Bittydesign 1/10 TC M410 (light) Pre Cut shell Review / closer look

I was one of the first guys to try out the Bittydesign M410 last year and it has quickly become my favourite shell to run indoors on carpet. The M410 provides more steering than the Speed 6 but also still retains a lot of the rear stability to ensure that it helps you achieve a consistent handling car, lap after lap. So it was with great interest that I noticed Bittydesign were going to release a range of pre-cut M410 shells. So let's take a closer look at one here.

The contents are the same as the std un-cut shell. The shell and spoiler are now separate as they are obviously pre-cut. You also have the decals (pre-cut), Bittydesign sponsor decals, window masks, good quality wing mounting hardware and a few leaflets.

The shell is the std light weight version not the ultra lite weight one.

As you would expect, the shell itself is very well cut out. It also has the holes cut to fit it onto the chassis straight away. Because of this you need to look for the appropriate shell to match your car.

One massive benefit from these pre-cut shells is that the wheel arches are cut with machinery. This gives them a very smooth edge. Significantly reducing the change of the tops of the arches cracking on impact, which as we know is the most common split in a TC shell.

The rear wing is also cut out, the holes however are not cut so you can mount your wing further forward (less grip more steering) or rearward (More grip less steering).

Currently the Bittydesign pre-cut M410 shells are available for the following cars:

• Xray T4 17/18
• Awesomatix A800X
• Yokomo BD8 17, BD8SV, BD8 18
• Infinity IF14
• Associated TC7.1
• Mugen MTC-1
• Schumacher Mi6 / Mi6Evo
• VBC D09 / D10

As you can see there are a wide range of manufacturers covered. however there is a noticeable exception, where is the TRF?

Well as luck would have it the Infinity IF14 has basically the same body post positions as the TRF419X / TRF419X WS and TRF419XR. With this in mind I thought I would check to see if the Infintiy IF14 version does indeed fit on the Tamiya TRF419XR

Well as you can see the bodyposts are indeed in the right location for the TRF419X.

The holes are pre-drilled for the M410 to be set at an aggressive 5mm forward from it's neutral position. This gives the car more steering with slightly less rear grip. This is a common setting for high grip carpet running.

The front wheel cut outs are wide enough to change the shims to move it around. For reference I have 1mm shim on the inner of my front wishbones. This (or 0.5 mm) is a common setting for most TRF419X set-ups. There is plenty of room for the wheel to steer without contact, and I could add another 1.5-2mm if needed and it looks like that would still clear the shell.

The rear also fine (The angle is not perfect in this pic). For reference I have 2.5 mm on the inner shims for this picture. More common is 3mm or 4mm so the wheel will be further back.

The shell once painted with decals is 86g!

So as you can see the Infinity IF14 shell is a great fit for us Tamiya TRF drivers. Importantly, for just a few pound more you can get a shell that is professionally cut out and ready to mount. You can literally give it a quick wash, add the masks and grab your favourite colour of Lexan paint and be ready to hit the track in less than an hour.

I hate cutting shells, so pre-cuts are a great idea, so I am pleased that there is a version that fits onto my TRF419X. It would be good for Bittydesign to release a global pre-cut shell that is cut but doesn't have any holes. This would help them cater for other brands that are not covered, and give those drivers the option of a pre-cut shell.

Less than an hour to hit the track, so no excuse!