1/12 Plazma Limited Re-release

[sundevil67]

Very nice rig; just finished the build & its adjustment time... I'm first wondering what y'all do with these cars when it comes to securing the battery. Glass tape is very annoying & messy (especially since it is virtually impossible to find the right width, so there's cutting, etc. Zip ties aren't cutting it, and every Velcro strap I have isn't right either. Any suggestion ?

[1911Colt]

I have never seen a Plazma in person, so this may be a stupid idea. However, from looking at the photos on Amain, I think I would use those double-sided velcro strips that IT guys use to tie up network cabling. Not the sticky backed kind; the kind that has hooks on one side and loops on the other, so when you wrap it around something it sticks to itself. A lot of RC planes use a thin crappy version of the same stuff and it works fine, even in stunt planes. For lateral support, I would put a tiny square of sticky backed velcro towards the ends of the battery where you intend to wrap it.

Anyway, it is something to think about until someone smart replies

[sundevil67]

Thanks.. I have some of those but they just didn't secure it well enough. I could hunt for some others but someone smarter than both of us has to have a tested method!

The last time I took my Fantom to the track, the battery-shifting was very annoying & I think I ended up using electrical tape! I guess they didn't really plan for actual battery changes...

[terry.sc]

Remember it's a vintage design and back then we were using 1200mah cells, motors not too much better than a 540 and ran on surfaces with a lot less grip, back then Japan was running these outdoors on asphalt. The zip ties did the job fine.

Using a square patch of velcro between on the ends of the battery and top deck where the straps go round so you zip tie the battery onto the velcro patch usually stops the side to side movement. Put one at the connector side and it won't interfere with pushing the battery through the chassis. As you've mentioned fibreglass filament tape, rather than trying to wrap tape around the battery try cutting two short strips and sticking them from the top deck and wrap them round the ends of the battery, then use the zipties to support the weight of the battery.

The modern way that everyone uses these days instead of the zip ties is fibreglass tape. Tapes listed as specifically for RC car use have a different adhesive that stick less to the chassis and battery, but quite well to itself, so much easier to work with. Spent many years with generic filament tape until I had to fork out for a roll of Core-RC tape and won't be going back to normal tape even though it's a quarter of the price. Once you get used to working with it you can usually see how much to cut off the roll for the job without having to measure it. Not cheap though.

[sundevil67]

Thanks .. I actually wound up finding a roll of 12mm glass tape after a lot of searching. I had to buy 6 rolls, so I have enough to last through the apocolypse, but it does work better than the other options I've tried. I'm actually heading out for its maiden voyage here pretty soon...trying to get the toe-in right...wish the tie-rods were easier to adjust as I'm having a helluva time getting them even...excited to see how it goes.

Remember it's a vintage design and back then we were using 1200mah cells, motors not too much better than a 540 and ran on surfaces with a lot less grip, back then Japan was running these outdoors on asphalt. The zip ties did the job fine.

Using a square patch of velcro between on the ends of the battery and top deck where the straps go round so you zip tie the battery onto the velcro patch usually stops the side to side movement. Put one at the connector side and it won't interfere with pushing the battery through the chassis. As you've mentioned fibreglass filament tape, rather than trying to wrap tape around the battery try cutting two short strips and sticking them from the top deck and wrap them round the ends of the battery, then use the zipties to support the weight of the battery.

The modern way that everyone uses these days instead of the zip ties is fibreglass tape. Tapes listed as specifically for RC car use have a different adhesive that stick less to the chassis and battery, but quite well to itself, so much easier to work with. Spent many years with generic filament tape until I had to fork out for a roll of Core-RC tape and won't be going back to normal tape even though it's a quarter of the price. Once you get used to working with it you can usually see how much to cut off the roll for the job without having to measure it. Not cheap though.

[sundevil67]

Well, securing the battery turned out not to be the problem. Since the only track in town closed, I had no choice but to try and find the smoothest parking lot I could.

This is the result of a 5-minute run and an invisible *@&#&% drain pipe. The thing was gorgeous - the shiny new (and overpriced) Kyosho electronics. I even frayed the antenna wire. I should have left the damned thing on the shelf.

[RC10resto]

Bummer

[RC10th]

If your running pan cars on asphalt always bring a blower and blow the surface firstly. Pan cars are like vacuum cleaners, I'm sure you would have seen the dust trail behind the car and tire lines as you drove.

I'm sure you'll have it good as gold in no time.....


Or.....

It's the perfect excuse to buy another one for the shelf and run the snot out of that one

[coxbros1]

It's totaled!

[Brendan2904]

That sucks dude. So sorry.

[terry.sc]

Looks like the T-piece has snapped, a common failure on old pan cars. We used to consider them sacrificial as they usually cracked in any big accident. Should be an easy and cheap fix.

[timkoul]

Hi !!!
Just finished mine....
The plazma was my first ever RC car back in 1988. I don't have it anymore, seems that at the time RC12 was the hot car to have, so when I got one, I gave the plazma to a friend for parts.
Now that I saw this re-relase I needed one to remember how it was back then. Surely it will not be the same, I mean we didn't have a ball diff, brushless motor and ESC and most importantly the knowledge to setup and drive the car properly.
Anyway here goes:

[sundevil67]

Sweet! I finally repaired mine, and my receiver antenna is torn beyond repair after my attempt at soldering a new one onto the board failed miserably. Since I don't have anyplace to drive it, it's at the bottom of my R/C project list. Such a sweet car; an imperfect shelf queen now. I'd much rather have it on the road though. It ran great for the 5 minutes I got to drive it. I have the body painted in that same scheme, so hopefully I'll get it all finished sometime soon.

Hi !!!
Just finished mine....
The plazma was my first ever RC car back in 1988. I don't have it anymore, seems that at the time RC12 was the hot car to have, so when I got one, I gave the plazma to a friend for parts.
Now that I saw this re-relase I needed one to remember how it was back then. Surely it will not be the same, I mean we didn't have a ball diff, brushless motor and ESC and most importantly the knowledge to setup and drive the car properly.
Anyway here goes:

[timkoul]

Hi

I am waiting for some free time to visit the local track here, I would never run a 1/12 pan car outdoors. They are fragile and also do not perform well without sufficient grip. And dust goes everywhere, on bearing, inside the motor... It would be very difficult to clean it thoroughly after a run.
I have 2 racers ready now:

viber_image_2025-06-02_21-02-14-693 by Timos Koulouridis, on Flickr