Maybe the best $40 I ever spent in this hobby

[markbt73]

I've been using this Tamiya tool kit, part number 74085, for a week now... and I already can't live without it. Two sizes of JIS (not Philips) screwdrivers, a flathead, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mm hex drivers, and 5.5 and 7mm nut drivers. All fit snugly on their respective fasteners and feel good and solid. Use them without the big handle for delicate stuff, or slip it on for comfort and a little extra torque when you need it.

Seriously - get one. If you work on RC cars as much as I do, you need decent tools. And these are the best I've found without springing for Hudy or something.

[Juggular]

They say "Good carpenters don't complain about his tools." But sometimes "Good tools can turn a good carpenter into a Great one."  

I still don't have that set, I might get it if I see one around lower $30s.  I already have good JIS drivers, excellent hex set, but I still don't have nut drivers.  Besides, it's just convenient to have everything in one neat container.  

(Edit: I admire clean and organized workspace! Mine is always a total mess)

[mike in pa]

I bought that set off of amazon back in January for about $25. Work great.

[Willy iine]

The right tools make.a world of difference.   

[Rb4276]

The jis of that set are great but the hex are garbage. If you ever need hexes get mip

[nel33]

a good set of phillips drivers with sharp fine tips work well but that small JIS driver for the diff gear covers is almost more valuable than the T tool provided in the kit. i got that kit to have proper tools and something that worked wonders on the super stressful work on RC diffs. those 2x8mm screws a pain in the butt under the best of circumstances. i pretty much paused my first TT02 build until that tool kit came in.

[Glowingtomato]

These tools are great except for the fact I snapped the smallest hex driver off. I was trying to remove a stubborn grub screw and it bent and snapped. I still use the set and love it. I did build plenty of kits and used them for my non-Tamiya RCs as well, so it got plenty of use. 

 

[Silverado]

I also really like this set!

 

I have the black handle tamiya jis drivers also, but these are much more comfortable.

I have eds,hudy etc brand names also, yes the hex drivers are tougher on other brands but I still like this little set more. And it makes field fixes super easy to have everything needed ready to grap and go.

I like the big jis driver a lot, I use it on every screw in the home also. better then regular philips drivers on normal screws also.

[berman]

5 hours ago, Juggular said:

They say "Good carpenters don't complain about his tools." But sometimes "Good tools can turn a good carpenter into a Great one."  

I still don't have that set, I might get it if I see one around lower $30s.  I already have good JIS drivers, excellent hex set, but I still don't have nut drivers.  Besides, it's just convenient to have everything in one neat container.  

(Edit: I admire clean and organized workspace! Mine is always a total mess)

I'm in a similar boat. I have Tamiya #1 and #2 screwdrivers, MIP hex drivers, but no nut drivers. I looked for Tamiya ones, couldn't find any, but I might pony up for MIP ones.

I now have no need for this set, and I think swapping the handles would annoy me.

Buy it's Tamiya, so do I buy it anyway? 😄

 

[sosidge]

3 hours ago, nel33 said:

a good set of phillips drivers with sharp fine tips work well but that small JIS driver for the diff gear covers is almost more valuable than the T tool provided in the kit. i got that kit to have proper tools and something that worked wonders on the super stressful work on RC diffs. those 2x8mm screws a pain in the butt under the best of circumstances. i pretty much paused my first TT02 build until that tool kit came in.

Trust me, don't even waste your time with a Phillips, go straight to a JIS.

Even a Phillips that feels good is slowly wearing the screw head out.

[Mad Ax]

I've had this set for a good few years now.  I can't remember exactly when I got it, but it was a while back.  It's still my only JIS screwdriver set so it gets used for all my Tamiya work and also for some heavier stuff on cars and motorbikes.  After all those years it's still going strong, the screwdrivers aren't worn and the handle still grips perfectly.

The hex drivers have worn, the small one isn't especially great now and prone to slipping inside a grub.  I've got other hex drivers (HPI and Fastrax) and they've worn just as bad, I need to get some new ones later this year.

I find the constant handle-swapping a bit annoying, but not so annoying that I've hunted down individual drivers to go on the rack.  In a perfect world I'd have a full rack of matching JIS, hex and nut drivers on the wall and keep the Tamiya kit for portability, because it's so neat to have at the track, but I just haven't found it a big enough deal to track down the tools I'd need.

[jupitertwo]

The JIS drivers definetly. I'd also recommend the ratchet driver too (https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344741526/) #74152. I've only just got it, but it's been lovely to use so far.

