It's amazing how close these kits are to the originals. As a vintage collector, I am glad Kyosho decided to make subtle changes of improvement to distinguish them from the originals. Very nice review ;)
I've never owned an RC car and been thinking about getting one and watching your vids to learn a little before I buy. After a week of CZcams I'm already an RC fanatic and just ordered a Kyosho RB6.6 readyset. Can't wait to try it out. I'm about to turn 40 and feel like a kid again...
Being one of the old timer's that began racing in the mid 1980's, I kinda snicker when younger guys assume that all we had for power was of ancient tech and far less powerful than what we have today. All things considered, battery longevity was our major handicap. You guys have never had to worry about making run time and our races were 4 minutes long. Gearing was an art form if you wanted to make that 4 minute mark with a little extra to finish the lap you were on. We also had 7 cell or 8.4v packs and low turn modified motors. Some of the late model dirt oval cars would be topping 50 mph depending on the length of the straights. The Tomahawks and Scorpions were the cars to beat until the first RC10's hit the track. Dirt off road was just that, off road. I had one of the Optima's and won my first race with that car and I am so stoked that one of my old toys is coming back. Gotta have one. If they let me, I'll run one in the stock class, tires and all. Keep up the video's!
I had an Optima back in 1986. I love that car. Now it's updated and 4wd, that should be a blast. It all depends on what you want to do with it. Either car is a good choice if you have a vintage class at your local track.If not, I would get a newer car like the B5M or a Losi. It all depends on what you want to do.
tomahawks and scorps were the cars to beat untill the associated rc10??????? errrrrm my slightly non stock very custom schumacher cat lwb was smashing everything in the east midlands from 1987 to 1991.....reigning champ 4yrs on the trot....... could not be beaten....astutes,avantes rc10s pb mustangs all got demolished :) im 45 now and might just reignight my old flame just to show you younglings a thing or two..... :)
Jason thanks for the memories on batteries. I used to race back in the later 80s using Nicad ang NiMh packs. The cars I had are Tamiya Hornet, Rc10, and Jrx2.
Originally when those Kyosho's were released in the 1980's they were known as the Circuit 1000 series buggies. There were several in the series that shared the same chassis configuration. The Scorpion, Off-Road Beetle, Tomahawk and Turbo Scorpion were the electric powered versions. Kyosho sold these buggies in the USA licensed under the Cox hobby name as well where they had three electric versions that were the Scorpion, Off-Road Beetle, and the Sidewinder which oddly enough had a lexan Chevy Pickup body on it. Kyosho also had the Advance and the Assault which had rear mounted nitro fuel engines in them. The chassis rails, cast aluminum suspension parts and cast aluminum gear box were all shared by each version of the Circuit 1000 series buggies. All of them came equipped with spider geared differentials with diecast gears. I have owned several of each of the Circuit 1000 buggies over the years. They are an absolute blast to drive and are stunning looking vintage buggies. The re-released versions are magnificent as well and pretty close to the originals.
Of all the cars we have in the house my 10yr old son loves my Tomahawk the best! He drives a Losi 22 2.0 and a SCX10 but the 30+ year old car is his fav.
Very cool video. I just dug my 1988 Ultima Pro out of my parents basement this summer. Spent some money getting it operational again. I added a 4-pole 3000Kv / ESC combo and a 7.2 NiMH 3000 mAh battery. It runs awesome and is not too powerful where I would end up stripping the gears. I WOULD NOT go LiPo or get a more powerful engine like you suggested. Oh, the fun times we had! Hopefully they keep re releasing! Thanks for the Video!
so i may have never grown up with these buggies, but i like them more than my modern ones. i have a grasshopper, and plan to get a tomahawk, because i just like vintage stuff in general. also, these are more fun to drive....they dont handle well, roll over a lot, but thats what makes them fun!
Jason great review. Like you said when you walk into a hobby store and see all the kits it's really hard to pick one because you want them all if it's either Kyosho or Tamiya kit. Been picking up the releases from Tamiya and now I'm going to start getting the Kyosho kits.
I had one of there as a kid, back then it smoked my mates frog. The only way he could get me back was to smash into me with that huge frog bumper !! Love it !
One thing these original scale buggies shows us is that they actually used to be scale race cars. Modern buggies of course have sped forward in their evolution quicker then real life counterparts but my nostalgic side laments these beautifully designed and built scale machines!
I'm 47 now and bought the remake Tamiya Hornet, which I owned as a 13 year old. I've also bought the Kyosho Optima which I dreamed of owning when I had my Hornet
I remember those! I like that buggy. Lol. Way back in the 80's... I feel old. Cox put out a buggy simular to that in the 70's except it was a nitro. They didnt last long as they were not RC, you set the wheels and let it go. It would bang and bounce off stuff till it stopped or broke. I like how they went with retro orange. lol. I eould love to get one of those and set it up for Nitro. It may end up on my list of vehicles to buy next spring. I am impressed!
