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Found 50 results

  1. Hi all, I'm relatively new to rc kit building, my first was just last summer (Lunchbox) and had lots of fun with it. For my 2nd kit, I was originally leaning toward a Monster Beetle until I read about all the problems with its gear box. But I also read that the MIP super ball differential set might alleviate these issues, though it sounds like it still could have problems. And believe me, I'm not technically capable enough to handle constant repairs and modifications. After the Squash Van release this past winter, I thought I had found my new 2nd kit. But surprisingly, there hasn't been enough discussions about SV to convince me it's a good kit (it doesn't seem to be very popular), and it also sounds like it has tipping-over problems. All those gears also concern me. I should note here that I use my Lunch Box mostly out in the wilds (beach, dirt trails) so I'd like my 2nd rig to also be able to handle rugged and dirty terrain. So I'd like to put it to a community debate: MB or SV for a newbie's second build? Pros vs. cons for each?
  2. Hi everyone! I just wanted to share a project I have been working on to update the ORV chassis for the Monster Beetle. I have been out of the hobby for a long time, but have always had this project in the back of my mind. The two main goals are to get the most out of the suspension travel and to handle the power of a brushless setup. Although the majority of the chassis parts are replaced, keeping the following recognizable features were a priority. Rear trailing arms and axle boots ORV gearbox Front swing arm brackets Front suspension trailing links Original wheelbase (almost, but not quite) Rear cantilever shocks (failed) Original track width Maintaining the original wheelbase was not possible because of the reoriented battery, resulting in a 6% (15mm) increase. Designing a robust rear cantilever shock setup has also been challenging as the additional links and pivot point introduce significant weight and potential points of failure. Unfortunately this is something I have had to compromise on for now, however the "we have BBX at home" rear suspension has been working reliably with upright shocks. Here are some photos from various early stages of development. Several parts are still in the mail, but I will continue to update as kinks are worked out!
  3. Hi folks, I've been talking to my son about doing a Monster Beetle conversion on his re-re Grasshopper for a while now. Just checking if there are any 'gotchas'? Do the larger wheels put too much load on the steering and gearbox? We put a 540 in it which has given it good boost in power and speed. However it doesn't have enough ground clearance on the lawn and often gets hung up in thick grass. I thought the balloon tyres would help lift it and improve the springy suspension slightly too. So far the Grasshopper has been a great first car for my 6 year old - very durable and looks great! I am considering the following two options... Option 1 - Lunchbox Get the Frog Hex adapters Install Lunchbox front axles as they are longer Lunchbox wheels and tyres Option 2 - Monster Beetle Monster Beetle wheels and tyres. I guess I'll still need the longer Lunchbox axles on the front for this option too. As far as I know the rear Monster Beetle wheels have the same adapter as the Grasshopper. Has anyone done one of these conversions and had good/bad results?
  4. The issue: click click click For almost 30 years we've put up with this until @mheald provided us with a solution back in 2016 (a cheap and effective one that didn’t involve us spending £70 on a ball diff). As mentioned in a few other posts, been trying to develop a new ORV gearbox strengthener with my friend as the @mheald ones aren’t available any more (massive thank you to him as my one is still going strong with a brushless) Mk1 is now in development and have test fitted. We are now confident of fitment and everything lines up we can get the LH side going. this is a single shaped piece that will (hopefully - pending testing) clamp the gearbox and limit/minimise/remove the clicking. I’m hoping that it being a 1 piece solution it will be nice and easy to fit, won’t cost much and will come with bolts. I guess to plan how much more effort goes into this I’d be interested in knowing who’d like one (or two). if you are interested then please reply and I’ll add your name to the list List: @Problemchild x2 @Duvetdo x1 @Juhunio x2 @Frog Jumper x1 @Peter_B x2 @KEV THE REV x2 @J@mes x1 @jlcox7 x2 @toyolien x2 @Badcrumble x1 @tamiya3speed x1 @tamiya_1971 x2 @slimleeroy x1
  5. Hi Legends, Is there a MIP Super Ball diff available for the original Monster Beetle? I understand the MIP that you can find online is only for the re re MB..? cheers all
