retrorcguy

This thread purely is an overview of the 'KM Baja Elite' and not another thread about 'HPI vs CLONES'

Having been involved with RC cars for around twenty years I have finally taken the step into large scale RC.

On April 2nd 2009 I placed an order via HeatHobby on eBay UK for a new KM Baja Elite. HeatHobby are based
in Florida USA, so I knew that it was going to cost me a fair amount to ship the car over to the UK.
Prior to placing the order I contacted HM Customs and Excise in order to find out exactly how much import duty
i would have to pay. They told me that for an RC Car such as this would be liable for 4.8% Duty + 15 VAT%.

The total is calculated as follows :-

A = Total price paid for the item
B = Duty as a percentage (4.8%)
C = VAT (15%)

so thats :-

(£396 + 4.8%) + 15% = £477.25

Well ok it's not cheap, but then for a complete RTR 1/5th scale RC it's not too bad, it certainly offers an insight into
the world of large scale RC without breaking the bank, and thats all i wanted.

The 'KM Baja Elite' is a car in its own right although it may be based upon or even a copy of the HPI, this overview will be
based purly on the 'KM Baja Elite' car and not another HPI comparison thread. Please bare this in mind when posting.

After placing the order and paying I promptly recieved confirmation and also a USPS (United States Postal Service)
tracking number, i have been following the progress via the USPS website, and have also found out that Parcelforce UK
are the UK agents for many items Imported via USPS. The USPS tracking number also worked with the Parcelforce website.

For those of you who may be interested or for those who have never imported anything, this is how the system works:-

1> The item is collected by USPS (or other carrier) from the vendor.
2> It is then shipped to the airport and dispatched.
3> Item arrives in the UK.
4> It will then be taken into customs and will be charged accordingly.
5> Parcelforce or another carrier will then collect the item from customs.
6> It will then be taken to the national hub (main parcelforce depot in coventry)
7> Once sorted the item will be dispatched to your local depot ready for collection.

The actual tracking information for my perchase is bellow:-

Date Time Location Tracking Event
11-04-2009 09:08 Local (Satellite) Depot Awaiting payment of charges
11-04-2009 06:39 Local (Satellite) Depot Arrived at delivery depot
09-04-2009 21:49 National Hub Sorted in hub
09-04-2009 13:09 International Hub En route to delivery depot
09-04-2009 11:08 International Hub RELEASED WITH CHARGES
08-04-2009 16:55 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING
08-04-2009 16:55 International Hub AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGES
08-04-2009 15:13 International Hub Arrived in destination country
05-04-2009 07:08 Delivery Agent - MIAMI Left origin country
03-04-2009 20:42 Delivery Agent - USA Collected from customer

In the case of my KM Baja as both duty and VAT had to be charged the item was held at the local depot awaiting my
payment and collection.

Tomorrow I will try and update the thread with some of my own photos....

RetroRcGuy

retrorcguy

Here are a few pictures from the sellers website:-














I'm not sure what that pen is supposed to show?



I will update with some of my own photo's hopfully tomorrow

DarkFire989

So whats the difference between the Regular KM and the Elite one?

ZX9RBART

The chassis and radio, I have both.

sparky 25

I got mine from sto models for 425pounds , sorry just checked the receipt it was 412 pounds just before christmas and it came with purple chassis and fm radio gear,

i was able to get a 29cc headkit of ebay for 29.99 pounds and after two tanks with the 23cc i needed a new clutch and rear tyres

i have imported about 6 rc trucks and boats from florida while i was there on holiday and was not charged import duty on all of them,

its hit or miss with the customs charges some you win some you dont,

you could have got the km baja from sto models for 469.99 pounds [sm=thumbup.gif]and had it with in a within 5 days instead of paying import duty,

the first thing you want to do is change the muffler for a tuned pipe even the baja ss pipe is an upgrade,

some people go on about the km engine being weak but i have had no trouble with it just add some good quality 2stroke oil to the mix

and it will last long time,

I hope you enjoy your new 1/5 scale buggy as much as ive enjoyed mine even out of the box they are great[sm=teeth_smile.gif]

SAVAGEJIM

This is really best discussed in the existing and on-going KM thread, there is very extensive information in there about these RCs, how to hop them up and improve them, and even a few guys who already have this specific model.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_72...page_89/tm.htm

puff

i can wait to get my dzy... and see how is performs vs the km , comeon ups...

retrorcguy

I have not had chance to run my KM yet, I hope to find time this weekend. On first inspections the buggy seems well built.
I am planning to give it a full once over prior to running it for the first time, I will report any problems that I find.

Here are the photo's of my KM Baja Elite as it arrived straight out fo the box, I doubt it will look clean like this for long!


Excuse the blurry photo, it was getting dark when this was shot. In the foreground a Tamiya Wild One.










Here's a size comparisson shot with a 1/10th Vintage CAT XL (Missing it's wing.... Anyone have a spare?)


This shows the tool kit that comes with the car. I didn't photo the battery charger but one is supplied with the kit


This is the transmitter that came with the 'KM Baja Elite' It looks ok, but I'll use my Sanwa Super Exzes as I preffer stick radios.

hellya

You guys in the UK get soaked with taxes[&o]...I have imported alot of 1/5 vehicles and parts from europe...not only did I get a 18% discount ( No VAT) but I never once haver had to pay a import tax

retrorcguy

Yep we sure do, TAX TAX and more TAX..... as depressing as British weather Rain, Rain, and more Rain!!!!

I think I might emigrate to the US...... Any Engineering jobs going over there??

clubin

Retro, looks good all black with the polished aluminum frame.

puff

the us is shipping lot of engineering jobs to india. maybe better to look else where

retrorcguy

Over the weekend I spent some time checking over my Baja in order to prepare it for it's first run. In particullar i dismantled the gearbox and drivetrain, having read numerous
posts about a 'missing gearbox bearing'. After finally getting the gearbox out of the buggy i opend it to find there was indeed a 'Missing Bearing'. I took a photograph showing
where the missing bearing should be.



As you can see there is a shoulder on the driveshaft ready to fit the bearing. The bearing that should be fitted is a standard 6201-2RS bearing (12x24x6mm).
I have now fitted the bearing the gearbox seems smooth. Although there is a bearing next to the spur gear on the same shaft i would highly recomend fitting the missing bearing,
not doing so may cause the gears to spread under high torque and may in time a bend the shaft or even strip teath.

I have marked both bearings on this diagram.



Whilst I had the gearbox appart I also stripped the Diff, I was quite supprised to find it was heavily contaminated with the sealing agent (liquid gasket) which had been used to
seal the diff, so I ended up stripping the diff and flushing all the debris out then re-filling it with fresh oil.
When putting the grearbox back together i also packed it out with a sensible amount of grease as I felt that it didn't really have enough grease in the first place. I'm hoping this
weekend will be dry enough for me to give the buggy it's first run

RetroRcGuy

Blitzer Fan

So any update?..how does it run?...
Im wondering if i should take a chance ordering one..i got some parts for my helicopter the otherday from Hong Kong and didnt get nailed by customs... then again it was only $40 or i might aswell buy it from STO models-when they get them back instock

SAVAGEJIM

A few guys have talked about this specific model in the running KM thread:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_72...page_89/tm.htm

Seriously, why bring up this dead thread that has not been posted in for 4 months when anyone with a KM already discusses them in depth in the link I just provided?

happyellen2010

front hydraulic brake set