Grastens

Spectacular project! The stripped-and-polished metal parts give the chassis an aura all its own... ... to say nothing of the Kumamon theme! So far, it looks like it will be well-executed. I do enjoy your build threads

An exciting new-to-me project has appeared with the: This was the result of my wonderful fiancée finding one for me for our anniversary! It helped that I got her an expensive gift as well! Excitement is high. (A Loosely-Researched) Overview The Tamiya Hotshot was Tamiya’s serious entry into four-wheel-drive off-road buggy racing. It was notable for its use of shaft-driven four-wheel drive at a time when most competitors were using chains, pulleys, or belts to connect the front and rear wheels. A unique suspension system, using monoshocks at both the front and rear of the chassis, was also novel. Like a number of its competitors at that time, the Hotshot bore a resemblance to the full-size off-road racing buggies of the period, even if it was more of a passing one compared to its predecessors in the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider. Resplendent in an aggressive red colour scheme, accented by bright red plastics for components like the monoshocks and suspension uprights, the Hotshot eventually found success. For a short window of time, it was the car to beat, until the competition elevated its entries even further. This would spur the development of the Avante – another story in itself… The Hotshot became something of a classic, with interest further renewed in 2007 when Tamiya brought it back as part of its nascent re-release program. Minor design changes were implemented, such as the redesign of the monoshock internals and the use of a dog-bone propeller shaft, but in many other ways it was true to the original kit. It was in this form that the Hotshot was introduced to new audiences and reacquainted with its original fans. The consensus would appear to be that the Hotshot, despite lacking the cornucopia of high-end materials like an Avante or inherently-complex mechanisms like a Bruiser or a 3-speed truck kit, remains a desirable kit to build. For all its reported flaws, such as the lack of space or accessibility in the monocoque chassis or its bump-steer issues, the Hotshot has a character all its own. Even the unique suspension system is prone to issues, yet it remains part of its fundamental appeal. This would be all up for discovery in this build thread… Grastens and the Hotshot To me, the Hotshot was unique, but not really the kind of kit I aspired to build. I was drawn more to the aforementioned cornucopia of high-end materials in the Avante and the inherently-complex mechanisms of the Bruiser. For a time, my interests also appeared to be rooted in two-wheel-drive buggies, on-road racers, and rally cars. Flipping through the manuals available online for the re-release kit still did not pique my interest. That changed after the Avante had been built and sold, and the Bruiser project stalled (to this day, I still have to finish it – bodywork is my nemesis). I found I missed the Avante dearly, and having it sold off to a collector who did not appreciate it in the same way I did hurt a little. It left a four-wheel-drive buggy-sized hole in my collection – and my heart, in a shape that could not be filled by the Comical Avante (despite sharing the same basic parameters!). The Hotshot had never left my consciousness. Even when I was out of the hobby, I was still ordering Hotshot decal sheets specifically for the “Hotshot” script I was so fond of putting on the back of each of my ice hockey helmets: I also liked the “Are You Hot?” stickers for their obvious cheekiness! They helped connect my past and present in a unique way, as maybe the only Tamiya enthusiast to tend goal for the area’s ice hockey teams. The picture shows the first helmet that I adorned with these decals; the red shell made obvious the connection to the Tamiya buggy. Even when I switched to different-coloured helmets and masks, Hotshot decals remained a fixture on the back of each one. It inspired a new, aggressive personality in the net, modelled after what I thought a Hotshot would be, and even produced some writing projects on the side. In a way, I suppose I began to embody the Hotshot itself: my own approach to sport was offbeat and distinctly “old-school,” much in the way that Tamiya’s buggy was on its re-release. For a while, too, I was the goalie to beat – again, until the competition stepped up their game even further… This must have been how the Hotshot eventually found its way back into my heart, and it was near the top of my wishlist for Tamiya kits. At the time, they were even affordable, with both standard re-release kits and the