Cars, Boats n Trains

Hi, I have a pair of used rears on the rims that I have had for a number of years. I only recently found out what they were. I tried the wheels on my Holiday Buggy but they didn't fit. Might try them on my Grasshopper.

Thanks Terry, I thought I recognised them but couldn't think where.

No RC brands on them at all, I even turned them inside out to look inside. All that is on them is " Bridgestone Potenza 320/35/20.G" At least I think that last digit is a G. Could they be Kyosho? I have the HPI Yokohama truck tyres and they clearly state HPI Racing on the side walls. The tyres look like the low profile tyres from the Tamiya XC lowrider set. Anyone got that set who can confirm what is on the sidewall of the tyres.

Hi, I just received a Fighter Buggy RX that I won on Ebay on the rear it has Bridgestone Potenza tarmac tyres fitted to the original Fighter Buggy wheels. Anyone know what make the tyres are and where I can get some more? Cheers Clive

I used to race a Boomerang when they first came out and battery leads always copped it in a collision. Loose plugs were a nightmare on that model. The battery compartment was a nightmare as it always came unclipped over the biggest hump on the track. I ended up drilling the retaining pin and using a body clip to stop it falling out. My Grasshopper battery compartment was a nightmare, I can't quite remember how I resolved that one. Might have been a screw in the tab. Was always best to push down on the clip/tab on closing the cover just to make sure it had latched. I just purchased a Fighter Buggy RX and a Madbull and I am a little bit concerned (nah, actually I am really worried that the batteries will suffer in the battery compartment. Anyone experienced any problems.

Sorry cannot help on the 959 as all my spares went when I sold my Celica. Definitely a Hornet as the differences between that and a Grasshopper are as follows; Hornet uses a 540 motor (yes you can fit a 540 to a grasshopper as well and I used to race one like that) Hornet has a particular style of oil shock whereas the Grasshopper has plastic friction shocks although you could fit the adjustable racing shocks from the original Frog to a grasshopper ( I did that as well) Hornet gearbox is mounted on a steel rod which is located in D parts brackets (not in Grasshopper kit) and held by trigger springs that allow the gearbox to pivot side to side as well as up and down. The grasshopper gearbox fits onto B10 and B11 brackets (not used in Hornet build- check TC manuals) and only pivots up and down. I still prefer the Grasshopper even though it's handling is stiff and inclined to roll over on corners. Enjoy your Hornet, the re re parts are cheap enough and sadly that has killed the value on the originals. I paid about 25 including a full set of radio gear and some batteries for mine a few years back. My Grasshopper was pricey at 31 and no radio gear. But i wanted an original not a re re.

What a fantastic build, very impressive.

I have had both the astute and the madcap in the past and they do share a few common components. The madcap is a good entry level 2wd and I did get some enjoyment from running the Astute but I never raced either in anger. I did however race the much maligned Schumacher Topcat in the welsh series when they came out and did manage to qualify higher in the A final than some one who was alleged to be Tamiya (Riko at that point) sponsored Astute driver. I now have a box of NIB parts on the way from Crash Cramer to start building a Madcap as I miss the last one. And looking to get another Astute as they are great runners when fitted with the TTC gearbox. As for sourcing parts, I live in the UK and there are a lot more Madcap spares than Astute but I still cannot find a NIB body for mine. Look forward to seeing photos of the Dynastorm.

Hi Sykojsy, Thanks for the offer but I am not interested in the raider and I would think a bigwig is worth more than a 1 for 1 swap for a Raider. To b honest I didn't like the raider when they first came out as they were very much a beginners car and very cheap with it. The Ultima is the only decent 2wd drive that Kyosho made. The Triumph was ok but for me it will always be the Ultima. Hi Dazaa, Your Grasshopper is a Hornet by the looks of it and sorry but I already have one and and I also have one and a half Grasshoppers. Also got a Fighter Buggy on the way and most of a Madbull. The Kyosho Progress is 4WD and 4WS not sure what others. Clive

Hi Dazaa, That Grasshopper looks like a Hornet to me, Oil shocks on rear and sprung axle points to the chassis. Clive

Not sure on a price as I have lost touch with the value of Tamiya cars and all I ever buy are the stuff that no one else seems to want. The Bearhawk has a lot of Falcon parts and I wouldn't be interested in one. I Prefer the older cars like the Frog/Fox or Wild One. Would consider a Schumacher Topcat as I enjoyed racing mine. Will post a trade item in my trades when I decide on a price.

