gordb

Hey @hedge I (he) is still here ... but actually very good at leaving things half finished ;) I got stuck where I always get stuck ... painting the body. I was so enormously afraid of painting the pristine vintage body, I actually sourced a second vintage body set that I could paint and run, with the comfort of knowing the real body was safe and sound until I knew what to do with it. It took me a while to find the parts (and I'm still short the body rails) - but I did actually start painting it in the absolute most boring way imaginable. So look forward to seeing that. My other challenge is that the gaskets leak - so debating whether to try again there, or just bite the bullet and silicone it as nature intended. This Hilux will see the trails this summer, and I'll make sure to add an update here.

After years of trying to get my kids into Tamiya, I figured the hobby is more important than my brand loyalty, and got one of my sons the Traxxas he needed. He now wakes up, charges the cars, and pulls me out of bed to head to the local bike track ...

Hi there, If that "wee box with the wire" is the thing at the bottom right of that picture - you're in luck - that's the receiver You just plug the black/yellow/red wire coming out of the speed controller (middle of the picture) into the receiver's throttle / channel 2, and that will usually power it too. Then just plug in the steering servo wire into channel 1. You then need to connect the motor to the ESC (speed controller). Your speed controller looks like it can handle brushless and brushed motors. Brushless motors needs the 3rd wire - brushed do not (that's what you have). I can't quite read it, but assuming that is a TBLE or something like it, you just connect the blue ESC wire to the green motor wire, and yellow to yellow - you can ignore the orange wire. Wiring is shown here: https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/electronics/rc-esc-tble-02s-brushless/

I can't remember who made this picture originally (simensays perhaps from the number plate) - so full credit to them. But this is my dream kit: an old school metal 3-speed FJ40 hardbody - ideally a short wheelbase version.

Mark - all in on the Phantom Tollbooth! My dad read it to me when I was young - and I read it to my kids a few years back too. I'm still waiting for a large mysterious package to show up with my tollbooth in it.

Thanks for the link - unfortunately not in the UK. I'd originally balked at buying the rear shocks from Japan as they were $20 + $20 shipping - but given those are 20 quid, I think you've convinced me I should just "spring" for them (groan). Thanks friend!

Hey folks, Anyone have any suggestions for spring sets that would work with the 54505 big bore rear dampers? I managed to track down the front spring set (54506) - but the rears (54508) don't seem to be easy to find at all.

I'll let others weigh in on the gears. But front knuckle slop and pogo-stick suspension are a hallmark of the Tamiya 3-speed experience. Enjoy!

I love this! I've been doing some shopping around for old stick radios to do exactly this kind of thing. The 2.4 GHz conversion is pretty popular on the RC plane side of things from what I've seen. A lot of them seem to keep most of the guts of the old radio in tact (so all the mechanical trims, etc still work) and then magically shift the modulated signal into the right bands to feed the 2.4GHz transmission circuit. But certainly this doesn't give them the model memories and controls you get from the modern radios. Really interested to see where this project goes!

You could definitely do a "58028 inspired" re-release with the parts that are shared or similar, but my guess is they're more different than the same. My guess would be that only common or inter-changeable parts would be: The gearbox and motor are different but probably interchangeable? (would need to confirm mounting holes) Axles probably (haven't check width and the front one-way binding on the actual axle shaft itself) Shackle mounts Much past that, and everything changes (from the solid chassis frames and cross members, to the radio box, to the body, to the steering/gear shift mechanisms, to the hubs and tyres, to the bumpers, etc). Again just my guess - would love a more scientific answer! Still, Tamiya have showed 3-speed re-releases are a thing - so bring on the original Hilux and the Blazer!

So a little aside: I didn't realise the hub design on this model was actually part of the real truck (but seemingly only on the front what what I've been able to find): Does anyone know if this has a function on the 1:1 truck (e.g. 2wd to 4wd)? Or they just decided to add this huge sticky-outy bits to the centre of the front wheel?

That was unfortunately my guess. I do plan to leave this one bone stock (as I have another modified one) ... but this is going to be a tough one to live with. I was thinking that just based on some youtube videos I'd seen, and just seeing how fast and shaky it was looking on mere 1.5V! Just so long as we're all being clear that my wife doesn't need to read this, I think we're good!

Into the home stretch now! Just the wheels, radio box and electronics to go (I can't even think about the body at this point). I'll happily admit putting the wheels on is my favourite part of the build - where all the little parts you've been putting together become a car for the first time, and you start to get a feel for this model's personality and performance. I've been tempted a few times in this build to just leap ahead and throw them on - but my resolve was strong: I was going to build this the way Tamiya told me to, down to the point of using side cutters to remove every part from its plastic prison! Unlike many kits that seem to save the wheels until essentially the last step, Tamiya obviously hadn't learnt that pleasure-deference trick yet, and we get to put them on before the radio box. Note carefully the block of text in the centre of the wheel assembly ... this will come back to haunt me. Here are all the parts for this step. Now importantly - those tires. I'll admit these (along with the radio box) were the two things I was most curious re: aging/deterioration. Were these going to be dried out and crack as I tried to squeeze the inserts in? Was the whitening on the tires part of the rubber, or was it just mould release that was going to come right off? Here's a close of up them as they came out of the box. My other Hilux kit has (or at least had last time I checked) lovely black tires, which was one of the contributing factors to building up this one). But despite the whitening, they're lovely soft and rubbery - hurrah! First stop was a warm soapy bath: Took a couple of passes, but eventually got into diminishing returns - so not perfect, but pretty good (I did some spot cleans on those first two as I went): Here's the inner tube put together: No problems squishing them into the tires: ... and then I tried to force the rims in. This is as close as I could get (note the gap between the two hubs - these are meant to touch). I tried lots of different ways to seat the hubs properly, but eventually, I opened up my English manual (which I should take a picture of at some point - I found this at the bottom of the box, so not sure if this is something a previous owner/importer added, or if this was what Tamiya did for the early kits). That important bit of text says ... Game changer! And get them on the chassis! Now, just look at this flex! This is genuinely as far as it goes before the back tyre lifts off the ground. Obviously adding some weight with the radio box and body will help a bit, but those springs are hard. Perhaps these will soften up a bit with some running ...

Speculation is that it might be a Ford Ranger on a ground-up new chassis. Would be cool if they went for a proper metal cage this time - the plastic tube frames in some of their older kits give me the willies.

Ok H, I have two questions for you: 1) Where is all the Tamiya? 2) Where can we watch the episode of the collectors you're in? I have just moved house - so my room is still half unpacked - but I'll get a picture up here as soon as it's back in fighting shape!