Bruiser 2012 (spy photo from Nuremberg Toy Fair 2012

[lee1980]

Just to clear up any confusion or rumors, Tamiya America Inc. is not "Sold Out". We are still taking orders for the stock we have coming for our customers. So in other words, our Distributors are still ordering and can still order.

Any word on when you will get your kit to build and scan the manual?

[matman]

Any word on when you will get your kit to build and scan the manual?

OR to see the BOX , IN & OUT . PLEASE !!!!

[Olly_Lunchbox]

I love the Ford Aerostar in the background - Off road fun for all the family!

[mongoose1983]

I love the Ford Aerostar in the background - Off road fun for all the family!

Well, this might be completely out of topic, but check these links for MORE PICS of the legendary mid/late 80's Big Foot Shuttle. Why can't we have some Aerostar body to fit the Bruiser chassis???

[greg123]

Well, this might be completely out of topic, but check these links for MORE PICS of the legendary mid/late 80's Big Foot Shuttle. Why can't we have some Aerostar body to fit the Bruiser chassis???

Mongoose, you always have the best vintage truck photos around! Thanks for the new pictures and the link! Cheers as usual my friend!

[Olly_Lunchbox]

Well, this might be completely out of topic, but check these links for MORE PICS of the legendary mid/late 80's Big Foot Shuttle. Why can't we have some Aerostar body to fit the Bruiser chassis???

Great pic thanks Mongoose, I'd never heard of the Bigfoot Shuttle before - looks great for tailgate parties!

That lead me to this great link about a guy who collects monster truck models and has built over 70 replicas using RC trucks. Is he a member here?

Plenty of Tamiyas on show including a Bruiser so I suppose it keeps it on topic!

http://www.MonsterTrucks-UK.com/models/index.html

[JAnderson]

Any word on when you will get your kit to build and scan the manual?

Manual is live and I hope to takes some shots soon. I hope to start the build very soon.

[Wandy]

Manual is live and I hope to takes some shots soon. I hope to start the build very soon.

Can you tell us if the box is the same size as the original? The artwork also?

[Wandy]

I'm getting excited again just looking at the manual. First thing I notice is that the transmission needs to be built from scratch. More excellent news.

Definitely no mention of blisters in the parts list at the back of the manual though.

Having had a good read step by step I simply cannot wait to get hold of one of these.

[JAnderson]

Can you tell us if the box is the same size as the original? The artwork also?

Check it pics are posted!

[Champ85]

Interesting shock design. A "free piston" with a top spring in the top cap.

Edit: My memory isn't what it used to be. I just looked at the original Bruiser manual, and it's the exact same.

[Wandy]

Check it pics are posted!

Many thanks for that.

Pretty much as I expected, I guess we cannot have it all eh? Really not a big deal though, and should keep postage costs down a bit.

Still glorious looking, no matter the smaller size.

[Champ85]

Joe, thanks for posting the manual and box pictures. Also, good luck with the build if you start tonight.

Yeah, I'll be buying two of these.

[lee1980]

Manual is live and I hope to takes some shots soon. I hope to start the build very soon.

Thank you very much woohoo hopefully kepp us going until the release now lol!

[HunterZero]

Interesting that the sleeper cab is a separate part, so you could build it as a Mountaineer, if you get the Hi-Lift Hilux cab back wall T part and a roll bar. It's a shame it doesn't come with these parts sprues to make it easier and give you the option though.

- James

[HunterZero]

Interesting shock design. A "free piston" with a top spring in the top cap.

Edit: My memory isn't what it used to be. I just looked at the original Bruiser manual, and it's the exact same.

They are the same dampers as the Hornet, just without the coilover.

- James

[lee1980]

Bearings to in axles woohoo! BB9 in the hubs is a big bearing! and the transmission looks fully ball raced to me to, should be really for cost of kit!!

[gixxer]

The original kit looks much better with the box opened up. I wonder why they didn't do the blister pack?

