to go to that place and not buy anything...
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:39 AM   #4
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1.4
after having seen enough (not!!! – actually if i had my way, i’d spend a good whole day there, but given time constraints, i figured it was time to move on)… it was time to visit the tracks…

thanks to davis, (one of our fellow friendly members on these forums – who incidentally is from h.k.) i was able to get the addresses of 2 mini-z tracks in h.k. … i’m guessing that they’re the last remaining tracks in h.k. – i hope i’m wrong though… if memory serves me right, there were at least 5 tracks in operation a couple of years back, just when the craze caught on)

i was hoping to davis at the track… but unfortunately timing was a bit off for the both of us… just as i was going to the tracks, he had just left kws… oh well…

maybe next time eh davis?

Last edited by herman; 2010.09.20 at 04:54 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:44 AM   #5
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Hey i just saw the N18 at one of my LHS here in Phoenix, didn't take a pic though as i was just grabbin some parts for my TC3.

Must be hard on the wallet to have access to all that R/C treasure.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:49 AM   #6
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1.5
first stop rcmms… (official site www.rcmms.com.hk - 4/F Flat B, Fok On Factory Building, 1123 Canton Road, Monkok (next to the Dynasty Cinema)
tel:26259089 - take mtr and exit at monkok see map it's quite simple) being a sunday and coming off a weeklong chinese new year celebration (kong hei fat choy!)…there were quite a number of patrons visiting the facility… luckily i brought my weapons… 2 bearing equipped stock cars – my mr015 vitz & an mr02mm mclaren, with the mclaren having a very slight edge considering it had a ball diff installed…

the track surface was made out of some sort of really short pile carpet… ozite, i guess, haven’t really seen ozite… it measured approx 35ft x 18ft (in my estimation)… retaining walls were made of high density foam… they glued the hook side (not the bushy stuff) of velcro straps to the side walls, with the hook side facing the track… this was done to slightly deflect any errant on coming cars, as opposed to absorbing the shock & stopping cars almost dead in their tracks… i’m pretty sure that rcp track users are all too familiar with this occurrence…

a unique feature of this track is that it’s a dual track, wherein tuesdays and wednesdays are off road days… the whole on road track is set about 2 feet off the ground, by lifting the whole track, it will reveal a dirt off road track underneath… this caters to the 1/18th off road scale crowd... cool eh??? (you can just barely see the dirt track under the on road track in pic rcmms track 3)




Attached Images
File Type: bmp map_to_MMS.BMP (410.4 KB, 61 views)
File Type: jpg rcmms.JPG (208.2 KB, 153 views)
File Type: jpg rcmms1.JPG (157.1 KB, 138 views)
File Type: jpg rcmms track1.JPG (176.4 KB, 323 views)
File Type: jpg rcmms track3.JPG (222.3 KB, 151 views)

Last edited by herman; 2010.09.20 at 04:39 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:51 AM   #7
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1.6
i figured that an hour of track time was ok, so i paid my fee and laid my car down (to rest… as in r.i.p that is)… my cars posed not even a hint of a threat & proved nothing but back marker passing practice for most of the field… talk about a humbling experience…

after feeling that i had enough (believe me, you will definitely feel it, a slight tap here, a slight nudge there & lots of apologizing on the track… most of the time from me for getting in their way) i tried to keep up with the jones’ by deciding to have my mclaren upgraded with a fet job…

so i racked up some laps with my mr01 vitz on the track, amusing myself a bit while my mclaren got its “fet while you wait” job… after a few laps (unfortunately most of them were mental lapses) around the track with my vitz, the fet job was done…

hopefully, armed with my new weapon (with a new motor to boot – nothing fancy though… just a stock atomic motor) i thought “payback time”… no more mister nice guy…

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File Type: jpg rcmms track2.JPG (166.2 KB, 160 views)

