The Mighty Bigwig
I always thought the Bigwig wasn't a very cool car as I flicked through my Tamiya RC Guidebook as a kid. Now I'm older I think I'm starting to really appreciate what is a very special 10th Anniversary car.
The ultimate 'Hotshot' style car was always going to be difficult. The front shocks are really just a bit too upright for both looks and handling and the rack and pinion steering, although novel, isn't really the best way to steer a heavy RC car, especially not on a Futaba S148 servo! Its also just a bit too big and heavy, unlike the more lithe HotShot II.
The positives are fantastic though! Ballraces, 8.4v battery pack, technigold(!), incredible looking shell and two aerials! - What's that about? The wheels are ahead of their time too, very light, strong and dished like modern racing wheels.
This example came to me through eBay. It had been sitting on there for 9 days with no bids, so I took a little risk by letting it end and then going in with a low offer directly, which was duly accepted :) It looked a bit nondescript in the images and I was worried about it maybe being a bit of a dog, but I couldn't have been more surprised when it turned up. I reckon it could hardly have been run, and came with all the left-overs from the build in the box, even paint and spare decals! It also came with box, manual and period radio gear.. I was feeling happier by the second!
To be fair, it needed a very good dust and some of the suspension pivots were rusty so I cleaned them up and also replaced some tarnished screws as you do... It has turned out so well though, that I think I'll describe it as New Built as I've seen worse described this way ;)
Just in case i'm feeling like a utter perfectionist, I've got a NIB body kit for it too, its staying NIB for now though. Ejoy the pics!
Comments
twinfallsbass
VERY NICE!!!! makes me want to get mine up and running
Classic RC Fan
You should! They are an underrated buggy I think, lots of thought went into it, thats for sure!
Devilsome
nice find! that looks GREAT to me! i think i'll have to get one!
DJTheo
Very nice piece of Tamiya history and photos!
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