SlideShow!

[fovea3d]

Here are the 5 custom bodies i've made for the Epoch chassis. For those who don't already know them, these are 1:43 AMT/Matchbox snap kits from the 80s and they fit the chassis perfectly. Enjoy :cool: Slideshow (http://www.fovea3d.dynu.com/public/epoch/default.htm)

[irc]

Thank you that is very cool!

[tinyrc]

fovea3d, great job, they look amazing especially with the scale scenery!

[The Thunderer]

Yes, VERY NICE! I too like the background. But the cars are AMAZING! Good work!

[The Thunderer]

Sorry, TinyRC, I didn't mean to repeat the "amazing" thing.... it was just the first thing that popped into my mind.

[tinyrc]

That's okay, it must have been subliminal! :D And it is the perfect word to describe fovea3d's works of art!

[ViperKid]

yep, nice work, are those snapkit bodies metal or plastic. they look metal from the picture, thanks:p

[fovea3d]

Thanks to everyone! I was very lucky with this bodies having the exact weelbase to match the Epoch because you can not extend the T plate on the spec 1. The Corvette does not fit though, but I will try to mod a Bit-Char chassis for it. The kits are plastic, spray painted with paint brush details on them. At that scale better avoid coffee before doing that :)
Another good point is that these bodies are lighter than the original ones, and the plastic is still strong enough.

[tinyrc]

The Corvette does not fit though, but I will try to mod a Bit-Char chassis for it.

Cool, keep us posted on this project, I'm sure it will be another immaculate job!

[ViperKid]

where did you get it? is it a model too? thanks, i feel dumb asking all these questions because i'm not much in the body department:D

[fovea3d]

You can find them on auction sometimes, the collection is not that large. I am missing a 69 Torino and a few others. The Corvette is also one of these snap kits but this one does not match the chassis. The body is too narrow and the motor hood touches the electronic board. I will try on a spec 2 as the electronics seem to be smaller.

TRC, Ive tried with the bitchar chassis on the Corvette body but its just to much work! The Bit is very very small you can put 2 of them inside the Corvette :( We need something in size between the Epoch and the BitChar G.

How about a 1:87 HO body on a bit chassis ?:D BTW once someone release a full propo HO car, there will be a huge demand for Herpa and other brands of very nice 1:87 cars. Best off all, they are made of plastic! Check that 1:87 Mustang :p

[super_micro]

Some of the body are a bit "lop sided" which lloks cool in the picture because it looks like its coming out of a corner

[na2rboy]

Has anybody found any of these kits or other 1:43 bodies online? I have been searching but come up with nothing. :confused:

[fovea3d]

Go to the auction site and do a worldwide search with the keywords AMT 43. There is a '57 chevy in UK, auction ends in 1 hour!
They are discontinuted since 1985 so there are not too many.

[wet-nap]

fovea3d - great looking cars! :D

did you have any luck putting the corvette body onto the spec-2?

also...

does anyone have measurements for the distance between the front of a spec-2's back tire and the back of its front tire, and the sizes of each wheelwell as in the image below. i don't have a spec-2 yet or else i'd measure it myself... but with some good numbers i was hoping i might be able to find a good fit before i order a spec-2.

[fovea3d]

Thanx wet-nap :D
No, the Corvette body is definitly too small in length, width and height. I suspect the Epoch scale to be slightly larger than 1:43.
Best body choices are american standard from the 70's like Chevelle, Torino and some pony cars. Unfortunately no European or japanese in real 1:43 will fit.

[gertman]

I'll try and get you some numbers soon............but remember for a Spec 2, the distance betweent the back and front wheels is adjustable.

[cool_cars]

Hey fovea3d,
I missed the fact that you're the one who recommended these bodies in the first place. I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning. For those of you who missed it, I bought I '69 Torino for a Spec 1 but I guess the wheel base it too long.

Did you try the Torino at all? if so, how much did you have to chop. BTW, I really love the car bodies you've done for these. Absolutely fantastic!!!

[fovea3d]

Any plans to buy a spec 2 Epoch soon? I received today my first spec 2 from the TRC shop. I had 2 body kits left that did not fit the wheelbase of the spec 1: '69 Torino GT (the same you ordered) and '69 AMC AMX. Because the spec 2 Chassis has an adjustable wheelbase these bodies fit now the new chassis perfectly :D :D :D
With the Torino, you need to extend the WB to the max, and the AMX needs the shortest WB available... So I have 2 new projetcs of custom bodies, I will let you know how it turns out ;)

[cool_cars]

fovea3d,
Yeah, I'm thinking that I'll probably get the Spec2 chassis and body in a month or so. I've spent a little bit too much lately between my tomy bits and my other toys, now including the Mach 5, so I need to cool it a bit to keep the wife happy. Really, what I love about the really small cars, meaning the Epoch's and Tomy's is that cost wise, it so much better on the wallet than the 1/10th scale cars I use to run.

