Tamiya Wild One Build/Review
A quick background... I started playing around with remote control cars in the early 80s. You know, the Radio Shack types that ate batteries and required a clean flat parking lot in order to drive. I had a pretty cool Audi that had proportional speed and steering, but it could be high centered on a pebble! Moving on to 1985, my brother bought a Tamiya Fox... what a great car... a HUGE improvement over anything I had ever seen. A friend of ours had a Tamiya Frog... another great car for those days. Well, my younger brother and I had to have one... he chose the Tamiya Hornet while I had my heart set on the Tamiya Wild One (mod. # 58050) and a Magnum Junior radio... I think we ordered both from Sheldon's Hobbies in California. This thing was a beast… I'll just summarize by saying that I drove it for over a year, but I had a bit of trouble with the hex drive axles and the old mechanical style speed control. It met its demise one day when my speed control stuck in the on position and proceeded to melt things down (literally) before I could get to it and get the covers of or disconnect the battery. I had a lot of fun with it, but after many months of abuse it was beyond reasonable repair in my eyes... besides, I had my sights set on a Kyosho Ultima that I eventually bought in late 86. This was a whole new machine, and it was, as we would say back then, RAD! Moving on, my brothers and I got in to RC aircraft and for the next 25 years we had very limited exposure to the RC car scene. We still admired the hobby, but airplanes were the ticket (still are). A few years ago I bought a Traxxas 3.3 T-Maxx... wow wee! That thing was a blast except for the fact that I was twisting drive axles continuously, but that's a story for another time. Fast forwarding to today... my son, who is 8 years old and a competent pilot with his RC airplanes, wants to build something. Since his building skills are not up to aircraft levels, I decided to get him a car. I knew that he would love the Tamiya Fast Attack Vehicle, so I ordered him one for Christmas. Knowing that RC hobbies are twice as fun when you have someone to enjoy it with, I decided that I’d just order myself one too. So that I don’t leave him in the dust, I figured I’d better get something of a similar class… the best choice (for several reasons) appeared to be my old childhood friend, the re-released Tamiya Wild One. With all this being said, I am not a newcomer to the hobby, but I have been away from the RC car scene for quite a while, so forgive me if I miss a point that a more experienced builder may have discussed, or if I goof the terminology here and there. On with the build…
Day 1
When I received the package (this time from Tower Hobbies) the box was exactly as I remembered it. Since my son will probably want me to help him build his car on Christmas day, I figured I better get mine built up and ready to go :-)
2012 Tamiya Wild One
Contents include multiple parts bags, clear lexan body parts, several molded plastic parts sheets, wheels, tires, ESC/BEC, manual, decals, etc… all were nicely packaged. I read another review on this buggy where the builder stated that it could be built in an hour... I didn’t find this to be the case. It could be the fact that I enjoy the building process and was therefore taking my time to do it as well as I could, but even if I were shooting for a quick build, I’d be hard pressed to complete this kit in less than a few hours, and that would be a very aggressive build.
Manual
The first steps instructed how to build the front end.
With the front end completed it was time to build the front shocks. When describing this type of RC car to someone who has never built one, this has always been one of my selling points. I usually say something like, “This isn’t some off the shelf toy… you actually have to build the shocks and drive train!†Most people look at me a bit puzzled, but it was never my intent to confuse… I was usually just trying to point out how detailed and serviceable these things are, which makes them a LOT more fun that those disposable department store models. Back to the shocks… just as I remember, a 3-piece aluminum body with various components requiring assembly in order to build them up.
The piston installed on the rods.
O-ring and rod guides.
With all the components assembled, I filled them with oil and capped them off. Always neat to squish a freshly assembled shock absorber… like, wow, that works pretty good!
With assembly complete, they were installed.
Next assembly was the gearbox… here are the components… pretty simple. I chose to outfit my model with a full set of ball bearings in place of the stock bushings. Ball bearings in the gearbox and wheel hubs… the first upgrade!
Differential installed… a simple planetary gear system.
