Tim's RC Page
I built hundreds of model kits when I was a kid. 1/72 Matchbox aeroplanes to start with, then bigger and more detailed Airfix aircraft and tanks, through Revell and AMT/ERTL cars and vans and onto 1/12 Tamiya motorbikes. I used to go into my local shops in Hull every Saturday (SportsCraft and The Model Shop, both much missed) and gaze up at the huge boxes piled up to the ceiling. The biggest and most exciting were the self-assembly radio-control car kits by Tamiya but these were a long way out of reach of my pocket money. The ones I remember best were the Porsche 935 and Lancia Rally, both in Martini colours. At school, my Physics teacher established an after-hours electronics club, which turned out to be watching him slide his Tamiya Rough Rider round the teacher’s car park. He did let us have a go though. I’d had a couple of basic ready-built RC toy cars by then but it was obvious that this was in a different league. But I still couldn’t afford one.
In 1989, with spare wages burning a hole in my pocket, I decided it was about time I got my own. I knew which one I wanted too – Vanessa’s Lunchbox, the yellow van-bodied monster truck pulling a wheelie on the box. I walked into The Model Shop and walked out with ... a Midnight Pumpkin (#58070). They did have a Lunchbox in stock but I’d been seduced by the ’53 Ford pickup body. Underneath it was the same kit as the Lunchbox anyway, a CW-01 chassis with a mechanical speed controller. I went for the 'Combo Deal' which included an Acoms Techniplus 27Mhz transmitter, receiver and two servos, plus a 1200mAh NiCad battery and trickle charger. I built the kit, deviating from the instructions only by spraying it blue instead of black. Months later, when it was looking a bit battered, I stripped and rebuilt it, replacing the damaged body parts and also adding a headlight bulb kit and switch, a ballrace set and a quick charger. I also glued the rear tyres to the wheels to cure what at first seemed to be chronic clutch slip.
In 1992, I decided to get a Touring Car. Tamiya kits had beautifully accurate bodyshells but some of the other makes varied a bit, and some of the aftermarket lexan shells were plain nasty. I fancied the Kyosho RS500 Cosworth, but the chassis was a bit basic and the wheels were ugly. Time spent comparing specs and dimensions in the Kyosho catalogue led me to the solution : the Lazer ZX-Sport buggy (#3148), an RS500 bodyshell kit and a set of their F40 wheels. Bought from local shop RJ Models, again I went for the Combo Deal, so it came with Sanwa Dash Sabre 27MHz transmitter, receiver and two servos plus a 1300mAh NiCad. The buggy was belt-drive 4WD, with oil-damped shocks and independent suspension and a big step up from the Pumpkin. It still had an MSC and I upgraded the motor to a Kyosho LeMans 540S, though I somehow overlooked the ballrace kit. The bodyshell came with the wings, wiper and mirrors as well as the Eggenberger BTCC decal set, though I built it as the road car and added little numberplates. Though very competent, it wasn’t as much fun to drive as the evil-handling cartoon-ish pickup truck.
In 2002, needing a wedding present for my wife, I was inspired to build another kit. We’d bought a Mini Cooper especially to do the Italian Job rally for our honeymoon, so I thought a 1/10th replica would make a suitable gift. I really wanted the Tamiya Monte Carlo kit but couldn’t find one anywhere, so The Model Shop supplied the Racing Mini Cooper (#58211) instead. I knew she wouldn’t want to build it but I was happy to do that for her. Once again, it came with Acoms Techniplus 27Mhz transmitter, receiver and two servos, plus a 1900mAh NiCad battery and a ballrace set. This was the M-03 FWD chassis with MSC and I built it as per the instructions, cutting out and mounting the shell but leaving it unpainted – she’s a lot more artistic than me. Much later on I added the grille, spotlights and bumpers from the Monte Carlo kit to make it look like our full-size one, but 14 years on it remains unpainted !
