It's a great build. It brings back a lot of memories for me. The Lunchbox was my first r/c car and I still have it. It's not stock. I did buy a lexan body for it. I think back then it was made by Parma. One of favorite memories was on the beach in Georgia. Kids could rent large big wheels and I raced the kids up and down the beach. It's a great car for the beach with hard sand. Thanks for the video.
I bet it was a great time at the beach!! Lots of fun memories of glitchy radio signals, hot resistors and short run times!!! We are kind of spoiled nowadays!!! It will be a fun reminder of way back before life got hard!!
Thanks! I wanted to do it right and in person the old yellow tone screws really sell the look! Doesn't show as well on camera. I am looking forward to driving it to reminisce about the old days of glitchy signals and hot resistors!! The "new"one being hopped up should be interesting and a handful with that motor in there!
Thanks Fred! I did not have the heart to build it. I have never had a vintage kit in hand and to ruin that packaging just to build a shelf queen seems silly. So the shelf queen looks exactly as the vintage kit would have and now I have the best of both worlds!!!
Hi Addam, oh yes the vintage Lunchbox is definitely worth protecting and having another street thrasher is an excellent idea. I’ve built my first Lunchbox and spent hours on that detailed body, so think I might at least get a polycarbonate Lunchbox shell, so that I do not mangle my good looking body. That GT Tuned motor is really going to be a handful! Enjoy! 😎Take care and best wishes to you and the family. 😉😁😊
Yeah, I just could build the one in the box... It is too rare and unique! The front corners of the cab and the top edges of the roof catch a lot of abuse when wrecking. I drive primarily in the grass so it holds up well there. Dirt, rocks or asphalt really start eating into it though so a cheaper runner body is not a bad idea. Plus the reduced weight up top will make it even more stable. I have been looking for one of them but they are never in stock anywhere... The one with the GT Tuned motor is going to be a handful and I will have to get in some practice with it before I take it out on the track. Have fun with yours!!
Such an interesting project Addam, I've not seen anyone go to that much effort to replicate an original Lunch Box, Awesome effort mate👍and you're definitely not rambling to me mate. Hey that's a really nice looking Blitzer Beetle you built for Brad Kalman too👌🏆, also very nice of you do do that for another person mate👍. Looking forward to seeing what custom work you do on the runner Lunch Box👊🦘🇦🇺
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words as well. I should have gotten some pics of the finished body but forgot and already sent it out to him. I am still trying to figure out what parts I want to order for it. There are so many and I'm trying to stay on budget and not turn it into an aluminum brick driving around!!
Thanks, it will be hitting the track for sure. I just will have to have some practice with it first as I know it is going to be a handful with that motor in it!! I will get the two of them out once it.dries up here and get a run video of the two done to see the old vs the new!
Right!?!? It has been a long time since I had a car take off on its own, burn myself on a resistor or have to clean the crud off of the MSC to get it working right again!!! It won't get driven a bunch but every now and then I will have to take it back out to remind myself how good we have it now!!
@@AddamsPlayground yupp. Okay I have to admid, as I got into the hobby. Every radio system was equiped with a BEC-switch. Never burned on a resistor, not even for testing if the "Caution Hot" stocker was lying.The only ugly things were not having the money for ball bearings, oil filled shocks or a second battery. So I went home after 5 minutes of fun and had to wait 12 hours for a recharged battery. But these 5 minutes...🤩 For sure you're right today the batteries and hop-ups are cheaper and easier to get. And yes we have more money. But just for the feeling of this old value moments.
@@RCBirds yes, I remember the very short run times! I was rough on batteries... Run them, stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes then straight to the fast charger and run them again the second that timer went off!! Occasionally I just charged them hot... I know now it was terrible to do and knew then it wasn't good for them but just wanted to drive!!!!
The black edition looks great. I did mine in the Gunmetal to make it look a bit different. It is just the body and wheel and tires at the moment. The chassis is actually either the Mystery Machine or the Mutts Cutts van, I don't remember! Thanks for stopping by and checking in!!
