Running all my cars

[TurnipJF]

I had a great time driving my F104 V2 Pro yesterday, so this evening I decided that another F1 deserved an outing:

 

F104 Pro II

The F104 V2 Pro Black Edition that I drove yesterday is a lovely bit of kit, but not one for which spares are all that easy to come by, so running it isn't the most relaxed activity. That is why I added this car to my fleet. After having built one for a colleague and having been impressed with the improvements that Tamiya made over its predecessors, I decided that it would be a good runner F1, not terribly far off the performance of the V2 Pro, but a lot easier to find spares for. It is also more convenient as it uses a standard stick pack like almost everything else in my fleet, as opposed to the V2 Pro which runs a shortie.

I built it close to stock, with just the plastic motor mount and camber block replaced with alloy versions. The body and wing set is the older F104 Pro version as it is more rugged and better suited to regular running. Like its sibling, it carries a livery inspired by the AMG GT3. I have run it in the RBP a few times, hence the rubber tyres which work reasonably well on tarmac. It also has a set of foams for carpet.

It is a bit heavier than the V2 Pro, and thus not quite as nimble, but it comes very close, and is still a great car to drive on tight and twisty tracks. This evening's run saw a couple of RBP attempts which went well. Not sure if I'll submit them yet - we'll see what I manage with the other cars that I'll run before the round ends.

[Pylon80]

30 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

The body and wing set is the older F104 Pro version

... which looks amazing but I think long since discontinued? 😐

Love your F1's. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the longer wheelbase F104's compared to your F103 and how it might affect handling for the type of driving you just did recently.

[TurnipJF]

23 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

Love your F1's. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the longer wheelbase F104's compared to your F103 and how it might affect handling for the type of driving you just did recently.

Thanks!

The F103 and F104 are quite different beasts in the handling department. The longer wheelbase F104 is more stable in a straight line as one might expect, but I think the biggest difference between the two is due to their track widths. The F103 is significantly wider than the F104, so is far more resistant to grip roll. Over-cook it into a corner, and the chances are you'll slide into the barrier before you roll it, no matter what surface you are on, how much tyre goop you have applied, how soft your tyres are, etc. It isn't completely impossible grip roll, but it sure comes close.

By comparison, the F104 requires a more sensible approach to cornering to keep it shiny side up. It isn't like it will roll on you at the slightest provocation, but try to drive it like an F103 and you'll be looking at the underside far more often than you'd like. Tricks like adding cyanoacrylate to the outer edges of the tyres are generally unnecessary on an F103, but are well worth considering on the F104.

[Grumpy pants]

Such a great thread 👏

[TurnipJF]

Having driven two F1s with liveries inspired by the Mercedes AMG GT3, it seemed about time to drive this:

 

TT-02 Type S Mercedes AMG GT3

Tonight's drive left me feeling... thoughtful I suppose. The F104s are on-road cars, as is the TT-02 Type S, but that is where the similarity ends. The experience of driving them couldn't be more different. With the F1s, it feels like I am helping the car to reach an accord with the track, whereby they can work harmoniously together. With the TT-02 Type S, it feels like the car and I are teaming up against the track, forcing it to submit to our combined will. And it isn't just the TT-02 Type S that feels this way. The TB-03 that I have yet to run in this thread has the same feel to it after driving an F1.

Tonight's run took place after work, supper, chores, etc, so there wasn't a lot of light and the tarmac was a bit on the cool side. My RBP lap count wasn't as good as it could be with this car, and I know it has more to give under the right conditions in the hands of a driver who isn't about ready for bed. Once I have driven the rest of the cars in my fleet, I will in all likelihood cycle back around to this one and give it another go when conditions are better and I am not half-asleep.

[TurnipJF]

I wasn't able to run anything yesterday due to the weather, so today I ran two cars. Meet the twins:

 

TT-01 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 #1

Back before my fleet boasted such marvellous machines as the TT-02 Type S, TB-03 and TC-01, my touring car of choice was the humble TT-01. A bunch of us raced them after hours in a car park, and we had a blast. Racing was close and competitive but the vibe was friendly as nobody was running fabulously expensive kit and the inevitable racing accidents were taken with good humour on the whole. They were good times.

