nakedsv

+1 to that. I started with a Traxxas Stampede, which is easily twice as fast and competent. But oddly, it is not more fun. (not less either) I got mine on ebay for $75 shipped. (that's 47 lbs. for you Limies) Included a Futaba radio, **** paint job, and the tire treads installed going random directions. But this car is the PERFECT basher. It is invincible with the 540 motor. Very torquey; wheelies are easy. It handles any terrain short of rock-crawling. Very low center of gravity due to Tamiya's low battery mounting. The drivetrain is completely sealed, so I don't pick up rocks and sticks in the axles. (like I do on my Stampede) Here's the icing on the cake: on a cheap 6 cell 3600 mAh NiMH battery pack, I get 40 minute run times with 80% of it at full throttle. The Lunch Box is Tamiya's biggest masterpiece of the 80s.

I say skip the next 2WD for now, and get a 4WD. Unless you run a lot on the street, brushless power in 2WD is mostly wasted. One just can't put that power to the dirt.

Nice job. I have to say, it would've been better without the "music." Taste in music is such a personal thing. We don't all share it. But we all do share the love of RC. It is hard to make a good video without a separate cameraman, you did a good job. One can only do so much while keeping the car on the screen. There was one guy over on rcgroups who made micro helicopter videos of himself flying with his HelmetCam. Only problem with that is that one couldn't leave the house without extreme dork-shame. Here's my first RC vid. I was lucky enough to have my wife running the camera for me. Yours took a lot more work; there wasn't much editing or compling for mine.

Looks like you need slicks on that baby. Those poor Tamiya spikes never lasted long on pavement. I have to say, that Focus body looks GREAT, but it is out of place on a 4WD offroad buggy, IMO.

Here are a few pix of my Brat. I finished building it last weekend, and finished painting it early this week. Already, it has been rolled over a few times on the concrete. When you put your Brat back together, make sure you apply thread-locker on the screws that hold the wheel carriers that swivel. (see pic)

They're fun just about anywhere, even stock. They're not fast, but they are fun. It is the low-tech, hard-working farmboy of the entry-level monster truck world. For off-roading, the smoother it is, the more reliable your steering will be. A beach would be brilliant. Another thing is that the drivetrain is well-sealed, except for the holes in the motor can. I'd rig some kind of filter for that before going on the beach, but that's about it. Even though it has low-tech "suspension" and probably less than half the speed of my Stampede, it is just as much fun. There's a huge Lunch Box thread over at RCU that has been going for years now. There's some repetition, but a lot of good info. The guys say that it is totally transformed once proper oil shocks are fitted. I don't think they'll discontinue it. I hear it is their most popular re-re, and they will never say no to more money.

Ha, nice! BTW, I visited Belgium on business twice last year. I wish I spoke Dutch and could live there. The people, architecture, and lifestyle are excellent, and the beer is to DIE for. My favorite was Leffe Blond. It is a great little country you have there.

I found a source. I'll let you know after I buy one. (he's only got two left, so I don't want to advertise it here yet and have them bought out from under me) It seems like a beat-up Frog from ebay is probably the best bet. Make sure it has the part I need, and any other spares I can get are for the future or to re-sell on ebay. When Tamiya tells me that no thread-locker is necessary, I don't believe them any more. Any metal-to-metal connections made with screws are going to have Loctite from now on. I think they're just trying to boost their parts sales by saying that. In the meantime, I found some screws of the right length, with the right threads, but without the step, at my local hardware store. I put a piece of heat shrink tubing near the top to act as the step, and thread-locked it in when it was deep enough. This should hold me until I can get the right part. Oh, I also put some washers in there so there isn't so much slop in the steering & suspension. You know, the upright part that goes up & down because of the big gaps?

Does anyone in the USA have one of these screws they could spare for me? I just finally got the thing built, got two runs on it, and lost the screw somehow. TamiyaUSA is out of stock, and the only one I can see on ebay is in the UK, for $12.40 + whatever for shipping. ouch. or, if you know where I can get something like this locally, that could be a big help too. Thanks.

Well, you are a stereotypical Czech with the Pilsner Urquell, aren't you? I like that, but I like Golden Pheasant even better. (even though it sounds pretty gay) How about a Grasshopper? The build will be done by the time your buzz wears off. ...or, if you want to really challenge yourself, maybe a Hotshot. I just finished a Brat, it was a lot of fun until I got around to the painting. I'm going to leave that to my wife from now on.

Well, I really like the looks of Boomerang and Grasshopper bodies. But the more I read about what is needed to make the Boomerang durable, the more I want to just buy a Dark Impact or Durga, and retrofit a Boomerang body. Too bad to lose the sleek front monoshock, but oh well, it beats having to re-engineer the whole damned buggy. I did check your galleries, Max. Beautiful Boomerang. Your passion for it really shows. Now I'll be a little racist and say that Italians are known for being a passionate group.

I have always liked that body style. Very sharp and unconventional. I bet it is 1/10 of a mph faster than the boxy ones due to the highly aerodynamic shape... I'm thinking of getting one to split the difference between a vintage but poor-handling Boomerang and a new-with-no-character Dark Impact.

Mr. Cossie, if they're just for fun, the re-releases are better in every way. I can only give an example of the Brat, which I just finished. 1) Includes 540 motor instead of original 380 (+) 2) Includes three gear ratios instead of original one (+) 3) Reinforcing plate added to front bumper (+) 4) Instructions updated to show pistol radio, gear ratios, and ESC (+) 5) Rear axle now includes a differential (+) 6) The classy hand-drawn box artwork has not changed. Well, maybe some of the text, so that it is accurate. I bought mine to serve the dual purpose of building an old-style, high-quality Tamiya kit, and to end up with a good basher for running around the street and maybe mild dirt. What sponsor logos have been eliminated for political correctness? That is an interesting detail.

I'm from the other side. I've never had anything other than 2WD, and the control offered by 4WD is tempting for me. 2WD requires a LOT of finesse, especially on loose surfaces. One simply has to slow down, get the entrance speed right and learn how to drift.

Finished the Brat build last weekend, ran it the first time without body. Painted up the polycarbonate shell. Should be done tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether I decide to put a 3rd coat on it. I'm not at all sure I want to go to the trouble or expense to do the hard shell for it. I'm considering a trade with a local guy; I'll have to see what they go for. Maybe a stock class brushed motor and ESC from the olden days. I'm pretty surprised how fast the Brat is with the high gear ratio fitted. It's faster than my Traxxas Stampede with with the Titan 12T motor, at least on the street. Of course the acceleration isn't on par with the 'pede, since it is geared so much higher. Can't wait to see it run with the body on it.