Percymon

I'd look at the bodies available first - there might not be an awful lot that aerodynamically fits the speed run title. You might want to put some 3M paint protection film on the underside of the chassis to protect the fibre plates. Also think about damper settings - piston holes and oil weight - you probably want relatively soft and fast reaction speed on something speed biased (dependent upon how smooth a surface you can run on)

In time, it will probably be a much over priced part on eBay - generally a lot of clear Tamiya parts gain in value, probably due to low sales volumes initially and optimistic sellers, but some people will pay extra for clear items.

Having a 8xxxx serial number doesn;t mean much these days - the Fighting buggy was released as 84389 and as 47304 - the latter possibly just being a Japan market model number as opposed to a global one. There are some models re-released on 5xxxx that become quite scarce within a few years, suggesting they only made limited numbers of kits (perhaps scaling back or killing production after initial rush of sales and then a rapid slow down) - Boomerang being an example

I've ordered some 1/18 WLToys alloy rims yesterday - will be a few weeks before they land - they are 12mm hex, but no info on any offsets. I'm hoping they might well fit, ideally i'd like a +3mm offset on them to fill the wheel arches of the Suzuki Swift M03M. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-4Pcs-Alloy-Rims-Tires-RC-Car-Wheels-for-1-18-WLtoys-A959-B-A979-B/32820625936.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.xVnBvQ Similar wheels on Banggood site too. If they fit mine will be getting the oven cleaner treatment to rid them of the horrid blue anodizing.

Have fun Mark - it's in good hands

Schumacher Cat spikes and blocks are still available - wheelspin models, apex models or modelsport Black egress wheels are around on ebay, the white ones less so mainly because a lot sold initially to those of us wanting to smarten up our Vanquish / Avante series cars. They do work well on the TS though..

Todays arrival - Tamiya 45057 TBLE-02S Brushless Electronic Speed Controller/ESC, that will find a home in one of the SRBs

There's also the Shimizu range, available in 60 size from RCMart at pretty reasonable prices

It's taken an age, but eventually I have moved my photos across from photobucket to another host site - hopefully most of the photos are restored now and aligned to the text.

That’s good to know, it wasn’t clear on the photo of the motor/gearcase on page 1whetr the split in the top cover was; if the motor plate can then slide out vertically that’s a big improvement in design

Looking at the schematics it looks an absolute pig to get too once you get beyond installing the motor and gearbox - its bad enough on the Gmade R1 (needing to remove a few parts and fiddle about) within the cage, but the GOM has the added complications of the interior moulding too

Sand scorcher body set - looks like i finished painting the Rough Rider just in time !

maybe see if anyone on Oople forum could help ?

No idea sorry, just googled away you really need a manual or to contact a Kyosho spares supplier, or perhaps try Kyosho Japan customer service ?

SM54 is another spur gear part, presumably different tooth count to SM15

You need to look for parts 'Kyosho SMxx' SM15 is a spur gear, but whether its the same size as the one you have fitted i don;t know. There seems to be no manual available online to help either. SM28 is another spare part bag with some gears.

the marks on the shell look like water marks from washing prior to paint - did you dry the shell fully before painting ? some people use forced air drying, but i prefer to wipe dry with a clean microfibre cloth which ensures no water spots (wet or dried) . I then blow dry with a warm hair-drier which also helps warm the shell for the first layer of paint too !

Probably too small to enlarge but found this..

The Dirt Hawgs also last a long time too

Wonderland Models in UK suggesting available 15th October, but that date could have been up there for weeks. Modelsport suggest next stock in 5th October (really ??)

Great result, retaining the other holes (at 1mm) seems like a smart move to me

For your DT-03 you need lexan / polycarbonate paints - leave the protective film on the outside of the shell , wash, dry and paint the inside of the shell. Remove film and apply decals to outside

For lexan there are a few other brands to the Tamiya PS paints. Core RC sold by modelsport being one- alternative brands work just the same but you are more limited in colour range (Core RC at modeslport 31 colours versus 62 for Tamiya). the Cor RC cans are bigger volume and a pound less in price. The other issue with buying paint over the net is the shipping costs - its pretty much only couriers now that will carry it, so cheap second class postage is a thing of the past. Far better to find a local model shop if you can. For hard bodies like the Sand Scorcher, Blitzer Beetle, Bruiser etc then automotive paint can be used as an alternative to Tamiyas TS range - just painted my Rough Rider shell with Halfords white plastic primer, followed by Vauxhall Ardent Blue and VW Reflex silver, all topped with clear. Whilst the Tamiya cans are pretty small they do generally give very good coverage - even one of the larger lexan stadium truck / truggy bodies can be painted with a single can of paint provided you are efficient

I know back when the first re-re kits were built on here, some went down to 8.5T brushless, but majority of folk kept to 10.5 / 13.5T. Nothing wrong with an 8.5T motor but its probably best to buy an ESC that allows plenty of programming for punch and throttle curve. The TZ / RZ / BZ series of brushed Tamiya motors are also plenty quick enough. Remember if you are using a lipo battery you will have more instantaneous power delivery anyway, and the power delivery doesn't drop gradually from the off like it does with NiMH. So dependent upon how much room you have to run it, how fast you want to go (versus keeping it nice looking) and your budget you could put anything from a 17.5T down to a 8.5T - personally I'd plum for 13.5T for longevity of the drivetrain.

Wet sanded and started to polish the freshly painted '79 Rough Rider body.. bit more polishing before the decals