Can't wait to see what you do with the hopped up Lunchbox... I have plans to expand the collection, and will probably end up with a couple each of the Lunchbox and Pumpkin... at least one will get some minor upgrades like a bit more peppy Tamiya or other brushed motor,aybe a 19t Reedy, etc.... ONE will and up with the rear pivot pieces that lengthen the wheelbase slightly, some oil shocks, and either a nice 15-19t brushed, or a mild brushless like a 13.5t setup... Ampro front end mods or similar, etc... Can't wait to see some more Lunchbox content, you should build a Pumpkin ReRe to hop up alongside it, either with same upgrades or different ones to compare... Keep shining , cheers!
Thanks and I have done some basic things to it but nothing too involved yet. Sadly time and weather have been against me and I hope to get these out this weekend to get running footage. I did find another new type of shock for them so I will run the Tamiya shocks first and then swap them out for the others and compare.the two. I do want to get a standard pumpkin, I have the chrome one but don't want that one all scratched up so I would like to get the black version. This weekend was expensive (non RC related) so I won't be ordering any new ones for a while but I have plenty of stuff to do and show so more videos are coming!!!
😂 LoL... I need to get some more parts ordered for the running lunchie but I will take it out as is and see how it is gonna work and also see if anything breaks right away!! I am a little concerned about how hard it is going to be driving it with the GT Tuned in there .. wheels up!!!
Yeah, Addam, I stayed to the end, I like to hear you ramble... That video is really what it's all about! I'm also a kid of the 80'ies, and I also got some Lunchbox memories and mechanical speedcontrollers, and BEC and radio systems and all that goodstuff, it does touch me to hear you ramble about that stuff! I finally gave in a while ago and started ordering parts for a Lunchbox, but it'll be far from what the purists would consider a Lunchbox, I think it'll be good fun though, it's taking shape in my head but sadly the physical putting it together will be delayed. Have a good one there, buddy, I got a rainstorm coming in here also.
Thanks buddy, I appreciate it a lot. I fell in love with the lunch box and will end up having entirely too many of them and I am fine with that!! Ordering parts and getting all the stuff is both time consuming and expensive. The one part here and one part there all adds up but once it is done all of that just kind of fades away to be honest!! I do have to say you have me intrigued and wondering what you are up to but I can wait! The storms we got were rough yesterday. I had to get the video edited and uploaded before the evening and I am glad I did. The power went out a few times, that thankfully not for very long but would have been bad during editing!! The thunder was so loud the windows were rattling and you could feel the house vibrate!!
Oh I can understand that! It just looks fun sitting there!! I got the Super Blackfoot for my first but some friends had pumpkins and lunch boxes and I was always jealous of how easy it was for them to wheelie across the packing list!! Get your back out and be a kid again!!!
Very nice Addam!!!! Yes sir, I to learned the hard way of moving the MSC with a battery plugged in (Stock Clod) and the "Damn Thing" did go off the table, damn near broke me finger too, LOL. Awesome update on the Lunch Boxes!!!!
Yup! Scares the crap out of you too!! I am sure with those big ol tires it would have been a handful to try and wrangle to a stop!!! Thankfully mine was a bit more of a gentle reminder than your event was! I know we all probably have done it at least once!! Good times!
Thanks, I thought it was a good compromise to be able to leave the original kit untouched and still have the feel of an old school build. To be honest other than some of the markings on a few parts and pieces you would be hard pressed to tell the retro build apart from an original one. That and I am always down to have another Lunch Box!!! I have plans for at least two more in the future!!!
They are kind of addicting! I have plans for two more (probably by the end of the year) and probably another on later on.as well! They are just so much fun to customize!! Thanks for stopping by and checking it out!!
Sweet build Addam, cant wait to see the Lunchie run on your track. I have my old Midnight Pumpkin sitting on a shelf in a very sad and well used condition and i was thinking of restoring it, but after checking prices on needed parts i almost ended up at the same cost as a new kit hahaha and thought it wasnt worth it. But after seeing this video and build i changed my mind, it´s gonna be worth it, bringing it back to life.
Yeah sadly the price of the full kit and convenience of it can outweigh the time and cost involved in buying the parts you need. When I got the great deal on the SMT10 kit recently I bought the first one and then later that night bought a second one as the price of the whole kit was way less than the sum of the parts in it. So I have a ton of parts for the built one if needed and surely some will be needed!!! I can certainly understand the want to breathe life back into an old trusted rig, there are lots of fun memories with them and more can be made!! Have fun with it whichever way you decide to go.
