Rlaarlo 1/8th 4WD Buggy Dragon Scale Knight DSK RTR/Roller/Kit

[BashingBrian]

Also what I learnt from building this kit is, when pre-orders go live for the Lancer Evo Rally car (hopefully soon.!!) I'll be all over this thing if there's a kit version with clear body..!!!!

 

[desmobob]

I ran mine on the backyard mostly-grass course today on a 17T pinion and the motor (4278 2250kv) was just a little bit warm; not even close to hot. For running on 4S, I'm now thinking an 18T or 19T might be ideal. I just ordered some new batteries for my non-contact thermometer. I'll be able to better figure my gearing in a week or so when the batteries arrive and I can fire it up.

And once again, I had some mild regret about running after a rain, when the grass and dirt were almost but not quite dry. Instead of doing some speed runs later, I spent the time cleaning, disassembling and more cleaning. More rain in the forecast tomorrow but I might be able to get out on some pavement before it starts and see what she'll do as geared.

I got out to a straight section of dead end road today, popped in a 4S battery, and stuck the GNSS Performance Analyzer on. With my 4278 2250kv motor and stock 17T pinion, I got 50MPH on the dot, going both ways in a very light breeze with a good long full-throttle pull. Rock steady.

I also ran around the back yard course for some laps. The grass is getting thick and needs to be mowed. After running a 6200mah battery, the motor was as warm as I'd like it to get. Given the 50MPH top speed and ability to break traction on the pavement or in the grass at any throttle setting, I think I'll leave the gearing as-is.

 

[desmobob]

I also ran around the back yard course for some laps. The grass is getting thick and needs to be mowed. After running a 6200mah battery, the motor was as warm as I'd like it to get. Given the 50MPH top speed and ability to break traction on the pavement or in the grass at any throttle setting, I think I'll leave the gearing as-is.

I did this again yesterday and measured the motor temperature... 116˚F. I guess that's cool enough, especially for running on mostly grass, but I have a fan to install on the motor later today. The battery was barely warm to the touch and I forgot to hit it with the temp gun.

I think for my motor running on 4S, the 17T pinion is just right. For dirt or pavement running, going up a tooth or two would likely be OK if desired. But it's plenty fast for my purposes now.

 

[desmobob]

I did this again yesterday and measured the motor temperature... 116˚F. I guess that's cool enough, especially for running on mostly grass, but I have a fan to install on the motor later today. The battery was barely warm to the touch and I forgot to hit it with the temp gun.

I forgot that my Hobby Wing Max8 GS2 has data logging... no need to bring the non-contact thermometer along. It tells me my max motor temp today was 121˚F and the ESC hit a 147˚F maximum. All well within acceptable operating range. I was a little surprised the ESC got that warm. It does have an automatic fan and I didn't notice anything stuck in it, stopping it from functioning. I believe it's working as intended.

 

[RustyUs]

I forgot that my Hobby Wing Max8 GS2 has data logging... no need to bring the non-contact thermometer along. It tells me my max motor temp today was 121˚F and the ESC hit a 147˚F maximum. All well within acceptable operating range. I was a little surprised the ESC got that warm. It does have an automatic fan and I didn't notice anything stuck in it, stopping it from functioning. I believe it's working as intended.

Those ESC temp readings are from the inside. The same goes for the motor temp readings... are from the inside sensors. I've had ESC temp numbers (on a Max10) well above 200*F without shutting down.

 

[desmobob]

Those ESC temp readings are from the inside. The same goes for the motor temp readings... are from the inside sensors. I've had ESC temp numbers (on a Max10) well above 200*F without shutting down.

Ahhh... that puts my mind at ease. Thanks for the info.

 

[desmobob]

First "issue" with the DSK today. I was running laps on the backyard course and steering diminished to near nothing. When I picked up the buggy, it steered normally. The servo and servo arm intact and all linkages were in place. That left the servo saver as the possible culprit.

I brought it inside and took off the top of the steering assembly. It seems the threaded collar on the servo saver adjustment had loosened nearly to the point of coming off. I put a drop of blue thread lock on the threads and tightened it back up to specs: 2mm of the threads showing below the collar.

It has an O-ring in it that is supposed to help keep it in place but that obviously didn't work in my case. You may want to keep an eye on it. I'd put the odds at 50:50 whether or not that threaded collar would stay in the chassis if it spun all the way off. It would suck to lose it and have to wait for a replacement.

All back to normal. Phew... I was worried something had broken!

 

[BashingBrian]

Thought I'd drop some pics of the kit build and comment on some of the good and bad points along the way..

Box art is awesome..!!

Diffs, we've seen it all before, I would say that the quality is almost up with the likes of Tekno in some respects..

Love the fact it comes with cvd center shafts, carbon inserts on the arms and wheel scrapers on the hub carriers

Kit version comes with 7075 balls and Ti turnbuckles in the box, they also include all the stock parts too...

