Sand Scorcher 2009

[loaded]

You're from Holland? How about a hippy flower power Baja bug? A bit cliche, but I haven't seen one yet

P.

[Chain Driven]

That's a very good idea Paul !

[pwalthuis]

haha not a bad idea, 70's metal flake colors and such.

But,... that does now mean that i have a reason for another (3rd) SRB. Thanks mate!

I do have two Monster Beetle shells lying around with currently no purpose. The more i think about it, the more it does look like a fun idea.

[loaded]

I just decided, I will do a flower power Baja :-) I have 24 on order, so I can spare one....

P.

[Chain Driven]

I just decided, I will do a flower power Baja :-) I have 24 on order, so I can spare one....

P.

I knew there was strange things happening in those Carpathian Mountains........

[SRB Bloke]

I knew there was strange things happening in those Carpathian Mountains........

No a bad idea, but my daughter wants me to a smarties theme SS, how can I say no to a cute 2 year old. (quite easily)

[lee1980]

I bet if i had gone through with my pre-order at rc champ i wouldve got charged customs lol!

Still im getting the bodyset now, have tyres+wheels and body post extension already!

Im thinking maybe the flower power bug paint job from Austin Powers movie lol!!!

[Wandy]

Right, I'm in from work so let the drooling commence.

After a quick look over here are a few stand out points...

* Beautifull box art but why no tyre lettering? Must be a licencing issue methinks.

* This kit has also come with the incorrectly drilled rear cage. No big deal, a quick elongation of the hole would sort it but I think I'll keep it and just buy a Buggy Champ one from Jason for £8 all in. Looks like most of this 1st batch will have the same cage issue though, it will be interesting to see when the first ones arrive with error corrected.

* The body is definitely made from a different plastic to the original. This one feels more springy and tougher compared to the mint condition original shell I bought in December. Hopefully this means the new body will be that little bit more crack resistant.

* Wow, I understand now all the fuss about the arches. Having seen the two shells side by side I didn't realise how much wider the originals are...I really thought it was more of a shape issue rather than size but it's pretty significant. I now feel an original shell is a must for this kit and am glad I got one when I did.

* The build manual is merely titled Racing Buggy Sand Scorcher.....the original was titled Special Racing Buggy. Pretty insignificant I know but just pointing out another of those all important differences that will allow the original NIBs to retain their value.

So that's my initial little perusal over. The feeling of obtaining one of these, and therefore gawping at the most coveted Tamiya box art of them all for a mere £200 when only 6 months ago I would have had to pay £2000 for the priviledge, is a very satisfying one indeed. Thankyou very, very much Mr Tamiya for listening to us obsessive nutters and delivering the goods (even if it took a while longer than we would have liked!).

[HereBeMonsters]

OMG OMG OMG

Just got home to find a card saying my parcel will be at the local post office from 5pm. Haven't ordered anything else, so this must be it. My wife is amused at how excited I am.

I gots it I gots it!!!!!

Went to Post Office a little early on the off chance, and the delivery driver was there booking it in. It is now safely in the boot of my car while I'm waiting in a pub to meet the Wife, so we can go off and sign the contract on our new house.

New house and Sand Scorcher all in one day! Let's hope good things come in threes and I win the EuroMillions tonight!

[Wandy]

* This kit has also come with the incorrectly drilled rear cage. No big deal, a quick elongation of the hole would sort it but I think I'll keep it and just buy a Buggy Champ one from Jason for £8 all in. Looks like most of this 1st batch will have the same cage issue though, it will be interesting to see when the first ones arrive with error corrected.

It gets better. Had a PM from Stella saying that a replacement rear cage is in the post. Looks like Tamiya got onto this one quickly, although why they were faulty in the 1st place is a mystery considering the Buggy Champ ones were perfect.

[Badboy]

That's always been my thinking - the boxart was very 'kit accurate' on all the early models, even down to the weird front arms on the Sand Rover, but the FR boxart clearly shows leaf springs and live axles

And if you look close you'll see the diff house on the front axle...? (supposed to be a 4x4)

Badboy

[chinaman SS]

... the tracking information said that it was awaiting charges when at Heathrow so I guess this means that it was merely at the checking stage and not necessarily nailed on for a whammy from Her Majesty's party poopers ...

typical of them to leave it in the corner and 5 days later, just have a look at it, then ok, all fine ... just so that someone has a job to do ...

