The Frog Lol

[Eric2.5]

I have decided that the Super Blackfoot I have will remain a shelf queen. To much of a pain to get the shocks I want and parts are hard to get for a truck I want to play with. It will remain an original classic.

Well my crave for RC cars is back after a long ride with RC helis so now I am looking for my come back car.

I am looking at the frog on Tower... They are having a 3 easy pay deal that sounds good. It has a ESC which is great.. bearings in the gearbox, and it's the frog lol.. Never could afford a frog back then(settled for a hornet) so I'm thinking what the heck... I'll get a frog and use it just to have some fun with..

I like the metal in the suspension too.

So the remake frog.. All of you like them pretty much?... I knew the old frog was heavy and floated so the new one pretty much the same?..

For the price I think this would be great... I just don't have the money for a clod buster or twin detonator once you get all the good stuff on them, so I think this frog will be a good start back into RC cars.

I considered the sand viper(looks awesome) but it seems to low for the terrain I want to play in... The Frog really sits up high.

[HunterZero]

So the remake frog.. All of you like them pretty much?... I knew the old frog was heavy and floated so the new one pretty much the same?..

The Frog re-release is almost identical to the original car. Summary of the major changes are...

1. Improved oil shocks on the back

2. ESC replaces MSC and mechanism deck

3. Dogbones replace hexagonal half-shafts

4. Aluminium idler gear instead of brass

There are a few other minor changes, such as the screws themselves are a bit different (more step screws and different plating), some slight changes to the chassis and the material of the bumper reinforcing plate.

Watch out for a couple of issues that seem common to this car:

1. Rear dogbones tend to pop out at extreme suspension angles/crashes.

2. Front knuckles tent to come apart. Can be fixed with some superglue.

3. Still has the same durability problems with the diff when used with faster motors, but there are ways around this, eg 5mm shims or tapping a screw through the diff.

Frog isn't that heavy - and it's a bit lighter without the 2nd servo and receiver batteries. Driving it is pretty much the same as the original car.

- James

[mongoose1983]

I dunno, but I'd rather go for the Re-re Subaru Brat pick-up

[phantom photon]

Watch out for a couple of issues that seem common to this car:

1. Rear dogbones tend to pop out at extreme suspension angles/crashes.

2. Front knuckles tent to come apart. Can be fixed with some superglue.

Had these both happen to mine several times

[Eric2.5]

I dunno, but I'd rather go for the Re-re Subaru Brat pick-up

I looked at that briefly on Tower and have seen it has the same Frog chassis. I do like it, but what is better besides the body/tires?.

Is it close to the original version?

I may get it actually.. I like the scale looks and the realistic looking tires. I almost think I could slip on a set of Super Blackfoot rims and tires after a while..

[Eric2.5]

The Frog re-release is almost identical to the original car. Summary of the major changes are...

1. Improved oil shocks on the back

2. ESC replaces MSC and mechanism deck

3. Dogbones replace hexagonal half-shafts

4. Aluminium idler gear instead of brass

There are a few other minor changes, such as the screws themselves are a bit different (more step screws and different plating), some slight changes to the chassis and the material of the bumper reinforcing plate.

Watch out for a couple of issues that seem common to this car:

1. Rear dogbones tend to pop out at extreme suspension angles/crashes.

2. Front knuckles tent to come apart. Can be fixed with some superglue.

3. Still has the same durability problems with the diff when used with faster motors, but there are ways around this, eg 5mm shims or tapping a screw through the diff.

Frog isn't that heavy - and it's a bit lighter without the 2nd servo and receiver batteries. Driving it is pretty much the same as the original car.

- James

I appreciate the information here.. I'l probably build it and run 100% stck, but I'll keep watch for the problems.. The knuckle thing sounds bad... May fix that before running it.

[HunterZero]

I looked at that briefly on Tower and have seen it has the same Frog chassis. I do like it, but what is better besides the body/tires?.

Is it close to the original version?

I may get it actually.. I like the scale looks and the realistic looking tires. I almost think I could slip on a set of Super Blackfoot rims and tires after a while..

The only difference between the re-release Brat and Frog are the body and tires. Brat comes with two bodies, which is nice - one original hard plastic shell, and one clear lexan shell.

Differences between the original Brat and the re-release are many:

1. Original Brat didn't have oil filled dampers

2. Original Brat did not have a diff, it came with a solid spool

3. Original Brat came with a 380 motor instead of a 540

4. No ball bearings in the original

5. Original Brat had a unique central servo saver arrangement

6. Original Brat didn't have an underguard

7. Original Brat didn't have the reinforcing plate for the front bumper

So the re-issue is essentially a hopped-up version.

If you put bigger tires on it, you might find the gearing isn't suitable as it will be geared too high. You will have to use the smallest pinion with the largest spur, and may need to swap to using the pinion/spur from the Blackfoot/Monster Beetle.

I think putting Blackfoot rims/tires on the front requires at least different knuckles.

- James

[Psylence]

I just recently finished building a Frog re-release with a Tamiya "lightly tuned" motor.... it would probably be more fun to drive if it didn't keep flipping over under full power.

Is that normal, btw?

[mongoose1983]

it would probably be more fun to drive if it didn't keep flipping over under full power.

Is that normal, btw?

It's not the car. It's the way you drive it. If you only like to go to the fullest then you should consider the use of a wheelie bar on its rear end.

Best regards,

EB

--

[HunterZero]

Yeah, the Frog has a very short wheelbase and a lot of steering lock. On full steering lock it turns very tightly, and the motor is quite high up giving a high CoG. Add it all up and you get a car that tends to traction roll quite easily on higher grip surfaces.

Go easy on the steering lock, or if your transmitter has the function, set the steering limits. Or keep it on the dirt.

- James

[Eric2.5]

Thanks guys, but I just bought a BlackFoot Extreme lol.. Here is the scoop.

ClickHere

[Jack_Truck]

I just recently finished building a Frog re-release with a Tamiya "lightly tuned" motor.... it would probably be more fun to drive if it didn't keep flipping over under full power.

Is that normal, btw?

What if you just build up to full throttle slowly then floor it?

[Psylence]

What if you just build up to full throttle slowly then floor it?

Under full power on a high traction surface it'll flip. Easing up to full power on good traction can still elicit a nifty wheelie.

I never had a Frog "back in the day" but I never noticed anything of the sort on my Hornet from that era. I certainly would have noted such bad assed behavior in my youth!

Do ESC's and modern nimh batteries make that large of a difference?

[taliesin]

Do ESC's and modern nimh batteries make that large of a difference?

In a word: YES!

[HunterZero]

Under full power on a high traction surface it'll flip. Easing up to full power on good traction can still elicit a nifty wheelie.

I never had a Frog "back in the day" but I never noticed anything of the sort on my Hornet from that era. I certainly would have noted such bad assed behavior in my youth!

Frog was definitely more flip-happy than the Hornet. I think it's down to the short wheelbase and the Frog having a lot more steering lock. However if you were more careful with it, the Frog handled a lot better than the Hornet.

Do ESC's and modern nimh batteries make that large of a difference?

Yes, a huge difference. An ESC will give you much better control, electronic brake function, longer runtimes and no more disintegrating mechanical contacts. Modern NiMH have three to four times the capacity of 'period' NiCD packs, and will give you more 'punch'. On a standard motor you could be running for an hour or more.

- James