Jump to content
casethejoint

30th Anniversary Porsche 934 Build 49400

Recommended Posts

Hi all. It's been a while since I've been able to find time to do anything Tamiya related (18 months or so I guess :(). 

Anyway, I've had a bit of time lately and fancied getting my Tamiya wrench dirty. I have a part finished Funco SRB conversion on the bench (which I will get back to) but that requires some engineering effort/hard work and I fancied something a little more "ready to build".

So I've had this baby on the shelf for a while now. I bought it about 5 odd years ago on eBay for £375 (I think), which was a bit of a steal then and looking at recent prices it was a great buy. I always intended to build it, I'm not one for NIBs staying that way forever. Everything gets built eventually :). That said, this is one of the few examples where I completely understand people leaving them NIB.

For those that don't know much about this kit it was released in 2006 as a commemorative model to celebrate the original 934 from 1976. It's a lovely model and it's worth taking a good look at the packaging, as it's without any doubt for me the nicest that Tamiya has ever produced.

IMG-0808.jpg

 

This is high end blister packaging :). It's actually two part, and the outer skin lifts off to reveal the parts in the inner skin.

 

IMG-0810.jpg

IMG-0812.jpg

IMG-0816.jpg

Lots of blue in here. And lots of carbon. And lots of that reinforced plastic (the dark grey stuff). The kit itself feels very TRF, just in display packaging. TRF dampers I think, too.

IMG-0818.jpg

 

It comes with this nice fold out which explains about the model release. You can see Tamiya went to a lot of care and attention here. Great details. Someone loved designing and making this kit and really thought about the experience of the person owning and opening it up. Lovely job Tamiya. I'll try and do my bit by putting lots of care and attention into the build. 

IMG-0820.jpg

 

The carbon is marked up "30th Anniversary". Again feels very TRF to me, nothing cheap about this kit (well, maybe a couple of small things - more on that later). Note the German flag colours here (from memory they did the same on the Black Porsche special edition?).

IMG-0821.jpg

 

Outer skin off one of the blister type packs. Again, the care and attention to detail here is great. If you think about it, someone had to make a pair of injection mould formers just to make these blister packs (inner and outer skin). Only usable on this (limited run) kit. Reminiscent of the 70's/80's kits like the SRB that were vac-formed on cardboard, but upscaled.

IMG-0827.jpg

Did I mention lots of blue here?

IMG-0828.jpg

 

OK, on with the build!

So first step is to CA the carbon. And I skipped that. Two reasons - first, whenever I've tried to do it I've made a mess, and mine always look sloppy and I don't like that look. Secondly, I'm only ever going to run this lightly and carefully, for obvious reasons. So I'm not really interested in the re-enforcement, which I'm also a little dubious about as I've read mixed opinions on it here.

So I went to what is technically step #2 which is middle section motor mount and spur arrangement. 

IMG-0831.jpg

 

The manual does actually mention that threadlock isn't required. I'm not sure why - due to all the alloy, there's lots of metal on metal and I've never had an issue with using threadlock, so I used it anyway, on all screws going into alloy.

IMG-0834.jpg

IMG-0837.jpg

 

Next up we'll attach that to the chassis and put together the main bulkhead supports.

IMG-0839.jpg

IMG-0841.jpg

Black and blue :)

Going to be a pretty chassis this one I think. It's based on the TA05MS, but slightly shorter to take the Porsche body. 

IMG-0844.jpg

Diffs are up next.

Pretty standard affairs, not quite TRF quality and here's where you start to notice a few things you'd probably change if you were racing this thing. Like the bearings, which are absolutely fine, just the typical packed with grease variety and probably good for long life but not speed. Again, speed isn't what this is about for me so I'm not upgrading them. Will be building the whole kit stock as intended.

IMG-0845.jpg

 

 

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

IMG-0847.jpg

IMG-0848.jpg

 

IMG-0851.jpg

IMG-0853.jpg

 

Not much to say here other than easy to build and actually nice and smooth. Again if you were racing, you'd probably do some polishing and use a higher end ball and grease. But not for me, it would break my heart to have a high speed crash in this one, so keeping it all stock.

