Ebay Bargain XXT G+ (Finished Pics on Page.3)

[DerbyDan]

Just got this off ebay from a guy in the next town to where I live - he kindly delivered it for me to work. The seller had apparently been given it by someone at his work, but as he was mainly into R/C helicopters he didn't use it.... his lack of knowledge also was my gain as he listed it as a 'Losi Graphite Buggy' which mean't I picked it up for a bargain price

I actually only wanted the truck for its RPM gear cover (for my XX buggy project) What I paid for the truck was what I was willing to pay for this single part! Anyway on reciept of the car it became apparent that it has quite a few nice bits.... Full Graphite - chassis, wishbones, bulkhead/shock towers, Titanium turnbuckles (at the front only?), Ballraced steering, Nitrided shock shafts, MIP CVDs, RPM wheels & one-piece ackerman link aswell as the aformentioned gear cover, and those nice blue Trinity shock mounts Its also (apart from some rusty screw heads) in really good condition - minimal scratches & appears to have been nicely built.

So heres a pic


I'm actually not sure what to do with it as racing trucks are not really my thing & to get it up & running would require buying at least a new shell & a set of tyres (as the ones on it have perished side walls)

Thing is with that spec do you think this truck was built from a XXT 'Graphite CR' kit?

[jamin]

C'mon Dan, get to work on this!

[DerbyDan]

C'mon Dan, get to work on this!

Well I suppose a little update on this would be that I now have in my possession a new shell & Graphite+ stickers (bargain buys from DMS) Along with some new Schumacher tyres in 'suitably hardwearing' blue compound (for fun running purposes) I also have a new steering arm sprue, as my truck was missing the servo mount parts (that get trapped by the 'X' brace)

Ben (Jamin) also supplied to me the missing titanium turnbuckles for the rear of the truck.... so its pretty much a case of getting stuck in, to clean/re-build the chassis, spray & mount the shell & it should be an easy project completed

[YZ-10]

Nice score Dan

Off topic does anyone know the length of the cvd bones? I'm wondering whether I can fit XXT Shiny bones on the LX-T

[jamin]

Funny thing is Dan I might of needed those turnbuckles because I am gonna run king-pin bull studs up front on my G+, ho hum!!

As for CVD, I am not sure, but will measure them tonite if no-one replies beforehand...

[DerbyDan]

Yay! I actually did something for this!!

I sprayed up the XXT shell that I brought from DMS Racing, when they were clearing out there old stock. I got the shell for a bargain price (which seems to fit the theme of this truck!) As it had obviously been stored away for many years & as such was a bit creased up & scuffed-up in the bag, luckily these creases generally only occur below the cut-line.

Due to the somewhat scruffy nature of the shell, I decided to have a go with some liquid-mask (so it didn't matter if I messed it up) I've been spraying shells for years now, but i've always been a tape & cutting board guy... as such most of my designs have involved straight lines .... so with three coats of RCX Liquid Mask I decided to attempt a flame paint-job (something thats so tricky with tape) - I reckon it turned out OK.

[jamin]

That is SWEEEEEEET Dan! Great job there, I've tried the liquid mask before, but never got on with it. I prefered to trace the flames onto some mask and then carefully cut with scissors - great job there though.

One thing - thats not a 'CR' shell, so will the holes line up if thats an X-Long chassis you have on the truck?

Either way, get it cut out, stickered up and mounted!!

I 'plan' to start my (finally) G+ next week, and I am going to start with the bodyshell!!! (although I need to mock up the chassis, bulkheads & towers so I can get the holes aligned before paint). I need to aswell as the 22T is coming, and once that arrives, I'll be on that night and day!!

Great work Dan, you've been a busy boy lately!

[DerbyDan]

Thanks Ben, Yes its an original XXT shell rather than the correct 'CR' version. So the CR (& G+) got a longer chassis than the XXT?? Will have to be carefull then drilling the mounting holes then - I guess the shell should still work either way.

