thehuntingterminator

Ok, so I just ordered an Axial Exo kit earlier today. It was between it and the Hyper 10TT, but the Exo looks so much cooler and otherwise they seem to be receiving pretty similar over all ratings (both good durability, quality, etc.). I am going to be using a 70a HobbyWing ESC (60a probably would have been alright, so this should work great), GForce 3200kv 4 pole brushless motor (ran the 2800kv version in my Savage XS and they're amazing motors for the price), cheap MG Solar Servo w/ 300oz of torque that I already had (maybe I'll take my nice Airtronics servo back from my brother and put it in there), FSGT3B for a radio system (already had), and for a battery a GForce 5000mah 25c 2s (might be a little low "c" rating, but it should work fine for now). I'm thinking that on 2s this should be a plenty capable setup, and I may upgrade to 3s once I get the money, although that will probably also mean an upgrade to a 550 size motor, so that may be a while. Are there any problems/issues/etc. that I should watch out for during building? What color would y'all like to see one painted?

littlemel

My Feedback: (4)

I wou;d love to see a metallic blue and a fluorescent orange color scheme.

thehuntingterminator

How would I combine those two colors to look decent? Also, any ideas on how to do something cool like this with rattle cans only?

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Dangit! You beat me to this thread! I was going to post one on Thursday to show off my EXO when it arrives. Anyhow, congratulations!

That LiPo pack is plenty for the ESC you're using. As far as painting, Isuggest looking into the Parma masks. They run about $5-$8 per set but the pre-cut patterns make making so much easier. You can pull off a 3 color paint scheme pretty easily or a 2 color without even thinking.

nitrosportsandrunner

my buddy bought this blitz that had a cool paint job.

looks like the guy painted 1 color, and before it dried he uses a spung tip or something like that to make swirl marks (removing paint)
then the backing color could come threw and make the cool look. And he worked it so it fades toward the back as well.

Id do a straight black exo. Make it look mean.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

I'm probalby going to do mine in a flat black from the outside in order to give it that aggressive look you are talking about. I want it to look like some sort of tactical military vehicle.

Terminator: whatever you decided to do, please post photos!

nitrosportsandrunner

I get that you want it flat, and not glossy, but I dont think there is a paint out there that will not simply scrape off.

seems like I heard of someone who used a chemical...or scuffed up the lexan before painting it from the inside which got rid of the glossy look of the lexan.

thehuntingterminator

Both of you guys have great ideas. Let me know how you like your Exo when it gets here BKoz. And nitrosportsandrunner, that Blitz looks amazing. Let your buddy know that I said that! I am actually thinking of doing a bed-liner paint job. I've seen a couple of people do it here and there, but I think it would make the Exo just over the top in the looks department. Anyone want to help me pay for the bedliner? lol.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

I'm not sure how Iwant to do mine yet. I like the idea of the "murdered out" flat black theme, but I also like a race-buggy look. I'll figure something out soon enough. In the meantime, I found this on 'da toob.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuToUlGpR0E[/youtube]

I watched this video and now understand the technique. I agree that the paint will wear off over time. If Ido follow through then I will stick with the Tamiya paints and hopefully they will adhere well enough.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Inow own a box of Axial parts.


Ithink the motor in the Element package is too hot and I may end up using a Trinity 2700 Ihave on standby. But the price seemed good and I didn't have an ESC to use and Iwould rather use Castle products so I can utilize the Castle-Link. This is what happens when you sell a few things online and have some money sitting in Paypal and you stay up till 1am "window shopping"the internet for RC products. Ithink this was a good impulse buy.

thehuntingterminator

I got the Exo in and began to put it together. Got both diffs put together, front a-arms attached to diff housing, and tires mounted but not glued. I will hopefully do more tomorrow evening, but I still don't have an ESC or motor, so I can't completely finish regardless of whether I have the time or not.

thehuntingterminator

Finally finished the build today and what do ya know it's raining! But I did get to drive it in my garage, which revealed two problems. First, I think I may want to run 3s to make this thing fun. On 2s, it seems to do fine, but doesn't quite break any records. This could probably be temporarily fixed with gearing because I think it's geared low, but I'll need to run it first to determine that. Secondly is the more serious issue: the left front dog bone will not stay in the outer drive cup. It constantly falls and binds up the drivetrain and steering. It's simply too short which can be fixed by replacing it with a rear I've heard. But before I go buy anything, I'm honna try to change a few things and use some fuel tubing to see if I can't get it to work cuz the other side works fine. I'll try to upload some pics tomorrow, but it's pretty plain to tell y'all the truth. I left off all of the lexan body and some or the finer scale details (besides wing and radiator) just to keep things simple at least wild I'm still tuning it and just making sure everything works. Other than those two issues it looks amazing and is super strong looking so I can't wait to take this ring out for its first real bash!