Other than the very occasional test run, all 3 cars just sat on a shelf in the garage. I’d go and look at the kits in ModelZone but didn’t feel inspired to get another or even to run the ones I’d got. With the exception of Just Kits, all of the local shops closed down. There were a few good reference sites popping up online, on which I’d browse photos of all the old kits I’d wanted as a kid. I joined the Tamiya UK group on Facebook and noticed that they’d released Unimog 406-bodied versions of their CC-01 and CR-01 chassis kits. My first ever toy car had been a Matchbox Unimog and they were rare and funky enough to still make me smile every time I saw a real one. I thought about buying another kit but thought the Cross Country one was a bit boring and the Rock Crawler one a bit extreme. Then one day in 2013 they announced a new Unimog kit on the CW-01 wheelie chassis (#58557). I needed that. It took a couple of weeks for shops to get stock but as soon as they did, I made a trip out to ModelSport in Otley to pick one up. The old MSC had been superceded by a TEU-105BK ESC now, and the shell was lexan instead of fragile ABS. I didn’t get any radio gear or battery this time, intending to re-use some of my existing kit. I did specify a ballrace set, Carson steering servo and Tamiya’s TLU-01 LED lighting kit though. I didn’t build it straight away, I wanted to save it and take my time over it.
Then I joined another group on Facebook called IconicRC, dedicated to the old RC kits we all wanted years ago. I posted some pics of my Pumpkin, RS500 and Mini and admired everyone else’s photos of vintage Tamiya cars being restored. Lots of cars, parts and kit were changing hands and lots of upgrades were being tested and posted. I got sucked in. I found someone selling scale LED light-bars to go on the roof of emergency vehicles and bought red/blue and orange ones with a view to making the Unimog either a fire truck or rescue vehicle. Reading the kit instructions revealed that there was an optional driver figure, so I tracked down a WR-02 Willy one on Ebay and bought it. I also couldn’t resist a new RS540 SportTuned motor that we all wanted back in the day. I read up on the “5th shock mod” that Lunchbox owners had been carrying out and purchased a set of 4 Fastrax aluminium-bodied oil-damped shocks to replace the very basic standard ones and so free up one of those to make the mod. On the same lines, a front strut-brace will also be fabricated. I popped into Just Kits for the first time in 20 years and found that radio gear had moved on from 27MHz to 2.4GHz now and that battery technology had also improved from NiCad to NiMh (and LiPo, though that would be overkill for this build). There's even an aftermarket titanium wheelie bar that creates sparks...
IconicRC organised a big Revival meeting July 2014 and I popped down to A1 Racing Club to see what was happening. The main buggy racing was not really my sort of thing, but the Monster & Wheelie races were hilarious and I wish I'd entered with my Pumpkin. Maybe I need a Beetle/Blackfoot to enter the Monster race too ? There were some stunning cars in the concours competition and everyone was friendly and keen to answer my daft questions. I bought a few raffle tickets which helped the event raise over £1800 for charity.
When I got home, I did a stocktake of my RC stuff and then bought a 20-year-old Beatties kit bag to keep it all in - well, everyone at the meet seemed to have one ! With some gift vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, I also bought a new CORE 2.4Ghz 3-ch Tx/Rx and a 4300mAh NiMh battery and quick charger. Now I have everything I need to start the the 'mog.
But first I started dreaming up projects. And when a Wild Willy 2 (#58242) popped up for sale on the IconicRC page, I took the plunge. I had plans to strip it and give it a twist...
I tested my new fast charger and NiMh battery, and then stuck it in each car in turn to give 'em a brief run. Despite it being probably 10 years since some of them last ran, they were all fine and all 3 transmitters worked too.
Another old car I always liked was the Nissan King Cab (#58081) and after missing a couple on Ebay I managed to win the third one. I was just expecting a basic 'roller' but it came with a TMS Racing motor, Acoms 27Mhz transmitter and Tamiya CPR-01 combined receiver/ESC plus a Futaba steering servo and some spares. With fresh batteries, both transmitter and truck worked fine. It's actually got a TBG aftermarket shell with genuine Tamiya decals, and a sealed ballrace set. I also bought the Tamiya 40th Anniversary book from Banzai in Japan along with a few other accessories. Much cheaper than the UK, until you factor in shipping, customs charges and the unreasonable Parcelforce admin fee...
Christmas holidays, time for some work. Amongst the KingCab spares were brand new 'B' parts so I replaced the badly-scuffed front and rear bumpers with shiny new ones. I also swapped the bent blue aerial tube for a new clear one, tidied up the wiring and cleaned up the wheels. Finally, on the shell I finished off the front/rear lights and added some black vinyl to the rollbar.
Kingcab sorted, it was Willy time. This one was getting a proper rebuild so I removed the surprisingly-complicated shell from the WR-02 chassis and dismantled it. Watch this space for a radical new paintjob and driver. In the meantime I swapped the orange aerial tube for a new clear one, tidied up the wiring and swapped the anodised blue wheelnuts for plain ones.
Some post-Christmas Ebay purchases : a new Lunchbox body kit (to go on the Unimog chassis), some KingCab and WW2 parts, and - with a view to customising - plastic sheet and beams, paint and masking tape. And a 4/5mm spanner that would have been very helpful in dismantling Willy in the first place. In order to fit front/rear lights to it, I also got some white/red LED's, 4 Fastrax light buckets, some JR connectors and an on/off switch. There's another recommended mod for the Lunchbox so I also bought one of FX-10 kits from CRP in the USA so I can convert the Unimog to double-wishbone front suspension.
Despite not finishing the WW2 or even starting the Unimog yet, I made another impulse purchase. Back in 1989, Kyosho made 1/8th RC GP bikes (RGV/NSR/YZR500) and upgraded them as the 'Hanging On Rider' series in 1997. The Honda NSR500 (#3023) was re-released in 2013 and someone on the TC forum was selling one along with a full set of upgrades : alloy gearbox, alloy swingarm, alloy sprockets, full bearing set, lightweight wheels, flywheel and high-grip tyres. He also threw in a new Trackstar brushless motor and ESC combo. I bought a Hitec HS225BB mini steering servo but I need a small 2.4Ghz receiver (HK3100) and a mini battery now.
Time to see if any of this stuff works then. First I rigged up the 2.4Ghz Rx with its own battery supply and plugged in the servo. That worked and I didn't even need to press the Bind button. I also tested the LED's and the emergency lighting beacon which both worked fine but didn't react to the 3rd channel switch - more thought required there. Then I hooked up the ESC and motor to a temporary NiMh battery and connected that. I needed to download a manual for the ESC to work out how to configure it but once done, success.
Right, back to Willy. I modified the shell for the lights - at the front, large holes were cut into the grille and the mounting brackets filed back to suit. The light buckets had to be modified too. At the back, some simple L-brackets were made and small holes drilled in the tailgate for the wires. Then it was time for paint - a full can of Tamiya white spray primer. While that was drying, I repainted Willy, I mean Kitty...
Yes, in a homage to Japanese kitsch, I'm creating Wild Kitty 2. I've seen some briliant reworked WW2 drivers but I've not seen a Hello Kitty one before. I'd kept the Kitty-shaped plastic box that some sweets came in and it was the perfect size. Off with his head !
I wanted an urban-camo paintjob so bought pink and black spraycans to go with the matt white base. My wife then came up with the brilliant suggestion of using a Kitty shape design for the masking. So I cut 40 Kitty heads out of masking sheet, stuck them on and sprayed everything pink. 40 more Kitty stickers went on top, then several coats of black paint. Would it work ? Ta-daa ! Cat-ouflage...
I've used far too much paint, and there were a few dodgy areas where paint had bled under the masks but overall it was what I was hoping for. I tidied a few bits up with a brush then rebuilt all the components of the shell. Finally I fitted the light buckets, LED's and wiring.
There's a couple of bits I'm not that happy with but it's done.
I spotted a larger WW2 at the seaside and couldn't resist a quick go ! And one day I was rummaging through the attic and found these - my old Pumpkin and Lunchbox Jr's, battery-powered 4WD mini trucks. They did a Unimog, a Willy and a KingCab too, guess I'd better start searching Ebay...
