The Hunter's Arrow

[Saito2]

Radio Shack/Tandy purist will throw rocks at me, but I finally went forward modifying the unwanted Golden Arrow that has sat in my basement for years. It was not a perfect example to begin with being found in the bottom of a bin filled with toy-grade RC cars at a flea market with no controller. It had seen plenty of use (read: scratched up) and the stickers were peeling and curling.

I usually don't like to deviate from stock paint schemes on my Tamiya vehicles but I have been impressed with the recent reinterpretations from Blockhead Motors. One of these was a two-tone Grasshopper with what looked like white and Camel yellow. With Ebay prices set on "stupid" at the moment, getting a cheap cast off Grasshopper wasn't looking good but I did have that Golden Arrow hanging around so...

I went through the old Nikko F10 buggy in disguise as Tandy one, replacing the electronics, adding bearings and Hornet wheels and rubber. Going through my spring collection, I found old Kyosho black springs allowed for actual suspension movement (the stock springs' stiffness appears to be spec'd for something like a Mack truck). When it was all together, I was happy with it, but it looked very familiar to me. I have a sneaking suspicion the Blockhead Grasshopper's scheme was possibly inspired by the old Marui Hunter (and is probably what drew me to it in the first place) so now I have a Golden Arrow inspired by the Hunter as well, hence the "Hunter's Arrow" . A quick question about what folks used on their Hunter paint jobs (Camel Yellow as it turned out) pretty much completed the story.

I did keep the NRT sticker from the Golden Arrow on this new iteration. Nikko snuck it on the Golden Arrow (Nikko Racing Team) originally and I felt I should carry on the tradition.