Mokei Kagaku

I don't quite get this! The Rally Beetle and Jägermeister A110 both come with the wheels first released with the M02(S) Abarth 1000TCR, and so will the MB-01 Abarth 1000TCR. Tamiya has used these wheels for multiple models (I may have forgotten some, so the list below may not even be complete): 58158 Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina Corsa (M02S) 58465 Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina Corsa (M05S) 58503 Honda Ballade Sports Mugen CR-X PRO (M05M) 58649 NSU TT Jägermeister (M05L) 58650 Volkswagen Beetle Rally (MF-01X(L)) 58698 Lotus Europa Special (M06M) 58708 Alpine A110 Jägermeister 1973 (M06S) 58714 VW Golf MK.2 GTI 16V Rally (MF-01X(L)) 58721 Fiat Abarth 1000TCR Berlina Corsa (MB-01S) 47308 / 84316 VW Golf Racing Gr.2 (M05S)

Tamiyabase is indeed a suitable source of information for this, but I think I can help too with information from my own "database". Original Tamiya bodies used on the M-chassis, MF-01X and MB-01 chassis: Short Wheelbase: Datsun 280ZX Sport Version (1/12) Datsun 280ZX Street Custom (1/12) Fiat Abarth 1000TCR Berlina Corsa Honda S800 Racing Lowride Pumpkin (1/12) Lowride Pumpkin (Polycarbonate Body) (1/12) Nissan Silvia S15 (1/12) Renault 5 Turbo (1/12) Renault Alpine A110 Jägermeister 1973 Renault Alpine A110 Monte-Carlo '71 Rover Mini Cooper Rover Mini Cooper '94 Monte-Carlo Rover Mini Cooper Racing Suzuki Wagon R RR VW Golf Racing Gr.2 (1/12) Medium Wheelbase: Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Eunos Roadster Fiat 500 Fiat Abarth 500 Assetto Corse GoPro Monster Sports Super Swift Honda Ballade Sports Mugen CR-X PRO Honda S-MX Lowdown Lotus Europa Special Mazda MX-5 Suzuki Jimny (JB23) Suzuki Swift Super 1600 Long Wheelbase: Alfa Romeo MiTo BMW M Roadster Citroen 2CV Charleston Citroen 2CV Rally Ford Escort Mk. II Rally PB Honda S2000 Mazda Demio / Mazda2 Mazda RX-7 Savanna Mercedes-Benz G320 Cabrio Mercedes-Benz SLK Mini Cooper (New) Mini Cooper S 2006 Mini JCW Coupe Nissan Silvia S13 NSU TT Jägermeister Porsche 911 Carrera (996) Porsche Boxster (986) Suzuki Swift Sport Toyota bB Toyota GR Yaris VW Beetle VW Beetle Rally VW Golf MK.2 GTI 16V Rally VW Karmann Ghia VW Type 2 (T1) VW Type 2 (T1) Flower Power

I haven't tried, but from what I've read, the Ranger body doesn't fit (over the cage) on the re-re Sand Scorcher and Buggy Champ. However, back in the day, as soon as the Ranger Body Parts Set got available, my cousin and I bought Ranger bodies for my Sand Scorcher and his Rough Rider and mounted them with the original rear cages (and the Ranger rollbars included in the BPS'es) without any problems at all. No clearance issues!

Photos of the (unassembled) plastic spare parts for the chassis are out and give a bit of insight to the design: photos: MB-01 plastic parts 51719 MB-01 A-Parts (Uprights) 51720 MB-01 B-Parts (Dampers) 51721 MB-01 C-Parts (Transmission) 51722 MB-01 D-Parts (Gear Box) 51723 MB-01 G-Parts (Gears) 51724 MB-01 M-Parts (Suspension Arms) 51725 MB-01 LD-Parts (Lower Deck)

I fully agree with you, but as for "the right look", I have problems understanding why Tamiya went for wishbones up front and not double trailing arms. The double trailing arm suspension of the GB-02 is a pretty good design and Tamiya could basically just have made it larger for the BB-01. That way, the BB-01 would have replicated (real) racing buggies of the eighties.

I agree, but the 1:1 race Jimny may explain why Tamiya made the 84328 TTG Suzuki Jimny

3D printed replacements look good, but for those without that option, the original "jaws" are available as spare parts with the item number 89950.

As English isn't my native language, I'm not sure I understand what you mean with "fell out with", but I contacted 1999 shortly after Tamiya products disappeared from their site and they answered that Tamiya asked/instructed them to not sell Tamiya products abroad. Of course 1999 may not have told me the truth, but either way, Tamiya products are still available on the Japanese version of the 1999 website.

