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Tudorp

Wild Willy Jr.

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Is a WIld WIlly Jr very collectible? I am thinking of making an actual small RC version of one. Mounting the Jr. body on a 1:24 scale Pro-Line 4x4 RC crawler I have. 

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Woah - a quick noodle on Ebay shows people seem to want in the region of $150-200 for these (although there is one advertised at $90 currently):

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=wild+willy+jr&_sacat=0

Bearing in mind it is a 1/32nd not 1/24th scale body - still part of me thinks: Go for it! - who cares - a SWB SX24 with that body would be hysterical if you could make all the electronics fit?

 

But then I'm the sort of person who would cut a $50+* Stranger Things Dustin figure in half and glued him back together to fit in my Toyota 4Runner!

*I only paid around $20 for mine as I recall, but they are increasingly rare now...

Jenny x

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I have a little Pro-Line Ambush 1:24 scale that I think I can make fit. Even if I have to cut, or lengthen the frame rails to fit the wheelbase. Not sure it will work, but with enough imagination and ingenuity, you can make anything work.. ;) 

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I saw this thread, so just wanted to share my WillyJr I bought and built back in 2000?  Still functional.

He resides on his own floating shelf in my RC shop.

image.png.71246c6232ebc18f846ee16ec71f31a5.png

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I would definitely put it in the "collectible" category. It breaks my heart to see the asking price of some WW Jr's out there. I would dearly love to park one next to my WW2  :(

A little r/c version would be VERY cool though. 

One of my upcoming projects is to a Hilux hardbody (from a 1/20 static kit) onto an SCX24. 

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As somewhat of a Wild Willy enthusiast for about two decades, I was lucky enough to get into collecting WWs and parts before the hype/prices got out of hand. I bought two NIB sets of the Wild Willy Jr for close to nothing many years ago. To me there was little or no resemblance to the 1/10 original version. After building one, I realised the Jr is simply really not cool in any way or form - so I sold the second NIB cheap. The body, dimensions, details etc is simply not good. I've even collected the Tamiya Wild Willy jigsaw puzzle, but quickly got over collecting these novel spin-offs and focused my collection on the real thing.

To each his own of course, I am not saying there is anything wrong with collecting whatever you like. I'm simply trying to inform that the current pricing for the WW Jr is like paying 50K USD for a NIB 1/10 Wild Willy - quite a bit overpriced.

My advice would be to look into static model kits - they are highly detailed, and available in various scales - much cheaper, and much better for making a small scale custom RC - and even better, the Willys Jeep is one of the easier kits to find.

 

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^ Harsh, but true.   I bought mine for $15? at the time.  I too do not know why these hold so much value, but since I already have one why not?  :D

 

Are you the simensays on Shapeways?  If so, thank you for all the great work on the 3D parts.

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The tire on my WWjr. Have perished. What other models share those same tires?  I thought I saw them used in one of Tamiya’s scientific models 

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Shodog - I can only confirm that the LandCruiser tires are smaller in diameter and width.   So don't buy those.

I have one I bought at the same time and compared tire size this morning.  

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On 4/24/2021 at 1:35 AM, Willy iine said:

^ Harsh, but true.   I bought mine for $15? at the time.  I too do not know why these hold so much value, but since I already have one why not?  :D

Are you the simensays on Shapeways?  If so, thank you for all the great work on the 3D parts.

As mentioned, simply my honest thoughts, and I'm not trying to tell what other people should collect in any way or form :)
Yes, that is me.

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I have a 80% finished one in the box...

I was going to give it to my boy to wreck as well as a hotshot Jr, (he has a wildsaurus and a Pajero)... might rethink that decision.... :blink:

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On 4/25/2021 at 12:31 PM, simensays said:

As mentioned, simply my honest thoughts, and I'm not trying to tell what other people should collect in any way or form :)
Yes, that is me.

Check this out.. authentic $15 Chinese mini replica of a WW2 that I painted..  more pictures in the latest build thread (and my profile page).  

The fake one looks more real than Tamiya's Jr.   LOL!  :lol:

IMG_Jun72021at61925PM.thumb.jpg.7cc96798acc0ba60b95922af91bb556a.jpg

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On 6/8/2021 at 2:37 PM, Willy iine said:

Check this out.. authentic $15 Chinese mini replica of a WW2 that I painted..  more pictures in the latest build thread (and my profile page).  

The fake one looks more real than Tamiya's Jr.   LOL!  :lol:

Never seen that mini, do you have a link to eBay or similar? Your paint skills are great, love the color scheme of your models.

 

 

 

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55 minutes ago, simensays said:

Never seen that mini, do you have a link to eBay or similar? Your paint skills are great, love the color scheme of your models.

 

 

 

Thanks, I found it on Amazon, actually.  I used TS70 on the body and Tamiya's matte black spray on the interior.   For the headlights I used a philips screw head cap.  

Please copy/paste search the below on Amazon:

RC Trucks, 1:32 Remote Control Car RC Cars Drive Off-Road 2.4Ghz for Kids Climbing Car Rechargeable Batteries

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could I get more pictures of that WW2 mini knock off? That might be the answer

 

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Couple of things…

I recently bought one of the chinese 1/32 buggies linked to by @Biz73 and can kind of recommend them. Super fun, very light, superprisingly stable, but one of my two has dodgy steering.

Second point, I’ve recently got into using a Japanese auction buying service specifically to get Mini 4wd stuff — for items where the price charged by uk or US seller or importers just see crazy higher. You have to factor in a small fee (500 yen), plus delivery and your local taxes, but I think there are decent savings over some of the stuff on eBay. Plus WAY more choice, and the wonderful Japanese habit of really packaging things well. Anyway, I’m using buyee and you can see some WW Jrs here.

https://buyee.jp/item/search/query/ワイルド ウイリス Jr?translationType=1&suggest=1

ps, I get my translations for specific models from https://mini-4wd.fandom.com/wiki/Wild_Willy_Jr. 
Cos you need to search in Japanese.

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10 hours ago, Tudorp said:

could I get more pictures of that WW2 mini knock off? That might be the answer

 

Sure, it's in the recent  build thread.. page15 scroll all the way down.

 

 

 

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Awesome. Thanks..  I ordered one, and when I get it, I want to cut the grill out and make an M38 grill for it also. I am glad the small driver comes with it, because in some of the pictures on Amazon did not show a driver. I might order another one, just to get another small driver to put in my GF01 Wild Willy "Son Of Willy", next to the full driver as "Son Of Willy's" son, which would make the original Wild Willy a Grandpa.. ;)  When I get the small Wild Willy built, then I will have the Original Wild Willy, Son Of Willy, and Granson of Willy.. Going for a whole legacy theme here.. lol

 

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Well, got that little Willy in. The wife looked at me with her mouth open when I opened the box, pulled the body off, and tossed the rest in the garbage.. lol. But, of course the body will undergo paint, as will mini willy, but this is the 1:24 scale chassis it will go on. I will need to pull the electronics out, and see how I can re-fit it all in there under the body, and hopefully I can shorten the wheelbase a little. But, if I can get all that to work together, this might work out for my "Grandson Of Willy" build. 

20210614_161326.jpg

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