Metallic Special available for about $250 CAD. Sharing space on that list with the Avante 2011 and the Buggy Champ, it was far easier to justify, too! I left the hobby for a long time in the middle of 2020, having been actively employed since the start of the pandemic (meaning little down time), and with bigger life plans (I was saving for a house with my fiancée). Bigger life obstacles hit, too, with my diagnosis of depression, and the long road of treatment to get it to a manageable state. All of this left me little time, means, or motivation to do anything with a radio-controlled vehicle. Fortuitously, I ended up buying an electronic tablet for my fiancée as part of our anniversary proceedings. With such an expensive purchase for her, she seemed eager to splash out for me, too. What would make me excited? A list of RC cars came to mind… And so, on the day, she handed me a big box wrapped in gold paper. I was able to guess what it was based on the size, but that was not about to diminish my mood. Sure enough: More valuable than the gift itself was the joy I experienced. Hobby things and toys seem to elicit the same reaction in my adulthood as from childhood, so I was quite happy! More importantly, after my hobbies had proven detrimental to my future planning (and therefore discontinued), this was at least some form of approval to continue pursuing the things I loved. It came at a good time, too: I received notice that I would be effectively laid off from work, pending medical clearance to return. I had relapsed in my depression to the point that I was felt to be a liability. The nearest appointment I could book with a professional was three weeks away – and suddenly, my schedule emptied itself… I found myself with the RC kit of my dreams, and now I found myself with nothing but time on my hands. It is easy to guess what happens next! First Impressions and Build Overview Ultimately, this is a Tamiya forum, and so the personal story ends there. It gives some context to the build – as if I needed much more meaning in a kit this extensive: The box is divided into three sections: the central one contains the body, wing, tires, wheels, and miscellaneous items; the left one (viewed from opening the box) has most/all of the plastic sprues, and the right one has many of the metal bits and some specialized plastic sprues (suspension arms and uprights, for example), sitting in its own special box. The contents of said box-within-a-box: A stylish partition separates the left and central sections. I enjoy these: Almost as much as I enjoy the unique non-box-art images on the box-within-a-box: It even has a basic creed for running RC cars – possibly useful for me after a long time away: Some items of curiosity for me were the already “assembled” steel antenna mast: As well as the decal on the otherwise-humble silver can motor: My positive reaction to the motor decal reaffirms that I am a sucker for marketing! A small sample of the equipment and other parts I will be using: The driver set and torque wrench proved to be overkill, so they were omitted early on. This is unlike the tub of white lithium grease pictured here, which I normally use for my bicycles. Also making a special appearance in this project: The driver parts tree was actually from my dearly-departed Astute, which ultimately never got a driver figure before being sold on. I wanted to experiment to see if a larger driver torso would fit in the Hotshot; in the more-likely event that it did not, I at least wanted to use the helmet. Its styling felt more appropriate for a radical off-road racer like the Hotshot; as a reminder, this figure is typically used in the Bigwig and the Fox/Novafox. The ball bearings were spares left over from when I ordered a full set for a re-release Terra Scorcher, only to realize that the kit always had its own. They were all usable sizes, though, so I was not displeased with this development. The Hotshot does use plastic and metal bearings in places, so these spares will see use in this build. The biggest acquisition/cop-out for this build was a pre-painted bodyshell: Bodywork takes space I do not have, and my own painting skills with bodyshells leave a lot to be desired. This set was expertly-prepared by an online Japanese seller, and will ultimately cut down on the painting required to finish this kit. Many of my stalled projects get hung up at the painting stage; this body kit will hopefully make the remaining painting required (the driver figure) manageable enough to see this particular build through. It also allows me to concentrate more fully on the chassis build, which at this early stage promises to be quite engaging! With everything reviewed, it looks like time to begin the build!

