Sand Scorcher 2009

[HereBeMonsters 9]

I fully intend to run my Buggy Champ at the Retro Racer buggy class at Hinckley when it starts again in the summer. Motors are limited to silver can so essentially stock.

It'll get thrashed by the Frogs, Hotshots and the Hornets but I don't care, I still want to run it so that I can tell the grandkids I use to race an SRB.

Retro Racers pics

That's great. Surely anyone who turns up with an Egress, Avante or Top Force will annihilate the competition though?

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Well here's mine, arrived yesterday from RC Mart.

Very impressed when I unwrapped it and feasted my eyes on the gorgeous box art, was a bit less impressed when I opened the box.

One of the UJs was missing from the blister pack and on closer inspection I found that the blister pack was not actually sealed down. I found the UJ bouncing around loose at the bottom of the box (as it must have been all the way from Hong Kong). This is slightly annoying for me as I was intending to keep this NIB. If the blister had been fine that would have been ok, if the blister had been sealed down but no UJ then that would have been great - a real one off, but as it is it is basically just an opened blister, which is not really what I wanted.

Had a quick look at the rear cage and I'm pretty sure it is a duffer one. I think whoever packed it also knows it is a duff one because there was a tear in the bag and the part of the cage with the hole on was sticking through the bag as if someone had pushed it through to examine it. The holes look appalling. I haven't compared it yet to me BC one but I can see straight away that they are in the wrong place.

I can only assume Homer Simpson is running the QC at Tamiya these days.

Very cool!

I've included a pic from the manual. Note it shows the rear light lens on the sprue as shaded which denotes "unused". As if Tamiya! I'm pretty sure that a whole heap of those lens are going to get used!

One last pic - of the bag. I can see Tamiya used a pic of the original to screen print the bag. You can see the Autohaus symbol on the nose cone.

So there we have it. A NIB SS with an opened blister pack and a torn parts bag. Bummer. But on the plus side I did get the shopping bag and the ESC and I have the satisfaction on knowing I have one of the very early ones

Incidently this is the first time I have ordered something like this from a Far Eastern seller and I must admit I was expecting it to be a Japanese market one but this is an English language one. How can I tell if this is a US market one of a European market one?

Wow after looking at your photo's the blister packs quality really SUCKS on these modern releases. I have Flakpanzer Gepard and BlackFoot etc. and the blister packs on those are very very good, almost perfect. Tamiya seems to have forgotten how to do this properly.

Interesting on the VW licensed product.

As far as I know the Japanese domestic market packaging is identical to the USA and UK as regards the box art, since there is Kanjii on the box art when you buy it from UK, as well as the price in Yen, and there is "Tamiya USA" etc. as well as Kanjii written on cans of Tamiya paint imported into UK. There used to be a Japanese manual for the Japenese domestic market, the English manual had German language in it too. I remember the Hilux RA1028 having a Japanese and an English manual (i.e. two different ones). Nowadays the manuals are combined English / Japanese.

Now as I think about it, if it were me I would be e-mailing Tamiya.com in Japan (their customer service section) to complain about the quality of the blister packs, and I suggest that all UK customers who get bad blister packs complain by e-mail to The Hobby Company Ltd. ;-

http://www.tamiya.com/english/agent/agent.htm

Maybe after many people complain, Tamiya will sort this problem out once and for all. It would be worth the effort, if so.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Olly_Lunchbox 28]

That's great. Surely anyone who turns up with an Egress, Avante or Top Force will annihilate the competition though?

You would think so but it doesn't turn out that way. The silver can restriction is a great leveller and with the differences in driver's abilities the results are often varied. There was one member running a Top Force and it goes without saying he was getting good results but certainly not an annihilation.

At the end of the day it's only a fun class anyway. We've run vintage 2wd, 4wd, Lunchboxes, Wild Willys and there's a Mardave Cobra that competes too and it's just good fun watching these old timers duking it out.

[HereBeMonsters 9]

You would think so but it doesn't turn out that way. The silver can restriction is a great leveller and with the differences in driver's abilities the results are often varied. There was one member running a Top Force and it goes without saying he was getting good results but certainly not an annihilation.

At the end of the day it's only a fun class anyway. We've run vintage 2wd, 4wd, Lunchboxes, Wild Willys and there's a Mardave Cobra that competes too and it's just good fun watching these old timers duking it out.