SyCo_VeNoM

that dogbone sounds like what happened on my MT2 the one side ALWAYS fell out no matter what I did binding the steering and all fuel tubing didn't help either.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Son of a @#$%&! Do they all do that or did QC at Axial miss something on your car? I hope my build goes well. I'll get to it eventually.

thehuntingterminator

Not sure of every single one has this same problem, but I've heard that a good amount of them do,

thehuntingterminator

I fixed the issue with the dog bone using a piece of fuel tubing and putting it in the output of the diff, which forces the dog bone to stay in the outer drive cup. Works perfectly now, but the drivetrain still makes a good amount of noise because I think all of the dog bones are a good millimeter or two off. But, it does run now and it runs good! The truck isn't super fast and only breaks around 30mph, but it is quick with the 4wd and low slung stock setup. Gearing seems to be perfect because I had a good amount of speed and after around 20 minutes the motor was in the 140s. Plus I was pushing it hard because I wanted to test the electronics so that I can easily make changes while at home and not at a bash site. The ESC never got over 120 so I'm once again happy with HobbyWing. I definitely want to try 3s in this thing, but that's gonna have to wait. It will need to be geared down a tooth or two on the pinion before that happens, and I don't have a 3s pack at the moment. So far it's a really fun truck and the best part is that I'm going to be testing STRC's full lineup of aluminum hopup (and possibly a little bit of carbon fiber) parts for this thing in the coming weeks. It's gonna be sick! Let me know what you guys think of her:

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

It think it's a fine piece of machinery. But, based on what I've seen and read from other owner's; that cage is a b**** to work around and makes accessing the electronics and battery a more complicated task than it should be.

CarGuy7a

I didn't have any issues with the dog bones on mine popping out. The only issue I had on mine (and watch for it in your kit too) was the steering drag link was too close to the front center drive yoke and it wore into the drag link quite a bit. This was even with the revision parts from Axial. They included 2 small washers to lower the drag link but it still wasn't enough. I had to add 2 more. Also don't snug up the steering components, I did it on mine and it was so bound up the servo wouldn't even move the steering. Snug them up then back off the screws about an 1/8th turn or so until everything moves nice and smooth.

I put the Castle SCT Race Pro system in mine with the 3800kv 4pole motor with the 5mm shaft and that thing rips on 2s with stock gearing. The motor barely hits 120°F after running a full 2s 6000mah pack for about 35 to 40 minutes continuously.

I did the same as you and left out the seats and such. I couldn't imagine how much more of a PITA it would be to get the battery in, take temps, etc.... if I put that stuff in there.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Visit this link: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0872p?&L=OS and tell me what you see regarding the first vehicle on the list?

I tried to do the obvious already but apparently they caught it.

thehuntingterminator

Lol. Someone is getting fired...

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

I checked it again and they have corrected the price. I couldn't believe it when I first saw it. So, naturally I tried to purchase one. It said "this stock number is no longer valid." Figures.

SyCo_VeNoM

how much was it?
can the price beat when they put the HPI Nitro Monster king up for $100 RTR by accident
think 4 ppl here got one before they corrected it.

thehuntingterminator

Yeah I tried too also. Lol. I am hopefully getting in the STRC aluminum/carbon fiber upgrades for this thing tomorrow and I will test them over the weekend. Truck will likely be going up on ebay next week. Why you ask? Don't get me wrong, it's a blast to drive because it handles so well, but I think I'm just getting tired of the hobby and I'm in need of a new phone and I could always use the excess money for gas. Having no one to run with is getting old fast and not spending all of my "play" money on RC might be really nice for a change.

thehuntingterminator

It was listed as ".00" so for free basically

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Atleast you had time to run yours. Mine is still in the box! Ijust don't have the time to sit and build it. Plus, I really need to thin out other RC paraphernalia before Iset another car on the shelf. I guess I'll "Ebay" some stuff too.