I'm not 100% convinced by the liquid mask either to be honest - it relies so much on being skillfull with the scapal blade, which I guess comes with practice. I personally find it so hard when you are trying to cut out in those tight spots where you have to hold the blade (I ditched the handle itself) at such an awkward angle. Also peeling off the mask once it had got a couple of coats of paint on top seemed really tricky - the extra weight of the paint seems to make the mask more prone to tearing as its peeled off - this paint also cracks off back onto the shell, meaning that you have to go back over the clear area with a bit of masking tape to lift off any loose peices of paint. Maybe another coat of the mask liquid would help? One thing I know is I have huge admiration for those guys that create those absolute complex masterpeices (even though I think in many cases the designs are too busy)

[jamin]

Yep, the orignal XXT had a long (standard being for the XX buggy) chassis (LOSA9903) and the CR & G+ had an X-Long chassis (LOSA9904) which I believe is another 1/4" longer.

I know this as I have 2 graphite trucks to build, one old school graphite (Kinwald replica) and one G+, so I had to find 2 new chassis first.

For those very reasons you describe is why I never got on with paint mask. Its so much easier to cut something out in the hand, rather than on the shell. Its just more of a pain to lay down.

Yes, I agree too, I could never do that for a living, it takes so much time to paint shells, where do they find the time?! I used to have complicated designs, but I have settled for something that is a trade off between the amount of time it takes and how good it could look.

Great airbrushing on the flames BTW, very neat!

[DerbyDan]

Yep, the orignal XXT had a long (standard being for the XX buggy) chassis (LOSA9903) and the CR & G+ had an X-Long chassis (LOSA9904) which I believe is another 1/4" longer.

Ha-ha, yeah just been looking on VintageLosi.com & found out basically what you described - mine obviously has the A9904 - Graphite X-long Chassis, if its only 6mm difference - maybe the front of the shell can use the original marked holes - the difference taken up at the rear?

....its true you learn something everyday

Look forward to seeing build threads & progress pics for your 'other' XXT projects

[jamin]

Look forward to seeing build threads & progress pics for your 'other' XXT projects

Dont hold your breath! Hahahaaa

[jamin]

Hey Dan,

I had a look at the 2 shells side by side, there appears to be no difference in length at all, the only real difference is at the front. It seems the 'CR' shell has the front mounting holes further forward, and apart from a slightly larger frontal area, there's no real difference.

The shell you have will fit just fine, its just that the mounting holes will sit further forward.

I've attached a couple of pics, but they were taken with my phone indoors, so not that great

I actually prefer the older shell to the CR one, I may think about getting another one now

[GJW]

have you run this puppy yet dan? so liquid mask is definatly the go in your opinion hey. body looks great!

[DerbyDan]

Thanks Ben for going to the trouble to dig out those shells & taking the photos. The difference between them is rather minimal to say the least! But like you I think I prefer the more aggressive 'humps' to the front on the original XXT shell.

I actually came to the same conclusion when I cut the shell out last night & offered it up on top of the chassis... the rear holes have to drilled as per the moulded-in 'pimples' or else the rear shocks will not pass cleanly up into the lumps on the back of the shell - the variation to take up the length has to occur at the front - as confirmed by your photos of the 'CR' shell. The only problem I can see (& the reason I guess why the CR shell has a 'flatter' front) is that the XXT shell will sit a bit high at the front - as the mount are now further down the slope of the shell..... if you catch my drift? Now the challenge now is to drill the front holes... taking into account the angle of the mounts.

Here's how it looks cut out & (temporarily) placed on top of the truck



I think the paint scheme suits those RPM wheels

@ Gary, i'm afraid the chassis itself still looks like it does in the top picture - but I don't it would take much to get it cleaned up... the diff definately needs some work - but I managed to score a full set of NIP parts to re-fresh that. Would like to get it up & running for something to play with next year - should be fun with the 'vintage' sensor-less BL set-up I have lined up for it!!

Yes the liquid mask has its place - for some designs its the only way they can be realistically achieved. But I think I will stick to what I know (tape) for the majority of my bodyshells.

[jamin]

The only problem I can see (& the reason I guess why the CR shell has a 'flatter' front) is that the XXT shell will sit a bit high at the front - as the mount are now further down the slope of the shell..... if you catch my drift? Now the challenge now is to drill the front holes... taking into account the angle of the mounts.

Yes, I was thinking that when I posted yesterday, something you will have to live with I think. Its also why I mount and cut my bodyshells BEFORE painting, its a whole world of pain trying to do it afterwards!

Probably best to drill a very small hole where you think it needs to be, and then see where it ends up, then drill/file from there perhaps?