Schumacher CAT XLS build

[lufbramatt]

Kinda stalled on this with just the body shell left to paint, had to do some work on my 1:1 bmw to get it ready for an mot now it looks like we might actually be able to go on holiday in the summer.

One thing that’s been bugging me is the way the body mounts with Velcro. I’d prefer to use R-clips as I’m worried my son might be a bit heavy handed with it and pull the paint off the inside of the shell. Before I CAD something up and get it 3d printed are there any existing Schumacher parts from a later model that will allow me to fit body post mounts to the xls chassis?

[lufbramatt]

Popped into my little local RC shop yesterday now they have reopened (MWM Warbirds at Rochester Airport https://www.mwmwarbirds.co.uk/ mainly RC aircraft but they do a lot of RC car bits as well) and picked up some lexan scissors and a few bits so I can finally get this finished- my son is bugging me to get it done so we can take both our cars up to the local sports fields and "race" hehe



go the shell cut out last night, really pleased to have that out the way and can get on with the fun bit- just need to finalise the paint scheme. Need to trim a bit more off around the steering linkage as it's catching, and trim the undertray slightly to make some room for the battery wires, but it fits well around the spur gear, kind of clipping into place under the rear shock support.

[lufbramatt]

I've done shells both ways and personally prefer to trim it first so I can see where it needs to be trimmed used to spray shells for my mates back in the day so done a few in my time.

I had to get my 1:1 BMW e39 back on the road and MOTed after it had sat on the drive sorned for 6 months so we could go on holiday (and then went on holiday), it needed a new brake caliper, injector seals and a general going over so that took up a bunch of time, been doing a ton of running and cycling in the nice weather, which meant I needed to rebuild all the suspension on my mountain bike as it needed new bearings …and then my road bike needed a load of new drivetrain bits due to the extra miles I've put on that.... so lots been going on!

[lufbramatt]

Kids went out for dinner with their grandparents tonight so sat and did some masking... inspired by Groomi’s race car influenced bodyshells I’m going for a Martini Porsche 917 look, mainly due to having roughly the right colours kicking around!



Tamiya 2mm flexible masking tape is amazing stuff, never used it before!

[lufbramatt]

Interesting stuff about brushless. Been looking at them recently as my lad wants his tamiya racing fighter to go faster and the stock esc can handle sensored brushless motors.

I’m running a 11x2 brushed motor in the cat, not sure how that compares to a brushless, but it’s what I used to run my touring cars years ago. I had a couple of decent 27x1 motors too but can’t find them (along with a nice high torque servo that would have been ideal to use).

Been doing some more of the bodyshell this morning and noticed the crash back o rings have all perished, not sure if they have reacted to something? Ordered 20 spares for £4 from eBay though so not a big deal.

Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 24th September 11:51

[lufbramatt]

I think the tamiya torque tuned motor is a 25*1 wind, slightly faster than a normal can motor which are 27 turn. so should be fine in the cat but I’d describe them as “nippy” rather than fast.

[lufbramatt]

Job done. Finally.

[lufbramatt]

Thanks much appreciated, have to say, modern masking materials make life so much easier than the crap cream coloured masking tape we had in the past- also helps when you've got more than pocket money to spend, so a buying a tenners worth of Tamiya tape isn't as big a deal!

re. undertray- Yes, doesn't appear to be too much of an issue though. I left mine off until it was time to tension the long drive belt. Gets in the way a bit if you do it first. The screws are self tappers into plastic so you don't have to go mad torqueing them down.

I used the kit screws without issue. Might replace the long front gearbox screws with something a bit stronger based on the above posts. Struggling to find countersunk high tensile machine screws that are long enough though.

Edited by lufbramatt on Friday 9th October 10:11

[lufbramatt]

Yes mine had pre-cut vinyl window masks in the kit. Don't leave them on too long though as otherwise they leave residue on the plastic. Ask me how I know...

If you get hold of a tin of red you could do a Lotus 49 inspired scheme

[lufbramatt]

Haha cheers Groomi, was kind of going for something like this:



It’s a great idea to adapt classic race liveries though, can see me doing another one at some point. Maybe a purple/yellow/white silk cut jaguar scheme would work well.

If I was to take this racing locally (I’m in north Kent) are there any good value brushless motors and esc combos you would recommend that comply with vintage class rules?

[lufbramatt]

The dots on the fences are just ejector pin marks from the injection moulding process, don’t think they mean anything. I sanded the faces flat to make sure there were no protrusions that could catch the belt.

[lufbramatt]

Needs to be 48dp which is much finer than the Tamiya one.

I think I have a 27 or 29 tooth on mine?

https://www.muzzoommodels.co.uk/schumacher/pinions...

[lufbramatt]

Hav1979 said:

Schumacher always used 64dp back in the day, 48 was usually Kyosho, associated etc

I think they changed the spur gear tooth pitch in the re-re cat xls

[lufbramatt]

Yes my old Schumacher axis touring car from about 2001 used 48dp gears, that’s why I had spare pinions in the toolbox.

[lufbramatt]

Up to you I guess. I sprayed the bottom as I wanted to mask a stripe and it be shiny to match the body but you're right, I didn't really get paint up in the gap. Not too fussed though, doesn't really notice too much.

[lufbramatt]

Great stuff looks fantastic! The original cat wheels really change the way they look, I’ll have to try them on mine.

Don’t use nail polish remover on the shell- it will cloud the polycarbonate. I found that alcohol gel hand sanitizer works really well for removing the glue from the masks and doesn’t react with the plastic. Stronger IPA might work for removing overspray.

Edited by lufbramatt on Sunday 22 November 11:20

[lufbramatt]

Ahh yea fair enough, didn’t realise acetone free nail remover was a thing I remember ruining a hip bmw m-coupe bodyshell years ago using nail polish remover on it!

[lufbramatt]

Started on the upgrade path :-D

Replaced a couple of grp parts in the rear suspension so I could use the procat style rear wing mount to replace the bendy wire one supplied with the re-re.

Before:



After:



Also bought some bits from the Schumacher website to repair and upgrade my old SST Axis touring car- needed some new wishbones and ball joints after an incident involving a lamp post many years ago. Any recommendations for a reliable brushless motor and esc combo that won’t break the bank? Thinking around 10.5t?