Saito2

That's part of the Hot Shot's quirky rear cantilever suspension design. Moving the rear wheels up and down independently results in moderate suspension travel. Compress both rear wheels at the same time and the travel becomes very short and the damper feels very tight as you put it. Unique as it is, the system was quickly dropped for more conventional (and better functioning) two-shock rear designs in all 4wd models that followed the Hot Shot.

Nicely done SS! I built one about a year ago with the same intentions of beach running. The old promo tapes made it look so fun. I sealed the gear case. I made foam seals for the suspension and steering pivots. In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to run it at the beach. Sand does get everywhere and salt water corrodes metal like no tomorrow. I looked at the whole Tamiya range and came to the conclusion a Hornet/Grasshopper or Lunch Box would be best for the beach. They're 1. cheap 2. mostly plastic, thus impervious to salt water (screws excepted) 3. have a well-sealed, simple gearbox 4. are easy to dismantle for any cleaning. Not as romantic as a Sand Scorcher, but more practical.

Yeah, I watched that Madcap for a few days. I just kept telling myself I didn't need it but my thoughts kept returning to it. Finally I caved. It looked so forlorn there with its melted chassis, I just had to give it a home. My drive to fix old things and put them back into service is probably why I restore 1:1 antique cars for a living.

This little story is going to sound odd as Tamiya models are, after all, just material objects. Did you ever see a neglected or busted up Tamiya and feel the need to fix it up. I recently literally stumbled across a Madcap on Fleabay which had a chassis that was bent like a banana. Poor thing. Now I need another Madcap like I need another hole in my head but...it just called out to me. I have the replacement parts laying around so repairing it will be no problem. I just didn't need it, but I felt "bad" for it. There's a lot to be said about the satisfaction of taking an old discarded object and breathing new life into it. In many ways its more rewarding than buying new (not that that's bad either).

I honestly find this statement very profound. I really don't want to come off as whiny, but it is depressing when close family members get you things THEY think you should like or want vs. what you truly have interest in. To be truthful, I would rather their gift to me be a charitable donation to a good cause then meaningless material goods. I've requested it actually and been denied.

I understand where you're coming from. My family never proactively purchased anything Tamiya RC related for me. It's a big part of my main interest (one of only 3) and nobody acknowledges it but my wife. Once, I was pressed for a gift idea when I was 28 or so and I finally said "get me a Tamiya Hornet". You'd think I'd asked for the Titanic under the tree. Maybe my family is ashamed of my interest in "toy cars".

A common theme among us long time club members is our span of interest in the hobby. Often times the story is we get into Tamiya as kids then drop it when we get older as real cars, girls, etc. start distracting us. Later we get back into the hobby. This is part of the reason why re-releases work so well. I've noticed that my interest (now likely life-long at this point) has lasted far longer the 2nd time around than the first, despite the first time being smack in the middle of the '80s peak of the hobby. I always was aware of the hobby as a child but got hardcore into it in 1986. This ran until about 1994 or so. Nine years. I got back in at about 2002 when I randomly came across a Wild Willy 2. As the original Wild Willy was "the one that got away" (I looked EVERYWHERE in the tri-state area for one at one point), the Wild Willy 2 certainly got my attention and reeled me back in. So now its about 16 years in and still going strong. The same seems to be true for some re-releases. How long was the original Hot Shot on the shelves? The re-re came out around '07 and is still selling. So how was your timeline of interest? Did you fade out and then come back in? Was it steady interest? Maybe you came in fresh, post 80's heyday, and have kept with it.

Yeah the whole boxart thing is very Japanese. Back in the day a lot of Japanese manufacturers had boxart (Kyosho being a stand out with their photos) but an Associated or Losi or Traxxas would just be a picture. Less misleading but less dynamic as well. The RC10 sort of split the difference with a dynamic action photo. I do miss the old Traxxas when you could assemble an Eagle, Bullet, Sledgehammer, etc. Who knew they'd become the huge RTR juggernaut that they are today back then. I'd love to be able to assemble a Maxx or Stampede. I'd also love creative paint schemes instead of the weird tribal mess that covers their current bodies to look "rad" to 14 year olds.

I was thinking today, that, like Tamiya, Traxxas has kept a lot of chassis designs around for some time by changing bodies/tweeking appearances/making gradual updates. Take the Stampede. It's been around for a VERY long time now. Just as a thought, what would it be like if Traxxas vehicles were 1. available as kits, 2. featured dynamic boxart like Tamiyas, 3. Had some more personality in their names/bodies/graphics? I wonder where they'd be and what effect it might have on the hobby.

Sorry, I don't have pics available. However, if you search the topic "Will there be a Wild Willy 3?", club member B.M.T. has an underside photo that details the same cuts I made.

Led Zeppelin.

Thanks. I wound up shaving off that ridge as you suggested along with a little of Willy's foot. I found conflicting advise in my search before posting. Trimming the WR-02 side rails to fit the GF-01 chassis (not required) added a nice detail too. Best of all, now I have full shock travel.

How well can a Wild Willy body be fitted to a GF-01 chassis? I've seen a few people do this but I'm interested in just good it looks. I'd like it to fit as good as it does on the WR-02 chassis. How badly does the floor need cut out for clearance? The reason I ask these questions is because I'm dissatisfied with both the Land Cruiser body and Jimny body I've tried on it. The Land Cruiser's wheelbase doesn't seem right. The Jimny either needs hacked or the shock travel severely limited in the front to get the body down on the chassis properly. Without these mods, the body has to be perched pretty high in the air. I want to give Wild Willy body a try but don't want to go cutting up the body if I can't get it down at least as low as it sits on the WR-02 chassis. Hopefully the more open wheel arches with allow for full suspension travel. Ugh, maybe I should have bought the dump truck instead.