Counter gear installed. These components require a liberal application of ceramic grease (included). Back in the 80s we were supplied with molybdenum grease… not sure what the difference is from ceramic grease, but none the less it is supplied in the kit.
Gearbox installed in the chassis. One of the major improvements with the 2012 kit is the use of dogbone drive axles. These shouldn’t give any problems.
The standard issue 540 motor is ok. I know there are much better offerings, but for now I’ll be driving the stock motor. The kit includes 15T and 18T pinion gears to choose from.
Rather than showing all of the internals of the rear shocks, which are very similar to the front shocks, I’ll just say… rear shocks built.
Rear shocks installed.
This was the end of the first evening of building. I would have loved to stay up later and continued building like a teenager whose biggest decisions were Cookie Crisp or Captain Crunch? The reality was that it was a work night and at midnight it was a good point to stop. I worked on the build for 4 hours up to this point.
Day 2
The next day I picked up at step 25 in the manual, which was the installation of the radio gear and electronics. I chose to use the simple Futaba T2PH pistol grip radio, which was the replacement for the Magnum Sport. If the Magnum Junior were still available I would have bought one… oh well, the Sport is ok too. I bought the model that came with two servos, not realizing how the ESCs work… yeah, it’s been a while.
As per the instructions, this is the best time to center the servos.
Here you can see the electronic speed control (ESC)/battery eliminator circuit (BEC). For those that may be unfamiliar, that is the thing with the blue and yellow wires connected and the cooling fins on top. I never had an RC car with an electronic speed control. Oh, they had them back in the day, but I could not afford one. What a great improvement over the old mechanical speed controls. And a BEC too! We used to have to charge and carry a 4.8V battery pack in order to supply power to the receiver and servos… but after a while we got crafty and wired our own BECs using 5V/1.5A voltage regulators. That was a nice addition, but it’s even better that they are integrated with the speed control nowadays. Speaking of the speed control… another feature that I’m finding pretty neat is the ability to brake! Back in the 80s we only had forward or reverse. In other words, to slow down or stop generally meant applying reverse polarity to the motor, which usually resulted in a skid or spin out. The braking action of the speed control offers much better control when entering turns or when simply wanting to stop.
Electronics and radio gear installed.
Here is a shot of the bottom of the chassis, which shows the battery compartment.
I failed to get a photo of the lexan parts as they were received in the package, but here they are after I cut them out. These are the driver and body panels.
Starting to paint the driver. Using water based paint and a paint brush to apply.
Painting the body. I used water based paints with my airbrush to apply the black and then a small heat gun to accelerate the drying time. The paint jobs on these lexan bodies always looks stellar once the protective film is peeled away… painting the inside gives it a deep gloss look and protects the paint from scrapes and dings.
Driver installed.
Body panels with decals applied.
Shot from the rear.
Shot from the front.
Overall I was really impressed with the quality of the components and I thoroughly enjoyed the build. The manual was just as I remembered, very clear with highly detailed illustrations and parts lists. I left out a couple of construction topics, like building the wheels, but they are pretty uneventful. Total build time was 11 hours. I’m sure that some could have done it faster, but as I stated earlier… I was enjoying the process. I think a first time builder would require at least 10 hours to do it well, and maybe more, but building, tuning and maintaining is part of the fun. These cars are great not only for the hours of fun that they provide in the dirt, but for the mechanical and electrical principals that they teach. For someone that is interested in their first RC car, I would fully recommend the Wild One. There are tons of cars to choose from, and while many of them can run circles around this car, some are much more complicated and expensive. There are several others in this class that are probably of the same skill and experience level, but this is the one that I can vouch for since it is one that I have experience with. The straightforward construction and fun operation give the Wild One high marks in my book. Again, I’m not comparing this to the high end stadium or street racers… apples and oranges. This is simply a great looking and fun to drive RC buggy for the beginner to intermediate modeler.
Performance notes… steering and handling are good. The stock tires will skid somewhat easily on asphalt or concrete, but lock up pretty good on grass and dirt. Using the Duratrax 6 cell, 7.2V/2500mA battery pack, the 540 motor pushes this buggy along at maybe 20mph using the 18T pinion gear. I prefer to drive mostly on grass and dirt, so I like the torque and power of the 15T pinion. The Wild One is a blast to drive.