Tamiya originally had their paints manufactured by Pactra and the earliest year I know Tamiya had their own paints (though surely not manufactured by Tamiya) is actually 1976, but 12006 240Z Safari was first released in 1972. So "ivory white" may have been a reference to Pactra. I have conversion tables for many brands of hobby paints, but unfortunately not for Pactra, so I can't tell whether Pactra had ivory in their range. Tamiya re-released the kit in 2000 and I have the instruction manual for the re-release and it still just indicates "ivory" (and no number) for the T-shirts. As for the T-shirts, historical photos show them to be pretty bright white, so though that may not look entirely realistic in 1/12 scale, using XF-2 or similar shouldn't be too far off if you don't want to mix.

Feedback with addtions and corrections are always welcome!

I started on a handwritten "database" of Tamiya products in the early eighties, entered it in Basic in 1984, converted to Word Perfect around 1990 and finally Excel around 2001/2002. I'm virtually updating and adding information to it every day. Stupid, but it's a part of the hobby for me. Below is the 55xxx part of the "database". As you see (highlighted in yellow), the list is missing multiple items simply because I haven't been able to find the information, or have found it in Japanese only and been unable to translate despite having OCR. (Open it in a new window and click right to enlarge.)

I don't think racism plays any role in the absolute majority of cases. I've been consistently active on eBay as seller and buyer for 24+ years, and have sold and bought all over the world without encountering anything even remotely resembling racism. Also, as a Norwegian living in Germany, I frequently buy for friends and TC'ers outside Germany from German eBay sellers and German shops that sell to domestic customers only. Many of these sellers have been informed that I act as a (non-German) middle man for buyers outside Germany, and I have never experienced any negative reactions to that. Of course, racists do exist on eBay as they do everywhere else, but most people solely focus on getting the highest possible profit in a combination with minimum hassle and act accordingly. Depending on the circumstances, I may not always think that selling only to domestic customers is the wisest decision, but I accept it without causing any fuzz or trying to find any (additional) hidden agenda from their side. People are different and as long as their decisions are legal, they are entitled to them.

A fellow countryman of mine, Eivind Loyd Pettersen, participated in the inofficial 1/10 buggy world championship arranged by NORRCA and/or ROAR (not IFMAR) in 1983 and 1984 at the Anaheim Convention Center, California. In 1983, he raced a heavily modified SRB just like many of the other participants, but didn't achieve good results. In 1984, he raced a moderately modified Scorpion built and set up by Nordic champion Jörgen Andersson who also travelled to the WC as Eivind's mechanic. By the way, Eivind's Scorpion had a fantastic body painted by the late IFMAR/EFRA president "Dallas" Mathiesen. Eivind won the WC with his Scorpion with RC10 prototypes coming in 2nd and 3rd (Jay Halsey and Gil Losi Jr., if I remember correctly). That's how good the Scorpion was with a few modifications, a reasonably good driver and an excellent mechanic. When considering that the Scorpion was designed just a year or two after the SRB and even had parts carried over from the Kyosho Rally Sports series (primarily the gearbox and rear suspension), I think the SRB can be considered a relatively poor design even for its time. At that time, Kyosho made RC-cars, whereas Tamiya made scale models suitable for RC and surely didn't have Kyosho's experience and expertise, and it shows.

What bothers me about the BB-01 is the front suspension. As a relatively realistic racing buggy, the double wishbone front suspension in combination with rear trailing arms places it in the ‘90’s as that was a typical suspension setup for 1:1 scale racing buggies at that time. I would have preferred double front trailing arms instead for a proper ‘70’s/’80’s look. The GB-02 front suspension is pretty good, so if Tamiya had just enlarged it for 1/10 scale, they could have had double front trailing arms on the BB-01 without having to design it from scratch. Also, I think the BBX should have included a (dummy) exhaust and a better driver figure and not just the recycled Fox driver. Also, it would have been nice if Tamiya had made it possible to fit an extra set of (dummy) dampers in the rear for a more scale look. Apart from that, judging by the photos and footage available so far, I think the design is spot on . As the wheelbase is 283mm, the Sand Scorcher body will surely be a poor fit, so I literally expect of Tamiya to release a new baja bug body for the BB-01.

As somebody who thinks the SRB is Tamiya's most attractive chassis ever despite having been through most Tamiya chassis types, I still think your "old pig" reference is justified, regardless of being humorous or serious! That said, I will definitely get a BBX and further models on the BB-01 chassis too, provided they are equally attractive. (We NEED a baja bug on a modern chassis!) Still, I don't think the BB-01 will be a full replacement for my SRB's as (semi-)realistic racing buggies. The Kyosho Scorpion and Tomahawk are almost as realistic as the SRB and in most characteristics completely superior, but I nonetheless prefer the SRB's as runners. Indeed, that's not rational at all, but it's my hobby and it doesn't hurt anyone else!