It looks fantastic thus far! I recently finished mine after a long layoff, and am already disappointed in its appearance next to yours They are fabulous runners, too - enjoy the build!

A beautiful day out there, and prime time to complete the: Once again, I had left insufficient time for the paint to cure, but no matter: I was determined to finish the driver figure today. The XF-1 Flat Black went on quite nicely. I finally invested in some proper Tamiya paint brushes, and marvelled at the difference they made to my painting. Previously, I had tended to use a toothpick for detailing, but brushes were far superior at holding the lines I needed to paint the helmet trim neatly. I may have still ended up with a few errors, but the result was to my liking. There is no getting around the fact that this car is being finished by someone who most of all wants to drive it! It meant handling parts that still had soft paint on them – the XF-1 had not even fully dried yet – but I was able to assemble the driver figure. I made the mistake of adding the screw hole cover decal on the back of the helmet before adding the sun visor. The sun visor does not clip on; rather, it is meant to be placed on the rear half of the helmet before being sandwiched between the front and rear halves. Things got dicey, and I probably put a thumb-print or two on the otherwise-decent finish, but it went together! From there, it was finding and applying the required screws for the gloves and chin guard, and soon it was time for decals! Those decals are thoughtfully designed, by the way. I cut them close to the borders, and was rewarded with a remarkably-clean finish. Everything lined up near-perfectly, and smoothed down reasonably well: Further persuasion with a hair dryer got everything well down. While I wished to use the spare Avante decal for the driver’s torso, the dark colour of the shirt meant that it would be barely visible. I did not have any blank white decal to back the letters, so I used a light-blue backing instead, left over from my Lancia 037 4WD-H project. Having placed it too low on the torso, I relented and added the suggested Tamiya logo decal above it: I thought it all ended up looking rather nice. And now, the driver into the car! I was amazed at how well the driver figure was designed for the shell, and/or vice versa. There is barely any clearance under the shell for the figure, and yet nothing abrades. Having savoured the completion of this project at long last, it was time to drive! I had a small brick patio and a larger grass lawn to use. The grass was a bit long; while the Comical Avante could indeed run on it, I ultimately had more fun on the brick! On that brick, the Comical Avante actually gripped quite well under turning. Those round-profile bubble tires, differentials, and oil-filled dampers really combined to make this chassis a capable one. I could not suppress a smile as I carved imaginary corners around the patio. And then the fun REALLY began: We have plenty of cuts of wood over here, so I found some small cuts (~5 cm diameter) and laid them out on the brick. What would happen? I soon found out that this Comical Avante may be the most capable jumper of any vehicle I have owned. Granted, that is not saying much, but the car was clearly unfazed by these comparative speed-bumps. The oil-filled dampers and large tires really helped it to stick landings cleanly. That is not to say I never rolled the thing: Predictably, turning while getting only two wheels on a “log” would always tip it over. I did manage to botch a jump and overturn the car, as well. I learned that those antenna masts are largely for show! However, I could only laugh every time I flipped it – what would this car be if it didn’t look like it had been played with? This seemed to be the whole point of the Comical Buggy series, and in the many times that I eventually rolled the Comical Avante, I just flipped it back over and kept on going. Consequently, I had a wonderful time with this little buggy before the battery finally ran out. I did recover the missing antenna flag. As only one of the masts actually has an antenna in it, I am still deciding on whether or not to keep two on the chassis. As for the quite-fresh driver figure: the bodywork had done its “job.” So: all this time later, I finally got to experience – and understand – what the Comical Avante is all about. It looked spectacular doing its thing, did its thing with a charming combination of competence and irreverence, and helped me rediscover the joy of casual radio-controlled cars. I hardly even cared that I scuffed the shell big-time, perhaps even unnecessarily, because that was not what mattered about the whole experience. I can say I am truly pleased with this new buggy The batteries are charging for the next session as I write… For now, this finally concludes the build! P.S. The scuff marks on top of the shell reminded me of my dearly-departed Avante Black Special

Ha ha! What a laugh! A year later, and we are STILL working on the: The intervening year really interfered… The coronavirus would have given me more time, except as my industry was declared essential, I was working regular hours throughout the pandemic so far. … Well, I would have been, had depression not completely taken over my life. Fortunately, I did get a formal diagnosis, and at least I am receiving treatment. Some days are harder than others, but that is to be expected with this particular condition. Incidentally, I find myself on another depression-related Leave-of-Absence (though not by choice), and so I FINALLY had both the time and the ambition to complete this project! It actually all happened with the introduction of another special project in my life: My wonderful fiancée made my dream come true, and now I am the proud owner of a Hotshot! More on that later… It was the rush to finish that one – namely, painting the driver figure – that motivated me to get a move on the Comical Avante at last. I had previously left the driver figure sprue partially-painted; the arms, face, and helmet had all received a desultory first coat of paint, while the steering wheel, torso, and gloves had yet to be started. I set everything up for both cars, and finished it all in a few hours’ worth of painting. The Comical Avante sprue looked a lot better with more coats: To pay homage to the original Avante’s driver figure, I elected to paint the torso in X-3 Royal Blue. This was a colour I had on hand for my Ferrari 312T3 project (another multi-year affair), and was quite pleased with both the way it went down, and the way it turned out. The gloves were also painted in this colour; I would not have been able to use white paint, anyway, for my jars went missing! Whatever the case, I enjoyed the effect of my alternative colour choice. The helmet, meanwhile, got several coats of XF-56 Metallic Grey. The first coat was patently awful, but once the second coat went on, the colour really took on life. Perhaps I had just mixed it poorly the first time around… I set everything aside for the day to cure, with the only paint remaining being the XF-1 Flat Black for the helmet trim. I will note that I used the “softer” eyes for the driver face. This being 2021, I was quite excited to use them. The overall design of this driver figure is quite ingenious, including both the cut and the variety of eye decals in the kit. They went on smoothly, and have the right lustre for eyes; the small border around them may even suggest some sort of goggles. Does my driver figure have a gender? Who knows? Who cares? All that matters is that they are almost ready to drive!

