Dark Impact

This model is a 4 wheel drive buggy meant for racing. In my collection, I own several buggies, but no "serious" 4 wheel drive: not that I get oriented to racing, but I wanted a modern vehicle that could handle a better motor. The Baja King should have been the good choice for that, but its design flaws make it a fragile buggy (at the front drivetrain) that is now great for off-roading (it just gets filled with all the peebles of a track). Of course, I also have the Boomerang, but it is over 20 years old now: it wouldn't be wise to risk any severe damage with it.

After some searching and thinking, the DF-03 chassis naturally showed up: alternatives were models based on the DF-02 chassis (58328 Gravel Hound, 58334 Rising Storm, 58399 Plasma Edge) or the DB-01 chassis (58395 Durga, 58404 Baldre). Apart from the fact that I just don't like the look of these models, these two chassis have a little ground clearance that is not the best for the tracks where I usually drive (my Sand Viper is pretty aware of that). Furthermore, I do like the Dark Impact look, especially its black rims.

I wanted a brand new model or one used in stock configuration to avoid bad surprises. I was happy finding one on a well-known auction site: a model that was assembled and painted, never run and that came with a 15T motor, a high quality speed controller and a few spare tires and rims. Exactly what I was looking for, for a very good price, even a better price since I sold the motor / speed controller combo to a friend of mine since I won't use such a powerful setup.

 

On the left, my Dark Impact as it was presented for the auction, on the right an action shot by Tamiya. I will only make a few changes from the stock model:
motor: I replaced the stock Mabuchi 540 with a SuperStock BZ (23 turns)
electronic speed controller: I replaced the stock TEU-101BK with a TEU-302BK

For the moment, I won't change anything else since this model has the reputation of being solid and reliable with much more powerfull motors mounted, especially brushless systems: I'll see later if any change is needed.

The Dark Impact family

The DF-03 chassis was first introduced with the Dark Impact in 2006. Two other buggies use the same chassis with only a body change and different color rims:

58380 Keen Hawk

58387 Avante mk.II

There is also a limited special version of the DF-03: the DF-03 MS (kit 49496). It just comes with any available options made by Tamiya for this chassis.

	51000 Hi-Torque Servo Saver	53791 Assembly Universal Shaft
	53924 Heat Sink Bar Set	53925 Slipper Clutch Set
	53926 Aluminum Damper Set	53931 Center One-Way Set

53940 Hard Turnbuckle Shaft Set

53941 Turnbuckle Steering Rod

53948 One-Piece Propeller Cup Joint

53949 Battery Stopper Pin

53984 Buggy Racing Wing

The DF-03 chassis has also a rallye version with the DF-03ra first released at the end of 2008:

58417 Subaru Impreza WRC Monte Carlo'07

58430 Subaru Impreza WRC'08

No doubt on the DF-03ra performances, but I am not sure it is a great chassis for rallye. It seems quite exposed to dirt and peebles projections that always end somewhere they should not (like blocking the servo), especially due to the fact that "rallye" bodies do not fit closely the chassis. As far as I know (in Tamiya lineup), the best chassis ever designed for rallying is the TB-01 like on my Lancia Delta HF Integrale / Ford Focus RS WRC 01.

Preparation

I received the buggy in a brand new state, perfectly assembled and painted. There was absolutely nothing to do on it apart from installing the receiver, the steering servo, replacing the Actopower (15T) motor with a SuperStock BZ (23T) and replacing the speed controller with a TEU-302BK.
The steering servo assembly is easy: I just cared to fix the servo-saver with a 3x12mm screw instead of the 3x10mm screw recommanded in the manual. As per the manual, I experienced unscrewed servo-saver before the end of the first pack, at least with the basic T2M AS16 servo.
Placing the receiver and the speed controller is also pretty easy: they just fit into the chassis, but no room left. The tricky part is yet to come.

A full assembly is not finished when everything is connected: you still have to tie the cables and fix the speed controller switch. This is exactly where the hard part begins.
The stick pack goes along the chassis and is inserted through a door underneath the chassis. Above, you have the propeller shaft and the very long steering rod since the steering servo is mounted at the rear of the chassis. Thus, you just can't install anything on top of the stick pack: all electronics have to go on the sides being careful you still can fit the bodyshell that litterally wraps the chassis.

The Dark Impact very low profile

The chassis layout

I agree that my receiver is not one of the smallest available on the market, but on the contrary, the TEU-302BK speedo is smaller than the stock TEU-101BK. Despite of this, I could not figure out how to insert the switch where it should go.
Well, I could place it next to the speed controller, but the tire crowd over it made it unreachable, so I transfered it on the opposite side of the chassis.

So, another problem shows: the antenna wire (here protected by a piece of antenna tube) is now very close to the power cables (those going to the stick pack and the motor from the speedo). Normally, you should avoid this to prevent radio problems. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to make it better.

The only solution is to place the receiver on the opposite side of the chassis and make the cable cross correctly to the other side. I couldn't do it because my receiver is too big to fit next to the steering servo.

As a conclusion, this is the most difficult electronics layout I've ever done so far. The final result works, but it is far from being the best.

First run

I couldn't drive it so far because of the bad weather but I ran out at the first sun shines to take some photos.

   

More photos on the gallery.

 Top of page  

First publication: may 26, 2009 Last modified: august 05, 2009

© 2005-2010 - Black Hole Sun