Saito2

Some good suggestions. If you want something that performs reasonably well (for a monster truck), fairly fast, can tackle decently rough terrain, jumps well and doesn't require much in the way of maintenance, the Stampede or Gorgon Verskis mentioned will fit the bill. Driven with some modicum of sanity (not the stupid extreme bashing that leads youtubers and people on reddit to proclaim "garbage" about the brand they don't root for), these two trucks really don't break much. They are thoughtless, charge the battery, grab-and-go type vehicles. If you want something that's "fun" (subjective term, I know), you can build and tinker with (if you want to), is simplistic and reliable driven with respect, then the Lunch Box/Midnight Pumpkin is a good time. They are rudimentary, don't handle all that well and don't tackle extreme off road all that good. Dirt lot, gravel car park, grass yard, playground mulch, ball field, no problem though. They're great on the beach too and are simple to clean. They come with a brass pinion which beats the standard aluminum ones Tamiya normally supplies and if you're starting slow, really only need bearings. A Torque or Sport Tuned is all they need or could effectively use motor-wise. Alloy body mounts are a good idea if you roll over a lot. The bodies are beautiful so either source a lexan version for bashing, drive with some care (like I did when I was a kid) or just give in and allow for battle scars. The Lunchie was my first and only Tamiya for a long time when I was young. It took a year's worth of saving, so I didn't abuse it, but I also ran the wheels off it. The only thing that ever broke was the axle springs in the rear axle pivot (didn't stop it though). It ran circles around big, lumbering Kyosho Car Crushers and stayed off the workbench unlike Blackfoots dealing with diff issues back then. At the time, they didn't seem to be that much different from other trucks other than being smallish and pulling a mean wheelie when asked to (and being pretty dead reliable), then again their was a lot of crap back then from Royal Crushers to monstrous piles like the Varicom Big Grizzly. Today, there is so much performance available at all price points that the Pumpkin/Lunchie are almost in their own little corner as simplistic fun machines from a bygone era. They still make them, so that says something about how good they are at what they do.

Technically, anything, including simple bearings and a steel pinion, falls under the term modified. I don't personally have a unique definition as I don't really care what other's do with their vehicles. Its all neat to look at. I don't have anything against fast motors, better servo's and good ESC's, oil shocks....but they are technically modifications, not only in my eyes. I certainly have some of those things in some of my cars. I also do run "crappy" Nimh batteries on silvercans in a lot of my vintage Tamiyas because it suits me. What others like is of no consequence to me personally. Life would be boring if we all liked the same things. I apologize if any of that came off as defensive just aiming for clarification. From the start, I wanted to share opinions on how far we each individually like to take our vehicles down the modification rabbit hole, not come off as judgmental in any way.

In a past life, I was worked in automotive restoration by day while being a Hotrodder by night. Resto guys bashed hotrodders as boorish, destroying history with their antics. Hotrodders saw resto guys as stuck-up snobs and some almost sadistically hacked up rare cars on the path to completing their vision. The beauty of RC, even more so with re-releases, is none of that exist here. We all get to do what we want and its all cool. Its interesting @Kowalski86 brought up VWs. When I dabbled in old aircooled bugs, Subaru boxer swaps were becoming popular. But as one guy once said, once you replace the engine in an AC bug with something new and water cooled, you essentially rip its heart out. That stuck with me I guess. In the end that line is a grey one and different for everybody. Pretty much sums up my personal approach too.

In olden times, I always modified the heck out of my Tamiya vehicles. Now that I have the skill and minimally more knowledge, lacking in my youth, I find I prefer my models more stock. Oh, there's always the subtle durability mods and close attention to detail put in during assembly or restoration that make their way into the build nowadays. Still, my interest have changed over time and I get more joy running the cars much closer to stock to soak in all those idiosyncrasies that give each Tamiya chassis a personality of their own. At one time, hyper-modified Tamiya buggies were limited to the amazing efforts from members like Grahoo. Now, with the advent of readily available design software and 3D printing more and more old-school Tamiyas are finding themselves heavily modified. Personally, its not my cup of tea as there reaches a point where the soul feels like its gone from the car. With a custom chassis, redesigned suspension geometry and a new retro fitted gearbox, is the car really the same car or is this a Ship of Theseus paradox? On the other hand these excursions into the extreme represent a great deal of creativity and knowledge. The fact we can happily have both types of cars in our hobby is great. So what's your opinion on modifying vehicles? How far do you like to take things?

Ouch. Can't say I've ever seen that before.

The original Hotshots (all variants) and Super Shots were all produced without the access hatch. The hatch first appeared in the Hotshot 2 and was used in all subsequent re-release models based on the Hotshot (HS, SHS, HS2). It is up to you if you wish to restore the car to original or to the modified version you had back in the day. The You-G stuff makes for neat period hop-ups. I'd make it a shelf queen either way except for the most gentle of runs if need be. Get a re-release with nice fresh plastics if you feel the desire to run it with any aggression without guilt or worry.

