Tamiya Nitro buggies/trucks

[Kevin_Mc 411]

I know i've started a thread similar to this before but i've made up my mind now.

I was out with my mate today and we ran his 1:8th HPI 4.6 Trophy Truggy and 1:10th DT10 Thunder Tiger (which was mental) and it's got me inspired to get an off-road nitro model. Since all my current r/cs are made by Tamiya I would really like any nitro to be the same. Also I'd like it to be to the same scale as the rest of my touring cars so i'm looking for suggestions. I'm not asking much eh?

Basically I'm after a buggy, truck or truggy, nitro powered, 4x4, 1:10th scale and most importantly made by Tamiya. The engine doesn't really matter as if it's not powerful enough i'll swap it out for something bigger/better but i'd imagine anything stock will be fine to start with.

I had a quick look earlier, all i could really find to fit the bill was NDF01 Nitro Force buggy and the Nitro Crusher truck. I know both of these come built already which isn't a hassle, it would no doubt get a strip down anyway.

I'm swaying towards the Nitro Crusher and fitting bigger wheels/tyres to raise the ground clearance and changing the shell to a new clear polycarbonate one so i can change the paint scheme.

Are there any other models/chassis i should be considering? everything else nitro by Tamiya seems to be 1:8th scale, 2wd or touring car.

Sorry for the long read and thanks in advance

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Edited as I have found the link to wildwillydriver's thread

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

I keep eyeing the Nitrage 5.2 in the Scratch 'N' Dent section of Tamiya USA's web site. It seems like quite a steal at $229 RTR. I've read some conflicting reports about there being a plastic gear issue in the transmission, but supposedly the replacement part is a revised design that fixes the issue. I don't know much about this vehicle personally; maybe some others who have them can chime in here... If the experiences are good, it seems like a bargain compared to an HPI Savage nitro.

EDIT: No, it's not 1/10. But at the price it seems worth a look.

-Paul

[Kevin_Mc 411]

well, that's no help!

thanks though

[Kevin_Mc 411]

does no-one run a 1/10th scale Tamiya Nitro?

[Skottoman 306]

I've run the Tamiya TG10's in the past. Now they are just stored.

Not really an off road buggy or truck, but you can make them into rally cars, and put almost any Tamiya 1/10 scale body on them.

There was a truck Tamiya made that someone on here did a great restore job of, but I don't recall what the model name was. It was pretty vintage though.

Why not a new TRF nitro buggy?

Cheers,

Skottoman

[Kevin_Mc 411]

the one you're thinking of is wildwillydriver's TR-15T here

I was tempted by a TG10 at the start of the year as i have a few TT-01s and spare parts but my mate's fully off-road trucks made me decide that i couldn't turn up with a rally car without him laughing at me

the Nitro TRFs are all 1/8th scale are they not?

[Percymon 2184]

does no-one run a 1/10th scale Tamiya Nitro?

Well i can comment in some respect.

I got the a TG10 chassis minus motor and ended up with a 4300kV brushless powertrain - a real hoot as an onroad car http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...6&sid=34746

I also got a NDF-01 Nitro Thunder - again minus engine, but it was always going to be an electric runner http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...2&sid=34746

The NDF-01 chassis (bar the plastic chassis tub) is massively over engineered for a 1/10th buggy/truggy - the whole drivetrain is immense in comaprison to the TG-10 (which is more than capable in itself). Everything just feels 50-100% beefier.

I've seen NDF01 Nitro thunders make £100+ or £40 in the last few weeks on ebay with little interest from bidders - whether an engined one is worth the extra £60 is debatable ?

I saw a truggy version chassis, presumably the Nitro Force, sell for £20 on sunday afternoon - wheels were worth that alone !

My NDF-01 brushless project is full stripped, cleaned and sat in a plastic box for a future rebuild (too much on for now)

[Kevin_Mc 411]

that's good to know, if i can get an NDF-01 for a decent price (with or without engine) then i can make a start on it. I'd quite like to make a Truggy out of one but i dunno what shell i could use. Also, the wheels on the NDF-01 don't look great IMO so they'd need to be changed.

I'm glad to know they're over engineered, that puts one back in the running if it's half the price of the Crusher.

[Percymon 2184]

that's good to know, if i can get an NDF-01 for a decent price (with or without engine) then i can make a start on it. I'd quite like to make a Truggy out of one but i dunno what shell i could use. Also, the wheels on the NDF-01 don't look great IMO so they'd need to be changed.

I'm glad to know they're over engineered, that puts one back in the running if it's half the price of the Crusher.

There are plenty of 1/10th Truggy sheels that will fit with a bit on ingenuity on the body mount - Seben Racing do painted ones for ca £17 delivered that would probably be OK as a runner/basher. You could use a non truggy shell like a Kamtec Baja one maybe, or soem of the HPI / Pro-line pick-up/SUV type shells.

