Jump to content
markbt73

I understand now why they called it the "Bigpig"

Recommended Posts

Just got my Bigwig re-re to the roller stage. It's not exactly a feather, is it?... Got curious and weighed it: 2 pounds 14 ounces (a little under 1300 grams) with no ESC or battery.

Feels good, though, I was afraid the rack and pinion would be sloppy, but it's nice and tight. Curious to see how it runs, but I'm not there yet...

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, markbt73 said:

Just got my Bigwig re-re to the roller stage. It's not exactly a feather, is it?... Got curious and weighed it: 2 pounds 14 ounces (a little under 1300 grams) with no ESC or battery.

Feels good, though, I was afraid the rack and pinion would be sloppy, but it's nice and tight. Curious to see how it runs, but I'm not there yet...

It’s a great runner. Runs much better than the hotshot family. With a 2S lipo and stock motor even, it runs good. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I finished mine a month ago.  One of my first builds in almost 30 years.  I have a Manta Ray from 1991 so with my grandchildren I built a Terra Scorcher and a Bigwig.  It isn't as nimble as the Manta or TS but it's really a fun ride.  Enjoy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was cognizant of the old Bigpig name when I built mine. The wide tub chassis on looks alone made it seem portly compared to its Hot Shot series brethren. The full 8.4v experience touted on the promo vids means tacking another cell in there which does add weight. Finally, I imagine the older, slower/lower torque servos probably conspired with the unique rack system to make the cars response seem slow and sluggish BITD. On driving mine with the 8.4v setup on high grip grass, I noticed what seemed like more lean in the corners and, if pressed, an occasional flip. Overall, somewhat of an off road Cadillac from the 70's. I backed down to 7.2v and the car is still quite quick. Because of the modern servo I used, the steering was fine. Despite lacking a lot of visible lock, its steering performance was better than a standard Hot Shot or Super Shot. I'm curious how it would compare back-to-back against a Boomerang steering-wise. Great car though and I love watching it zip about. It looks truly unique. On the other hand, it almost funny to sit one beside a Turbo Optima and imagine they were designed to go head to head with that buggy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not much into buggies, but I really like the BigWig.  Meant to get one at some point, but looks like I waited a bit too long.  Pretty much out of stock everywhere and looks like the few that are left are quite pricey.  I wouldn't get enough use out of it to justify paying over MSRP.  

Be sure to post some pictures when you're done, I love seeing them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
20 minutes ago, 87lc2 said:

Not much into buggies, but I really like the BigWig.  Meant to get one at some point, but looks like I waited a bit too long.  Pretty much out of stock everywhere and looks like the few that are left are quite pricey.  I wouldn't get enough use out of it to justify paying over MSRP.  

Be sure to post some pictures when you're done, I love seeing them.

Finished mine few weeks ago!

A65C7712-95AF-424D-A65D-AB1E1EF914C0.jpeg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice!  I like the green.  Box art is great on the Bigwig, but always nice to see alternate colors, nice job.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So here's a question, for those who have built these things... those little air scoops that are supposed to go on the underside of the body, is there any real point to them? I only ask because they look like a real pain in the you-know-what, and it doesn't look like they're visible from 99% of angles. The only real purpose I can see for them is to keep the rear wheels from kicking up dirt and gunk into the tub. Are they worth fighting with? Did anybody else leave them off?

1677003491_ScreenShot2021-01-01at12_36_09PM.png.4c81ade0805cc7aec5cfb2a2013dada1.png

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
38 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

The only real purpose I can see for them is to keep the rear wheels from kicking up dirt and gunk into the tub.

That's the only purpose I could see for them too so I put them on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I left them off when I built mine. I haven't had any issues with dirt getting in the chassis either.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, markbt73 said:

So here's a question, for those who have built these things... those little air scoops that are supposed to go on the underside of the body, is there any real point to them? I only ask because they look like a real pain in the you-know-what, and it doesn't look like they're visible from 99% of angles. The only real purpose I can see for them is to keep the rear wheels from kicking up dirt and gunk into the tub. Are they worth fighting with? Did anybody else leave them off?

1677003491_ScreenShot2021-01-01at12_36_09PM.png.4c81ade0805cc7aec5cfb2a2013dada1.png

That’s the reason Tamiya gave for them too so you’re correct on the purpose of them. I didn’t use, it’s going to get dirty inside regardless if you actually use car. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OK, thanks all. Not going to bother with them for now, but I'll keep them in case I want to add them on later.

Chassis is finished and ready to run, completely stock except for one tiny thing... the only ESC I have on hand for this is a TBLE-02S, which it turns out is just a tiny bit too tall to fit under the upper chassis brace/battery strap thingy. So I added some clearance:

144704465_ScreenShot2021-01-01at3_51_44PM.png.2ae518c1823e09548539847005cb5173.png

Still need to smooth out the edges of the cutout, and then it will look like it was made that way on purpose. Funny that their own brand of speed control won't fit without modification, but whatever.

  • Sad 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I put the scoops on mine when I built it but I used extra cement as the sticky straps did not hold well. As for the ESC, I will send a picture of mine. I think it came with the TBLE-02S and I didn't modify anything. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
37 minutes ago, MrBlz said:

I put the scoops on mine when I built it but I used extra cement as the sticky straps did not hold well. As for the ESC, I will send a picture of mine. I think it came with the TBLE-02S and I didn't modify anything. 

It doesn't come with an ESC but I used the tble02s too and had no issues with the fit. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Huh... That's a completely different heat sink than my TBLE. Looks much lower profile. I wonder if there's more than one version?