  6. If we take a trip in the way back time machine to the mid Eighties, you would find me in the market for a new RC truck. If you were a fan of monster trucks and RC, your choices were limited. There wasn't much in the market for dedicated monsters. There were trucks based on pan car chassis, a few smaller scale kits like the Lunch Box and Midnight Pumpkin, and some obscure ones like the Big Grizzly and Royal Crusher, and let's not forget the Big Bear. At this time, I was really wanting the Pumpkin. I saved all the money I could and was ready to pull the trigger. So the day came when my dad and I went to the hobby shop to get the truck. I looked around with my RCCA classifieds intent on getting the MP, when my dad spotted something completely new and bigger. Suffice it to say, when we left the store I was a proud owner of a Tamiya Blackfoot. My pop even helped me out on the price difference 'cause he knew that the BF was the better choice. Not that the Pumpkin is a slouch by any means. My purchase consisted of the kit, a Protech 702 charger, and a 6 cell Gonzo battery pack. I had a transmitter and receiver already. Fast forward a couple years to when I made a new friend in junior high. We both shared common interests, RC being one of them. So one day I brought over my Blackfoot to show off, and then he brings out his Monster Beetle. I'm like, Whats that all about then??! This kid's got the mother of orv's! The red body, gold wheels, and those beautiful CVA shocks. If memory serves, he even had a Thorp differential. Awestruck isn't a good enough term. Well, time flies by but the memories remain. So now that Tamiya has been re releasing its old school inventory, I picked up a Beetle and this is her story.... I'll post the build pics and continue on with upgrades/changes along the way. Oh, the sight of a NIB model. Look at it, look at it..... The backbone of the Beetle. Notice I am adding aluminum option parts. Yeah baby. No fooling around here. The single most important upgrade you can bestow upon your orv: An MIP ball differential. Added more option parts. And the awesome yellow CVA shocks. Insane amount of speed and torque. A wicked new OFNA red HD servo saver. Traded out the 540 motor and kit esc, replaced them with a Traxxas 12T 550 and XL5 esc. Another angle and a shot of the alloy pinion cover. Aluminum body supports. This rig is rock solid. Started out with Proline Badlands 2.2's on gold anodized aluminum rims and alloy knock offs. Looking tidy. Aluminum chassis skid plate. Battery door must be removed for this. Bolts right to the gearbox. JG Mfg front tower brace. So I went ahead and bought a white Sand Scorcher body off fleabay to use as an everyday basher body. I ordered some custom decals from the UK 'cause I liked the color combo. After a few runs, I was made blatantly aware that the tires were way too soft and the alloy rims wouldn't hold them without glue. Since the wheels are more for show and I already put a couple nicks on them, they were replaced with the kit wheels and tires. Sooooo much better. After about a week or so, I got tired of the white and removed the decals (they were kinda crappy to begin with - quality wise), primed it up and repainted the body and finished her off with the kit decals and three coats of clear coat. Oh, and the B-pillar, door handles and side trim are blessed with bare metal foil. About the paint scheme, I found an image online of a Beetle someone owned back in the day and fell in love with it. So I copied it. Look carefully and you can see the rare JG mfg front bumper. I also added some light pods behind it since the Sand Scorcher body doesn't support the MB's baja lights on the nose cone. Ooh yeah, 7 cells baby! Not going LiPo on this bug. The 12T motor and 7 cell pack is stupid fast already. It would be uncontrollable with a brushless LiPo setup. Installation of lights. Dark outside? No problem. Twiningmike HD steering rod kit. Ultra rare NOS You-G aluminum dampers. More images to come soon. Let me know what you think. Cheers.
  7. 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.
  8. Hi. My first post, so thanks in advance for any help offered! I've just bought and built a 2016 Blackfoot. Everything standard apart from metal ball bearings. 3000mah nimh battery. The transmission seems very smooth and working properly. But with the motor in, if i turn the rear wheels forward (with my hands) it doesn't turn as easy as I think it should. When I turn them in reverse its harder again. So this was concerning. The gear mesh is good. When running it, to me, the truck seems slow. I expected a quicker pickup. With a 10T pinion the top end is never going to be that quick. The engine gets hot quickly and after 4 or 5 minutes it is extremely hot to the touch. ESC is not hot. After about 5 minutes the car loses any punch it did have and after about 7 minutes its lost a lot of speed. It could run for a few more minutes but the fun has gone by that stage. Other thing to mention, it doesn't freewheel very far. In reverse, though reverse is slow, it practically doesn't freewheel at all. I'm trying to work out how much of this is normal as Ive never had a tamiya truck before, and how much is a problem. I'd be happy to buy a better motor and battery but no point if the same problems persist. My daughter has a Tamiya Racing Fighter, same set up, and it is so much faster, runs so much longer, motor doesnt get hot etc, that I'm left a bit disappointed with Blackfoot. It looks great though!! Many thanks for any advice.
