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Scouser

Help and advice with choice

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Firstly, my apologies if these types of thread are tiresome. I normally will just make my own mind up but on this one, I could use some insight.

I am going to buy a new kit. This will be a 'throw in the back of the car, take everywhere' type of thing. Beach, woods, park, street, yard and anywhere else you can think of. 

I was looking for something upgradable that also has some known diy mods that work as I like to customise. Tough, reliable, easy to work on and fun.

So far I am stuck between the Monster Beetle, Lunchbox or the GF01 Dump Truck (my son loves construction stuff). I really could use some wisdom from owners of these trucks and would appreciate any pointers to others I may have overlooked.

Thanks for any help guys and sorry again for such a facepalm thread!

Jon.

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I would go with the monster beetle, I had an original one in the 80s  great fun truck but be warned with the drivetrain with powerful motors. My original I had to have a Thorp ball diff and entire thorp gearbox and dog bones to handle hot motors

If you decide on something different go for  the dt-03 chassis truck or buggy. They are built like tanks and upgradable. My dt-03t aqroshot is a blast to drive all terrains

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The one all-terrain Tamiya vehicle would be the CR-01. It can be a bit more expensive than the ones already mentioned, but unlike the others you will not have to modify it to use it everywhere. It can go fast, and slow, climb ladders, and jump. And it's up-gradable if you think you need that, of course.

58405.jpg

 

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If it was my choice it would be the lunchbox or the dump truck. I like the dump truck but haven't got around to buying one but those that have bought one love it. 

I have an original monster beetle and a rerelease lunchbox and IMO the monster beetle is lacklustre and will not tolerate the abuse your son can throw at it like a lunchie would. Plus kids love wheelies!

And you can value my opinion because I am also from the land of curly haired, moustache supporting, adidas wearing, bobby headed, "Alrrrright?!"  Anfield supporters that roll their R's. :lol::lol::lol: So I would never steer you up the garden path...

or would I? :ph34r:

 

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Out of those three, the Monster Beetle is likely to be the most fragile if run hard, although I had a Mud Blaster (same chassis) when I were a lad and all I ever broke was the bodyshell.  But as others have said, they don't quite live up to their hype as a general basher - they're more of interest to those who had them when they were younger.

The Lunchbox is a great sturdy chassis (although the body mounts are weak).  They're great fun in standard form if you love wheelies and general silliness, although you will be turning it back on its wheels all the time, they love to be upside down.  And if you want to have fun modifying, there's lots of stuff you can do - oil shocks, the famous fifth shock mod, high-tech front end conversions, or you can go really crazy and hack your own stuff together.

I have no experience with the GF-01 but I understand it's very similar to the WR-02, except with 4 wheel drive.  If it's anything like the WR-02 then it will be stable, fun and really tough, and for that reason alone, it would be the one I'd pick for an all-day basher.  It should wheelie as well as the Lunchbox but is a little bit more advanced all round, 4x4 will handle more terrain and (although I can't comment on the body) the chassis should be near indestructible.

 

However, if it were me, I'd be looking at a WT-01 or WR-01.  They're sturdy and solid, performance isn't bad out of the box and there's massive scope for upgrades, plus they're bigger, so will handle rougher terrain better, and there's more options for cheaper aftermarket shells if you want some spare bodies or want to get creative.

 

 

But hey, this is Tamiya, so go with your heart - you'll have fun with any of the above :D

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I see you mentioned running on the beach. Of those you considered, the Lunch Box is probably the most "sand-proof". The tub chassis is protective. The mechanicals are so simple and tough, there really isn't many places the sand can get at. The big tires float up and over the sand instead of plowing into it.

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Wow, thanks for the replies lads. Loads to think about. I had a look at the dt 03 and it looks like the TamTech chassis grew up. That is a very good thing as I raced a TamTech for years and it was the toughest car I ever owned by a long way. 

The CR01 is one of my favourites and I confess to overlooking that one. Price isn't too bad so definitely worth a look.

Really interested to hear the Beetle would be most fragile, I have never owned one of the cars with that chassis but always imagined them to be tough as old boots! So the beetle has now been eliminated.

Thank you so much for the advice, this place really is unparalleled for its knowledge base.

ps. Berman, you ain't missing anything at the minute mate. This place is a mess!

