Typhon Typhon Tales

[Harriot10]

Oof. Yeah, it's a bit addictive... Not to mention the cost of maintenance and repair!

Also, garages are no fun to sleep in, and RCs make terrible pillows...

Fortunately, my wife really seems to enjoy the hobby herself, hence why I bought a Granite for her and my son (who obviously doesn't mind playing with a $300 RC toy much either). I've been a lot more sensible with that Granite, only really going for the upgrades I thought the most worthwhile based on my experiences with the Typhon, which allows them to 'keep up', so to speak.

But with just two RCs that get bashed sporadically, I'm already noticing the cost of just keeping them running -- so I've slowed down a bit in the fancy-upgrade department.

Same! I painted up a Granite that I actually won on the Forum for my wife and daughters. Kids always wanna go with, but get bored quick. The wife doesn’t have much interest, but doesn’t mind me enjoying the hobby. The wife likes to run full throttle, she don’t use the brakes!

 

[Sphexish]

Same! I painted up a Granite that I actually won on the Forum for my wife and daughters. Kids always wanna go with, but get bored quick. The wife doesn’t have much interest, but doesn’t mind me enjoying the hobby. The wife likes to run full throttle, she don’t use the brakes!

You won that? Wow, lucky! Great job on the paint job (and stickers), too!

Anyway, getting family and friends involved in your hobby can be really rewarding, in my experience.

My son generally enjoys being out and about in the park with us even when he isn't the one driving, but we've gotten into the habit of bringing some other stuff along (ball, frisbee, and a blanket and some snacks to picknick with, for example), and we take breaks from driving to do other stuff with him as well. Bonus is that this allows the cars to cool down a bit, since we usually run on grass. (We already have to drag the DIY ramp along as well, but we live right next to this park, so that makes things easier -- particularly for bathroom emergencies. )

We've also developed this game where, if someone flips their car, I drop everything, we stare at each other briefly, and then we frantically race to see who can get over to it and flip it first. Pretty good exercise for good ol' dad.

My wife has really gotten into it, actually. Always sporting a big smile when she gets to drive, genuinely excited when she first landed a backflip, and fiercely competitve with me and my buddy. Particularly when we're doing drag races... She's always enjoyed cars -- even had a sports car when she was younger -- and I think it rekindles some of that old thrill now that the only thing she drives is a station wagon over to grandma and grandpa's house.

She even helped me a lot with the recent paint job as well, peeling off the masks with her usual care (and longer nails) -- although she demanded being allowed to peel the overspray film off for the big reveal as payment...

The fact that my childhood friend got himself a Rustler and often comes along only adds to the fun. He's always busting that thing up and we're always busy fixing it. And now he's discovered that a colleague of his has always been into RC and is overjoyed that he found kindred spirits...

Basically, it's slowly becoming something of a local RC club.

 

[Homebrew]

You won that? Wow, lucky! Great job on the paint job (and stickers), too!

Anyway, getting family and friends involved in your hobby can be really rewarding, in my experience.

My son generally enjoys being out and about in the park with us even when he isn't the one driving, but we've gotten into the habit of bringing some other stuff along (ball, frisbee, and a blanket and some snacks to picknick with, for example), and we take breaks from driving to do other stuff with him as well. Bonus is that this allows the cars to cool down a bit, since we usually run on grass. (We already have to drag the DIY ramp along as well, but we live right next to this park, so that makes things easier -- particularly for bathroom emergencies. )

We've also developed this game where, if someone flips their car, I drop everything, we stare at each other briefly, and then we frantically race to see who can get over to it and flip it first. Pretty good exercise for good ol' dad.

My wife has really gotten into it, actually. Always sporting a big smile when she gets to drive, genuinely excited when she first landed a backflip, and fiercely competitve with me and my buddy. Particularly when we're doing drag races... She's always enjoyed cars -- even had a sports car when she was younger -- and I think it rekindles some of that old thrill now that the only thing she drives is a station wagon over to grandma and grandpa's house.

She even helped me a lot with the recent paint job as well, peeling off the masks with her usual care (and longer nails) -- although she demanded being allowed to peel the overspray film off for the big reveal as payment...

The fact that my childhood friend got himself a Rustler and often comes along only adds to the fun. He's always busting that thing up and we're always busy fixing it. And now he's discovered that a colleague of his has always been into RC and is overjoyed that he found kindred spirits...

