FauxMako

Here's my new VTA body. I decided to do something a little different. Combining old and new sponsors, going with an updated but still rather simple paint scheme and incorporating the colors and theme from my avatar.

Still needs mounting holes, but I've had enough for one day.

Huge thanks to Flying Monkey for providing the painting skill. If you need a body painted, I can definitely recommend his work. He took a couple of ideas and a really bad sketch from me and turned them into this. Grill, lights, window trim, bumpers are all painted.

Thanks to Danny for the idea about doing license plates.

Most of the decals are mine. Only a couple came from the HPI sheet.

redron123

iTrader: (87)

Who makes the thickest vta legal bodies? I am tired of puting 10 pounds of shoe goo on these hpi super thin bodies.

Flying Monkey

iTrader: (54)

I have most of the VTA bodies here and the thickest is the 68 Camaro

redron123

iTrader: (87)

Made by who? Have you tried the Mccalister racing 68 mustang or the 70 camaro?

This is the list on the hobby shop forum. There may be more but maybe someone can point out the most durable one.
Bolink part numbers:
BL2262 '68 Chevrolet Camaro
BL2263 '65 Ford Mustang

HPI part numbers:
17510 - 1970 Plymouth AAR 'Cuda
7494 - 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
17531 - 1969 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28
17508 - 1965 Ford Shelby GT-350
17519 - 1966 Ford Mustang GT
104926 - 1966 FORD MUSTANG GT COUPE BODY
17546 - 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 (scale wing ok)
105106 - 1970 DODGE CHALLENGER BODY

Parma part numbers:
10143 - 1969 Z28 Camaro
10141 - 1970 Boss Mustang
10113 - 1970 'Cuda

Pegasus Hobbies part numbers:
PGH4001 - 1970 Camaro SS
PGH4002 - 1970 'Cuda
PGH4003 - 1970 Mustang

Protoform part numbers:
#1526 - J71

McAllister Racing part numbers:
#286- 1969 Mustang body

Flying Monkey

iTrader: (54)

The HPI 68 Camaro. Here I have the HPI 68,69 Camaro's, Cuda, 65 GT-350, 70 Boss mustang and the 70 Camaro (pegasus) along with a few others. I havent had any Mccalister bodies personally but have seen a couple on the tracks. IMO the HPI 68 Camaro is by far the thickest and strongest RC body I have ever had in my hands.

I always put drywall repair tape and shoe goo in the nose of our VTA bodies due to the nature of their design. The squared off noses take a beating and will all eventually break with enough hits due to the creases.

IndyHobbies.com

My favorite is still the '67 Corvette body by HPI. Its much thicker than the norm and comes std, with HPI's nitro Corvette. That's probably why its thicker? Don't know.

The other nice thing is that you can see the nose is slightly rounded and rarely catches on a track edge.

Of course its NOT LEGAL for racing in sanctioned events. Yes, I know! That's a shame however. It may not have raced the circuit in real life, but it certainly fits the spirit of the class.

I run mine for club racing with the blessing of the Race Director at our track. And, I don't really mind having to switch to something else that is legal when I have to. I just like the Corvette body and love the look of it when its running!

Flying Monkey

iTrader: (54)

I have the vette as well but it still is thinner then the HPI 68 Camaro

Robotech

Keep in mind that the way bodies are produced and the inherent design of the body itself is going to lead to thin sections of lexan especially in the nose sections where there are all those undercuts and sharp edges.

One way to tell the "thickness" of the plastic that is used when the body is made is to check the "flash" that is the flat parts of lexan at the bottom of the body which get cut off when you trim the body out. These areas don't get stretched and thus are close to their original thickness. The thicker this plastic is, the more durable a body of similar shape will be.

HPI bodies are made at the HPI HQ in Foothill Ranch. When I worked for them, all 1/10th scale bodies were made from the same thickness of lexan (except the "lightweight" Stratus body...it had thinner lexan to make it "lightweight"). Only the Savage bodies and Super Nitro bodies were made from thicker lexan. Can't remember for the life of me though what the measurements were of them.

IndyHobbies.com

I'm pretty sure the '68 Camaro being referred to is the HPI one. By far the most common one you see at the track, but also one of the best looking. Monkey, maybe I got a non-normal Corvette body? Mine is definately the thickest I've owned, and I've owned a lot and painted many for others.

One thing that has really helped for durability is to use real fiberglass cloth, not drywall tape. Drywall scrim tape just doesn't add structural strength. Its just supposed to hold drywall mud until it dries.

Ask your local hobby shop for some Great Planes (or similar) Wing Center Section Tape. It comes about 36" long and about 3" wide. Other widths are available too. More than enough for several bodies. THAT combined with Shoe Goo will really make your repairs strong. I put real fiberglass tape on the nose of my bodies I'm going to race right off the bat. Here's an example of the tape I'm talking about:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK256&P=7

You can probably buy a big piece at your local auto parts store or boat/marine retailer like West Marine.

looper

iTrader: (19)

parma bodies are the thickest, if you can get past the boxyness of them theni would recommend them for thickness and overall durability.

the cuda and camaro are the best of them IMO

the boss mustang body is a whale tail and isnt particularly good in how it makes the car perform (imagine surfboard being dragged around the track)

hope this helps

IndyHobbies.com

The HPI Boss and the 66 Mustang have scale fronts too, which look great, but those edges seem to grab and tear. At least at our track. So, they look bad quicker.

looper

iTrader: (19)

I was speaking to the option of using the parma shells as an option for durability. their boss mustang is what i was referring to.

IndyHobbies.com

Ah, I understand. I just like the HPI's due to their scale-ness. They offer the best looking bodies so those are always my first choice. The more real I can make the car look, the better. But, that's just me.

Some guys I race against in VTA, its just another class to them, so they don't worry about the detailing of the body. A clam shell is a clam shell. My second favorite class is USGT for the same reason. They look more real.

I would probably be wise to own both, a body to race with and a body for shelf time.

Parma:



HPI:

CREWMAN

iTrader: (20)

Do guys use the 200 mm 68 camaro made by hpi in electric usvta?

GP40X

iTrader: (10)

Yes