Ah, a silver can restriction would do it! So something very lightweight would be the plan. Hornet would be my choice I think...

[HereBeMonsters 9]

Sorry, how do I add this to my showroom? I can't find model 58542 on the list to select.

[loaded 4]

Middle column, half way down, 8th from the end of 58***

TC List of cars

P.

[HereBeMonsters 9]

Middle column, half way down, 8th from the end of 58***

TC List of cars

P.

D'oh. I must be dyslexic or something. Spot my mistake!

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Just had a look and that track at Hinckley is a bit big LOL I prefer the track smaller since when my car is 40 feet away I can't hardly see it and it's only a distant blur so I just think what's the point

Wish tracks came in smaller sizes, just my personal preference.

Maybe I am the only one who feels like this?

Best Regards,

Alistair G.

[chinaman SS 0]

It will be for a good laugh ... slivercan will do ...

There were a few other videos on You Tube from the link provided by Oly ... The one with the Lunchbox was just a huge laugh ... esp when it just rolled over the Mardave, half way through the race ... LOL never seen one of those in my TC club races

[Olly_Lunchbox 28]

Nice choice of wording.

"This re-released version of the Sand Scorcher is a fun radio-controlled assembly kit model which reminds you of the design of the original 1979 release"

[Raman36 1656]

Limit motor to silver cans and add proper shock dampening, and the SRB would be very competitive with frog and hornet.. Install an optional diff and it's night and day difference in handling.

[HereBeMonsters 9]

Limit motor to silver cans and add proper shock dampening, and the SRB would be very competitive with frog and hornet.. Install an optional diff and it's night and day difference in handling.

But surely it weighs much, much more than a Hornet? Hornet has a plastic tub, plastic wishbones and rear axle, lexan shell. Only metal bits are in the gearbox and shocks/springs.

My Hornet runs blisteringly quick with an Ansmann 15T motor in it. Same motor wouldn't even make a LunchBox wheelie, and barely managed a wheelspin in my King Cab.

[TWINSET 1793]

All Kidderminster discussions have been moved here; http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=54948 - please continue the subject there.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Nice choice of wording.

"This re-released version of the Sand Scorcher is a fun radio-controlled assembly kit model which reminds you of the design of the original 1979 release"

Wow, wierd! Never seen Tamiya word anything quite like that before! Makes me think that they did realise that a lot of the old hacks would remember the SS1979 body and be touchy about the Sand Blitzer that they just released...

ARG

[Raman36 1656]

But surely it weighs much, much more than a Hornet? Hornet has a plastic tub, plastic wishbones and rear axle, lexan shell. Only metal bits are in the gearbox and shocks/springs.

My Hornet runs blisteringly quick with an Ansmann 15T motor in it. Same motor wouldn't even make a LunchBox wheelie, and barely managed a wheelspin in my King Cab.

Straight Out of the box, The hornet is definitely lighter, however it does not have independent rear suspension, where as the SRB has A arms. The rear suspension of the hornet travels inwards which make it down right awkward. However it does have better rear dampers and springs where as the SRB has the torsion bars. Nonetheless, you could adjust the rear torsion bears by tweaking them in either direction for stiffness or softness. So IMO the SRB is more tunable.

Up front the hornet only has springs where as the SRB has actual dampers and springs with two settings. Again I'd say the SRB is more tunable.

As for the Frog, it's front suspension is a joke. Rear is not bad but again I'd prefer to have A arms in the rear instead of trailing arms. I was never able to get my Frog / Brat to handle properly.

The SRB's disadvantage out of the box is its lack of differential. Install the optional diff (I have RA1028's) and it improves its ability big time. If you add real dampers and adjust the ride height, it will become a pretty good vintage car for racing.

[redzone 212]

hehehe sand blitzer!

i'll be buying a rere shell or 2 for my runner scorcher nice that they include the stinger!

[RenoRanes007 0]

Just out of curiosity has anyone who has there new Scorcher polished up all the alloy parts yet? Was thinking of doing this when mine arrives.

[HereBeMonsters 9]

Just out of curiosity has anyone who has there new Scorcher polished up all the alloy parts yet? Was thinking of doing this when mine arrives.

Hmm...I have just got a nice new dremel...

[SRB Bloke 237]

Hmm...I have just got a nice new dremel...

Me too, brand new dremel for christmas, in antisipation of my SS2010, "Which I'm still waiting for ARRRRRRHHHH!!!!

