Javelin rere build

[EvolutionRevolution]

Since I ordered a Javelin, which will be in the mail soon, I figured I'd already start the topic.

Let me start with the part that started it all. Several years ago I got my hands on two sets of the Option House alloy sideguards, and then throughout the years collected other bits of Optima in the hope that one day I would have all the parts to build one. I didn't truly collect those bits on purpose, they just came in lots of Kyosho parts for other projects, like my Optima Mid Scale Car. Obviously the chance of being able to build an Optima was pretty small, but since this method did work out for some other stuff, I figured, why not?
Well, that didn't work out.
Then the reissue came and somehow my desire to own an Optima or Javelin plummeted (which might have something to do with a bad period in my life...). What didn't help was the renovated drivetrain, whereas almost all of the parts I had managed to collect were related to the drivetrain .
So that ironically leaves me with the sideguards, which ought to fit (right?).

Parts etc.:

Assembled:

I did not screw the parts together very securely yet, as the design seems to imply some minor adjustment shall be necessary when attaching the parts to the car. I'll probably use some locktite on the nuts to prevent everything separating while running.

While searching for some alloy arms and other alloy suspension bits I ought to have, I came across this Futaba S9401 servo:

If it works, I think that will be a nice servo for this car.

In other news, many chain drive diffs and some alloy and hardened final gears for the original release may be coming to the B/S/T section fairly soon.

[GeneralZod]

Can't wait to check your progress with it! I think the Javelin ranks high on the list for good looks!

[EvolutionRevolution]

It has arrived:

The bottom row are for another project, but I did get these two options for the Javelin:

The motor mount probably is mostly bling, but the swing bars seemed quite necessary due to surfaces around here being mostly flat and sometimes including quite a bit of old asphalt.
I shortly considered getting carbon shock towers, too, due to most of my vintage Kyoshos with aluminium shock towers having bent towers, but after reading that the rere uses thicker material I decided to first have a look at the kit parts.
Other options I'll add later are universals, and probably the hard front support. I also want to have a look at the steering arms to see whether that needs an upgrade due to breakage issues that others reported. And if the alternate color cages go back in production I might get a green cage.
If I don't like the shocks included with the kit, I'll either use some later Ultimate shocks I still have new in package, or vintage gold shocks from my Lazer ZX Scale Car (and put the Ultimates on the Lazer).

[TheDiamondOne]

Side guards bolt right up. Got an oe set too on mine. Great build these cars are. Shocks can be frustrating or simple just goes shock by shock.

[EvolutionRevolution]

Obligatory pictures of the box and contents:

The stickers are pre-cut, quite nice.

It's almost terrible that I am going to be opening all of that to assemble it, isn't it?

[EvolutionRevolution]

First bag:

I'll be posting some comparisons with original parts now and then. Rear gear box:

Pretty close, they even fit together quite well (except for the bulge for the extra gear for guiding the belt)...

Assembling the diffs was a bit of a pain in the behind, the old-style diffs are definitely easier as you can put all of the internals together in one diff halve, then add the other diff halve, and then add the outdrives. With the re-re diff you'll need some tweezers to get the crosspins in place, and fitting the halves together requires some good coordinations. It took me five tries to get two diffs together...

Installation in the rear gearbox was straightforward:

[EvolutionRevolution]

As you may have seen I am building this with the belt, and not the chain, as I want to have as little maintenance as possible since maintenance requires taking most of the car apart.

The front gearbox was also easy to get together:

As an aside, the front hinge pin mount is much thicker than the vintage part. This also goes for the shock towers, and as such I won't be adding any carbon parts to this build.

Then there were the chain/belt guides. Assembling this took me a few tries, but on the whole it was easier than putting together the chassis of my KX-One...

Once this is fully assembled I should take a picture of both the Javelin chassis and the KX-One chassis side-to-side...

[silvertriple]

I'm curious to see if they made something at the step 9 when you mount the front underguard. Either the holes on OT205.1 were too short for both Javelin and Turbo Optima or the 2 screws OT242.c were too long (nb: on the optional Hard Aluminium part, screws are 8 mm long)

[EvolutionRevolution]

Then I continued with the motor plate.