The car runs the Big 3, a 55t spur gear, alloy propshaft, alloy upper arm mounts, alloy dogbones, alloy ballraced steering rack, turnbuckle track rods, carbon chassis brace, toe-in rear hubs, TT-01E bulkheads, shock towers and front knuckles, motor heatsink and fan. These days it has a 13.5t brushless motor, but back when it was a regular racer, we all ran standard 27t silver cans. It originally wore an NSX bodyshell, then an Alfa 156, then a Silvia S15 for a while, before donning its current guise as an SLS.

I ran the RBP course a few times and was pleasantly reminded of how well a TT-01 with a few choice hop-ups and some time spent on setup can perform. Back in the day we used to race on tight and twisty tramac tracks not a whole lot bigger than the RBP layouts, so the car was already pretty much optimised for RBP and I was quite pleased with the lap count. 

 

TT-01 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 #2

Racing at a track a fair distance from home quickly taught me the benefits of having a spare car, so when funds allowed, I acquired a second TT-01 and set it up to match my first one. Their specifications and set-ups are identical so that I can switch seamlessly between them without having to change my driving style at all. The only differences between this one and the black-and-white one are the decal set and the anodising on the alloy hop-ups. Whereas the other one has silver anodising, this one has blue. Back in their car park racing days, they shared a bodyshell, but now they each have their own Mercedes SLS shells.

This one also had its share of RBP runs, and as one might expect, it matched its twin sibling's lap count.

[Big Jon]

Boy, I’m really digging the scheme on the mint green Mercedes. Super, super sharp.

[TurnipJF]

A slow day called for a slow model, so here is this evening's runner:

 

CC-01 Mitsubishi Pajero Metal Top Wide

This has been an on-going project for several years now, and while it has been in running condition for most of that time, I wouldn't go as far as to call it finished as there always seems to be something to add to these models.

So far it has rubber-sealed bearings, a steel pinion, alloy shocks, alloy motor mount, ballraced alloy steering assembly, Junfac alloy rear links and mounts, steel skid plate and propshaft, GPM alloy lower front arms and uprights, CVs up front, alloy shock mounts, alloy front bash plate and winch fairlead, steel bullbar, steel rock sliders with alloy side steps, JunFac spare wheel mount with a functional spare wheel attached, Kong tyres, Proline roof rack with miscellaneous scale accessories and additional lighting, and probably other things that I have forgotten about over time. It has a 55t motor and Hobbywing 1080 ESC, waterproof Spektrum RX and Futaba high-torque servos, one of which has been converted to a servo winch. The next mod I have planned for it is a tow hitch so that it can pull a 1/10 scale boat trailer that is also on my "I'll get around to building it one day" list.

It isn't a quick model, topping out at a brisk walking pace, but it looks great and is pretty capable off-road. RBP with such a model is kinda pointless. Trail driving is this model's forte, so I tootled it around on the tarmac for a bit before doing the riverbank route back home.

[Tamiyastef]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

55t motor

The CC-01 and a 55t motor is a golden combination IMO and experience. This was my Pajero before I sold it.

[TurnipJF]

8 hours ago, Tamiyastef said:

The CC-01 and a 55t motor is a golden combination IMO and experience. This was my Pajero before I sold it.

A neat and nicely-presented example. 👍

[TurnipJF]

Acquiring a Hornet project earlier today put me in the mood to run this:

 

The Hornet (re-release)

The Hornet is one of those models many of us remember from our childhoods, either as cars we owned or as cars we dreamed of owning. I fell into the second category as a kid, so I couldn't be happier to own one as an adult. This example, like most of the cars in my fleet, arrived as a gift from my lovely wife. This was actually the first RC she gave me, as a birthday gift, shortly after we were married. Having seen how delighted I was with it, she has made sure that something RC-related has appeared amongst my birthday and Christmas prezzies every year since. I got a great one, I did!

The car is built with rubber-sealed bearings on the outward-facing locations and metal-shielded ones inside the gearbox, a Carson steel pinion, an AmPro clickety-clack delete gearbox brace and a Sport Tuned motor, which is right on the borderline of being too much power for this chassis IMO. The driver is wearing a Stig-inspired black visor on his helmet so that I didn't have to paint the driver's face. This car is a regular runner, and having seen how tatty the decals became on my cousin's childhood Hornet after being run for a while, I decided that mine would have minimal decals and an interesting paint job instead. I think the tactic has worked - this car is on its second set of wheels and at least its 5th set of tyres, but the original bodyshell still looks presentable despite the inevitable rollovers that occur when driving a Hornet with a Sport Tuned, no matter how careful one might be.

