TOPIC:

Mmm... I am now suspecting that the other shock tower isn't actually made of aluminium.
Probably stainless steel - it creates no current and holds no dye. But the aluminium wire to keep it in place does!


Guess I'll have to paint the other shock tower...

Now I'm a bit baffled. Checking the magnetism on the second shock tower tells me it's aluminium after all.
There is no current flowing through it but at the same time the wire itself is being anodised.
Why is one piece of aluminium reacting differently from the other? I don't get it...

The first shock tower (that did work) also responded differently to the initial treatment - caustic soda.
While the part that doesn't work just has a mat look afterwards, that one got a black residu on the surface.


It can be taken off easily btw. Any chemists in the house?

I had the same problem with my team blue groove kyosho raider body it was smaller than the original and i could only conclude it was because they taken the mold from inside of the original shell. It still looks great but was a little dissapointing.

I had the same feeling - looks great but a bit disappoiting that it doesn't really fit.
I think the holes in the undercowl would have still lined up, even if they took the mold from the inside.
So I suspect it must have shrunk a bit too...

On my anodising project - I am getting better results now!
I changed a few of the variables and it looks like I will have two nicely looking black alloy shock towers for my build.
Picture will be posted tonight.

Edit - in the end the results aren't that much better. The dye is the limiting factor now.
So that was a nice experiment but it will have a second chapter later. Don't feel like spending a lot on a proper product.
The car will get uncoated shock towers...

So I finally put the polished FRP chassis together again too...
Apart from the turnbuckles that will soon be replaced, the whole colour scheme is now black-silver-titanium.


The part on the right needed the kind of nuts that are serrated and pulled into the plastic.
Same thing with the wing stay. I also used the original countersunk aluminium wing washers on top.
And some titanium screws for attaching the wing and rear shock tower :


For the build of another (bathtub) chassis, I am only missing some (front) C-hubs and a rear bumper.
Confirmation from Louisbaby about the dimensions in relation to the CC-01 gave me an idea.
I will hopefully be able to show that soon...

Well, I gotta say customer support at Team Bluegroove is great. Even if their shop is officially closed.
I sent them a mail about the undercowl and got a reply the same day offering a replacement at shipping cost.
Nobody else seems to have reported the measurements are slightly off on this particular item though...

Cudos to TBG - I should be getting a replacement undercowl now.
I've been told they'll be produced without the dimples (for the screw holes) from now on...
Gotta get me a body reamer at some point. That's a great tool to have.

They took a while (almost a month) but today the titanium coloured shocks arrived!
I like 'em - they look pretty awesome. And for a very nice price too...

Gathering parts for the third build :


Already restored some of them too - the bathtub chassis itself for example.
It'll get some nice upgrades. Like the aluminium shock towers, a Top Force main drive shaft and GPM motor mount.
And I think I'll put the new shocks on it...

Not gonna keep this car around though. It'll go up for sale.

A couple of updates! First of all I'm gonna have another go at dyeing the aluminium shock towers black...
Got some serious chemicals from across the Channel in the mail today - black, blue and special sealer :


And I've been working on building the chassis. Have to borrow parts here and there from my other cars...
Both gearboxes are done - all ball bearings and Top Force hardened steel prop shafts :


I decided to sand the bathtub with fine grid some more too.
More time spent on prepping will make the polished result stick out even better...