As a kid, I spent hours looking through the Tower Hobbies catalog. After having several Tyco cars, I wanted a 'real' RC car. Parents bought me more than a few Tyco cars that I wrecked and while replacement parts were available, it was pretty much cheaper to buy a new Tyco. I still remember my hovercraft(s). Fast forward 25+ years later, I understand why they were semi ok buying me a $40 car back in the day and hesitated buying me an $80 car - but the grasshopper - was all I wanted as a kid. Belt drive - what!?! I never got it.
Hey Jason the original Tomahawk came with three bevel gear diff and the new release comes with ball diff because I used to have the original car and I think still have it and love all your reviews , keep the great work.
Great video, Just finished building the scorpion and also had trouble with those back screws going into the plastic( or took more effort than I would of thought) also had an issues with the bearing fit on one of my rear a-arms. It seems to be a little stiff in the rear but I am hoping with a little wear this will go away. Thanks again for the video and keep them coming
This takes me way back. I've had and raced every ultima up to the ultima pro II and every optima up to the turbo optima mid. After watching these vids I've recently put a brushless setup in my near mint vintage ultima, poor buggy!
much nicer packaging than back in the day kits. the originals: body shell was in a bag and not cut out or covered with masking protective plastic. small parts were bagged plastics were usually on trees, shocks were never pre assembled. I had the turbo optima chain drive version and later the turbo ultima 2wd version this reminds me of the ultima except the ultima had a more modern front suspension. i dont know when these were made i dont recall them at all either at the track or on a shelf. cars of that era were kits only, no electrics except for a resistor speed control.
I built the Scorpion re-release. Everything was great with the build except the front suspension bar and mounting it in the blocks. I’m using a 17T Reventon Sensored brushless system. The only difference between the Scorpion and Tomahawk are that the Scorpion has the plastic pan and the Tomahawk has the forward chassis plate and radio box
Hey Jason great video thanks ... I have the Scorpion with an Orion 15x2 brushed running on lipo . A beautiful piece of engineering and surprisingly tough . Hard to keep it on a shelf once you've driven it ... And as for the wheel "hubs" , they hold up great (so far) . Keep up the good work and thanks again dude
I remember this was my first car before my Frog Blackfoot. The thing moved like crazy on the dirt/rocks but if I remember right the front was a bit light and id have problems turning with it. Still a great car. Had to save my money from my birthday, Christmas and ect. to get it. Good stuff
it was my first rc car too. folllowed by the monster beetle, and the hi rider corvette, aahhhh childhood memories. all tuned with bigger motors ball bearings and electronic speed control, often they died in a high speed blaze of glory ;))))
Back in the day you had to build the shocks. I had most every kyosho from turbo scorpion to turbo mid. Shock valving and oil selection was a thing to do.
Regarding going brushless with the Tomahawk. I know a big problem with these was bent chassis's from collisions. We were only running RS540 motors with 6.0v NiCads. Drop a brushless with a LiPo battery in and you will be looking to taco this car.
Thats awesome. I couldnt afford those when I was a kid, my first hobby grade was a traxxas hawk rtr. How ive got a blackfoot, lunchbox, thundershot and kyosho triumph. Next purchase tomohawk! Great video.
You're 100% correct about the old tracks (11:49). IMO those old tracks were better than the modern tracks they race on today. It seems R/C off-road racing tracks have followed the same pattern as motocross tracks; every year the jumps get higher (too high IMO), the turns get tighter, and overall the tracks are just so overly technical--in the man-made way--compared to the older tracks. *These days the cars spend almost as much time flying through the air than they do on the ground!* Motocross AND R/C car tracks used to make better use of the terrain that was available, and I like them that way. I prefer building my own track to a pro-built track; the only drawback is there's no crowds! =( For me, the ultimate track makes use of the terrain that it's built on. Instead of starting with a flattened area and building up, use the terrain to your advantage. Some of the best tracks I've ever raced on--and some of the best times I've had racing--were the tracks that were simply cut into the edge of the woods in someone's yard or at the edge of a local sandpit. Plus, *you just can't beat the awesome feel of a track that you made with your buddies*; good times!
Бя&doиe V I agree, I like smooth fast tracks with modest jumps but rc is a spectator sport and needs to be flashy as can be to attract those fans. That's just how it is.
I opted for the new scorpion,and I got a tamya sand scorcher.they went on the shelf along with my old rc10s and rc10gts, and my original blazing blazer and original bruiser, and I have some kind of old kyosho nitro with chain drive and aluminum rails like your tomahawk..and I know the rc10gts aren't that old yet but I a one new still in the box..its a rtr
I will prolly end up buying one of these but I'm really waiting on Kyosho to release the Optima. I really want the Turbo Optima and I sure hope if/when they do, we get a better servo mount than the original.