Basically, it's slowly becoming something of a local RC club.

Love it. My daughter and I have made little games too, but I haven’t got my wife to jump in yet. When she does, I think she’ll dig it. Sounds like you all have a great family, and this is a great familial hobby. And this is such a great group of people here too- feel like I fit right in even though I just signed up.

 

[Harriot10]

You won that? Wow, lucky! Great job on the paint job (and stickers), too!

Anyway, getting family and friends involved in your hobby can be really rewarding, in my experience.

My son generally enjoys being out and about in the park with us even when he isn't the one driving, but we've gotten into the habit of bringing some other stuff along (ball, frisbee, and a blanket and some snacks to picknick with, for example), and we take breaks from driving to do other stuff with him as well. Bonus is that this allows the cars to cool down a bit, since we usually run on grass. (We already have to drag the DIY ramp along as well, but we live right next to this park, so that makes things easier -- particularly for bathroom emergencies. )

We've also developed this game where, if someone flips their car, I drop everything, we stare at each other briefly, and then we frantically race to see who can get over to it and flip it first. Pretty good exercise for good ol' dad.

My wife has really gotten into it, actually. Always sporting a big smile when she gets to drive, genuinely excited when she first landed a backflip, and fiercely competitve with me and my buddy. Particularly when we're doing drag races... She's always enjoyed cars -- even had a sports car when she was younger -- and I think it rekindles some of that old thrill now that the only thing she drives is a station wagon over to grandma and grandpa's house.

She even helped me a lot with the recent paint job as well, peeling off the masks with her usual care (and longer nails) -- although she demanded being allowed to peel the overspray film off for the big reveal as payment...

The fact that my childhood friend got himself a Rustler and often comes along only adds to the fun. He's always busting that thing up and we're always busy fixing it. And now he's discovered that a colleague of his has always been into RC and is overjoyed that he found kindred spirits...

Basically, it's slowly becoming something of a local RC club.

Yeah, I won the Granite during a Forum giveaway. It belonged to @bicketybam and him/staff donated it to the Forum with clear body and new transmitter. (This Forum is GREAT) Seems like your family really enjoys the hobby and you have some friends to bash with also. That's awesome! I just got back into the hobby Dec 2020 and love it. I really enjoy bashing, wrenching, and upgrading. Now I'm trying to get my feet wet with the some speed runs. In the process of finishing up a stretched Typhon. I wish I could find others locally that enjoyed the hobby like myself.

 

[Sphexish]

Step 187:
Struggle heavily while trying to get the blasted body clip retainers through the holes in your new bodyshell -- not helped by the fact that you're still in the I-don't-want-to-scratch-the-new-paintjob phase.

Step 188:
Decide to fortify the inside of the body with Gorilla Tape first, since you're on the verge of breaking out the (power)tools.

Step 189:
Finally manage to pull them through with a pair of pliers -- although at this point you were stretching out the rubber so much it reminded you of that old Stretch Armstrong toy you used to own.

Step 190:
Thread through the fancy new red body clips, using a flat-head screwdriver to pry (and keep) them open just enough for the retainer to squeeze through.

Step 191:
Stare. Wipe off the drool.

 

[Doom!]

She looks very happy, and ready to roll!

 

[Homebrew]

Bad. Ass.

 

[Sphexish]

Love it. My daughter and I have made little games too, but I haven’t got my wife to jump in yet. When she does, I think she’ll dig it. Sounds like you all have a great family, and this is a great familial hobby. And this is such a great group of people here too- feel like I fit right in even though I just signed up.

Yeah, this is a great little community to be sure! Amazing how a shared hobby can bring people together -- family, friends, and even people across the globe on online forums like these.

Yeah, I won the Granite during a Forum giveaway. It belonged to @bicketybam and him/staff donated it to the Forum with clear body and new transmitter. (This Forum is GREAT) Seems like your family really enjoys the hobby and you have some friends to bash with also. That's awesome! I just got back into the hobby Dec 2020 and love it. I really enjoy bashing, wrenching, and upgrading. Now I'm trying to get my feet wet with the some speed runs. In the process of finishing up a stretched Typhon. I wish I could find others locally that enjoyed the hobby like myself.

Wow, lot of people on here winning stuff; seems like these frequent giveaways are a great success!