Hope you enjoyed my write up!
Anyhow, I appreciate looking at the 80s RC cars; even if they are re-releases. It takes me back to when I was a kid and used to play with my first RC cars.
Sure, everyone wanted a world class RC-10, but Tamiya has probably introduced more people to RC that any other product line. Are some models a little clunky? Without a doubt... friction shocks and solid rear axles are pretty low tech, but they are all a lot of fun, especially when compared to the department store offerings.
Glad you enjoyed looking at it.
I agree, if you were to compare Tamiya to the precision or performance found in a tricked out 1980s RC-10, Tamiya would come up short every time. But for $150-$200, Tamiya offered quality built cars and trucks that could take a pretty good beating. No question about it, my Kyosho Ultima would pee all over the Wild One, but I had about six-hundred 1987 dollars in the Ultima... it was a well balanced and strong running car.
Sure, everyone wanted a world class RC-10, but Tamiya has probably introduced more people to RC that any other product line. Are some models a little clunky? Without a doubt... friction shocks and solid rear axles are pretty low tech, but they are all a lot of fun, especially when compared to the department store offerings.
Glad you enjoyed looking at it.
Excellent build....I would like to come across my first hobby grade kit Mauri Big Bear. I could build this kit with my eyes closed. Ahhhh the memories of vintage rc
As I remember, we were pretty hard on our RCs as kids. Not necessarily "bashing" by today's standards, but definitely banged them up pretty good. I think that my Wild One stood up to the abuse pretty well except for the items I mentioned previously (drive shafts and speed control), both of which they have addressed and improved. I think it ought to be reasonably tough... we'll see.
On another note, and somewhat related the the Wild One... my son and I completed construction on his Fast Attack Vehicle. He said that he didn't want to bother painting the driver (he's 8 and just wants to play), but after we got the assembly completed and decals in place he said, "maybe I will do some painting." He's afraid that he'll mess it up because he can't paint very good, but I told him that the only way he'll get better is by trying.
Red spacers... how did I miss that?
On another note, and somewhat related the the Wild One... my son and I completed construction on his Fast Attack Vehicle. He said that he didn't want to bother painting the driver (he's 8 and just wants to play), but after we got the assembly completed and decals in place he said, ''maybe I will do some painting.'' He's afraid that he'll mess it up because he can't paint very good, but I told him that the only way he'll get better is by trying.
Just wanted to write a follow up post on the Wild One for those that might be interested in how it performed. Also for ElectricGuy007, who was wondering if this model would make for a good beater buggy.
First let me establish that this is a completely stock setup. For the initial runs I installed the 15T pinion gear and ran two 2500mAh batteries on the first day. I was pleased that these lasted about 20m each. I have absolutely nothing to compare this run time to, but I felt that was a pretty fair drive time as I was on the gas pretty hard most of the time. Most of the driving was done in short grass in my front yard. My son and I chased each other around (him with the FAV), as we jumped mole hills and such.
At the end of the first day I dusted off my buggy and kind of gave it a once over. I didn’t give a thorough inspection, but simply looked it over as I removed the motor in order to install the 18T pinion. My son and I did a bit of straight line drag racing on the driveway and found the two (Wild One and FAV) to be pretty equal, as they should be. So, I was changing the gearing without his knowledge to surprise him the next day. Was it faster? Yes, by a noticeable amount, so I had to let him in one the secret. Honestly though, the 15T is plenty fast and probably allows for a longer run time. A bit of information that I never got to verify, for reasons which I will discuss now…
As we were driving around my buggy just stopped moving. As I pressed the trigger I could hear my motor buzzing, but no action. As I approached I could see that the right rear arm was sprung outward a bit. As I was carrying the buggy back to the house I happened to see the right side output shaft fall out of the gearbox. Glad I saw that! It could have easily been lost in the grass.
Once on the bench I was able to see that the right rear arm holder was not attached properly… rather it was just hanging there. The arrows indicate areas of damage to the chassis and also the hole that is supposed to be installed over the pivot pin.