Last edited by herman; 2010.09.20 at 04:40 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:53 AM   #8
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1.7
the fet job with the new motor was great… i could distinctly notice that acceleration was a whole lot faster and better & i was able to keep up with some of the cars on the main straight, but the turns proved to be a whole different story for me altogether…

my choice of racing line was much to little to be desired even for my liking (in spite of the mid motor mount, it felt a bit tail happy as i slightly fought the tendency of the rear spinning out)… that plus the fact that my driving skills were a, er quite below par for the track… this resulted in much longer lap times compared to the other drivers…

although the car was obviously much faster, i realized that i would have to dial it in & make fine adjustments that would suit my driving style on that particular track, something i didn’t have the luxury of doing, given the time… so i just stuck it out for a few more laps with some of the guys… until i was rear ended (grrr… grrrr…) resulting in a broken stock t plate… after getting a replacement –(make that cf please)… it was back to the track (the track has a display area that sells parts, mostly atomic… this saves you the trip of going all the way back to kws – pretty convenient, much more logical) …. and before i knew it my hour was up…
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Old 2006.02.24, 12:59 AM   #9
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1.8
i got to meet some of the guys at the track & i also got to take a look at their cars… the norm seemed to consist of aluminum motor mounts, mod motors, fet upgrades, disk damper suspension (dds), ball diffs, bearings, springs, knuckles, springs, lowering washers and really soft tires…

oh yeah i did forget to mention one small detail (small yep pun intended… actually i should say glaring detail) … everybody was using ad band with the ex-10!!!!... like goodness gracious… how could i ever think of keeping up with these guys with a stock controller??? oh well, guess i was just dreaming…. at least i can sleep at night knowing that my car was just as fast as theirs on the straights, and for me that’s all that matters… hehehe… (of course a couple of more laps around the track and i would have my racing lines down, and have showed my true racing form (like yeah dream on ) … nothing like practice on the track)… now back to the hotel to catch some zzz’s… (pun intended)

end of part 1….

Last edited by herman; 2006.02.24 at 01:03 AM.
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Old 2006.02.24, 01:06 AM   #10
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Must be hard on the wallet to have access to all that R/C treasure.
usually go there on business with some side trips to the hobby shops... this time had enough time to go around and visit the shops and 2 tracks...
part 2 coming soon...
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Old 2006.02.24, 07:23 AM   #11
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Nice review. I live in USA but was originally from HK. Every trip I take to HK is similar to your expereience. Did you visit the other track: www.hk-minirc.org ? I got my FET job done there with good result. I'm probably going to HK again within the next 3 weeks.

I got most of my stuffs from Action hobbies and tires from GPM there. GPM is all by itself on the corner because their shop has bad reputation among the local racers. Most of the money they make comes from overseas business I bet.

R/C shop experience in Japan is another story. I hope I have the time to write a review here and share with the community. I was managed to find more rare parts in Japan compared to HK. My visits to Tamiya HQ and Japan annual hobby shows are memorable experience. Kyosho has just opened a shop in Tokyo, I'm gonna check it out when I get a chance.

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Old 2006.02.24, 07:50 AM   #12
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Did you visit the other track: www.hk-minirc.org ? I got my FET job done there with good result. I'm probably going to HK again within the next 3 weeks.
the other track CT (i think it comes from club track) comes up in part 2... i frequent their boards once in a while)... hopefully i'll get to post it soon... bit busy though... got a fet job done there as well... (i might add that it was done slightly better,compared to the one that i got during this last trip... do let us know what's the latest when you come back from h.k.!!!


Quote:
GPM is all by itself on the corner because their shop has bad reputation among the local racers.
hmmm... why is that??


Quote:
R/C shop experience in Japan is another story. I hope I have the time to write a review here and share with the community. I was managed to find more rare parts in Japan compared to HK. My visits to Tamiya HQ and Japan annual hobby shows are memorable experience. Kyosho has just opened a shop in Tokyo, I'm gonna check it out when I get a chance.
dude you will have to email me on what places to visit hmc_jr@yahoo.com
we're planning to visit tokyo japan in mid march, hopefully i will get the chance to drop by another mini-z track while over there... by any chance is kyosho tokyo anywhere near akihabara (sp?)??? you must give me the address puhleezzz!!!....
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Old 2006.02.24, 09:19 PM   #13
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Thumbs down

Herman, excellent story and pictures. I enjoyed it!!
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Old 2006.02.24, 10:23 PM   #14
herman
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thanks for the input... i hope i can make part 2 just as exciting... (it chronicles my adventures at the other track called ct)
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Old 2006.02.25, 02:28 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by herman
thanks for the input... i hope i can make part 2 just as exciting... (it chronicles my adventures at the other track called ct)
Great Review Herman! Thanks for sharing
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