isomer1

DT03's are insanely good bargains. What about.... a DT03 built out like a Madbull? Just need the longer front knuckle things, the big wheels, and body (and dampers as you please). All the Madbull joy with DT03 sturdiness and repairability?

Well I've been chanting "Heavy Dumptruck, Heavy Dumptruck" while reading the thread thus far. And I think it would still be the one I'd purchase for me. But @TurnipJF makes a good call with the Madbull. They're silly fun to drive, don't tip like the LB & GF01, clear most normal yard obstacles with the big tires, and have a few simple upgrades/mods (thinking the steering rod one) when Timmy is ready to tinker. The LB/hornets etc aren't bad calls, I just think the Madbull hits the perfect sweetspot.

Only Kyosho monster truck I can think of being based on a buggy is the gas USA-1 from a hopped-up Inferno. I think all of the electrics were off the same (original) chassis? Difference was the tires and inclusion of a 2nd gearbox at the front (for Double-Dare & USA-1 vs Big Brute, original Hi-Rider).

Super Levant Brushless 4wd w/ slip diff Wish it had been a kit, and they just killed the marketing with a name like 'Levant'

FWIW - you are correct that Tamiya is not present in the list of coupon eligible brands (towards the bottom at https://www.towerhobbies.com/coupon-codes/). However, when I added the Tamiya BBX to my shopping cart and went to the payment section it did allow me to add SPOOKY. The total was reduced by the appropriate $20. Maybe it is just an oversight in the list?

FWIW they discounted Tamiya as recently as this summer (June I think?) A few weeks back they had a banner at the top of their site that they were upgrading their order processing and things would be a mess in the time being, that at least seems to overlap with the timespan many are talking about. I've found the 'scratch & dent' sales to be frustrating. The advertised products were inevitably sold out by the time I got the e-mail.

Maybe it comes down to expectations. I consider Tamiya basically 'fun junk'. I love the junk for some inexplicable reason, but it is junk. TT-02/TT-02B: the gearbox is molded in to the chassis giving rise to all manner of issue. CR-01: the suspension interferes with chassis frame, limiting the compression by nearly half the available range. Clodbuster: I know, I know, people love it. But who runs it stock regularly? It couldn't even steer usably when launched, that took another decade for servo technology to catch up. GF-01: I love it. But what a dumb design. You basically have to disassemble the entire model for most issues. General: Soooo many screws in to soft plastic. Why? Captive nuts are a thing. They should be be present in all but the most trivial attachments. General: Gearbox as a structural component. This is just a bad idea - and it's a bad idea at the heart of most Tamiya models.

But the e-mail address is: info@plazajapn.com Isn't that missing a requisite 'a' ?

Only vaguely related: I had not realized the WT-01n was discontinued

Mineral spirits / paint thinner will dissolve it very quickly without harm to the metal bits.

I cancelled my backorder with Tower today. The bodywork held on with velcro just nagged at me. And the closer I looked at that plastic roll-cage the less confident I became with the sturdiness & repairability when support ends for the kit. So somebody please build one of these and put the comical wheels on it. Then post lots of photos on the beach so I can live vicariously through them. Thank you.

Regarding the slipper (or lack thereof): What about using the XV-02/TT-02 Ball Diffs (22046) and the TT-02BR Gearbox Joints for Ball Differential (22063)? I'm not a huge fan of ball diffs, but plenty on TC swear by them.

I am 1000000% buying one - then immediately putting on the fatter, Comical-style wheels & tires on it. Thanks to everyone that posted images and videos. To whomever gets one first - can you see if those front knuckles fit in the DT02 or similar chassis? A native option for hexes on the older cars would be an awesome bonus.

Sorry to be off-topic. @Willy iine is that PS19 Camel Yellow on your CR-01? What color did you back with? Looks gorgeous there. I'm hoping for something like that to sit alongside the Caterpillar Yellow of the Heavy Dump.

Question @Nikko85 - can you share/show how you mounted the shocks? I think I've seen people using the regular screw whole (that holds the two halves of the arm together) for the ball mount location. But that seems to leave the ball arm screw (forgive me, I'm blanking on names) pretty exposed. Also does it put the rear shock at an excessive angle? I think it's a good idea, I'm just hoping to know what to expect when implementing it.