My kit is about 80% done now, only left with electronics and shocks.
Initial impressions are very very good. Parts fit and finish are top notch. On par with other brands that i've built, which includes a Xray T1, HPIs and Tamiya TA05. Parts finish and fit beat the TA05 (v1, non-R) for sure, and considering the fact that it costs even less than the latter, value is simply amazing for this car. It even comes with universals in the front, where it matters basically. dogbones in the rear don't have as much slop as tamiyas, and should last a few good months before replacement.
Specifically, the FRP chassis is well cut, all the holes line up perfectly. Suspension slop from the linkages is minimal, comparable to my early xray and wayy better than the TA05's sloppy mess. Plastics vary for different components; arms knuckles and hubs are hard plastic, where you can feel the screw threads 'bite'. Others, especially the bulkheads and bulkhead covers, are rather soft, threads for those strip rather easily.
Alright a few tips for building the car:
while waiting for the car to ship, do some finger and wrist exercises
I mean it! with all that plastic to thread. Those of you 'downgrading' from all carbon/alu cars will feel it most. Good luck with the top deck (14 screws in total!)
1) Gear diff - Make sure the bevel gears sit right in. get this right before moving on.
2) Spur - I used a Kawada 64 pitch spur instead of the stock 48p one. It wasn't a perfect fit though and required some slight reaming. the holes in the spur basically weren't wide enough to fit the gear adaptor.
3) Rear bulkheads - Refer to Over gear's photo, only the outer two screws are M3 x 10, the rest are 8mm. The bulkheads, as well as the bulkhead covers are soft plastic. Just use more care when threading them.
yup that's about it, can't wait to get it up and running! I put 30k diff silicon in the front diff and 80wt shock oil in the rear. For shocks I might wanna use my TRFs, with short tamiya springs. Gonna be running 11.5t boosted.
Must have upgrades.. currently none. If you have an extra set of threaded shocks that'll be good to bring over. If it's your first car I think they stock dampers are more than fine. As mentioned, the bulkheads are rather flexible on its own. With the shock towers and top deck mounted however, it's quite okay. The alu parts are upgrades yes, but personally at this point in time, I don't think they are must-haves. The beauty of this kit is that it comes with 2 gear diffs. Even people with sakura zeros are having to pay something like 20 usd for a gear diff, and we have 2