Cool! These remind me of the Stomper 4x4s sold in the States.

Yeah, but an E-maxx isn't a true solid axle monster truck.

Yep, I remember the Robbe Firefox. I have that issue of RCCA in my archives. I think they reviewed the Tamiya Super G that month too. Anywho, I distinctly remember author, Fred Murphy (who'd been with RCCA nearly from the beginning), referring to the car as being similar to the "once-famous Tamiya Big Wig" (his words). I don't think he came away too impressed by Robbe's knockoff if memory serves though. I think the Firefox was the last car I saw advertised by Robbe in the mag before they disappeared (at least in print).

You know, I went through similar symptoms when I finally broke down a bought an Emaxx. The only way I could do it was to buy a used one so (in my mind) I wasn't putting money directly into Traxxas's hands. If I bought one new, I might be in therapy now. I still won't be seen in public with it. In your situation, time (and possibly beer) will ease the symptoms. Hang in there.

Not to go off topic, but those old black and white ads in back issues of Car Action is exactly how I first got to see those earlier cars too. Every once in a while I'd get a Tamiya static model (I built a lot of their 1/35th military models too) that must have been on the shelf for a long time. Tamiya used to stick a little tri-folded ad/pamphlet in with their kits and these old kits would come with the older pamphlet. That's the first time I saw a Wild Willy, Pajero, Brat and Lancia in color. I also felt the same way about the Tyco TV ads. But, to me, knowing Tamiya over Tyco and knowing they were hobby-grade seemed more "adult" for some reason. I can definitely see country music going with the Clod.

When I was into Tamiya as a kid, I had just missed a lot of the first era of cars. My introduction was cars like the Monster Beetle, Big Wig, Lunch Box, Fox, etc. Even the Hot Shot was just being phased out around this time. I was very hungry for knowledge on the earlier cars. Back in those days, it was hard to find even pictures of the cars or even boxart. Nobody cared about collecting old RC cars. I would go to hobby shops everywhere and ask about these cars and hunt up old literature on them. I used to repeatedly dream that I found a hobby shop with a great deal of older stock. In it, my parents would allow me to get two kits. I always dreamed of walking out the door with a Wild Willy 1 and Super Champ.

Correct. The Boomerang's rear arms are different than the Hot Shot's. Basically, Boomerang arms allow room for dampers to be mounted ahead of the arms. The Hot Shot lacked this clearance as it was originally a rear monoshock/cantilever design. When the Hot Shot arms were re-used in the Super Shot, Tamiya had to mount the dampers behind the rear arms as they had no clearance to mount them ahead like the Boomerang eventually would.

You know, I thought it might have been you, kontemax, that discovered that. I think I got mixed up with TA Mark using a Blitzer gearbox in his Bear Hawk to better accommodate a Castle brushless system. It was years ago now I suppose. Time flies.

I'm almost positive Tamiya changed the internal ratios from Bear Hawk to Blitzer. I think it was TA Mark that discovered this. But irregardless, it looks like the ratios will work out fine according to the King Cab manual. Makes me want a DT-03 converted truck now .

Just out of curiosity, what is the ratio of the DT-03 gearbox? Is it the same as the DT-02? I ask because I vaguely remember someone making a modern Stadium Blitzer out of a DT-02 and the ratio was questionably too high with the smallish Blitzer tires. King Cab-size tires would be worse as they are bigger than Blitzer tires and Monster Beetle tires even worse yet. Tamiya actually went to the trouble of changing the internal ratio of the Bear Hawk gearbox when they outfitted it for the Stadium Blitzer.

As Speedy pointed out, this thread topic comes up every couple of years (heck, I think I brought it up years ago, asking if Tamiya was still "first in quality around the world?"). The subject does bring up some very important key points about Tamiya in relationship to what the competition is doing plus where they were and where they're headed. I will bring up that, in the end, Tamiya is a plastic model company. I often get sucked into the RC side of things too, but have to remember first and foremost they create scale plastic models (the best, in my humble opinion). It is what they started with and I feel it's what they're key passion remains. It's not to say RC isn't important to them, but its just a slice of their pie so to speak. If you read Tamiya's autobiography you see where the passion lies and how small the portion on RC was compared to rest of the book.

Well, Mad Ax, the simple fact that you have fears is a good sign you'll be a good parent. It seems one can fall into several scenarios when having kids for the first time. Like you said, you resent the family for lost free time or you don't put enough time and effort into family life. Not good. The alternative is to throw yourself into family life but leave a little balance. It will be hard, but try to make a little time for yourself, when you can (not easy). I'm not going to lie, done properly raising a child takes 99% of your time (110% if you're single parent). Family life will change you and your priorities and it should. And besides, like Nobbi suggested, one day your offspring may take an interest in your passions. Remember family is dynamic, always changing. Your hobbies will always be there waiting for you. For me, I just couldn't see just messing about with my hobbies and interest for the rest of my life as being totally fulfilling. I'm not going to paint unrealistic rainbows for you, child-rearing (properly) can be the biggest challenge you'll ever face but (as is often the case) the most rewarding as well. In the end, it's magic. BTW, my daughter does show interest in RC and loves to watch them buzz about. She even likes to get her hands on daddy's tools and "help" (hinder, lol) work on them.