  9. Hello, I'm looking for an original monster beetle body in good condition with all parts and stickers in tact. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg either. I see one on flea at for 129 and that's too much. Can anyone help? thanks
  10. Back in the late 80's I received an original Monster Beetle for Christmas. That started a life long interest in RC models. Thanks to the Tamiya re-release of the MB, this Christmas, some 30 years later, I have been able to repeat the process with my son. Suffice to say the MB was built in a couple of days and put straight to work at the local park. We also soon learnt that the MB and skateboard ramps are great fun until said MB becomes airborne and lands wheels up - Doh! I have patched up the shell and I am sure it will be fine once smoothed and painted, but, it did highlight that another shell might be a good idea (not at all that I wanted something to use myself!!). Rather than buy a 2nd MB shell I wanted something different to mix and match - a Blackfoot body being the obvious choice. However, while scanning through the Tamiya back catalogue I came across the Land Rover Defender 90 (Item No: 58657). While based on the CC-01 chassis the wheelbase is very close to the MB - 242mm vs 247mm and at 200mm wide a close fit to the MB. I took the plunge and ordered the D90 body set which arrived today. I have attached a few pictures but in my view it is a very good fit with the MB chassis, and could almost pass off as a scale D90 with a lift kit. Once painted and detailed (there are many detailing parts with the shell) and fitted with LED lighting, it should look great. I will post updates here as the build progresses. Having searched the forum I am not aware of anyone else putting the D90 shell on a MB/BF but if there is please do post a link below.
  11. Is it possible to put the exhaust thing and engine cage thing from the sand scorcher on the monster beetle, I’m saving up for one.
  12. Late night insomnia helped me stumble over this picture - Looks a bit like the old QD shell.
  13. Hi everyone. Just a heads up, I have been in contact with Don regarding his .50 caliber customs CNC rear ORV arms, and he is now considering the option of another parts run if there is enough interest. He is going to contact some local machine shops to work out minimum numbers and minimum pricing required and take it from there. Obviously the rear swing arms are the crown jewel item, but other possible parts if it goes ahead are steering blocks, front arms, rear shock mounts, rear body post brace, and motor cover. Some links to show examples of his parts - https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-frog-brat-orv-aluminum-468167415 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-monster-beetle-black-foot-mud-440019891 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-vintage-blackfoot-monster-481068476 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-monster-beetle-black-foot-mud-401325750 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-frog-monster-beetle-blackfoot-132398427 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tamiya-frog-brat-blackfoot-monster-137667539 https://www.tamiyaclub.com/trades_model.asp?cid=97760&id=23382 Don's plan once he knows minimum cost and numbers is to start a go fund me page to raise the capital required. He is happy for me to share his email address so any questions can be sent directly to him, but please genuinely interested inquiries only - Don McAtee - mcateedon@gmail.com Lets all support him on this and cross our fingers in the hope that it goes ahead Cheers, Dave.
  14. Hello, and greetings from Norway! I've picked up a Blitzer Beetle kit (2011), and I want to build it with tribute to the classic "Monster Beetle" from 1986. I found the Monster Beetle in bad shape in my parents basement this summer, and although I want to restore it some day, I wanted to build my own buggy first. So: I want to build the Blitzer Beetle with several elements from the Monster Beetle. Front bumper, reard guard and lights are ordered from ebay, and wheels have arrived already. My question is: How will the stock setup in the Blitzer handle these wheels? (see attached photo). Should I get a different piniongear? Or will it hold up just fine? Also wondering about the steering... Will it be too much too handle? Any input is appreciated.
  15. Gearbox for the Monster Beetle, although it should be a direct fit for all ORV cars. The design has been tested hard in my MB, through several vintage events and bashing sessions in all weathers. This eliminates the main problem with the car, the separation of the gearbox sides and destruction of the diff. With this transmission the kit diff will hold up to high powered motors without needing to be upgraded. You can also move the motor to set the pinion mesh and change ratios, viewing the mesh clearly through a polycarbonate window. What's included: - 3mm carbon fibre gearbox sides, CNC cut and engraved - CNC machined billet aluminium gear box structure - CNC machined aluminium motor mount plate - Polycarbonate end cap - All necessary additional fasteners inc. hex socket screws all round - Shipping worldwide £120
  16. Hi! I am so glad to have found this forum! Hopefully someone can help me out here. I have an old Tamiya QD monster beetle from the early early 90s. It’s missing both transmitter and receiver antennas. They broke of many years ago. Now I have a six year old son who would love to play with the old car. Would it be possible for someone to help me out with measuring the antennas exact length? That way I would be able to order spares. //Andreas (a hopeful dad) :-)