The optional finned motor plate next to a vintage one:

Basically there are very few differences regarding the holes, except for the new parts having countersunk holes and the holes for the motor being slightly different.

The optional motorplate is finned on the other side:

What is a bit disappointing is that the fins end up on the inside, between the motorplate and the gearbox, where you can't see them clearly and where they will collect dirt and will be difficult to clean.

After assembly:

This part of the assembly is rather unpractical, as many parts need to be aligned just right and of course some long screw or two will fall out if you just happen to hold it wrong . I also locktited the idler gear axle screw, although the instructions do not mention that.

[EvolutionRevolution]

I'm curious to see if they made something at the step 9 when you mount the front underguard. Either the holes on OT205.1 were too short for both Javelin and Turbo Optima or the 2 screws OT242.c were too long (nb: on the optional Hard Aluminium part, screws are 8 mm long)

Nope. The instructions still show 12 mm screws and the screws included are still 12 mm screws. I haven't checked whether the part itself has been fixed.

[EvolutionRevolution]

Next step:

I had read that putting together the steering link could shatter the part. However, there's a trick to get this together properly. All of Kyosho's open ball cups basically have one side that's a little wider than the other one, typically the bottom. If you press the ball into this side, the ball cup will not break.
I also assembled the link on my table instead of using pliers:

And then put the steering together:

At this point I chose to stop doing much to the front end, because more links need to be installed later on and access looks like it will be awful. So I want to first put together all of the linkages, and only then install them on the chassis.

I did install the center bulkhead and the front bottom plate, as they keep things together:

I then put together the slipper:

As I build this, I am slowly noticing that I likely have much more of a vintage Optima than I first realised. Tonight I checked and found out that I have a complete rear gearbox with choice of three different layshafts, and I also should have a vintage swing bar set and some other bits, as well as almost complete suspension parts. I am probably only missing a front gearbox, the chassis rails and plates, and some minor other parts...

[EvolutionRevolution]

So the c-hubs on these reissues use a bushing between the screws that go into the front upright and the c-hub. These have much more play than the vintage parts where there is no bushing. Is this normal?

[EvolutionRevolution]

So laying aside the front end for the moment, I continued with other tasks.

First up was the assembly of the body:

I really wish they had used tapping screws for the frame connections, as getting the screws to bite into the plastic was really hard. I ended up using a tapping screw to get the hole started, then screwing in the machine screw. I also locktited the metal on metal connections.

Next up are some part comparisons...

[EvolutionRevolution]

This was the point where I concluded carbon parts were a waste on this car, old vs. new front shock tower:

The holes with which the part attaches to the chassis are the same, but the shock mount holes are located differently. Also, the new shock tower is much thicker than the original one.

Arm comparison:

Curiously, the new arms have less webbing. Also added is a hole into which a set screw can be inserted for setting the ride-height. This is actually interesting because the Optima chassis has no use for a ride-height setting - does the Optima Mid use it?

The front uprights are mostly the same, except for swapping the L and R and some minor details:

However, the c-hubs have many differences:

Upper link moved outward, more caster added, part beefed up, screws + bushings instead of kingpins (kingpins have less play).

Time to continue with the backend:

Since I will be using universals, I lay aside the drive shafts.

[EvolutionRevolution]

I started by assembling the shock tower and installing the upper links:

I then followed this by installing the rear swing bar, and assembling the swing bar links:

One bad bit is that the rear swing bar attaches using one of the holes meant for the rear cage. I will need to look at how I solve that later. For the links I used the same method as earlier: find the wider part of the hole and insert the ball through that side. No broken links.

I then installed the shock tower on the car:

Access really sucks on the side of the gear cover, you have to disconnect the link to be able to remove the gear cover by the looks of it.

Next up, top deck etc.:

Rear hub comparison:

Mostly the part has been reinforced, with some minor changes.

Top deck test fit:

I also installed the steering after adding the steering links, and already put the front swing bar in place:

The rest of the front end will wait a bit as a wait for some additional parts. I'm also adding a undertray, as unfortunately the Netherlands is dog shit country, I will be running this in a park, and I don't feel like having to scrape a turd out of the chassis.