Difference between Boomerang, HotshotII (Blockhead motor) and Thunder shot?

[stockae92 16]

Whats the difference between the re-re of Boomerrang, Hotshot II and Thunder shot? They are all mono shock up front, independent shocks in the rear, the drivetrain seems to be the same?

[Snappy1 1001]

Hotshot II and Boomerang are mostly cosmetic differences other than some very slight rear suspension geometry, the Thunder Shot is the next generation chassis , next gen gearbox and suspension

[ThunderDragonCy 8139]

The boomerang has a simpler tub, body and a sliding box steering assembly. The Hotshot 2 has a multi piece tub/roll cage which is more scale looking, but heavier and less space and worse access to electronics. Although neither are great, I think the steering on the Hotshot2 is a little better as its less susceptible to stones jamming it. 

As mentioned, Thundershot is a whole different thing. 

[moffman 5954]

The hotshots were basically the first competition 4wd buggy that tamiya designed and it was quickly apparent that the chassis was an absolute failure if something needed changing or fixing in it so they did a inspection hatch on the hotshot 2 and super shot which was better but not by much!  but it was a very popular buggy so they redesigned the chassis giving it a new name the boomerang because the hotshots were still selling and the boomerang’s selling point was it’s open chassis and their ever popular yellow cva shocks which you could buy for the hotshot in a kit (hotshot HP suspension set) which basically consisted of the suspension setup from the super shot! I can’t remember if the super shot came out before the suspension set or after? The hotshot 2 was a bit of a mixture of all the points they had changed over the range! boomerang suspension set but in red inspection hatch etc all having the same gearboxes which proved back in the day very reliable but I personally thought were very noisy

the thunder shot range was a evolution from the hotshot family I wouldn’t say it was revolutionary because it was all the same format gearbox chassis and suspension wise but just cosmetically modernised and by the time they appeared all the other manufacturers were well into their racing buggies Schumacher, Kyosho, team associated, and quite a few other manufacturers so on the competitive tracks it was a bit of old hat but because we all love tamiya they still sold loads of them!

the blockhead hotshot is by all accounts what jun watanabe wanted or did changed on his hotshot 2 higher roof line so you could see the driver figure cosmetic metal parts to protect the cadge (tamiya recreated in silver plastic and obviously his paint designs!

[Twinfan 1848]

I think I'd disagree that the Thunder Shot was just "cosmetically modernised" when compared to the Hot Shot  

The Thunder Shot range is closest to the Boomerang with its open chassis, but the gearboxes on the Thunder Shot range are different to those on the Hot Shot/Boomerang range.  From memory there's one less gear overall?  They also lose the unusual pinion gear positioning using shims.  Overall the Thunder Shot series is a less complicated and lighter in weight.

[Saito2 7355]

I'd go out on a limb and say the Thundershot series was a significant improvement over the earlier designs but, as alluded to, was more evolutionary vs revolutionary. The TS gained more impact resistant blue nylon suspension arms, a good steering system that didn't jam nor suffer from bumpsteer, a more modern suspension arrangement eliminating the wear-prone ball joint suspension of the HS series, with the addition of adjusters (or stock on the Terra Scorcher variant) adjustable camber, adjustable shock positions, lighter weight and a more efficient drivetrain. If Tamiya hadn't rode the HS series train so long and brought out the TS just a bit earlier, things may have been different. At the time the TS was finally introduced though, it was very out of step with what other manufacturers were offering for competition. Even Tamiya, at that point, had the Avante series ready to fill the high-end slot, though it proved to be a technological dead-end albeit a fascinating one. Still, the TS is a great buggy and very underrated as most owners will agree. I still personally like the Super Shot better though . 

[MadInventor 3886]

Both the thundershot and boomerang look a lot better than the blockhead

[moffman 5954]

53 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

I think I'd disagree that the Thunder Shot was just "cosmetically modernised" when compared to the Hot Shot  

The Thunder Shot range is closest to the Boomerang with its open chassis, but the gearboxes on the Thunder Shot range are different to those on the Hot Shot/Boomerang range.  From memory there's one less gear overall?  They also lose the unusual pinion gear positioning using shims.  Overall the Thunder Shot series is a less complicated and lighter in weight.

Oh you’re right! Im definitely not going to argue with you on that I’m only going on when it was originally released from my personal account after having the original hotshot even back then thinking it was a pain in the butt with the chassis and stripped threads from constantly opening the chassis then moving onto the boomerang which i had good success with racing that to death (literally the only buggy to date I retired because it was worn out) and never looked at other manufacturers and just went straight into the newly released thunder shot and this is were I say cosmetically modernised because it just built like all the others especially the boomerang while everyone else had belt drives, chain drives, ball diffs, centre diffs FRP chassis (carbon fibre hadn’t been invented)etc etc now I’m not saying any of the above was any better but I remember building it and thinking this is just like building the boomerang but not thinking anything bad about that because i had great times with the boomerang but putting it on the track it just didn’t compete (unfortunately) and remembering some of those other buggies were 2wd back then we didn’t have different classes for 2wd/4wd  

I still maintain though the gearboxes on both are noisy!

