Twright Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 At risk of being kicked off this section, I though I would tell you about my recent project, a Karrier Bantam in 4mm scale. Having been inspired by all the topics on here, I thought I would give it a try. I started with the Base toys model of the BR van: And then bought a cheap R/C car: As I'm at university the amount of tools I have is limited, all of the work was done using a penknife so some of it is a bit rough. I replaced the wheels on the car with the wheels from the Bantam, and bashed the body around a bit to shorten the wheelbase (Its still too short but it is less noticeable now) and give space for the cars mechanism. I added tabs onto the Bantam to use the cars fixing points and built up bits of the chassis to hide the new chassis. This is the result. It rides a bit high and is still too fast so when I get a chance I'll wire in a resistor to the motor but this will wait for a while and I can cope with it. It has a decent length of charge and an alright range but has the benefit of including charging, directional lights (although I haven't fitted the rear lights back on yet) and a power switch all for a total of around £13 (depending on how you source the car and body). I hope to convert a few more cars using these, perhaps when I'm home changing the wheelbase as well. The bloom isn't as noticeable in real life but I'll try and get rid of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I bought a cheap car from China to experiment with, but it turned out to have the transmitter and receiver set to different frequencies. The seller decided to give me a full refund, so now I've got a useless car and transmitter, and gave up on the idea for now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetheroad Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Nice!, who manufactured the car? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 Thanks, the can it came in says WL toys but there are thousands of identical ones on ebay all probably from different manufacturers but made in the same place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Looks good. Is it for O Gauge or 00 Gauge? I wonder if the car chassis could be cut in half and extended to match the truck's wheelbase? ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 Thanks its for OO gauge. The chassis could be extended and when I try again I will do that but as I had limited tools (not least no soldering iron to reconnect wires) I had to be careful so left it as it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted November 25, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2016 I've bought a similar r/c car except that it is to 1/72 scale. I have a spare Oxford Diecast Transit van body from another project so I'm going to try that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I must look out for one of those cars. It looks like it might be possible to replace all the electronics with some Arduino stuff and maybe make it computer controlled. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 I must look out for one of those cars. It looks like it might be possible to replace all the electronics with some Arduino stuff and maybe make it computer controlled. ...R If you want more pictures of the chassis let me know. As they come they are the wrong scale and have different sized wheels but this is easy to replace. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 If you want more pictures of the chassis let me know. Thanks. I have a few other things on the go right now so I should resist this project for at least a few weeks ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 That looks good Tom. Very impressive with your limited tools! I started off in radio control with a car like that, we bought a pair and gave one to our grandson ( about four at the time I think) and I started to fiddle with the other. It gave me the idea to put radio control into other things and I have been doing trains ever since. I had not thought of using it in a lorry though. It's a very neat idea, and nicely done. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted November 28, 2016 Author Share Posted November 28, 2016 That looks good Tom. Very impressive with your limited tools! I started off in radio control with a car like that, we bought a pair and gave one to our grandson ( about four at the time I think) and I started to fiddle with the other. It gave me the idea to put radio control into other things and I have been doing trains ever since. I had not thought of using it in a lorry though. It's a very neat idea, and nicely done. Frank Thank you very much, when I'm home I may look at doing another one or perhaps like you experimenting with R/C trains. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted December 1, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2016 What a great idea Tom! I'm definitely putting one on my christmas list. Do you have a link to the same kind of car? I'm struggling to find one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 What a great idea Tom! I'm definitely putting one on my christmas list. Do you have a link to the same kind of car? I'm struggling to find one. Thanks. This is similar to mine, they all have different bodies but the chassis looks identical. If you look around ('micro rc car' searched in ebay will give these) then there are some cheaper and some that arrive sooner, its up to you. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coke-Can-Mini-Speed-RC-Radio-Remote-Control-Micro-Racing-Car-Toy-Gift-New-BH-/351501968172?hash=item51d726632c:g:rgUAAOSwf-VWXBGD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I got mine from Asda, some time ago now, they may still do them. They are packaged in a mock-up of a coke can. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Thanks. This is similar to mine, they all have different bodies but the chassis looks identical. If you look around ('micro rc car' searched in ebay will give these) then there are some cheaper and some that arrive sooner, its up to you. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coke-Can-Mini-Speed-RC-Radio-Remote-Control-Micro-Racing-Car-Toy-Gift-New-BH-/351501968172?hash=item51d726632c:g:rgUAAOSwf-VWXBGD That's what I bought (from a different supplier), that arrived with car and transmitter on different frequencies, neither of which are the same as in this advert! Maybe I should try again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 This looks like a good way of doing it! I started making one about 6 months ago (on and off) with cheap R/C bits but had to buy the biggest lorry I could to fit the components in. Fitting the servos was a bit of a faff as well, so I might have to try the donor chassis method. The base toys ones are a good starting point as the plastic bodies are nice and easy to modify and they're usually just held together with a couple of screws. I'm starting to think I need a whole fleet of these now... Who needs a model railway when you could have a model roadway? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 When you say cheap, that looks a lot more expensive that a Coke Can Car! Could we have some more details of the components, and an idea of the cost? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 When you say cheap, that looks a lot more expensive that a Coke Can Car! Could we have some more details of the components, and an idea of the cost? Ok, guilty as charged... It's more expensive than the coke can cars, but it's also a lot cheaper than kits like this that are available to convert your models Cheapness is very much a relative term in the R/C world! Discounting the transmitter and receiver, which are shared across all my r/c projects, the parts list is (with rough costs): Battery £4 2x servo £4 each Voltage regulator £0.20 (I had these lying around from other projects) KKPMO steering kit £5 Base Toys Lorry £7.99 Various 'scrap' parts from the bits box, including ballast, aluminium sheet, bolts, a couple of plastic gears and wire. So about £25. Given that a Faller conversion chassis is 'only' £81 from Gaugemaster that doesn't look so bad? The receiver and transmitter cost £35 (a couple of years ago), but the one I have is way more complex than necessary for this, you could find something suitable easily enough for half that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Thanks. This is all new stuff to me. I'm seriously considering using Deltang for my O gauge layout, but would like to experiment with something lower cost for a few vehicles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I'm seriously considering using Deltang for my O gauge layout, but would like to experiment with something lower cost for a few vehicles. I am working on an Arduino based BPR/C system that will fit in an 00 Gauge tank loco (and obviously easily fit in O gauge). The parts that are equivalent to a Deltang (wireless, microcontroller and motor driver) cost about £8. The total is physically a lot bigger than the Deltang devices - I used some of the Deltang units for N Gauge BPR/C. And of course there is more soldering and some programming to do. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 That's very appealing Robin, but it's knowing how to get started. I'd need a complete idiots guide to every tiny step, and the source of every component! My last bit of dabbling in electronics was building an open real tape deck using Mullard circuit diagrams about 43 years ago. I never did get it to work properly, as I was trying to set it up using an oscilloscope at school, but left before I got it right! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I'd need a complete idiots guide to every tiny step, and the source of every component! I'm happy to help - but not to the extent of "every tiny step". The basic wireless code is in this Simple nRF24L01+ Tutorial ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I'm happy to help - but not to the extent of "every tiny step". The basic wireless code is in this Simple nRF24L01+ Tutorial ...R Thanks. It looks like the first step is to learn about Arduino. That should keep me occupied for some time! Maybe Deltang is a better use of what's left of my life . Seriously though, it may well be worth spending the time learning about it, as it has lots of potential other than for RC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 That should keep me occupied for some time! Maybe Deltang is a better use of what's left of my life I fully understand that issue. It happens that I like programming as a hobby. ...R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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