Kyosho Pegasus Restoration (part 2)

Finally, after a long vacation from R/C this summer, I started to feel the need to work on some unfinished projects.  Luckily the weather had been warm enough to paint, so I managed to complete the Kyosho Pegasus that I was restoring.  As Part 1 ended, all that was left was to paint the body and wing.   Painting bodies is not something I really enjoy because I am too much of a perfectionist and find fault in everything I paint.  This is no exception.

The Pegasus is painted in box art style, but with one large mistake.  The manual step describing the application of decals had the wing decal upside-down.  

I did not realize this until after I had already set the decal in place and mounted the wing.  I looked at the box top, and...

Oops.

Oh well.  This is one case where following the instructions is NOT recommended.  It still looks pretty good, even upside down.  The body is original however the wing is from teambluegroove on eBay.  The decals are also all original.  They worked remarkably well considering their age.  A hair dryer was used on a couple curved parts to make the decals stick.  This trick works very well for stubborn corners and curves.

Tamiya XF-1 flat black acrylic paint was brushed on the inside of the body for the driver cage frame rails and Tamiya PS-1 white was sprayed inside the body and wing.  As usual, getting the paint to go into the recessed parts of the wing was practically impossible, so the coating is a little lighter there.  XF-1 flat black was also used on the backs of the KC HiLiTER driving lights, with some X-8 yellow on the fronts as a backing color for the decals.

Overall I am very pleased with the final result, wing decal mistake notwithstanding.

This car will not be run much, if at all, due to the lack of spare parts and brittle plastic.

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.

Tamiya Avante Black Special

The Tamiya Avante Black Special (84270) was announced in late 2011 with kits available in early 2012.  Because it has a part number that starts with 84xxx, it is a limited edition release.  The kit is based on the Avante 2011 chassis and comes with special fluorescent pink wheels, stepped-spike tires (which are the same as the vintage Egress), a Black Special decal set for the body, and a Tamiya GT Tuned motor with a Black Special label.  The first production run also includes an alternative set of bonus black wheels in the same design as the pink wheels.  It is blister packed just like the Avante 2011 but has a very different box art design from the traditional style normally used on Tamiya RC kits.  The Avante Black Special also comes with two hop-ups that do not come with the Avante 2011 kit:  The carbon fiber steering set (84256) and the torque splitter set (84257).

Kyosho Blizzard Restoration (part 5)

The temperatures are still cold here so the body has not been painted, but I am making progress to get closer to that stage with this update.  A number of little things have been completed.

First, I cut a rectangular section off of some 0.04 inch lexan sheet and made a mounting base for the IMX-1 dual ESC mixer circuit.  I used double-sided servo tape to mount the lexan piece to the servo frame rails.  Then I used another piece of servo tape to stick the IMX-1 to the lexan.  I routed the ESC radio wires through the foam battery holder and then hooked them into the mixer, and then plugged the mixer into the receiver.  The receiver was also servo taped to the metal plate mounted at the front of the chassis.

Next, I took an old piece of blue colored through-the-hole circuit board that I had lying around and drilled a hole for a mounting screw and soldered a 2x3 pin header with the two ESC switch wires using up the first four pins.  I also soldered a servo extension lead to the two remaining header pins in order to route power from the receiver to the header.  This power will be used to run the flashing light that will be mounted to the top of the body.  The header assembly was mounted to the servo rail using a pre-existing hole.

The 6 pin header acts as a connector so the body can be easily separated from the chassis.  I bought two 16 inch servo extension wire assemblies and super-glued the female ends together.  Then I used some heat shrink tubing and wrapped the connector assembly in order to make it look like one large 2x6 pin connector and provide some strain relief for the wire.

Now the ESC switches and power for the flashing light can be easily disconnected when the body is removed.  The extra holes in the blue circuit board are just in case I want to add a second connector for more lights in the future.

I used small pieces of heat shrink tubing to hold the two extension wires together so they aren't as messy.  I also drilled a 3mm hole in the chassis for the antenna mount and installed an aluminum Tamiya mount (3455035).  The original Blizzard was designed for the antenna to be mounted on the right rear corner of the chassis, however I felt that this was too close to the motors.  The electrical noise emitted by the motors could generate enough interference to cause control problems, so I moved the mount as far forward as I could while keeping it behind the main cab section.

On the body, I reamed holes for the muffler exhaust on the left side of the back of the cab and created two new switch mounting holes.  The vertical switch hole on the left, near the muffler holes, will be used for the flashing light circuit.  It will be somewhat hidden by the muffler and center crate/box molded into the body.  The two switch holes on the right will be for the two ESCs.  The top switch was pre-drilled by Kyosho, so I added a second hole under it.  I wanted to keep the ESC switches separate from each other in case I wanted to turn only one ESC on at a time or perform some other maintenance, otherwise a single DPST switch would have worked fine.  I reamed another larger hole on the right side behind the ESC switch holes for the antenna mount so it lined up with the chassis antenna mount hole.  The white powder on the body is plastic shavings left over from the drilling, filing and reaming of the holes.

The flashing light circuit as supplied from Kyosho in 1985 did not come with a protective case or good method for mounting, so I went through my parts drawers and found a black plastic case from an old relay assembly that I had long ago taken apart.  The size of the case was almost perfect, so with just a small amount of trimming inside the case and some sanding of the circuit board, I was able to slide the circuit board inside and cover it with a piece of scrap lexan which was then glued into place with CA.  I could make it waterproof by putting silicone sealant on the part where the wires come out, but I don't think it is necessary.  This case should provide some protection from water or snow and also make mounting the flash circuit assembly on the body a lot easier.

Finally, I ordered new tracks from Pistenking of Germany.  At approximately $110 shipped to the US, they were not cheap, but there is simply no place else to get replacement tracks for the original Blizzard. 

Each track is made out of 13 small pieces of track just like this one and held together with small screws.

The edges are beveled, unlike the original tracks.

Here is a shot of a single piece of the new track sitting on top of the original track.  The total width of the Pistenking track is exactly the same as the old track.  The "blades" of the new track might be slightly thicker than the original, but it is difficult to tell because they are flat on top rather than rounded like the originals.  The flexible "runners" in between each blade are exactly the same width as the original.  This means the total surface area of the track remains the same, thus keeping ground pressure the same as the original.  This is good news for staying on top of soft snow, whereas the newer BL01B tracks have thinner runners and aren't as good at keeping the Blizzard floating on top of powder.

These tracks are excellent quality and very flexible.  I have not mounted them on my Blizzard yet, but I predict that they will work great.  If you are in the market for replacement original Blizzard tracks for your own restoration, these are worth a look.  Please note that the site is in German, so you may need to use Google translate to help navigate the site.
I ordered via email and used Paypal for payment.  It took almost a week for Pistenking to reply to my request for an order, and then another week for the tracks to arrive here in the US.  Not bad at all.

Pistenking website:  http://www.pistenking.com