I also do Liquid RC or RC Nitro Hobbies on fleabay. Nitro is where I've been getting kits lately. The boxes get beat to heck though even though its only one state over in Jersey from me.

I run the Frog dogbone setup when Thorp parts are scarce. I don't like the CV setups personally. The MB re-re ones were faulty and clocked incorrectly leading to vibration issues. Tamiya fixed it with the later Blackfoot re-re versions but you still end up with this: The right shaft is much closer to pulling out under full extension. With some arm flex with the big tires, some members say they do pull out. I even run the hex halfshafts over the CVs, which last decently if booted and properly lubed. IIRC, the outdrives for the Frog dogbone setup are shallower than the ones for the CVs above. Since MIP modeled their diff using the CV shafts, you're kinda stuck using them if you want the MIP ball diff. Like Frog Jumper, I run the gear diff with reinforcing plates to hold it together or use the oldfrogshot screw mod. If the diff is kept from separating, it last a very long time.

IMG_0052_zpsf5094955.webp IMG_0053_zps25e5fc45.webp Here's a pic of the photo adjusted box with the colored black tub and shocks. The second pic has the mention of the black tub. However, like others have said, Associated often made running changes while in production so anything's possible. My CE is a late Stealth trans "zebra" version with white/black suspension parts. They kept next to zero records in those days as they were too busy fulfilling orders. I'm not sure if Cliff Lett was even able to put a number on how many RC10s were made.

Hobbytown is currently owned by Amain now I believe. Tower definitely got the bulk of my money in the last 20 years before the bankruptcy. I was willing to see how things made out with Horizon running the show but after watching folks not get their pre-orders and being double or tripled billed yet not receiving anything, I wasn't sticking my hand in the that hornet's nest no matter if the deals were good or not. I also don't care if it was the worst computer systems "upgrade" in history. That's just bad business.

I'm sorry to nit-pick, but I respectfully disagree. I have both the tub and graphite version in my collection. The Team Car had a black tub.. I believe it was the first AE buggy to get the black tub. The Championship Edition, which came out the same year, retained the gold tub. IIRC, the Team car reused the CE box photo but just "colored" the tub black in the photo.

How do those motors compare to the Traxxas 12T Titan? I've looking for a torquey motor that's faster than a silvercan 540 and a little less crazy-fast (in a vintage design vehicle) than a Titan.

Back on our 10 year anniversary, I got her a black diamond ring. She got me an Avante.

The one just before the Halsey car? Looks like another mashup/combination car like the 10T re-release was. Its a long arm car with a gold tub which seems like CE but it has grey shocks (hard anodized?) like the Team Cars. A bit confused by what looks like a green anodized tub. I heard that the colored tubs might be making a comeback, and from the first pic in thread, thought it would be florescent green powder coat like the originals.

I'm going to preface this with the following are my observations over the decades in dealing with Clod Busters and I fully expect to be told or proven to be wrong. With that bit out of the way, here we go. I'm just a blue collar mechanic after all. For as long as there were Clod Busters, there was the question, why does my stock Clod seem to turn with the rear wheels only when driving but all four wheels turn if I pick it up? In the 1:1 world, there's issues like caster angle to deal with but that's not really something pertinent to stock Clods. However, when driving a car in reverse or a better example, a fork lift, the vehicle turns sharper with the steering input coming from the rear. From what I see, that's because the pivot point of a turning vehicle is in line with the rear wheels. It also makes it easier for a Clod's rear wheels to turn when going forward (the opposite is true when going in reverse, especially with the Clod's symmetrical design). So why don't the front wheels want to turn, no matter how powerful the steering servo is? Well, its the stock spring-loaded axle mounted servo saver that are to blame. The size and weight of the Clod's massive meats overwhelm them. In the picture above, I have done a lot of mucking about with the steering linkage to ensure full lock front steering and just a tiny bit of rear steer for assist. That includes things like: moving the linkages on the holes at the axle bell cranks and (with a new servo horn) moving the rear steering rod hole as close to the servo center hole as possible while moving the front steering rod hole farther away. With the strong HD servo added, all should be good right? Not quite. The truck still ran with predominantly rear steer, even more than pictured which should seem impossible as the linkage now limits its throw greatly. Well after chasing after the truck in motion with video trained on the rear steering servo save bell crank, I was able to see the culprit in action. The linkage would stop, but the servo saver spring (set to factory specs) would compress and allow the wheels to keep turning until they hit their stops on the axle tubes. At the front, even though the top of the bell crank saw full throw, the compressed servo saver spring muted the input and the wheels were pushed straight. In simple terms its easier to pull Clod tires through a turn than push them into it. So with the servo savers locked down we have this: That's full lock at the front with just a tiny but from the rear. I use a double ended Kimbrough HD servo saver directly on the servo now. Granted, any flex or slop in the linkages doesn't help but for the most part, this works. Problem solved (at least for those that want to retain the stock steering arrangement).

