DT-02 Shenanigans

[ChrisRx718]

But Chris, isn't there a DT-03 already? That's been around for quite a while?

Well, yes. But I've always been quite fond of the DT-02. I don't know exactly why - I never have been off-road racing for instance, I didn't even own one from years gone by. 

All of my favourite off-roaders have been 2WD buggies - the FAV, Grasshopper, Hornet and now the BB-01. Not because I'm into vintage stuff, I just prefer how they drive. I find 4WD buggies are pretty cool, but they aren't as entertaining to drive (in my limited experience). They're often heavier, more complex and for some reason they run really low to the ground. I've had better luck on cut grass with 2WD cars.

So the DT-02, a simple, no-frills machine. I first built one of these way back when I worked at Time Tunnel Models, we needed to build a demonstrator. At the time the Desert Gator had just come out - 2005! I built one up for the shop display and I remember when it eventually 'retired' from the shelf. I wished I had bought it.

In my opinion, the best looking 2WD "non-TRF" buggy Tamiya had made in a long time and it was incredibly attainable / cheap. 

Until the bodyshell got discontinued and the Sand Viper lived on. I don't understand that decision; but the 'Viper was much easier to cut out and sticker with its' flatter surfaces and straighter edges - perhaps seeing as this was an 'entry level' kit, the less practical bodyshell got retired. Who knows.

So I'm reliving my Yoof a little bit, thanks to Team Blue Groove who make a replica body and wing set. MCi now make the decals; too.

I had long given up hope of finding a Desert Gator body so had actually gone off down another rabbit hole - could you build a DT-02MS out of "Bits"? We all love a Bitsa Build after all. 

The answer was obviously "yes" (otherwise we wouldn't be here, would we?) thanks to a splurge on eBay and Plaza Japan. The dampers were quite hard to obtain; I actually sourced them from a Japanese auction in the end, but not before buying the replacement TT02B / DF03 variant. So I guess now I have to build another buggy to make use of those 

One big ol' stack of bits. It definitely would have been cheaper to start with a kit and work backwards, but I'm a complete idiot.

I won't detail every step of this build because 
a) It's a very simple build process and
b) You've all seen this a hundred times before (probably)

Front Bulkhead completed. Going with the bearing-fit wheels for now on this, like a box-art. The aluminium uprights are not box art of course; in fact I have no idea where I came about them. Still, they look cool.

No rusty drive-pins here. I'm actually amazed Tamiya branded this the "MS" with those hinge pins when they manufacture suspension shafts which fit almost perfectly into the inner and outer arm joints. These are from a TL-01 I think, so cheap-as-chips, too.

Gearbox assembly next; proper Tamiya DF-02 Universal Drive Shafts and the Hop-Up Ball Differential kit, just as Tamiya intended. Keen-eyed viewers will spot that I have the wrong gearbox shafts; they're 50mm vs. the DT-02 / 03's 45mm shaft. I introduced these to the Dremel before subsequently finding the actual, 45mm Hop-Up part at the bottom of the box. Such is life. Remember kids, if you're cutting aluminium with a Dremel always de-burr your cuts. To check you've done this correctly you do what we all make the mistake of doing and run your finger across the cut end. Immediately discovering, much to your sense of pain, that you haven't de-burred it enough yet.

 

Rear Gearbox all assembled with the MS kit motor heat-sink and a Super Stock BZ motor (23T). Ah yes, now I remember - you can't actually fit the heat sink to any of the tuned cans with an open end-bell. What an end-bell I am. 

Rear bulkhead assembled and attached to the gearbox. Again; the rusty screw pins replaced in favour of stainless suspension shafts. The rear outer joints needed 3mm of 'shimming' because they're an odd size. 

Also note that I've fitted little dust caps everywhere. And the rear upper tie-rods are the wrong type; the blue anodised 'Hardened' Turnbuckles need a 42mm in the back - I had used these in my recent BB-01 build. These will be temporary (hurry up Plaza Japan...)

Found a Sport Tuned motor - big can, no open end-bell. I put this in instead, especially after finding the hardened steel pinion gear (I had originally built it up with the aluminium stock pinion - a terrible sin). 

Dampers all attached too. I need to source some white springs. I was going to pilfer these from my DF-02 build with its' Aeration dampers, but I've already nicked the tyres from that for my BB-01 so it was looking sorry for itself. I've ordered some TRF-501 springs (TRF-201 would probably be more suitable; but they're out of stock). The red springs are temporary.

