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I hadn't really planned on getting an LMT. I don't usually buy big-ticket trucks, and I've built more than enough monster trucks over the last two years - more than I can realistically drive, given the size of my garden and the complete lack of monster truck fans in my part of the world. However, some rave reviews from others here on TC (you know who you are ) and an unexpected good deal from Horizon Hobby, convinced me to place a last-minute order with AMain for the roller truck. If you followed the Losi LMT discount thread to its bitter end then you'll know all about the fun and games getting it here, but for now, here's a quick recap: I ordered from AMain on 18th Mar, for $399, minus $150 discount, plus $66.99 shipping. That's a grand total of $316.98 for a top-level monster truck chassis. At the exchange rate of the time, that worked out £252.33 - that's not far off what I paid for my SMT-10 Builder's Kit back in March 2020, and that comes with a 2.2 wheel that nobody in the world knows what to do with and it doesn't come with any tyres or foams. The day after placing the order I got an out-of-stock notification, which was updated with a Shipped notification a week later. It then got stuck in the US postal service for over a month, and after a few conversations with various parties I thought it was probably lost for good, and was about to ask AMain for a refund. AMain were really helpful, but confident it would get through eventually, so I sat back and waited patiently, and one fateful morning the shipping status changed - it was moving at last! It then took a few more days to reach Customs in London, and was despatched to the local delivery office in Bristol the following day. At the same time, a customs demand letter was sent to me, possibly via stagecoach, or maybe some old Greek guy in fashion-statement sandals, because that letter didn't get to me until nearly a week later, landing just in time for the early spring Bank Holiday weekend. So although I paid the customs charge on a Saturday, the earliest I could book delivery was the following Wednesday. I was supposed to be at the office that day, but I figured my LMT was more important, so I cancelled and stayed home. All day. Until late-PM, when the delivery status on the tracker changed to say it was back at the depot, having never got as far as my doorstep. There it would remain for almost a full week, until one fateful Monday when (after tracking it all the live-long day on the live tracker app) it finally arrived on my doorstep. Normally the arrival of a new kit in the post is a bit anti-climactic - unless it's a nice Tamiya re-release with the blister pack internals and everything, there's nothing much to show but an unpainted body and some plastic bags. So there's one advantage to buying a roller or RTR - you actually have something to behold when it arrives. And what a thing to behold! Bananas not to scale.

I think it's time for a change... Since I've got several of these, all crawlers and trail trucks, how about finally converting one into a monster truck? Been wanting to commit to it for a while... Chassis is pretty much perfect for it and it's built like a tank. Seeing 87lc2's cool build sealed the deal. Grabbed the wrenches and got to work... Here's what I started with - crawled pretty good actually, but out of my four it's the best candidate for the conversion. The custom chassis was 2 holes shorter per side, and I needed the extra length so I went back to the stock chassis for now. Flipped it around so the battery is now in the back. I tore down the axles and removed the HD lockers and went back to diffs. That took....well, forever and a day pretty much. Those axles have a lot of parts! Went with springs and stand alone shocks - love this setup. I didn't want a ton of travel and high CG, so the barrel springs were fine. Soft up front and medium out back. I had to make some standoffs for the shocks to raise them up a touch - they act as travel limiters for the springs so I had to make sure they didn't extend too far. If I had used the longer standard springs, I could have probably gotten away with it. Shocks are de-springed Axial Icons with 25wt. oil all around. There's a 22t Kyosho Outlaw brushed 540 that's older than the hills hiding under there with a 24t pinion. I had a Holmes torque ring left over from a previous project so I slapped it on. No idea if it'll make a difference or not, but thought it couldn't hurt. Starting with a brushed/1060 combo on 2S for now until I get it sorted. Shaved skid for crawler duty, should work out fine here too, and some random Axial and Element driveshafts. I'm looking for a matching set of lower links, either blue or silver. They are here somewhere on something somewhere. Threw on some Proline Destroyers to get an idea of the stance. I like it! Needs a set of wheels with some more offset, that's for sure. I had to order a new Cliffhanger body - i like the shape and it honestly it looks pretty good monster=ized, but I had already drilled 2 sets of holes in it, and needed a third due to the change in chassis length. Once I get to three holes in the hood, in the trash it goes. I'm an RC hoarder, but not that much of a hoarder!