Paging @ThunderDragonCy your new spares are ready Incredibly exciting batch of releases! Enough to bring me out of hiding once more Still have a backlog and life plans to work out, but I have a feeling the Comical Hotshot and Thunder Dragon may stick around... I do like the variety of angles in which each model is photographed; the Top Force Evo is presented particularly well with the front three-quarter-like shot.

Right now, I am working hard to make the step up to 1:1 as a "natural progression" from 1:10 And I do mean "assembly kits"... Already, I kind of wish the 1:1 kits had "pre-painted and cut" bodies

I have been staying occupied at home with Gran Turismo Sport. I then wondered what a Tamiya Striker would look like as an actual F1 car: Gran Turismo Sport has a generic 1980s-1990s-style open-wheel race car, as well as a decent livery editor. A Road Wizard tribute was obligatory: And then I went racing in the Striker: The game made me take #16 in the race, which is why it bears the #16 roundel in race photos while still wearing its #6. And in my opinion, the result actually looks fine: But then, I also think the regular Tamiya Striker looks all right, so what do I know? It is not perfect - yet! For now, this is good enough for me: Did I mention that Gran Turismo Sport has a decent Photo Mode? Gran Turismo Sport relies on good Internet connectivity. While this unfortunately limits the amount of offline gaming, it does create new possibilities - like the ability to use decals created by other users around the world. I am confident somebody from here made the "Tamiya Motorsport" logo that appears on the Road Wizard tribute, as well as the "Road Wizard" text. It is largely due to the efforts of Tamiya fans that I was this inspired to create something Tamiya-based in this video game. For the Striker, though, I settled for reworked graphics readily available offline, to resemble the original "Striker" logo. Most of my car-related pastimes these days have been virtual, though I do believe a VQS will be arriving sometime...

I have finally found a local (read: somewhere in Canada) hobby shop that can ship in these strange times, and so hope to be taking delivery of a brand-new VQS/Vanquish by the end of the month I had never considered the similarities between the ETronix brushed motors and the Dynatech, though... I should have tried it on any of my glut of such motors!

The weather was fine, the roads were clear, and most importantly, I don't have a car: At it again with my Shimano 105-equipped Schwinn Volare! With this being the tail-end of the road-riding season, or so I am told...

Someone on Mokei Kagaku's Facebook page supposed that Axial might be responsible... which would make more sense than Aston Martin, I think.

After all the cynicism surrounding this re-release, it is nice to see it looks much the same as the original - bathtub chassis included! I still hope to be able to get my hands on one

... Because I am banking on the Vanquish/VQS having much less desirable packaging, thereby saving me from the inevitable revelations about the passage of time, entropy, and the fragility of mortality as I discard it to build the kit contained within? I could do with a little less foreboding for my builds That being said, it looks nice.

Where can I find this Vanquish?! I would have been way less excited for this re-release had I known - but then, perhaps it is because I have always had to contend with shipping to North America...

Pre-painted? Well, I used to enjoy bodywork, but current living accommodations make that difficult, so a pre-painted shell would actually be a draw for me at this time. The "bathtub chassis" seems a clear indicator of the return to a plastic chassis over a double-deck FRP or carbon design, as well. Plenty to like about this one. But then, I also have no memories of the original Vanquish, so I am less picky about it being a faithful recreation. The availability of a clear body set is still welcome; I look forward to painting another shell in the Grastens/Italy/Mexican (depending on who you ask) tri-colour I think this car will be close enough to the Vanquish that I can be satisfied with it. Sign me up for one by mid-October

So there WAS an Avante 2001 hiding under all that! The Facebook photos suggested otherwise That would have been an interesting project on another (more ubiquitous) car, but knowing what we know now about the Avante 2001... it does elicit a bit of an emotional response, doesn't it? Nice work cleaning it up!

You could pull a Grastens and do your best to get both anyway Although I admit I never saw the Vanquish coming back... ... Am I the only person who would see some excitement in a Neo Vanquish? I mean, this thing is just BRISTLING - it would look fantastic in 1:10! But then, so does the original Vanquish As an enthusiast who arrived some time after most of Tamiya's most fondly-remembered models, the re-release of the Vanquish provides a wonderful opportunity to get that bit closer to 1980s Tamiya. I will see if I am able to pre-order one... ... and if it is easier to live with than the genuine Avante, then maybe this is the car I really wanted all along!

