Real Wild One 1 Posted February 19, 2010 Hi all Not sure if this has already been covered elsewhere, but.... Is there any idea how many SWB versions of the M38 Tamiya produced before they modified the kit into a LWB version? OR does anyone know the approximate ratio of SWB's made to LWB's? Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotshot kid 1 Posted February 19, 2010 Hi allNot sure if this has already been covered elsewhere, but.... Is there any idea how many SWB versions of the M38 Tamiya produced before they modified the kit into a LWB version? OR does anyone know the approximate ratio of SWB's made to LWB's? Mike iv heard this before but know nothing about it, how much difference is there between lwb and swb? how can i tell if mine is lwb or short? and which is rarer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real Wild One 1 Posted February 19, 2010 sorry, stupid pc uploaded twice..... Have a look at this thread. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=55038 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hibernaculum 933 Posted February 19, 2010 You could try looking at all WWs in the showroom, and counting how many have circular holes drilled in their rear arm pieces. As far as surveys go, this might be the best data we have, just as a rough estimate. Might be something like "1 in ten" or "1 in fifteen" is a SWB? Or someone could estimate based on number of years produced vs units manufactured per year. NIB examples of the SWB are apparently quite rare. I am lucky enough to have two of these. If anyone else has one, let us know. Cheers, H. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotshot kid 1 Posted February 19, 2010 after searching this thread and others i pretty certain mine is a swb, was bought in 1983 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real Wild One 1 Posted February 19, 2010 For what it's worth I have 4 SWB's. 1 is fully restored, See my showroom, 1 is a work in progreress along with another LWB, and 2 of my SWB's I am waiting to start on....one of those has been abused beyond belief, but it can be recovered. (It's still caked in mud from 20+ years ago!). From what I can see on eBay, about 1 in five M38's that come up for sale seem to be the SWB version. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real Wild One 1 Posted February 19, 2010 after searching this thread and others i pretty certain mine is a swb, was bought in 1983 That's nice...and YES, it's a SWB! Here's my fully restored one in my showroom. Another to be added soon. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...8&sid=25373 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotshot kid 1 Posted February 20, 2010 Here's my fully restored one in my showroom. Another to be added soon.http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...8&sid=25373 thats luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurvely!!!!!! i love the work thats gone into the body, mines as my dad did it in 83 so i wont touch it, has no piant on the shell at all, its has been kept in a damp place at some point and the bodys gn a bit hazy/spotty?? still looks nice but bugs me. id love the paint the letters on the tyres but i never get it right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badboy 94 Posted February 20, 2010 thats luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurvely!!!!!! Just wanna tell you that your wheels are facing wrong way! The padlas are pointing backwards! Badboy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simensays 321 Posted February 20, 2010 I do not know the how many SWB was released before the LWB took over, but I believe that there were some mixed kits released (SWB Wild Willys that had some of the newer parts). I have a SWB WW that was build from NIB (not the one pictured below, I have a few of them), but which came with a mechanism box lid from a LWB. It is probably one of the last SWB kits from Tamiya, which they supplied with the newer parts. More on that in this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real Wild One 1 Posted February 21, 2010 I do not know the how many SWB was released before the LWB took over, but I believe that there were some mixed kits released (SWB Wild Willys that had some of the newer parts). I have a SWB WW that was build from NIB (not the one pictured below, I have a few of them), but which came with a mechanism box lid from a LWB. It is probably one of the last SWB kits from Tamiya, which they supplied with the newer parts. More on that in this thread. Thats a very interesting thread. Thanks for the link. As ever, your M38's set the standars when it comes to restoration and the pics you have of them are fantastic. I currently have a SWB and a LWB in mid restoration, and two more SWB's to restore after that, so I'll be pretty busy in 2010. I think I'm pretty sure what all the differences are now between the kits and I know I have seen some SWB's with LWB parts fitted to them, so I can only guess that at some point in their lives way back then, the owners had to replace parts after tamiaya has stopped production of the SWB, so that only LWB parts were available for repair of existing models. I think many owners, even now, are blissfully unaware that there are essentially two varients of this model. Like you Simen, I only have a real passion for the SWB type, I have an LWB more through circumstance than intent, but I'm glad I have it, as it is nice to see what the differences are from a SWB. When I get the time, I will trawl through the showroom to try and figure out what the ratio of SWB to LWB's are on this site. I'll also get some more pics of mine and the various states they are in uploaded to my showroom. I have a plan for one of my SWB's to make it different from anything else I've seen, but that will take time as I haven't even started work on that one yet. I guess we're all none the wiser then as to how rare, or how common place the SWB version really is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