So were you inspired to step back into the hobby due to covid, like a lot of folks (myself included)?
I personally didn't really get "back" into it, per se... the last RC I owned was back in the eighties! But I'm enjoying pretty much every facet of it nonetheless.

I hope you do find some kindred spirits -- there isn't really an RC scene around where I live (not even a decent local hobby shop for many a mile), but our little club is growing... To the point where we get passing families sticking around and spectating (and providing loud commentary) at times, particularly when we have the ramp set up.

 

[morrjr71]

I have that T Bone Racing chassis skid plate sitting in a RC parts box. I didn't install it when I received it due to that screw and nut near the power module. And of course I didn't even think about it when I had the power module out a couple of days ago to I put in a new motor. It looks like the chassis skid plate will probably sit in the bag until the next time pull out the power module for maintenance.

 

[Harriot10]

Yeah, this is a great little community to be sure! Amazing how a shared hobby can bring people together -- family, friends, and even people across the globe on online forums like these.



Wow, lot of people on here winning stuff; seems like these frequent giveaways are a great success!

So were you inspired to step back into the hobby due to covid, like a lot of folks (myself included)?
I personally didn't really get "back" into it, per se... the last RC I owned was back in the eighties! But I'm enjoying pretty much every facet of it nonetheless.

I hope you do find some kindred spirits -- there isn't really an RC scene around where I live (not even a decent local hobby shop for many a mile), but our little club is growing... To the point where we get passing families sticking around and spectating (and providing loud commentary) at times, particularly when we have the ramp set up.

Well to be honest, I asked my wife for a RC car for Xmas 2020. She laughed at me and told me no! She knew if I really wanted it, I would buy it anyway. So I did quite a bit of research and came across Arrrma. I bought the BR, it came two days after Xmas. I was soon hooked, upgraded the BR to the max while building a Granite from the chassis up. I eventually got my first 6s (Outcast) and continued adding upgrades. I bought the Infraction V2, KEXB, and Felony all within a week. Took a while to recover from dropping all that cash at once. I really enjoy the hobby! I’m working on speed builds now. I’ll include a photo of my stretched Typhon that I was working on this evening. The real reason I got back into the hobby is because I’ve got 3 daughters and a wife! I needed something to occupy my time. When I’m not coaching my girls in sports, I’m buying, building, and bashing RC’s.

 

[Sphexish]

I have that T Bone Racing chassis skid plate sitting in a RC parts box. I didn't install it when I received it due to that screw and nut near the power module. And of course I didn't even think about it when I had the power module out a couple of days ago to I put in a new motor. It looks like the chassis skid plate will probably sit in the bag until the next time pull out the power module for maintenance.

You actually have to put the screw and nut in when the power module is in place though -- you cannot slide the power module back in (or out) when that nut is in the way. (I found this out the hard way!)

I just put the RC on its side (much easier with the wheels on), stick the flathead screw in a tiny bit from the underside of the chassis, pop the nut into a 5.5 box driver to get it where it needs to be, and then use a 2.0MM hex screwdriver from the other side to tighten it.

Admittedly, this got a lot easier after I relocated the ESC and got all those motor wires tidied up and out of the way, so I could actually see what I was doing without having to unplug everything...

Anyway, if that location for the nut is too much hassle you could always try relocating it. Would require you to drill an extra hole in both the plate and the bottom of your chassis though.

 

[morrjr71]

You actually have to put the screw and nut in when the power module is in place though -- you cannot slide the power module back in (or out) when that nut is in the way. (I found this out the hard way!)

That's not a good design: it negates the ease of removing the power module. Had I known that was going to be an issue, I probably wouldn't have bought the chassis skid plate to begin with. I need to decide which pinion I'm going to use with my new motor before I make it so the power module is not as easy to remove.

 

[Sphexish]

That's not a good design: it negates the ease of removing the power module. Had I known that was going to be an issue, I probably wouldn't have bought the chassis skid plate to begin with. I need to decide which pinion I'm going to use with my new motor before I make it so the power module is not as easy to remove.

Agreed, although I do understand why they did it. Every other screw they supply replaces a pre-existing one, and they even supply metal spacers for sunken ones. But on that one corner the sole existing (unused) hole in the chassis is simply in a super-inconvenient spot.

I think that if installation required drilling extra holes in your chassis a lot of people would be turned off by the product -- now, it's essentially sort of an optional extra step?