Love the retro build! That is a great idea...best of both worlds, really. The original in a box and a retro-ish spec that you can run (if you wanted to) and not worry too much about accidentally breaking something. I am really curious to see what upgrades are installed in the basher Lunchbox and how that would compare to a stock Lunchbox. (Hint...hint...) 😜
I will be getting them out once it dries up. We got a ton of thunderstorms yesterday right after I got done recording and editing this. Thankfully I got it uploaded before the power started going on and off throughout the storms! I will get them out and see old vs new and then continue to add things to the modern one as time and budget allow!!
Hiya Addam. Oh yeah I remember all the old school electronics for sure. In fact when I got back into the hobby 10 years ago I thought it would all be the same and I had no idea what an ESC was! I have had some cars with the old electronics in more recently and although it's fun to remember how things were I have upgraded them to modern electronics because I prefer how it functions. Interesting video mate. Best wishes :-)
Oh yeah, we are spoiled nowadays with interference free radio systems, servos that are not jittery after a couple tumbles, no burning hot resistors and no more runaway cars!! For those of us that had all that fun remember it fondly mostly because we have gone ahead and upgraded the electronics to more modern stuff!! It was a nice way to represent the vintage kit without spoiling it by building it! I swore I'd never be one of those guys that leaves it in the box but there is something really cool to be able to crack that lid open and see it all as it was still the 80's or 90's!!
LoL, there is probably a good reason for it. Most people want their cars to perform better and be more reliable and not go the other way around!! I am just praying it doesn't lose signal and go screaming into a tree or something while I am driving it!! I will get them out soon for a run video, just have to let it dry out... We got lots of rain last night
@@AddamsPlayground To be honest I have a old airtronics caliber fm radio I love it and I think now because no one uses fm or even am there is no interference to worry about like back in the day when everything was am and fm?
@@ShenRC Pez RC said he had issues with his. Said he looked into it and those bands are full of other stuff now as they are not heavily used by RCs anymore. So it may depend on how many other things around are on that frequency I guess. I did my bench testing and it all went very smoothly so I am hopeful no issues when out driving but we'll see!!
Hey Addam, awesome classic build. Glad you found a compromise on the kit you were happy with. It is amazing to see the mechanics from the 80s in RCs. I only have one running a MSC and the feel of it is completely different to the ESCs. Great video dude 👍🏻🙌🏻
Thanks, kind of stepping backwards but for a good reason I guess. The MSCs are so much different feeling for sure... More.of.an on/off switch than anything so I am assuming it is going to be hard to keep the front end down!! This is the only one of the entire collection that isn't 2.4ghz and will probably stay that way unless I get another nostalgic idea!!! 🤣🤣
Thanks! I am just praying that it works well and is glitch free and doesn't take off across the yard and crash into a tree or something!!! The other one I hope doesn't get destroyed too quickly!! It is gonna be a handful with that motor in there but it should be fun!!!
I need to get caught up on your videos! I have been struggling to find time to get on and watch too many lately. I will, I saw you had posted a new one recently. I will watch tonight for sure!
I have had more than one run in with those things in the past!! Thankfully this one is tucked safely away so I shouldn't... But never say never!! I can still remember the small of mud puddle water sizzling off of one of them from when I was a kid running my Blackfoot around. It has a very unique smell that is still there in memory!!! I also remember the branded knuckles and fingers from touching that metal shroud around the resistor too!!
@@AddamsPlayground had my fair share of burns from those resistor covers as well as runaway rc cars due to radio interference and stuck mscs . Rc tech sure has come a long way!👍😊
You have a problem Addam! A really great problem lol, they are all awesome and now I want to run my OG Bearhawk, mechanical speed controller and all haha
Yeah there may be a mild addiction going on here!! I just love them and I am just hoping the old radio is still reliable and it doesn't go screaming across the yard into a tree when I go to drive it!! I do have to admit I am kind of fond of seeing the old MSC doing its thing in there so I may end up doing another retro build in the future..
@@AddamsPlayground I'm with you mate, sadly when I fired mine up last it was erratic and receiving other signals and interference , when I researched this its due to those old radio bands now being cluttered with other signals from all the devices we use. Interested to see how you get on
It will get out there soon. It is either going to do real well or really bad out there... I am thinking with all the power from the new motor the odds are leaning toward bad! It is going to hard to control I think out on the track.