[moffman 5954]

Excellent topic I think it’s good to hear other perspectives and personal opinions that’s a good point that @Saito2 mentioned about the suspension arms made out of nylon something back in the day I didn’t even give a second thought to I couldn’t tell you how many suspension arms I snapped at the screw point when racing when the terra scorcher made its appearance with all the adjustable parts I was racing a RC10 so my tamiya racing time had gone!
 

im definitely with you on that @MadInventor I think it’s got a lot to do with the goofy roof line and those very odd boarding on daft number plates the boomerang is definitely a handsome looking buggy as is the thunder shot although it does look a lot better on the box art because it’s wheels look in proportion! The super shot is the king of looks though! Like I say just my personal opinion

[Gebbly 772]

45 minutes ago, MadInventor said:

Both the thundershot and boomerang look a lot better than the blockhead

My tastes are a little different. I've always liked the look of the Hotshot/Supershot they always seemed sleek to me. I really loved the way the Boomerangs body swept into its rear wing. But never really liked the look of the thundershot with its fat hips.

Just cant make my mind up about the Blockhead Hotshot. I like the idea of making it a bit more realistic by raising the roof to add room for a driver but that does mean it loses some of its low sleekness.

@stockae92, if you originally asked the question as you were thinking of purchasing one of the kits, it sounds like maybe the Blockhead Hotshot or SuperShot could be added to your list for consideration?

As a general comment on this thread, I am finding it fascinating hearing people describe the design evolution of a line of cars. Has anyone come across articles anywhere talking about evolution of Tamiya car families?

[Gebbly 772]

32 minutes ago, moffman said:

suspension arms made out of nylon

When talking about materials in the cars such as nylon and metal. When it comes to racing is there any merit in using nylon and plastic rather than metal for weight savings or is the durability of metal too important?

Just curious as I've never been into the RC racing scene but I have read in the past some of the things F1 designers have done to skim any weight possible off their cars.

[moffman 5954]

11 hours ago, Gebbly said:

When talking about materials in the cars such as nylon and metal. When it comes to racing is there any merit in using nylon and plastic rather than metal for weight savings or is the durability of metal too important?

Just curious as I've never been into the RC racing scene but I have read in the past some of the things F1 designers have done to skim any weight possible off their cars.

From what limited knowledge I have and my own personal experiences nylon in plastic makes it more malleable thus it can take more of a knocking because it’s a lot more flexible that was the hotshot family of buggies Achilles heel was the suspension arms are to ridged and would crack especially at the joints! Would it be that much of a difference in weight between the two different types of suspension arms? Again my own personal opinion is probably not i think it was more to do with durability? 

the problem I experienced with metal parts especially after market metal parts was if you upgraded the plastic to metal for durability all it did was broke the next part down the line! For example I used to run a hpi savage and I was at one stage going through spur gears more frequently than I wanted to! so I thought I’d invest in a steel spur gear but i quickly realised why that wasn’t a good move because all it did was went to the next weak point in the savages case was the clutch on the 3 speed gearbox which in tern knocked teeth off the gears and it was a total strip down of the centre gearbox so a plastic spur gear was the best option because it was cheaper and far easier to replace

[Saito2 7355]

18 minutes ago, moffman said:

From what limited knowledge I have and my own personal experiences nylon in plastic makes it more malleable thus it can take more of a knocking because it’s a lot more flexible that was the hotshot family of buggies Achilles heel was the suspension arms are to ridged and would crack especially at the joints!

I think this is why Tamiya went with this material moving forward. Nylon/PA plastics were also used in the Vanquish/Egress/Avante 2001 and well as the two piece units found on the DF01 series.

Flexible arms can also be used as a tuning aid, often called "high traction arms". In some cases Tamiya went the other way, spec'ing rigid arms on the Super Astute to replace the more flexy ones on the previous buggies of that chassis series. I still think, for the Thundershot at least, Tamiya was looking at mostly a durabiltiy improvement though.

 

12 hours ago, Gebbly said:

My tastes are a little different. I've always liked the look of the Hotshot/Supershot they always seemed sleek to me. I really loved the way the Boomerangs body swept into its rear wing. But never really liked the look of the thundershot with its fat hips.

Just cant make my mind up about the Blockhead Hotshot. I like the idea of making it a bit more realistic by raising the roof to add room for a driver but that does mean it loses some of its low sleekness.

@stockae92, if you originally asked the question as you were thinking of purchasing one of the kits, it sounds like maybe the Blockhead Hotshot or SuperShot could be added to your list for consideration?