First car I ever bought with my own money was a Kyosho Assault which is basically a nitro version of the tomahawk, nostalgia... I think it did have gear diffs though, maybe they're upgraded?
Original car had a Differential, but it wasnt closed like the new one. See page 22 to of original manual. Easy to tighten the rear wheels: hold on the wheel. Do to the friction surface once the wheel has contact it offers more resistance than the nut. No need to ruin the dogbones.
Just got an original Kyosho Javelin on Ebay. Super excited...but this Tomahawk...wow....beautiful kit!! but Bro...I want that t-shirt.!!.. Seriously, where can I buy one of those?
Are you gonna race it with a 27MHz radio? ;) At my parents' I have in storage one very nice (but not box art) vintage Scorpion, as well as one vintage project Scorpion/Beetle crossover and additional vintage parts. I bought them before they got expensive... ...before they got a bit cheaper! Too many other projects though!
Hey Jason, when you were building the rear axles and those friction style hubs, did you notice if there was a way to drill a small hole for some drive pins? My first frog hopper used the friction style hubs and worked great until we resurrected it and put some modern brushed power to it. I want one, or more so need one and I'm just a little concerned that even with today's brushed power and non mechanical speed controllers I will lose a lot of power. Anyone else with any info please help me out, thanks.
*Since you're into the old-school stuff, maybe you can answer this* I've always loved the VW Beetle Dune Buggies, but there are only a few R/C models are close to the real thing; one by Tamiya and the other by Kyosho. I haven't built a Kyosho kit before, I was always a Tamiya boy, but I was thinking the Kyosho Beetle Buggy might be better build for all-around bashing than the Tamiya Sand Scorcher, but I can't be sure. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like Kyosho's Beetle has less that can break or wear-out from bashing. Anyways maybe you can give me a quick opinion on which one is best for backyard bashing.
get an original monster beetle, by tamiya or blackfoot.or if ya wanna go nuts get a clodbuster..... 4wd 2 seperate 540 motors 4w steering upgrade the shocks to coil over oil,whack a beetle body on it and rock!!!!!!! :)
chloe devereaux Clod Busters are such a waste of money; they're so expensive and compared to Axial--who make what are essentially hopped-up CB's--they are total crap.
^^That said, I loved my Clod Buster growing up, but it's just SO outdated now. You could spend over a thousand dollars hopping up a Clod Buster or just buy an Axial for $300 and slap that *beautiful* Clod Buster body on it (=
The original was build when I was -12 ( I am 17 now ) but I love old cars, and old RC cars, sometimes better then new ones! But maybe I am a bit of a weird guy :-)
Kyosho needs to reissue the Optima/Javelin/T.Optima/Salute/OptimaSE. Probably just one "super kit" after or with separate re-issues. Then do the Optima Mid and T.Optima Mid. and I'm going to say this from experience. DO NOT RE-issue the Rocky. Re-issue the T.Rocky. The Rocky's deck plate was made to break. One good hit, even while wearing the huge kydex bumper, and it broke and the Rocky lost nearly all structural rigidity. The T.Rocky used dual aluminum deck plates. A massive improvement, but hell to find and order back in the 1980s. Just remember to include the front Mono-shock suspension blocks and a heavy spring. BTW, Those platinum shocks are cool, but not your friend in a race. Finally those shocks on the Tomahawk, are called Kyosho Red shocks. Simple. They are named for their color. Kyosho had a real knack for setting shock trends or setting a standard. The Gold shocks, which succeeded the Reds, where directly influenced by the RC-10's shocks. But Kyosho made their better and less complicated to build and maintain. RC-10 drivers stuck with them as they worked as well. But the Golds showed up everywhere, particularly if the driver of a car did not like or trust the shocks that came with their cars. The Golds were hallmarks of almost all of Kyosho's Turbo models, like turbo Optima and Salute. But were not used on the Turbo Ultima, Turbo Rocky and a few others. Kyosho then developed the Platinum shocks, that had easily adjusted damping setting, but those settings did not stay put under the stress of racing and lost favor very fast. Finally Kyosho developed the Black shocks. These were their gold shocks made of black plastic rather than anodized aluminum. this was done to reduce costs and price, and counter imitation gold shocks. Duratrax had a set of imitation gold shocks that literally were exactly like the gold shocks but 2/3 the price. The plastic was not the best but inspired countless imitators using plastic bodies on high performance shocks. Their were the Bronze shocks, which were the gold shocks scaled up for 1/8 scale buggies. These the best in 1/8 scale but not for long as the golds inspired other companies to build better shocks as well. Eventually, with so many companies offering fully dressed kits out of the box and their sales success, almost everyone stopped making hop-up parts for the open market. Selling tires, shocks, and motors, and more to anyone who wanted them. Kyosho closed their parts division "Option House" not long into the 1990s.
yes thank you I to grew up in the 80's and this looks like the optima.. I don't remember seeing this car back in the day, but how bout the Vanning's return too!! I m so glad kyosho going retro too like tamiya does !!
i still have my losi jrx2 and i remember kyosho rocky 4wd i always want to wet one and the ultima and optima and many more also the futaba fx10 the car
Chris Madsen Ok, I get It Kyosho is like Losi, just a little bit Overpriced, but I am writing this a year later than your post and it is still true, but even more so. However I find that the rereleased cars are, for some reason, a lot cheaper than the modern stuff. That is a good thing in my book!
