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Saito2

Super Dragon chassis ramblings

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The Super (Storm) Dragon body finally got a "home" on the Hornet chassis as Tamiya made it an official release recently. I wasn't going to bite on the full kit, but I did purchase the body. I must admit, it will take some time getting used to seeing it on the Hornet chassis I have for it. I always envisioned it on the Thundershot chassis as a kid thanks to the lack of info in the pre-internet days of the 80's

I was first introduced to the Super Dragon and Thunder Dragon in the '88 Tamiya catalog, but not the RC versions. They were standouts in a group shot of Tamiya's Racing Mini 4WD "Junior" series. All the other Jrs. had fullsize equivalents in RC. But these to did not. Stylistically they were quite different from the others. As a kid I was beginning to notice the trend toward "spaceship" buggies with examples like Tyco's Aero Turbo Hopper replacing the the standard Turbo Hopper on the TV ads. I merely thought Tamiya was getting into this too, but the lack of 1/10 variants in the catalog confused me. They were labeled as "Juniors" so there must have been a bigger brother somewhere. Perhaps in Japan, not to be imported? At the time, I didn't know. Of course, I would get to see the RC version of the Thunder Dragon in short order, but alas, no Super Dragon. I always thought it would be another Thundershot chassis vehicle like its brother the Thunder Dragon and later, the Fire Dragon.

It wasn't until the information age that I discovered that the trio were originally optional bodies for the Hornet chassis before two of them found permanent homes on the T-shot chassis. The only clue that something was up was how the front shocks were portrayed on the Mini Jr versions. The Thunder and Fire Dragons both had sizable, yellow CVA shocks (mono and twin at the front, respectively) but the Mini versions only showed small twin springs in their molding details....just like that of the Hornet Jr.....hmmm.

I've put aside my push to collect all the T-shot buggies or all the Dragon ones but I will get a Thunder Dragon example and Super Dragon example to remind me of that old '88 catalog. I guess I'll just have to get used to it on a Hornet chassis (it appears to be cut for the Hornet's nerf bars). The strange things we think when we're kids playing detective before information was so readily flowing.

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Love this post, and did not know about all three being originally for the hornet chassis. Nor did I even notice that the shocks on the mini 4wds looks so puny. 

Nice detective work, indeed! But so glad the TD and FD ended up on the much beefier-looking Thundershot chassis. I know the hornet chassis is cute, but these guys need a bit more presence.

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Now I've always preferred to see the super dragon on the hornet or gh2 chassis!?

Shame there's a lack of affordable fox wheels at the moment!

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1 hour ago, Bwaaatch said:

Nice detective work, indeed! But so glad the TD and FD ended up on the much beefier-looking Thundershot chassis. I know the hornet chassis is cute, but these guys need a bit more presence.

Thanks.:) Seeing the TD and FD on the Hornet chassis just looks so strange to me now. Well put!

2 minutes ago, taffer said:

Now I've always preferred to see the super dragon on the hornet or gh2 chassis!?

Shame there's a lack of affordable fox wheels at the moment!

I thought the Super Stormy Dragon looked a little silly as released with the standard Hornet wheels/tires. I will admit it looks more at home with Fox wheels. Its growing on me. Fortunately I have some spare Fox wheels to fit when my body arrives. It helps that the SD has a more lithe, dart-like shape for the more slender Hornet chassis. The TD and FD just seem wider or more brawny looking to me, befitting the 4wd chassis.

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Never do what I have done and fit the kit tyres to fav wheels, absolute nightmare, 30mins per wheel approx. to install, didn't realise the fav wheels were so much larger!

img2692_1228202043505_1_1100_.jpg

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Take back what I said about preferring TShot chassis. This looks sweet! The skinniness of the super Dragon perhaps helps.

Also, thinking about it, the classic Dash Yonkuro Mini 4wd cartoon renders all the mini 4wd cars with a front bumper that is a direct reference to the hornet/hopper.

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Conversely, there is something irks me to no end about the Fire Dragon body on the Thundershot chassis. The body is positioned too far forward. The nose of the shell hangs out in space, while the rear doesn't cover the rear shock tower. Drives me crazy. The shock tower hanging out the rear isn't just a Fire Dragon issue with this chassis either. The Dash One Emperor body set and even Thundershot body are guilty of this (although I tend to give the Thundershot a pass as the whole body is small and minimalist, plus had an optional wing as well). Judged by that, the Terra Scorcher and Thunder Dragon seem to fit the best.   

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The tshot was designed that way so will look the best (imo).

