Motor types available on the market

Here's a list of motors there are. I'll probably come up with a writeup of the difference between the motors soon :)

Useful Link - Basics of Motor, Gear Ratio, Tires, Wheels and Rollers

Here's a useful link I found. I will probably read this leisurely, however I probably will understand it better if I have my own parts that I can compare it with :)

Tamiya 4WD Circuit Build

So I built a Tamiya circuit from scratch. 3 rolls of black masking tape, glue, mounting board and corrugated plastic. I tried to build it as close to Official Mini 4WD Race Rules for the course - 115mm lane width and 60mm walls. OH LOL it's actually 50mm! I didn't read it properly D:

I reinforced the walls by adding strips of board

Took me 8 hours. The easiest part was obviously the straight section.

The curves were kinda hard. Couldn't bend the board how I wanted it to, and if I bent it too much it will fold the board in half. Had to sit there for a full minute holding the board in place until the glue sets.

What I did was I put the paper template on the mounting board and, with a ball pen, pressed down along the template so it leaves a mark on the board. Then I apply glue and secure the board in place.

But the hardest was the lane changer. HOMG I almost cracked my head figuring out how to do it. I literally sat there for half an hour wondering how to cut, where to cut, how much to cut and where to bend. I just winged it and somehow got it done.

My only regret is that the slope is way too steep. Sometimes the underside of the car will hit the road as it was going up. If only I made the track longer, I could make it more gradual. You can see why in my photos.

But that would mean that I need to split the section across two or three boards, as mounting boards I had was 20"x30". I'll keep it in mind for the next build.

Can I also say that the most boring part about this project was... THE CUTTING! OMG! I wished there was an easier way to cut mounting board. My ruler and cutting mat is way too small (and it's A3 sized. eh.) and I had to replace my box cutter blade so often coz it became blunt very fast. Sigh.

Notes for the next build: 1. Longer track, 2. a slave to only cut pieces.

I'm also thinking about how to make it portable for storage purposes. This one I built is already quite big. Wonder how to make it such that I can easily attach it and detach it. Hmmmmm!

FINISHED!

My first mini 4WD - Blast Arrow (MA chassis)

I bought this particular model as my first mini 4WD. Not sure why, but I have been stumbling around the forums and, for not sure exactly what reason, a lot of people have voiced out that they were recommended the Blast Arrow. So that was enough for me to go on.

It took me around 2~3 hours to assemble it. I had the instruction sheet next to me as I put together the pieces. One thing that I love about models, especially ones that function, is that I know what each piece does in the end. It's a growing process that is something you can't experience other than getting your hands dirty and making something out of it.

I haven't "burned in" the motor yet. Not sure if my motor needs it? Still, I don't have time as I am making the track tomorrow. The only way I could burn it is to race the living daylights and drain the batteries flat. (I am making a mini 4WD racing track for my friend's birthday. Out of mounting board. Let's see if I can achieve it!)

Pictured above, my Blast Arrow (left) and my brother's Shadow Shark AR chassis (right)

The funny thing that happened during the build was how little grease there was in the little green bottle they provided it in. I thought it was empty! Kept squeezing it until I accidentally spilled it on a plastic sheet. Had to apply it to the gears/rods/etc using a Q-tip.

Another thing I found pretty cool was... Do you know that bit that sticks out of the model after you've cut it away from the frame it came in? Well in a previous model I had, I found those things extremely hard to get rid of. But with the mini 4WDs, I could scrape them off and level them nicely with a box cutter (being careful not to poke holes in my fingers, of course). I'm guessing it's a lot softer, and easier to cut. I'm happy for that!

Ah well, we'll see how this goes!

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Sara and I had just gotten my first Tamiya 4WD.

Why did I get into it? Truthfully, it was because I wanted to build a racetrack for my friend (out of mounting board, no doubt) and I needed a tester car. Which, I decided, hey why not I get one for myself and give it a try?

With my Blast Arrow AR chassis car, I didn't look back.

This blog will be documenting my personal finds and anything else on the Tamiya 4WD.

(P.S: For the record, even though I am a girl, I do enjoy playing with 4WD even though I suck at mods. For now, maybe.)