@@No1karez I have no specific brand loyalty but...A Kyosho Tomahawk sells for about $300.00 Canadian and comes with no motor, radio system or battery. I bought a Traxxas Slash for $260.00 and it came with a 2.4 GHZ radio, 3000 MAH NIHM battery, DC Smart charger and 550 motor. It handles better and more stable than a friends Kyosho Tomahawk on our local track which has lots of good rough sections. Please tell me how Kyosho justifies the price?? After comparing one with another brand, I will never buy Kyosho for competition, to me they are shiny, all show, no go.
@@No1karez I've been in the hobby since 1973, I've seen a lot of kits come and go but never anything more expensive and featureless than the kyosho models they taste like ...disappointment. It takes more than a good model...it also takes a very good driver who can think on their toes. I don't any given model or brand name should ever take all the credit for the win.
@@No1karez I will race you in my slash or R/C 10 gold pan and win! I will have invested a couple of hundred less as well. As stated the Kyosho product is way over priced for what you get. I don't get this brand loyalty on expensive shiny junk. Mabe great for a dust collecting shelf queen? enough said.
errrrm,no diff. at 13;20 when you turn the right rear wheel clockwise the left wheel also turns clockwise. a diff gearbox would make the opposing wheel rotate the opposite direction........ and ive been building and racing as you say vintage kyosho/tamyia/pb/associated at comp level since 1985..... my best 1/10th elec 4wd buggy was my lwb schumacher cat... :)
Hey it's about time u post a video Mr. Hyper Dimensional lol. Like always bro love the videos and already sub'd your new channel. And for all you others that haven't already done so check out Jason's new channel it's also awesome, peace!
You didn't run it? FAIL. Run it gently maybe, but at least run it! I'm probably 10 years older than you, and in my day, Tamiya (and later Associated) was all my local hobby shop stocked. These look a lot more rugged than Tamiyas were, with their "rugged ABS bathtub chassis'". This looks great, but I think I"m gonna go for a Turbo Optima instead.
I had to snicker just a little bit on your exclamation of it being an aluminum RC car, because back in the day they were all aluminum. Think Altama, Optimia, RC10, etc. , and these were the high end race buggies of the day. Though I have been doing RC for thirty years, I remember a time when I realised that RC had gone PLASTIC! Plastic had been widely introduced in the 60's, and many took that to mean cheep. So I took it as RC going cheep. Just saying.
THX Kyosho to bring the classics back !
It's amazing how close these kits are to the originals. As a vintage collector, I am glad Kyosho decided to make subtle changes of improvement to distinguish them from the originals. Very nice review ;)
I'm not old enough to remember that from my childhood but that thing is cool as hell. I'm absolutely going to get one. Cheers!
I've never owned an RC car and been thinking about getting one and watching your vids to learn a little before I buy. After a week of CZcams I'm already an RC fanatic and just ordered a Kyosho RB6.6 readyset.
Can't wait to try it out. I'm about to turn 40 and feel like a kid again...
Being one of the old timer's that began racing in the mid 1980's, I kinda snicker when younger guys assume that all we had for power was of ancient tech and far less powerful than what we have today. All things considered, battery longevity was our major handicap. You guys have never had to worry about making run time and our races were 4 minutes long. Gearing was an art form if you wanted to make that 4 minute mark with a little extra to finish the lap you were on. We also had 7 cell or 8.4v packs and low turn modified motors. Some of the late model dirt oval cars would be topping 50 mph depending on the length of the straights. The Tomahawks and Scorpions were the cars to beat until the first RC10's hit the track. Dirt off road was just that, off road. I had one of the Optima's and won my first race with that car and I am so stoked that one of my old toys is coming back. Gotta have one. If they let me, I'll run one in the stock class, tires and all. Keep up the video's!
Which do u recommend the tomahawk or the optima as they're rereleasing that now
I had an Optima back in 1986. I love that car. Now it's updated and 4wd, that should be a blast. It all depends on what you want to do with it. Either car is a good choice if you have a vintage class at your local track.If not, I would get a newer car like the B5M or a Losi. It all depends on what you want to do.
tomahawks and scorps were the cars to beat untill the associated rc10??????? errrrrm my slightly non stock very custom schumacher cat lwb was smashing everything in the east midlands from 1987 to 1991.....reigning champ 4yrs on the trot....... could not be beaten....astutes,avantes rc10s pb mustangs all got demolished :) im 45 now and might just reignight my old flame just to show you younglings a thing or two..... :)
Jason thanks for the memories on batteries. I used to race back in the later 80s using Nicad ang NiMh packs. The cars I had are Tamiya Hornet, Rc10, and Jrx2.