I have listed some NIB vintage bits in my trade room including the following: 50284 4wd thrust bearing set 5 including UK postage, add 80p for Europe and 1 for rest of world shipping. Monster Racer Screw Bag D 2.50 including UK postage, Europe plus 50p and Rest of World plus 80p for shipping. Boomerang Ball Connector Bag 5 including UK postage, add 80p for Europe and 1 for rest of world shipping. I am also thinking of selling/trading my Bigwig as it doesn't fit in with the way my collection is going, mainly 2wd buggies which I always had better racing results with over 4wd. Mainly because I could never afford the dearer motors and nicad packs you needed to be competitive in 4wd classes. Anyway there are a number of new parts fitted including gears, it is fully ballraced and comes with a technigold motor (leads not original though). I haven't run it since buying it a few years ago. The body is fairly tidy and painted black and white which I believe was a Tamiya suggested alternative. The original build manual is included as is the remainder of a B parts sprue which I used B1 and B7 (servo mounts) off to fit the Period Futaba Attack radio gear. The original box for the radio gear is included in this. There is also the remainder of a tool bag which includes the bits not used in the restore. I think I only used servo tape, rubber boots and clips are still present. If you want more photos other than what is in my showroom PM me for them and a more detailed list of what work has been carried out. Open to offers price wise for a sale or in terms of a trade I would like any older 2wd buggy I haven't got other than the Falcon/striker/sonic fighter range. Would consider paying any extra if required against any SRB. Particularly keen to get a Wild One. Would consider a Clod or Jugg2 in a trade as well. I live in Birmingham, UK and would prefer a central UK based trade and a meet up.

I believe all the vintage models up to and including the Bigwig use 32 pitch as that was considered a standard. Kyosho were the odd ones out then by using a pitch of 48. Someone can probably put me right on that but I am sure all the earlier models were a 32 pitch.

I always thought the Falcon/Striker/Sonic Fighter were the worst Tamiya cars until I just bought a used Madbull off ebay, it looks like they tried to improve the Grasshopper/Hornet design and failed miserably. I agree that the Grasshopper and Hornet have a habit of randomly turning when hitting a dip or bump but I raced my grasshopper with a Black motor sprint and it was great fun. I only paid 12ish for the Madbull chassis (minus wheels and body) but I am starting to regret it already.

Hello, Does anyone know if the Hi Lift wheels are the correct size for HPI Yokohama off road tyres. I have a set of the tyres currently on HPI truck rims which are in use on my Wild Willy 2 but I would like to use them on a scale project offroader. If not can anyone recommend any Tamiya rims the tyres will fit. Thanks

Hi James, The new gears came today and having fitted them the problem has gone away, the old gears must be badly worn and that has caused the meshing issue. Anyway all sorted now so will try to get radio gear fitted and get it running over the weekend.

The circled car is a model of a subaru hatchback from the late seventies/early eighties. I cannot remember what the model name is though. Would love to know what chassis it is on, did Kyosho do anything like that? Photo of rally version.

Thanks for the suggestions Gentlemen, I have stripped and rebuilt the front gearbox 6 times in the last 48 hours and through a process of elimination the issue is the mesh between H3 and H1 in the front gearbox. At one point in each revolution it binds, I have checked the gears for tags and damage and none is obvious. I cannot remember if i replaced the gear set when I bought it two to three years ago or not. It hasn't run since i bought it as I didn't have a technigold. I have now added a thin shim washer between the 1150 bearing on H3 and part A1 on the gear shaft this has lifted the mesh and it is much quieter now. But I have now purchased a gear set from Tony (Europro) on Ebay. I will post back if the new gearset makes the difference. I am an electro mechanical engineer in real life and do this sort of stuff in bigger sizes but even so it pays to ask about a problem because it might be a common fault that someone has a work round for and I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel. Thanks Clive

Hi, Having bought a Bigwig a few years back off Ebay I finally powered it up on the bench and it sounds like a bag of nails. I know the older 4wds were noisy as I used to race a Boomerang but this doesn't sound right. I have had the boxes down last year to check for full ballraces and replaced the plastic bushes where found with the correct size ballrace. I have checked the prop shaft isn't bent and removed the front drive shafts in case they were. The rear drive shafts are new as one of the back ones was bent. But it still sounds noisy more so from the front box, has anyone else experienced this at all. Trying to avoid stripping it down again unless necessary as it isn't a 5 minute job. Cheers

Hi, I was typing my response to the first reply and we seem to have reached the same conclusion will get it fitted during the next week and post back how I got on.

Thank you for that, I will try my Sport Tuned first. Clive

Hello, In the 80's I used to run my Grasshopper with a RS540SD Black Motor Sprint. The acceleration and top speed was amazing and I want to emulate that now with my Hornet. Does anyone have the technical data for the Black motor sprint, I believe it was printed on the box. I would like to know max rpm, torque (if listed) and how many turns it was. I hope to find a modern motor with same/similar specification. Thanks in advance. Clive