Does the Schumacher SVR shell fit the SV2?

I'm not really sure if the SV2 needs a cab forward bodyshell but it certainly doesn't hurt to have one in the armoury as an option should the need arise.
The SVR shell is available from Schumacher at a reasonable price so I decided to get myself one and try it for size on my SV2.
If nothing else it would give me a bit of painting practice!

(Click on pics for full size version)

Airbrushing . . . A beginners perspective.

I see a lot of questions on various forums from people who want to have a go at painting their own body shells but don't know how to go about it.

I am still something of a novice but I enjoy painting my own shells so I thought I would share some of my limited experience in an attempt to help anyone that fancies giving it a go. 

This is how I went about a simple paint job on my Cougar SV2 shell.

The first job is to decide on the design. I decided on something flamey, as I often do.

I then freehand the design onto the outside of the shell with a sharpie marker.

I make lots of amendments at this stage and use a meths soaked tissue to remove my plentiful errors.

On this design I used a red and a black marker to help me identify the different coloured flames I intended to paint.

When I am happy with the design I mask the inside of the shell. For this I use a liquid mask. I apply 3 coats of this with a small sponge allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. Once dry I am left with a green tinted clear rubbery coating. This is easy to cut with a craft knife or scalpel and, because it is almost transparent, it is also easy to follow my pre-drawn design.

An evening session at Adur RC

I made a return to touring car racing yesterday.

Adur RC Club have been running an evening series over the summer so I popped along. The series comprises 10 rounds held on Tuesday nights.

I prepped a car at the beginning of the season with a view to contesting this series but alas the awful weather put paid to that idea so last night was the first time I made it along.

I was glad I did, it was a lovely balmy evening which prompted a decent turnout of around 30 drivers across the classes.

For the very reasonable entry fee of £6 we all enjoyed 4 heats of qualifying and a final.

I know what you are thinking.

SRS Series rolls into town at Adur Off-Road

The popular SRS series arrived at the Adur off-road track at the weekend.

I wasn't competing but dropped by for a quick visit and took a few pics.
I have compiled them into a slide show below.

Given the difficult weather we have had this summer the Adur guys seemed to have prepared a decent track.
It looked like a testing day for the drivers, plenty of dust and a few stones escaping from the track surface meant the winner would need to bring his 'A' game.



The postman cometh .. With my Cougar SVR

Mid motor?

Rear motor?

There are almost as many opinions as there are cars although accepted wisdom amongst much better drivers than myself seems to be that on high grip tracks mid motor is the right choice whereas on lower grip tracks rear motor has the edge.

I dunno, I just like a new kit!

Whatever your opinion the arrival of the new rear motor Cougar SVR Schumacher has you covered.  

Manufacturers such as Losi, with the 22, and Durango, with the 210, have adopted the jack of all trades approach whilst others, including AE have gone down the conversion route, although great cars these inevitably end up being something of a compromise.

2wd Mid South Regional at Stotfold

Sunday was an exciting day for me, I was visiting a track that I have never raced at before.
Stotfold Model Car Club were playing hosts to the 5th and final round of the popular 2wd regional series.

I love to go to new tracks even if it does mean dragging myself out of bed at 5.15am . . I must be mental!
Rob Elmes was to be the driver for the day despite my reservations about sharing a cab with him and JR on a Sunday morning. If we ignore JRs navigating our journey was fraternal and relatively odour free!

(Click on pics for full size version)

We arrived in the sunshine at this secluded countryside venue and set up camp amongst many familiar faces. The host club had clearly spent some time preparing, the grass was cut and wherever one sat there was a speaker not far away keeping all informed of ongoing events.

Pro-line Bulldog SX3 Paint

I have managed to make time to get some paint onto my new Bulldog shell.

I am yet to run it but the plan is to give it a run at SHRCCC on Thursday with a view to using it in anger at the 4wd Mid South Regional hosted by TORCH this coming Sunday.

I will report back with my thoughts but in the meantime have a look at the pics.

I am pleased with this, the white is a Createx pearl which looks reallly cool in the sunshine.

What d'ya reckon?

TORCH Summer Series Round 4

The RC gods smiled upon us for once this summer and granted us a decent day on Sunday to go racing.

I took full advantage of this and headed off to TORCH for round 4 of their popular summer series.

The TORCH committee have worked hard over the last year or so to turn this venue into a top notch off road destination for southern buggy racers that now regularly attracts national and even international drivers to darkest Hampshire. This season they have already played hosts to a round of the 2wd drive mid south regionals with a round of 4wd scheduled in a couple of weeks. 

(Click on any pic for full size version)

As has become the norm these days there was a decent turnout for this event, I estimate around 70 drivers.

All were catered for with a wide range of ability across 2 and 4wd classes. There was also a juniors class who were to be rewarded with trophies for their efforts at the end of the day.