Thanks again for the info on the Torino. I'll just take my time getting it painted and ready for a Spec2. I'll keep looking for the other AMT/Matchbox models. I saw on one of the other, you got the '57 Chevy and a Mustang? Are those the same kits too? They looked awesome.
Later
:D

[fovea3d]

Coolcars,
You're right, those cars are fun, another cool thing comparing to 1:10 cars is that they can stay on display in your living room until a friend comes by and asks, hey, can I ? :D ... Beer+mini R/C=max fun :D
Take your time before painting your Torino! I've noticed the wheel archs need to be enlarged a bit, so run the chassis with the custom body before painting it and use some sanding paper to mod the body until the wheels turn freely, then you can paint it.
I've read the wheels on a Mach 5 are bigger, try to find standart wheels because even the small wheels look big on a custom shell.
And last, yes all the shells I got are of the same brand (AMT ERTL or AMT Matchbox snap-kit). Have fun!

[cool_cars]

fovea3d,
Thanks for the tips. That just saved me what could been a headache. I'm going to some checking around this weekend, looking for 1/43 models, just to see. Do you know where I can get the smaller wheels/tires for it, if I don't want to keep the stock ones on the Mach 5? What about using the tires/wheels from the models? I realize they would probably need modified. I know I'll have a better idea of what I need to look for once the car gets here. It'll be here next Wednesday. I'll Let you know if I find anything in the meantime.

[cool_cars]

fovea3d,
I just picked up a AMT/Matchbox 1/43 69' Ford Mustang Mach1 kit. I should have it by the end of the week. It was about $3.00 more than the Torino, but I thought I saw you were using the Mach1 on one of your Spec1's. Let me know if there's anything tricky with it. Thanks,
Scott

[fovea3d]

Hi Scott, congratulations with your new shell. Its worth it, the Mustang is hard to find and very realistic
I took some pictures of mine when I built it up.
http://tinyrc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53
Nothing particular except that the wheels on a Speed Racer will be too big. Once you got the body you will have to shave off the two body mounts under the hood. Don't cut the one in the trunk so you can use it to snap the rear panel and bumper assembly. I glued the whole thing in front, nose and grill/bumper.
The front panel under the bumper need some work because of the steering servo.
Even before touching a spray paint can first do some test drives and enlarge the wheel wells with sandpaper wrapped around your finger. Once you can fully steer left and right with no wheel blocked you can paint it.
The body is very tight on the Epoch you will end up like me with no way to fit the clear glass parts that come with the kit because the plastic is too thick.
Use black shiny plastic sheet that you can cut and fold like a box to fill the openings including side windows.
And lastly, I secure my bodies on the chassis using small screws that goes through the body into the front holes of the Epoch chassis. You won't need 4 screws as the body lays on the plastic cover over the PCB.
Don't forget to show some pics when its done :p

[cool_cars]

fovea3d,
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it. I'll save the Torino for a Spec2 later on. The Camaro looks great too. I'll have to keep watching Ebay. I think the guy had just posted the mustang. I've been watching ebay since last Thursday after ordering the Mach 5. The mustang wasn't there earlier this morning, but I went back about 2 hours later and there it was. I didn't want to risk it so I used the buy it now for $9.95. As rare and hard to find as these are, it was worth it. Thanks for all your help and tips on this. I'll definately post pics when I get to working on it. Got to start thinking about the color for this body. We ought to consider having a thread just for the AMT bodies. There's starting to be a lot of stuff now on these in TinyRC. What do you all think? TinyRc?

[cool_cars]

fovea3d,
I got the Epoch yesterday. It's great. It's awesome to have that kind of control in such a small car. I'm definately hooked now. The actual wheels on the car are the normal Spec1 wheels, but because the Mach 5 has the additional hub cabs, that's the reason for the larger tires. I placed an order with HLJ to get a tire/wheel set, so can have a standard set of tires for it. I'll wait to order anything else until TinyRc starts getting the hopup parts. At least I'll have the regular tires for the Mustang body when it comes in. Maybe it'll show up today. Who knows. The guy said it went out on Monday, I think USPS Priority mail. We'll see. The Speed racer set is cool though. I'm gonna hold off on the Spec2 until probably March. It'll be a good birthday present. And of course I'll get that from tinyrc. I'm pretty impressed with what they offer. This is a great site. Anyway, so once I get the custom Mustang going, I'll post pics. Later

[fovea3d]

Hi coolcars, glad you like your Epoch. You're right, they are amazing, half the size of a Mini-z but same functions, only a larger choice of hopup parts is missing yet. What wheels did you order? Spec 1 and spec 2 whels are not interchangeable, except the back left one wich has a large hole (in fact all 4 spec 2 wheels have a large hole). Perhaps you will be able to use only the tires, so thats OK. Have fun!

[cool_cars]

fovea3d
This is the tire/wheel set I ordered. I'm not real worried about the wheels. I mainly wanted this for the tires. Anyway,this is the part number and description. I also got a pic.
EPO48380 1/43 RM-WH01 B4 Wheel Set Indoor Racer Series RM-WH01

Oh, the Torino and Mustang did show up yesterday, so I can start on those. I may wait a bit though, until the other tires show up. We'll see. talk to you later.

[fovea3d]

Well you made the same mistake I did, these wheels can only fit spec2. But yes you can use the tires. Be carefull with the Mustang body, its very fragile in the windshield posts area. Don't forget to show some pics!