[Wandy]

UK Models always include the ESC, not all imports do, plus there would be no follow up with recalls (as Tamiya have proven recently that their quality control isn't what it used to be).

Stella have proven you wrong on that Paul, infact I find their customer service would put many UK dealers to shame, especially since they are on the other side of the world. I once ordered a kit from them on Friday afternoon and received it 3 days later on the Monday!

[Live Steam Mad]

* Beautifull box art but why no tyre lettering? Must be a licencing issue methinks.

* The body is definitely made from a different plastic to the original. This one feels more springy and tougher compared to the mint condition original shell I bought in December. Hopefully this means the new body will be that little bit more crack resistant.

* Wow, I understand now all the fuss about the arches. Having seen the two shells side by side I didn't realise how much wider the originals are...I really thought it was more of a shape issue rather than size but it's pretty significant. I now feel an original shell is a must for this kit and am glad I got one when I did.

Excellent post. Would like to reply to a couple of points.

Re: the box art. I often think that, in the same way as a TC member mugenbulldog has created a " missing decals for box art Optima ", that someone could produce decals to stick over the box of the Scorcher and e.g. Frog to make the box art go back to the original one LOL.

Re: the body. The original body for the SS1979 was made from a very hard white plastic called Styrol resin . I don't have a MB shell I only have a MB nosecone, but it feels only medium hard, and it's made from " High impact Styrene " which implies that a softer (lower density?) grade of Styrol resin was used for MB. The BB is made from " Injection moulded Styrene " and I have a BB body and it's made from quite soft Styrol resin.

I suspect that the new body is made from the same material as the MB or BB, that is to say a medium or soft Styrene. What does the label code say inside the body?

Does it say " < PS > " ? Can someone check this for me please?

Re: the arches. Yep you hit the nail on the head. Now the full impact of the problem is visible to you. And now that you can see the two shells in the flesh, you can now appreciate how certain members here feel about the original shell and how important it was in my view that Tamiya re-release it unaltered. Alas it was too expensive for Tamiya to do otherwise they would have done it.

Best Regards,

Alistair G.

[Wandy]

Excellent post. Would like to reply to a couple of points.

Re: the box art. I often think that, in the same way as a TC member mugenbulldog has created a " missing decals for box art Optima ", that someone could produce decals to stick over the box of the Scorcher and e.g. Frog to make the box art go back to the original one LOL.

Re: the body. The original body for the SS1979 was made from a very hard white plastic called Styrol resin . I don't have a MB shell I only have a MB nosecone, but it feels only medium hard, and it's made from " High impact Styrene " which implies that a softer (lower density?) grade of Styrol resin was used for MB. The BB is made from " Injection moulded Styrene " and I have a BB body and it's made from quite soft Styrol resin.

I suspect that the new body is made from the same material as the MB or BB, that is to say a medium or soft Styrene. What does the label code say inside the body?

Does it say " < PS > " ? Can someone check this for me please?

Re: the arches. Yep you hit the nail on the head. Now the full impact of the problem is visible to you. And now that you can see the two shells in the flesh, you can now appreciate how certain members here feel about the original shell and how important it was in my view that Tamiya re-release it unaltered. Alas it was too expensive for Tamiya to do otherwise they would have done it.

Best Regards,

Alistair G.

Alistair, it says in full on the underneath of the shell roof "1986 - 2010 TAMIYA" "58452/0979040-03" ">PS<"

This bodyshell definitely feels more malleable and less brittle which is a very good thing!

Yeah, I'm with you on the arches debate now....I mean each front arch is nearly 8mm wider!... however I do still understand why Tamiya didn't reproduce them. It's only a 95% perfect kit.

[Skottoman]

Yeah, I'm with you on the arches debate now....I mean each front arch is nearly 8mm wider!...

Each front arch is 8mm wider than the original SS body? or 8mm wider than the rears of the 2010 re-re?

Cheers,

Skottoman

[1Zook]

Wandy, did you ask Stella for a replacement rear cage or do you think they know that the first batch are duds and are sending the replacements out accordingly?