hey all, I am definitely a newby here, but I already read a lot on the forum and I am a little bit confused, plus this will be my first time to open the "hood" of an Rc car. I could use your help, so please hit me with tips and advices for the following: So I have a Clod Buster QD, Model number: 46012. (1/14 scale) I'd like to replace the original 8 x AA battery to a more recent one. What type do you reccomed? (voltage, mAh, etc.) Is it a good idea to replace the current brushed motor to a brushless? (benefits, compatibility) Thank you!

I set up a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4dzjaqDhE-DehjnZdkgRw. I have a playlist of Kyosho Mad Force RCX Edition Nitro Monster Truck Videos i made so far this summer and ill doing more all summer long after i get one part i ordered. I also use a Tamiya TXT2 to make vids, it has its own playlist. Maybe some of you will like to watch videos about rare RC trucks being used almost daily thx

I set up a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4dzjaqDhE-DehjnZdkgRw. I have a playlist of TXT2 Videos i made so far this summer and ill doing more all summer long after i get one part i ordered. I also use a Kyosho Mad Force RCX Edition Nitro Monster Truck to make vids, it has its own playlist. Maybe some of you will like to watch videos about rare RC trucks being used almost daily thx

First, let me set the scene Way back in 2005 TamiyaUSA was trying hard to get into Monster Truck racing. Earlier that year, Jimmy Jacobson and David Jun finished 1st and 2nd place at the 5th Annual Pro-Line Maxx Challenge Race respectively in the Small-Block class and then for the second year in a row they also finished 1st and 2nd at the Monster Madness race. Once again, a one two sweep of the podium and five laps over third place. The truly remarkable occurred when the two TRF drivers also finished 1st and 2nd in the big-block class, four laps ahead of third, using the same trucks and the same engines! The TNX dominated both classes in 2005 with good chassis tuning and some new option parts that Tamiya subsequently released. The 43508X and its racing experience also formed direction for the TNX 5.2R and the modifications that kit saw. TamiyaUSA released its own version of the TNX labelled as kit number 43508X and it came with a pack of option parts so the user could modify the truck. The main additions were Proline Powerstroke shocks, Proline tyres and wheels and a revised heatsink head. The aim of this build is to create a replica of the racing truck that David Jun used and make it from a 43508X kit.. The race modifications were: Futaba S9451 Digital servos Pro-Line Bowtie Tyres and Velocity wheels Ofna HD Servo Saver Ofna engine starting Back Plate MIP Driveshafts Modified TNX body with a lexan wing Relocation of the RX and battery boxes Tamiya Fuel filter Proline Powerstroke 6025 bypass shock set A lexan wing on the back of the bodyshell First I had to get a 43508X kit! Not sold in the UK I chanced upon one back in 2017 and snapped it up. Very rough but the basics were there. The Proline Powerstroke shock set is expensive and hard to come by. Used sets make £140 on Ebay so I was glad this one was complete. You can also see the modified heatsink head. The body, wheels and tyres (rotten) were scrapped and the car went in storage. Since 2017 I have been collecting all the extra parts I need, tyres, wheels, servos, a new body, OFNA servo saver, MIP drive cups and the OFNA engine backplate. With that now done the TNX has made it to the top of the list for rebuild. Another Race car replica build has started! It's time to get dirty and strip it down!