And fin. For now. Awaiting the "revised" DT-02MS decals from MCi, once they arrive I'll show you a side-by-side with how the first versions looked. Disappointing to say the least - glad that they have fixed them. 

I fitted a fancy carbon fibre battery strap, another deviation from box art. Also the biggest tart element has to be those wing washers in anodised blue. They look awesome, right?

Paint and wheels next, then I'm going to set about creating a Desert Gator stable-mate...

[ChrisRx718]

For the second half of this "project thread" I'm taking my trusty DT-02 Super Fighter GR and turning it into a Desert Gator. I keep missing out on auctions for actual Desert Gator kits on eBay and I'm worried about the cost of shipping a whole kit over from Japanese auctions, so this is what I'm working with.

This has some really mad sensorless brushless setup in it which really suits a basher driving style; so that's staying. The el-cheapo aluminium dampers actually perform pretty well; but the rears are too hard. I'll probably put some of those aluminium TT02B dampers on here - the dampers cost as much as the Super Fighter GR kit did in total 

Fresh off the paintshop floor is the TBG Desert Gator body. PS-30 and PS-1 as per box-art, I actually painted this at the same time as the BB-01. I masked up the windows because I might be tempted to put a driver figure inside. 

Backed with PS-12 Silver and PS-5 black to give it a nice opaque finish (white tends to be a bit translucent otherwise). 

I see this as my therapy for not buying a Kyosho DirtMaster. Ultimately I know that would be a much better car, but this will look better 

This is also leading me to look at TD2 prices. Previously I wasn't keen, but I've been watching the Tamiya Legends YouTube channel and I can feel my wallet starting to sweat!

[Kowalski86]

Im curious to see where this ends up going, I remember enjoying the handling that my DT-02 provided, but I wasn't too keen on its lack of adjustability (droop settings, pinions, etc).

A Dirtmaster would likely be "better" (both buggies have an identical design), but...it really isn't, it can't be a1/12 scale stadium truck, a "re-release" with mis-matched wheels, nor this...

 

[ChrisRx718]

The Kumamon buggy was never really my thing, but much like the Jun Watanabe Hornet which also passed me by, I wish I had one now!

Todays' shenanigans weren't really that significant, but I had this curiosity arrive from Yahoo Japan Auctions. I read that the DT02/03 has issues with heat management because the motor sits in a plastic shroud within the gearbox. I've never experienced thermal shutdown myself; despite running a mad brushless setup on 3S (11.1v)! But like I said, I was curious...

 

I went all-out on the $3.39 3Racing 30mm fan and even had enough left over for a little dust cover.

Instructions are in Japanese (as you would expect for a product not marketed internationally) but they had some really good images (and let's be honest, it's not exactly complex)

All assembled and back on the car:

I need to totally rebuild this DT-02 which will eventually become a Desert Gator, so please excuse those rusty hinge pins and stock plastic dogbones - although they have served a very hard life to be fair to them!

Looks pretty neat IMO. I think I could even refit the original thin heatsink if I was careful. Time will tell whether it's any good...

 

[ChrisRx718]

The DT02MS hit a bit of a rock in the road and ground to a halt. From an unexpected source, too.

Those familiar with MCI in Canada will no-doubt be used to their high-quality reproduction decals. 

But I was super disappointed when I received a set for this build back in March.

The TRF-style decals are to mimic those very special airbrushed bodyshells that them "professionals" use, but in sticker form for us regular folk.

Problem is, these had none of the fade / depth of the originals. They were just block colours - sad times.

But I am pleased to confirm that the new style versions (old ones completely erased from the website now) are much more befitting of the usual MCI quality:

Hopefully you can easily tell, but the new ones are in the middle, old ones on the left!

[IXLR8]

I've not seen these before.  Very nice indeed!  The new ones look great.

Did you speak to Nathaneal about adding the fade affect or was the first set you received simply a printing error?  Just curious.

[kontemax]

Desert Gator was an Astute who didn't fully believe it.
Anyway beautiful model, the DG.

Max

[El Gecko]

5 hours ago, kontemax said:

Desert Gator was an Astute who didn't fully believe it.
Anyway beautiful model, the DG.

Max

I made the same (Astute) observation about my DG!

(need to get an update into that thread soon, I've done a bunch more modifications since the last post!)

 

[skom25]

@ChrisRx718 can I ask about tires in this car?

[ChrisRx718]

3 hours ago, skom25 said:

@ChrisRx718 can I ask about tires in this car?

