Reviving a TL-01B I'm dubbing the Baja-MadMud

[Dat_Dan 12]

Hey everyone new to the forum but been into RC for years, grew up as a kid with (at the time not so vintage) Tamiyas and Kyoshos which got sold off 😡 but got back in the hobby when drifting started getting big and now wanting to build some more bashers to have fun with

Found a base for a project a while back in the form of a cheap TL-01B, needed new electrics/ rebuild on the wheels and body had to go. Here's how it arrived 

Soon got onto turning it around and replaced the electrics, gave the chassis/gearing etc a refresh and a new set of wheels because original were a state

Then to tackle the body and wanted to try something different so went about hacking up a 1/12 kamtec body to create this 

I liked it and it was fun to thrash a buggy around again but the release of the BBX caught my eye and won't need 2 in my collection so thought I would give it another re-refresh 

I found a cheap set of Kyosho mad van wheels on eBay and also a bargain Sand Scorcher shell and decided on a monster beetle/madvan crossover, I yet again went back to diff/gearing to make sure it would hold up

In love with the new look I got started and decided on a paint scheme, got a few coats on and was happy but had a really bad reaction to the front which I think was caused by a slug as found one crawling across the bonnet while it was drying 

So starting stripping it back as best as possible 

Most methods I tried failed to fully strip it but it's a basher so wasn't too worried and soon got a new coat done and mocked it up

Got a good few days of weather so completed the paint as best as possible and sorted the decals 

Still have things to do including radiator/engine/pipes aswell as finer details but on the homestretch and it donuts amazingly and great fun to rip around

[Mad Ax 10028]

That looks great!  I love the colour scheme and decal placement on the old hot rod body, but the big wheel beetle has come out nice too.  TL-01Bs weren't much loved when they were new but they make good solid bashers whatever wheels and tyres you put on them.

[Grumpy pants 5178]

Fantastic 1st post, and reinvention of a TL-01B 👏

Weirdly the ridiculously over sized wheels work really well on the Beetle, the Hot Rod looked good as well 👍   

[JimBear 797]

Great stuff, really! Loved all the different versions of your basher, but the Beetle takes the cake.

[TurnipJF 9722]

That looks great! How did you sort the motor/gearing to run cool enough with those big wheels and tyres? And is that radiator/fan a custom or commercial item? I could do with something like that on my Monster Beetle. 

[Dat_Dan 12]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

That looks great! How did you sort the motor/gearing to run cool enough with those big wheels and tyres? And is that radiator/fan a custom or commercial item? I could do with something like that on my Monster Beetle. 

I'll find out from my mate he helped with that side of the build, the original setups wheels are almost the same diameter and slightly heavier but it's holding up for the moment, I was using a very cheap esc and you could could have fried an egg on that but swapped for a hobbywing which seems to be fine now. Radiator is from SRC I think? Found it on eBay for £10? 

[Dat_Dan 12]

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

Great stuff, really! Loved all the different versions of your basher, but the Beetle takes the cake.

Thank you the hotrod was a cool look but when I get a bbx up and running I doubt I'd use it much as the hotrod 

[Dat_Dan 12]

3 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

Fantastic 1st post, and reinvention of a TL-01B 👏

Weirdly the ridiculously over sized wheels work really well on the Beetle, the Hot Rod looked good as well 👍   

Thank you serves its purpose as just a fun basher, I really wanted a madvan so this is the cheaper way of doing it 

[Dat_Dan 12]

5 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

That looks great!  I love the colour scheme and decal placement on the old hot rod body, but the big wheel beetle has come out nice too.  TL-01Bs weren't much loved when they were new but they make good solid bashers whatever wheels and tyres you put on them.

Thank you this was my thinking, not destroying anything rare and parts are readily available, still not a huge fan of the TL design though, heard that the shock posts are easily cracked aswell as the chassis itself so will keep an eye on it 

[Kowalski86 3983]

4 hours ago, Dat_Dan said:

still not a huge fan of the TL design though, heard that the shock posts are easily cracked aswell as the chassis itself so will keep an eye on it 

There are reinforment hop ups for the shock posts iirc, some of the breakage comes from old plastic, some of it from the not so great "lightweight" chassis. It is a weird design though, it's basically a plastic brick with some gears and screws in it.

I do like your hot rod look, I might have to "borrow" that for a future build!