There was rain this afternoon but it had stopped by evening, leaving the tarmac wet and slippery enough to work as a skid pan without shredding the spikes on my rear tyres, so the run consisted mostly of hooning around, doing J-turns, drifts and doughnuts, although a perfunctory RBP attempt was also made. The lap count was dismal as one might expect considering the car and conditions, so I quickly went back to hooning. This car is every bit as much fun as pre-teen me thought it would be, and I continue to be extremely happy and grateful to have it in my fleet.

 

 

[Super ally]

The hornet is such a classic tamiya buggy and was the first tamiya kit i built back in 88.

[TurnipJF]

I had fun with my Hornet yesterday, so today I drove another one:

 

The Hornet Jun Watanabe Edition

Many hate it, but I am very fond of Tamiya's purple-bellied moo-cow Hornet. With so many RCs these days trying to look all mean and hardcore, I think it is great that this one is instead happy to just be fun and quirky in is colour scheme, while still retaining the shape of a proper Hornet rather than resorting to the cartoon proportions of a Comical. This particular example was built to the same spec as the one I ran yesterday, apart from using a Dirt Tuned motor instead of the Sport Tuned, and a nicer servo and ESC.

I took it out for photos with its pink tyres, before swapping to a black set for running. Even with the small amount of moving around that it did to get into position for the photos, the tyres picked up a bit of dirt, so were cleaned after the run. The tarmac was drier than yesterday and grip was better, so rather than risk a roll-over on tarmac with the moo-cow bodyshell, I took it over onto the grass and hooned around there instead. It rolled a couple of times, but emerged unscathed apart from a bit of mud on the wing which was washed off without issue.

The Jun Watanabe Edition is mechanically identical to the normal re-release, and is just as much fun to drive. I look forward to restoring the original I bought yesterday and seeing how that compares. I suspect that it will be just as good. 😀

[JimBear]

I've changed my mind on the Jun Watanabe Hornet - used to think it was an oddball cash grab - and maybe it still is ... but now I find it stands out for its crazy, happy looks. 

"Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink ..."

[chris.alex]

Quote

With so many RCs these days trying to look all mean and hardcore... 

I find that a bit boring too, and the buggys are often called "Fighters" — which isn't particularly imaginative. I really like this Hornet Edition.

[TurnipJF]

I'm sorry to announce that "Running all my cars" is taking a short break. I'm involved in a project that will require me to be working late for the next few days. My involvement ends on Monday though, so normal programming should resume then. 

[JimBear]

10 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

My involvement ends on Monday though, so normal programming should resume then. 

I'll trundle off and do a large resupply of popcorn. Until then ...

[Big Jon]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

I'm sorry to announce that "Running all my cars" is taking a short break. I'm involved in a project that will require me to be working late for the next few days. My involvement ends on Monday though, so normal programming should resume then. 

I’ve been checking every afternoon for updates since you started this. Blast!

[TurnipJF]

I'm sorry folks. I'll try to make it up to you all when the daily posts resume. We are past the halfway mark, but there is still plenty to come:

There will be models from ancient to modern including originals, re-res and restorations. Road cars, race cars, rally cars and off-roaders. Models with tub chassis, composite chassis and a combination of the two. Some with drive going to the front wheels, the back wheels, all of the wheels, even one with something other than the usual 4 wheels!

("More than four or less than four?" you might wonder. With Tamiya producing models such as the G6-01 and Tyrrell P-34 as well as the T3-01 and B2B sidecar, as well as possible custom projects based on Tamiya parts, it could be either, or both. You'd need to come back in a few days and see! 😀)

[Re-Bugged]

With mention of a Hornet & Project above, one is left wondering if you might be partaking in the Poor Boys RC Speed Run Challenge this year @TurnipJF 🤔?