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks amazing! Doubt those blisters are injection moulded though, will be vac moulded, or blow moulded? I dunno, but they manage it cheap enough for biscuits! (Although thinner)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You're absolutely right Graeme - I typed "injection" without even thinking about it. I'm sure they're vac moulded. Even so, someone had to make a former just for this kit. And yes they use them in biscuits but probably for sale in the millions. I still think it's representative of Tamiya putting quite a bit of effort into this packaging. I love it :)

Time to finish off the bulkheads.

IMG-0859.jpg

Almost all blue, simple construction. Won't bore you with the detail, suffice to say it all goes together easily.

IMG-0860.jpg

IMG-0865.jpg

IMG-0867.jpg

IMG-0875.jpg

Next up, steering rack....

 

 

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree, i love the extra effort the blister packs show. Cant wait to see this come together! Pricey kit to be building ;)

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is one of my favorite kits and I applaud you for building it.  I bought one back in 2006. The packaging is beautiful and I just couldn’t bring myself to build it.  I spent a fortune on a spare body and was going to fab a shortened chassis for a TRF 415. I was so happy when Tamiya came out with 40th anniversary that I bought multiple kits to fill my 934 desire. 

I look forward to see how your 934 turns out. Are you going Box art on the body or something else?

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Will be box art. I don't usually (or at least not without a twist) but it seems appropriate here.

I have some PS54 and also some TS Cobalt Green for the hard plastic fin and other bits.

I did take a look at the stickers earlier, and sh*t myself :). There's a lot of stickers. And I mean... a lot. Scary. I might opt for painting the black rubber parts instead.

Anyway we're not there yet, so fresh underpants at the ready we can start on that steering rack.

I don't like making tie rods/turn buckles. But this tool does at least make it a tiny bit easier.

 

IMG-0881.jpg

IMG-0883.jpg

A couple of screws and the steering rack is pretty much there. It's all double-ballraced and  feels very smooth indeed. Best steering rig I've seen in a Tamiya.

IMG-0884.jpg

Couple of bolts and it's on the chassis.

It really is smooth, and there is zero slop which is something I've never had in any RC car. Am very impressed.

IMG-0886.jpg

IMG-0888.jpg

IMG-0893.jpg

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Took a break from that to tackle the bit I really don't like, which is cutting out polycarb.

Edged all the edges in rough with a Sharpie as a guide.

IMG-0896.jpg

... and took my time with the cutting. No mistakes, thankfully.

IMG-0898.jpg

I've cleaned the edges with 600 grit silicone paper.

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dogbone time....

IMG-0901.jpg

IMG-0903.jpg

And then some uprights.

IMG-0904.jpg

Sort of ends up looking a bit like:

IMG-0905.jpg

Then it all drops in with a pin and couple of screws. Nice and easy. Starting to look like a roller....

IMG-0906.jpg

Front next, pretty much the same thing.

IMG-0908.jpg

The mounts are just sitting in place - makes it a little tricky to get it all together without it falling apart. The manual says to great the inserts on the ends of this pin, but I chose instead to grease the female side as it was a little easier and less messy.

IMG-0909.jpg

Then they drop into place and this blue alloy stay is screwed into the chassis to hold it all together. I love simple design like this.

IMG-0912.jpg

Front uprights. Different colour dogbones, not sure why (different metal?).

IMG-0914.jpg

Again pretty straightforward.

IMG-0915.jpg

Then they drop into the place the same as the rear - couple of pins and stays.

IMG-0920.jpg

"Bit too much blue alloy and carbon on that Tamiya", said no-one. Ever.

 

 

 

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Could sense the disturbance in the universe that suggested that someone has cracked open his 49400... so I just had to pop in for a looksee.

And it looks good as always :) 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There are two kits I regret not having. The TXT-1 and thisd 934 both ere available for about 300 us now $$$$$$$.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow that is turning out beautifully. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tamiya alu&carbon cassis are always beautiful. Great build :)

On 3/17/2019 at 7:34 PM, casethejoint said:

Different colour dogbones, not sure why (different metal?).

Yes, front dogbones are made from some sort of hardened steel, they need to be harder than rears to withstand large angles and vibration caused by steering. Blue are made out of aluminium to save weight.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing! ...doubt I'll ever get the chance to put together one of these... so it's really appreciated!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/1/2019 at 7:39 PM, Snappy1 said:

Any more updates?

This.

I'm keen to see how this worked out, I'm not brave enough to crack my NIB!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...