Originally when those Kyosho's were released in the 1980's they were known as the Circuit 1000 series buggies. There were several in the series that shared the same chassis configuration. The Scorpion, Off-Road Beetle, Tomahawk and Turbo Scorpion were the electric powered versions. Kyosho sold these buggies in the USA licensed under the Cox hobby name as well where they had three electric versions that were the Scorpion, Off-Road Beetle, and the Sidewinder which oddly enough had a lexan Chevy Pickup body on it. Kyosho also had the Advance and the Assault which had rear mounted nitro fuel engines in them. The chassis rails, cast aluminum suspension parts and cast aluminum gear box were all shared by each version of the Circuit 1000 series buggies. All of them came equipped with spider geared differentials with diecast gears. I have owned several of each of the Circuit 1000 buggies over the years. They are an absolute blast to drive and are stunning looking vintage buggies. The re-released versions are magnificent as well and pretty close to the originals.
Of all the cars we have in the house my 10yr old son loves my Tomahawk the best! He drives a Losi 22 2.0 and a SCX10 but the 30+ year old car is his fav.
I have a vintage Kyosho gp10 nitro and 2 Schumachers from the 80s. Restoring them now.
Love the scale looks. Something thats missing these days
I remember running a chain driven
Yokomo dogfighter. It was a blast.
Very cool video. I just dug my 1988 Ultima Pro out of my parents basement this summer. Spent some money getting it operational again. I added a 4-pole 3000Kv / ESC combo and a 7.2 NiMH 3000 mAh battery. It runs awesome and is not too powerful where I would end up stripping the gears. I WOULD NOT go LiPo or get a more powerful engine like you suggested. Oh, the fun times we had! Hopefully they keep re releasing! Thanks for the Video!
It is great as an adult to get all the kits I wanted as a kid, but couldn't afford back then.
I got the kyosho beetle re-release and love it! I ran it once and now it's a shelf queen!
so i may have never grown up with these buggies, but i like them more than my modern ones. i have a grasshopper, and plan to get a tomahawk, because i just like vintage stuff in general. also, these are more fun to drive....they dont handle well, roll over a lot, but thats what makes them fun!
Jason great review. Like you said when you walk into a hobby store and see all the kits it's really hard to pick one because you want them all if it's either Kyosho or Tamiya kit. Been picking up the releases from Tamiya and now I'm going to start getting the Kyosho kits.
I had one of there as a kid, back then it smoked my mates frog. The only way he could get me back was to smash into me with that huge frog bumper !! Love it !
That thing looks seriously awesome.
One thing these original scale buggies shows us is that they actually used to be scale race cars. Modern buggies of course have sped forward in their evolution quicker then real life counterparts but my nostalgic side laments these beautifully designed and built scale machines!
I'm 47 now and bought the remake Tamiya Hornet, which I owned as a 13 year old. I've also bought the Kyosho Optima which I dreamed of owning when I had my Hornet
I'm 15 my dad has an original kyosho outrage st and I love it I love all the vintage cars I honeslty wish I could have a bunch of those
I remember those! I like that buggy. Lol. Way back in the 80's... I feel old. Cox put out a buggy simular to that in the 70's except it was a nitro. They didnt last long as they were not RC, you set the wheels and let it go. It would bang and bounce off stuff till it stopped or broke. I like how they went with retro orange. lol. I eould love to get one of those and set it up for Nitro. It may end up on my list of vehicles to buy next spring. I am impressed!
Excellent video. Thanks for going through the trouble to make it!
As a kid, I spent hours looking through the Tower Hobbies catalog. After having several Tyco cars, I wanted a 'real' RC car. Parents bought me more than a few Tyco cars that I wrecked and while replacement parts were available, it was pretty much cheaper to buy a new Tyco. I still remember my hovercraft(s). Fast forward 25+ years later, I understand why they were semi ok buying me a $40 car back in the day and hesitated buying me an $80 car - but the grasshopper - was all I wanted as a kid. Belt drive - what!?! I never got it.
Truly a cool car from days gone by.
That's actually a well-built little RC I had two plastic versionused to put butter on the wheels and drive it on low linoleum my mom would get so mad
Hey Jason the original Tomahawk came with three bevel gear diff and the new release comes with ball diff because I used to have the original car and I think still have it and love all your reviews , keep the great work.