I am not sure what's quite wrong with me. I sold off my hobby grade converted Taiyo here, and now I have picked up another. This is the Taiyo off-road Tiger, also known as the Taiyo Giant Roader. It's got larger wheels than the classic Yellow/Blue Taiyo 4x4 but is otherwise very similar. This one was branded XGO by Tandy from 1995. Zero suspension but has large tires and the rear and forward wheels share the same differential right and left with two parallel prop shafts, making for a surprisingly capable off road car, especially with the (very) low gear selected. With a brushless this will be very fast, but will be prone to roll over so dirt and grass only. The plan here is quite simple. I am going to keep the battery bays so it can take 4 x C batteries, but I will add a connector to allow the option of the 2C Li-ion battery as well into the ESC. I will go brushless again with a12T 7200 KV ezrun. If that proves too hot I will move the motor to something else, and go for the 18T version. I will have a look at the steering, I think I might be able to get ball studs and turnbuckles to connect the steering over the original system, but we will see. The plan for the body is simple; remove the wing and reduce the rear roll bar height, paint roll bar and wheels white, take off all the stickers and dress it up like a clodbuster. If you compare if to the GF01 you can see they are a similar size. What I want to do is find a way of attaching the body to the chassis via posts, so I can clip the body into the Taiyo, but also have the body as an option for the GF01 to make a 4x4 1/14 clod. You can see the suprisingly good clearance with 105 mm tires. Now with a baby in the house this is really a build that might take a long time, bit I find it's nice to have a project to look forward too, even if I won't be able to make much headway. A little while ago @GeeWings asked if there was any consensus on removing stickers, I can't find the thread, was there an answer? 😀 I know compared to a hopped up TRF this isn't the sexiest build, but hopefully these have inspired builders on a budget and those interested in smaller scales.

There once was a time when hobby stores and online stockists were overflowing with 2.2 monster truck wheel and tyre options, with the likes of HPI offering more crazy wheel designs than you could shake a pointy stick at and Proline making monster truck tyres that looked good and offered grip on the track. But here we are in 2022, and wheel and tyre options are thin in the ground, at least here in the UK. Here I thought I'd do a comparison of the wheels and tyres I have. Most of these are available now from somewhere in the world. First, here's some visual comparisons of the tyres. Apologies for the focus being off in some of them, I didn't notice on the small screen. From left to right: HPI Mud Thrasher (Wheelie King standard tyre, IIRC), MST Monster Truck Tyre (standard with MTX-1), Ho Bao Monster (no idea if these are still available, I've had them for around 15 years), and finally the ubiquitous Tamiya spiked chevron

Welcome to my Konghead build. I've had a love of all things Tamiya since my folks bought me and my Brother a Boomerang each in 1988/9. Ever since then I've built a dozen or so kits. Some I still have and others I've (regrettably) sold. Having been into comp crawlers and scale trucks for the last several years I've recently, once again turned my attention to Tamiya. I'm part way through a TT-02 Type S Rally Car (build thread coming), have a DT-03 ready and waiting to start, but first, the Konghead caught my eye. So, here goes. A word of warning though... I like to take a lot of pics during a build! Oh, and since I've found a lot of useful information on here, I thought I'd become a subscriber. I'm not a fan of the chrome wheels (especially for the paint job I'm thinking about), so opted for these yellow ones from JK-RC instead. Added some Schumacher truck foams that I've used in my Lunch Boxes. Thought I'd get the shocks out of the way before starting the kit. I absolutely love building Tamiya shocks. They are definitely some of the best. That's where I'm up to for now. Thanks for taking a look.

Latest Update 01/10/2020: Now wearing JConcepts F250 body OK, this is a bit of a random project. It began life way back in the mists of time as something completely different, but I'll skip the convoluted history and go right for the current status. I'm having a real thing for monster trucks right now, and I figured when I'd finished my TXT project I'd build a smaller, more garden-friendly monster from a TLT/Axial-based crawler that I put together a year ago from parts I had lying around. I put together a series of Showroom entries about it last year, which you can read here, if you want some more detailed history of these parts: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=133649&id=15729 I bought a JConcepts 1984 F250 body and some alu section that I could use to hack together a rough-and-ready truck out of these parts. But before that, I figured I should test-fit the monster truck wheels to make sure they would work with the axles and links. Here they are - HPI wheels and Ho Bao Monster tyres. These have a history too - they have been in my wheels box for over a decade. The tyres have gone white and powdery but are still soft and grippy. I needed to use Junfac axle wideners so they would clear the links and shocks. With that done, I figured I should take it out for a test-drive as-is, before I took it apart.