The Nitro Thunder wheels do use low profile tyres, a bit more on-road in looks than 2.2 buggy tyres. Probably still good for bashing, only becoming limited in wet mud ?

[lawdog 23]

That's a badword of a deal for a high-end RTR nitro with engine and radio gear. The 2-speed tranny that kicks it to roughly 50mph is only about $100USD.

I keep eyeing the Nitrage 5.2 in the Scratch 'N' Dent section of Tamiya USA's web site. It seems like quite a steal at $229 RTR. I've read some conflicting reports about there being a plastic gear issue in the transmission, but supposedly the replacement part is a revised design that fixes the issue. I don't know much about this vehicle personally; maybe some others who have them can chime in here... If the experiences are good, it seems like a bargain compared to an HPI Savage nitro.

EDIT: No, it's not 1/10. But at the price it seems worth a look.

-Paul

[Kevin_Mc 411]

There are plenty of 1/10th Truggy sheels that will fit with a bit on ingenuity on the body mount - Seben Racing do painted ones for ca £17 delivered that would probably be OK as a runner/basher. You could use a non truggy shell like a Kamtec Baja one maybe, or soem of the HPI / Pro-line pick-up/SUV type shells.

The Nitro Thunder wheels do use low profile tyres, a bit more on-road in looks than 2.2 buggy tyres. Probably still good for bashing, only becoming limited in wet mud ?

that's good to know, its a definite possibility then if i can get a shell to fit without loads of hassle. wheels and tyres should be interchangable for other buggy combos?

[Percymon 2184]

this image gives you an idea of the engineering in the NDF-01 chassis (its a bit on the heavy side as a result !)

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/43514nitro/index.htm

[fatboyslim 11]

Tamiya Mad Bison is 1/10 based on the TG10 chassis it's designated TGM10

It has a Tamiya FS15LT engine in it and they do go pretty well

Had the same tyres as the Monster Beetle so more of a monster truck than anything else

The only problem is finding one as they weren't particularly popular

I really do regret selling mine,but I do have a TNX which is great!!

[Kevin_Mc 411]

i had seen the Mad Bison and didn't really fancy it due to it being a touring car with biger wheels and wider track but it looks good in pictures through Google Images.

I have my eyes on a Nitro Crusher with spares on eBay, i shouldn't really but i'm tempted if it works out to be a good deal.

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Well, i went ahead and bought the Nitro Crusher from eBay. No-one bid so i made a deal off of eBay - £100 delivered for the running chassis, shell, Acoms handset, brand new clear shell and decals, spare red wheels, new chrome wheels, fuel bottle, hex wrench, two glow starters & charger and a few other bits. Not a bad deal i thought.

It should arrive early next week, fingers crossed its as good as i hope.

[Kevin_Mc 411]

My ndf-01t arrived today in a HUGE box with a mountain of spares, I'm over the moon with it. The shell is mullered but there's an uncut lexan body and new decals there, which suits me fine as id like to change the colour so its a bit different to all the other factory-built ones. There was also loads of radio gear, piles of wheels and tyres and other bits here and there.

It seems to have compression but I don't have any fuel to start it plus it needs a good clean to make sure everything's working as it should, can't wait to get stuck into it.

[Percymon 2184]

That's a great deal Kevin, looks like a fun project whether it stays nitro or not.

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Yeah I thought so too, really chuffed with what turned up. It's definitely staying nitro powered since its a big heavy beast and will need a bit of power to get it shifted.

I'm not 100% sure what colour to paint the shell, the red is nice but I want a change from factory so thought about blue. But then I came up with an idea - keep the black touches and paint the rest white, keep the standard pink and yellow decals and spray the rashed set of wheels to match - two pink and two yellow. I'm toying with the idea of a narrow silver line where the white and black meet and I'll keep the chrome wheels for the shelf.

[Percymon 2184]

Yeah I thought so too, really chuffed with what turned up. It's definitely staying nitro powered since its a big heavy beast and will need a bit of power to get it shifted.

I'm not 100% sure what colour to paint the shell, the red is nice but I want a change from factory so thought about blue. But then I came up with an idea - keep the black touches and paint the rest white, keep the standard pink and yellow decals and spray the rashed set of wheels to match - two pink and two yellow. I'm toying with the idea of a narrow silver line where the white and black meet and I'll keep the chrome wheels for the shelf.

I did warn you the NDF-01 was engineered like a brick outhouse, and is weighty as a result ! The bigger truck wheels won't help acceleration either but not much you can do about that as its a truck variant

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Yeah you were 100% right, it just makes it all that more impressive for me lol

There's no spare room on the chassis at all, everything is big and modular the wheels aren't massive but they're bigger than the normal NDF-01 buggy ones so they're good enough for the ground clearance I need.

Thanks for all your advice, I'm glad you talked me into the NDF-01/crusher, it's exactly what I was after!