Ishtiaq Ahmed yeah just about all rc from that time came with that type of diff
just and awesome video....thank you
Great video, Just finished building the scorpion and also had trouble with those back screws going into the plastic( or took more effort than I would of thought) also had an issues with the bearing fit on one of my rear a-arms. It seems to be a little stiff in the rear but I am hoping with a little wear this will go away. Thanks again for the video and keep them coming
This takes me way back. I've had and raced every ultima up to the ultima pro II and every optima up to the turbo optima mid. After watching these vids I've recently put a brushless setup in my near mint vintage ultima, poor buggy!
much nicer packaging than back in the day kits. the originals: body shell was in a bag and not cut out or covered with masking protective plastic. small parts were bagged plastics were usually on trees, shocks were never pre assembled. I had the turbo optima chain drive version and later the turbo ultima 2wd version this reminds me of the ultima except the ultima had a more modern front suspension. i dont know when these were made i dont recall them at all either at the track or on a shelf. cars of that era were kits only, no electrics except for a resistor speed control.
I built the Scorpion re-release. Everything was great with the build except the front suspension bar and mounting it in the blocks. I’m using a 17T Reventon Sensored brushless system. The only difference between the Scorpion and Tomahawk are that the Scorpion has the plastic pan and the Tomahawk has the forward chassis plate and radio box
Hey Jason great video thanks ... I have the Scorpion with an Orion 15x2 brushed running on lipo . A beautiful piece of engineering and surprisingly tough . Hard to keep it on a shelf once you've driven it ... And as for the wheel "hubs" , they hold up great (so far) . Keep up the good work and thanks again dude
Really like this buggy it's worth it for the price can't go wrong just add upgrades and powerful batteries with a charger 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
I remember this was my first car before my Frog Blackfoot. The thing moved like crazy on the dirt/rocks but if I remember right the front was a bit light and id have problems turning with it. Still a great car. Had to save my money from my birthday, Christmas and ect. to get it. Good stuff
it was my first rc car too. folllowed by the monster beetle, and the hi rider corvette, aahhhh childhood memories. all tuned with bigger motors ball bearings and electronic speed control, often they died in a high speed blaze of glory ;))))
@@breakshot7451 Nice as any worthy RC was made for!
Back in the day you had to build the shocks. I had most every kyosho from turbo scorpion to turbo mid. Shock valving and oil selection was a thing to do.
That car is actually very very cool
im only 13 but I love these old tamiya and kyosho kits
Thanks! Great advice on it being a shelf queen and not a basher... :)
Regarding going brushless with the Tomahawk. I know a big problem with these was bent chassis's from collisions. We were only running RS540 motors with 6.0v NiCads. Drop a brushless with a LiPo battery in and you will be looking to taco this car.
Thats awesome. I couldnt afford those when I was a kid, my first hobby grade was a traxxas hawk rtr. How ive got a blackfoot, lunchbox, thundershot and kyosho triumph. Next purchase tomohawk! Great video.
You're 100% correct about the old tracks (11:49). IMO those old tracks were better than the modern tracks they race on today. It seems R/C off-road racing tracks have followed the same pattern as motocross tracks; every year the jumps get higher (too high IMO), the turns get tighter, and overall the tracks are just so overly technical--in the man-made way--compared to the older tracks. *These days the cars spend almost as much time flying through the air than they do on the ground!*
Motocross AND R/C car tracks used to make better use of the terrain that was available, and I like them that way. I prefer building my own track to a pro-built track; the only drawback is there's no crowds! =(
For me, the ultimate track makes use of the terrain that it's built on. Instead of starting with a flattened area and building up, use the terrain to your advantage. Some of the best tracks I've ever raced on--and some of the best times I've had racing--were the tracks that were simply cut into the edge of the woods in someone's yard or at the edge of a local sandpit. Plus, *you just can't beat the awesome feel of a track that you made with your buddies*; good times!
Бя&doиe V I agree, I like smooth fast tracks with modest jumps but rc is a spectator sport and needs to be flashy as can be to attract those fans. That's just how it is.
Ahh...the memories of the Tamiya Grasshopper and Frog....
man bro that was super cool I remember those as a kid as well I have been seeing more more of these here lately big thumbs up brother
Sweet it does bring me back.
I opted for the new scorpion,and I got a tamya sand scorcher.they went on the shelf along with my old rc10s and rc10gts, and my original blazing blazer and original bruiser, and I have some kind of old kyosho nitro with chain drive and aluminum rails like your tomahawk..and I know the rc10gts aren't that old yet but I a one new still in the box..its a rtr
Beautiful buggy.I love vintage rc. I'm hoping for a rere of the Turbo Optima with chain drive and gold shocks.
Very nice! I had a Rocky and a Javelin.My buddy had the optima mid.
Damn, I wanna build one of these so bad. If only money grew on trees.
I will prolly end up buying one of these but I'm really waiting on Kyosho to release the Optima. I really want the Turbo Optima and I sure hope if/when they do, we get a better servo mount than the original.
the more I wish to get one of these the more I also hesitate because it will end as a shelf queen.
Kyosho have released a hex rim adapter and hex / 2.2 inch rims front and back. I just got them for my Scorpion 2014 (same chassis)
Oh yeah great video
Beautiful buggy
First car I ever bought with my own money was a Kyosho Assault which is basically a nitro version of the tomahawk, nostalgia... I think it did have gear diffs though, maybe they're upgraded?