Favorite bits, the dirt guards on the arms are just awesome, the design and fit 'n finish is great, also the rear bracing runs from the lower dual chassis braces all the way up to the shock tower and through to the wing mount..
(only time will tell if it will hold up to bashing, but certainly looks the part )

The next bit is my absolute favorite part, the chassis dove tail, I've never seen this before on an RC, please tell me if you've seen this before, I think the extra strength from this design is going to be amazing..!!
Again the fit n' finish is awesome..

Nice cable management tab, the Ackerman and steering assemble is one of the smoothest I've ever felt with absolutely no slop at all, 10/10 for this..

Front end all very similar to almost all buggies out there, I'm still gutted it didn't come with c-hubs in the box..
All the 7075 parts are amazingly well machined and an awesome color..!!

The cvd drive shaft pins are thicker than I've seen before on an 1/8 car..

Spring steel and 7075..
Oh I forgot to say, the diffs didn't require any shimming when putting into the bulkheads, the fit was amazing..!!

More carbon fiber..!!

Suspension block bolts are M4's, none of my many many 1/8 rigs use M4's so this really impressed me, well done Rlaarlo
The suspension hinge pins are 4.5mm if I remember correctly, another win..

You get a choice of diff top covers, carbon or plastic.. Oh, and the plastics vary on content depending on where and what is used, the bulk heads for example seem to have a high fibrous nylon content, whereas the arms seem more supply..

Almost finished,
The esc/servo cable routing in dual setup configuration isn't that great in my opinion, so I will create my own path and try to get the wires away from the spur gear, it's certainly not the worst I've seen but could be better..

Shocks are all very normal in the shock department, they do have these little springs that hold the lower cups to the ball ends, they are quite fiddly to fit, personally I prefer the style where the ball end and cup bolt together, but again top marks for being original with some new design ideas..
Nearly forgot, it also comes with two sets of springs in the box, hard and soft I believe..

On the whole I'm truly impressed with Rlaalo's first ever kit, I believe if they continue producing product like this going forward, some of the bigger well known brands need to be worried..!!
If the DSK is compared to an Arrma Typhon lets say, the Rlaarlo wins on every count in my opinion, design, price, quality, presentation etc
For a first attempt I give RLAARLO 9.5/10

I built this kit for a friend (I love kits and building) and he's just happy to have it built..!!

I'm not gonna lie, I am now very excited for the soon to be released Mitsubishi Evo Rally Car and I do believe I will be pre-ordering it the second it goes live..!!!

 

[RustyUs]

Thought I'd drop some pics of the kit build and comment on some of the good and bad points along the way..

Box art is awesome..!!

View attachment 275681

Diffs, we've seen it all before, I would say that the quality is almost up with the likes of Tekno in some respects..

View attachment 275682View attachment 275683

Love the fact it comes with cvd center shafts, carbon inserts on the arms and wheel scrapers on the hub carriers

View attachment 275684

Kit version comes with 7075 balls and Ti turnbuckles in the box, they also include all the stock parts too...

View attachment 275685

Favorite bits, the dirt guards on the arms are just awesome, the design and fit 'n finish is great, also the rear bracing runs from the lower dual chassis braces all the way up to the shock tower and through to the wing mount..
(only time will tell if it will hold up to bashing, but certainly looks the part )

View attachment 275686

The next bit is my absolute favorite part, the chassis dove tail, I've never seen this before on an RC, please tell me if you've seen this before, I think the extra strength from this design is going to be amazing..!!
Again the fit n' finish is awesome..

View attachment 275687View attachment 275688

Nice cable management tab, the Ackerman and steering assemble is one of the smoothest I've ever felt with absolutely no slop at all, 10/10 for this..

View attachment 275689

Front end all very similar to almost all buggies out there, I'm still gutted it didn't come with c-hubs in the box..
All the 7075 parts are amazingly well machined and an awesome color..!!

View attachment 275690View attachment 275691

The cvd drive shaft pins are thicker than I've seen before on an 1/8 car..

View attachment 275692

Spring steel and 7075..
Oh I forgot to say, the diffs didn't require any shimming when putting into the bulkheads, the fit was amazing..!!

View attachment 275693

More carbon fiber..!!

View attachment 275694

Suspension block bolts are M4's, none of my many many 1/8 rigs use M4's so this really impressed me, well done Rlaarlo
The suspension hinge pins are 4.5mm if I remember correctly, another win..

View attachment 275695

You get a choice of diff top covers, carbon or plastic.. Oh, and the plastics vary on content depending on where and what is used, the bulk heads for example seem to have a high fibrous nylon content, whereas the arms seem more supply..

