I had a Pumpkin in the 80s and had so much fun with it. I honestly don't know what happened to that truck, but thanks to the re-release I bought a new chrome edition and an extra black shell for bashing. Like you said in your video, it is the most fun you can have with an RC. Whenever I bring it out, all of the neighbors come out to watch it run up and down the street on two wheels!
I have the chrome midnight pumpkin, and me and my dad built it up when i was 9 I beleive. I still have it 5 or 6 years later and i drive it pretty much every day.
Thanks for sharing and bringing back childhood memories! I bouht one new when I was 13 and loved it. Seeing the video and simply hearing that sound again...wicked!
Great video! I have had a lunchbox for 10 years and it was my second rc car, after the grasshopper, its still going strong. Built my collection up of another 12 tamiyas and always wanted a pumpkin. Finally bought one (a metallic edition) 2 days ago and cannot wait to get it out on the street! I have a losi baja rey and it was +£400, and its pretty special in its own way but doesnt make you smile like a lunchbox!
Just watched this video and found out my Cindys pumpkin with embossed Ford on rear is original then, i bought it second hand 20yrs ago and the guy i got it from reckoned he bought it in 89, even has original speed controller with resistor and runs perfectly, great video, many thanks.😀
This was my very first RC car as a child, still had the mechanical speed controller, my cousin had the Lunch box, the amount of hours and fun we had with the cars is just insane. Bought the chrome edition and still having just as much fun 15+ years later as we did back then.
I got one of these new as my second RC car (had a rough rider first) in '87 from the Sandown model show in the UK only a few months after release. Beleive it or not the body mounts are improved from the original as they were only the diameter of the lunchbox ones on the post that went through the body and would snap off if you looked at them incorrectly. Swapped the pumpkin for a Bigwig later on when I realised they were not great drivers. That said I will get another soon as shelfer as they are great to look at. If you want a Monster truck runner the Monster beetle or Blackfoot are far better.
Got the chrome one today. Ran it once and put the body back in the plastic bag. I have a lunchbox body on the way Gotta have chrome wheels on the lunchbox.
I resently bought a Tamiya FAV , and I love it, I always wanted one and now Tamiya is giving us all the old goodies again :) . For a vehicle that's as much fun as Midnight pumpkin I have a MSX MTX-1 and it pops wheelies like a boss, it looks like a real monster truck , and has a brushless engine. But I also want to have a Lunch box or Midnight pumpkin :)
I finally picked up a pumpkin after wanting one for years, but never getting it because I was always buying something else... What a mistake! Of all the RC cars I have, this one is the most fun to drive around! It doesn't jump as hard as my slash, but it jumps on anything with a slight incline. It's not as powerful as my TT02 speed build, but it does wheelies! It can't climb vertical rock faces like my scx10 II, but it does any outdoor surface in the neighborhood! It's not a master at anything except fun! It does just a little bit of everything, and turns a pretty boring neighborhood for RC into what feels like a purpose built RC stunt stadium. I run it completely stock except ball bearings, NiMH battery, hobbywing ESC and fs-gt5 radio system with fs-bs6 receiver(overkill for this, but is my standard receiver I keep lots of)
Loving this one thanks for sharing very important information giving thanks blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
A brilliant review as always 👍 Yes, Tamiya vintage suck compared to modern kits but they provide a unique feature : fun ! That’s the point and you nailed it. A bonus is they require a lot less space to play thanks to reduced speed and jump abilities.
The Pumkin was my second car, and it replaced the Sand Rover. What a difference...haha! Had great fun with it, even raced it against Monster Beetle's, Blackfoot's and Clod Buster's at the local RC club. They all handled like crap, but we ha such a great time :-) Sold it after a few years , and always regretted that... Any news on the Sand Rover project btw?
I think it's the same wheel mount as my Super Sabre, so when my son isn't looking and assuming there's space behind the bumper my Super Sabre is going to have a go with some monster wheels!
I use the have one back in the Philippines back in 1992 as a birthday Present its was White Midnight Pumpkin with Yellow Tires.. I think im gonna look for it and Restore it.
Nice video. An other iconic tamiya RC this midnight pumpkin. Nothing to do with the Midnight pumpking but you give me the virus with the grasshopper and other same chassis, i just bought a used hornet for cheap :D.
I went out and bought a super black foot fought the new release these tires suck could I put the lunch Box Are the midnight pumpkin tires on this truck you are the brains of the operation if if I have questions I comment to you meant to you please please let me know I am so tired of this truck rolling in the turns
So they can fit but I think there is a clearance problem at the rear. Right now I do not have as super blackfoot tor try it on. They constantly roll over so I suggest a lexan body. Try team blue groove on ebay.
Do the midnight pumpkin tires and wheels fit on the black foot RC trucks Please comment back I am trying to find a good tire that does not have a rough compound and bounces around Thank you so much
Hi! Can you please elaborate on using clear coat to make the decals less susceptible to peeling? Is there a tamiya clear coat for this abs body? Those tamiya decals love to peel when they get older
The clear coat seals the decals from oxygen. Over time, they bonding agent begins to break down as it is exposed to the air. Covering it in an enamel clear coat will forever prevent this. The problem is that most Tamiya paints are Lacquer can technically be covered in Enamel (NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND). This needs to be tested on a sample piece as paint does weird things from time to time. Tamiya clears are usually lacquer and though you can use these, they must be sprayed over lacquer paints and many, many coats are needed. Enamel paints are usually good one with one coat. I cannot stress enough that you need to try this on something with the same paints on the car before you try it on the car.