Original car had a Differential, but it wasnt closed like the new one. See page 22 to of original manual.
Easy to tighten the rear wheels: hold on the wheel. Do to the friction surface once the wheel has contact it offers more resistance than the nut. No need to ruin the dogbones.
how you walked into hobby shops back then is me today.
I remember my old tomohawk having needle bearings in the wheels lol
just ordered one...sweet
nice classic..the Tamiya Super Champ is more realistic..even rear droop is like a VW buggy.
this is nice to collect..!
So cool! Great Review!
Please ask Kyosho to bring back the turbo optima, maybe they will listen to you lol
They actually did it
They did it, but today, there's no way you will find one for a regular price....
I was wondering kyosho were going to do re release and they finally have.
Just got an original Kyosho Javelin on Ebay. Super excited...but this Tomahawk...wow....beautiful kit!! but Bro...I want that t-shirt.!!.. Seriously, where can I buy one of those?
Wood screws! Hehe! I remember those, wow, like eclips.
Are you gonna race it with a 27MHz radio? ;)
At my parents' I have in storage one very nice (but not box art) vintage Scorpion, as well as one vintage project Scorpion/Beetle crossover and additional vintage parts.
I bought them before they got expensive... ...before they got a bit cheaper!
Too many other projects though!
We got to see a running video
Hey Jason, when you were building the rear axles and those friction style hubs, did you notice if there was a way to drill a small hole for some drive pins? My first frog hopper used the friction style hubs and worked great until we resurrected it and put some modern brushed power to it. I want one, or more so need one and I'm just a little concerned that even with today's brushed power and non mechanical speed controllers I will lose a lot of power. Anyone else with any info please help me out, thanks.
*Since you're into the old-school stuff, maybe you can answer this* I've always loved the VW Beetle Dune Buggies, but there are only a few R/C models are close to the real thing; one by Tamiya and the other by Kyosho. I haven't built a Kyosho kit before, I was always a Tamiya boy, but I was thinking the Kyosho Beetle Buggy might be better build for all-around bashing than the Tamiya Sand Scorcher, but I can't be sure. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like Kyosho's Beetle has less that can break or wear-out from bashing. Anyways maybe you can give me a quick opinion on which one is best for backyard bashing.
get an original monster beetle, by tamiya or blackfoot.or if ya wanna go nuts get a clodbuster..... 4wd 2 seperate 540 motors 4w steering upgrade the shocks to coil over oil,whack a beetle body on it and rock!!!!!!! :)
chloe devereaux Clod Busters are such a waste of money; they're so expensive and compared to Axial--who make what are essentially hopped-up CB's--they are total crap.
^^That said, I loved my Clod Buster growing up, but it's just SO outdated now. You could spend over a thousand dollars hopping up a Clod Buster or just buy an Axial for $300 and slap that *beautiful* Clod Buster body on it (=
The original was build when I was -12 ( I am 17 now ) but I love old cars, and old RC cars, sometimes better then new ones!
But maybe I am a bit of a weird guy :-)
I'm 14 and I want the tomahawk more than any new traxxas/hpi car
Ruud the original is from the 80's. not from this decade.
Marshall Ells Like I said, I was -12 :-)
Now its time that Traxxas follows up the RERELEASES and launches a bullet , srt, hawk ,traxxas one or a nitro hawk..
@shortcourseworld did the original kit come with a motor and 3 step mechanical speed control?
Kyosho needs to reissue the Optima/Javelin/T.Optima/Salute/OptimaSE. Probably just one "super kit" after or with separate re-issues. Then do the Optima Mid and T.Optima Mid.
and I'm going to say this from experience. DO NOT RE-issue the Rocky. Re-issue the T.Rocky. The Rocky's deck plate was made to break. One good hit, even while wearing the huge kydex bumper, and it broke and the Rocky lost nearly all structural rigidity. The T.Rocky used dual aluminum deck plates. A massive improvement, but hell to find and order back in the 1980s. Just remember to include the front Mono-shock suspension blocks and a heavy spring.
BTW, Those platinum shocks are cool, but not your friend in a race.
Finally those shocks on the Tomahawk, are called Kyosho Red shocks. Simple. They are named for their color. Kyosho had a real knack for setting shock trends or setting a standard.
The Gold shocks, which succeeded the Reds, where directly influenced by the RC-10's shocks. But Kyosho made their better and less complicated to build and maintain. RC-10 drivers stuck with them as they worked as well. But the Golds showed up everywhere, particularly if the driver of a car did not like or trust the shocks that came with their cars. The Golds were hallmarks of almost all of Kyosho's Turbo models, like turbo Optima and Salute. But were not used on the Turbo Ultima, Turbo Rocky and a few others.
Kyosho then developed the Platinum shocks, that had easily adjusted damping setting, but those settings did not stay put under the stress of racing and lost favor very fast.