[TurnipJF]

On 6/12/2025 at 10:35 AM, Re-Bugged said:

With mention of a Hornet & Project above, one is left wondering if you might be partaking in the Poor Boys RC Speed Run Challenge this year @TurnipJF 🤔?

I'm looking forward to seeing what people come up with for it, but I don't think I'll be entering myself. I don't have anywhere convenient to perform proper speed runs, so such a vehicle in my fleet would get very little use.

Being at the point that I find myself in the hobby currently, making an effort to get more use out of what I have already, it feels counterproductive to add a vehicle that by its very nature will hardly be used. 

[Re-Bugged]

Same here @TurnipJF 👍🏻

But I must admit I was very tempted to the point I started searching for a bargain Hornet to have a go. But factoring in I’d need a GPS Speedo, plus other bit and pieces (and they would have to be something I could transplant into other vehicles) I’ll think I’ll give it a miss not being a real priority for now.

It was fun watching last year’s efforts by people though. So it’ll just be some vicarious living again. 

[TurnipJF]

Thanks to some great teamwork and an unexpected assist from another department, our part of the project is done ahead of schedule! As a result, we have been able to spend Fathers' Day with our families, and "Running all my cars" is back to its normal schedule a day early. Having had it off the shelf to answer a tyre fitment question on the forum, I decided that this would be my runner of the day:

 

MF-01X Suzuki Jimny

The MF-01X is quite a versatile little thing, with all of its wheelbase and width options. I set this one up as a light trail runner, lifted as high as possible without losing the rear dogbones, with soft fake rally block tyres that are a bit taller than Tamiya's offerings, and a non-standard ball link arrangement to get symmetrical droop. It has the Big Three, an alloy motor mount and fully submersible electronics in case I want to ford any streams with it. The rear diff is locked and the front is slowed with AW grease. 6mm offset wheels give it a stance that pleases my eye, and the extra width makes it a little more resistant to rolling over. It carries a functional spare wheel on the back, license plates correct for the year and colour code of a full-size black Jimny, and a simple tow hitch.

With limited ground clearance and articulation, it isn't the world's greatest off-roader, but it is surprisingly capable for what it is, able to pootle along most walking trails without difficulty. I'd say it is about as capable as a stock CC-01. It will get hung up on things that high-centre it, but the smooth underbelly helps it slide over obstacles, so it can cross more difficult terrain than one might expect if one keeps a bit of momentum going. With a 55t motor, it isn't one for hooning around at speed, but it gets great runtimes and stays cool throughout its run, even in mid-summer.

Today's run started at the garages for photos, then it was off to the riverbank for some light trail driving. I'll pop a photo from the riverbank in the "Keep your words outta here" thread.  

[OoALEJOoO]

@TurnipJF Very nice Jimny. I'm also a big fan of the MF-01X as it can rally, trail and race reasonably well. For modding is also among Tamiya's most versatile.

[TurnipJF]

Working on my autojumble Hornet put me in the mood for driving one, but since I have driven both of my completed Hornets in this thread already, I instead decided to drive this:

 

Grasshopper Candy Green Edition

As we have established, I have a thing for Tamiya's special colour editions. I wouldn't say that a special colour edition automatically makes me want a given model, but if it is a model that I already like the looks of, a special colour edition makes it all the more desirable. I like the classic looks of the Grasshopper, and I think that the candy green finish suits it particularly well, so I was very pleased to be able to add this one to my fleet thanks to my lovely wife who procured one for me as a Christmas present a few years back.

I built it stock apart from bearings, and made a great deal of effort to paint the driver figure as nicely as I could. I never manage to get the face quite right, but I am quite pleased with how my dry-brushed driver's overalls came out. I know that one is meant to paint the rollcage on these shells, but I don't trust myself to do it justice so I left it green. I may paint it one day if I find myself feeling sufficiently skilled and confident, but I doubt it will ever happen. I think it looks fine in green anyway.

Like its Black Edition sibling, it is a nice little buggy to drive, and I enjoyed today's run with it. With its little 380 motor, it isn't fast by any means, but the rudimentary chassis makes it a fun challenge to drive around the RBP course. Being so low-powered, it doesn't really go fast enough to grip roll, so I found I could push for maximum laps without worrying about tipping it over and damaging the lovely shell. I wonder where it will feature in the final standings?