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Monster Beetle re-release #58618

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I contacted the hobby company (UK importer's and contact for UK tamiya) about the problem with the monster beetle gearbox because there is obviously a problem with them that should be addressed without people having to spend more money on fixing it!, it wasn't a snotty or demanding e-mail I just explained what the problem was and quite a few people have got this problem!, guess what the replay was?......Nothing! They obviously care (NOT)!

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I contacted the hobby company (UK importer's and contact for UK tamiya) about the problem with the monster beetle gearbox because there is obviously a problem with them that should be addressed without people having to spend more money on fixing it!, it wasn't a snotty or demanding e-mail I just explained what the problem was and quite a few people have got this problem!, guess what the replay was?......Nothing! They obviously care (NOT)!

I did exactly the same and got a reply, but it did take about a week for the reply to come through. They said they'd be passing all this on to Tamiya so fingers crossed that actually happens.

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First voluntary recall in Tamiya history (free replacement universals)? Or has it happened before?

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First voluntary recall in Tamiya history (free replacement universals)? Or has it happened before?

All I can remember is the Juggernaut issue where they had to send out a huge amount of replacement parts to fix the gearbox. Maybe other instances too, I'm not sure.

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How did that work for the Juggernaut? Did people send in claims for the replacement parts and show a proof of purchase or something?

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Nice writeup qatmix. I'd call it a build article, but wouldn't call it a review. Or is it just me that I think a review should point out both positive things as well as negative things? As it is written, it feels rather like an advertisement, which is honestly the feeling I have about some other of your review articles of the recent months as well.

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Thanks for the feedback. I've not really had any problems with the car myself. It didn't come with a full set of bearings so that's mentioned.

I do list any issues always in my reviews, I am an exacting person and anyone that see's my race cars will testify on their mint condition. (I also have a fetish for shimming) I like things to be perfect for their job, but I'm also realistic about price and function. For example, I will not expect a £100 car to have the same quality as a £500 car.

I guess I am positive by nature, I enjoy RC and the community related to it, but I am also a product designer so I can see faults in designs. However the MB is a re-release so its quirks are meant to be celebrated

I've driven this car for hours and love it to bits. Two friends who are not into RC nowadays have dropped hints to their wives that they want one. That speaks volumes.

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So I guess you did not experienced any of the drivetrain and rear suspension problems mentioned for several pages in this thread?

If so, I'm glad for you.

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Thanks for the feedback. I've not really had any problems with the car myself. It didn't come with a full set of bearings so that's mentioned.

I do list any issues always in my reviews, I am an exacting person and anyone that see's my race cars will testify on their mint condition. (I also have a fetish for shimming) I like things to be perfect for their job, but I'm also realistic about price and function. For example, I will not expect a £100 car to have the same quality as a £500 car.

I guess I am positive by nature, I enjoy RC and the community related to it, but I am also a product designer so I can see faults in designs. However the MB is a re-release so its quirks are meant to be celebrated

I've driven this car for hours and love it to bits. Two friends who are not into RC nowadays have dropped hints to their wives that they want one. That speaks volumes.

I do agree with you that re-re's of original cars could still have quirks that should be loved and celebrated but on the other hand if the "quirk" is basically making it not work at all that's a problem not a quirk which has to be addressed and on my experience if the manufacture or importer's don't even bother acknowledging your email's that's an even bigger problem and bad customer service? After all they must want people to keep buying there product's.....I assume???

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How does it not work? The suspension issue has only been found by 1 person, it takes up a lot of this thread as people here are great and helpful, trying to work out why his one is not working the same as theirs.

Obviously I haven't had these issues otherwise I would mention it.

As to gearbox, I run AW grease in my diff as I have always been told that makes the gearbox handle the bigger wheels better (Blackfoot and MB) so maybe that's why I do not have an issue.. maybe that's why my fiends who have had these over the years also do not have an issue.

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I don't have an MB and was put off buying one down to these gbox 'issues'. It would be interesting to see if this AW grease solves the issue for others.

On my WT01, after running many lipo packs through its brushless motor, the diff started slipping and the truck had no drive. I thought a wheel nut had come loose or there was no hex fitted, took me quite a while to track it down to the diff. I found it by chance really because I couldn't 'see' anything wrong and it would work with the wheels in the air but the minute it was put on the floor it would then slip. I had some HPI heavy duty grease and packed the diff with this. This took up any slack and gives the truck a much more positive drive, I've run many more packs through it and the problem has not returned. I'd urge anyone who has this issue to give it a try and report back.

At the moment I suspect the issue is putting off quite a lot of folk who are on the fence from buying one.