The hex drivers though, are awful. As @Mad Ax has just mentioned, they wear, and I've found pretty quickly. I've two sets of the #74085 and both the 1.5mm hex are pretty useless now. I've bought some Arrowmax drivers which seem much stronger, though still not infallible.

The swapping I don't find too bad, except when it's hard to get the handle off

[BuggyGuy]

Tamiya JIS screw drivers are great, but as others have said the hex drivers in this kit aren't great - I would imagine the TRF ones are good though (if you can find them!) 

Hudy hex drivers are excellent, they are expensive but you only need a couple (and you can always pickup just the driver quite cheap and use handles you already might have). They are spring steel I believe and last a long time. 

[Silverado]

Seems weird that I have never had an issue with the hex bits in this set but so many of you have. 

There is plenty of the hex on the handle so it can be cut  a bit if the tool should wear?

[Alangt4]

24 minutes ago, Silverado said:

Seems weird that I have never had an issue with the hex bits in this set but so many of you have. 

There is plenty of the hex on the handle so it can be cut  a bit if the tool should wear?

Yeah I cut the hex drivers or grind the smaller ones off.

Wish I knew about jis screws back in the 90s… as well as don’t tighten everything up so much!

[nel33]

7 hours ago, sosidge said:

Trust me, don't even waste your time with a Phillips, go straight to a JIS.

Even a Phillips that feels good is slowly wearing the screw head out.

I was using a craftsman no 2 phillips, it wanted to slip every where. I got a sharp master craft no2 phillips which fits great, nice and snug without slipping. Though if I have the JIS kit on the table then I reach for JIS first rather than go phillips. This exception only applied to the no2 phillips. The handy JIS grip is very useful. I got my good phillips in the tool box but have tamiya set on the work table.

[markbt73]

Wow, it sounds like some folks are hard on their 1.5mm hex drivers... I just recently wore out the Dynamite 1.5mm one I've been using for 10 years now, and the 2mm one is getting a bit sloppy, which is what made me go looking for tools in the first place. But that's after I can't even begin to guess how many uses...

I have noticed that the screw heads vary enormously in quality (and size), especially on the Chinese kits (RC4WD hardware is awful). But on a decent quality kit, I can't imagine breaking or rounding off a hex driver under normal use. How tight are you guys cranking down things like pinion screws? Snug with a tiny dab of gel threadlock is all I ever do, and it's fine. Stays put, and comes loose easily.

[Badcrumble]

I've had two of those sets, one for home and one for the office!

The big handle is great for my son when he gets wrenching.

I recently bough some MIP hex drivers which can go in a ratchet screwdriver like the one listed by @jupitertwo as I've had a stubby one in my tool case for ages. My big Stanley ratchet screwdriver is my favourite tool ever so I was hoping to replicate that feeling when working on my RC, plus there's an awful lot of work to do on my SCX1iii and my Tamiya hexes are a little worn by now.

I have subsequently acquired one of the JIS drivers fro Plaza Japan too. Might be this one

https://www.plazajapan.com/4950344699322/

but may regret not buying the Tamiya ratcheting screwdriver if I don't get on with my existing ratchet handle.

 

[Grastens]

Can definitely vouch for these! I was amazed at just how easy working on Tamiya kits was after getting this tool set. I have had no problems with the hex drivers, either, except for some applications where they are too long to fit.

The large JIS head even fits some of the small JIS screws! Ah, the right tools for the job...

[DeadMeat666]

I have had a similar experience with the Tamiya set. The JIS drivers are absolutely fantastic, but the hexes are beginning to wear out, and I've only had this set for a year and a half. I now have Hudy hexes to complement the Tamiya set, and MIP hex bits for when I need to use the electric driver. As for the nut drivers, I rarely use them because the standard Tamiya box wrench is so much better at getting into tight spaces. If I had to do it all over again, I'd just get the JIS drivers.

[Willy iine]

The Wiha/Wera drivers some of you may have seen in my pictures are all Phillips based, but they have been modified to fit JIS screws.   Can't really go the other way around, but one can buy a regular Phillips head driver at a local hardware store and file the tip to shorten and make the + a perfect right angle where the two lines meet and you basically got yourself a JIS compatible screw driver.   I make my own tools for a lot of things so was a quick 5 min mod.   My drivers never slip.  I own JIS drivers, but I prefer the Wiha/Wera grip and lengths, so this is why I do what I do.