More Ebay purchases for the Unibox/Lunchmog : new white wheels, tyres, machined alloy body mounts and a receiver switch for controlling the lights remotely. Time to start this build now. And I finally managed to get a mini receiver for the bike.
Future plans ? Well, Tamiya have just announced a new Unimog 425 CC-01 which is tempting. You can still buy a new Porsche 935 as a Tamtech kit and I’m also thinking about making my own Lancia Rally by buying a new Tamiya Brat (#58384) and an 037 bodyshell kit (#84355). And on that subject...
I've also snapped up a brand-new Kyosho PureTen bodyshell (#39754) for the BTCC Laguna. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet but this is one of my favourite cars, reminding me of my brief career as a works driver for Williams Renault...
But these need building first.
So, time to start the Fuzzbox. So named because I'd settled on a NYPD theme for the Lunchbox shell. I had to make my own decals on a laser-printer, but the paint was just 3 coats of light-blue and the masking wasn't too difficult. I had to touch up a few bits with a brush but I was quite pleased with the results. The hardest part was wiring in 2 headlights, 2 rearlights, 8 flashing emergency lights and the roof light-bar, in two circuits so that they can be switched separately.
More stuff ? Yes, a mate was clearing out his attic and kindly donated all his RC stuff to me. There's a nice TL01 Skyline, a Kyosho HiRider II and a pile of spares and accessories.
Finally, the Unimog is started ! I tested the electrics and zeroed the servo, then built it up to the state you see below. It has the kit TEU-105BK ESC, the Core CR151 2.4GHz Rx, Carson CR-3 steering servo, RC-Bearings ballrace kit, Sport-Tuned motor, Fastrax oil-damped alloy shocks, Pro-Line tyre foams and HPI NiMh battery. It should also have the 5th-shock mod and the FX-10 front suspension mods, but I was short of parts to do that. I fitted the white wheels and the alloy Lunchbox body mounts...
...and then the next day I fitted the Fuzzbox shell. I've wired in a roof switch that controls all the lights, but I'll modify it for remote switching when I get my head round that. I bought some Fastrax 55mm shocks, some 3mm threaded bar and a pack of turnbuckle ends and balls, so the rest of the mods should be possible now.
Time for some stocktaking...
...and some photos.
June 2016 and I couldn't resist buying a Lowride Pumpkin (#58594). Released a couple of years earlier, it's the old Pumpkin shell on the RWD M06 racing chassis. I have a vision of how mine's going to look, so with the addition of a set of bearings, a servo and a receiver it was time to start. Sadly I didn't find it particularly enjoyable and by the time I'd reached the motor install I was bleeding all over the instructions. I picked it up the next day and things improved. It's now at the point where I can play with alternative wheels and modifying the body.
HPI Vintage, MX60 and BBS-style dished wheels/tyres in 3/6mm offsets widen the track but don't give the look I want, even when combined with hop-up rear uprights (zero toe-in) and wider hexes and new silver rear springs. I've added the ESC, receiver and servo now so it does at least run. In other news, 3D-printing has really taken off in the RC world...
I finally got round to painting it, didn't make a great job but I'm bored of it now to be honest. I replaced the tailgate and grille with original Ford-branded ones from my 1989 spares, made a wooden bed and cut the posts down.
Meanwhile, the Unimog kit got hijacked by the Fuzzbox build, leaving me with a spare shell/wheels/tyres. So when I spotted someone selling a brand-new Lunchbox kit minus shell/wheels/tyres, it seemed rude not to. Of course, then I needed a ESC, a receiver, a servo and a set of bearings. It just needs the lights wiring in and the driver painting now.
Something else added to the to-do pile...
And someone offered me a tatty Corvette shell for my HiRider2.
The trucks came out for the snow.
There are loads of great RC sites and forums online but I particularly love the comprehensive and detailed site by Tamiya-obsessive BlackHoleSun and the inspiring builds documented on Tamiya Club.