Edit: I see this thread has moved on a fair bit from when I last checked in and the issue has moved on to CVDs, my bad! I'll sit back and watch this one continue to unfold.

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I don't have an MB and was put off buying one down to these gbox 'issues'. It would be interesting to see if this AW grease solves the issue for others.

On my WT01, after running many lipo packs through its brushless motor, the diff started slipping and the truck had no drive. I thought a wheel nut had come loose or there was no hex fitted, took me quite a while to track it down to the diff. I found it by chance really because I couldn't 'see' anything wrong and it would work with the wheels in the air but the minute it was put on the floor it would then slip. I had some HPI heavy duty grease and packed the diff with this. This took up any slack and gives the truck a much more positive drive, I've run many more packs through it and the problem has not returned. I'd urge anyone who has this issue to give it a try and report back.

At the moment I suspect the issue is putting off quite a lot of folk who are on the fence from buying one.

Edit: I see this thread has moved on a fair bit from when I last checked in and the issue has moved on to CVDs, my bad! I'll sit back and watch this one continue to unfold.

I was just about to let you know about this and then saw your edit ;) Yeah it's a driveshaft issue sadly. Only a £10 fix luckily which isn't too bad. But annoying none the less. I sent an email to Tamiya's UK rep with a video detailing the issue. They said they'd pass it onto Tamiya.

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Ive got one coming from Santa :rolleyes: , and ordered paint, bearing, servo and anything else i thought i would need, so what else can folks that have one already recommend to change or get from stock.

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Are the part numbers the same fromTamiya for the Brat/MB cvd's?

I wonder if its a parts QA spec/tolerance issue? You may have seen on my recent Bruiser build thread I had a QA issue with one of their decal sheets which wasn't correctly scaled. It went to Japan via hobby co and they ended up sending me a new decal sheet.

Cheers

Nito

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I was just about to let you know about this and then saw your edit ;) Yeah it's a driveshaft issue sadly. Only a £10 fix luckily which isn't too bad. But annoying none the less. I sent an email to Tamiya's UK rep with a video detailing the issue. They said they'd pass it onto Tamiya.

Have I missed it what was the fix? I intend to build mine over comas now to

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I would just build it and see if you have the issue. I do not have it and my friend also didn't have it in his new one. If you do then try to fix it.

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Thought you guys would like to have a look at some of the pioneer Monster VWs that inspired Tamiya to release the Monster Beetle in the 80's. ;)

The legendary Big Bad Bug mudbogger from Choctaw, OK, and Mud Patrol II from Portage, IN.

Nutdm10.jpg

You all have a good week! :)

EDIT: The photos were taken in 1983.

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Have I missed it what was the fix? I intend to build mine over comas now to

Yeah after LOTS of testing it turned out to be the new driveshafts. I do think its a QA issue as a lot of people arent having the issue, but others are. I rebuilt the gearbox twice (god only knows why as I've built this gearbox countless times before) and then went through the arduous process of removing and replacing parts. I tried the wheels, wheel adaptors, motor, esc, bearings, you name it. I then decided to strip my Brat and try the driveshaft set up from that (with the dogbones) and boom, instant fix. So whatever is going on is strange, somewhere in the manufacturing process there is an issue with these new driveshafts. I triple checked them and they are built right, but something goes aria when they are under load.

Anyway, by sticking on a set of Brat/Frog dogbones and wheel axle's it runs like a dream now!

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Thanks suck it and see then after building, if so be back on here asking for part numbers for those shafts! lol

Be interesting to see if tamiya does issue new shafts.

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http://www.thercracer.com/2015/12/58618-tamiya-monster-beetle-2015-build.html

Eventually get to join the Beetle Gang after 30 years. My mates all had these and Blackfoots (I had one for a short time) but I always wanted one of these :)

Heya,

I read the review, quite liked it. I've read quite a few of the reviews on that site actually. Good site.

I have one of these too (I had one back in the day). It's ok out of the box, it is what it is, but with a few hop up bits it really goes quite well.

How did you find the servo saver? I thought it was too weak.

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I actually still have the kit servo saver on the car, but you are right is is very weak. I put a drop of super glue on the saver, as I have a steel gear high torque servo attached. So it feels ok, but I would look at getting a Kimborough one in the future as they are heavy duty and they last for ages.

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Just be careful. I did that as the servo is strong, so if it gets a hard knock, the little drop of superglue will crack and the servo saver will then go floppy. If it was a cheap servo it might just break the servo. Just use a tiny little drop of glue, not a lot. Or just buy a better servo saver :)

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