This was my first true RC car, one without a wire connecting the car to controller lol. I was about 15 (1988) at the time. A friends dad had the Clod Buster and Wild Willy and that was it, went home to pester Mum and Dad. Walked in the RC shop and this was the first car we spotted. Loved putting it together and learning how it all worked. Great times :)
Man I wish I had one of these back then! It’s crazy but back then there was no way to really see these run except in person. Every car was a bit of a mystery and had a magically quality because of it. With our modern hyper connected world I can finally see just how much I would have loved the suspension upgrade over the Blackfoot. Thanks Glenn! Keep up the excellent content. Your content gets better with every video!
I think they were really expensive back then must have been around 1990 maybe. My dad wouldn't get me one. Used to go to Beaties in Bristol. Got a set of radio gear techniplus? and servos but no decent car.
@@chrishart8548 yeah I had to save up and get help from my birthday or Christmas to supplement my hobby. I certainly mowed a ton of lawns to feed my hobby haha. Totally worth it. Still couldn’t get this one though. Tamiya really was a dream factory back then. They really need to get that creative dna back into their designs. Part of their charm was the creativity! Always new and awesome!
Well i never did, I never owned one cause I always thought it would roll & not drive in a straight line with any speed but you have changed my mind. She ran brilliantly 😀😀😀
I owned one. It was my first hobby grade RC car. And I can tell you that it wasn't as powered as this one and didn't roll over... From what I remember and if it did there was a good chance it would roll right back into its wheels because of the round body. I miss it. I sold mine it a friend who moved out of state... I may have to track down one of these rereleases!
@@darrengrimmer8541 errr,mmmm I'm sure it's errr delicious,will definitely try it when I have a new passport,job,and when vegetables are in short supply!!!;)
Brings ME back to 1997.... im 42 so thats a bit late, but thats the first time i got my hands on one of these! just couldnt afford it as a child in the late 80's
@@TAMIYALegends same... hehe like every video of you man..... i just took out my wild willy and blackfoot for a carefull run in the garden... instantly forgetting all the bullshit happening around us and spending a short time in the past. keep on truckin' mate.
These cars are so much fun to drive. The chassis is not too bad and not to good, if it's too good then it gets too smooth of a drive. I have the most fun with a little tumbling and rear wheel drive 😎.
I love these. You're right: They do flip on tarmac, which is heartbreaking because then it scratches the lovely paint job on the body shell! I only run mine on dirt (ideal) or short grass.
Just purchased this little Monster! I have been watching your channel now since Xmas 2020 and since then, have purchased 7 Tamiya kits. I’m so hooked again, it’s crazy!!!
Well done Glen and a really nice gesture from Euro RC for the sponsorship.. It looks great an iconic buggy from back in the day.. No speed records just good fun👍👍👍👍
Growing up this was my third Tamiya after my HotShot and Ford Ranger :) the Beetle was such a fun runner, great for jumping too. I got the re issue but not built it yet.
Love the footage on gravel! The sport tuned is the right match I think. Suits the car's personality. That's what I have in mine. Seeing it running always puts a smile on my face.
Just watched that with my Daughters and now they both want one, It made me really happy this morning to watch how excited they were to watch the MB bashing around :) That will be another two monster trucks in the collection come next year.. What a tease mate! I thought I was going to see the MB at the track lol but what a cool video to watch cannot wait for Christmas now and my Blackfoot build. Also I just found out that Lunchbox tires fit on the ORV monster trucks wheels, they are wider so give a bit more stability
I had this as a kid. I didn't realize the control arms were different lengths, so drilled them out so both long ones were on one side and both short ones on the other. This resulted in a lot of negative camber. When I realized my "mistake" I ordered new control arms, but soon discovered that it handled WAY better with the large negative camber- It could corner twice as fast, easy.
Good morning Glen!!! Man are they ever fun!!! Tamiya should ask for your action shots!! Really captures the essence of what they are all about! So much character the older models! Job well done Glen! And who the he’ll dislikes these videos?? I just noticed that? What’s wrong with people? Thanks buddy! Keep doing what you do BEST!!
Thanks Chris, I absolutely love getting the action pictures from the runs, makes my day when they turn out like this 🤩 Oh yeah the thumbs down guys 🤷🏼♂️
I got a spare body for running my mb.Lost the number plate to on first run, so screwed the thing on.Extra laquer on the roof, and no damage after rolling.good video Glenn👍🎅
They’re brilliant aren’t they Glen! Back in ‘87 I was in my last year at primary school and I’d never heard of Tamiya. I spent a month or two pestering my folks to get me a Taiyo RTR RC truck (toy grade) I’d seen in a shop in Lancaster (UK). They got it me for Christmas and I was happy for a week or so until we went back to school and my mate brought in the Hornet he’d got for Christmas and another lad brought in a Grasshopper. Both had the Acoms Techniplus Mkiii transmitters which looked great with the needle battery indicator, interchangeable crystals, looong ariels and coloured ribbon on top of the antenna to show what frequency they were on. My truck didn’t seem so good anymore and I spent the next twelve months longing for a Tamiya car. I used to have the cheapest dinner at school so I could save up and put half towards one at the end of the year. I chose the Falcon so I’d be one up on my mate with the Hornet. Christmas came and I got my Falcon, built it on the day and painted it on Boxing day. I gave my mate a call to see if I could bing it round to show him. When I got there excited to race his now battered Hornet I was greeted by the sight of his newly built Monster Beetle (the Hornet had been discarded in box under his bed). The Beetle was amazing and dwarfed my Falcon. He got all the best toys. 30 years later and perhaps as a result of this I’ve now got three Beetles, two still in their boxes and one that I occasionally and carefully run. Cheers, Dave.
