My Ultima 2019

[Biz73]

I finally got a new Ultima kit to build. This will be my first Kyosho build and I am excited to see what they have done to improve these 80's classics.
Kyosho Ultima by Justin B, on Flickr
So far I have the kit, a black rear wing, and a set of CRP adapters to use old school Tamiya wheels on a 12mm hex. Most of my collection is Tamiya, so I have plenty of vintage style wheel/tire options.
Ultima project parts by Justin B, on Flickr
CRP adapters by Justin B, on Flickr
This looks so purdy inside It could be displayed as it is.
Ultima box display by Justin B, on Flickr
I just ordered some diff fluid. I have all the electronics for it already. Time to get started!

[XLR8]

So you're documenting the build here. Awesome! I was hoping you would do that. Thank you!!
I had the original Ultima bitd but I only race it a couple season before selling it so I didn't remember much about it. I don't recall any major faults so maybe there wasn't much for Kyosho to correct with the re-re. The metal gears are big plus - no issues with modern brushless/lipo power. They've provide plastic insulators to prevent metal batteries shorting against the aluminum chassis. I've never heard of anyone have a problem but it's good they've taken steps to address the potential safety hazard anyway.

I've built several of Kyosho re-re's recently and I'm super-impressed with the quality.

Looking forward to updates.

[Biz73]

I'll try to take pics as I go, but I tend to get "build blinders" and forget about a camera. I am still running Nimh's so I won't have to worry about a bullet connector touching the chassis and shorting out. It's good to know the issue has been dealt with in case I upgrade in the future. Considering my re-re experience has been with the low end Tamiya cars, this should drive quit a bit better than my Grasshopper

[XLR8]

I often forget the camera as well. No worries!
Since you're running metal batteries, you'll definitely want to fit those insulators I mentioned. It's really not about the battery connection type, the insulators are meant to prevent the sharp edges on the aluminum chassis piercing the shrink wrap on the battery and creating a short.
I've highlighted them here in this illustration cut from the manual.

I'm trying to recall any issues when I built mine a few months ago. I really can't think of anything other than those OT253 shock gaskets are a bear to install without breaking them. Just go slow and careful, working the gasket down evenly one thread at a time. Kyosho provides a few extra gaskets in a bag of spare parts should you need them.

shock gaskets.JPG (18.85 KiB) Viewed 2986 times

shock gaskets.JPG (18.85 KiB) Viewed 2986 times

Overall, it seemed to be a very well thought-out and executed kit.

[Biz73]

I see what you mean now. I had read about the possibility of having a Lipo running with bullet connectors touching the frame and shorting, so that's what I was thinking about. I am definitely using those guards so I don't cut batteries. I also read about those shock gaskets, not looking forward to that part.

Last night I had a look through the manual and realized I need diff fluid so I ordered some up. Today I went to start the build and the first thing to do is build the diff So I will be working on the body first this time around. I always talked about finishing a body before building the kit. I guess it's time.

[Biz73]

Body is trimmed a clean. The frayed edge in the pics is just the plastic mask on the outside of the body. I have my good days and bad days when it comes to my hands shaking. Today wasn't great, I've done much better. It's a runner so no big deal.
trimmed and cleaned by Justin B, on Flickr
I tried some Tamiya tires that I have on the front wheels just for fun. I'm pretty sure they are for a wider wheel but they fit on these just fine. Here's the stock front and the Tamiya front.
Front tires by Justin B, on Flickr
They look a little too gnarly with the rear tires.
Tamiya front stock rear by Justin B, on Flickr
Tomorrow I will start masking and painting the body.

[XLR8]

Yeah, I see what you mean about the tires. They'd be perfect if it were front wheel drive.
Anyway, I've never actually tried diff fluid before. Probably not a bad idea though. I just packed the diff with that wonderful green grease supplied in the kit. The grease gives it a little resistance but not much.
So you're obviously not going box art since you have a black wing. I went the box art route since I'm not very talented when it comes to paint.
Can't wait to see what you do with your paint work.