I tried a TA-04 once: It was a very nice car, but the chassis proved a bit vulnerable to the odd stone that made its way into the belts. For some reason, I found it uninspiring, but that has more to do with how I felt about touring cars and less about the TA-04 itself. But then, I did get one well after the TA-04 was discontinued... The fact that it was a TA-04 I tried was sort of serendipitous, since I was more after the Loctite Zexel GT-R that sat on top of the chassis. I probably could have been just as happy had there been a TA-06 or TB-03 under there (maybe even more so with the better parts support). Still, I have to say the car treated me well.

I speculate it had something to do with either the Avante's tendency to oversteer, or to settle its behaviour over jumps, where leaving the springs harder at the front should result in more of a nose-up attitude on takeoff. Softer rear springs could do the same thing. Functionally speaking, then, perhaps the Avante being issued without the option for softer front springs was rooted in performance observations of the day. However, I do not know that for sure, especially given the timeline for hop-up releases.

This one should be good! I wonder what other touring cars might follow...

It has been a while, but in the intervening year or so, I have finally accomplished a cycling milestone: The 100-mile ride, or 'century' - and on my Schwinn, no less! It has since been updated with rebuilt wheels and new tubeless tires. These wheels originally had aluminum nipples, but after several rounded off on me while truing it, I discarded all the spokes and nipples and started over with new ones. Rebuilt with brass nipples this time and double-butted spokes, they are now proving reliable, even with all the railroad crossings I have to contend with on my new routes. A stylish carbon-fibre-finish frame pump and a massive new front light have been the only other updates. Already, I had been riding to work - 20 kilometres each way on county back roads. Despite my work being labour-intensive, I find riding my bike there and back gives me energy. Go figure! It was Peter_B resurrecting his mountain bike that inspired me to resurrect this thread

Howards is right about lubricating the cables - I guess my first instinct as a former shop mechanic was to toss them So long as they are not frayed, kinked, or corroded, perhaps all they need is some adjustment.

Perusing the instructions, already I can tell this driver figure is going to be fascinating: Tamiya, for a cheap and cheerful driver figure that is intended to fill the cockpits of many recreational and/or entry level models, and lacking the seriousness of even those, has gone to lengths to hide screw holes in the hands, arms, and helmet. I have never seen decals used for this purpose that then get painted over. This does reduce expense while increasing customizability, though. It is actually rather clever, despite the fact that it makes painting and assembly unusually complex for such a simple driver figure. Fortunately, Tamiya also seems to have thought this through, with the fully painted and assembled figure attaching to the chassis with double-sided tape. Nonetheless, some time must be taken to figure out what to assemble and what to leave on the sprue before paint. From what I can tell: I will be attaching the helmet halves before painting, while painting the visor and chin guard separately. The shirt of the torso and part of the arms will be painted before assembling the gloves, which will have decals covering the screws before getting painted themselves. The steering wheel, face, and driver mount can be painted separately, after which everything will be assembled. The arms will then be fully painted to cover the screw holes for the driver mount, and then the figure can be affixed to the chassis. It is a bit convoluted in comparison to other driver figures, especially the Wild Willy torso, which did not even bother with a covering for the screw hole in his arm. However, as none of this involves bolting the figure directly to the chassis (which then either means an exposed screw after all that effort, or one that is difficult to access, or even a difficult time removing said driver for any reason), I agree with it. What I don’t agree with? The lack of seat harness decals to go with the figure. I know it made its debut with the T3-01, a vehicle in which a driver is not likely to have one, or at least a visible one. Moulding the torso without belts, then, makes sense. Some decals to represent safety harnesses would be a nice option, though, for the times this guy gets behind the wheel of a buggy. This is less about any perceived aesthetics and more about encouraging safe behaviours in the children who may be building this kit, but then, I am no doubt overthinking this… Though I am not a small child, I do think safety harnesses should at least be part of the conversation. … And besides: an Avante driver who isn’t belted in?! Being Nuts is DANGEROUS! What is neat is the use of pre-cut decals that include the eyes and eyebrows. Four different types are available, so finishing the separately-moulded face (another ingenious step) is as easy as putting on some coats of whatever skin colour you want and then sticking on the eyes and eyebrows. I have some ideas I would like to try for the driver (including seeing if I have any seat harness decals that fit, left from previous sheets), but I do intend to build it up as laid out in the instructions. Now, to get started...