A quick refresh of an earlier model...
Status: Restored
Date: 20-Dec-2021
Comments: 2
Recently my son graduated from technical college and started preparing to launch into his first career-related job. He wanted to lighten his load anticipating the move out of our house. Several old toys, books, clothes, and other items were collected and donated to local charities. The vintage Erector set went back to Grandpa for use with his American Flyer trains. He offered me his old RCs I had bought and built with him ten years ago, so of course I opted to hang onto them. We have some good memories of driving touring cars in the cul-de-sac and going to the local park with our buggies and monster trucks to tackle the BMX track jumps. I know RCs aren't high on his list of priorities right now, but in another 20 years or so he might start to feel nostalgic for simpler times, just as many of us in Tamiyaclub feel today. With the future in mind I set out to refresh this model and give it some love so it's ready for him in the future.
Ten years ago I had already built a few 58450 TT01R Type E chassis kits, so when we bought this base TT01 kit I simply finished the body shell and put it on an 'R' chassis. The base TT01 chassis was sold. My son also wanted a Subaru WRX shell and some rally wheels/tires, so we added those bits as well. My wife used her sewing skills to create a dirt cover/filter from a shop rag and some Velcro. The cover kept the majority of the outdoor debris out of the chassis tub but allowed some airflow for the ESC and Sport Tuned motor.
With all the use came the usual scratches under the chassis, and plenty of microscopic pebbles and grass accumulated throughout the car. Back then I followed Tamiya's instructions to the letter and greased all the joint cups and dogbones, so those were loaded up with dirt. All the bearings had dirt clinging to them as the grease gradually leaked past the metal shields. Overall the chassis was scratched, greasy, dirty, and dusty; the body was dusty for the most part with a few stickers lifting in certain areas.
Anticipating this refresh I purchased a new TT01 chassis tub and a set of 'B' bumper parts about a month ago. The game plan was to disassemble and clean everything, then rebuild with the fresh parts. The first step was blasting everything with an air compressor. Disassembly was easy. I probably spent a few hours cleaning everything and inspecting for wear and damage. I rebuilt the dampers with fresh oil and trimmed the body posts; they had been left long originally.
I blasted the body shell with the air compressor as well, and then wiped any remaining dust off. There were a few stickers lifting and I warmed them with a hair dryer. That worked to a certain degree but eventually I'll have to use some adhesive or tape to hold a few edges in place. While the tail lights are just stickers, I appreciate how Tamiya provided a molded grill, headlight reflectors, and mirrors to add some depth and detail.
It cleaned up well and I'm glad to have one of these as it seems Tamiya no longer has a licensing agreement with BMW. It'll look good on the shelf and it'll be waiting for the day my son wants to revisit his childhood once again.
Comments
scollins
Nice post Paul,,,really great car. Would have never known this was ever used at all from just seeing the photos!
GEMINIJETS
I do have 2 of this beautiful body for my later projects!! Well done, the BMW looks just so sexy!!
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