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If your looking at the lunchbox, don't forget the unimog, commercial vehicle lexan body rather than hard plastic. Same chassis as lunch box. And if you and your kid like the look, he gets wheelies you get Cr01 or cc01. And upgrades galore. 

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It might be worth considering a TT02b too. I've built two now and they seem pretty unbreakable, drove one non-stop for 2 hours including many, many, many crashes and aside from a ratty looking body a broken tooth on one gear was the only damage. That said, I tested it on sand (my local pub just installed a beach, of course) and it was fairly bobbins. Lunchy did much better on that but as has been mentioned it might get a little tedious running to it to put it the right way up.

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These sorts of threads always open up a can of worms because there are SO many choices.  If just considering the 3 models you stated are your short list, I'd suggest the Lunchbox is likely the best all-rounder.  However, if I solely look at your stated requirements:

16 hours ago, Scouser said:

I am going to buy a new kit. This will be a 'throw in the back of the car, take everywhere' type of thing. Beach, woods, park, street, yard and anywhere else you can think of. 

I was looking for something upgradable that also has some known diy mods that work as I like to customise. Tough, reliable, easy to work on and fun.

Jon.

but none of your short listed models would've sprung to mind for me.

To best satisfy your requirements, the first model I think of is a Mad Bull.  They are quite bullet proof and a blast to drive.  They're easy builds with plentiful hop-ups available.  Swap out the wheels/tires for Acroshot equivalents and you have a capable street runner.  With a change from the included big wheels/tires and long front hubs to the Rising Fighter equivalents, it becomes a "proper" buggy. 

Speaking of the Acroshot, if buggies aren't your thing the Acroshot would be my 2nd suggestion for your all-rounder rig.  It has a more modern chassis than the Mad Bull and is equally bullet proof. I would wager that there are more hop-ups available for it than the Mad Bull as well.  You could also run the Mad Bull wheels/tires when you hit the beach and add more dirt oriented tires to a 2nd set of stock wheels when you want to head off-roading.

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I have to agree with Effigy3, my son & I have a Mad Bull each and they really are a blast.  Long grass, dirt track, beach - they handle it all with ease.  They aren't the most sophisticated chassis but are tough as old boots.  The only issue I've had so far is the steering connected to the servo occasionally gets jammed, but I'm sure there is a fix for it somewhere on here.

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I had always discounted the Mad Bull as I thought the rear suspension was a weak point. Is this not the case? If it can take a beating then it certainly ticks all the boxes for an all-rounder. 

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2 hours ago, Scouser said:

I had always discounted the Mad Bull as I thought the rear suspension was a weak point. Is this not the case? If it can take a beating then it certainly ticks all the boxes for an all-rounder. 

i disregarded the mad bull for a long time, as i thought it was not more than a toy. but after working through some threats here, i gave it a try and got one. hop ups i installed were ball bearings, steel pinion gear and alu oil shocks. it is indeed a blast to drive it in every terrain and for the requirements you mentioned the mad bull will beat his competitors.

here you can find a nice mad bull build threat:

 

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22 hours ago, 73robb said:

The only issue I've had so far is the steering connected to the servo occasionally gets jammed, but I'm sure there is a fix for it somewhere on here.

There is a fix.  In fact, it's in XV's build thread.  Here's a pic of his solution:

DSC05594_zpsn6d3uhdw.jpg

It's just some heat shrink tubing around the steering shaft.  Check out his thread for more details.

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@Effigy3 (and @XV Pilot) - thanks for the link to the mod.  I knew I had read about a mod on TC, but couldn't find it when I searched for it!

That should resolve my main problem with the Mad Bull going forward :)

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Love it. These are the diy mods that make ownership more enjoyable (for me anyway). Been doing quite a lot of searches over the past 12 hrs and the decision is made. Next post will likely be in the 'what the postman brought' thread. 

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Madbull is ace. WT-01 is the best all round basher I own.

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I have a Mad Bull which I bought 16 years ago and it's still running original except for a recent race tuned motor. Like others have said; bulletproof. 

However, I bought an Aqroshot a few weeks ago and I have to say it's very fun to drive, I'm looking forward to tweaking this one...

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