Seeing It Through (A Variety of Unfinished Tamiya Builds)

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

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. 

[wtcc5 4197]

Nice thinking here! I am way shorter in this hobby than you, but since Corona hit, the number of models has risen fast. Luckily not so much unfinished projects on my side. Still 55 models on the shelf, two kits new and one ordered. Making a pricelist for my wife would make her maybe make less sad (in that case), but is a good idea anyway 

Looking forward to all the gems you will show us here in the future!

[Nikko85 2983]

This is great, I love the Bandito tires, it's much nicer than the stock look, and fits that shell perfectly. I might borrow the idea!

To answer your question, the bodies are not bespoke, but taken from the QD range of monster trucks, all 1/14 scale.

The QD truck monster truck chassis has a wheelbase of 195 mm. Because they were made to look like monster trucks with an stretched chassis the Pumpkin body has an arch - arch length of 175 mm. As the GF01 has a wheelbase of 175 mm you can put on the Pumpkin shell and it looks amazing. Wheels line up better than they do in the QD chassis

So, had Tamiya gone for the Pumpkin QD as the shell for the GF01TR they would have worked perfectly, without any portals. I think if Tamiya were going to release a smaller 4x4 QD shell to make the GF01TR I think they really should have gone with the QD Clod - much better fit, both in terms of type of truck and sizes.

I think they didn't because the "hump" back of the Beetle allows for electronics to be easily placed.

[tamiya_1971 559]

5 hours ago, OldSchoolRC1 said:

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?

I thought about this when I was over at my mother-in-law's house on Sunday. Her husband (wife's stepdad) passed away 5 years ago with about 25+ rc's in a hobby shed. He left all the rc's to his son. She thought they all were worth nothing since they were just "toys". I added it up and told her there was at least 7-8k worth of toys in there.   The son and other family members finally showed up last spring after years of asking them to please remove the items  (4 years into his passing) and basically ransacked the shed (they were entitled to the stuff, it was the condition they left the shed which miffs me).  I went through the remaining leftovers and found a couple brushed motors, decals, and some other Tamiya parts/bodies. More or less some nice remembrances of him.   The pic is just one side of the shed from 2016.  

He had a lot of unfinished projects. Tons of bodies, esc's, partially built stuff....I was shocked at how much he had. 

I think you have the right idea on finishing the projects, I have a few that need to be done. Perhaps I'll work on them this winter. 

 

[Mad Ax 8349]

@OldSchoolRC1 that Beetle looks delightfully silly with those wide arms, I love it

I too often say "no more new cars until I finish some projects" but I realise now that I have an addiction, I acquired yet another NIB yesterday morning which was a quarter built my late afternoon.  I really don't have space for any more, but I can't work out what I'd happily let go of!  I need to take a week off work when the weather improves next year, empty the entire workshop into the yard, catalog the lot and figure out what I can sell.

Good luck getting through your projects  

[Grumpy pants 4214]

Great thread and even better to see you working on existing projects.

 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

Next up, since I had most of the parts out, was my Wild Willy 2....Did this really come out in 2000? I've had it for a long time, though 21 years seems like a lot. Geez! Anyway, I'm missing a few bits for the Willy body, so I messed around a bit and came up with plan B. 

First thing I did was put the chassis back together - it was in pieces in my parts bin. Standard TL01 style suspension with some fancy shocks and "low ride" wheels and tires. Other than the fancy shocks, I added a TL01 swaybar for the back thinking it might help in the wheelie department. The rest of the chassis is stock. 

Initially, I was going to go with this old Nikko Big Bubba body... fit the WB perfectly and just looked great! I carved a bit out of the bed and got it down right where I wanted it - however, I forgot about the battery mount, and when I remembered it would have meant cutting out the entire back of the body. I didn't want to do that, so it was back to the drawing board. 

Dug around some more and found this Jimny body. I had picked it up for a 1/2 baked MF01 idea and never used it. Since it came on this chassis, it was a simple matter of adding some body mounts and dropping it on. 

I don't like it high in the sky though, might have looked ok with the larger tires but it looked silly with the little ones. I dropped it down a bit though I got severe rubbing up front. Ultimately, I sacrificed the molded in bumpers to get the ride height I wanted.  

Turning to the chassis, I found almost everything I needed except for the battery door mounts. They are here in the mess somewhere, but I gave up after 30 minutes of sifting through parts. I did find a set of mounts that work perfectly- I believe they are from the Comical series? I picked up some parts trees to get the suspension arms and I must have gotten these too. This is exactly why I never throw anything away! I found the exhaust pipes too....I think I can put these to good use. 

A bit of cutting, some glue, and a long set of screws and the pipes have been wedded to the old style battery door cover. On a side note, I don't have a JIS screwdriver, but for 30 years I've been using a Craftsman PH2 screwdriver - it's the best one I've found for Tamiya screws. 

Electronics time! Not every vehicle I dig out with get full electronics...I just don't have enough to go around. I would like to run this one though, so it gets the full suite. I have a few Tamiya ESC's stored up from various kits though for this one I'll use an old 1040 esc and a new Mabuchi silver can. Steering is handled by a Futaba S148 servo entering its 3rd decade of service. Can I just say for a moment that I picked up a bunch of these S148 servos in the late 80's/early 90's and I don't think I've broken a single one. I don't bash my vehicles hard per-se, but I certainly drive them (especially when I was younger) and the fact that these servos are still going strong is frankly amazing. 

and this is as far as I got... Comical Jimny? I love it! 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

Thank you for the kind words @Mad Ax and @Grumpy pants

@wtcc5 - Corona caused a swelling of the collection for sure! I bought several kits to build just to keep busy. Several of them will be making an appearance as most of them are waiting for paint. 

@Nikko85 - I figured they might have come off the QD series. I love the mini Pumpkin!

@tamiya_1971 - quite the story! Thank you for sharing. I've not given much thought to what happens to my collection per-se, but some recent events have kicked me into gear. Unfortunately, my girls have little to no interest in it so eventual sale is the goal. Hopefully not for a long, long time.  

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

And I have to confess, this one is pretty much done, I'm just catching up on posts and pics. I decided on some Proline Vintage wheels and the TSL tires. I'd like to paint the wheels yellow, but I use can spray paint for that and it's way to cold at the moment. I do need a rear body mount of some kind, I'm still percolating on that one. 

1080 ESC for now and a 35t motor. Wasn't sure how it would handle, but it can certainly take a bit more speed. 

Sliced away a bit of the "motor" to get it to clear the chassis...I'm thinking a simple slide under style mount here will be fine. Just need to glue up some styrene. 

I took it out for a test drive - it's an absolute riot to drive. Since it's so wide, you can crank the steering and it just heels over and turns. Tons of suspension travel, it's super plush. Wheelies pretty good, though with the 35t I have to back into it to get a really good one. Totally drives like a Tamiya should - bobbing, weaving and bouncing along. I love it! 

[87lc2 2573]

Great thread!  The Beetle looks killer with the wide arms.  Can't wait to see what else you do. 

Funny, I've been thinking the same thing.  I always tell my wife if anything happens to me unexpectedly don't just trash my overgrwon hoard of "toys" in the garage    Although most of my vehicles are together and runners, she has no clue what any of them are or what they would be worth.  I feel like I should go through and do a simple Excel sheet with images and give a basic description or something for each one.  Then I think, there's no way in the world she would even bother to go through and sell each one so it's probably be a waste of time anyway.  I do wonder what would happen if I were suddenly gone though...someone would happen upon a heck of a yard sale!

Keep the pictures coming, interested in what else you put together. 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

It's a bit of a gruesome topic, isn't it? I'm still sorting out my Father's estate, and it's now 15 months passed and I'm still dealing with things.....And I thought I had a good handle on it! It has definitely opened my eyes to how a bit of planning can go a long way. 

I have a folder in a place she has the password to with all my website accounts, user names, and passwords so she can access everything she needs. Also a "what to do" document listing everything from bill payments and schedules to how to mow the yard.  I tend to add to it when I think of something that I do that she has no idea how I do it. 

So far on my RC instructions, I've got lists of forums for reference, members names and contact info should she need help, a few FB friends and acquaintances locally that she could ask for help in identifying items. Places online that I list and sell parts as well. I was debating taking pictures of items, but frankly things change and I have little faith in my ability to keep it current. I'm listing top level items right now - kits, radios, memorabilia, etc. and a top level scenario of what to do to liquidate everything should the need arise. At least she would have a roadmap of sorts to follow. I'm not sure what to do about the mountains of parts yet...still mulling that one. 

After the RC list is done, I have a sizable model train collection I need to quantify, as well as my Transformer collection.  Then I can rest easy, and just keep it updated every few months or so. 

Obviously, my hope is that none of this is EVER needed and that I'm wasting my time....I'm sure I'll be parting it out myself someday eventually when I'm gray and feeble ...but it's good to be prepared.    

[87lc2 2573]

Yea, not the most fun topic, but necessary.  Reminds me that I need to do a bit more.  Between the RCs, tools, 1:1 cars, and everything else I "collect" my family would have a heck of a time sorting it out.  I'd hate for it to be a burden on them (really no avoiding that), and if it were decently organized they could make some good money.  Without guidance though it would most likely just be overwhelming and a huge burden.  I had been thinking about this for a while now, but may need to finally do something about it. 

Anyway, back to your thread.  Keep the cool builds coming   

[El Gecko 1312]

Would the Nikko body fit better on the Monster Beetle chassis with those long arms and big tires?

Love seeing Big Bubbas resurrected

[Grumpy pants 4214]

On 12/1/2021 at 2:18 PM, OldSchoolRC1 said:

And I have to confess, this one is pretty much done, I'm just catching up on posts and pics. I decided on some Proline Vintage wheels and the TSL tires. I'd like to paint the wheels yellow, but I use can spray paint for that and it's way to cold at the moment. I do need a rear body mount of some kind, I'm still percolating on that one. 

1080 ESC for now and a 35t motor. Wasn't sure how it would handle, but it can certainly take a bit more speed. 

Sliced away a bit of the "motor" to get it to clear the chassis...I'm thinking a simple slide under style mount here will be fine. Just need to glue up some styrene. 

I took it out for a test drive - it's an absolute riot to drive. Since it's so wide, you can crank the steering and it just heels over and turns. Tons of suspension travel, it's super plush. Wheelies pretty good, though with the 35t I have to back into it to get a really good one. Totally drives like a Tamiya should - bobbing, weaving and bouncing along. I love it! 

This looks great! 

[Grumpy pants 4214]

On 12/1/2021 at 2:07 PM, OldSchoolRC1 said:

Next up, since I had most of the parts out, was my Wild Willy 2....Did this really come out in 2000? I've had it for a long time, though 21 years seems like a lot. Geez! Anyway, I'm missing a few bits for the Willy body, so I messed around a bit and came up with plan B. 

First thing I did was put the chassis back together - it was in pieces in my parts bin. Standard TL01 style suspension with some fancy shocks and "low ride" wheels and tires. Other than the fancy shocks, I added a TL01 swaybar for the back thinking it might help in the wheelie department. The rest of the chassis is stock. 

Initially, I was going to go with this old Nikko Big Bubba body... fit the WB perfectly and just looked great! I carved a bit out of the bed and got it down right where I wanted it - however, I forgot about the battery mount, and when I remembered it would have meant cutting out the entire back of the body. I didn't want to do that, so it was back to the drawing board. 

Dug around some more and found this Jimny body. I had picked it up for a 1/2 baked MF01 idea and never used it. Since it came on this chassis, it was a simple matter of adding some body mounts and dropping it on. 

I don't like it high in the sky though, might have looked ok with the larger tires but it looked silly with the little ones. I dropped it down a bit though I got severe rubbing up front. Ultimately, I sacrificed the molded in bumpers to get the ride height I wanted.  

Turning to the chassis, I found almost everything I needed except for the battery door mounts. They are here in the mess somewhere, but I gave up after 30 minutes of sifting through parts. I did find a set of mounts that work perfectly- I believe they are from the Comical series? I picked up some parts trees to get the suspension arms and I must have gotten these too. This is exactly why I never throw anything away! I found the exhaust pipes too....I think I can put these to good use. 

A bit of cutting, some glue, and a long set of screws and the pipes have been wedded to the old style battery door cover. On a side note, I don't have a JIS screwdriver, but for 30 years I've been using a Craftsman PH2 screwdriver - it's the best one I've found for Tamiya screws. 

Electronics time! Not every vehicle I dig out with get full electronics...I just don't have enough to go around. I would like to run this one though, so it gets the full suite. I have a few Tamiya ESC's stored up from various kits though for this one I'll use an old 1040 esc and a new Mabuchi silver can. Steering is handled by a Futaba S148 servo entering its 3rd decade of service. Can I just say for a moment that I picked up a bunch of these S148 servos in the late 80's/early 90's and I don't think I've broken a single one. I don't bash my vehicles hard per-se, but I certainly drive them (especially when I was younger) and the fact that these servos are still going strong is frankly amazing. 

and this is as far as I got... Comical Jimny? I love it! 

And this one too!

Keep up the good work and us posted on your progress as and when you can please 👍

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

On 12/2/2021 at 9:58 AM, El Gecko said:

Would the Nikko body fit better on the Monster Beetle chassis with those long arms and big tires?

I suppose it would! Both chassis have the same WB, though the 4wd version has super wide body mounts out back for some reason... Hmmm.   

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

Of course @Grumpy pants! 

Other than waiting for a receiver (I ordered the last 7 from the USA Hobbyking warehouse for my hacked GT3B...all for the princely sum of $48) the chassis was done. The body got a quick and simple spray in my usual colors and then got to work detailing. Been a while since I've done a Tamiya body, and forgot how long the decals can take.  

After a few hours of painting, decaling and getting my willy situated, I call this one complete! 

Love the pipes out back! Came out so cool. 

Once the receivers arrive, I'll throw one in and take it for a test drive. I imagine it's going to be  bit on the slow and torquey side due to the small wheels but it should be a wheelie machine due to all the torque... we will see! 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

I've set aside the TL parts bin for now...I've got a few more to take care of, but variety is the spice of life. Time for something a bit more .....vintage... The Bearhawk/Blitzer/Falcon parts pile.

Here's where they stand. Dusty.... Very dusty. It gets dirty down here in the hole - especially when I haven't touched them in years. Both were long ago Ebay finds - the Bearhawk was in reasonably good shape. The Falcon was a 5/10. 

Here's the Bearhawk... I modified a spare set of Falcon arms to give it a trailing arm suspension. It would have been easy to just bolt them on since the chassis are identical, but I wanted more track width out back so I moved them out a bit. Drilled some new holes and glued the mounts onto the chassis for about 20mm more track width. Some HPI dogbones worked perfectly, some shorter CVA's were sourced and the trailing arm Bearhawk was born!

HOWEVER the shocks rubbed the cage out back pretty badly. I was contemplating modding the cage, but wasn't sure if I wanted to hack it up since finding a new one was going to be ...well, you know. So I put it on the shelf for further contemplation. 

Some wheels mocked up... Love me some trailing arms!! 

After years of contemplating and finally coming to my senses, I think I'll just put it back to stock.    

The Falcon was a bird of a different feather. Mostly stock, It was fairly worn out when I bought it. I had planned to lower it down and make a mild street runner out of it and eventually use it as a donor for a better rebuild candidate.  I set up the suspension.... and that's as far as it got. The body got a quick re-spray on the outside, it was hand painted, cracking, and pretty darn ugly. I made my own shock tower and had planned some sort of motor out back. 

The front arms have basically disintegrated at this point. Not sure how much will be usable. 

Mocked up on some wheels and tires. It had a great stance! I love lowering down buggies - sometimes they come out amazing. The Falcon body looks pretty good sitting low. The body is actually dark blue, the layer of dust and age gives it a lighter tone. 

Chassis has definitely seen some runtime. Does have a rather nice brace up front! 

Both cars are getting disassembled and a good bath. Time to see what kind of shape everything is in and start building them back up. 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

Starting with the Falcon... The front arms, both upper and lower, are just gone. They've completely disintegrated around the pivot points. Too bad, the front suspension is kind of a signature feature of the Falcon and the shock towers were surprisingly in perfect shape! After pricing out replacements, as well as a new body I've decided to go resto-mod instead. I'll call this one the Proto-Falcon! I'd like to keep the Falcon feel, but get it rolling as cheaply as possible and hopefully with as many existing parts as possible. Which I just happen to have! 

First off, the gearbox. I do recall opening it up, cleaning and greasing and adding bearings. It spins super smooth (Note my handy driveline tester device!) so I cleaned the outside and left it alone. No need to take apart vintage Tamiya plastic bits if I can help it, it just wears out the holes a bit faster.   

Mounted out back with a Bearhawk style shock mount, CRP HD dogbones and some mini CVA's. Apparently I trimmed off the yellow motor guard at some point. I'd like to keep a bit lower stance, this will only ever see driveway duty. It's been offroaded enough over the years. 

And up front, I had enough spares from My Bearhawk - or my old Stadium Blitzer - to build a complete front end. Added some mini CVA's and mocked up on some yellow wheels to get the ride height in the ballpark. It'll eventually sit a bit lower I think. 

I drilled out the shock tower mounts and C hub with a 3mm bit and used a long screw and bolt style ball end. I try and do this whereever possible with old Tamiyas...removes the stresses from the plastic and hopefully no more stress cracks! Parts are still around so I'm not overly concerned for this one, but no need to crack something if I don't have to! 

The stock body was toast. Cracks everywhere and of course the wing mount was long ago ripped off. I fought my hoarding urges and tossed it. I found 2 stock body re-pops, though they were both a bit pricey. I have to watch the budget, I just blew a 1/6 hole in it with my SCX6, so anything I order will have to be on the cheap. I took a chance and ordered a $17 Bolink Funco body for the RC10. Period correct, it's what someone might have bought as a hop up back in the day. I just hope it fits decent, I guess time will tell! 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

I finished the Bearhawk pretty quickly, I think it came together well. Other than the dust, it was all in good shape and just needed cleaning and assembly. I know the driver is around here somewhere, it's the last piece that's missing. I'll keep an eye out for it as I contonue down the unfinished projects rabbit hole! 

Nice and clean! It's sitting a bit low, the rear shocks have 10mm spacers inside, and I put some 70mm Integy's on the front which after a bit of fiddling came out to the perfect size.  

The body looked great once it was all cleaned up. I'm not big on stickers as they usually peel up over time so for now it's just plain blue. Love the low stance. 

I swapped over to a set of Astral wheels I had laying around, and mounted up both a set of slicks and a set of Proline buggy rears I found in my stash. 

The body came in for the ProtoFalcon, and I absolutely love it! It almost looks like a an old dirt modified. I did quite a bit of trimming to get the body down where I wanted it - I think the end result is a great looking buggy!  I've got some odds and ends to take care of, then gearing up for paint. Will for sure get a Falcon-esque paint job. 



 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

Deviating from the Tamiya pile for a bit, I've used a similar body on my Bandit project. (I enjoyed reading about @Saito2 's build and wanted to share mine.  ) I wanted a buggy I could put a little more power into and whip around the driveway with a little more abandon then I do with my vintage cars. So I picked up a new Bandit roller for $120, spent $9 on the body and another $55 on wheels and tires and the carbon drag shock towers. The rest of the bits I had laying around. It's got a 3300kv motor and doesn't weight much - should be a great little ride. I'll paint it up when I do the Falcon. 

Low and fast....I do like lowered buggies, they just look aggressive to me. 

Not big on the wheels, they are a bit flashy for me, but they'll do the job for now. 

[OldSchoolRC1 909]

This is turning into a fun little project! 

The wheels and tires are staying for now - there just aren't any yellow wheels and tires in stock that would look right, so I'm sticking with the old rubber for now. The tires are pretty hard and solidly glued, so swapping wasn't an option. I chucked the rear wheels into my drill and sanded off the nubs.  They came out decent actually. Maybe there's some life left after all! Also tried to clean up the rims a bit though they still need a bit of work. 

I finished up the front also. Converted the knuckles over to 5mm ball ends and made some adjustable rods for the front camber. Nothing fancy, just what I had laying around. Both front and rear shocks will need a cleaning/refill before I take it out for a drive. I'd love to find some yellow ones, though so far no luck. I sweat I built something recently with yellow CVA's that were the correct size, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was (EDIT: VQS front shocks!! Time for some more digging.....)

Got the body down as low as I could. I found a front body mount in my stash, the rear will just mount to the chassis with some velcro. It's an RC10 body but it fits this chassis like a glove. 

It's supposed to be a balmy 70 here this weekend....after a day of hanging Xmas lights, I'm hoping to have some painting time. This body need some color!
 

[Grumpy pants 4214]

This is a fantastic thread, lots of interesting models coming together using what you already have in stock 👏

[El Gecko 1312]

On 12/6/2021 at 5:53 PM, OldSchoolRC1 said:

 I fought my hoarding urges and tossed it.

This is the only part of this thread that makes me sad.

Everything else is awesome!

[Aerobert 1980]

4 hours ago, OldSchoolRC1 said:

 

Awesome buggy, love the wheels, the stance and especially the body. Great work!