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I've kind of got to the point where I look around my basement and realize just how deep into this RC hobby I've gotten. I've been enamored with RC since I was about 15 and as I sail past my mid 40's every now and again I take a step back and look at the horde I've accumulated. Pretty much my entire basement is now a hobby shop, and stuff just keeps coming in. It occurred to me that if I got hit by a runaway chicken truck tomorrow, how on earth would my wife sort out this mess? To that end, I've put a hold on new purchases for now, and embarked on a project to sort, categorize, and assign approximate value to everything I own.... it's quite the project and something I wish I had been doing as I went! As I've been sorting though stuff, I've been finding all kinds of bits that are leftover from previous builds - partial kits that I've robbed, plundered, or parted out over the years. Not to mention quite a few restoration projects that I started and got distracted by some other shiny new object and just never finished. About 1/3 of my collection is projects that are "in progress.." So in-between sorting, I've been tinkering with some of the projects I've forgotten I had. Messing around with a Tamiya always brings a smile to my face, and reminds me of the simple fun I had when I first got into this hobby - something I'm sure many of you feel as well. So, to that end, I'd like to post up some of the Tamiya projects I come across. I used to buy and restore vintage Tamiya quite often - tearing down a car, cleaning it and rebuilding/modifying is one of my absolute favorite things to do in this hobby! However prices lately seem to have gone through the roof, and parts have been slowly drying up since the MAP price increase years ago - I guess there's no more profit in parting out anymore, so I've since stopped and stick to new kits. Thankfully, I've accumulated enough stuff to keep me busy for quite a while. So instead of posting several different threads, I thought I'd create just one and post up projects as I go. Updates will be somewhat sporadic as my main goal is my spreadsheet, but I DO want to finish these if nothing else as it makes them easier to classify. So far I've found a Bearhawk, Falcon, King Cab, most of a King Blackfoot, Thunder Dragon, Bruiser, and a dual motor M02. Not to mention about a dozen newer kits in bits I can piece together, and some that just need some paint - CC01, TA03, DF03RA, and more. About 20 in all that I hope to have finished by Spring. Drop in once in a while and see what's cooking! ------------------------ Alright, enough blather - let's see some pics! First thing that caught my eye was this poor Monster Beetle Trail. I stole the portals for my TL01 and the body and gearbox were built and sitting on the shelf. Sorting though my TL/MF/WT/GF parts box (since they all intermix) I found a simple TL01 suspension and grafted it on. (Note the unfinished WW2, Konghead, and TL. More fodder for later builds. :)) However, the wheel wells on this body don't line up at all. Not sure if this was a re-pop from something or a newly designed body, but it's not even close. Without the portals, the tires hit the body terribly. Normally I would shave the body to accommodate, but instead I messed around a bit and come up with...Tada! TL01B arms move the wheels out much further. With the short WB and wide stance it looked silly with the stock wheels so I slapped on some SC wheels with a bunch of positive offset to bring the width back in. I think the stance is spot on! I'm undecided on wheels and tires just yet, but going with SC wheels and tires gives me a lot of options. It's just mocked up for now, but I like it. Need to figure out some electronics, sort out some details and do some painting.

When I put together my Blitzer Beetle, as I mention in my showroom I used the chassis from my runner Bearhawk with Stadium Thunder wheels/tires. I'm thrilled with the Blitzer Beetle so I'm keeping it that way permanently. But I've decided I want to get a chassis ready for the Bearhawk body and either make it the way it was - with the big wheels - or make it box art. Well, I snagged an old Bearhawk on ebay for about $20 with a mess of a body - but I just tossed that. Smells of cigarettes and is actually in worse shape than I expected. Gearbox has a big hole in it (not one of the ones meant to be there) and the chassis is scraped up and has carpentry screws sunk into it in odd places. So I may have to take a hit on that and replace a good bit of the parts. Here's my question... When I made up my Blitzer shell it was from a deal I got on the body components. But I'd already collected up all the NIP parts I'd need to build a Biltzer Beetle. Absolutely complete in fact, except no box... I have it in some other box. My question is now that I have a built Blitzer Beetle should I just raid the parts I need for the Bearhawk from the kit, or should I keep the kit intact, wait for a Blitzer Beetle box and plan on adding it to my NIB collection? To complicate matters I already have an extra NIP chassis, and the existing set of wheels and tires, plus many of the parts from the junker Bearhawk are usable. But I'll definitely need a new gearbox, and I might opt for a new set of arms on all 4 corners. To complicate matters, if I raid the parts I'd accumulated what do I do with all the remaining parts? Do I sell them / hold on to them / light them on fire? So - advise!