So I picked up a Vulcan 1/8 Monster truck. 540 Motor and weighs a ton. It's digital proportional and goes ok. A better esc and motor would really help, but I'm keeping this one stock for my nephew. When I got it it was covered in dust, but under that I'm not sure if it has ever been run, it's almost mint. Size comparison with a 1/10 buggy. This thing is about Clod size.

So after much, much debating (let alone pester you guys with inane questions about Clods), I've bought myself a Clod Buster. Yup! I've finally done it. One showed up for sale about an hour away, according to the seller a completely mint shelf queen with a flawless body shell. I'm a bit apprehensive about second-hand RC cars, especially older ones, but the price was right and on the pictures it did look fairly good. Money was exchanged, and the biggest RC car I've ever owned came home with me. Seriously, it towers over everything I own. And I told the wife that I'd be buying no more RC cars this year, so obviously I've bought the biggest one I could find. When I got it home the first thing I did was inspect it. The body was painted well, but lacked detail. That's okay though. I'm not great with painting hard bodies, but I've got a steady hand and a decent supply of paints. So I turned this.... ... into this! What I did to the body: - Straighten out hood scoop decal. (Seriously, how do you even...) - Painted the mat black window trim of the smoker windows - Traced all the shut lines of all the doors (and the funky tilt nose) with a Parma detailing pen. That adds so much depth to the body! - Repainted much of the silver trim around the windows (my hands are clearly a bit steadier than the PO's) - Painted the chrome taillight bezels and added the white reversing lights - Painted the front side lights / parking lights / whatever those things do on a squarebody Chevy. - Added in the black bits in the grill. - Painted the chrome front side marker bezels and added in the orange lights - 'Relocated' the chrome dot indicating the door locks to the correct location (again, how do you... Luckily the old silver paint came off easily) - Replaced a few missing screws here and there. - Stuck the windshield wipers back on, though I hold little hope for their permanence on those little pins. Might have to devise a different solution. The body seems to be closest to an '83-'85 squarebody Chevy C/K, and they came with a body-colored trim panel in the grill. I'm debating painting the one on there red to match the body, but I kinda dig the chrome look. Plus, the lack of Chevy emblem might indicate that it's an aftermarket panel. Meanwhile, the chassis is in bits. I've ordered the metal parts bag from a Super Clod so I have the correct chassis braces, along with a screw bag (because I'm rapidly running out of M3 Tamiya bolts with this truck...) and some other odds and ends like steel pinions. I've also bought a Hobbywing Quicrun 860 (the dual-motor one) and a high-torque servo. There's an MSC in there right now. I'm not going to use that, obviously, but if space permits I might leave it in and connect it to a broken servo, just so it looks the part. I'm planning to go fairly stock with it. It's an '80s monster truck, both in design and 1:1 truck it depicts. I'm not expecting Monster Jam-esque jumps and sky wheelies and such, but rather this slow and deliberate crawl over some old body sets.