Looks great. It's nice to have a big tire RC as they can run anywhere. I think the speed is perfect! ... and the tire stickers didn't fly off. Awesome!
Great choice of motor we put something like 21 turnmotors in our lunchboxes years ago it was quite fast but we modified the rear end to stop the wheelies lrp touring car special is a favorite of mine for on road chassis like the ff02 and some others gave 30 minute run times with a fair turn of speed .
@@TAMIYALegends I'm not sure what I run in mine not ran it for ages it's a vintage kyosho but it has a bit of bite to it does tend to tip it over if I'm not careful 😂
Tamiya make a great abs resin cement for gluing the plastic when you need to. It is better than super glue. I still have the arm on my fast attack vehicle driver and it’s rock solid.
Hi Glen, just bought a monster beetle from Euro RC, got the discount - that was great. Have now found out they don’t sort customs and it’s not clear on VAT. Had I known this I wouldn’t have bought from them as it’s now going to be more expensive than UK shops. Might be worth warning UK customers. Appreciate Brexit has mucked things up but it’s not clear on Euro RCs part...
This was my first hobby grade rc when i was kid and let me tell you if you put a fast motor it will fly and it really never rolled but i also had a lot of mods in it was such a fun truck i would love to have one again brings back memories .
After the number plate the mirrors will come off next ;_) I now velcroed the number plate to the body. On my Sand Scorcher body I did not even mount the mirrors and sold them while they still were brand new (did not take long to find a buyer 😂). If you fill the mirror holes and paint them according to the body color, it looks even better in my opinion. Same is for the rear lights, which also don´t last long and sell quickly. Only the number plate is an optical must on the body, I think. I also removed the front bumper with the 3 lights as it broke quickly...
I always loved the rear chassis design and suspension setup on this series of the Blackfoot/SuperBeetle/SubaruBrat/etc... But, the front suspension was so disappointing and left so much desired. Sure, the front suspension kinda worked, but even in your lovely "SLOW MOTION" clips, you can see the approx 1/2' (1.5 cm) travel, where as the rear had massive amount of travel. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was still clever that they tried to mimic the radius arm like a real automobile's front streering/suspension geometry. The idea that the pre-bent into shape radius arm/control arm, also acted as the lover pivot point, (like the real vehicle system) was also neat. But, the limited travel, for me at least, well, I wanted more travel. Over the early years, some 30 plus years ago, I had seen people do all sorts of concepts to the front of this series of chassis, from either a professional stand point or just simply in their garages to modify or try to enhance the front suspension, all in efforts to acquire more travel. I seen a setup where a guy machined out all the pivot points to a larger stepped / flanged hole to accept flanged ball bearings on the inner and outer, upper and lower black plastic pivot arms, and the also to include the steering knuckle/spindles to have ball bearings .. If I can remember correctly, the front alone to free up the suspension and steering movement and travel took 20 to 24 additional flanged ball bearings... I seen allot of folks modifying the front chassis to change the angle of attack of the caster angle which always seem to cause a nasty bump steer issues..lol... An old racer I once knew, I forget his name, but he started a company that made many parts for many different RC cahssis's, one being the Blackfoot/Brat/Beetle series. The company was called "THORP" and had all sorts of performance products, some were kinda gimmicks, or more over, served no performance factor at all, but it was still a part that a person could buy, lol... I knew another guy, I met him at a trade show, and he made RC custom parts for many brands and chassis's.. that company was called "SASSY CHASSIS".. It is unknown to me if that company is still around at all. The company "THORP" i factually know went out of business a long time ago. I heard rumors that THORP was purchased buy a larger company, but I do not know if that is factual, just a rumor. Now, there was one company, who made some of the most amazing parts for the Blackfoot series of chassis's, like the plastic cage halves that make up the main chassis that everything is attached to, they offered 100% machined aluminum chassis, in the exact same look as the plastic unit. Granted, I don't remember the exact cost of those parts, but something like a fully laced up Blackfoot with all those 3 axis machined parts to exacting scale turned a $189 USD Blackfoot rolling chassis brand new in box, into the cost of something like $2800 USD.. Please note, I never met a single person who ever did that to one of these, as nobody in their right mind would do that ,let alone spend that kinda money on a chassis design that serves no performance factor at all, lol.. but was still neat to see.. That THORP company made a flat pan chassis that converted the plastic cage type halves. and was often used, which also allowed caster to be part of the pan chassis design.. and there was some sanctioned events that these were attempted to be a "stock racing truck series".. I think it lasted one year, as the RC-10 conversion kit for 4WD and or adding large wheels and tires wee already starting to hit the scene .. which the RC-10T replaced all that mess and cleaned house, so to speak... Another fun video.. See what you did, TAMIYA Legends, you brought more memories back out of me, that I hadn't thought about for years, with this video... well done...
I've been waiting for this one. Wanted to see how the gearbox react, everything seems great with the sports tuned motor. I'm thinking it could take a GT tuned or UTG motor but that would be the limit.
Nice! Yeah, I wouldn’t want to put a brushless system in there. With the plastics that Tamiya uses, I wouldn’t want to. A standard 540 or even a Tamiya super stock motor like the BZ, RZ motors would be fine.
Looks like your MB has a lot of bumpsteer. You could go around that problem when you screw the little ballpins at the servosafer from underneath not from the top. Then the steering rods are not as steep and the bumpsteer is almost gone. Greatings from Austria.... Andi
By the time I made enough money to have an RC car, I was able to afford Associated and Losi (90's), so I skipped my childhood dreams of having a Monster Beetle, Midnight Pumpkin, and King Cab. Now I'm thinking about getting back into RC, but this time... Tamiya. To me it feels like they were / are the original. Team Associated became more famous in the late 80's because they came up first, I think, with oil filled shocks. Otherwise, OG always has been Tamiya.
