Hobbimaster

Mine it bone stock, except for the Tamiya dirt tuned motor. 3 battery packs in, and its quieted down to what I would call "normal" for a vintage R/C. It rolls smoothly now, as it was noticeably notchy before. It will never be as quiet as a more modern car such as my DF-03, but about as loud as my Hotshot. Maybe just running these gears, and universals in a bit is all that's needed.

Not going to lie, the CAT XLS is a challenge to build to say the least. Some parts do not line up as say a Tamiya, or Kyosho. A bit of persuasion is needed for sure! Once its built its brilliant to look at, and drives well. But working on the car is truly difficult. I somehow bent the small 2mm screw that holds the right side bellcrank for the steering, it was not a joy to work on. After that repair, I realized the CAT XLS was not for me.....So, off she went. I now have the Top Cat, and totally love Schumacher again! Its a good building kit with no surprises, and runs like a banshee with a mild brushless system. Can't really say enough good things about the Top Cat really, its definitely a good car to own!

I have personally built all of the Kyosho re-releases. They are fantastic kits, dare I say better than Tamiya in most cases (Which I also build). The fit, and finish of the parts is fantastic. The Scorpion is a great buggy, so is the Turbo Scorpion, and Tomahawk. The Justock 10.5t is perfect, I have that combo in my Turbo Scorpion with a 2s lipo. Its very quick and agile. As for spares, here in the U.S. there are plenty, but to be honest, I have never broken anything yet. As far as the Fighting Buggy, it does look good, but is a poor runner. I had 2 once, but sold them off. They are heavy, under powered, expensive, lack a diff, too many things I didn't like about it. That being said, they were one of the first R/C's available, and did a adequate job for its time....They do look cool though.

There is no reason Tamiya could not drop in a clear body in these kits as well. The Subaru Brat comes to mind here, and I also remember the Formula F201 having a carbon printed body, and clear in the kit.

Maybe Tamiya is finally starting to listen to its customers. In many forums, and threads, it seems the majority of people like building the chassis, but absolutely hate the body prep, painting, and decaling process, myself included. Some body shells take as long, or longer to complete than the chassis. Some will hate the lack of color choices, but maybe going forward Tamiya can at least offer pre-cut bodies, and window masks! The last couple of Kyosho's I built, except for the Ultima all had pre-cut bodies, window masks, and pre-cut decals. This seems to be the trend, and I for one welcome the change.

I just finished my build of the Terra Scorcher. Before even powdering it up, I rotated the wheels by hand and it has very noticeable "tight spot" felt in the drive gears. I read that some on here just let the gears bed in, and that is what I plan to do. I have since ran it for a few minutes, and noticed this "tight spot" is almost gone. Its still a bit noisy, but I'm hoping that will disappear as the gears continue to seat themselves. Tamiya has now completely pulled the TS off of TamiyaUSA's web sight as if it never existed, which I find odd. At least the Fire Dragon will be back soon, so spare parts should not be an issue for the TS.

Yes, a Fire Dragon could be converted, but if someone wants a TS and not have to chase aftermarket bodies, decals, and parts, its much easier to get the kit from the get go.

According to Tamiya USA the Terra Scorcher has been discontinued already. Seems this just came out a few months ago, and now its being shelved again. I was going to wait and purchase one first of next year, but looks like those plans are changing now. All U.S. distributors are out if stock, with Tower Hobbies saying backorder, next shipment early January 2021. Wonder if that's going to say discontinued soon too. Not going to take the chance Tower is wrong, they have been in the past. Rcmart still has them, along with Tamico......placing my order now. I'd recommend anyone wanting one, get one now since it may be another 10-15 years till this one kit is re-re'd again.

Tamiya USA is the importer to the states from Japan. TUSA will get the kits first, then distribute them to the various vendors across the states. You should see the Novafox show up soon at other places such as Amain hobbies, possibly Horizon, Planet R/C, and RPP hobbies.

Tower did have it the last release, that's where I bought mine from a few years ago. If I remember correctly, with coupon codes, I paid around $150 for it. Maybe send TH customer service a message, and ask if they will be getting in the new batch. I don't see why not since they have had every release so far. Otherwise, RCmart would be my next stop.

I'm undecided, I may go ahead and get the gold shocks and carbon towers, but plan on leaving the gear diff for ease of maintenance. Also with Kyosho's release history, I'm thinking a Turbo Ultima may be on the horizon. The Turbo Ultima has essentially all the hop ups......decisions, decisions.

I would love to see Kyosho put an upgrade package together for a "Joel Johnson works kit". I just priced the gold dampers, carbon towers, and yellow wheels alone at $160 usd. By the time you add a body, tires, sway bar kit, its over $200......and still more to get if you follow the complete list in the video.

Tamiya USA already has stock. So not long now for other regions.

You really need both! I have them, will not get rid of either. Totally different designs, both good runners. I will just say the TF is more race worthy, and has more hop-ups, but in stock trim a real fun kit to drive. Throw in a Avante, and you have all the best 4wd vintage cars Tamiya has ever offered.

Yep, the front of the body looks too long. Its hanging off the front of the chassis. When I first saw this, I thought it was a joke. The body looks like it belongs on a boat with that wide window screen, and weird rear fins. Not a fan for sure.