O-D'd on Overdose - Yokomo Dori

Recently, I figured it was time to piece my personal Yokomo MR-4TCSD Drift Package back together, and get this thing running again.  To be honest, all I was missing was a universal shaft to get the car back and running, but I used that as an excuse to completely tear the chassis down and re-build with my dream hop-up parts.  I discovered that WELD, a Japanese wheel brand, had developed a division of their company specific to R/C drift chassis, that includes parts for Yokomo, Tamiya, and lots more.  I couldn't believe all of the quality parts they had available, the caliber of the attention to detail and the specific parts developed for what is really needed.

So, I set-out to create an ultimate list of parts that I would love to install on my chassis.  Of course blue-anodized aluminum everything.  I used to shop with a store based out of Japan that some of you may know: Genki Dori Dori.  But unfortunately, it seems that their company has gone under, and I was forced to search elsewhere.  After coming across Banzai Hobby, another shop based out of Kanagawa, Japan, I chose to make my purchase with them. Their website houses a plethora of aftermarket and brand-stock R/C parts, as well as other hobby products including figurines, etc.  I was able to purchase just about everything that I wanted (within my budget for that order), with the exception of just two part #'s which really weren't necessary for my immediate need anyway.

 So I ordered all of my little precious blue aluminum bits, and gathered my other parts that I had already ordered and were waiting around to be installed, and prepared for my re-build.  I have since, ordered again from Banzai Hobby, and definitely plan on going back to them for more orders.  I love that they have everything that I was looking for in one simple place, and at a very reasonable price.

As you can see from the photos...I went a little ham with my list.  I figured, I might as well just go ahead and order everything that I would eventually be buying anyways, and just get it all out of the way at one time.  I couldn't wait to open all of these little packages and prepare everything to be bolted to the chassis.

Obviously, about 90% of the stuff I ordered was from WELD Overdose, and I couldn't be happier with that decision.  I love that WELD brands a lot of their products by legit company endorsements.  For example, I decided to pick up the above WORK Emotion CR Kiwami wheels, which were released not too much longer after the actual wheels were produced by WORK Wheels.  These things are such amazing replicas, it's unreal.  The white color that they used for the plastic is crazy realistic, and even the details that went into producing the miniaturized WORK logo on the edge of the inside lip blows my mind.  And they indeed look at home in their place on the Yokomo chassis.

Here's a goody list of all the parts that came from this purchase, as well as what's on the car currently:

OD 1298 Overdose Aluminum C-Hub & Upright Set

OD 1300 Overdose Aluminum Rear Upright

OD 1244 Overdose Aluminum Front Shock Tower

OD 1246 Overdose Aluminum Rear Shock Tower

OD 1239 Overdose Aluminum Front Brace

OD 1240 Overdose Aluminum Front Tower Bar

OD 1194 Overdose Aluminum Front Gear Case Mount

OD 1195 Overdose Aluminum Rear Gear Case Mount

OD 1041 Overdose Aluminum Bumper Support

OD 1251 Overdose Aluminum Battery Support

OD 1250 Overdose Aluminum Motor Mount

OD 1211 Overdose Aluminum Type 3 Spur Gear Support

OD 1350 Overdose Aluminum Servo Saver Horn Type 2

OD 1178 Overdose More Angle Driveshaft Set

OD 1081 Overdose WORK Emotion CR Kiwami (+7 Offset)

D-001 Yokomo Aluminum Servo Mount

D-002 Yokomo Aluminum Rear Chassis Brace

D-021 Yokomo HP Front One Way Unit

D-024 Yokomo Aluminum Spur Gear Adapter

D-027 Yokomo Aluminum Suspension Mount Set

D-029 Yokomo Aluminum Steering Bell Crank Post

D-049 Yokomo FCD Standard Gear Set

D-058 Yokomo FCD Standard Solid Axle

SD-007DP Yokomo Titanium Turnbuckle Set

SD-644A Yokomo Aluminum Center Main Drive Cups

SD-644W Yokomo Graphite Main Drive Shaft

SD-Z33B Yokomo Drift Body Set For ORC Z33

SD-Z33L Yokomo Z33 Light Buckets

YS-6B Yokomo Aluminum Shock End Balls

YS-8B Yokomo Aluminum Shock Cap Balls

ZR-DR04 Yokomo ZERO-ONE R2 Super Drift Tires

TN-550 TN-Racing Input Shaft Set

The last few things that I'd like to purchase, then be done for AWHILE, would be the:

OD 1193 Overdose Aluminum Gear Case (x2 for Front/Rear)

OD 1252 Overdose Aluminum Steering Crank Set

And a whole bunch of Active Hobby Hex Screws, so that I can change out all of the black hardware to chrome hex-head hardware.

