My First Kyosho
This is updated with comparison photos of the Kyosho Javelin with the body shells for the Optima and Turbo Optima. These three have the same chassis design (as I understand) except for the Javelin wing.
My first Kyosho is almost finished except for decals and the driver paint.
When I started off in the hobby with my Grasshopper the 1986 Kyosho Javelin was a magazine day dream, as were most RC's of any make for me back then. Tamiya's were all my local hobby store carried and I was thrilled with the few I had in my early years.
Fast forward almost 40 years and I have my first experience building a Kyosho from that time.
This Kyosho Javelin Legendary Series was a really enjoyable build. I did it over a few days at a leisurely pace. There were no spare parts and no missing parts. Unliked Tamiya it came with a dedicated spare parts bag, which I appreciate as I often loose at least one E clip on a build. This is also my first belt drive 4WD.
For upgrades I put in front and rear universal drive shafts and aluminum front link mounts. The dampers are a Kyosho upgrade that come with the Optima Pro. The kit came with all of the needed bearings. For a motor I used the Tazer Twin 2-in1 3000Kv brushless motor / ESC Combo. The power seems suitable and it frees up space. The red color is a nice bit of flash. It says for 2S so I could up my low maintenance NiMH battery for more power if needed. I also use this motor in my TD4.
I painted the top deck with TS primer, TS42, and clear. The carbon fiber is a nice upgrade but I wanted the original aluminum look and to save a few RC coins.
The chassis seems very exposed for running outside. Maybe this makes it easier to clean out?
I was pleasantly surprised how well the build went together with the slightly more challenging instructions from what I'm used to with Tamiya. What made them more challenging is the lack of stand alone parts information on the side of the pages that Tamiya does. However, the 1:1 illustrations on the Kyosho diagrams were clear enough for me.
Another small difference I find useful about Tamiya instructions is that the bag parts section is organized by the individual bag letters. Kyosho does this by type, so all screws are listed together by size and total kit quantity, where as Tamiya shows what screws are in each bag even if they repeat in other bags.
The quality and fit of the Kyosho kit parts has a premium feel.
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Comments
mtbkym01
Very nice build. I love what you’ve done with the top deck, thats a great idea.
Cameron PS
Thank you! I was going for a more monochromatic look, however I imagine that more colorful ideas could be fun on the deck too.
GToddC5
Man I love this! So cool how the red pops like a red barn in a field of white snowy woods - so cool!
Cameron PS
That’s a wonderful analogy! There is something kind of calming and exciting about the white and red motor. I hadn’t thought about associations before now. I suppose it could also echo the national flag of Japan, white with a red circle, 'flag of the sun'.
MAD-BEE
Kyosho kits are real quality and the javelin is a classic if a little in the Optima's shadow slightly! But basically equals! Love the pics and time taken on your right up!
Cameron PS
Thank you! I enjoyed getting to know this chassis and brand a little. It’s fun to see the differences and similarities from Tamiya’s mid 1980s designs and materials.
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