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nowinaminute

Just seen the new Kyosho Mad Van

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It's not a "true" solid axle truck, more of a beefed up truggy but it looks **** cool.

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This is the kind of thing Tamiya should make imo. Tamiya are famed for quirky bodies and Kyosho come along put out an awesome looking van that can run rings around a Lunchbox.

It's a pretty simple chassis and just a lexan shell but the execution is great. It looks cool and will probably handle pretty well and despite not having the biggest ground clearance in the world, the 4wd and big tyres will surely give it some half decent ability.

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Come on, Tamiya! 

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Saw this, like it mostly. Shell seems to be a most like a Ford Econoline, what was the gt40 midengine version called? The Supervan? The wheelbase is spot on for a monster truck though at  273ish, not sure on the width. Either way I smell a clod sized lunchie in my future. 

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Though the bodies are different, it vaguely reminds me of the old Kyosho Heavy Metal monster tank van.

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Huh. Well, the chassis isn't anything I would bother with (well, maybe if they sold it as a kit), but it does look a lot better than the typical "basher" type trucks.

What's mildly annoying is that the wheel arches are in entirely the wrong place to be even remotely scale. The rear overhang is far too short. So even if you wanted to take this body and use it on a more scale chassis, it would still look "off." Us scaler guys have bemoaned this for years, with all the "scale" bodies from Pro-Line and others for the T-Maxx-style monster trucks. At first glance, it looks like a great base to build on, but then you start looking at the proportions and it just looks all wrong.

But it is nice to see some options for the RTR crowd that aren't some swoopy tribal-flamed abomination... bonus points to the first person to put ladder racks on top and a plumber's logo on the side...

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Have you guys watched any videos of this on YouTube?

I have to say it bashes remarkably well, it seems to jump really nicely and appears to be pretty tough.

I thought it might be a bit limited because it seems a bit like a pumped up buggy but it really does seem to go well off road and on road too of course.

I would definitely consider one in the future.

I wish Tamiya would make stuff like this. Competent modern chassis but still has flamboyant looks.

 

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I know this is an old thread, but did anybody end up getting one of these? I quite like the look of it, but was interested to hear how durable it was?

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I just haven't got the money for it at the moment but It's on the list. From what I can see from Youtube etc they seem to be pretty durable and great bashers, jump nicely and everything. A 2s brushless seems to be more than enough but even the stock motor is quite good because it's a bigger 550 size. The drive shaft is plastic but you can get a metal one.

The only thing really putting me off is the body shell situation. I would have to pay £50+ for a spare shell. How do they justify that? I know it's probably not their most mass produced shell but I bet you it still doesn't cost that much to make them. You can get a Lunchbox hard shell for £10-20 so £50 or more for a lexan one seems a bit much. That issue has put me off a few RCs in the past few years. Traxxas Gravedigger and Big Foot versions of the Stampede spring to mind. The Gravedigger shell swaps hands for hundreds now and it wasn't exactly cheap when it was current. The idea of an RC pitched as good for bashing but that costs a fortune to replace the body really bugs me. That's a part that should be relatively cheap IMO.

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Thanks for the reply. I hadn't got as far as looking at spares yet. I was just looking for a nice regular 4wd runner. Not really interested in all the 'Skate Park' trucks. I really wanted something that was a little scale looking at this seemed to fit the bill. Obviously I'd rather stick with Tamiya, but not really found anything there either. Maybe I'll keep looking...

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I'm sure it would be fine for more civilised use too, that brushed motor is going to give smooth performance. It would probably be just as at home pottering around on dirt and tarmac etc. I'm not a huge skate park style basher myself 75% of the time, I just noticed it seems to be very good at jumping. The chassis just happens to be pretty capable.

I only do big jumps etc now and then, I like to go quite hard but usually while still in contact with the ground. I love hammering around on dirt and sand etc but the odd tumble still inevitably happens, that's why the body situation bugs me a bit. They tend to get scratched and scraped occasionally even if you're not trying to launch them into orbit all the time. Saying that, I don't own one so chances are it might roll over so infrequently that it's not an issue. It's just nice to be able to buy a spare shell for the shelf but when it's 25% of the cost of the whole RC it's a bit much.

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Yeah, just looked on Modelsport. £57.00! And they don't do a clear version. I don't like other people choosing my paint scheme, so gonna give this one a miss... Thanks :D

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Maybe after it's been out a while longer things ill get cheaper. Especially after this lockdown is over. Next summer things might look better.

Did you see that new Pro-Line body shell?

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Yeah. Saw it on Instagram. Looks nice. What i really want is a Super Hotshot,  but as they are all sold out everywhere, I was just browsing other kits. I shouldn't really, but you know how it is...

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Yeah I know, trust me lol. I'm not flush at the best of times and especially at the moment but sometimes you have to have something to look forward to otherwise what's the point?

I've been super strict so far but I've grabbed a few bits to use with my current projects but nothing more. I have told myself if I get really desperate I can get one thing though but so far I've resisted. I'm pretty sure if the Manta Ray was still on sale I would have got one because it was a bargain at circa £100. Terra Scorcher looks nice but it's twice as much and it's not twice the car.

In a holding pattern for now. I have plenty to get on with here.

There's nothing quite like a brand new kit though!

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