Monster Beetle re-release #58618

[beefmuffin]

Just get some threaded rod and swivel ends and cut your own to length:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dubro-144-Threaded-Rod-4-40-12-24-/361405587918

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DU-BRO-2-56-Swivel-Ball-Links-for-4-40-Rods-w-Hardware-DUB2139-/371463461001

[GregM]

That's what I do as well for some of my cars, threaded rod from either the DIY store (M3 is mostly available zinced steel only) or via ebay (where they also have M3 as stainless steel). Both can be cut to length easily using an angle grinder or a smaller tool like a Proxxon, Dremel, etc.

[whahooo]

CRP 1627 requires CRP 1624, which in turn needs CRP 1622.

27 and 22 are easy to get... 24 is getting hard to find...

http://www.rcchopshop.com/crp/1627.html

http://www.rcchopshop.com/crp/1624.html

http://www.rcchopshop.com/crp/1622.html

Terry

Oh....

Thanks, i didn`t see that in the description, but who wonders? It was the middle of the night, i woke up so i decided to to order some RC-parts.....

Well now i know ordering parts when i`m only half awake is not the best idea.

If anyone has a hint where to get the other parts i need please let me know, i would be very thankful.

[beefmuffin]

That's what I do as well for some of my cars, threaded rod from either the DIY store (M3 is mostly available zinced steel only) or via ebay (where they also have M3 as stainless steel). Both can be cut to length easily using an angle grinder or a smaller tool like a Proxxon, Dremel, etc.

Or if you have BEEFhands just some regular pliers/cutters or wirecutters! I also vastly prefer the screw-down, nut-fastened approach to attaching to the servo horn vs snapping on a ball socket.

[Chooch]

Ok, you guys are a very bad influence on me!!!!

But anyways...

What are we using to attach these upgrade items to the servo...???

[beefmuffin]

If you are a nihilist you could always do something like this (click for more details):

[Klausen]

Finally I had mine.

[Chooch]

Congrats!!!!

[NWarty]

If you are a nihilist you could always do something like this (click for more details):

Because that box of Advil in the background is sure gonna come in handy

Well...and you can sniff that Tamiya glue next to it also

[Chooch]

I WAS gonna go there, but figured I'd be nice...

[whahooo]

The last part is the hasrdest part....

....only one more Part to her CRP 1622!

[beefmuffin]

That's Tamiya body cleaner, not cement.

Dorvack.

THAT IS CORRECT! that stuff works miracles too...

[beefmuffin]

Someone better jump on this!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TEAM-CRP-COMPLETE-BLACKFOOT-UPPER-CHASSIS-SUPPORT-SYSTEM-1628-/262109787585

[moffman]

I ordered my MB15 from modelsport and the service from them guys was brilliant but I originally put in a pre-order from Stella (I always have a pre-order from them when a model is announced that I would like) but this time and I have no idea why I got no email from them until the day it was available then when I went to actually order (within about 10mins of the email) it was out of stock then it said "item available very soon" and now it's still saying out of stock, normally they give me a code to put in but nothing this time,at the end of the day I got my order elsewhere and to be honest I'm finding the price of buying from the UK at the moment very competitive and modelsport were very helpful and fast just wondering if anyone else had a problem with Stella on this model?

[Chooch]

Someone better jump on this!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TEAM-CRP-COMPLETE-BLACKFOOT-UPPER-CHASSIS-SUPPORT-SYSTEM-1628-/262109787585

Gone!!!!

[RCcoachworks]

And... the diff clicking has begun. I got through 10 runs or so before I started hearing it, and that was on a 6 cell nicd. Yesterday after gluing the tires onto the wheels and putting in a 2S pack, the clicking was pretty bad. I'll pull it apart tonight to see what the damage is.

[shenlonco]

And... the diff clicking has begun. I got through 10 runs or so before I started hearing it, and that was on a 6 cell nicd. Yesterday after gluing the tires onto the wheels and putting in a 2S pack, the clicking was pretty bad. I'll pull it apart tonight to see what the damage is.

That's a shame I seen another guy on youtube have the same problems also.... why I stayed away from this model.

[Chooch]

Why did you stay away?

[Saito2]

Bummer. I was afraid the old slipping diff gears would return. I'd gotten lucky with my Frog and FAV but the Beetle's big tires must have pushed the design over the edge just like the old days. Oh well, at least there's a few fixes out there even if Thorp parts are so expensive now. Also, has anybody else noticed how soft the tires are? The compound is almost Lunch Box-soft. I know the originals were harder as well as the versions included on my Twin Detonator 10 years ago.

[beefmuffin]

maybe worth fitting some foams in them.

has anyone tried packing the diff with loads of really sticky grease? not sure if it would help but may be worth a go.

[RCcoachworks]

It's funny, I don't remember having the diff issue when I was a kid. I will probably try the diff bolt fix before going the Thorp route. I had a full Thorp setup on my first MB and had bad luck with it.

I did notice how soft the new tires are, but I don't think they're soft enough to require foam inserts. I upgraded my rerelease with Mashers before running it and they have been great.