Had my Clod project out for a test run today. Its got some sway in that pic above and there's a reason for that. In the past few years I've working on improving some of my Tamiyas without wrecking their "look" or taking away too much character. This Clod's rockin' 15T Firebolts on 7.2v which is about as fast as I like to run stock configuration Clods and still maintain control. Oil shocks with very light dampening and a tub cut out for great gearcase clearance (and thus more travel) work out the bumps. Steel plates at the tub bottom keep it planted when returning to earth from a jump. Locked factory axle mounted servo savers, along with a big double ended Kimbrough saver on a metal geared servo in the chassis give much better response without axle mounted servos ruining the look. The steering geometry has been carefully worked out so the rear only slightly assist the front as seen below:

It was always my understanding that Tower and Great Planes were 2 separate entities that merged under the Hobbico banner sometime in the mid 80's. Hobbico and later Horizon were often suppliers to smaller LHSs too. BITD mail order giants (Tower probably being one of the biggest) had the power to undercut small LHSs. At least that was complaints I remember around one particular LHS way back when.

Interested to hear what others have to say since I have similar problems from time to time. Too much oil not leaving enough room for the piston rod maybe? To be honest, the older I get the more I appreciate the simple Tamiya CVA shock with its bladders and easily replaceable o-rings. They may not be some pretty anodized aluminum but they do work.

I wish I could comment with any authority, but I really haven't been in a hobby shop for quite some time. There was a Hobbytown about 45 minutes away that I'd swing into sometimes and it was very different from the shops I visited BITD. It was large, well lit and stuffed full of Traxxas and Axial on the RC end and not much else. In the old days I remember 2 kinds of hobby shops. The old-old school ones that had everything it seemed from RC to plastic models. Model trains seemed to be at the core but they really had a ton of variety. The second shop type, especially in the 80's had some modelling supplies and plastic kits but was obviously heavily RC based. Tons of parts, lexan bodys (Parma, Bolink, McAllister, etc.). Lots of Tamiya and Kyosho and always a couple RC10s on the wall but even some odd stuff like a Marui, MRP, Nichimo or even a Royal Ripper. They were always stuffed floor to ceiling and digging into them was like going on a treasure hunt. Both types seem dead now as that business model doesn't work anymore I guess. I always supported my LHS over Tower (the big bad guy to LHSs back then) as they always ordered what I needed or helped me out when I was a hapless kid. When one of them got bought out, the new owner "forgot" to order things for me a couple times (despite writing it down and taking my number) so I stopped buying anything from them other than Tamiya paint. Long out of business now. Of course, he also thought Tamiya was crap which didn't endear him to me either, lol. I think you'd have to be insanely dedicated to hobbies nowadays to even attempt a shop similar to that and even then probably fail. Hobby shops seem to be very money-driven now which I guess makes sense in this far more competitive marketplace.

Do I run my Hotshot series cars? Nah. J/K. With the caveat that I drive them in a fashion they were driven in BITD (no insane motocross style jumps, skate parks etc.) using Nimh batteries and nothing hotter than a Sport Tuned motor, I have never found these cars to be fragile. I've never have diff problems either. In fact, of all the cars that use this diff design (also the FAV/Wild One and ORV series cars/trucks), the HS series is the one series that its never given me problems in. I've had front knuckles break on occasion. I've seen inner screw pin holes on the control arms fracture when they get old, but overall, they've been pretty low maintenance. Even those upper tie bars visible in my examples are there to cut down on slop, not add strength. The Hotshot style in particular seems very rugged with its boxed chassis overlaid with a tough roll cage. Can they break? Yes. A good offset front collision with a solid object can do some damage. Sometimes the center screw at the front of the bumper can pull through on hard impacts. They are not bulletproof like a modern race buggy with composite plastics. Really old examples with tired plastics will crumble like any other old Tamiya. Overall, I'd call them a pretty rugged design for an old Tamiya driven with respect to the era in which it was designed. I just might (might, mind you) even say they're even tougher (though far less efficient) than a newer DF01 when I'm feeling bold, lol.

Here we go...

Same here in the US.

Perhaps this is just an observation I've made when watching the average youtube video. In watching some (but not all) videos on trail trucks like the CC02, it appears like the drivers seem to drive the vehicle overly fast, particularly over the rougher stuff. The result, to my eyes anyway, is the truck looks jittery, hops all about and generally looks unrealistic. Instead of carefully selected lines, it looks like a mad thrash to try to conquer obstacles that are quite out-of-scale to the truck in question. Personally, I try to drive over obstacles slowly like I would in 1:1. Just curious if anyone else has noticed this.

Finished my Super Avante body today. I had planned on shooting parts of it in florescent yellow to match the wheels but it would have cost around $12 for a little can of Tamiya paint to do it and that irritated me. So it sat under my bench and I even put it up for sale for a bit to no avail. I dug out an old can of blue to finish it off. Its not a great contrast to the existing metallic blue that I had already sprayed. I guess the paint job is...serviceable.

My less-than-impressive take.