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Will there be a Wild Willy 3 - GF-01?

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With the launch of the GF-01 chassis, my initial thought back when the news was revealed, was to get one - discard the FJ40 pick-up body and wheels, and build a 4x4 Wild Willy.
I've done similar projects for several platforms over the years, to later see the model I wanted/built was eventually released by Tamiya - like with the various Land Cruisers.

To me it is pretty obvious that a 4x4 Wild Willy GF-01 could be coming out any time from Tamiya. I haven't heard any rumours or anything like that, but to me it would be the natural pick of a model to get this platform started.
The chassis is after all a direct 4WD conversion of the Wild Willy 2 chassis (WR.02), and from what I understand the kits comes with Wild Willy body mounts included. The Wild Willy 2 kit and

body is still available etc.

I keep my fingers crossed, and hope if this is released, that Tamiya take their time to update with some cool new details, like jeep wheels and new tires for it, to make it a new release, rather than just a GF-01 Willy release with the same parts that have been available for almost 15 years now.

Something like the conversion I made on my WW2 several years ago:

ww2_scale_1.jpg

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It sounds more like something Tamiya is letting the owners do, given that the Wild Willy has already seen a re-release and all the other circumstances you have mentioned. Personally, I find it hard to picture lots of demand for a 4 x 4 Wild Willy where there is still a Wild Willy 2 on the WR-02 kicking around.

... But the great thing is that one never knows!

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Heck, they should just release the GF01 gearbox parts, i am waiting for months now and still no parts readily available, same with the tumbling bull shell. :huh:

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You have to remove a bit of floor and part of a foot to get the WW body down nice and snug, but it's a good thing. Here's mine:

DSCF0287_zpsmvuyx7wv.jpg

PA120811_zpsz0ya8tzp.jpg

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Oh, and as you can tell from the top photo, body post holes need to be relocated.

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I tried fitting one to a GF01 and there are a few fit issues that can be overcome by modellers but would not really be acceptable to be sold as such.

The front arches do not line up with the body-posts well enough, the chassis bars need cutting up and shortening and the batter means that you have to fit the body higher than I wanted.

I like projects like this normally but was never 100% happy with my set-up. Looking at B.M.T's job though I am tempted to have another go.

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I didn't find body post / hole locations to be a problem - maybe I'm not as eagle-eyed as you!

Here's mine -

DSCF3135_zpsaa0423e6.jpg

The side rails are an issue though. The chassis has three of the mounting points but not the rearmost. You either have to shorten the chassis rails or trim the body post mount on the chassis. The rails can be made to fit with a little work.

DSCF3151_zpsc2511196.jpg

I had to chop the driver's feet just like BMT said. But it's worth noting that we both removed the 'lump' that protrudes on the underside of the body (the bit that fits around the switch on a Wild Willy M38). The driver's feet would be unscathed if the body was left standard, but the body would have to sit noticeably higher.

I don't see why Tamiya wouldn't release a 'Wild Willy 3'. After all, it's not unusual to see the same body used on several different chassis types. But if they did, I think it would be without the side rails and with the body 'perched' quite high on the chassis. Some new wheels and tyres would be cool (and welcome) but I don't see them going to the expense.

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I did the same body mods, and removed the heels of the figure to lower the body on my WW2 conversion shown in my first post.
I was not aware that the chassis rails was different though, and see these as minor mods for an ideal overall look. It's not like the placement of the VW bus body looks all that great IMO, so I don't think Tamiya would have bothered with that detail for a WW, but the chassis rails would cause some headaches I guess.

I made the WW body fit the TLT-1 penguin chassis more than ten years ago, so the GF-01 should be a breeze :)

ww_tlt_0.jpg

Ah, maybe it is just wishful thinking on my behalf :D

I'll probably get the FJ40 GF-01 and convert it, I can't see any major hurdles for making the WW body fit, as proven by the pics BMT and IBIFTKH provided.

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I didn't find body post / hole locations to be a problem - maybe I'm not as eagle-eyed as you!

Interesting. Yours is sitting in the same position as mine, radiator panel to front bulkhead alignment. Although, there is a smattering of posts to fit these mounting bosses, I probably picked the wrong combination lol

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It does strike me as a bit odd that there are only two kits that use this chassis, considering how well-received it was.

Although given its propensity for nose-overs, I hope there will be more rugged polycarbonate shells released for it - scaleish hard bodies are unlikely to last as runners.

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WW3... but it only comes with that flippin bear 😠

I suspect the above mentioned issues may have stopped or at least delayed a WW GF01 release. For a hard body it's one of the toughest out there thanks to the well structured roll cage. I hope they do get there eventually and preferably with some Jeep style wheels 😉

Dare I suggest but a revised Willy driver figure would be appreciated considering the current one is pushing 40 years old?

