Badcrumble

Love those bodies. My son plays with my Majorette Blazer, one of my favourite toy cars as a kid. Once day I'll have an RC version! I don't know whether there are many RC4WD owners on here. Perhaps @JennyMo can give some guidance. You'll find plenty of resource over on ScaleBuildersguild, I'm sure. Enjoy your Blazer - regular spec or in mud-bogger guise!

You were right! https://tamiyablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/20230202_103032_tamiyablog.jpg

I bought one of these (now unavailable) from Amazon to try airbrushing on miniatures (my other hobby stopping me from wrenching on my RC). I bought it on the basis that if I got on with it, I might upgrade in future. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089FB37JF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I haven't used it on a car yet but plan to later in the year. I've been using acrylic-based paints and even managed to get some done in the (unheated) garage last week. Affected slightly by temperature but not as much as using rattle cans on the cars. It speeds up the priming element of my hobby so has been a fantastic investment. It works well enough, nothing fancy and there are plenty of others like it on Amazon / eBay. Expensive for a one-shot item but I thought I'd get plenty of use out of it to off-set the cost. Mine was £65 and isn't one of the cheaper 'air always-on' models.

If they discontinue the previous generations, they only have to make one chassis to cater for FWD and RWD - simple cost-cutting (assuming it is cheaper to produce). If you want dedicated FWD or RWD, there is the M07 and M08.

Well, Hellooo chonky boi. I wish they had gone back to the M03 and made a flippable motor / gearbox to solve the motor rotation issue. Though they would needed to have done something about bump steer at one end . My RWD M03 has huuuge extensions for the steering ball connectors! I guess this design reflect the improvements in car control / adjustability / chassis rigidity through the subsequent iterations.

I have found Molotow in a spray can https://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/paints-washes-etc/molotow/molotow-coversall-color-400-ml-chrome Unfortunately, Element don't appear to be stocking the Chrome refills or Alclad any more.

It is an M03 . It has WT-01 arms though. I think I'm going to need to limit the rear steer to stop the wheels touching!

Just a work in progress shot, body propped up on the tyre . Once I've sorted all the steering links I can fix body position and then finish off with sticker. One day...

Molotow maybe? I used PS silver and it definitely didn't come out chrome!

From the Tamiya listing (posted by the rcracer and others) • Simply change attachment directions of final gears and steering linkage to switch between front- and rearwheel drive; low or high motor position can be chosen for rear-wheel drive cars. With regard to the motor position, have you had experience of this with the F103 to change the ride height? I wondered if there was something similar going on here.

The M05 is built with a mix of screw sizes rather than the simpler older M03 and M04 and has a more complex servo / steering arrangement. I also had an issue with the chassis moulding which meant I struggled with a driveshaft bearing. I also find it fiddly to change the battery. This was my old build thread Great fun to run though I forgot to list it in my previous post but I recently picked up an M-08R. I haven't built it yet but I have a feeling that it might usurp the M-05RA as my favourite having looked at the manual and the fact it is RWD.

Unlikely as the servo is on the other side to the motor and the battery is mounted transverse, across the chassis. Motor position is maybe adjustable for use on different surface / circuits - high vs low grip / long vs short and twisty? Similar to the TA-07 where motor position is used to change the belt tension? https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58636/index.htm EDIT: or maybe for ground clearance like the rear of an F103?

It looks like the M08 method of shortening / lengthening the wheelbase has been adopted. I really like it. Tamico lists that it will be available at the end of June - plenty of time to save up!

I run my M cars on tarmac / concrete in car parks for fun. I run M03, M04 and M05-RA. The M03 is simple but effective, the M04 I have a soft spot for despite its reputation for poor handling (I'm no racer and don't push it to the limit so it is fine for me) and the very hopped-up M05-RA showed itself be quite a step-up from the M03 when I ran it recently. I didn't enjoy the M05 build though - overly complex and I had a bad chassis mould that required replacement (and corresponding delay in completion which soured things a little). After that experience I stayed away from the M06 - I thought have more than enough M04s to slake my RWD thirst. Maybe I ought to get a Giulia before they stop making them? I have an MF-01X to build and have seen the documented issues with the upper rear mounts, mine will have oil dampers and some mild hop-ups. So least favourite build was the M05-RA but it is definitely the best runner. But the M04 is my favourite

As it runs a TA06 ball diff, the TA06 gear diff parts should fit? https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/54471/index.htm