Fast Attack Vehicle
Model Number: 58046
Released
4-Dec-84
Drive
Gearbox with differential
Suspension
Trailing arm rear, trailing arm front.
Chassis Description
ABS plastic "tub"
Body Type
ABS plastic
Motor
RS-540
The F.A.V as it is affectionately known, was Tamiya's 3rd Military based vehicle - after the XR-311 and the Wild Willy(not including tanks).
The FAV is not a terribly complicated design at all - however it performed VERY well.
The rear suspension is of the trailing link type - with basic coil sprung shock absorbers. The front suspension was quite interesting - as it is also of the trailing link type, again with simple coil over springs doing the work.
If there was one real weak link with the car - it was the differential - the same basic alloy cast gears that were used in the frog. These gears were quite prone to stipping prematurely. The "dog bones" were also the same type as the Frog/Brat and Lancia - and these also wore out rather quickly.
Overall though, the car was fast - reliable and good looking -particularly when painted in a military theme.
Later, Tamiya released the Wild One - the only other car that used the FAV's chassis platform. The Wild one is considered by many people to be the last of the truly "realistic" looking cars produced by Tamiya. It is a shame - as the FAV's platform was quite a good handling chassis - accompanied by the typical Tamiya scale realism.
A truly classic car for any enthusiast.
Reviews
Burn Out Boy
The FAV was from my RC era, but I never had one, I was distracted by several pubs and had just bought my first pint for 68p and found a girlfriend that cost me alot more than that. 20 years on someone invented ebay and parcel post. So now I have a project FAV. Its a bit larger than I had imagned with a nice load of body detail. the plastic roll cage sections seem to be quite flexable and I imagine thay take knocks reasonbly well, but I am sure they are breakable, I was quite surprised at how simple the bathtub chassis and drive design are. There are more moving parts on a pencil. I dont think this is a disadvantage for the FAV as simple is often best and a good looking scale kit always gets my vote. The front and rear ends have trailing arms which always work well creating a reasonable amount of ground clearence. The shocks are basic but this is 1984. For me this kit sits on the Classic shelf