[lee1980]

is the planetary gears in step 22 a centre diff or something else?

Also cool comes with clips to set transmission in any gear so can run with a 2channel radio at first.

[Champ85]

is the planetary gears in step 22 a centre diff or something else?

Also cool comes with clips to set transmission in any gear so can run with a 2channel radio at first.

It isn't a diff. The planetary gear is just a compact and in-line way to reduce the output speed.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicyclic_gearing):

The gear ratio in an epicyclic gearing system is somewhat non-intuitive, particularly because there are several ways in which an input rotation can be converted into an output rotation. The three basic components of the epicyclic gear are:

Sun: The central gear

Planet carrier: Holds one or more peripheral planet gears, all of the same size, meshed with the sun gear

Annulus: An outer ring with inward-facing teeth that mesh with the planet gear or gears

If the annulus is held stationary and the sun gear is used as the input, the planet carrier will be the output. The gear ratio in this case will be 1/(1+Na/Ns). This is the lowest gear ratio attainable with an epicyclic gear train. This type of gearing is sometimes used in tractors and construction equipment to provide high torque to the drive wheels.

Edit: By my counting of teeth according to the parts list in the manual, the Annulus has 59 teeth and the Sun has 19 teeth. Therefore, the gear ratio for the planetary gear is 1/(1+59/19) = 1/(1+3.10) = 1/4.10 or 1:4.1 ratio. It takes 4.1 revolutions of the main spur gear to make one rotation of the planetary output that goes into the gearbox where the gear ratios for the 3 speeds are selected to further reduce output speed.

[Champ85]

I tried to compute the final gearbox ratios using my estimated values for tooth counts on the gears based on the manual.

I believe I got them correct.

I think the diff bevel has 24T and the drive pinion is 13T giving a ratio of 1:1.84.

So the final motor to wheel ratios are:

Low gear: 29.62 x 1.84 = 1:54.50 which is within the rounding error range of 54.63 stated on the box.

Med gear: 22.01 x 1.84 = 1:40.50 which is within the rounding error range of 40.49 stated on the box.

High gear: 15.09 x 1.84 = 1:27.76 which is within the rounding error range of 27.92 stated on the box.

[HunterZero]

The original kit looks much better with the box opened up. I wonder why they didn't do the blister pack?

It is a shame they didn't reproduce the original in-box presentation.

Probably to keep costs down in production, storage and shipping. Original box size looks to be a bit larger, which makes it less efficient to ship.

Plus the new one the transmission isn't provided pre-assembled, so that would have differed from the original box presentation anyway.

- James

[lee1980]

It isn't a diff. The planetary gear is just a compact and in-line way to reduce the output speed.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicyclic_gearing):

Edit: By my counting of teeth according to the parts list in the manual, the Annulus has 59 teeth and the Sun has 19 teeth. Therefore, the gear ratio for the planetary gear is 1/(1+59/19) = 1/(1+3.10) = 1/4.10 or 1:4.1 ratio. It takes 4.1 revolutions of the main spur gear to make one rotation of the planetary output that goes into the gearbox where the gear ratios for the 3 speeds are selected to further reduce output speed.

Ahhh I see I am sure I saw a planetary diff on something before maybe it was wrong, good workings on gear ratios thanks!

[lee1980]

It is a shame they didn't reproduce the original in-box presentation.

Probably to keep costs down in production, storage and shipping. Original box size looks to be a bit larger, which makes it less efficient to ship.

Plus the new one the transmission isn't provided pre-assembled, so that would have differed from the original box presentation anyway.

- James

I guess new box is taller but overall size is hopefully smaller, I hope it is for less shipping lol

any chance of weight and box dimensions Janderson?

[JYCM3]

Definitely little more complicated and few areas that need careful attention in building this awesome kit. I'm sure there will be a lot of Bruiser help threads by those who have rushing into building it and not taking the time to read the manual over at least once before building it.