Here is a shot of the left side, which has sustained similar damage, but not enough to start spitting out parts yet.
Another shot of the right side showing the severe damage to the chassis.
One more shot from the rear, which shows that the rear arm holder is barely hanging on and has allowed the rear arm to slide outward, away from the gearbox. The left side is nearly in the same condition, it just hasn’t pulled apart yet.
So, there you have it… while the Wild One is a great looking buggy and a lot of fun to drive, it does have its weaknesses. I don’t think I was overly abusive… in fact, my son drove his buggy on the same terrain quite a bit more than I drove mine and his does not show any signs of failure.
Right
Left
I think he was actually a bit harder on his vehicle than I was. Just look at those headlights… I mean, headlight! LOL!
Looks like I can get a replacement chassis for ~$15, but I hate to think that I have to remove and reinstall everything only to have the same thing occur in fairly short order. It doesn’t seem that this particular part (the rear arm holder) should be under a lot of stress, but given that the pivot pin isn’t exactly a rigid mount, it can slop around and pull on the arm holder, and therefore the chassis. Speaking of the chassis, it isn’t beefed up in this critical area. A way to improve this might be to shim the pivot pin to make sure that it is a bit more solid… i.e. not be allowed to slop around so much and pull on the arm holder and chassis. Another improvement might be to fabricate a backing plate that could be installed under the screw heads. I have a bunch of 4130 sheet (.022”, .032”, etc) that I can use for this purpose. It will be a small part, but should help to distribute the load a bit and hopefully keep from pulling the screws through the chassis mount. Another option might be to fabricate an entirely new arm holder from heavier 4130… maybe .090” or so. Perhaps it could be mounted to the battery box area instead of the small ears protruding from the chassis. Not sure which approach I’ll take at the moment, but I’ll try to report back with some photos of the modifications.
Unfortunately, this damage seems to ring a bell. I am thinking that this was another thing that occurred on my original Wild One, and might be the reason that I stopped driving it and went for the Kyosho Ultima. Can’t remember for sure… 25 years is a long time, but it does seem familiar now that I’m looking at it again.
Summary… fun to build, fun to drive, but probably not a good basher. I'll definitely fix it back up and have some fun with it, but I'll be a little more aware of how I'm driving. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it were a bent shock post or something, but te replace the chassis after only three runs seems like a PITAthat I'm not interested in doing often.
Looks like you will have very little space to work with in making a a more robust platform for the rear arm pivot braces. It should not have broken like that but uppon close inspection you can point out what will fail after a bit of bashing. I would recomand fixing the chassis with aluminum or carbon fiber.
It could be that your son's FAV chassis material is made up of tougher plastic.
I think the reason why it broke from there is cause of the chassis not being renforced by beng a bit thicker where the pivot mount are and the fact that the rear shocks are really hard, making them act as pivot points rather than the actual pivot point of the arm and stressing out the chassis part and cracking it.
See if the rear shocks of the FAV has the same stiffness as the Wild one's
Huh?!
This turn out excellent. I used to think of Tamiya's as cheesy attempts at hobby class RC vehicles but, the longer I was in the hobby I began to realize that they produce very detailed models. Surprisingly this kit includes aluminum oil-filled shocks. It seems many of their vehicles feature plastic friction dampers, sans oil.
Anyhow, I appreciate looking at the 80s RC cars; even if they are re-releases. It takes me back to when I was a kid and used to play with my first RC cars.
Huh?!
This turn out excellent. I used to think of Tamiya's as cheesy attempts at hobby class RC vehicles but, the longer I was in the hobby I began to realize that they produce very detailed models. Surprisingly this kit includes aluminum oil-filled shocks. It seems many of their vehicles feature plastic friction dampers, sans oil.
Anyhow, I appreciate looking at the 80s RC cars; even if they are re-releases. It takes me back to when I was a kid and used to play with my first RC cars.
DO you know if Wildone front tyres will fit standard Falcon front rims? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Wil...item258368560d
Thanks
Dan
London UK