Custom bodies possibilities

[jdob]

I bought a 2-Pack of the blue Red Bull Audi and the red Benz DTM cars on clearance at Target for $15.00. I messed with them for just a minute, but they seem to be just a tiny bit narrow for my Porsche 962 based dNaNo. Also the wheelbase is off by just about 2mm. If we could purchase the inner body mounts found in the autoscale chassis seperately - these would be an easy fit I think???

Justin

[Marcro]

I have one of their Mini Cooper S bodies and it's too narrow. The chassis fit's inside the body nicely, with an RM set up, but the track is too wide. Would need the narrowest of narrow Dnano track-width's, probably their Lancia Delta model might work. When I rest the Mini Cooper on the chassis, it look's like a Low-Rider with the wheels sticking two feet out. Not the look I'm after guy's! LOL!
If I get around to it, I'll post a picture of it here. The Mini Cooper S in 1/43 scale is pretty small!

[fovea3d]

Marc. The Dnano Delta is 44 mm wide. Just check your Mini Cooper.
Maybe you just need to buy the rear hubs and front plates.
Thanks Patrick, nice find! The 2-Pack is perfect. I hope SCX will expand the 1/43 range.

[Marcro]

I just picked up from ebay for 120 dollars the white Subaru WRX WRC 2006 Dnano car! I've been wanting one for the longest time and had to snatch it up at that price!

[Marcro]

Just saw posted on ebay today from my favorite source, the Audi R8 "Unpainted-unassembled" body, AND! For you Gallardo fan's, an Unassembled Lamborghini Gallardo body as well! The listing says the Gallardo is unpainted, but it look's yellow. Perhaps it's molded in yellow but not painted? Their priced at $20 plus shipping from Hobby Japan.
I'm not a fan of the Gallardo my self, but is nice to see more and more bodies available for these micro wonders.
The Audi R8 is definitely a blank white body, no doubt about that.

[arch2b]

marc, please take the time to rear around here a bit . the white bodies are old news at this point.

[Marcro]

Yes, they maybe old news, but they are now available on ebay from Hobby Japan, that was my point, point was their available now!

[quarterpound]

Yeah, I'm late to this party, but very excited. I'm just starting in dNano and love these plastic model kit bodies. Now all we need is a definitive list of chassis widths (the wheelbases are already provided by Kyosho). Does one already exist? If not, I can probably go down to the shop here in HK and measure them all with calipers. They have almost every model on display.

[arch2b]

Originally Posted by quarterpound

Yeah, I'm late to this party, but very excited. I'm just starting in dNano and love these plastic model kit bodies. Now all we need is a definitive list of chassis widths (the wheelbases are already provided by Kyosho). Does one already exist? If not, I can probably go down to the shop here in HK and measure them all with calipers. They have almost every model on display.

i've painstakingly assembled a lineup of the offically released bodies and all the info that appears from the specific model webpage. this gets updated with every new body that appears in english on the kyosho jpn website.

[quarterpound]

Originally Posted by arch2b

i've painstakingly assembled a lineup of the offically released bodies and all the info that appears from the specific model webpage. this gets updated with every new body that appears in english on the kyosho jpn website.

Nice. I'd looked at this page earlier and didn't notice there were technical specs. I'll compile these into a quick reference page and add wheelbase data. That should help when determining the best chassis for various custom bodies. If you can use any other assistance from me with your list, let me know.

As far as I can tell (only been looking at these for three days) -- the chassis and fitting parts are all almost identical? The only differences in the fitting parts are width. Then the battery/electronics case has a chassis-specific spacer on it -- the same part that connects to the body shell. And then each nose clip has a chassis-specific number too. When I get a chance I'll measure them to be sure, but it's a pain that these are fixed parts. I bought an HM mount to try and convert my 404 chassis to fit some Heller plastic models, but now the wheelbase is actually ever so slightly too short for some of them. So I'm looking at crafting some replacement rear suspension plates of different lengths, to try and make a one-size-fits-most chassis. In the future I'lll still need a 911 GT3 chassis to accommodate the narrowness of some vintage bodies without permanent alterations. I hope an aftermarket manufacturer thinks of making some custom-length plates out of carbon fiber for us. Seems the easiest way to do this.

[arch2b]

i'd love to get your help in compiling data for the lineup. let me know what you come up with and i'll see where we can put it up if you would like.

it's only a matter of time before we get more h plate options.

[quarterpound]

As it turns out, the whole thing is much easier than I thought. But having all the data laid out will make it much easier for everyone. To start with, the Body Mount set is all that matters for controlling wheelbase length. Some aftermarket clips would be nice, especially for mounting vintage American bodies with extreme overhang in front. But with the available mount kits, one should be able to mount any coupe, stock racing, 2+2, and most small 4-door bodies that we can find in 1:43 scale. Best of all the mount kits are very cheap. Previously I had the foolish impression that every actual battery chassis was a different length; now I realize that mounting any body on any chassis is actually quite simple: just measure the body's wheelbase and compare with the chassis spec chart. Then use the corresponding Body Mount set. No custom H-plate necessary! For maximum balance, you'll want to spring for appropriate fitting kits -- or their aluminum equivalents are perhaps more fairly priced. That way you can ensure the best wheel placement. Also, I'm pretty sure some dremelling of the wheel wells will be necessary, especially for vintage models. Can't wait to get started now.

About compiling these data, did you want to make an HTML table, or a plain text table? Or would you prefer them in CSV format? Perhaps I'll just start with a plain text post.

[Marcro]

Mind if I post mine under here as it's also a custom body? Or will be? Got this today! A model of my very first car back when I was 14 years young! This is a 1/32 scale kit from ARII.
1970 "Mine was '72" Honda Z Coup

Being it's a small car, I thought that it just might fit my 1/43 scale RC Dnanos! And from the look's of the following pictures, it just might with some clever mods!
Murcielago chassis is just barely long enough to work:

But track width too wide.
Porsche chassis width is perfect, but too short:



It look's like I'll need another Dnano chassis with a combination of parts and with an HM "high-mount" motor mount for it to fit inside the body.
This look's like it'll be a fun project!

[arch2b]

it looks like a simple fix with a DIY hplate. simply cut an old credit card or the like to the right length using the appropriate trackwidth chassis. it's the same old issue with mini-z modding. you can line up the track width but he wheelbases always seems to be off. all that was needed is a custom length h plate. it doesn't have to be cf or anything fancy. i've been using lexan hplates for mini-z hfay racing for the last year or more. just make sure you have the damper or a foam block as custom hplates are typically very soft.

[Marcro]

Hi there arch, and thank's for the tip. I'll probably get another Dnano chassis some time in the future just for this project. It'll be an HM for sure.
Here's a picture of the real one I used to have: