Jump to content
Joe Bo

New Releases for Nuremberg 2023 - Fiat 500 Abarth and Golf Mk2 GTI Rally

Recommended Posts

The MB-01 looks great on paper but I'm not really sure what market niche the MB-01 is filling. Observations & thoughts so far:

  • With the motor on one side and the battery mounted transversally, it seems quite unbalanced L/R.
  • When RWD, it is virtually the same as an RWD-converted TT-02 or TT-01, except that these are very well L/R balanced. Both TT-01/2 conversion are much well behaved than a M-06, but perhaps not as good as an M-08 with its proper transversal motor and transversal battery for a very good L/R balance.
  • When FWD, I fear there is not enough weight on the front which will limit traction. The M-05, M-05v2 and M-07 seem better balanced plus also have a transversal motor.
  • How many times are you really going to flip from FWD to RWD and vice versa? Are you better served by buying a dedicated FWD or RWD instead?
  • Material-wise it seems on-par with the M-05 and M-06, meaning low-cost.
  • If on the market for Tamiya mini chassis: for a great FWD I'll get a M-07, great RWD I'll get the M08, if I wanted a low-cost FWD I would buy an M-05. Perhaps only for a low-cost RWD, perhaps I would get the MB-01 over the M-06 but even then I wouldn't be so sure.
  • The Abarth shell looks great :wub:
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well,  Hellooo chonky boi.

I wish they had gone back to the M03 and made a flippable motor / gearbox to solve the motor rotation issue.

Though they would needed to have done something about bump steer at one end :D.

My RWD M03 has huuuge extensions for the steering ball connectors!

I guess this design reflect the improvements in car control / adjustability / chassis rigidity through the subsequent iterations.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
25 minutes ago, OoALEJOoO said:
  • How many times are you really going to flip from FWD to RWD and vice versa? Are you better served by buying a dedicated FWD or RWD instead?

If they discontinue the previous generations, they only have to make one chassis to cater for FWD and RWD - simple cost-cutting (assuming it is cheaper to produce).

If you want dedicated FWD or RWD, there is the M07 and M08.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, toyolien said:

Here it is. And I must say, I don't really like it. It looks very messy and complicated, especially compared to the M-07 and M-08 chassis. 

OtYZLQj.jpg

 

 

 

The front tyres look nice though, that is if the wheels to left are the front, can’t really tell 😉

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

The front tyres look nice though, that is if the wheels to left are the front, can’t really tell 😉

From what I read the front tires are 55mm and the rears are 60mm with the Abarth body. Don't think I could cope with that! I've have to cut the front arches to fit 60's in the front.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

The MB-01 looks great on paper but I'm not really sure what market niche the MB-01 is filling. Observations & thoughts so far:

  • With the motor on one side and the battery mounted transversally, it seems quite unbalanced L/R.
  • When RWD, it is virtually the same as an RWD-converted TT-02 or TT-01, except that these are very well L/R balanced. Both TT-01/2 conversion are much well behaved than a M-06, but perhaps not as good as an M-08 with its proper transversal motor and transversal battery for a very good L/R balance.
  • When FWD, I fear there is not enough weight on the front which will limit traction. The M-05, M-05v2 and M-07 seem better balanced plus also have a transversal motor.
  • How many times are you really going to flip from FWD to RWD and vice versa? Are you better served by buying a dedicated FWD or RWD instead?
  • Material-wise it seems on-par with the M-05 and M-06, meaning low-cost.
  • If on the market for Tamiya mini chassis: for a great FWD I'll get a M-07, great RWD I'll get the M08, if I wanted a low-cost FWD I would buy an M-05. Perhaps only for a low-cost RWD, perhaps I would get the MB-01 over the M-06 but even then I wouldn't be so sure.
  • The Abarth shell looks great :wub:

You can run the MB-01 in a high traction setting for RWD. It raises the motor and the battery goes underneath.. I think it will work much better than the M06

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think this will replace m05/6. In fact I think m07/08 were a bit of a misnomer because they were really little TA series level. 

These are clearly engineered for low cost and lots of parts sharing. I suspect it will have TT02 diffs and a bunch more TT02 parts shared besides. Makes sense to keep costs down. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, toyolien said:

Here it is. And I must say, I don't really like it. It looks very messy and complicated, especially compared to the M-07 and M-08 chassis. 

OtYZLQj.jpg

 

No amount of hop ups will make this mess of parts look better, I'm worried that the MB will end up a "Jack of all trades master of none" chassis.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm worried about that too. It's an odd beast!

As others have mentioned I feel it is purely a way for them to produce more m-chassis models, using a low cost solution that can be configured in any setup. The new TT02 of the m-chassis world if you will.

However, it's quite an ungainly solution - the original M01/2 chassis could be FWD, RWD even twin motor and four wheel steering, but was much more elegant in a way. I'm struggling to understand their design decisions behind this.

Just for the record I'm not criticising Tamiya at all, I'm being overly harsh, I'm glad of any new chassis and a rerelease of this body - just fascinated by their thinking.

