Saito2

I recently scored a slightly used RC10 Classic on fleabay for much cheaper than the original $250 NIB price (or shocking $399 second batch price). I wound up tearing it completely apart due to improper assembly and to see what makes it tick. The car really is a wonderful step forward in all respects except the transmission. Roger Curtis is a VERY smart man, but I don't know what the thought was behind the rather "different" original 6-gear trans. design. On the other hand, the Tamiya SRB's transmission design was actually to way to go, design-wise. While the rest of the SRB was archaic (in competition) at the time, the basic gear/drivetrain layout proved to be the same as the vaunted Stealth trans. Kinda funny when you think about it.

I will say that if I can buy only one kit of something and intend on running it, I have a backup plan. I looked at my childhood Tamiya vehicles and noticed a common theme: body, tires and wheels. I bought only one Fox re-re, but had to drive it. I bought a spare body, tires and wheels. These things take the most wear/abuse. When it comes time to retire the model to the shelf years down the road, these three items really make it look sharp again. It also helps with the anxiety-factor when running (and the inevitable roll overs, bumps, etc.) so things can be a bit more relaxed.

I'm guilty of it for sure. If the kit is special to me or its presentation is nice, I keep a NIB one on hand. The Lunch Box and Monster Beetle are quite near and dear to my heart. The Egress box layout is simply beautiful in my eyes. Of course, then you need couple SRBs NIB too. Then you need shelfers, Then you need stock runners. Then you need modded runners. Then you need...you get the picture. I'm just glad I'm not alone here.

Not bad at all. Always a use for that stuff. A LONG time ago (like 25 years or more) when I was a youngster, I found Plasti-dip in the local hardware store. In those days, it only came in a paint can, and only in blue red and black. You were meant to dip your tool handles in it and such for "grip". I dipped my yellow Bullhead parts in the blue can. It lasted longer than paint, which always chipped off on runners. The best part was when I restored the Bullhead all those years later, I just had to peel it off. When kids started using it on their 1:1 cars a few years back, it brought back some memories.

Thank you!

Here's a video walk around our painter made of the 1949 VW Beetle we did. The car is now in France with its owner. Again, I stress, 1981gMachine, the video's poster, is our painter and not me. (although you can catch a glimpse of my 5.0 Mustang daily driver in the background, lol)

I work at an automotive restoration shop. We do primarily pre-1965 stuff. A lot of Cadillacs from the 30's to the 50's and a lot of 30's Packards, but we will take on anything old enough. I'm the mechanic in the group puttering around with ancient technology. Despite working on cars that regularly can cost up to 6 times my $180,000 home, my favorite car I had a hand in was one of the very few 1949 VW Beetles that made it to the States that year. It was a basketcase and using as many original parts as possible (and making totally sure all the other parts were correctly dated NOS or lightly used) was a challenge. It was music to hear that little flat four I put together come to life the first time. I have a lovely wife (who is surprisingly understanding of my Tamiya obsession) and a beautiful daughter.

I keep every single one. Then again, I also keep spent grease tubes, oil bottles, etc. When I was a kid my parents made me toss my boxes. I pleaded with them and they let me cut out and hang the box fronts as a "compromise". I asked if I could save my two oldest boxes because of their age and was allowed to. They tossed them out anyway the first chance they got. So now, I keep and display every one of them. I love Tamiya boxart with a passion. After all, its what first caught my eye in a hobby shop all the decades ago.

I had the F350 High Lift and sold it to get the Bruiser when it came back. After some time, I bought a Toyota Hilux High Lift and shelved the Bruiser. It may not have had the exacting detail of the Bruiser, but I found it a better runner. The steel chassis rails add a sense of weight while the plastic axles (although chunky) take more punishment than the cast Bruiser ones. Larger tires (I run 2.2s, currently CR-01s) are a must IMHO. They really allow the truck to go more places. The build is satisfying and they can be modded by altering the leaf spring pack or even going all-out with a 4-link. Personally (and I know this is taboo with all the CC-01 love) I prefer my High Lift over my CC-01.

Are you referring to the splined sections of the outdrives being shorter on the ball diff vs the gear diff? I think TA Mark had luck with super gluing the ball diff's spline outdrive sections to preserve them.

Correct. You can't use stock Hornet rims/wheels with Brat tires. Yes, the Brat wheels and tires will fit the stock Hornet 5 pronged disc wheel adapter.