Ask away - unfortunately these only lasted 2 battery packs. They were very supple / grippy on tarmac, but ultimately very thin. I got them as un-branded 2.2" tyres from a Chinese seller. They look the part, but did not survive very well. I left them on over the winter (despite splitting already) and they actually got worse just in storage (low ambient temperature). 

I wouldn't recommend them! I have now fitted Tamiya K-block tyres. These are much more hard-wearing, even on tarmac.

[Carmine A]

Not exactly a "budget" build! But fascinating......

I have a Holiday Buggy, wondering what to do with it. I'm getting some great ideas from you!

[Orgasmic]

This is my dt02 my favorite basher the super fighter g body seems to be quite rare now, luckily the chassis is still in production upgraded to oil shocks fully ballraced from new must have had it for nearly 20 years about 5 years ago stuck a think a 4000kv cheap Chinese brushless combo on a 19tooth pinion in it it's a very fun drive and amazingly good off road I've put oval block tyres on the original wheels there a good compromise on grip and hard wearing also a very tight fit so no need to glue even with the brushless it's stood up to years of bashing unfortunately can't get the clear smoked gearbox cases ,burnt it still has its clear idler/pinion cover ,just bought a holiday buggy kit to build ,very fun car flys quite nicely on jumps too,the body has lasted well considering it's a hard body ,love it😁😁

[ChrisRx718]

On 7/26/2023 at 7:58 PM, ChrisRx718 said:

I see this as my therapy for not buying a Kyosho DirtMaster. Ultimately I know that would be a much better car, but this will look better 

This is also leading me to look at TD2 prices. Previously I wasn't keen, but I've been watching the Tamiya Legends YouTube channel and I can feel my wallet starting to sweat!

This is quite amusing to read my old comments back

- I ended up buying a Kyosho DirtCross (4WD version of the DirtMaster)
-  I've ended up with a TD2. And a TD4. 

I am (like many others on TamiyaClub) trying to get on top of my RC models - you'll note my last update is over 12 months old on the DT-02s. 

First up I pulled them out of storage, exactly as I left them a year ago-

I managed to source some genuine new-in-package decals for the Desert Gator. As good as the MCI ones are, nothing beats the genuine article.

I've fitted a set of Kyosho 2.2" wheels - they look so much better. Sorry Tamiya. I need to source a driver figure for the 'Gator, I've toyed with the idea of trying to find an actual alligator toy to hack up!

The DT-02 MS rep is now going to be based on the opposite chassis. No particular reason, just that I've somehow accumulated enough parts to build up my 'beater' DT-02 into MS-spec, so why not?!

Stripping down the front bulkhead revealed something unwelcome-

 

No idea how that has happened. Serious amounts of flex to get that hole to rip open like that. It's still very sturdy, and I haven't got the spare parts to replace it, so it'll have to do.

It's nice to see Yeah Racing are still giving the DT-02 some development time too. This hop-up provides a central position for the steering servo, with equal-length steering tie-rods.

You'll probably have noticed the suspension arms, too. That's a custom part I've had milled by Fibre-Lyte. The 3Racing front shock tower is very hard to find, and I don't like the mods which rely on a cross-bar running over the nose of the body. So this plate of carbon bolts over the top of the suspension arms (I suppose you could cut them off). Time will tell how easy it is to fit the dampers with the plastic item still in-situ - I suspect I will have to cut them down. 

Another tiny issue with my carbon plate is that it shifts the front body mount forwards. The optional mount for a Super Fighter G body will clear it, but this will pitch the bodyshell upwards, rather than fitting snugly to the chassis. This might not be the end of the world however, as the new steering tie-rods would clash with the body if it was any lower. Something to think about!

I appreciate these dampers aren't exactly "MS" spec, as those had smooth damper caps, whereas these are grooved. But it was never meant to be a direct replica anyway, especially with all the steering mods!

So here's where I'm up to with the build as of last night - just to assemble these dampers (waiting for a particularly stressful day of work... building TRF dampers is very therapeutic!) 

The Universal shafts, ball diff and some other little bits are also missing from this image. But it's finally happening - I want to have this assembled before my bought-on-a-whim TD4 turns up in the post 

[ChrisRx718]

More Shenanigans!

Statement: A buggy is not a buggy without a driver figure

That is a hill I will die on! All my favourite buggies have driver figures - FAV, Wild One, BBX. The TD2 Super Astute even has a driver! 

