Introduction (I will add pics on 11/12/2026)
If you are not familiar with my buggy story, here is a quick review: I sold my motorcycle, my mom-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, and my wife went back to be with her mom. I was bored and bought this RC buggy to pass the time at night when I could not be with them. I figured RC is less destructive and only less expensive than an out-of-control gambling habit.
I bought the Tamiya Dark Impact buggy and realized that I really do like playing with RC cars. I did not want to tell my friends at first because it’s not a real car. I was surprised at how many made fun of me, and then they wanted to drive it. So, it was basically received by my friends like everything else that I do.
Every fall, as I transition to winter, there is a lull. You cannot really play in the snow, and it is not as much fun to hike or bike after all the leaves are down. I break out RC bodies and start to paint them.
I am especially motivated to get this thing going again because my son did some odd jobs and scored a Yokomo buggy. He was out of town for a weekend at his soccer tournament, and it was time to get busy. So, buckle up as we walk through some RC Lexan body painting learned through the school of hard knocks!
Getting it Going
I needed to get new body posts because the old ones were compromised. I looked on Tamiya’s website, and they had a different picture for the M Parts that I needed. I called them, and they picked up the phone. The good news is the person on the phone was very helpful. The bad news: I cannot order the part until it arrives at the Tamiya factory. That is about six weeks away. I had my son design new posts, and I 3D printed them. We only have PETG in the house right now, so I do not expect these to last long before they crack. PETG does not seem to do well with impact and colder temps.
I ordered a new digital servo. I have that mounted, but the travel on the servo is too long. I realized that I did not pay attention to the old servo, and now the front plastic is compromised. I mean, cracked. It is just a matter of time before the front end cracks off. So, when I order the new plastic, I will make sure that all limits are set. Thankfully, I can set that on my controller, and I have a servo programmer for Hitec that I bought years ago.
I had a new body in my RC bin that I completely forgot about. I want to get better at masking and painting. If you are new to RC, you paint the bodies from the inside. This is so that when the car takes a tumble, which it will, the paint does not get scratched off the car. When I paint the RC bodies, I first do the details. You know, the lettering, graphics, and garnish that make the body look nice.
I opted not to go for decals. I learned that decals can sometimes scratch off, whereas paint protected by the plastic tends to last longer. I also learned that blue looks great on its own, but when backed with black, it fades into the body. The real lesson is to layer the backing. White behind the blue makes it almost glow, and gray instead of black for the body keeps the lettering from getting lost. Here is the order I should have used:
Mask the lettering and blue accents
Paint them blue
Paint white over the blue
Paint the whole body gray
If you want it to pop more, or want the gray darker, finish with one coat of black
If you would rather skip the blue entirely, then go with red and orange lettering.
Also, don’t forget the protective film on the outside of the body. It makes the paint look dull or matte, so peel it off before you judge the color.
Body Masks: Tuition from the School of Hard Knocks
I bought a Cricut Joy machine. I love the way that the Cricut Joy cuts, but I do not like the Design Space app that you use to send your projects to the Cricut. This is basically a CNC machine that will cut paper, stickers, cardboard, draw, and even etch wood. They are incredible machines. I bought the Cricut Joy Extra because it is cheap and does just fine cutting masks for my RC bodies. This is a quick way to take your graphics, make a mask for the graphic, and get painting. You can have a very distinctive body without a ton of work.
In Design Space, I have a setting for the Tamiya masking sheets. Basically, I set it to the lowest cutting pressure, which is about perfect. I discovered that if I use vinyl or another setting, the Cricut will cut right through the backing of the masking sheet. That was some tuition from the school of hard knocks.
I wanted some tribal stripes. I opened ChatGPT and asked it to design some stripes. This is nice because you can keep tweaking the stripes till you get what you want. I downloaded the image and imported it into Design Space, sent it to the Cricut, and cut the mask. BOOM! Tribal stripes. So the Cricut Joy Extra is the bomb!
I know that this buggy is from the 90s, and so not really that old. However, kids these days think it is ancient. I wanted to put a parakeet on the back to promote a theoretical business my son wants to start: parakeet racing. I also love the Pontiac Trans Am from the 70s. I mean, come on, Smokey and the Bandit people? I think every guy my age wanted a black and gold Trans Am. So, I wanted to do a tribute to the screaming chicken that was on the front of the Trans Am. I had ChatGPT make me another mask, and it took a while to weed out all the material. I think it turned out pretty cool.
Body reamers are amazing tools. I used to use a drill and carefully drill a really small hole, and then make it bigger. I love power tools, but in my older age, I have come to learn that using the right tool for the job pays off. The body reamer does not bring out the Tool Time grunt, but it is the wiser option. The body reamers have a measurement on the tip, so you are guaranteed to have perfectly round and same-sized holes for the body posts. I have held the drill at a slight angle and ended up with slightly oval holes. That is no bueno!
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the car is still not fully ready to rip. I have to wait for some plastic bits to arrive at the Tamiya factory. I think I can run the brushed motor I have in it to make sure the steering is set right, but I think the brushless setup I have for it is going to rip the front end apart.
My son and I have waterproof motors, so we can let these things rip in the snow. It will be fun to have them rip around the RC track and in the snow to see which one does better. My prediction would be: two-wheel drive on hard pack will turn faster laps. Four-wheel drive in snow and loose dirt will turn better times. I will see if I am correct on that one.
If you have never built an RC car, then pick up a Tamiya and build it. It is fun to do with your kids, and it is really fun to rip around the track. Think Mario Kart, but you are outside. Yes, you can do pit maneuvers while going around the track. In fact, we usually get about 3-5 laps around the track before we start crashing into each other. Now, I think pit maneuvers will be reserved for the Short Course Trucks, as we have put too much time into our buggies.
Do you have any RC projects? Do you have a machine that competes with the Cricut? What has your experience been? Leave it in the comments. I am always up for finding a new product or tool.
Don’t miss more ideas to get out with the family.
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