I also noticed that the Fiat 500 body sits quite high across the front axle, compare product shots from the M02/M05 releases with the same body - I wonder if the MB01 doesn't allow the low profile of the Fiat 500 bodyshell to sit low enough?  Is it just me? 

M02:

spacer.png

M05:

spacer.png

MB01:

spacer.png

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 minutes ago, Joe Bo said:

I'm worried about that too. It's an odd beast!

As others have mentioned I feel it is purely a way for them to produce more m-chassis models, using a low cost solution that can be configured in any setup. The new TT02 of the m-chassis world if you will.

However, it's quite an ungainly solution - the original M01/2 chassis could be FWD, RWD even twin motor and four wheel steering, but was much more elegant in a way. I'm struggling to understand their design decisions behind this.

Just for the record I'm not criticising Tamiya at all, I'm being overly harsh, I'm glad of any new chassis and a rerelease of this body - just fascinated by their thinking.

I also noticed that the Fiat 500 body sits quite high across the front axle, compare product shots from the M02/M05 releases with the same body - I wonder if the MB01 doesn't allow the low profile of the Fiat 500 bodyshell to sit low enough?  Is it just me? 

M02:

spacer.png

M05:

spacer.png

MB01:

spacer.png

600!!!!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My main concern is parts avalibility for the M05/M06 once the new chassis comes out. Mostly the hop-ups, the chassis will likely stick around and a number of other parts are shared with the MF-01.

I do hope that Tamiya makes the 4 set of supermini CVA shocks more readily available. 

The compact-bathtub designs do spread the electronics out in weird ways compared to the old designs, but probably have less of a chance of rolling over.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

No amount of hop ups will make this mess of parts look better, I'm worried that the MB will end up a "Jack of all trades master of none" chassis.

I’m assuming that you will be able to build all available (6) different setups from the get go without buying extras!!!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

I’m assuming that you will be able to build all available (6) different setups from the get go without buying extras!!!

I would doubt it. This is Tamiya after all....

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

I’m assuming that you will be able to build all available (6) different setups from the get go without buying extras!!!

That might be a bit optimistic...

  • Sad 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
14 minutes ago, toyolien said:

I would doubt it. This is Tamiya after all....

 

10 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

That might be a bit optimistic...

Hey come on I wasn’t asking for bearings or cva’s !!!!

10 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:
  • Haha 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
20 minutes ago, Busdriver said:

 

Hey come on I wasn’t asking for bearings or cva’s !!!!

As far as I can tell the only real part differences will be in the servo arms, everything else is just screws and plastic so the plastic parts should be on the same tree.

I did notice that the wiring wraps right over the motor quite a bit, can't say I'm the biggest fan of that if you run a 20t pinion (which you will) and a hotter motor (which you should).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

You were right

Nice. That doesn't happen to often 😁

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
21 hours ago, Honza said:

I put RWD and FWD next to each other to check the difference.

Looks like only difference between FWD and RWD is the steering linkage. It even uses the same steering bridge on the rear axle 

IMG_20230201_234753.jpg

After seeing the pictures of the actual model, it makes no sense that they would make the RWD steering arm extra long...  There is nothing in the way to obstruct it. Why not leave the servo in the same orientation as the FWD, and shorten the arm?!?

On a side note it seems most people could slide their receiver in beside the servo, and mount the ESC where the receiver is shown to improve weight distribution slightly.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have my own view on the Mb-01.   It won't have enough weight over the driven wheels in any configuration, so would not handle any more power than stock 540.  

I consider it as toy-grade, and somehow it looks like a funny joke to me.   It would be spinning around until the tyres wear out.  :lol:

Otherwise it could be an interesting test of skill to drive around a micro-circuit at low speed.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
20 hours ago, Busdriver said:

600!!!!

Thanks for the correction!

Anyone else notice the raised front? The front gearbox does have a lot of extra plastic and height to it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Joe Bo said:

Thanks for the correction!

Anyone else notice the raised front? The front gearbox does have a lot of extra plastic and height to it.

Yes had noticed that as well😀

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, Wheel_Nut said:

 I consider it as toy-grade, and somehow it looks like a funny joke to me.   It would be spinning around until the tyres wear out.  :lol:

Almost sounds like it'd make for a decent drifter in RWD form.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

To me it looks very much like the TT of M-chassis, a mobile display platform for some nice bodyshells, but leaving a lot to be desired in terms of performance. However that is why I'd like to get one. I look forward to the challenge of turning it into a half-decent performer. 

I already have a ludicrously heavy steel-geared alloy-bodied servo which ought to offset the motor weight, and it looks like 50mm dampers will be a straight swap, as will the TT-02 hardened pivot balls for the kingpins. I bet Yeah Racing will have an alloy steering rack available for it before long, and probably a motor mount too. The ability to adjust rear toe without any extra parts is a nice plus.

It will probably take a bit of fiddling to get it to the standard of my well-sorted M-05, and I don't see it ever rivaling my M-07, but I think it will be fun to see how far it can be taken. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...