As a general comment on this thread, I am finding it fascinating hearing people describe the design evolution of a line of cars. Has anyone come across articles anywhere talking about evolution of Tamiya car families?

I may agree with Madinventor, that the Boomer and TS look better than the Blockhead, but overall I agree with @Gebbly in liking the overall Hotshot/Supershot look the best. I just don't like that jacked up roofline on the Blockhead. Totally destroys the line flow of the buggy IMO. Tamiya knew what they were doing BITD.

I've probably rattled off the design evolution of car lines half a dozen times throughout my years on the forum in various post but  poking around Blackholesun's Tamiya site has some good evolution history in it.

[moffman 5954]

2 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

don't like that jacked up roofline

I put the original hotshot cadge on my BH hotshot all I had to do was cut the lugs off at the front that locates the front part of the cadge next to the screws then reem two more hole for the screws it was very easy!

[Saito2 7355]

Perfect! Much better @moffman

[moffman 5954]

@Saito2 i just couldn’t get on with the Blockhead cadge

[Kowalski86 4081]

I think the biggest problem with the BH Hotshot is the color. When I think "hot" I think red, the crazy roof of the old models add to that too. The BH variant looks a bit sedate, a bit more like it should have been called "ChillOut".

(Tamiya then proceeds to give me a nib kit in exchange for an "honest" and completely non-bias review)

[Gebbly 772]

11 hours ago, moffman said:

I put the original hotshot cadge on my BH hotshot

Ooh, that looks very cool. Darn it, this thread has started me thinking about getting a ...shot kit.

[Gebbly 772]

And to add to the info I have just found

https://tamiyabase.com/articles/46-technical/176-distinguishing-the-hotshot-supershot-and-hotshot-ii

with a nice nod to some TamiyaClub members  " most of what I have written is based on my experience, comparing the kits I have plus some virtual brain storming via email with a few other TC members (c_smith, Wandy and Crash Cramer)"

[Gebbly 772]

11 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I've probably rattled off the design evolution of car lines half a dozen times throughout my years on the forum

Thanks @Saito2 I'll have a dig in the forums for those.

I can neither confirm nor deny I may have started browsing for prices of supershots  But this led me to a couple of sites that say the Supershot has been re-released and is now branded as the "Super Hotshot". Well that wont get confusing at all

[stockae92 16]

On 3/27/2023 at 2:55 AM, Gebbly said:

My tastes are a little different. I've always liked the look of the Hotshot/Supershot they always seemed sleek to me. I really loved the way the Boomerangs body swept into its rear wing. But never really liked the look of the thundershot with its fat hips.

Just cant make my mind up about the Blockhead Hotshot. I like the idea of making it a bit more realistic by raising the roof to add room for a driver but that does mean it loses some of its low sleekness.

@stockae92, if you originally asked the question as you were thinking of purchasing one of the kits, it sounds like maybe the Blockhead Hotshot or SuperShot could be added to your list for consideration?

As a general comment on this thread, I am finding it fascinating hearing people describe the design evolution of a line of cars. Has anyone come across articles anywhere talking about evolution of Tamiya car families?

 I already got the BlockHead HotShot II. It will be a runner. But I am thinking if I should consider Boomerang or Thundershot as a beater. Or they are too "close to each other" and I should consider something else (TT02B?)

[Gebbly 772]

1 hour ago, stockae92 said:

 I already got the BlockHead HotShot II

Oh cool! In that case if you do get another kit it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on a comparison of the build experience and how they drive once you have them both.

For me I get the most fun from the building and learning new things so I would go for whichever one was the most different from the one I created before

[Twinfan 1848]

2 hours ago, stockae92 said:

 I already got the BlockHead HotShot II. It will be a runner. But I am thinking if I should consider Boomerang or Thundershot as a beater. Or they are too "close to each other" and I should consider something else (TT02B?)

The Thunder Shot is a more different chassis so I'd go for that.  In fact, if you can find one, go for a Terra Scorcher at the same price.  They're fully hopped up with bearings, stabilisers, universal driveshafts etc.

[Saito2 7355]

I agree with @Twinfan. The Boomer will give you a different chassis and steering but the gearboxes and suspension assembly will be the same. Something from the Thundershot series will be entirely different (they share virtually no parts) but will be in the same vein design-wise (i.e. not radically different like an Avante). You could see how Tamiya advanced and improved the design for the next generation by building both. (and because I'm an old crank who likes buggies older buggies that can actually go really off-road, I'd always recommend a Thundershot car over a TT02B, ) 

[Chest Rockwell 34]

If going for a Thundershot series car I'd defo get a Terra Scorcher as it adds so much extra kit for very little extra money. Currently running a Terra and Thunder Dragon.