[Biz73]

I didn't feel like buying white paint...so I bought a black wing instead

[Biz73]

These would work for the rear if I wanted to use Tamiya tires
https://www.ebay.com/p/1451065666

The tires are very stiff though. Maybe at some point I will get a 2nd set of wheels to try them out.

[Biz73]

This paint job may take longer than expected. I had to use some Fasmask and it says to let it dry for 24 hours. I think I can do the other 2 colors just using masking tape. The helmet and gloves will be the same color. Maybe not the best color for the gloves, but I'm using paint I already have on hand. I've got my fingers crossed that this will come out ok. It's a runner so it won't matter too much.

[Mr. ED]

As the aluminium chassis is anodised there's no need to be all that worried about shorting out batteries on a brand new chassis. But if you want to run a shorty later, you can get the shorty holder I designed for this chassis. It's available from my shapeways shop

[MrChin]

This paint job may take longer than expected. I had to use some Fasmask and it says to let it dry for 24 hours. I think I can do the other 2 colors just using masking tape. The helmet and gloves will be the same color. Maybe not the best color for the gloves, but I'm using paint I already have on hand. I've got my fingers crossed that this will come out ok. It's a runner so it won't matter too much.

Would be interested to see what you think of liquid mask. I had always used tape, but got some liquid mask a couple of years ago to see what it was like. I didn't really get on with it that well though unfortunately, felt by cutting in by knife on the body I'd end with scratches inside the shell so I abandoned it and continued with tape. I like the idea of flexibility with liquid mask though, as cutting tape off body and then fitting can be fiddly and risks paint leakage.

[Biz73]

As the aluminium chassis is anodised there's no need to be all that worried about shorting out batteries on a brand new chassis. But if you want to run a shorty later, you can get the shorty holder I designed for this chassis. It's available from my shapeways shop

I'm running Nimhs for now, so no worries about shorting bullet connectors. If I get into lipos I will definitely be getting your shorty holder

[Biz73]

This paint job may take longer than expected. I had to use some Fasmask and it says to let it dry for 24 hours. I think I can do the other 2 colors just using masking tape. The helmet and gloves will be the same color. Maybe not the best color for the gloves, but I'm using paint I already have on hand. I've got my fingers crossed that this will come out ok. It's a runner so it won't matter too much.

Would be interested to see what you think of liquid mask. I had always used tape, but got some liquid mask a couple of years ago to see what it was like. I didn't really get on with it that well though unfortunately, felt by cutting in by knife on the body I'd end with scratches inside the shell so I abandoned it and continued with tape. I like the idea of flexibility with liquid mask though, as cutting tape off body and then fitting can be fiddly and risks paint leakage.

When I went out to paint the body yesterday it looked like the Fasmask had evaporated, it was completely clear. I wasn't sure if it was truly masked so I brushed some more on and put it in front of a fan for about 10 mins. I shot the paint and we shall see tomorrow if the mask worked. I already peeled away the tape covering today's paint area so as soon as it warms up a bit I will be out there spraying. Tomorrow I will have to peel the Fasmask off and see if it worked well or not. The only reason I used it is because I couldn't get masking tape into the steering wheel section very well. I'll find out how well it worked tomorrow before I spray the final color.

[Biz73]

I got the body painted. The Fasmask actually worked perfect, unlike my tape job. Then I started to sticker up the body when I remembered, I hate doing the stickers on an RC body. After screwing up a couple I got so frustrated that I went inside and spent the day PO'd I did a couple more the next day, but have left off the "sponsor" stickers. I didn't want to deal with the seatbelt at all, but I couldn't stand it not looking finished on the driver and actually did a decent job yesterday before starting the build. Good from far, but far from good best describes the body. It's a runner so it doesn't really matter.

I started building the car yesterday. It's going good. There were a couple times I had to re-do something because I put parts on in the wrong order, but that was my fault. After I bolted the rear end to the chassis I noticed my nice brand new bottle of diff fluid. I was deep into the instruction manual and totally forgot I'll run it as is for now to see how it is. Eventually I will pull it apart to re-do. I finished the D bag yesterday. Yes, I am an immature turd that still giggles when I say D bag, lol. Today is damper day. I've got some Losi x-rings I may use instead of the stock o-rings, but I'm not sure. I'll update soon.