Red arrow vs. Grasshopper

[The soldier bug 1]

Back when I was seven years old I got a Radioshack Red arrow buggy from my grandpa. while I have looked high and low for one of these to re-live a few memories I have found nothing. The significance of the buggy is that it represents my first "fast" rc car and what would later bring me into the hobby so it is really a milestone. It looks alot like a combo of the Grasshoper and the frog (released around the same time period) does anyone remember the Red arrow or have a picture they would like to share?

[rhenbelz 0]

I think you mean the Golden Arrow? A great car, and quite a piece of history. Available on eBay but they fetch high prices, as do the Nikko F10 series buggies which are basically the same thing. You can find examples of each on Tamiyaclub, just do a search for Golden Arrow, or for the Nikkos search for F10/F-10, Bison, Rhino, Alienator.

[The soldier bug 1]

Thanks for the info "rhenbelz".[] I will look this up right away. Oh, one more thing, the red arrow did exist, although it was only a variant color of the gold arrow...

[Hibernaculum 933]

Back when I was seven years old I got a Radioshack Red arrow buggy from my grandpa.

I think you mean the Golden Arrow?

 

No, he definitely means the Red Arrow, Rhen

The Red Arrow first went on sale in 1988, one year after the Golden Arrow, and was sold at Tandy/Radio Shack stores. It proved quite popular and wasn't discontinued until about 1992. It was like the brother of the Golden Arrow (both cars were manufactured by Nikko), but was a little cheaper, perhaps a fraction behind in performance, and a completely different car. Unlike the Golden Arrow, which shared many of it's parts with some other Nikko cars as you mentioned (e.g. the Nikko Rhino etc), the Red Arrow appears to have been a one-off chassis design. For example, it's dual-lever body clip and internal 7.2v + 4AA battery holding mechanisms are quite inventive and unlike any other buggy I've seen.

The only obvious common parts the Red Arrow shared with the Golden Arrow were it's wheels & tyres.

It was powered by a Mabuchi 540, so it wasn't far behind the pace of the Golden Arrow.

I wouldn't say the Red Arrow looks like a combo of the Grasshopper and the Frog, maybe it's just your memory playing tricks on you But it's definitely a typically nice retro, 1980s buggy. I always wished I had one as a kid, and I now have two in my collection - one NIB and the other near new.

I can help you with anything else you'd like to know about the Red Arrow, so feel free to write to me off the forum if you like, as I rarely visit. I was running a Red Arrow only a few weeks ago, and I would say it was faster than a Grasshopper. Though it didn't have the pace of my stock original Frog.

cheers,

H.

[The soldier bug 1]

Thank you "Hibernaculum" For the picture and back ground history on this great buggy. It has been years since I have seen one in picture or real life for that matter, brings back memories... If you have any NIB pictures you could show me that would be great!

[rhenbelz 0]

Wow, I had no idea Hibernaculum. I'd never seen or heard of a Red Arrow. If you have more pictures please let me know, I'd love to learn more about it.

[The soldier bug 1]

Hey guys, if you are interested, there is a Red arrow on ebay right now with only one bid. Very cheap price only $15 starting bid and it is mint in box. I would get it, but I just bought a lunchbox and am now saving up to get a Bullhead.[]

[Hibernaculum 933]

FYI - it's not NIB because it's missing the radio. And it's pretty useless without the original radio.

I don't think the car is mint either, but that's just my eagle eye staring at the scuffs on the rear wing []

Feel free to flip me an email if you want to know anything else about the Red Arrow (Sorry, I don't read these forums often enough anymore to keep chasing it up here).

cheers,

H. 

[ELEPHT70 43]

Sorry for the thread dig but a friend has one of these RC's and he wants to replace the rear tyres. 

Any idea on where I can point him to get some?? Or what size tyre he needs? 

Thx in advance 😊

[korreka 43]

You can place a Tamiya Frog / Hornet tire with a 38mm rim. 
The rim of Red Arrow or Nikko Thunderbolt (is the same) is 50mm. 
The tire is flexible and can be placed

[korreka 43]

Here is my Radcon Wildfox Review (Radioshack-Tandy Red Arrow review):

https://reparar-cochesrc.blogspot.com.es/2018/02/revision-de-radconm-wildfox-radio-shack.html

Radcon was the manufacturer of many Radio Shack RC cars. This buggy was sold in the late 80's and early 90's as Radcon WildFox and as Radio Shack - Tandy as Red Arrow (60-4077) with different stickers.

 

 

Radio Shack Red Arrow

 

The front suspension is similar to Nikko Thuderbolt / Rhino and the front and rear wheels are the same as these Nikko cars. The transmission  and  chassis is the same as the Yonezawa Land Dash Buggy (Monogram Lightning).

Yonezawa Land Dash

This car has proportional steering and non-proportional speed controller (2 forward speeds and one reverse speed) although the signal encoded by the transmitter is digital proportional type.

 

 

.

This buggy has two rather curious things:
- To remove the bodyshell, there is only a lever to slide from the cockpit.
- The access to the 7.2V battery and the 4x AA batteries, it is done with a lever that, according to the position, lifts a panel or another.

 

 

 

 

 

To remove the motor,  2 screws of the motor cover are removed on the side of the wires and two other screws that hold it on the opposite side. Before, we have removed the wheel.

 

 

The motor is 540 Mabuchi type with 10T pinion  and 0.8 module .
At a voltage of 7.7 volts, the speed 18000 rpm (no load); it must be a RS-540 with 27 winding turns or similar.

 

 

To disassemble the transmission (gears and differential), in addition to the two screws of the motor, you must remove the opposite wheel and another 4 screws. From here, you can lubricate the gears:

 

The transmission ratio, (I think it has counted the teeth well), would be: 10/24 * 13/50 -----> 1: 9.2

With a tire diameter of 82mm and a motor speed of about 15,000 rpm it reaches about 25 km / h

 

 

 

The wheel hub is similar to the Nikko Thunderbolt:
   

 

 

To access the car's electronics, remove the top cover fixed with 6 screws. The board has the Oki L9367 integrated circuit (msl9367). It has three relays (one for the two forward speeds and two relays for the forward-backward switching):

 

 

The diagram of the final stage is this:

 

On pin 16 of the i.c. decoder, the PPM signal of the transmitter enters with these values for steering and throttle neutral point (the seen in the oscilloscope).

It has inverted channels with respect to a Futaba standart: Ch1: throttle   and    Ch2: steering

 

 

[pengoo 41]

ONE on EBAY now £20 .. looks all there but not tested ..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/radio-shack-red-arrow-buggy-radio-controlled/382392639730?hash=item590860a0f2:g:8E8AAOSw8axaGmtR

[nowinaminute 2815]

On 2/27/2018 at 12:17 PM, korreka said:

Here is my Radcon Wildfox Review (Radioshack-Tandy Red Arrow review):

I forgot to say thanks for this great write up!