  17. Anybody know if the monster beetle wheels and tires will fit directly on the lunch box.
  18. Hi guys im looking for the middle spot light in good condition for a monster beetle I know it is slightly different to the two outer ones, I you have one you want to sell please let me know cheers
  19. Hi, I'm a noob so please bear with me. If I have posted in the wrong forum, please let me know... I have recently dug out my vintage, slightly-battered Monster Beetle (58060). It probably hasn't been driven for over 25 years! However, having been stored (assembled) in a bone dry loft, it is in pretty good shape. Spec is mostly stock but with an original RX-540VZ Technigold. The RC is all original Futaba, FP-R102GR/ FP-T2NCR. It runs almost perfectly but there does seem to be an issue with it sometimes having a life of its own, continuing to drive without input or not responding to any input. This is an intermittent issue, rather than something that happens all the time, and occurs while the car is in range. Steering inputs seem to be fine. I was pretty young when I first had the car and my memory on how it all works is a bit sketchy, so any pointers as to what the problem might be or how I could fix it would be appreciated. Is it likely to be the motor, the receiver or the controllers/servos? If I needed to buy a replacement RC system, would current systems slot in without modification or are things not compatible any more? Like I said, I'm pretty clueless so would certainly appreciate input of those more experienced. Many thanks R
  20. Spotted this for sale last week and had the impulse to buy it Arrived today The plan for this is to make it 100% runner, when it is not running it will live in the garage so build is purely designed around reliability. I have given it a quick once over and made a list of bits that it needs, my idea is that this will be used over the winter when we have mud / rain etc where my quick Blitzer will be no good so I kind of want to try and stagger the build if possible but I really want to get it running ASAP Plans are as follows: Add missing bits Replace any broken bits and add new gears Uprate a couple of bits like the servo saver and gearbox support plates from the chap on here. It has an uprated 27T motor in it for now so no plans for drive train upgrades until I have used it, may well go for a mild brushless setup simply for the reliability. I was originally thinking about painting the body again but that is certainly on the back burner for now, I don't want it to end up like my other MB that I am scared to use If anyone has any MB / Blackfoot spares then please check the Trade section for my wanted add
  21. Hi all. Well after a recent thread I started about which is the best basher in WT-01 (mudblaster 2, blackfoot 3 etc) vs the staduim blitzer, blitzer beetle etc to decide which to buy it turned out there wasn't really a winner. I eventually went for a mudblaster 2. They both seemed to handle the rough stuff and looked loads of fun. I decided on the mudblaster 2 because it was going for a really good price, roughly £90 delivered from Germany to the UK. Also I had a plan with the wt-01 plus the fact that if I ever wanted to do I could do a 4 wheel drive/steer conversion which is really easy with this model. It's a really versatile kit. So I thought I'd do a little build thread of what I had done during the build. I took photos at every stage but don't worry I'll just skip to the big parts. Here's everything laid out. It's not a dining table anymore, its a tamiya workbench! Front frame Front axles with replacement rubber sealed bearings from rcbearings Front assembly almost complete Assembling dampers Front assembly complete Adding rubber sealed bearings to the gearbox Rear gearbox assembly complete Metal geared servo with tie-rods attached (thanks to mr crispy for the link to buy the servo) Chassis halves attached with the tamiya teu-104bk esc installed, towardpro MG946R metal geared servo and the receiver Fully assembled gearbox added to chassis along with completed front assembly The wheels are on! Woo hoo. So instead of the mudblaster 2 body shell I decided I wanted to put the blitzer beetle/sand scorcher/monster beetle shell on instead. Here it is after arrriving from kamtec after a trimming. I used some curved nail scissors and was really pleased with the result. Then I ordered a couple of cans of tamiya PS-34 bright red polycarbonate paint and built myself a spray booth. The shell ended up like this... Then a really satisfying part. Peeling off the protective layer revealing the shiney red shell. Next the monster beetle decals went on Decals applied to shell And finally I modified the mounts to fit the beetle shell. With the front I just used one of the mounts as apposed to the 2 for the mudblaster shell and put it in the middle of the support and sandwiched it with some of the rubber tubing that was used on the dampers. Someone on here has done a very similar mount for this body so I can't take credit for this method. Rear modified mounts All done..... So that's it for this build so far. I did the monster beetle conversion because I really loved the original monster beetle but tamiya never did a re-re. I think if they did it probably would have been based on the wt-01 chassis going from what they did with the blackfoot and mudblaster so I tried to make what they haven't. I was going to buy an original but I bought an original blackfoot which is rarely run and I don't want to ruin 20+ year old originals. This is pure basher! From here little touches like tinting the windows will be done as it won't have a driver and I'd like to fit an original monster beetle rear bumper or fashion a plate at the back like the original has with the huge monster beetle decals on it. This will help fill the big space at the rear too. After this I'll look at improving the performance, esc, motor, batteries and changing to 2.4ghz radio gear. I've also got some plans for the suspension too. Eventually it will be lipo powered and brushless but I'm going to start at the bottom with a standard 540 motor and friction shocks and enjoy the improvements as they come along. Hope you liked the build. I'll put up a vid soon of its first run. It'll probably be in the snow.
