Tamiya Bruiser (2012)

The Tamiya Bruiser.  If there was one kit that I ever wanted more than any other when I was a kid, it was the Bruiser.  The iconic picture of the Bruiser (58048) jumping over a sand dune at full speed always made my heart race.

The original Bruiser went out of production sometime in the late 1980's.   Since that time, it has been one of the most desirable kits for collectors and enthusiasts to have.  Even after the Mountaineer (58111) was released, the Bruiser maintained its status as a must-have vehicle.  I remember calling hobby shops all over the country looking for a Bruiser kit to no avail in the early 1990's.  Of course, this was before web browsing and eBay existed (the dark ages).

Then, in 2009, Tamiya released the High-Lift series of trucks, and along with them removed any hope of a genuine re-release of the original chassis design.  Everyone started calling them the "new" generation of 3-speeds.  The High-Lift chassis was totally redesigned with straight channel rails, plastic cross members, plastic axles, and a new 3-speed transmission made out of mostly plastic.  The body was in the same general shape as the mountaineer, but with holes, mounting plates and lenses added for LED lights.  It had some features that made it handle better than the old chassis, such as gear differentials front and rear, but the look was different enough that it could never substitute for the original.  Hobbyists kept pressuring Tamiya to re-release the classic.

Finally, Tamiya relented.  After keeping it completely under wraps from start to finish, Tamiya revealed the Tamiya Bruiser (RN36) (58519) at the 2012 Nuremberg Toy Fair.  According to Tamiya, fans were asking for a re-release of the Bruiser for over 12 years.  

The box art remains very similar to the original.  A new 3-speed gearbox cutaway picture shows the new planetary gear design utilized in the re-release version.

The kit comes with full ball bearings, including the entire 3-speed transmision and axles.

While the original Bruiser came with a pre-built 3-speed transmission and RS-750SH motor already mounted, the new Bruiser has additional build steps in the manual to assemble the transmission from all of its component parts.  The basic operation of the new 3-speed transmission is the same as the original, including 4WD mode only being active in low gear while 2WD mode operates in medium and high gear, but it is more compact in design through the use of a planetary gear system.

The parts presentation is a bit different from the original.  No blister packs this time, but the chassis frame and axles are mounted on top of a cardboard platform designed for display.  Some people were disappointed Tamiya did not use blister packs like the Buggy Champ and Sand Scorcher re-releases, however it is likely due to the extra cost involved.  The new Bruiser is very expensive, and blister packing would have added even more to the cost of production.

The new axles house gear differentials which is all new for the 3-speed chassis.  The original Bruiser and Mountaineer had a solid rear axle and one-way front hubs, but no differentials.  This added some stress to the drivetrain although made it better for navigating over rough terrain.  With the new design, it is now possible to lock the front and/or rear differential if desired using a locking pin that is externally accessible on the pumpkin of each axle.

The red and blue bristled brush is included in the first production run.

Nice heavy 36 page manual

The cap is a separate piece that screws on the bed.

The bench seat and dashboard.  Driver figure is not included.

The rear bed is from the 2009 Toyota High-Lift.

And the front cab is also from the 2009 Toyota High-Lift.

The frame is black instead of natural steel

There has been some discussion about the new Bruiser's tires.  It is my opinion that the new tires are softer than the originals.  Many people argue that the original tires were the same hardness and the original tires have hardened over the years, but I definitely remember the original Mountaineer tires were quite hard and non-flexible right out of the box.  The new Bruiser has slightly softer tires.

The tires have the same size and tread pattern, but they are softer than the originals.

The windows are slightly tinted, but not nearly as dark as the 2009 Toyota High-Lift.

Two sets of 'G' parts (gears) are included in the kit (top right). One set is for spare parts.

The new Bruiser includes a standard Mabuchi RS-540SH motor instead of the RS-750SH that came with the original.  The claim is that the new Bruiser weighs less than the original and is more efficient in design due to the full ball bearings and redesigned transmission, so does not need the extra torque.  The manual even says to not use any other motor than the stock 540.  No reasons are given, but I think it has to do with stress while shifting and wear on the gears and differentials.  Higher-power motors will stress the transmission shift gates and drive dogs more than the stock 540.  Also, more strain will be put on the gears in the differentials leading to premature wear.  However, I believe that with reasonable driving procedures higher power motors can be utilized to enjoy the higher performance they offer without too much extra wear and tear on the drivetrain.  For example, only shift gears under minimal load, and don't go crazy with the throttle on jumps and up hills.  I plan on using a Tamiya GT Tuned 25T motor because it has a little bit higher rpm range than the stock 540 (around 17,000rpm instead of around 15,500rpm at best efficiency), plus 500g/cm of torque instead of the stock 540 motor's 200g/cm of torque.

The radio box and cover appear to be the same as the original

This is one of those re-releases from Tamiya that shocked everyone.  It is a faithful reproduction of the original Bruiser, but with enough improvements and changes to differentiate it from the classic so it does not upset that market.  It is truly a great time for Tamiya enthusiasts that never got a chance to own an original Bruiser to experience the joy of seeing that huge box for the first time and build one of the true classics of radio control.

Reproduction Bruiser/Mountaineer Tires Part 2

I mounted the reproduction Bruiser tires on some RC4WD Classic Bruiser aluminum wheels that I had.  I think the combination looks great.  Check them out:

 The texture of the rubber is smooth and soft.  The foam inserts were used before mounting on the rims.