I thought I'd share my experience of building my first kit.... Only 30 years late. I've posted elsewhere about finally getting the lunch box after wanting it for years. I was worried about the build, but it turned out to be brilliant fun. I thought I'd post here for anyone like me, thinking about attempting their first kit. I didn't get it right every time, and I learnt a lot along the way. My main advice is to build it slowly, read the manual a few times before you start, and enjoy the process. First the unboxing - I love that cover art:

Just joined the club! It's no exaggeration to say I've wanted a Tamiya RC for over 30 years. My brother had a second hand Hornet when I was 7 - and I loved everything about it. I remember seeing the Vanessa's Lunch Box in the magazines and being desperate to get it - not understanding what 'kit' meant. The box art has always stuck in my head - the lettering, crazy image and all the decals. I finally bought the re-release recently - and was actually quite nervous about putting the thing together. I've not attempted something like this before - especially something that cost north of £100. I can honestly say the whole experience of building it, painting and driving the bonkers thing around has been an absolute treat. I love the fact that the steering is almost useless at speed, and it bounces like crazy on the shocks and keeps pulling wheelies. For me that adds to the feel of it being an 80s monster truck - and makes it more fun to try and wrestle into doing what you want. I spend the whole time driving it, grinning and hoping the battery doesn't run out too soon! It's fair to say that I've been hooked into the world of Tamiya RC cars...... just need the Monster Beetle to come back in stock. I went for the standard paintjob - and tried to get it as close to the box art as possible - you can see some pics below - and of the build. I actually went for the TS-34 Camel Yellow for the shell, which I think has a nicer vintage look than the bright yellow they suggest. Probably because that's how it looks on the old adverts. I did the window frames freehand, so they aren't perfect, and used some cheaper acrylics for some of the tiny detailing. A decent marker pen actually worked better for the very fine black lines around the lights. It's already thoroughly scuffed and scratched since these photos were taken, but I've accepted that is part of owning one of these. Tempted to buy another shell to keep smart. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has recently got one of these - or finally decided to buy their first proper RC.

Hi guys Found a TNX new in box locally, Is it any good? I won't pay more than new so that's fine. I don't have a specific wish or need for yet another nitro monster truck, so if it's no good, why bother right? But if it's a decent and fun rig, sure why not add it to the ever so growing collection. What engine is in it? I'm aware that it's a .32 of some kind, but got no clue as to what it actually is. Any and all info is much appreciated.

I’ve always been a fan of the Clodbuster, because of the customization factor, so many variations on the same chassis, it’s crazy....so here’s mi rendering of the Clodbuster..... Had an extra set of SCX10 rails sitting around, so I decided to replicate a lift kit for the SCX10 with these aluminum plates which coincidentally lined up with the SCX10 holes, go figure, it will be 4 linked, with vertically mounted dual servos, working lights, Ampro GMC grill....amongst other things..... Ego will be captain of this rig, still deciding on interior, Recaro seats of RC4WD blazer interior...

I've been delaying posting this until I was sure I had everything figured out and wasn't going to be halted due to cost or loss of interest. So, after my Bad Influence (Stag) Jugg/TXT build, I had a bunch of reasonably viable parts left over: Then another thread reminded me of a project I'd wanted to do before, but had abandoned due to lack of skill, so off it was to eBay - and with the help of waterbok nabbing some parts from Germany when my address was deemed invalid I ended up with this haul: I decided to go with Jugg2 axles instead of RC4WD Blackwells because they had the input offset I'd need to reduce driveshaft angle, it was cheaper for a matching pair, and I wouldn't have to purchase adapters to fit the Clod wheels. Also, I'm going to use the stock Jugg servo saver setup with a single servo for 4wheel steer (which may be changed depending on how many times I roll the truck). Yes, those are alloy Jugg E parts and a leaf spring bag. We're going old school. Then, it was off to Rhino - quite a bit of steam coming out my ears getting all the measurements right and double checking positioning but then I got this: Currently, according to Shapeways it'll be shipped on Mar 8, and then I'll be able to test fit things and see how wrong I got everything. Can anyone guess what the final product is supposed to look like? (there's a hint in the title of the thread)

Hi Folks, Been on a MF-01X binge over the last few months. I have seven built and one still to go. Two will be runners while the rest shelf queens. Shelf queens mostly spot Tamiya Esc + 17.5T sensored Brushless motor. One of the Runners has up rated 80A Hobbyking esc & 13.5T motor. The other is a work in progress at the moment.

