TOPIC:

Ok

So this afternoon i have dug out another of the many boxes i have in my loft and opened it to find the very first Tamiya car i picked up second hand about five years ago that got me back in to this hobby. I picked this up locally on Ebay for

Great score for

Cheers Edou im sure your Manta Ray is the most hopped up version i have ever seen. its simply a piece of art id never get fed up at looking at that. I was pretty amazed at the time that the guy accepted my first offer, i couldnt believe my luck. cant seem to get these deals anymore on Ebay though everyone seems to think they have the holy grail of cars and the prices seem expensive.

Takes a bit more luck and patience these days but there can still be some good deals on eBay..
Especially if the ad has a vague description or a typo.
At a national auction site (like eBay) it's probably easier though.
But the deal you got here might be rare.

I'm about to build a second Manta Ray chassis with some great hop ups too.
This actually has the potential to be quite the speed monster.
Even a moderate set up will make it go about 70 km per hour!

The body I've strenghtened with fiber glass and gave I it a new paintjob and some cool decals :



This is the small mountain of parts I was talking about - it's for two cars :



Hop up mania!

that manta ray body is looking amazing great work i have been following your thread

that pile of hop ups must have cost a lot but no better sight for an RC fan? better than spending it on beer

keep us posted on the build i cant wait

i could use your skills on my Kyosho raider body

tamiya wrote:

that manta ray body is looking amazing great work

Thanks, it's more patience and persistence than skill though.

tamiya wrote:

that pile of hop ups must have cost a lot

Searched a lot for the best deals and took the time for it...
Have to admit I spent more than I had planned but that comes with the Rc territory I guess.

Hope to make some real progress on the car soon!
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be good so the wing and rear shock tower can be sprayed.
And I've finally cleaned up all the greasy gearboxes and other parts - not my favourite thing.

Even if I will start building another car in the future these Manta Ray chassis will stay all time favourites.

whatever you paid it was money well spent thats a one off now anyone would be proud to own it.

the mechanical side is my strong point....painting (especially hard bodies) is my weakest point. i did a re-re scorcher body recently stuffed the first body up completely the paint had a wierd reaction. decided to leave the second body and just apply the decals.looks ok but just couldnt face stuffing up twice it would have killed me. some of the paint jobs on this site are amazing guess its all in the preperation but i just dont have the patience.

keep us posted on the build

tamiya wrote:

keep us posted on the build

Will do.

On the Dutch forum there is a Belgian guy that does wonders with a paintbrush :

www.tamiyagekke...=24&t=4669

Not a decal anywhere - true artistry if you ask me...

gotta respect that....as you said persistance is the key and patience i am getting better slowly. im better at polycarb bodies need more practice on the hard bodies plenty of inspiration on here.