But the DT-02 is from the Dark Ages, in a time where driver figure torso's were obviously at a premium, despite there being ample interior space above the battery. Well, you got a driver figure with the Holiday Buggy and Sand Rover iterations... Or sometimes a friendly bear even.

What I'm saying is; I needed to mask the windows so my future driver figures could at least see where they're going. 

Bring on my most genius idea yet (perhaps ever?)

My wife is a school teacher and in her spare time she likes to label anything and everything that sits still long enough. So she has a vinyl cutter for creating these stickers, and I re-appropriated it with some Tamiya 87130 Masking Sheet:

 

After scanning in the decal sheet (windows on a Desert Gator / Sand Viper were solid grey) I could trace the shapes, offset them slightly (so the decal / window frame is still larger than the masked area) and within just a few short miniutes:

I mean, that sure beats trying to mask those bits off with tiny strips of masking tape (we've all been there).

Next we paint - my new rule is to finish the bodyshell before proceeding with the rest of the build, otherwise stuff never gets finished;

Blue for you

Green for thee

I had 3 different half-filled green PS paints - PS-9 Dark Green, PS-21 Park Green and PS-8 Light Green. So I built a second Desert Gator body and used all of these cans up in the interests of being eco-friendly.

Greta approves this build.

Next on to stickering, courtesy of MCI Racing decals:

Looks decent, especially from a distance

And seeing as "Gators" should be green by nature... I have a very green spare body. 

[ChrisRx718]

I had switched my DF02 Aero Avante back over to the aftermarket gold dampers again as these better suited the OG Avante scheme I was going for. That freed up the #54028 Aeration Oil Dampers for my DT-02 Desert Gator "runner"

All looking good. Other mods I didn't mention were to flip the front lower arms to increase the wheelbase slightly, but also because this put the steering tie rods at a better angle. This front end uses the 3Racing hex conversion with FGX plastic front uprights. It all seems silky smooth. 

I do need to invest in some more TL01 hinge pins because I noticed that the rear of this chassis is still on the old (and rusty) screw pins!

Here's that Yeah Racing central Servo Mount up close - I think it was @TurnipJF who asked for more pictures of it (apologies if it wasn't you). It's a really hefty lump of alloy, not sure if that's deliberate (for weight distribution perhaps?) and does give you a few clearance issues. The servo wire for instance, if you had a very low-slung body (like Sand Viper or Desert Gator) this might catch on the nose of the body. The servo horn itself is also very close to the front bulkhead, some trimming might be required depending on what servo horn attachment you use. Also; as can be seen here, the rear of my servo (despite being a low-profile) slightly catches on the battery plate, but only just.

Now I had a bunch of leftover parts, some aluminium buggy dampers and a Desert Gator painted in the proper PS-30/PS-1 blue and white paint scheme. I couldn't just have a spare bodyshell and dampers sitting doing nothing...

So a "Care Package" courtesy of Time Tunnel Models was ordered, and a plan was hatched...

 

I mean, this is basically a whole new chassis. It's only missing a few pieces...

And that, ladies and gents, is how 2 DT-02 chassis became 3 

There's some final touches to do to this yet, but this will be home for the blue and white "Box Art" Desert Gator. 

They're multiplying...

 

[ThunderDragonCy]

On 6/18/2025 at 12:22 PM, ChrisRx718 said:

And that, ladies and gents, is how 2 DT-02 chassis became 3 

This is the way.

[ChrisRx718]

The DT-02MS replica is on the bench again. It's not a 'proper' replica, as it has a few more spicy upgrades over the actual DT-02MS.

I picked up a delivery from RCJaz after the recommendation from @Thommo that DT-04 hex-drive front uprights swap straight on. I also grabbed a nice carbon brace from @toyolien:

Sure enough, it was all very easy to assemble:

And the carbon brace fit without interfering with the bodyshell. The stabiliser set is from the DT-03. The actual DT-02 stabiliser set is very rare now, but the only difference is the lack of a front 'plate', which I've simply replaced with some large wheel washers to retain the stabiliser rod:

And there you have it:

I'm not sure on the wheel/tyre combo yet. I liked the look of the box-art DT-02MS with the miss-matched front and rear wheels, but my rear 2.2 Dish Wheels have the remains of some cheap AliExpress tyres still glued to the rim... and I can't seem to remove what's left.

Just got to hook up the trusty HW 1060 ESC to the Sport Tuned motor and have a blast now. The Green Gator™ is going to be my high-powered version which will take a bit more of a beating I'm sure...

Oh yes, I also added the very poor value for money rear wing washers from Tamiya...