17 replies to this topic

[Thommo]

This is my first re-release and only my second attempt at box art. I was in such hurry to take pics I forgot to fit the side plates. Well, at least that gives me an excuse to add some action shots later.










Great value and great fun building this little truck, I wonder how long I can hide it from my kids?

Thanks for looking.

[Percymon]

Nice job - great looking truck.

[bromvw]

wow , quality work fella . let us know how well it drives plz

[Thommo]

Thanks Lads,

I don't have enough cars to warrant a subscription yet so I am treating the forums like my showroom.

I can't wait to run this truck, plenty of fun I'm sure. I literally just threw the body on and snapped pics as soon as I finished it.

It has the usual hop-ups but a 35t crawl motor so my little guy doesn't crash it too hard. I'm also keen to do some scale 4WDing with it, something I've never tried before because I always thought speed was king. Hang on, speed is king.

[bromvw]

I feel the need - the need for speed . Just wait till my f150 / bowler wildcat is done . If its anywere as fast as the real thing in scale speed i'll need brown y fronts to drive it lol

[Henk4Focus]

WOW!! I want one even more now! Splendid work.

[gozone]

Great job on that bodyshell!!.. Looks very hot indeed, and.........

makes me wanna get one of these even more. Sigh...
I had one back in 1995 or 96, and they are actually PRETTY fast with the silvercan fitted, due to tha size of the wheels, but they handle OK, as i recall, and my mate, who had the DTM Calibra TA-02, didn´t stand a chance in a race, not even on paved surface, as this truck was a good deal faster, again, i suspect it was due to the larger tyres, because they ran exactly the same setup,
MSC and motor-wise..

Also, it is quite funny how the "Rough Riders" stickers got to stay on this model, compared to the old Rough Rider buggy, which was re-named (I believe it has something to do with a brand of "bedtime-rubbers", lol)

Anyway, i think you did a great job on this truck, and even though i also like it with the original red gearboxes, it also looks smashing with the blue ones.

Cheers..

Michael

[Thommo]

Thanks again for the kind words guys.

@ gozone, the original 58161 with the red gearboxes seems to be really quite popular with members as there are plenty of 58161's featured in members rides. But currently only one 58495 ever featured on the main page as NIB and only Japanscaledriver's and mine here in the forums. My guess is that most people who still have the original don't really want the re-re. I missed out on the original but I'm very happy with this re-release. Other than the blue gearboxes and ESC it is very true to the original.

Rough Rider's, how funny is that! I actually thought about replacing them with Tamiya Racing Factory stickers for the same reason but decided against it to keep with the box art. The truck is plastered with sponsorship logos so maybe it is the same Rough Rider's and if so that would be very clever.

This one will get it's first shakedown tomorrow so I can't wait to see how she goes. I will post some more pics of it once I get it dirty. Cheers.

[bromvw]

let us know how the shakedown runs go plz mate . When i get this i'll be going for high performance so i'll need to up spec any weak parts . If you feel anything needs beefing up other than the drive shaft and the usual ie bearings ect let me know . Thanks Buddie

[matman]

Looks great , very nice job .

[markbt73]

Looks terrific! I really like the blue gearbox housings, and you did a great job on the paint.

I got an original 58161 one in trade a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, it was in much worse shape than the trader let on (no one on here). I ran it once, and broke the already-cracked steering bellcrank. So then I opened up the gearboxes and found that the gears were nearly shot, and almost every screw hole was stripped... but it had a full set of bearings and a decently-painted, if rough, body. So I'm thinking about getting the re-re so I can have new plastic, use the original body for a runner, and paint up the new body for display, since I already have a full bearing set for it.

[Thommo]

Go for it markbt73 you have a great start.

Shakedown went great but not dirty enough for more pics. Mostly on short grass today with a few big bumpy hill climbs. Yes the front tyres do hit the guards sometimes but not enough to trouble with cutting back the body (once you've cut it you can't go back). Scale speed with the 35 turn motor and 16t pinion is pretty much perfect. On the hill climbs I didn't hear the motor labor once, she just powered on up. It just ate up the hills and bumps. I can't wait to show this thing some real dirt.

The drivetrain is tight, smooth and quiet. Suspension doesn't work too hard, in fact I think it handles really well. On the grass I could go to either steering lock at full speed and she didn't roll at all. I can see that it might bike or roll even with a 540 in it and a grippy surface but for general 4WDing it was stable and well balanced. I used the thick spring tension collar on the rear and the thin collar on the front. Hard damper oil all round, I've started using it more as it's more viscous and less likely to leak.

