More cheap bodies (and more) found at Dollar Tree

brianpipa · #1 11-21-2002, 11:00 PM

Today I found another cool body that fits the ZipZaps. It's called a Turbo Racer and it can be found for $1 at the Dollar Tree. It's a pull-back car with a keychain attachment, a transparent plastic body, and a red LED under the hood that comes on when the car moves (or is jostled/shaken) or the button is pressed.

I did no modification to it and it almost fits perfect on my ZZ. I need to Dremel out one wheel well a little and maybe put in a notch or 2 for the tabs but that's it. It's cool too cause it's see-through. They had red, blue, and black and I think the bodies were al lthe same. I didn't look too close cause I wanted to see if they fit or not.

The LED setup is cool. There is a small dark-blue cylinder that is wired inline and whenever the cylinder is moved, the LED comes on briefly. As it rolls, the LED stays on all the time since the cylinder is moving. The button on the PCB cna be pressed and the LED will stay on til you let go. I'm thinkiing I can get 2 of them and remove the LED off of one and attach it with the other then I can mount them in the car and the red LEDs will come on whenever it moves. Or, I can put a little switch on there and turn them on/off. The LED is a little big but for $1 I'm not complaining.

The wheels/rims are pretty cool too. They need to be painted with a chrome paint (or black) though. The tires have a grib to them and are even rubber and might fit on a ZZ or bit. I haven't tried yet.

All-in-all, definitely worth $1 for a body, the LED setup, and maybe the wheels/tires. I'll post more info after I really play with it some more this weekend and make the body fit better. I'll definitely be going back to grab some more in different styles/colors.

Here are the pics with descriptions:
http://www.thebrokenjoystick.com/pictures/turboracer

Is anyone else having as much fun as I am trying to find cheap bodies to use?

brian

sessiz10 · #2 11-21-2002, 11:10 PM

You betcha

Good job on the find.

alpha1 · #3 11-22-2002, 03:20 AM

The cylinder you're referring to is probably a mercury switch. Just look at your thermostat in your house, you'll find something similar inside it.

brianpipa · #4 11-22-2002, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by alpha1
The cylinder you're referring to is probably a mercury switch. Just look at your thermostat in your house, you'll find something similar inside it.

I wish my camera did better close-up pictures. I don't think that's what it is. If it were a mercury cylinder, I would think I should be able to tilt it in some way that the LED stays on in that position. That's now how it works though. It only stays on if it's moving. Moving like on the car and bouncing.

Brian

john · #5 11-22-2002, 08:06 AM

I'll have to visit the Dollar sotres tonight! thanks for the heads up!

btw, what camera are you using? I have a 2 megapixel Canon. What I do for closeups is back up 2 feet, put it on close up mode and take the picture. That leaves me with a little car and a lot of background. But, it's 1600x1200 pixels. I can usually crop it to larger than 800x600 and have a big photo for the web with good quality. Just a tip if your camera can do it.

brianpipa · #6 11-22-2002, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by john
I
btw, what camera are you using? I have a 2 megapixel Canon. What I do for closeups is back up 2 feet, put it on close up mode and take the picture. That leaves me with a little car and a lot of background. But, it's 1600x1200 pixels. I can usually crop it to larger than 800x600 and have a big photo for the web with good quality. Just a tip if your camera can do it.

it's a 2-3 year old Sony Mavica. No closeup mode. It can do 1280x1024. I thought about trying to take a LARGE pic from a few feet way then cropping it. Maybe I'll try that and see how it does. Thanks for the info.

Brian

go_zz_go · #7 11-22-2002, 08:52 AM

i saw some where a guy used a old binacular lense and put it infront of the lense he said the cheaper the camera the better,,and the pic quality was good

brianpipa · #8 11-22-2002, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by go_zz_go
i saw some where a guy used a old binacular lense and put it infront of the lense he said the cheaper the camera the better,,and the pic quality was good

yeah - I read that too. I'm looking for a lens to use for that

I was hoping I could ge ta cheap set of toy binouclars at the dollar store

ejaf · #9 11-22-2002, 11:49 AM

Brian...We're not worthy!

You are the G_D of body monging!

P.S. Those Porsche bodies are great. A public thanks to you

wild03 · #10 11-22-2002, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by brianpipa
yeah - I read that too. I'm looking for a lens to use for that I was hoping I could ge ta cheap set of toy binouclars at the dollar store

Was it me?

Anyways I do use a cheap 1.3 megapixel DC3200 $60 after rebate. I did mentioned the binoculars at my page but you can use a magnifying glass as well. The magnifying glass will allow you to focus at about 8 inches or so. USE a lot of light. to determine the focal lenght you can put small objects about an inch apart in a line away from the camera, snap the picture and see which has the best detail. then take your pictures at that distance!
I'm gonna include more details on CHEAP close up pictures soon.
Hope this helps.

wild03 · #11 11-22-2002, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by go_zz_go
i saw some where a guy used a old binacular lense and put it infront of the lense he said the cheaper the camera the better,,and the pic quality was good

What I meant to say was not that the cheaper the camera the better the picture, but that I like to spend the least amount of money as possible when it comes to doing stuff....Is not that I'm cheap I just like to do my best with as little money as possible, I think is more of a challenge that going out and getting a $400 camera!

Any double-convex lense would do the job, these are the type used in magnifying glasses, The more the magnification the closer you have to take the picture. Like you guys I'm new to this closeup business myself, I'm experimenting with different things as I go, I hope to post on my site more detail instructions.

brianpipa · #12 11-22-2002, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wild03
It's not that I'm cheap

I'll say it...I AM cheap

Brian

wild03 · #13 11-22-2002, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by brianpipa
I'll say it...I AM cheap

Brian

I admire you man!!! Someday I'll come out of the closet as well

wild03 · #14 11-23-2002, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by brianpipa
yeah - I read that too. I'm looking for a lens to use for that I was hoping I could ge ta cheap set of toy binouclars at the dollar store

OK Took me a while but here it is. My official how to take closeup pictures the CHEAPO way!

www.geocities.com/wdiaz03/closeups.html

Enjoy!

brianpipa · #15 11-25-2002, 08:30 PM

Ok, I just finished modding the body so it fits. Now to figure out how/if I should paint it. Since it's see-through red, I thought maybe I should paint the inside red or black - should make a cool effect since you will see thanslucent red then the inside color.

Another cool discovery - the tires work on bits and ZZs. The tires are rubber and come off. You have to cut the back of them a little bit to make them fit, but they do fit. If anyone wants pics of the tires, and the modding of them, post here and I'll take pics if I can. My camera doesn't do closeups very well but I can try

Brian