Beginner questions
 

Hey all. I've never had RC cars besides toys when I was a kid and I recently ordered a Tamiya Hornet re-release kit just to get a feel for it. The car hasn't arrived yet but I've been doing as much reading as I can to prepare. Right now I just had a few questions but I'm sure I'll think of more later.

1) I want to replace the plastic bushings with bearings. Good idea? Easy for a beginner?

2) Regarding painting, can I lay down a thin layer or two of a color and then back it with black so the color is muted?

3) Can I mix lacquers and acrylics? What is the difference between the two?

Thanks for the help, guys. Like I said, I'm sure more questions will present themselves as I go through the process.

What size spur gear will you use. And for bushings just make sure you get the right size bearings. Depends on what is your first color. Do you want to dull the or make it shine.:confused::confused::confused: Im not sure about mixing Lacquers and Acrylic together.

Hmm, I'm not sure about the size of the spur gear. Heh, mainly because I don't know what that is.

I made sure to write down the right size bearings. Thanks for the reminder.

And yes, with the color, let's say it's a red that I want to make kind of dull and washed-out. If I back it with black that's what will happen, I assume?

I'll have to look into the lacquers and acrylic thing, then.

Thanks again!

Spur gear is the main gear under the gear cover on the back of the truck.

I've never used laquer and arcylics on the same body but it should be safe if you paint the laquer FIRST and then put acrylic over it. My guess would be that if you spray laquer over the acrylic it may not be a good thing. That's how it works with laquer and enamel based paint. I can't remember if the Hornet comes with an ABS plastic body like the Grasshopper or if it has a clear lexan body. If it's lexan they're design to be painted on the inside protecting the paint and making it shiny. If you want a dull/matte finish you could paint the outside though. If it's an ABS, which I don't think it is, you could paint it with flat or satin paint to have less shine.

Oh, ok. What should I use? I imagine the kit comes with one, but what might be a good upgrade?

Thanks, that's helpful. The body for the Hornet is indeed clear Lexan. Painting the outside is an interesting idea. I'll have to look into that a little bit more.

It's a Hornet first it's not a truck, just an FYI. Second the entire rear end is closed unlike just about everything else today. It will likely come with 2 gearing options. There is NO adjustment for moving the motor, they come with 2 pinions and 2 spur gears and when you build the tranny you decide which ratio you want, small pinion w/ big spur or bigger pinion w/ smaller spur. If you use the stock motor that comes with the kit it's really a choice between slow and slower, either way it's not going to be very fast by today's standards. Remember that this car has NO slipper clutch and was designed almost 30 years ago, it can't handle much more than the stock motor that comes with it.

Thanks again, racer. You seem very knowledgeable. Like I said, I really just wanted to pick up something cheap to mess around with and see if I liked it. If this goes well I imagine I'll upgrade to something a little bit more impressive.

NP, just keep in mind that if you find you enjoy driving the hornet (they are a fun little car to play around with) but aren't impressed with how it handles, a newer, more modern model is going to be worlds apart in this area. Have fun.

Yeah, I'll remember that. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon too!

Remember whipping that Hornet with my Falcon back in the day:lol: Did end up acquiring one if I remember correctly. Ah the good days when my friends and I would break into the fairground barns and race, making jumps out of hay:lol: Now you would probably be sent to juvie for trespassing and stealing electricity. You're going to have some proper Old Skool RC fun with your Hornet:nod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TlYVoAFMPA

You can spray lacquor and acrylic over eachother, but you can not mix them together in a jar then spray them. An example would be you cant take a black lacquor and use a white acrylic to make a gray color. Paint the body on the outside will leave you with a "flat" finish, but the paint with scratch and start to chip off it it come in direct contact with a hard surface like rolling the car over on pavement or even rocks in dirt. The lexan is basically the clear coat for RC paint jobs.

Well, I've been really busy since I ordered this and it came the day before Thanksgiving so I didn't get a chance to do anything until last weekend. Started putting it together Saturday and I'm having a good time. I'm going to try and finish it one night this week after work, but I still need to paint the body after that. Thanks everyone for the help so far, I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Also, BrodieMan, that video is hilarious and awesome.