Howdy...

I'm brand new here, well, to all things RC in general, and in need of an expert. I searched the whole internet and you guys seemed to be the best in the business so I thought I'd ask a HUGE favour - I know, cheeky, me being new and all... But, hopefully, if someone can teach me a thing or two, one day I'll pass the knowledge on to someone else

A little bit of my story - I'm attempting to acquire an RC 1997 Honda Accord Type-R - I'm not really bothered about cost. It's for my boyfriend who LOVES RC anything, and totalled his own life-size Honda Accord last year in a motor accident which nearly cost him his life - he loved that car but will never buy another, seeing that he can't afford it now, so I'm hoping to get an RC one, paint it the same as his etc. for his birthday.

One problem, I don't know where to start really and if I ask him, it'll look stupidly obvious...

So, any help would be greatly appreciated. I've found a basic shell, but am clueless as to what body I need...

Thanks for taking the time to read...

Sarah x

Hi there...and welcome to the forum...couple of questions for you before I point yuou anywhere...the big one...how much you want to spend? And do you want nitro or electric (in other words a noisy fast engine, or a quiet little electric motor...nitro's by for the better in my opinion)?

PS. After a quick search I couldn't find an accord body (one of the RC drifting sites may have one though), but if he's a honda fan, there's always the S2000...

It really all depends on what you want to spend and how much he's already into R/C. Electric is by far the better choice if you don't know that he's already into nitro cars.

I can't really recommend a car unless I know what your budget is, but the body is below. It'a 190mm so it should fit most electric touring cars.

1997 Honda Accord
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXN214&P=7

Here are some options for the actual car itself. If your budget is small then the easiest and cheapest solution would be to buy a Tamiya TT01 that is RTR (includes radio, and esc).

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJSW1&P=7

More expensive options are the TA05 or TC4. The TC4 can also be bought as a RTR, while the TA05 would need a separate radio system, and ESC to run.

TA05 (just the kit)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKSG0&P=7

TC4 RTR
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXMGP9&P=ML

Hello! And thanks for those speedy responses... I Think i'd be in the market for an electric one, as you say, I don't know whether he's into the nitro ones yet

As for cost, I'm looking at about £150 which is about $300... If I need more though I don't really mind, he's worth it...

And, ooh, that's the 1997 Accord body i was looking at getting... I am assuming they all come clear and have to be sprayed and what have you... (listen to the voice of a complete noob, pathetic isn't it...?)

Ok, so I am understanding more - is it a case of buying this body

[link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJSW1&P=7[/link]

And just fitting the Accord shell to it?

Thanks again

Yep, them come clear. You would need paint that is made for polycarbonate/lexan, don't use regular modelers paint or it'll chip off.

Polycarbonate paint:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...3p?&C=RHF&P=ML

If you need to know how to paint one of these things just let us know. I'm sure somebody can point you toward a few how to articles.

Yep. That car comes assembled so all you'd need to do is put the new body on it and go. One problem though, the Enzo comes with body mounts that are quite short so you'll need to get a set of longer body mounts and swap them over. The standard body mounts are available on a parts tree listed below.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXETH8&P=Z

Hello, just an update. Thanks for all your help... I don't feel quite so in the dark now.

I'm more confused now tho because my very good friend has given me his old Ford Focus WRC 2000 Tamiya RC it's fairly fast and, well, free lol... I'm just wondering whether that chassis - found here :

[link]http://www.etamiya.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=6282[/link]

Would fit this body...?

[link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXN214&P=7[/link]

Yes, that body will fit perfectly.

Yes! You have just made my day, I could just kiss you... lol :$

Big grins all round... I'm getting into this so much, might keep the car for myself

Im glad your having so much fun, and your right, you have found the best site for rc on the net!

Very cool that you found a car for free. Theres a few small things worth noting about the body.

You will need to make the holes in the body so the body posts will slide through and you can attach it to the car. That being said, make sure you make the holes before you paint; just lay the clear body ontop of the car and line it up so its straight and the wheels fit evenly in the wheel wells, then mark the spots where the body posts touch the clear body then make the holes with a drill.

Also keep in mind that the body will need to be cut out around the bottom ans the wheel wells. This can be the hardest part because if its not a good "cut job" then it will show. I have found the easiest way is to take an exacto knife and score the line that you want to cut a few times and then just pull the excess away; the body will peel away from the line youve scored....it takes a second to grasp the concept but when you do it, youll never look back!

Also if your painting the body, try painting it on the inside -its harder i know- but that way it wont scratch the paint off.

Painting can be pretty difficult, and expensive if you want good equipment to do it with (ie. Airbrush kit), which is not required but will make the paint job very nice.

A second option would be to find someone who will paint the body for you cheap.

Edit; there is a forum on Painting on this website, I'm sure if you search that forum you will find some basic tutorials on how to go about the painting.


This topic should be of some help:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_50...tm.htm#5060351