Tamiya M-06 with US Style MR2 Mk1 Shell

[Boddney 162]

Hi,

I’m new here as some of you may have seen in the General Discussion Room.

I have built a Tamiya Super Sabre in the past during my teenage years and now that I’m 45 I thought I’d revisit the RC model building world to recreate my weekend play car, an MR2 Mk1 so I thought I’d start a build thread and see how I get on.

The eBay listing for the MR2 shell said it fitted a Tamiya M-06 chassis so my choices where a Midnight Pumpkin Lowride or VW Beetle. I love old cars more than custom motors so I went for the Beetle.

My first worry was that once I was home with the kit I noticed it was 1/10 and that the shell I ordered from the States was 1/12. So I joined this forum as I hadn’t even started yet and already had confused myself with different chassis lengths, wheelbases and scale.

You guys jumped straight on it and put me right with the things I needed to know. Thanks.

Anyway, after reading loads of stuff on here I realise that the best thing to do when building kits is to follow the instructions and not jump ahead. So in true Boddney style I started at section 26 page 15 and built the wheels and tyres as I had a spare half hour to myself at the weekend. Lol 😂 

I’ve pictured the kit and the MR2 shell and a picture of my weekend car for inspiration along with my impatient instruction jump.

Hope to get back to you with more soon.

Bod.

 

Edited August 20, 2018 by Boddney
Terrible Spelling

[Badcrumble 4422]

Looking forward to seeing this one come together. 

Then the next one - the scale GT86 

[Boddney 162]

2 minutes ago, Badcrumble said:

Looking forward to seeing this one come together. 

Then the next one - the scale GT86 

Ssshhhh!!! The wife might here you. (That’s mine, not yours lol)

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Lovely MR2 you have there - i’ll be watching this with interest. 

Welcome to the forum btw 

[StrokerBoy 772]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.  You have lots of options (not all out of the box) to get the eventual look/stance right, depending on whether you want it to drive nicely or just look good on a shelf.  I built a Lowride Pumpkin but spent ages tweaking it to get the non-standard look I wanted, various sets of wheels, hubs, spacers, springs, uprights etc.

[Kevin_Mc 411]

@StrokerBoy pics of said Lowride Pumpkin and stance mods please!

i’m building one and having a play about with ideas in my head. 

[StrokerBoy 772]

9 hours ago, Kevin_Mc said:

@StrokerBoy pics of said Lowride Pumpkin and stance mods please!

i’m building one and having a play about with ideas in my head. 

Rather than hijack Boddney's MR2 thread, I'll point you at this :

 

[TwistedxSlayer 1308]

Ill be watching this build

[Boddney 162]

Thanks everyone. No pressure then. I don’t think it will be very good being as it’s my first attempt as an ageing teenager with dimming eyesight. I’ll just take my time and see how it turns out. I’m really quite excited though waiting for the postman to bring my U.S Mail.

Bod

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Thanks SB!

[Jason1145 4688]

Your wife is sooooooo not going to appreciate it when you have completed the Tamiya MR2 and are then carefully positioning it on the floor outside so it sits just perfectly in line with your 1:1 MR2 in the background... with your butt crack exposed as you kneel and bend down for the required photo shot.... good luck 😉 

[Boddney 162]

LOL Superb. It’s like you know me🤪

[firefoxussr 482]

I like that this involves Tamiya, but why not build this on a BSR M.Rage or XPresso M1?  That'd be 210mm wheelbase and mid-motor!  In fact, if you can find an M04, you could have it all.  You will need to buy a 3d print of @VagabondStarJXF 's 210mm M04 modification.  https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQ3GWUZ6T/tamiya-m04-m04s-210mm-wheelbase-chassis?optionId=63067317

You may find that the M06's motor interferes with the short overhang of the MR2 body... or not... it'll be close.

And not to deter you, but an M06 is a beautiful thing with a rear engine bodyshell:

I went with the 911 GT2 Tamiya shell, but I've also seen successful M06 builds with the HPI 911 RSR shell originally for the HPI Cup racer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFGJNxv8b9U 

[wolfdogstinkus 2011]

2 hours ago, Jason1145 said:

Your wife is sooooooo not going to appreciate it when you have completed the Tamiya MR2.