Finally Kyosho developed the Black shocks. These were their gold shocks made of black plastic rather than anodized aluminum. this was done to reduce costs and price, and counter imitation gold shocks. Duratrax had a set of imitation gold shocks that literally were exactly like the gold shocks but 2/3 the price. The plastic was not the best but inspired countless imitators using plastic bodies on high performance shocks.
Their were the Bronze shocks, which were the gold shocks scaled up for 1/8 scale buggies. These the best in 1/8 scale but not for long as the golds inspired other companies to build better shocks as well.
Eventually, with so many companies offering fully dressed kits out of the box and their sales success, almost everyone stopped making hop-up parts for the open market. Selling tires, shocks, and motors, and more to anyone who wanted them. Kyosho closed their parts division "Option House" not long into the 1990s.
yes thank you I to grew up in the 80's and this looks like the optima.. I don't remember seeing this car back in the day, but how bout the Vanning's return too!! I m so glad kyosho going retro too like tamiya does !!
Show!
Holy Fu...... My Dream!
Also, did they ever re-release the Raider? Or turbo raider?
i still have my losi jrx2 and i remember kyosho rocky 4wd i always want to wet one and the ultima and optima and many more also the futaba fx10 the car
Have You done the Part 2? I cant seem to find it?
1991 IFMAR Offroad!!!
Could not find replacement parts for it
i need this....
Does it take a 550 class motor?
Do you have to buy a motor for This car
You used the word "affordable" in a Kyosho video. There really is nothing you can't do.
Chris Madsen Oh God Madsen...I'm dying over here :)
Chris Madsen Ok, I get It Kyosho is like Losi, just a little bit Overpriced, but I am writing this a year later than your post and it is still true, but even more so. However I find that the rereleased cars are, for some reason, a lot cheaper than the modern stuff. That is a good thing in my book!
@@No1karez I have no specific brand loyalty but...A Kyosho Tomahawk sells for about $300.00 Canadian and comes with no motor, radio system or battery. I bought a Traxxas Slash for $260.00 and it came with a 2.4 GHZ radio, 3000 MAH NIHM battery, DC Smart charger and 550 motor. It handles better and more stable than a friends Kyosho Tomahawk on our local track which has lots of good rough sections. Please tell me how Kyosho justifies the price?? After comparing one with another brand, I will never buy Kyosho for competition, to me they are shiny, all show, no go.
@@No1karez I've been in the hobby since 1973, I've seen a lot of kits come and go but never anything more expensive and featureless than the kyosho models they taste like ...disappointment. It takes more than a good model...it also takes a very good driver who can think on their toes. I don't any given model or brand name should ever take all the credit for the win.
@@No1karez I will race you in my slash or R/C 10 gold pan and win! I will have invested a couple of hundred less as well. As stated the Kyosho product is way over priced for what you get. I don't get this brand loyalty on expensive shiny junk. Mabe great for a dust collecting shelf queen? enough said.
Turbo Optima Please!!!!
what about kydhio usa 1
Kyosho is being the copy cat .. like Traxxas.. stuff been out their since the 90’s . Same old stuff but newer electronics. Lol.
😍
I wanna buy one but the wheels adapters drive me away. does anyone know if there is a hex conversion?
I think Kyosho sells it
errrrm,no diff. at 13;20 when you turn the right rear wheel clockwise the left wheel also turns clockwise. a diff gearbox would make the opposing wheel rotate the opposite direction........ and ive been building and racing as you say vintage kyosho/tamyia/pb/associated at comp level since 1985..... my best 1/10th elec 4wd buggy was my lwb schumacher cat... :)
Buy them! Build them! And most importantly DRIVE THEM! Don't put it on a shelf that kills me!
Hey it's about time u post a video Mr. Hyper Dimensional lol. Like always bro love the videos and already sub'd your new channel. And for all you others that haven't already done so check out Jason's new channel it's also awesome, peace!
Original Tomahawk had a diff... the SRBs had none...
Dude......your life is so hard :)
There’s 2 people a driver and passanger
Nice I have the scorpion and love it! see my videos!
"Plastic BAG".
You didn't run it? FAIL. Run it gently maybe, but at least run it!
I'm probably 10 years older than you, and in my day, Tamiya (and later Associated) was all my local hobby shop stocked. These look a lot more rugged than Tamiyas were, with their "rugged ABS bathtub chassis'".
This looks great, but I think I"m gonna go for a Turbo Optima instead.
I had to snicker just a little bit on your exclamation of it being an aluminum RC car, because back in the day they were all aluminum. Think Altama, Optimia, RC10, etc. , and these were the high end race buggies of the day. Though I have been doing RC for thirty years, I remember a time when I realised that RC had gone PLASTIC! Plastic had been widely introduced in the 60's, and many took that to mean cheep. So I took it as RC going cheep. Just saying.