Metal Hobi MH-245 kit as Hitachi ZX245 excavator

[Blender]

I really struggled with the hose installation. Flat nose pliers would mangle the hose, and heat would melt the end 9 times out of 10. The German forums' talked about "hose pliers" which sent me on a search. I found nothing. Maybe it was a translation inconsistency? Instead I acquired some brass pliers and modified them to my needs. Drilled a 3.8mm hole for 4.0mm OD tube. Chamfered the ends and hand filed the remaining edges smooth. Works well. The 3mm OD lines were much easier to get on and required no specialty tool.





Took quite a while to figure out a new to me radio system and fine tune the hydraulic system. I'm really liking the Jeti radio so far. Time on the controls will help determine what needs more adjustment and what just needs practice. Using SAE controls. Lastly, here is my atrocious operation:

Starting to get familiar with bucket/stick synchronization, but having difficulty raising/dipping the boom at appropriate times. Mental overload.

Putting together a game plan to organize the electrical. Shortening cables is starting soon, along with some power distribution. Ease of maintenance is critical since this is such a densely packed machine.