Last week I ordered my second WT-01 monster truck. I already have a Tamiya Blackfoot III full alloy conversion but now I want a fast brushless truck, so I buy a Bush Devil II kit. An unboxing and tuning parts video: First act was opening the gear box and changing the bearings. I used bearings without rubber, for softer running. The diff was already filled with grease. Next step was building the shocks. Team C but labeld with Ansmann. 93mm shocks for rear and 85mm for front. They are very good finished, looks awesome. The sorings are very soft. After that I build the rear axle and implement a wheel spacer, because my beadlock rims have only +6mm offset, but I need 10-11mm like the stock rims. I see in TT-01 community Super Blackfoot axles, they are 5-7mm longer. Perfect! But there was a new problem: how to fill the space between hex and ball bearing. I tried this: - rubber o-rings -> pressing to strong on the bearings and expensive - washer -> too big - special small rc washer -> too expensive ...think...think...think....I got it! Alloy tube from hardware store -> cheap, exactly 5mm inner width, unbreakable and easy to rebuild, if lost. I changed every tapped screw by M3 screws and small tubs. So suspension is very soft and clean and more stable than stock screws. I found two alloy hex adapters, installed only on rear axle. Building rear axle is same like front. C-Hubs I using are for TL-01 but fits also perfect on WT-01. Made of delrin and ball beared! The bearings are filled with rubber compared with bearings in gear box. The rubbers protect against dirt. For front shocks I need to change the piston rod from 51mm to 41mm. Otherwise the shocks would be too long. The chassis was very easy to build, only tapped screws. But for servo I have used alloy mounts from Tamiya with some spacers. Works good, but I hope the mounts don't broke again, like on my Blackfoot. Toward Pro servo from asia, 15kg alloy gear. Kimbrough servo saver, stable and short, it don't touch the chassis. No big deal, after that chassis looks like this: Rims are made by gmade, 2.2'' beadlocks, looks awesome and mustn't be clued. The have nearly same size like stock but bit bigger and No 1 grip! So the "final" chassis looks like this: Next step brushless kit and searching for a nice looking body shell. Bye for now!

Hi All Just started a fan group for the older Kyosho Car Crusher series of monster trucks. Big Brute Nitro Brute Hi Rider Vette Double Dare Big Boss USA 1 (electric and nitro) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1559558210958921/ Feel free to come join and have a look

Is there any other parts I need for the 4wd conversion? 19805551 x 2 drive shaft 50823 x 2 Wheel axle 19805368 gearbox joint, short and long And of course the other gearbox. Is there anything I have overlooked?

Like the title says.

Hi All, 1st off ... Thanks for the help with sorting the steering servo problem out for me (see other thread). Secondly, Here are a couple of photo's of my New (Secondhand) Toy, the midnight Pumpkin. I was in the middle of sorting out the steering servo when these photo's were taken, so thats why the front wheels are pointing inwards. I'm going to be changing the shocks over soon and getting some body mounts ... I only have the 2 rear ones on it at the moment because I got it with them missing, along with 1 front spring and bottom mount for the corresponding front shock. I have used a spring and mount from a Tamyia Street Fighter (I think that's what it's called) Nitro RC Car, just to get it up and running. I'm going to be painting it soon ... any suggestions on colour schemes? I've got my 'air brush' out and now I've just need to decide on what colour/s to use. Also I'm hoping to fit some LED lights into it soon as well ... Maybe even some 'Neon' type lights underneath as well. If all goes well with this build, I'm looking into getting some shells and building my own chassis for them. I would love to get a 'Ford 150 Ranger' shell ... I had the original one in the 1980's and my Dad gave it away when I moved out and I've wanted one ever since ... the chassis on that was knackered, so I made my own up and it worked great ... I just wish I had taken some photo's of it. Cheers, Aaron.