kiasukid

I certainly wouldn't mind this, or the green and white Efini livery.

I generally buy what I like, but have a lot of Group C, and more recently have decided to collect all the older M-chassis (M01 to M06).

If I were mounting an alternative rear gearbox on the Hornet/GH I’d go with the Top Force/TA01/02 gearbox - parts are plentiful and there are different options for the diff. There aren’t any upgrades for the Thundershot diffs AFAIK, plus the re-re TS gears are badly moulded.

If I were buying a new kit, DT-04 hands down over the Hornet Evo. Somehow the Hornet Evo doesn’t look right to me, such as the extra cutout in the body to accommodate the gearbox, and the track being wider on the front. Perhaps you don’t have to buy a new kit at all, and instead build either car from parts you may already have? You may already have a DT-02 or DT-03, or be able to find one new or used pretty cheaply. While I haven’t seen the DT-04 manual yet, it looks like the new body and other parts are in 51755, 51756 and 51757, plus the chassis. Arms and gearbox are the same as per DT-02 and 03. Assuming you have a Hornet or Grasshopper chassis already, it looks like you’d only need the E parts from the Hornet Evo kit to join the DT-02/03 gearbox to the Hornet chassis. Personally I’m most keen on the DT-04 B parts (51755) as I think it’ll make it easy to use hex wheels on the front of eg. the Sand/Street Rover.

Personally I’d pick either the M03 or M05 - used cars and new parts are still relatively plentiful (M01/M02 spares are very hard to find), and the M03 is a very simple but robust design. I would also pick them as the chassis parts were available in different colours, like silver and blue chrome, and not to mention a transparent (but brittle) M03. My dark chrome M05: pic

For those who may have crossed paths (virtually or in real life) with WillyChang over the last 20+ years, FYI he passed away at the end of 2023 after a battle with a debilitating cancer. R/C cars and in particular Tamiyas played a major part of his life. He joined a new fangled tamiyaclub website in 2002 (as the 104th member - PandaBear) and actively participated in this and other r/c forums over the years. More recently he had been working in a local hobby shop in Melbourne, Australia and co-hosts a few of their videos such as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To_8SwTdEro His favourite model was arguably the Wild Willy, and several of his friends and colleagues helped to send him off in style with several Comicals, headed by Will's WW2. RIP Panda

You could try dampers for the Losi MIni-T or Mini-B.

If you can find GT-01 spares, those came with 12mm hexes on one of the sprues from memory.

Tamiya were going to release even more TT-02 based cars, but the pandemic spared us from them.

MX-5 is 225mm

I’ve run a TF and haven’t had the chance to own any TFE yet, but with today’s tech I would rather have the TF with gear diffs as a runner. Replacing FRP plates and steel screws is obviously cheaper than carbon and titanium. Bearings are cheap nowadays, and universals and motor mounts from 3rd parties work fine. Unfortunately the weak rear gearbox casing is common to both.

I’m curious to know if the TD-2 would be any quicker than eg. a DT-03 or Zakhak on the same bit of track. I assume the TD-2 has the same issues with fitting brushless motors as per the TD-4. In terms of looks, I’d pick the TD-2 over the TD-4, but that’s like saying I prefer a bull terrier over a bulldog. They’re both dogs…

The lids of Tamiya spray cans can be used to keep the cars raised. I’m mainly using some old IKEA boxes…

I am intending to buy one of those Team C F40 bodies to test out. It is my favourite Ferrari and no other R/C manufacturer currently makes one. Some are obviously Tamiya copies, others are copies of HPI. I would prefer to buy the originals if they were available but if not, they're the next best thing. No one beats Tamiya for decals however.

Looks alright. If I bought one I’d make a tribute to Circuit Wolf car. Pic