@ bromvw, as far as beefing up parts goes you can get all of the suspension, all of the steering, the gearbox covers, prop shaft, motor mount, driveshafts, axles and hex's all in alloy. That's nearly the whole car. Change the upper links to turnbuckles, change the wheels, tyres and body and use ball connectors wherever you can, Oh and don't forget a titanium screw set and teflon bearings. Mate, the only thing you need from this kit for your Bowler Wilcat is the chassis tub, diffs, gearsets and plastic gearbox's. You could buy them separately too and the whole thing would end up costing roughly $1000.

Or just plonk the Wildcat body straight on.

Seriously though, if you want performance have a look at TA Mark's wide track F-150. I will definately be converting mine to wide track later when I'm looking for something to do.

[bromvw]

Go for it markbt73 you have a great start.

Shakedown went great but not dirty enough for more pics. Mostly on short grass today with a few big bumpy hill climbs. Yes the front tyres do hit the guards sometimes but not enough to trouble with cutting back the body (once you've cut it you can't go back). Scale speed with the 35 turn motor and 16t pinion is pretty much perfect. On the hill climbs I didn't hear the motor labor once, she just powered on up. It just ate up the hills and bumps. I can't wait to show this thing some real dirt.

The drivetrain is tight, smooth and quiet. Suspension doesn't work too hard, in fact I think it handles really well. On the grass I could go to either steering lock at full speed and she didn't roll at all. I can see that it might bike or roll even with a 540 in it and a grippy surface but for general 4WDing it was stable and well balanced. I used the thick spring tension collar on the rear and the thin collar on the front. Hard damper oil all round, I've started using it more as it's more viscous and less likely to leak.

@ bromvw, as far as beefing up parts goes you can get all of the suspension, all of the steering, the gearbox covers, prop shaft, motor mount, driveshafts, axles and hex's all in alloy. That's nearly the whole car. Change the upper links to turnbuckles, change the wheels, tyres and body and use ball connectors wherever you can, Oh and don't forget a titanium screw set and teflon bearings. Mate, the only thing you need from this kit for your Bowler Wilcat is the chassis tub, diffs, gearsets and plastic gearbox's. You could buy them separately too and the whole thing would end up costing roughly $1000.

Or just plonk the Wildcat body straight on.

Seriously though, if you want performance have a look at TA Mark's wide track F-150. I will definately be converting mine to wide track later when I'm looking for something to do.

I'am having a real rethink on this one . At the moment i'am favouring using a Traxx Slash 4x4 as a basis in order to get the performance without huge expence . i just dont have the money to go with Tamiya on this project

[Thommo]

I'am having a real rethink on this one . At the moment i'am favouring using a Traxx Slash 4x4 as a basis in order to get the performance without huge expence . i just dont have the money to go with Tamiya on this project

Sounds like a good move to me. The F-150 appeals to me for other reasons. For out of the box performance and durability, the Slash has to be miles ahead.

[DaveYoke]

This is my first re-release and only my second attempt at box art. I was in such hurry to take pics I forgot to fit the side plates. Well, at least that gives me an excuse to add some action shots later.










Great value and great fun building this little truck, I wonder how long I can hide it from my kids?

Thanks for looking.

This is the grandfather of short course trucks we see today.

[speedy_w_beans]

Very nice work on the body shell.

-Paul

[Zac_F83]

I'am having a real rethink on this one . At the moment i'am favouring using a Traxx Slash 4x4 as a basis in order to get the performance without huge expence . i just dont have the money to go with Tamiya on this project

I'm building a Slash right now and they will go almost 30mph out of the box(with the 8.4v 7 cell 3000mAh battery).. 40+ with a 5000mAh Lipo battery and they're 1/8th scale in size(23" long x 11" wide) but classified 1/10th-

BUT the ESC's and 12t 550 motors are readily available on Ebay pretty cheap..

just be prepared to buy a couple sets of gears for the Tamiya F150 trucks LOL it's gonna fly with Traxxas parts in it.. so much so parts may fly out of it haha

[Thommo]

Very nice work on the body shell.

-Paul

Thanks Paul

Here is a link to my thread on "how to" with this body shell.

As usual, lots of assistance from other TC members. You can't buy experience and the help that is on offer here is amazing.

Next for this little truck is some DF01 (Manta Ray) buggy suspension arms. I don't think the slow set-up for the kids will last long either.