Well it's been a while since I added to my collection. Up till now they have all been Savages of one sort or another but have now added 4 new models to it. All these with the exception of the XTM Mammoth MT I got as very incomplete models & in pretty poor states. Now they are all up and running. I have run Savages for the last 20 odd years and love the things which is probably why I have so many, 12 at the last count. But thought I would try something else, so now I have added 3 XTMs & a Carson to my collection.
Here a few pictures of the latest additions.
XTM Mammoth Monster Truck 2 speed with reverse module. New Kingtair K32(5.2cc) mill. This model did come complete with the original SH.28 mill. Had been stored for many years, was filthy dirty, covered in castor oil and cobweb but looked to have had very little use, so was just a matter of a full strip, clean, new hardware & a few upgrades.
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XTM Mammoth Stadium Truck. 2 speed. XTM (SH) .28(4.6cc) mill lifted from the XTM MMT. This model was just a chassis plate, centre gearbox and front end when I got it. Apart from the bodyshell, which is an HPI GTXL-6 Kingcab it is as it would have been when new 15 odd years ago. Parts for these have long been discontinued for a long time and are very hard to find. Hardest parts were the 2 speed clutch bell setup which I had to ship from Australia and believe it or not, the engine mounts, which seem to be bespoke to the Mammoth range & XT2. Fitted a custom rear brace as these suffer from chassis flex with the standard link brace. This model is huge, being about 50mm longer than a Savage XL. It getting on to be more like 1/7th scale.
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Carson Specter Two V25. HPI S25 (4.1cc) mill. Got this in pretty poor condition, not knowing what it was but after much research found it to be a Carson Specter Two with many Frankenstein parts from other models fitted to it over the years. Again another vintage model with near on no parts available now. It had truggy rear arms fitted which gave a sort of go-kart look to it & a knackered spur gear. Found a set of new original arms from an RC shop in Germany but still can't find a centre gearbox (spur gear). Thought I had cracked it with a Hong-Nor 62T one which looked the same but on delivery found the centre bore on the spur to be 1mm bigger so none of the output shaft would fit. Ended up modding the spur & fitting a Savage diff which works great but have had to remove the front brake to achieve this. (work in progress). Rumour had it that a centre diff from a Carson Virus 4.0 might work, but again it will have to come from Germany & if it don't work I will be out of pocket £50, so holding off on that at the moment.
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XTM XT2 with an SH.21(3.5cc) mill. Was meant to have a .28 mill but some twat sent me the wrong engine. got a massive discount in the end, so decided to keep it. basically this engine cost me £60 new so can't really complain. This arrived with broken front wishbone, many parts missing or worn out, all chrome work rusted and pitted and as with most of these types of models no engine. She is back to her former glory. have just started the break in of the mill with it having had 2 tanks through it on bench run.
Both the Buggies have cheap ZD Racing shells but for the cost £20 each they will have to do for now.
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So there you have it. 4 restored vintage models added to my collection. And still not one of my collection is a Flux.
You can't bet the smell of nitro in the morning.