Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
pageda

It's a real longshot but...

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

 I would like to know what my first RC Nikko was called so I can track one down.  I am struggling to find any pics so bear with me on the vague description: Any thoughts or guesses appreciated!

White bodied buggy with pistol grip radio gear

Probably 1/12th scale

Switchable gearbox

Very robust

Circa 1988

Thats it!

Appreciate any help/guidance!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Could be a Magnum or some variant of the Hurricane chassis. Your description is pretty vague.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I appreciate the vagueness but at least I have a starting point now. You have a great showroom and I would say it is an awful lot like a 2wd version of the Hurricane. Did this exist? Do any model catalogues exist for Nikko?

 Thanks!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comment.

I think the Magnum was a 2WD. It ran on 7.2v stick packs and had two speeds. The Hurricane is a pretty special design. I can't see it being made in 2WD, but that gearbox was used on a lot of cars.

Nikko did make yearly product catalogs. They sometimes pop up on eBay and typically sell for around $10 each.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi pageda,

The Nikko in question is a Venus 1:16 scale 'Aero' Buggy. Very sure it was about 1986-1987 I bought mine (gettin old now 'n' the memory is goin'). $89.00 from Target at Redbank in Brisbane reduced from $139.00 (Sticker still on the box). I'd saved for months doing odd jobs around town like mowing lawns and gardening.

It's not a pistol grip type controller, it's more like the Tyco Jet Hopper stick controller with the 'Turbo' if you push the throttle stick up and slightly to the right. So it really has 4 speeds, 2 electronic speeds from the transmitter and a switchable 2 speed gear in the differential. It takes 8x "AA" cells in the car and 1x 9V cell in the transmitter. Unlike the Jet Hopper though which when you steered the 'Turbo' would disengage, the Venus would stay on 'Turbo' the whole time (made it quicker around a track but not in a straight line race with a Jet Hopper).

Yes I still have it and the transmitter and the original box it came in. It however is no longer in it's original form. I've removed the circuit board from the inside of the car, removed the magnetic steering and replaced it all with 1:10 radio gear (Futaba wheel), ESC (NoLimit) and servo (Futaba S3003). The motor was also replaced with a HPI Micro RS4 380 as the standard ones kept burning out from now getting full power through an ESC (9.6V @ 2500mAh).

There has been quite a bit of work done with the dremel to make it all fit and still be able to be worked on by undoing the screws. It has made the car alot faster and very much easier to drive and steer at that faster speed (~45km/h). Only mod left is some oil filled shocks (GPM MicroRS4 alloy rear shocks fit perfect) as it tends to bounce alot now on just springs. Power wise it will spin both back wheels furiously on tarmac if you nail the throttle hard (just the way I like my cars).

I'm not willing to part with the car. It holds a certain sentimental value as well as being heaps of fun to drive.

1-16_Venus-01.jpg1-16_Venus-02.jpg

1-16_Venus-03.jpg

These pics were taken with my webcam before I got a digital camera.

Any other info/pictures you need just ask.

Cheers, Mark

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey TA Mark is there any chance of some better pictures of this car ? i spotted this post and wow i had that same car here many many years ago and would love to see the car again ! i had it as standard and hated waiting 8 hours for the batterys to charge to maybe get 15 mins run time ! this model started my addiction to tamiya as a friend of mine had the hornet and when i saw that go i had to go tamiya all the way ! thanks for the memory trip mate and please please post some better quality pics if you can or email me a few ?

Regards

Andy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

TA, you really have made my day! :( Thankyou. I appreciate that you will not part with the buggy, it sounds like you have made a lot of interesting mods! If you ever change your mind though you know where I am.

My ebay hunt now begins! I would also appreciate some more pics if you can. I was sure it had a trigger type controller that would go into Turbo mode when you pulled it all the way. Possible in different markets?

Thanks again for your help!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Better Images of the Venus are now in my Showroom for anyone who's interested. There's no category for Nikko :) so it's under Misc.

Link to Nikko Venus

Cheers, Mark

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Better Images of the Venus are now in my Showroom for anyone who's interested. There's no category for Nikko :P so it's under Misc.

Link to Nikko Venus

Cheers, Mark

Cheers fella ! that brings back some fun times as a little kid ! good work

Andy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All thanks to this post I now have one!! Some lucky trawling of a well know auction site turned up a boxed version with the trigger controller just like I had as a kid!

Some problems though. The graphics are not exactly as the box, the Aero turbo letters are not on the flanks. Some google search shows the same graphics as mine though on an Italian market buggy.

The biggie though is that although it was sold as a working buggy it does nto work, even with new batteries. No drive at all and no steering response.

Any ideas wha this could be?

TA Mark - how much of a job is it to change the running gear completely?

Thanks all!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cool, glad you could find one. I'd never seen one sold here with the trigger/wheel radio. I actually meant to get a photo of the box and my original controller when I took photos.

It did take a fair bit of work to modify but it was well worth it.

You will need to have a dremel or similar to cut the existing circuit board mounts out and cut holes for the servo to fit, a soldering iron to rewire the battery compartment with a high volt plug to connect the ESC and to change the wires to the motor to higher amp.

Parts I used:

Futaba S3003 servo (mounts cut off with dremel)

HPI RS4 Micro motor (standard one will burnout with the higher amps as it doesn't have brushes as such.. a toy motor)

NoLimit ESC (handles 9.6v 2500mAh)

Futaba Receiver

15 Amp wires (battery to esc, esc to motor)

'Venom' High Volt plugs.

I removed all of the existing steering mechanism and made a custom servo saver that fitted to the standard steering arms (I will be changing this to ball ends and turnbuckles soon). I cut a neat section from the steering mechanism cover to fit the servo into. The steering mechanism cover and the body clamp the servo tighly in place. The hardest bit of the whole job was fitting the servo. Radio gear and esc fit easliy.

Cheers, Mark

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...