Oh well. Doesn't matter, the hole is cut...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, markbt73 said:

Huh... That's a completely different heat sink than my TBLE. Looks much lower profile. I wonder if there's more than one version?

Oh well. Doesn't matter, the hole is cut...

Take pic ? And yes lol. Just make the best of it like you said.. custom 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I put my air scoops on when I built it but every time I went back to it the scoops had fell off and were sitting alongside my bigwig so I just left them off

20180125_122022.jpg

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, here it is... not my best-ever paint and decal job, but I think this is going to be a runner, so it doesn't matter much.

IMG_20210102_092455328.thumb.jpg.c5a4b7c9b9fed306edda9a7526429459.jpg

With its older sister:

IMG_20210102_092514962.thumb.jpg.8fe4a593122664770e772a4099258c82.jpg

  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice to see some love for the Bigwig, I feel embarrassed about mine, it’s been not finished for about a year, I spent a fortune on hop ups but when I tested it I was very disappointed, not in the car itself, but it has MIP ball diffs front and rear, the driveshafts just constantly fell out, 

I fitted Top Force uj,s front and rear which seemed to have solved the problem but I think I haven’t finished it because I don’t want any more issues, I am not 100% it’s fixed so it just soured the whole experience for me,

It has vintage hi caps, front arm stabiliser, Egress rims and tyres everything has been blacked out except for the rear hubs so far, the plan was to paint it red, here it is......

It looks like I am off work again so I will have time to finish it now

image.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been looking at everyone's BigWigs on this thread (very nice btw, good job!), but I couldn't help noticing something:

The angle of the front shocks is not good. Having them straight up and down means that the suspension arms will have progressively less resistance as they the shocks are compressed, which is probably what leads to the roll-overs that some are experiencing at speed. I plan to remedy this in my SHS by flipping the top front shock mounts left to right, allowing for the shocks to sit at a slight inward angle, much like the rears in all these buggies.

I wonder why they weren't designed like this to begin with.

Any thoughts?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Snappy1 said:

but it has MIP ball diffs front and rear, the driveshafts just constantly fell out, 

I'm sorry to hear that. I must admit, I'm a bit confused by the whole MIP thing. They have my sincerest gratitude for going out and making these products (quite a risk) but I hear a lot of issues with the dogbones coming out. Why? I don't remember these issues with the old Thorp stuff. Why make the Blackfoot diff only compatible with the universal driveshafts that were known to be an issue in that truck? Considering their price (which is understandable from a production/numbers standpoint however) I'd be very disappointed too.

44 minutes ago, DeadMeat666 said:

I wonder why they weren't designed like this to begin with.

TBH, I'm not sure how much insight Tamiya had into the ramifications of their design choices back then. Its probably part of the reason cars from Kyosho and Schumacher just blew past them. While those brands had insight or studied the effects geometry would have on performance, I never got that vibe from Tamiya. Tamiya just seemed to tack on extras. Monoshock(s) on the base model? Add on 4 shocks on the up-level variant. Bushings? Add some bearings. Silvercan? Give it a hotter motor. Now its special and "competitive". The original design still has its limits no matter how good the shocks or motor you put in. About the only thing, core design-wise, Tamiya did tinker with was eliminating the Hot Shot's horrible bumpsteer. Minimally, the Bigwig front end was somewhat more dedicated and allowed more travel up front than the clever, but "tacked-on" solution the Super Shot offered. Why design an upright with crazy bumpsteer in the Blackfoot series of trucks? It doesn't take a super scientist to figure out some minor tweaks could really cut down on it. On the other hand, all those issue give us enthusiast the fun of working out solutions which is cool. By the time the Thundershot came around, I feel Tamiya had begun to think a couple steps ahead in what their designs would lead to on the track. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The bolt-upright shocks do look a little strange, but the feel of the suspension is really impressive, at least on the bench. It feels better balanced between the front and rear than any of the other Hotshot variants I've seen (which is all but the Supershot). How well it actually works, I can't say yet, but if it's less "floppy" than the Hotshot or Boomerang mono-shock setup, it'll be a huge improvement.

And I'm not convinced that performance was really the point of cars like the Bigwig. It was a 10th anniversary special, highly stylized, and based on an outgoing drivetrain design instead of the new Thundershot design, which must have already been on the drawing boards by then. It feels very much like what it is: a last hurrah for the first-generation of 4WD buggies. I imagine the money spent on the Bigwig went into the body design and making it "cool" rather than worrying too much about beating Kyosho. In fact, a lot of Tamiya's decisions, then and now, seem to be based on what kids in Japan think is cool, and not on beating anyone else on a race track.

Also, you need to remember that no one was doing CAD back then. Even the original RC10 was designed on paper. You really didn't know how well something was going to work until you made one and tested it. Tamiya's emphasis, again, seems to be on the cool factor, with actual performance being an afterthought. Bump-steer and other issues seem like the product of an "eh, good enough" attitude towards performance, whereas I imagine every decal set went through rounds and rounds of revisions to make sure they looked exactly right. It's just a different way of approaching the hobby.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Big Pig what? The Boomerang weights about 100 grams less.

Anyways, I like your red Big Wig!  If I had another one I might try some red color. Front shock towers in flat black or silver would make it look even better imho.

Here's a couple of pictures of some 1:1 pigs:

2xCC9Lu.jpeg

l8edzYM.jpeg

A lil more info here: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=104764&id=23692

Finally, if you go to the main TC page consider yourself invited to join our BIGWIG Owners & Enthusiasts SIG :)

Link here: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/sig_member.asp?id=205

  • Like 1

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...