Bruiser/Mountaineer replacement driveshafts (How-To)

If you've ever run a Tamiya Bruiser or Mountaineer, chances are you've had to deal with the stock drive shafts wearing out pretty quickly.  For me, it was the rear universal joint nearest the rear axle.  The weight of the truck, which nears 10lbs with battery and radio gear, plus the decent torque from the Mabuchi RS750 motor combine to really destroy the stock brass Tamiya drive shaft universal joint in just a few battery packs.  The soft brass cannot take the power being transmitted to the rear wheels.  I literally wore a universal joint down to the point that it actually sheared in two.  I tried to fit the identically-sized Tamiya green colored hardened steel universal joints (like those found on the Super Champ) instead of the stock brass ones, but the drive shaft design, with its wobbly extension fitting on the opposite end and general lack of tolerances made using them impossible in the rear.  The front drive shaft could tolerate the hardened universal a little better, but I knew there had to be a better way.

Back when I came up with this idea, which was early 2003, RC4WD was still a fledgling company.  Their drive shaft designs for the Bruiser and Mountaineer were in their infancy.  Plus they were expensive, and today I think they still are, though they are now made much stronger.  Other alternatives are available today, such as those by JunFac.

Anyway, here is the how-to for building replacement front and rear drive shafts for the Bruiser and Mountaineer.  Note that the pictures presented here are from Jan 2003, so please excuse the quality.

Parts needed:

Traxxas #4628X Drive Yokes (2 packages)
Traxxas #1953 Extra long slider shaft (1 package)

Front driveshaft
Take one male and one female shaft from the #1953 package and trim 18.5mm of shaft length from each piece:

Discard the 18.5mm pieces.  Sand each yoke piece to make the ends smooth and uniform. Install a #4628X yoke to each piece.

That's it for the front!

Rear driveshaft

Take two male and two female shafts and do the following:

Female shaft 1: This will be the piece that will hold the yoke. Trim 10mm of shaft length from
the piece. Discard the 10mm piece. Sand the cut end smooth and flat. It is very important that the cut end be flat and uniform, as it will be glued to female shaft 2 to make one longer shaft:

Female shaft 2: This shaft piece will be the extension of female shaft 1. Cut the shaft off
about 1mm from the yoke mount so the length of the cut piece is 40mm. Discard the yoke mount portion. Sand the cut end smooth and flat. It is very important that the cut end be smooth and flat, as it will be glued to female shaft 1 to make one longer shaft:

Male shaft 1: This will be the piece that will hold the yoke. Trim 15mm of shaft length from
the piece. Discard the 15mm piece. Sand the end smooth and uniform:

Male shaft 2: This will be the piece that will hold the two female shafts together. Cut the
shaft off about 1mm from the yoke mount, leaving about 44mm. Discard the yoke mount portion. Sand the end smooth and roughen the entire shaft so the glue will adhere better:

Assembly
Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the assembly process since I had no idea that it would work.  Instead, here are the instructions for assembly:
Coat the outer surface of male shaft 2 with super glue (CA glue) and insert into female shaft 1 all the way. Male shaft 2 should stick out of female shaft 2 about 15mm when inserted fully. While the glue is still wet, slide female shaft 2 onto male shaft 2 so both female shafts meet together. The two cut ends of each female shaft should be touching each other. Align the female shafts so they are as straight as possible in order to make one long drive shaft. Wipe off any excess glue, but make sure the drive shaft is as straight as possible!  Let it dry for at least an hour or two before installing the yokes (which are a real pain to get on, by the way).

Results

Front shaft installed on a Mountaineer

 Rear shaft installed on a Mountaineer

Long term results
It has been many years and a fair number of runs since I installed these drive shafts on my Mountaineer, and they are still holding up amazingly well.  Traxxas makes an excellent drive shaft that can really take abuse.  The only drawback to using these drive shafts is that the thickness of the rear shaft rubs on the radio box a little bit.  You can see it in the above picture right where the corner of the radio box touches the drive shaft, making it create a white dust where the plastic has rubbed off a little.  It is really close to where the two female shafts are bonded together.  It isn't a big deal unless the drive shaft isn't glued straight, making the whole shaft wobble, so pay attention!

Reproduction Bruiser/Mountaineer tires

I recently bought some repro tires for my Mountaineer from eBay seller 'nowingu'. These tires are much softer than the original stock tires that came with the Bruiser and Mountaineer kits, but the tread design is very similar.  Many people complain that the stock tires these kits came with were too hard, so these repro tires are definitely worth a try.

Bruiser/Mountaineer repro tires by 'nowingu' on eBay

There is no sidewall lettering of any kind, so they are sort of plain looking, but the mold alignment and quality is very good.  The bead is uniform and the thickness of the rubber does not appear to vary much at all.  They do not 'wobble' or otherwise have any deformation issues that I've run into with tires made by RC4WD in the past.  However, I don't know how these will age over time, nor do I know how they will wear with use since I've yet to install them on my Mounty.  I am hopeful that they won't disintegrate too quickly (either by running or sitting on a shelf), but who knows.  The tires are sold in sets of 4 at the time of this writing.

The tires do not come with foam inserts so I spent a fair amount of time looking for some that would fit.  I believe foam inserts are a necessity for these tires due to their softness and the weight of the truck.  I finally found these:

JConcepts AND-1 Truck foam inserts (#3201)

The JConcepts AND-1 1/10th Truck Tire Inserts (part #3201) are a very good fit for the tires.  I chose the firm style because I felt that the tires needed the extra support.  While it could be possible to choose a slightly larger foam insert, I was unable to find anything that seemed close to the right size after I found these.  They fit inside the tire perfectly and the extra support they offer definitely improves the weight handling characteristics of the tires compared to no foam at all.  Note that you'll need to buy 2 sets of foams because they come in packs of 2.