BlackSeaRC

The FMC XR311 holds a very important position in the history of Tamiya RC vehicles. In 1977, Tamiya took a highly detailed plastic model kit quality body and fitted it to a brand new RC capable chassis. Whilst it was a basic chassis, it represented Tamiya's first ever RC car with suspension and their first off-road capable vehicle. It was kit 58004, so only three RC road cars had preceded it. If I had a vintage XR311 from the late 1970's, I would have undoubtedly kept it fully original. However, I have the 2012 re-release kit and wanted to treat this iconic model to something a little bit special. The original chassis uses plastic front and rear suspension components with simple torsion rods for damping. I have replaced these with a new front suspension module with metal parts and metal coil spring shock absorbers , a metal rear suspension module with shock absorbers, a metal front bulkhead and rear gearbox cover, and a metal full-length undertray. The finished chassis is an exquisite work of art and the quality of the RC CHANNEL parts is first class. The chassis is finished off with 2012 period Acoms electronics. You will be able to find a detailed video showing the kit build and custom parts on my YouTube channel, BlackSeaRC, in the coming months. BlackSeaRC

At least with this hard body you get a decent depth to the bed. The scale ratchet straps are particularly nice. I was also looking for a portable genset but haven't found a super realistic one for a reasonable price yet.

I'm hesitant to say that I finally finished building this kit as models like this are never finished. This has been a long and expensive project. The size and weight of the finished truck and the huge collection of empty spray cans give an indication of the complexity of the build. It is certainly one of the highlights of my RC collection but at the same time, the kit build process has involved more fettling than any other model I have ever built to get it right. There are still a couple of things I am not happy with - the running boards for example just don't seem to align properly with the cab and pick-up bed module and I need to better hide the wiring in the cab area. Other than that I think it looks great. BlackSeaRC

Celebrated the first proper day of summer!

Numerous huge decals with lines that have to meet up on all surfaces of the body whilst at the same time wrapping around contoured 3-dimensional surfaces. Utterly impossible to get everything to align or to apply without creases despite my best efforts. I don't see how even a professional model maker could do it successfully!

I've recently been sorting out my RC collection and thought you would be interested to see this. I purchased this around 1992-1993. This is Tamiya kit 58108, the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II AMG with the original TA01 chassis. My main memory is that applying the decals was a nightmare! Below is also a picture of the real number 8 car being driven by Klaus Ludwig in 1991.

Design wise the Double Dare was poorly conceived. 1. The friction shocks were absolutely awful, hardly provided any movement and were rock hard. I replaced them with oil shocks (massive improvement). The transformation was amazing and was an essential upgrade. 2. The plastic suspension brackets flexed badly and I had to add handmade metal plates to reinforce the suspension. 3. The tyres hit the motor covers when steering. The steering servo operated both axles but was only mounted with double-sided tape so an upgraded servo might not solve the problem. 4. The dust-proof electronics cover wouldn't come off easily as the fixing screws were located behind the suspension mounts, plus it actually still let in dust that was then almost impossible to clean out. 5. The Kyosho rotary speed controller was virtually impossible to set up, either unable to reach top speed or alternatively the vehicle was constantly moving even with no throttle input. I tried everything to resolve it but with only limited success. The wires were totally crammed into the enclosure due to lack of space so that might have been the issue. Also, the servo that operated the mechanical speed controller was mounted with double-sided tape so moved around a lot. I had to make a metal bracket to mount it securely and this helped a bit but ultimately there was just not enough space for the wires to move freely. 6. Performance wise, it was extremely quick, very hard to drive in a straight line and a minimal steering input would result in a sudden turn. When the tyres hit any uneven ground it would steer to the side. On high grip surfaces, roll-overs were common so I preferred to drive on sand. This at least gave you a chance to save the body from too much damage. Overall, I wasn't overly impressed with the Double Dare and it actually put me off the Kyosho brand for over 2 decades. The design, build quality and kit building experience was not up to the standard of my previous Tamiya cars. Yes, the Clod Buster would have been the obvious choice but then I have never been one to follow convention and wanted something a bit different. Ultimately, with the passage of time, I have come to appreciate the Kyosho Double Dare a bit more, mainly for its quirkiness and rarity but I don't drive it very often nowadays for fear of damaging the rather fragile body.

The Clod Buster was released in September 1987, the Big Brute was Kyosho's first attempt at a competitor but it was only 2WD and 2WS. The Double Dare then added 4WD and 4WS.

I guess the Tracker was around 1994. The Double Dare first appeared in the 1989 Kyosho catalogue. First was the Big Brute, then the Double Dare, Hi-Rider Corvette, Big Boss and USA-1.

The Double Dare had twin motors and 4-wheel steering and was very fast but extremely difficult to handle. It was almost impossible to drive in a straight line because the steering servo was weak and as soon as any wheel hit a bump, it would affect the steering.

The rather unconventional colour scheme actually looks better than I remember. The original 'friction dampers' were truly awful so I upgraded to oil-filled dampers. I found the original receipts for the Kyosho Option House Gold shock absorbers. They were 20.40 GBP for a set of 2, so a total of 81.60 for the whole vehicle. That was a lot of money in 1991! Unfortunately, this only partially resolved the design issues with this vehicle. It was riddled with design flaws that rather spoilt my enjoyment and I always wished I'd bought a Clod Buster instead. However, looking back at it now, it is an interesting vehicle and quite rare now I suspect.

Dusted off my vintage Kyosho Double Dare.

It performed faultlessly throughout the testing, I really like this truck.

The AT4V is perfect for this type of rocky river terrain with the soft tyres, low range gearbox and locking differentials. It also has portal axles giving great ground clearance and the inner fenders do a good job of stopping mud and dirt getting into the chassis area. Such a smooth and highly capable performer, even with a basic Hobbywing 1060 ESC and the stock 540 motor. See it in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa2ntbFxBug BlackSeaRC

I thought the SG-1205 deserved another run, this time on some dirt tracks by the river. Although it has a very nice scale-realistic design that closely matches the real CFMOTO ZFORCE R, this does mean that it has a few limitations in terms of performance. Still, at this price point, you can't expect it to match a Losi RZR Rey! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgohH1R5Dsc BlackSeaRC