In general though, yeah, if you want to some tweaking or frequent maintenance, do NOT buy this skid -- or leave it off for the time being -- as it isn't just removing the power module that's made more time-consuming by having it there... You quickly run into the fact that it covers a bunch of other screws on the bottom of the car as well, so whenever you want to take out the esc, the servo, the bellcrank or the diffs, you have to remove the entire skid as well!

 

[Sphexish]

Step 192:
The perfect letter from the US doesn't exi--

 

[morrjr71]

You quickly run into the fact that it covers a bunch of other screws on the bottom of the car as well, so whenever you want to take out the esc, the servo, the bellcrank or the diffs, you have to remove the entire skid as well!

I forgot about it covering the other screws as well. I guess mine will be left in my parts box for now.

 

[Sphexish]

Step 193:
Order some small cosmetic parts, like metallic red washers to use on the wing mount.

Step 194:
Discover that the spot you'd reserved for the Arrma Forum stickers -- on the sides of the wing -- won't really fit. And fail to find another place on the wing where it really fits correctly.

Step 195:
Improvise.

 

[Sphexish]

Step 196:
These are the voyages of the groundship 'Photon.' It's continuing mission: to explore the tall grass of the nearby park and not catch fire.

Step 197:
Engineering log, stardate 1234 point 5. We've stopped by the repair bay to fit an additional 25mm high-RPM quantum flux capacitor (fabricated on the distant planet of Chinesium) to our warp drive ESC. First, we had to make it compatible with the connectors on our dilithium crystal.

(Good thing we had some high-tension bi-material clamping mechanisms lying around!)

Step 198:
Next, we bounced a thermal particle beam onto some heatshrink to make it, well, uh, shrink:

Step 199:
Fortunately, the replicators were accurate when they produced this component; it fit inside the warp core perfectly!

Step 200:

 

[Doom!]

Can't wait to see her boldly go where no Typhon has gone before!

 

[Setomidor]

Fortunately, my wife really seems to enjoy the hobby herself, hence why I bought a Granite for her and my son (who obviously doesn't mind playing with a $300 RC toy much either). I've been a lot more sensible with that Granite, only really going for the upgrades I thought the most worthwhile based on my experiences with the Typhon, which allows them to 'keep up', so to speak.

Thanks for a great thread! Really enjoy following your descent into da... your growing experience and commitment to your rig.

I’d love to hear more about the essential upgrades to your wife’s Granite! I’ve recently gotten back into the hobby myself and run a Vorteks that already has been through a lot, but I have not changed anything on the rig from stock apart from the servo. At this point it has more than deserved some pit time.

Also: ++++++++[>++++[>++>+++>+++>+<<<<-]>+>+>->>+[<]<-]>>.>---.+++++++..+++.>>.

 

[Sphexish]

Thanks for a great thread! Really enjoy following your descent into da... your growing experience and commitment to your rig.

I’d love to hear more about the essential upgrades to your wife’s Granite! I’ve recently gotten back into the hobby myself and run a Vorteks that already has been through a lot, but I have not changed anything on the rig from stock apart from the servo. At this point it has more than deserved some pit time.

Thanks man! It's been fun chronicling the journey and looking back on occasion.

As for the Granite:

• I upgraded the servo and shimmed the bell crank to improve steering, and refilled and removed any binding in the diffs to make sure the car could drive in a straight line reliably.
• I upgraded the shocks to 6S Kraton front shocks in the rear and 6S Mojave front shocks in the front, which I fitted with Team Associated yellow springs because the stock ones on these were too stiff. I still need to refill them all with the same weight shock oil, for which I'm planning to use 65wt.
• To help shield the power module from dirt and debris I fitted a Dusty Motors Universal cover, shimmed the slipper clutch assembly to prevent it from eroding the inside of the module case, and added some velcro tape around the edges of the spur gear opening.
• To protect the body I added a rear wing and a roof skid, and I replaced the body clips with Proline screw mounts to make it easier for the wife and kids to replace the body.
• The only other planned upgrades ATM are steel pillow balls and the longer Typhon arms & turnbuckles, since it appears this might help prevent the one problem still nagging me with this particular rig: the u-joints on the rear driveshafts popping out.
• I'm keeping an eye on the aluminum motor plate. If it turns out that it's getting bent by some of the bad landings I'm my kids are making, I might consider getting a Custom RC Upgrades titanium replacement in the future.