Thank you! I thought building the retro one was a good compromise to building the vintage kit. And now I have the other re-re kit to upgrade and bash around without worrying about tearing it up!!! thanks for dropping by and checking it out!!!
Damn. You're making me want to get a Lunchbox, like I had as a kid. But, I have to play it cool because I just got a Thundershot in the mail, and will get a Grand Hauler next week.
I just got notice my thundershot should be here in a few days! It has only been 6 months since I ordered it!!! Still waiting to hear about the other two I have on order. Those are gonna keep you busy for a while. Build the thundershot first so you can enjoy that while building the hauler, that one is gonna take some time! I love my hauler and it is the best looking truck in my whole fleet for sure. It is a ton of fun to just drive around in my shop or basement "making deliveries"!! Be careful with it though, those can lead to financial ruin once you start upgrading and adding things to it. I had to avoid it all together or I would have gone way over board with it!!! The lunch box is a terrific one to have but they are not going away anytime soon so don't rush it!!
@@AddamsPlayground I'm counting on the Grand Hauler being a weeklong build, at least. I want to paint it in the Knight Rider mobile unit scheme. The toughest part will be painting the lines.
Awesome! I think everyone should have one!! I think the motor I put in is going to be a real handful!! I need to get stuff ordered to start adding more stuff to it. I am still waffling on what parts I want to go with! There are a lot and I need to try and keep a budget as add-ons and hop-ups add up quickly!!!!
I have 5 now and one other painted body. I have plans for 2 more probably this year and potentially one more after that!! They are just too much fun to customize and are on the lower end of the price range. By the time I buy a body set and possibly wheels and tires to make a custom one it is only a few dollars more to buy the whole kit. That and I love seeing them all lined up looking cool!! It is an addiction with these I know but it could be worse, they could be tractor trailer kits and be really expensive to have multiples!! I'd love that too if I am honest but I do have that much restraint though!!
Great vid Addam 😀🤩🚴can’t beat a bit of lunchbox bouncing 👍👍 I’m about to build my blockhead wild one do you have a recommendation for a steering servo ? Nothing fancy just a decent reliable one ? Thanks man Pete
I am not a servo expert at all. I have so many cars all with full running gear so I buy the cheap 4 for $20 servos from Amazon!! I only run them every so often so the odds of them breaking are fairly slim. The protek ones from Amain hobbies I have heard good things about and they have their eco power series as well that seem decent. They have a metal gear high speed one for about $40 I have almost bought a couple times. The high speed is something I don't get with the super cheap ones I run so it would be nice to get a couple for builds I plan on driving a lot. Servos are a lot more reliable than they used to be for sure so I think if you find one with specs and a price you like you should be fine.
NIce one! So this video picked my interest as I just got a lunchbox! I am waiting for some time off to start the build, and do some wacky fun build vid. However, I have watched some other peeps vids on the iconic lunchbox for hop up directions. So far Mark Bryan mentioned a 3d printed chassis brace ( i found one I can print) and a few other things. I have bearings and a torque tuned motor. I think I want proper oil shocks but I have no clue where to start. Any suggestions? ( front and rear). Thanks again!
For the fronts and rears you can use the #50520 oil filled shocks. The rear end brace stops the rear end slap (I need to do it for mine too!). The other popular upgrade is the get the front arms from Ampro engineering printed from shapeways. It takes the excessive camber out of the front end. I love the quirky look but it is not best for performance. Other common upgrades are aluminum steering spindles and aluminum front arms (you'll still have the wonky camber with those). Other than that the rear aluminum drive hubs. A good upgrade is the aluminum body mounts, the stock ones break really fast! Hope it helps!
Now that I've purchased this kit because of you lol I didn't buy the bearings with it I thought about that when I got home and I keep forgetting to ask you but now that I watched this other video on it how many bearings do I need and what size Thank you
You can find bearing kits on Amazon that have exactly what you need in them, Fast Eddy or TRB bearings are usually what I get when buying sets like that. What you need is 5x11x4mm 1150 Bearings (9 Piece); 5x8x2.5mm 850 Bearing (1 Piece). Since I build so many kits I order those common sizes in bulk from the TRB website but for a single build it is often easier to just get exactly what you need.