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I've just built the chassis now and making the WW body fit in not an issue at all - and it shouldn't intimidate Tamiya from doing a WW3 based on these issues... (I'm not addressing other factors here) I might optimize the positioning of the WW body with making some purpose built body mounts, but will look into this as I complete the build.

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njmlondon, on 08 Sept 2015 - 1:11 PM, said:

I tried fitting one to a GF01 and there are a few fit issues that can be overcome by modellers but would not really be acceptable to be sold as such.

The front arches do not line up with the body-posts well enough, the chassis bars need cutting up and shortening and the batter means that you have to fit the body higher than I wanted.

I like projects like this normally but was never 100% happy with my set-up. Looking at B.M.T's job though I am tempted to have another go.

The alignment issue is minimal and easily solved. By reversing the front body post, you can fit the WW body straight out of the box. By adding 4 simple spacers, you can fine adjust the lateral alignment of the body. I'll design a set of these spacers now, it's a very very simple part to make,

The issue with the chassis bars (side rails) is really non-existing, as these are not used in the kit (as per the manual). They do add a bit of realism to the final look, so some opt to use them anyways - this requires one to cut off the stock rear body posts, but both serve the same purpose and result.

The height/lowering issue to get the body down, is also very simple - as the parts removed under the flooring is not needed for any of the WW models (WW1 or WW2), I already had a WW2 body that I've removed this excess plastic from (bare body lying around for another project for years), and it was a direct low fit. By re-arraring the ESC & receiver back just a bit (this is originally only done by servo tape), the body can come down all the way to the chassis/ battery tray. This will give the body to axle ratio the equivalent of a WW1 (which is always my goal), and there is plenty of room under the rear part of the body, to accompany the re-positioned radio gear (there is no hump back battery to use this space no mo').

IBIFTKH pretty much sumed it up already, but now I know first hand from actually having built the chassis...

As I supposed which my initial post, there should be little or no fitment issues to hold Tamiya back from making a WW based GF01 kit. Yet again, I am not addressing the economical or other arguments for not releasing such a model - which are more plentiful than the design or physical issues - as there are none :)

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Unless they change the shell to fit it will not happen. Why would anyone really want one over the current version? The heavy dump truck is soooo cool, hopefully tamiya will give us some more original ones.

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copied this in , as relevant here, from a different thread of mine a while back...

So, after building the GF01 chassis, with the aim of using it as a platform for a 4x4 Wild Willy, the first small parts I needed was some body mount spacers. Even though I could work with the body placement using a reversed stock body mount assembly (simply mounting the front body mounts in the rear and the rears in the front). I still wanted the body moved back a few millimetres. I plan on mounting some fairly small sized wheels & tires, so a few millimetres off point of the body is more evident than I'd were to use the commonly WW2 sized wheels. I'm not out to build a racer, and plan on using a crawler motor, so wheelies/smaller wheels issue won'y matter much with my set up . truth be said, I never liked the fact that the WW did wheelies, but still it's my all time favourite car.

Not very exciting parts, but here are a few quick pics to illustrate. I haven't painted the parts black yet, so it would be easier to see the placement.

simensays_GF01_spacer_1.jpg
simensays_GF01_spacer_2.jpg
simensays_GF01_spacer_3.jpg
simensays_GF01_spacer_4.jpg

Next up will be possibly doing some mods to the body, to lower it more, but need to figure out what wheels I will use first, the ones mounted are cool enough, but looks better on a scaler...

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On 31/10/2015 at 0:55 AM, qatmix said:

Unless they change the shell to fit it will not happen. Why would anyone really want one over the current version? The heavy dump truck is soooo cool, hopefully tamiya will give us some more original ones.

This exactly IMO. It is really cool that people are making a 4x4 wW2 of their own, but I hope Tamiya don't resort to doing a hack job on fitting a M38 body to a GF-01 which as said above, isn't different enough from the 17 years current offering (which is still popular). 

If they decide to bring out a ww3, do the same popular theme as the two before... new chassis, does wheelies, Rwd, FUN, and big white (maybe clod size hahaha) wheels :D 

 

Edit: Oh and the Dump Truck rocks, more new random versions like that for the GF-02 :D

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Apart from the step-back body posts, did you need to make any other alterations to the chassis or body to get it to sit like that? It looks perfectly poised.

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I took advantage of the huge sale on Bruisers and the Monster Beetle Trail to finally get a 4x4 chassis for my WW2 body. After cutting the extra off the bottom of the body, I'm at the same place simensays was at with needing the body to go back just a bit. 

 

I've always had a soft spot for the Willy, but it's always bothered me that it was only 2wd. I'm thinking crawler motor as well. 

 

Still unsure if the red portals bother me enough to do something about them

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