The other bodies don't irk me really, the dash-1 would probably look best on the gh2 chassis (I'm planning on doing this!).

My irk is the poor terra scorcher wing mount, awful that it lets it sit so low and sloppy.

I'd certainly buy a new design if someone does one on shapeways!

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Got it together today. I cut out the "storm" part of the logo and patterned the decals closer to the original Super Dragon format. I've got an order in to TBG/MCI for a Thunder Dragon setup for my T-Shot chassis. I didn't know if I should trust the availability (or more likely, just how high the cost will be) of the upcoming re-re, so I played it safe and got the repro parts. It will be nice to have the pair in the collection.

20210131_181816 (2)

 

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2 minutes ago, kontemax said:

One of the ugliest things Tamiya ever made imho.

Max

I like the quirkiness!🤣

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9 minutes ago, taffer said:

I like the quirkiness!🤣

There's a lot of quirkness in the Super Dragon..

Max

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On 1/29/2021 at 8:23 PM, taffer said:

Now I've always preferred to see the super dragon on the hornet or gh2 chassis!?

Shame there's a lack of affordable fox wheels at the moment!

I got the JC Racing Products Ultima pepperpot wheels to stand in for the broken Super G wheels on Ultra G. They are 2.2", but look great, loads of colours. You would need a hex conversion for the hornet rear though. Fronts go straight on using 3 x 850 bearings per wheel (two for the wheel, one for spacing. 

Super Dragon is an odd one. I love this series, but this shell more than any of the others seems very dependent on angle of view and delicate fore/aft positioning on the chassis. Have to say both those look great though. Would be interested to see one mounted nicely to a TS chassis. 

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On 28/01/2021 at 11:44 PM, Saito2 said:

The Super (Storm) Dragon body finally got a "home" on the Hornet chassis as Tamiya made it an official release recently. I wasn't going to bite on the full kit, but I did purchase the body. I must admit, it will take some time getting used to seeing it on the Hornet chassis I have for it. I always envisioned it on the Thundershot chassis as a kid thanks to the lack of info in the pre-internet days of the 80's

I was first introduced to the Super Dragon and Thunder Dragon in the '88 Tamiya catalog, but not the RC versions. They were standouts in a group shot of Tamiya's Racing Mini 4WD "Junior" series. All the other Jrs. had fullsize equivalents in RC. But these to did not. Stylistically they were quite different from the others. As a kid I was beginning to notice the trend toward "spaceship" buggies with examples like Tyco's Aero Turbo Hopper replacing the the standard Turbo Hopper on the TV ads. I merely thought Tamiya was getting into this too, but the lack of 1/10 variants in the catalog confused me. They were labeled as "Juniors" so there must have been a bigger brother somewhere. Perhaps in Japan, not to be imported? At the time, I didn't know. Of course, I would get to see the RC version of the Thunder Dragon in short order, but alas, no Super Dragon. I always thought it would be another Thundershot chassis vehicle like its brother the Thunder Dragon and later, the Fire Dragon.

It wasn't until the information age that I discovered that the trio were originally optional bodies for the Hornet chassis before two of them found permanent homes on the T-shot chassis. The only clue that something was up was how the front shocks were portrayed on the Mini Jr versions. The Thunder and Fire Dragons both had sizable, yellow CVA shocks (mono and twin at the front, respectively) but the Mini versions only showed small twin springs in their molding details....just like that of the Hornet Jr.....hmmm.

I've put aside my push to collect all the T-shot buggies or all the Dragon ones but I will get a Thunder Dragon example and Super Dragon example to remind me of that old '88 catalog. I guess I'll just have to get used to it on a Hornet chassis (it appears to be cut for the Hornet's nerf bars). The strange things we think when we're kids playing detective before information was so readily flowing.

Also to reinforce this, the fire dragon body mount holes fit the hornet body mounts perfectly. Although I must admit it looks better on the thundershot chassis

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On 2/1/2021 at 2:58 PM, kontemax said:

One of the ugliest things Tamiya ever made imho.

Max

It's funny, a month ago, I would have agreed with you.

I saw the Super Storm Dragon release on the Hornet chassis and thought "wow, really? That's an awful body for that chassis" but after seeing this thread, in particular the cars with Fox or Wild One wheels, I will admit that it's growing on me a bit.

That said, I wouldn't buy one on purpose, but if someone gave one to me, or I got one in a lot with a bunch of other stuff, I wouldn't turn it down or try to sell it on. In fact, I'd probably spruce it up and make a runner out of it.

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