[shenlonco]

Why did you stay away?

because the diff is so weak it keeps breaking.

[Chooch]

I must have been lucky, I didn't have a problem w my original... But I'm gonna run the $&@# out of this re re one, so we shall see...

[Wandy]

I have a theory based on the past few true re-releases (not variants, like a new rainbow Hornet)... could be totally wrong, but maybe there's something to it:

Rough Rider, Sand Scorcher, Egress, Fox, Super Champ, Monster Beetle... if we look for some sort of pattern in the recent choice of re-releases it seems, to my eyes anyway, that Tamiya bases their decision at least in part on the demand in the market (ie, us / collectors / eBay, etc) and subsequent inflated value/cost of parts, etc for certain models. A vintage Monster Beetle nosecone + lights would have sold for $100 last year and no one would have thought anything of it. A set of Fox rear lower arms could fetch $80 easily, NIP wheels $100+. A decent Super Champ body even slightly damaged and not finished, etc $150 no problem.

In the eyes of Tamiya that means: 1) there is pent up demand for certain models, which translates into the expectation that a re-re would sell well; 2) that somebody is profiting from the high prices for these parts and vintage kits, but not Tamiya; 3) I believe Tamiya genuinely values their fan base and considers what would please the Tamiya-loving community to be a factor in their decisions.

So, if we look at it from this perspective I wouldn't be surprised to see a Bigwig re-release, for one. Expediency alone would argue against this, since the Bigwig has so many unique parts not shared with other models, would probably take a lot of effort to get right, and be of limited value for future re-releases. Expediency would argue strongly in favor of a Mud Blaster next, since now - literally - every part needed to produce a Mud Blaster with re-re parts has been produced (other than decals, obv). You could make a similar case for the Super Sabre, which really only needs the body and a handful of parts to fashion out of the re-re Boomerang.

However, despite the ease of creating these re-releases the missing piece is that there isn't really a huge hunger in the market for Mud Blaster or Super Sabre parts. Nothing special anyway. On the other hand, a Bigwig sub-chassis can go for $80-100 easily. Moon Craft wheels in the same range. I've noticed in the past year or two a general depression in prices for all these parts, reducing nominal prices somewhat, but I think this is due to general economic factors - it's a buyers market, a natural swing, not reflecting a change in the relative demand for certain parts vs others.

I think that Tamiya on a business level place a lot of emphasis on their re-release decision on something that is linked to their observations about the secondary market for these parts: what is the risk that if they produce a re-re it won't sell well and they will be left with a huge glut of unsold product. Any release they do needs to be done in sufficient numbers to make it worth doing at all... and Tamiya wants to ensure that whatever the minimum number of units is that they need to produce to justify a release will sell well. Then they probably decide whether and how many additional production runs to produce to meet the demand seen.

Nah, once upon a time the above might have been true. But now? I don't think so.

If they were simply re-releasing stuff based on ebay parts demand then the Monster Beetle would have been re-released ages ago....around about the same time as the Frog and Brat came out. After all, roughly 10 years ago we had people like Neil from Time Tunnel saying that he couldn't understand why the MB hadn't been re-released as there was obvious demand for that kind of thing from the people who visited his shop.

I believe that, for a while now, the re-release strategy has been based upon the fact that they know there are a large group of cars from the so-called "Golden Era" and they are simply bringing them back in a relatively random fashion, albeit in a slow and steady way, making sure that they do not over-saturate the market too quickly so that people become bored or jaded with it all. It wouldn't be sensible to bring back stuff based on ebay demand as that fluctuates wildly over periods of time.

In the early days of the re-releases there was definitely more method to the strategy. They brought back the "safe" stuff like the Hornet etc, then progressed onto the more advanced stuff like the Hotshot before finally taking the plunge with the archaic SRBs. The re-release of the risky stuff (because of the RRP) like the Avante and Bruiser was a confirmation of the confidence they had in the re-release division of their RC portfolio and from there on in it has been a case of simply making a fairly random decision on what to bring out next. To them the timing or tactics of a re-release is not that important anymore because they plan to bring them all back anyway and they know that they are all highly likely to be strong sellers.

[Saito2]

Thorp diffs often had issues with them loosening with use. The hobby shop by me actually suggested gacking the center screw's threads with pliers to make it a "lock" screw. I recall Thorp began actually using screws with a slight bend in them to keep them from backing out. That being said, the stock parts aren't all that bad. They hold up just fine under power when used in the Hot Shot series' gear cases. The Monster Beetle (and all 1st gen ORV-based trucks) is the worst scenario. Big tires (higher load) + the least supportive gearcase = skipping diff gears. The Oldfrogshot screw mod is by far the best method to keep things in order, but I've also seem gearcase side plate reinforcing methods work well too. As I've stated years earlier, I'm not convinced the ORV gear box was originally designed to house a diff at all and thus lacks the proper support. The original Brat and Lancia had solid gears and were introduced before diffs were standard in off-road (the SRBs and first Scorpion didn't have diffs). The small diff gears (due to the size constraints of the gearbox) might have been simply added-in after the fact when the Frog was introduced (as it was the fully hopped up/competition version of the ORV chassis).