View attachment 275696View attachment 275697

Almost finished,
The esc/servo cable routing in dual setup configuration isn't that great in my opinion, so I will create my own path and try to get the wires away from the spur gear, it's certainly not the worst I've seen but could be better..

View attachment 275698

Shocks are all very normal in the shock department, they do have these little springs that hold the lower cups to the ball ends, they are quite fiddly to fit, personally I prefer the style where the ball end and cup bolt together, but again top marks for being original with some new design ideas..
Nearly forgot, it also comes with two sets of springs in the box, hard and soft I believe..

View attachment 275699View attachment 275700

On the whole I'm truly impressed with Rlaalo's first ever kit, I believe if they continue producing product like this going forward, some of the bigger well known brands need to be worried..!!
If the DSK is compared to an Arrma Typhon lets say, the Rlaarlo wins on every count in my opinion, design, price, quality, presentation etc
For a first attempt I give RLAARLO 9.5/10

I built this kit for a friend (I love kits and building) and he's just happy to have it built..!!

I'm not gonna lie, I am now very excited for the soon to be released Mitsubishi Evo Rally Car and I do believe I will be pre-ordering it the second it goes live..!!!

That is first class awesomeness right there.

 

[desmobob]

It is so hard to take one's attention away from building a kit, etc., to take photos and make notes of the process. You were able to do this, and do it in an excellent way. What a wonderful post! Thanks!

 

[BashingBrian]

I always like to do a build thread and show as much as I can, it's great for people to see the process.
Occasionally I forget some photos as I get caught up in the build
I've currently got 3 of my own kits to build, so stay tuned as I'll probably do threads for them all..!!

 

[RustyUs]

I built this kit for a friend (I love kits and building) and he's just happy to have it built..!!

That friend missed out on all that joy shoved inside a box. I don't know the whole story, or why people don't feel the desire to build their own RC platform, but a kit with most excellent machined/molded parts is indeed the best part of the hobby.

 

[Doom!]

That friend missed out on all that joy shoved inside a box. I don't know the whole story, or why people don't feel the desire to build their own RC platform, but a kit with most excellent machined/molded parts is indeed the best part of the hobby.

For me it's a time issue, my time is limited, not that I don't enjoy it, but it's hard to find time when I can just sit down and be in the moment, when I'm not exhausted from work.

 

[RudyF6]

That friend missed out on all that joy shoved inside a box. I don't know the whole story, or why people don't feel the desire to build their own RC platform, but a kit with most excellent machined/molded parts is indeed the best part of the hobby.

Arthritis in my hands keeps me from it. I can fix and maintain, but even simple stuff takes time. I can only work an hour or two then need to OD on Ibuprofen for a day.

 

[BashingBrian]

In all honesty I think if there were no kits, the hobby for me would be a damn site smaller, cheaper and less interesting, I very rarely buy RTR’s, if you don’t get to build it, that’s all the main fun gone instantly
I’m not gonna lie, it’s the only reason I have crawlers because there are plenty of kits I live in the city and the only crawling I can do is urban crawling…
Still hasn't stopped me from having an awesome collection though…
I say if you’re able to build a kit, don’t be scared and go give it a try..!!!

 

[desmobob]

One more thing to check for tightness...

I noticed a lot of slop in the left side front wheel. Further inspection showed the nut on the bottom of this assembly was almost completely off. Yikes! Caught it just in time! (Top is 2mm and the nut on the bottom is 7mm, BTW.)

View attachment 275833

View attachment 275834

 

[desmobob]

One more thing to check for tightness...

I noticed a lot of slop in the left side front wheel. Further inspection showed the nut on the bottom of this assembly was almost completely off. Yikes! Caught it just in time! (Top is 2mm and the nut on the bottom is 7mm, BTW.)

 

[WRM]

In all honesty I think if there were no kits, the hobby for me would be a damn site smaller, cheaper and less interesting, I very rarely buy RTR’s, if you don’t get to build it, that’s all the main fun gone instantly
I’m not gonna lie, it’s the only reason I have crawlers because there are plenty of kits I live in the city and the only crawling I can do is urban crawling…
Still hasn't stopped me from having an awesome collection though…
I say if you’re able to build a kit, don’t be scared and go give it a try..!!!

Agreed. I've learned much and get great joy from building kits!

 

[81exige]

That friend missed out on all that joy shoved inside a box. I don't know the whole story, or why people don't feel the desire to build their own RC platform, but a kit with most excellent machined/molded parts is indeed the best part of the hobby.

for me it's because of these:
- i don't really have the real estate to lay down all the parts you need to build a kit (at the moment)
- i don't really race, but i do want to drive a quality 8th scale vehicle to bash around, and coughing up top dollar just to build a kit (without everything else to actually drive the car around) feels a bit of a waste, which is why i just look for race rollers

although speaking of which, i should get a used buggy one day and tear it down...

 

[BashingBrian]

Couple more pics, it's now finished..