So thats 2 that will be completely polished, NICE!!!

I'm in Essex does anyone know any clubs/tracks nearby. I can't find one... I'd love to race an SRB

[HunterZero 76]

The first of my Sand Scorcher kits arrived this morning, yeah!

I ordered three from Stella, and they're all coming in separate packages, which is a bit odd. I was hoping to get an original carton like I did with the Buggy Champs.

I did email them when I heard about the rear cage issue, and they replied right away. They said that they had sent the first two kits out with the suspect parts, but then when they heard about the problem, they included three good rear cages with the third kit! So they'd already sorted the problem for me. Excellent service.

My first Scorcher arrived very well packed, kit box in perfect condition (despite a few dings in the outer carton), beautiful box art! Although my kit does have the lifting blister pack issue, on the top right side, and the UJ had slipped out and was sitting with the tires. So it seems this is another QC problem on this first batch of kits...

I'll have to track down some glue to fix it... Anyone have a pic of this Uhu glue? Is it a clear liquid glue? Is it a PVA?

- James

[loaded 4]

UHU Website

UHU ALLESKLEBER Kraft transparent

* transparenter Kraft-Universalkleber mit außergewöhnlicher Klebekraft

* schnell und superstark

* im Einseiten- (Nasskleben) und Zweiseiten-Klebeverfahren (Kontaktkleben) anwendbar

* lässt sich auch unter Wasser verarbeiten (z.B.Teichfolien aus Weich-PVC)

* in der FLEX + CLEAN Kunststofftube: sauberes, tropffreies und handliches Kleben

Der transparente Kraft-Universalkleber für schnelle und superstarke Verklebungen in der speziellen, weichen und unkaputtbaren Flex+Clean Kunststofftube für sauberes, tropffreies, handliches Kleben. Klebt einfach alles zuverlässig und mit außergewöhnlicher Klebekraft - sowohl im Einseiten- (Nasskleben) als auch im Zweiseiten-Klebeverfahren (Kontaktkleben). Besonders geeignet für sichtbare Klebefugen und transparente Materialien. Der Klebefilm bleibt elastisch, ist weitgehend UV-beständig und versprödet nicht.

Für harte und flexible Materialien (besonders Weich-PVC, z.B. Teichfolie) Lässt sich auch unter Wasser verarbeiten. Beständig gegen Wasser, Öl, Fett, verdünnte Säuren, Laugen und Alkohol. Nicht für Styropor® geeignet.

Verpackungseinheit Inhalt

FLEX + CLEAN Tube 18g

FLEX + CLEAN Tb./Blister 18g

FLEX + CLEAN Tube 42g

Tube 125g

Dose 650g

Kanne 4,4kg

Materialien

Universell - klebt Holz, Holzwerkstoffe, Kunststoffe (ABS, Hart- und Weich-PVC, Plexiglas®, Polystyrol, Resopal®), Metall, Glas, Porzellan, Keramik, Leder, Gummi, Filz, Kork, Stoff, Pappe, Papier, …Besonders geeignet für sichtbare Klebefugen und transparente Materialien.

Nicht geeignet für Styropor®, PE, PP.

Verarbeitung/Gebrauchsanleitung

Klebeflächen gut reinigen (trocken, staub- und fettfrei). Einseitenklebung: Einseitig auftragen, andrücken - fertig. Zweiseitenklebung (Kontaktklebung): Klebeflächen gleichmäßig dünn einstreichen, saugfähige Materialien evtl. mehrmals. Ablüften lassen. Wenn berührtrocken (nach ca. 10 Minuten), kurz und kräftig zusammenpressen. Eine Korrektur ist dann nicht mehr möglich!

[1Zook 10]

Mine arrived at local PO today...whoo hoo!!

I arrived too late from work to pick it up..D'Oh!!

[pagedm_f350 3]

Mine arrived at local PO today...whoo hoo!!

I arrived too late from work to pick it up..D'Oh!!

Dang, have to wait another day

[HereBeMonsters 9]

So do I have to get in touch with Stella to ask them to send me a replacement rear cage, or will they automatically send one out for me?

[SB_Aust 42]

I received my replacement rear guard today from Stellamodels free of charge. Just in case the one included in the kit is a defect one. I didn't need to prompt them, they just sent it with an apology. Cheers Stellamodels.