Now I can't wait to go get out and drive this thing with some buddies!  Maybe some R/C drift events will start being organized and posted here...?  We shall see!  Bushido!

Visual Notes: Hosted by Art Whino

A few of us took the time to travel down to National Harbor this past Saturday night to visit Art Whino, an art gallery which houses tons of great work from local artists, as well as from some around the nation, and even around the globe.  Specifically, they were hosting a show for the series of paintings by Lou Pimentel that night, named "Visual Notes."  As always, there was an overwhelming amount of visual pleasure inside, and although the above work is not Lou's, there was plenty of his pieces to be seen.

When we first walked in, I was surprised by the abnormal amount of people that were inside and how packed it was.  There was also a Crab and Beer fest that was held earlier in the day, which I think a lot of the traffic derived from.  But with such an inviting atmosphere and storefront, it wasn't too much of a shock that so many people were drawn into the gallery.

To be honest, I really didn't get too many photos of Lou's featured art because there was so many other pieces to look at as well.  But above are just a few of the paintings of his that were on display for the solo show.  Check out his web page for more info:

http://www.lou-pimentel.com/

One of my favorite aspects of Art Whino is their plethora of vinyl toys.  Keep the above Ewok, and Star Wars theme in general, in mind while viewing the rest of the photos.  Either Shane, the owner of Art Whino, really loves his Star Wars creatures or those of us from around the nation's capital have a thing for it.

Here's a piece from Caia Koopman, who has one of the coolest styles I've seen.  It's very recognizable and I love her infusion of Dia de los Muertos and Sugar Skull themes.

Some miniature pieces from Josh Taylor, that were hiding overhead through a walkway.

And tons of other artists' pieces extended onto the adjacent wall.

Some Boba Fett action for you.  The long wall of the gallery had A LOT to take in.  Displaying tons of work from several different artists, this has to be where most of visitors' time is spent.

Of course, what's an open show without some good tunes, and fine people to hang with?  Art Whino so generously offered up free PBR's and some red and white wines for other folks.

Some of the Putrid Pals collection by Crazy Label in the background, with their little ice cream girlfriends.

Thanks to Josh Taylor, his "Daiku Gorou - Fabled Ronin of the Forbidden Forrest," had to be one of my favorite pieces on display within the gallery.  Just something about his whole aura really appealed to and stuck with me; I think it has a lot to do with what he stands for connecting to what Bushido is all about anyway.

Some traditional style meets new age subject matter - This piece with Stormtroopers was somewhat comical.

A little Kid Robot: Dunny displayed in the casings.

More Dunny - 2013 Series 3-Inch version.

Even MORE from Kidrobot x Marvel.

The "signature" piece on the coffee table..

Get it..? 

I know, I suck.

I'm telling you, they have more vinyl toys that you know what to do with.

Here's a shot of another casing with more rare toys.  Also you can see that they have tons of tees for sale too.  I didn't get a chance to really look at any, but from what I saw, they looked really cool!

Limited edition CrappyCat vinyls were atop one of the first displays you see when you walk in.

Some of the Angry Woebots series (look for pandas) by Aaron Martin is seen here.  I might actually be looking into acquiring a piece from this collection for myself.  They're so...sinister, but you just want to hug them!

And just one last look at the shop before we headed out - you can see how people might be attracted to this storefront like teenyboppers to the Apple store.  If you ever find yourself in the D.C. area, be sure to stop by National Harbor and take a stroll through Art Whino!  You won't be disappointed. Bushido!

C O R N F E D G R B S H O O T

Here's just a quick HDR edit I did of Greg's GRB that runs on E85, from a shoot we did for IPutInWork.com.  As you can tell, we were going with a corn theme...

WEDSSPORT S A • 5 0 M

Here's a very special sneak peak of our member Mule's new wheel choice for his 2006 STi.  We're waiting on a set of tires before being able to mount up the wheels but really looking forward to seeing it with a new look next season, or even later this year.  I won't give away too much but keep a look out for a new post when the wheels are on the car and we have time for a proper shoot.  So far, I haven't seen any car in person running these wheels, and there's only about 5-6 cars online that I was able to find that actually have these wheels mounted up, from what I've seen.  Specs are:

WedsSport Wheels

SA•50M

18x9.0J  +35

FR Face

PCD:  5 x 114.3

Black Blue Machining (BBM)

 Oh and the racing nuts he got with them!  These are super light and beautiful, open-ended lugs.  Should look great mounted with the wheels on the car.