Completely agree. The old photos = professional looking studio shots, the new photos = someone quickly snapped a sterile digital pic to throw up online last minute. The cars seem to be treated somewhat gently in the new promos. They're run in "safe" places instead of the beach. Nothing is dynamic in the new ones and its shot in real time, no cool slow motion shots. Honestly, Matteo's Tamiya videos are 100% better IMO.

That's incredible. Very nice.

Oh yeah, I forgot. I'd like to see a 1/10 Dash 1 Emperor since they made that body set too.

That is beautiful. I love the detail that went into those cars, right down the the axle boot zip ties, gears and ball connectors.

Thanks!

Tamiya loves ABS which unfortunately won't take dye nicely like nylon. With an old RC10 you could make a rainbow of colored parts, with Tamiya, its mostly just black. From memory, I think the Thundershot may have been one of the first to use nylon in its blue suspension arms. You'll find it occasionally in some parts (DF03 wheels, for example, take dye well) but its still not commonplace in Tamiya kits.

You're not helping my addiction with the Top Force prodding . The knuckles I considered from remembering an old post by TerrySC (I think). The question was raised about racing Tamiya's and it was pointed out that there was a ton of slop in the steering/suspension vs competitors' cars. It was also stated that the red plastic knuckles were shatter-prone. However, if you've never broken any and I haven't either, maybe I'll skip the knuckles. The steering kit was more my idea to get rid of the Z-bend cross rod, which I'm not a fan of. If the drivetrain is strong enough off-road, I'll skip the rear ball diff too. What brand of CVDs do you recommend? I do have full steel dogbones in there, but wouldn't mind some front CVDs or universals.

Couldn't agree more. I saw a neighbor's house across the way burnt to the ground over Lipos. He was an adult, but I honestly can't say if he was diligent or not. I really hoped LiFe would take off allowing me to skip the whole Lipo phase, but here I am, years later, still sticking with Nimh (although for a luddite like myself, I'd still be using Nicad if they were readily available. Those things last forever if treated right.)

I've been debating getting the upcoming Top Force re-re-re(?) as a runner since I never could bring myself to run my 2006 model. I looked over at the shelf and saw a DF-01 chassis (Dirt Thrasher originally, I think) looking forlorn after three years of collecting dust and thought maybe I should just get it up and running again instead. It has the following hop ups : all-plastic gear set, alloy motor mount, alloy prop shaft upgrade and bearings. Here's what I've been thinking of adding: Alloy front knuckles Alloy ball bearing bellcrank steering (for tub chassis) Manta Ray rear ball diff I plan on running a Trinity 17T Amber Speedgem motor or Tamiya Superstock BZ motor. I've read the rear ball diff might give a little "cushion" to the drivetrain since there are no slipper clutches for the DF-01. Are there any other concerns or good additions? Or should I just buy the Top Force when it comes out? Thanks.

I like the looks of the classic Hot Shot better but with all the added features of the Bigwig at the same price point, its hard to pass up. As far as mechanicals, they share the same drivetrain.

Cool! Looks like my first full size VW. Its a little hard to see in the pics but I think the chassis has hardened Super Champ universal joints in the back too.

I tried dying a Blackfoot ORV chassis (exact same chassis except originally molded in red instead of gray) and the results weren't so good. I was shooting for black and the best I got after a long time was maybe maroon. I tried keeping the water as hot as possible without boiling. Unlike nylon, the plastic in the Frog ORV chassis will warp/distort or melt under high heat. The ORV chassis was used under various vehicles in several colors if you're interested. Gray-Frog/Brat/Lancia, Red-Blackfoot/Monster Beetle/Mud Blaster/Super Blackfoot, Blue-Bush Devil, Darker Gray-King Blackfoot, and Chrome-early batch of Brat re-releases.

Thanks for clearing up that age old question I had Mokei. You truly are an indispensable source of knowledge on this forum.

Virtually everything to do with painting. Hard bodies are total luck if a piece of fuzz/lint/hair doesn't land in the paint no matter how careful I am. Actually painting lexan is easier but I hate masking. My hands are big and I find it tough to mask buggy windows. Cutting out lexan is a pain for me too. Mechanically, I tend to love even the most fiddly of task. I will admit, screwing down all those tiny beadlock screws on a CR-01 wheel is boring. I'll do one a night or at least have the TV on while I do it.