  22. I have decided to move onto something else R/C wise, so I am selling my 2015 Tamiya Monster Beetle. Its been ran approx 8-10 times at most, but has def been alot of fun. Was built as per the manual, but the diff has been locked (so there is no clicking etc), full bearings were used on the whole chassis in place of the useless plastic bushings, also has carbon fibre battery stays fitted, custom wheelie bar, also included is a used LRP Quantum ESC, Reedy 12x2 KR motor and a standard Steering servo. Also comes with all the small spare parts that were left from the built, spare body mounts etc. Original build manual and original box too, complete with insert. Also comes with a full set of spare diff parts (brand new) and a spare spur gear (brand new). Also included is the Tamiya Land Cruiser FJ40 bodyset I painted and fitted last week to make it more scale like. The black wings/fenders and silver runners on the body were painted using Tamiya X paints on the outside of the body, but in no way detracts from the look. The wheels have been painted gloss black with a silver lip. The tyres are not glued and surprisingly stay on with no issues even with the 12x2 motor powering it. Now the slightly bad points. All of which are on the bodies. 1 - The Monster Beetle body hasn't been painted, the decals were applied and it was laquered, its looks ok for a runner. But the finish has turned very orange peely over time. 2 - The Monster Beetle body has a tiny crack above the side windows (as pictured) and one of the side windows has a crack in it (again pictured) and both mirrors are missing and the wipers are now CA glued in place (as pictured) 3 - The Land Cruiser FJ40 Body has some blemishes on it as I stupidly ran out of metallic red before backing it with silver (as pictured) All in all it would make a great runner, or a good shelf car to add a mint body too as the chassis is in almost mint condition. Due to weight and size I would prefer to post within the UK. Price is £120 posted, or I can split and do just the MB for £100. It will all be very well packed up inside another large box so as not to damage the kit box or anything else. Any questions, or any other pictures needed please feel free to ask. Many thanks James
  23. Hi there, I am after a pair of rear Beetle CVA shocks to put on my Frog (hopefully they are a direct fit?) 80mm long please. Happy with an all white pair so I can dye them. Cheers
  24. OK, so I've been using some "yeah racing" aluminum oil dampers on my Bushy D (vintage Bush Devil/Super Blackfoot) with standard Blackfoot front-end suspension... Here's an example pix: http://jpegbay.com/gallery/005068524-1.html#1 I haven't been too happy with the dampers, although they look really shiny... They just don't have the same "mushy-ness" as my neighbors Tra**as big bore dampered truck... So I bought some Tamiya 50520 CVAs for the Bushy D... I'm waiting still for them to arrive, but I wanted to start a discussion about these for my own sake... Mine the Tamiya Club database for nuggets of knowledge... Topic 1: I noticed (from reading instruction manuals online) that the re-re MB CVAs (I assume the BF too) use the solid piston with the solid flat-head (BC8), while the 50520 uses pistons with attachable e-ringed flat-heads with holes (1, 2, or 3)... Anyone have any first hand knowledge on a comparison between the different set-ups??? I'm thinking of using the 3-hole flat-head... Topic 2: I also want to jazz up my car. Are there any other colors that I can get the plastic pieces, other than black, yellow, and white??? Do other color CVA shock plastic pieces exist??? I see there are clear blue 50519 parts (???), are there blue or red pieces??? Are these plastic pieces from other cars that I can use to replace the typical 50520/50519 plastic pieces??? Topic 3: Does anyone have any experience with the 50519s on a Frog??? I think I'll need those for my front-end... AFAIK the piston and reservoir lengths are shorter??? These have a clear blue option, as mentioned above??? Topic 4: Hi-Cap Dampers. How cool are they??? Thanks, Terry
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