 

2 hours ago, Boddney said:

LOL Superb. It’s like you know me🤪

I think he knows your wife. lol 

[Boddney 162]

8 hours ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

 

I think he knows your wife. lol 

OOO ERRR MRS🤐

[Boddney 162]

9 hours ago, firefoxussr said:

I like that this involves Tamiya, but why not build this on a BSR M.Rage or XPresso M1?  That'd be 210mm wheelbase and mid-motor!  In fact, if you can find an M04, you could have it all.  You will need to buy a 3d print of @VagabondStarJXF 's 210mm M04 modification.  https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQ3GWUZ6T/tamiya-m04-m04s-210mm-wheelbase-chassis?optionId=63067317

You may find that the M06's motor interferes with the short overhang of the MR2 body... or not... it'll be close.

And not to deter you, but an M06 is a beautiful thing with a rear engine bodyshell:

I went with the 911 GT2 Tamiya shell, but I've also seen successful M06 builds with the HPI 911 RSR shell originally for the HPI Cup racer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFGJNxv8b9U 

Wow thanks for all that info but being a Newbie I didn’t understand much of it at all. Lol. I will do though once I’ve researched everything you said👍

[Tizer 607]

If you're looking for period/style correct wheels for the MR2, look at some of the options from ABC Hobby themselves. They made Hayashi Street's, SSR Formula Mesh' and of course RS Watanabe's. Those are perfect for an 80's Japanese sportscar like the AW11 MR2.

[Boddney 162]

The new shell arrived today from the States I’m really happy with but now terrified that I’ll make a mess of it. My head says I want someone to do it for me. My heart says I have to give it a go or I’ll forever regret it. So, possible car wreck coming.

[TurnipJF 10444]

I know that feeling well...

I have a beautiful Arta Garaiya one that is waiting for me to pick up the courage to tackle it. In the mean time, the chassis is wearing a cheap generic shell so that I can run it without worry, and I don't feel any pressure to rush the good shell. 

[novicelad 787]

1 hour ago, Boddney said:

The new shell arrived today from the States I’m really happy with but now terrified that I’ll make a mess of it. My head says I want someone to do it for me. My heart says I have to give it a go or I’ll forever regret it. So, possible car wreck coming.

Do yourself a favour get tamiya curved scissors, and watch 1-hour of YouTube videos on how to do it.

If you have a dremel that cleans up the edges

[Fabia130vRS 2098]

Definately this MR2 body is very detailed.

I am not good at body shells, but I have learnt, time is worth it. I would tape now if needed a few times the same thing just to get it perfect. 

People are different, some rush things, some learn to enjoy the waiting. 

[Jason1145 4688]

Jump straight in and cut that shell up already!

Dont forget to make the body post holes whilst you can still see through it, and apparently the M06 is very hard to drive straight too.... but who wants to drive straight??!!

Cute looking shell for sure

[Tizer 607]

You should check out this dude's stuff:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004233787901

He is the sculptor/maker of SRP, Scale Realistic Parts. He makes very detailed doorhandles, lights, vents etc. for all kinds of 1/10 bodyshells and is currently in the process of creating parts for the ABC Hobby AW11 MR2 shell. Might be something for you

[Boddney 162]

Thanks everyone for the pointers, I’ve looked at all of them. All very interesting and so much information.

I shall practice the shell cutting, painting and detailing on the Beetle shell I think. It may be slower to the end game but probably safer. I’ve looked at loads on YouTube as suggested by @novicelad and none of them use the curved scissors but mainly use the ‘score & snap’ method. My scissoring is pretty poor to be fair (due to fat fingers) as whittnessed by my Christmas wrapping. Lol.

Now that I have everything I ordered I have started the M-06 build. I wish I had done that little bit more research before purchasing the M-06 as I really should have found the mid engine chassis that @firefoxussrwas chatting about further up. Never mind. I know Tamiya stuff a bit so probably best to stick to what I understand. As for the post holes @Jason1145 I’m really taken with the idea of stealth mounts as it’s a new thing on the market (to me) as there was no such thing about when I was a lad. Some reviews say they’re good, some say bad. There’s only one way to find out.

Bod

Picture of progress so far. Diff, gearbox built, motor fitted and all fitted to the chassis. A very happy and therapeutic 2 hours.

 

[Jason1145 4688]

This is very helpful, been meaning to follow this method myself one day!