Fox Questions

[jstunner 1]

I just got a Fox off of E-bay and it came with an original body and wing. My question is, the body seems like it doesn't have that protective masking film on the lexan. Did the bodies from the 80's have that masking plastic, or do I have to mask the entire outside body before painting it? Also, what is the box art blue paint used for the Fox?

The car looks as if it has never been run, but it is equipped with a modern ESC the TEU-101BK, it doesn't have the heat risistors attached and were not included with the car, are those an important part?

This is my first real vintage car. I have plenty of Re-Re's and "modern" buggies, this one just seems much different. (in a good way)

Thanks for your time.

[TA-Mark 195]

The missing MSC and heatsinks would only be important if you wanted it as a shelf queen or box-build perfect. I ditched the MSC myself from mine and fitted more modern electrics. If you need the correct Fox MSC and heatsinks, I have no use for mine (used) as my Fox is a runner with brushless fitted.

AFAIK the Fox body did not have a protective film and you need to mask the outside and the windows inside to spray it. The windows are real fun to mask off.

The Fox is unique in many ways. It doesn't share the same chassis as any other model. My favourite vintage buggy by a long way and one that I wish they would re-re so I can have the opportunity to build a NIB without ruining a piece of rare Tamiya vintage NIB.

[Splended 4]

The blue paint is PC-4/ PS-4

[KEV THE REV 2310]

Just checked my unused - uncut new in box Fox body and it does have a plastic mask sheet stuck on the outside of it

[TA-Mark 195]

Just checked my unused - uncut new in box Fox body and it does have a plastic mask sheet stuck on the outside of it

I was going by the manual as my Fox had been built when I bought it. The manual doesn't mention a protective film or any precut masks for the windows.

[KEV THE REV 2310]

I was going by the manual as my Fox had been built when I bought it. The manual doesn't mention a protective film or any precut masks for the windows.

Hi Mark , yes I've found that some of the Tamiya manuals are not always comprehensive and as I had a shell to hand I thought I'd share the info

[KEV THE REV 2310]

I just got a Fox off of E-bay and it came with an original body and wing. My question is, the body seems like it doesn't have that protective masking film on the lexan. Did the bodies from the 80's have that masking plastic, or do I have to mask the entire outside body before painting it? Also, what is the box art blue paint used for the Fox?

The car looks as if it has never been run, but it is equipped with a modern ESC the TEU-101BK, it doesn't have the heat risistors attached and were not included with the car, are those an important part?

This is my first real vintage car. I have plenty of Re-Re's and "modern" buggies, this one just seems much different. (in a good way)

Thanks for your time.

Check the body closely ,the masking film could be stuck very close and appear not to be there ,try scraping the edge of the cut away flashing on the bottom of the body with your fingernail

[Hibernaculum 933]

The NIB Fox body set predates that "close masking film" you see on more recent kits from the 90s onwards.

But it did come with a fairly large piece of blue-ish tinted plastic film stuck semi-loosely over top of it (at least mine does). It's not like close masking film, and you would have to tape the edges down to make it a practical protection from overspray. A body without the film might just have lost it/had it removed/ or perhaps originally come from a kit that didn't have it or something.

Most early body sets in the 80s didn't have any kind of film though.

[terry.sc 16]

Tamiya didn't start including a protective film on their bodies until the Escort RS in 1992, and it was some time after that before they introduced window masks. Considering the number of Tamiya buggy kits I built in the 80s (including Foxes) while working for a hobby shop I think I would have noticed an overspray film on any of them.

As Hibernaculum says there was usually a loose film in the box sets, designed purely to stop the body getting scratched while being transported. It certainly isn't a close fitting overspray film we are all familiar with today.

[jstunner 1]

Thanks guys, you are a tremndous amount of help and knowledge!

I cut a piece out of the plastic and it didn't have a film on it. The plastic has a slight yellow tinge to it from age.

I forgot I had a can of PS-14 metalic blue and PS-12 silver left over from my DF-03MS project. I might go with that. I noticed there is a repo body on E-bay, might have to pick one of those up, just in case I screw this one up.

Also, this car has an older 540 motor in it that has a plastic cap. The wiring looks ok, but the metal on the can looks slightly corroded with age. Did those older engines have any more rpm than the stock 540's that come with say a rere Hotshot?

I'm thinking about switching out that motor, I have a few unused 540's from my Hotshots.

This is a really cool car, I was surprised at how big the car looks compared to the frog or Hornet 2WD's. This also came with the front stableizer hop up too.

[HunterZero 76]

I forgot I had a can of PS-14 metalic blue and PS-12 silver left over from my DF-03MS project. I might go with that. I noticed there is a repo body on E-bay, might have to pick one of those up, just in case I screw this one up.

Metallic blue would look very nice, I reckon.

The rollbar and roof on the Fox are a pain to mask up and spray if you go boxart colours. Be patient with the masking.

Also, this car has an older 540 motor in it that has a plastic cap. The wiring looks ok, but the metal on the can looks slightly corroded with age. Did those older engines have any more rpm than the stock 540's that come with say a rere Hotshot?

Modern 540S motor should have about the same RPM as an old one, but the newer motor might be a little bit more efficient than the older one. Being 2WD, the Fox is pretty quick even with the standard motor, but not as quick in a straight line as a Hornet because of its weight. It is a lot more stable though.

You could sand and polish the old motor can. If you peek inside the engine, you may find the comm is corroded, that's more important.

This is a really cool car, I was surprised at how big the car looks compared to the frog or Hornet 2WD's. This also came with the front stableizer hop up too.

Yeah, I love the Fox. One of the best vintage 2WD cars, even if the sealed monocoque is a pain. It is actually rather similar to the Hotshot in its construction. If you run the car, replace the MSC with an ESC. Front stabilizer really should have been included with the kit, it makes a noticable difference.

- James

[Live Steam Mad 17]

I just got a Fox off of E-bay and it came with an original body and wing. My question is, the body seems like it doesn't have that protective masking film on the lexan. Did the bodies from the 80's have that masking plastic, or do I have to mask the entire outside body before painting it? Also, what is the box art blue paint used for the Fox?

The car looks as if it has never been run, but it is equipped with a modern ESC the TEU-101BK, it doesn't have the heat risistors attached and were not included with the car, are those an important part?

This is my first real vintage car. I have plenty of Re-Re's and "modern" buggies, this one just seems much different. (in a good way)

Thanks for your time.

The true box art for the Fox is not PS4 but PC4 since there were no Tamiya Polycarbonate sprays available when the Fox first came out, at least judging by what the manual says on pages 16 and 17 and from the Tamiya catalogs.

Make sure to use a compatible Acrylic Retarder with the PC4 if you are a beginner at painting like I am!

More info. on PC4 with pictures of the surface finish that you can expect here ;-

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...c=52345&hl=

Good luck with painting that roll cage inside the body!! You'll need it!

I did my Frog (which has the same roll cage) with PC4 and you can see the results in that topic.

You'll need the resistors to get the 2 slower speeds with the MSC if you decide to use it for originality's sake. Since the Fox is designed to be BEC it will go out of control once the 7.2V battery gets low so an ESC will prevent that.

I'd also love to see the Fox re-issued just like the original.

Regards,

Alistair G.

[tamiyoman 2]

Fox did not have a masking film on the body, only a plastic sheet semi layed over it to protect them from scratching when Tamiya Stack them 10 high for shipping (i know as a couple of years back i got 20 of them in 2 stacks of 10 and they had plastic sheets in either clear of opaque blue between the bodies!.

Hope that helps.

Cheers