Could someone with original and re-re bodies put photos up please. Are correct bodies available or do we need to wait for them to come up on Upay or similar?

[Wandy]

Each front arch is 8mm wider than the original SS body? or 8mm wider than the rears of the 2010 re-re?

Cheers,

Skottoman

No, each front arch on the original SS body is 8mm wider than the respective one on the 2010 version.

[Wandy]

Wandy, did you ask Stella for a replacement rear cage or do you think they know that the first batch are duds and are sending the replacements out accordingly?

Could someone with original and re-re bodies put photos up please. Are correct bodies available or do we need to wait for them to come up on Upay or similar?

No, Stella noticed my post here on this thread earlier today where I mentioned the defective cage and immediately sent me a PM notifying me that they had sent a replacement to me & the other people who got a defective item. Apparantly Tamiya have sent replacement cages to all sellers who received the defective items.

As I say, great customer service from Stella as usual.

[SRB Bloke]

Wandy, did you ask Stella for a replacement rear cage or do you think they know that the first batch are duds and are sending the replacements out accordingly?

Could someone with original and re-re bodies put photos up please. Are correct bodies available or do we need to wait for them to come up on Upay or similar?

This link should take you to the Tamiya 101 site and show you the differences, between the original and MB shell. I've been told the MB shell is near enough identical to the New SS.

Take a look and see what you think

http://www.tamiya101.com/article_sand_scorcher_shells.asp

[Live Steam Mad]

Alistair, it says in full on the underneath of the shell roof "1986 - 2010 TAMIYA" "58452/0979040-03" ">PS<"

This bodyshell definitely feels more malleable and less brittle which is a very good thing!

Yeah, I'm with you on the arches debate now....I mean each front arch is nearly 8mm wider!... however I do still understand why Tamiya didn't reproduce them. It's only a 95% perfect kit.

Ahhh, interesting, yes that >PS< code means that the SS2010 body is made from PolyStyrol resin / PolyStyrene , just like all other hard plastic VW Beetle shells from Tamiya have been.

Thanks.

Cheers,

ARG

[Wandy]

Ahhh, interesting, yes that >PS< code means that the SS2010 body is made from PolyStyrol resin / PolyStyrene , just like all other hard plastic VW Beetle shells from Tamiya have been.

Thanks.

Cheers,

ARG

Interesting, it defintely feels "softer" than my original one. Maybe the original has got more brittle with age?

Hold tight, got some photos coming up...

[Wandy]

Ok then a few photos here....not that great quality but hey-ho..

This is a nose to nose pic of original and 2010 shells. The flare on the front arch of the original is really quite significant and I measured the total difference in width to be a shade under 8mm at each arch.

Here's a closer look....

The extra 8mm on the front is of the original is used to curl down over to give the tyre area more coverage as you can see here...

The difference in the shape of the rears is much less noticeable, infact at one point they seem to be the same width. However it's at the beginning of the arch where you can see a contrast. The original shell has a fat rear arch along it's whole length whereas the 2010 variant starts off narrow and gets progresively wider along its length...

Notice also the "lip" on the edge of the original arches....absent on SS2010.

As i say though, very little difference in width at the rear of the body..

[Wandy]

A few more photos I thought were worth posting....

Blanked out front Monster Beetle mounting hole...

Blanked out side Monster Beetle mounting hole...

Also noticed that the shape of the bulkhead for mounting the nosecone is different on original/SS2010...

[lee1980]

Ok then a few photos here....not that great quality but hey-ho..

This is a nose to nose pic of original and 2010 shells. The flare on the front arch of the original is really quite significant and I measured the total difference in width to be a shade under 8mm at each arch.

Here's a closer look....

The extra 8mm on the front is of the original is used to curl down over to give the tyre area more coverage as you can see here...

The difference in the shape of the rears is much less noticeable, infact at one point they seem to be the same width. However it's at the beginning of the arch where you can see a contrast. The original shell has a fat rear arch along it's whole length whereas the 2010 variant starts off narrow and gets progresively wider along its length...

Notice also the "lip" on the edge of the original arches....absent on SS2010.

As i say though, very little difference in width at the rear of the body..

Great comparison pics, i think the only thing i wish was included would be the lip on arches but otherwise it wont bother me, i cant wait for the bodysets to come in now!!!