Hey I know u have a grasshopper if I could get a picture of it to show urs off on my tamiya Tuesday vid,I have us starting the grasshopper build this week n will be done by next Tuesday so if u can get a picture of urs before we finish I will post urs with the name of the channel which is u and the picture of the grasshopper u own! Awesome grasshopper I see there👍👍👊👊📹📹
Hi, friend! I want to buy a lunchbox or a midnight pumpkin (I understand that they are the same chassis and transmissions) if I put a 12 Turns motor and a 60 amp hobbywing variator on it, do you think the differential and transmission will wear out quickly if I drive it to 22 mph? Greetings :)😊😊
So the gearbox is tough as nails on those but it will be nearly undrivable. They are super top heavy and love to fall over. I have never run anything but a hot stock motor.
Great video. The Pumpkin is such an iconic, nostalgic RC. Are you selling your body mounts for it? It seems as if your website has them listed as "not for sale?"
Hey, I have a question: I remember being really impressed by the size of the Midnight Pumpkin when I was a kid back in the 80s. Do you know whether the new release of it is the same size or smaller as I feel it was advertised as "1:10" scale in germany while now it's 1: 12.
I had the first version end of the 80's Edition of the Midnight Pumpkin and I loved it but permanently one little piece (sry maybe my English isn’t good enough) wich always broke after one or two little jumps made me freak out & after ordering 4 or 5 times this part I really was pis**d & so I sold it. Would be very interesting to know if today this problem is solved?! With kindest regards from Germany!✌🏼
Can you tell me what part would break? This is also a vintage original truck. Tamiya made no changes to the new version. The worst part is the body mounts that constantly break but you can get aftermarket metal ones now!
@AMPRO Engineering @AMPRO Engineering th-cam.com/video/bUFOUTCcxYo/w-d-xo.html In your Lunchbox-Video exactly beside your right thumb at 5:22, this little, kind of triangle white little piece. The problem was that the steering material between servo - to the wheels, this was the only little "cheap-plastic" instead of the other material. The absolute genius solution would be to have this little piece in metal but I had no connection to anyone who could made it for me =/ I spent (like I said) a lot of money to import it from Asia. And then it broke immediately at the next jump. My brother had a monster truck (same year of release like my pumpkin) from Kyosho and did the same jumps without any problems. I hated him for that but the midnight Pumpkin was & is the coolest looking thing!!! 👍🏼‼️
Oh yeah those can be a pain. you could plug the hole with epoxy and then drill it out and re-tap the weird little screw/post thingy. You can also go on a Facebook group on these chassis and see if anyone has a spare. I will have a new one soon so you can install a Lipo
@@AMPROEngineering i put one of those long screws from the A bag, and threaded it thru the top. it secures it, but wont screw, so the battery should be safe. i'll look on some groups too, thanks dude
could someone tell me what type the original battery was?. I have a VG condition Midnight pumkin but battery has died. Can I recover the battery rather than replace?
Hey buddy please help.. can my standard ESC midnight pumpkin take 3s? It's a new model.. I know the instructions say 2s but I am hearing different things what does your advice?
It is hard to say. They claim that it is 112 scale but it may be closer to 1/14 scale. They made concessions based on the size of a chassis that already existed so they kind of had to shoehorn the body onto the chassis and estimate the scale
I had a Pumpkin in the 80s and had so much fun with it. I honestly don't know what happened to that truck, but thanks to the re-release I bought a new chrome edition and an extra black shell for bashing. Like you said in your video, it is the most fun you can have with an RC. Whenever I bring it out, all of the neighbors come out to watch it run up and down the street on two wheels!
I agree man. No mater what is out now....wheelies. Enough said.
When I was a kid I got an rc and it could only go forwards and backwards, when it went backwards it turned. This is comparison is unbelievably better.
Oh man, I know what you mean. I had those for years as that was all my parents could afford. I still have a couple of them!
I have the chrome midnight pumpkin, and me and my dad built it up when i was 9 I beleive. I still have it 5 or 6 years later and i drive it pretty much every day.
That’s fantastic to hear. These are great trucks
I love the Tamayia RC’s
Yes this is a gem.
Thanks for sharing and bringing back childhood memories! I bouht one new when I was 13 and loved it. Seeing the video and simply hearing that sound again...wicked!
Glad you enjoyed it! It really is an awesome truck
Great video! I have had a lunchbox for 10 years and it was my second rc car, after the grasshopper, its still going strong. Built my collection up of another 12 tamiyas and always wanted a pumpkin. Finally bought one (a metallic edition) 2 days ago and cannot wait to get it out on the street! I have a losi baja rey and it was +£400, and its pretty special in its own way but doesnt make you smile like a lunchbox!
Oh well put!
Very nostalgic! I had one when I was 14!
Yes, they are totally nostalgia!
I loved my Midnight Pumpkin!!!!! So much good memories!
Same here. It is full of great memories
Just watched this video and found out my Cindys pumpkin with embossed Ford on rear is original then, i bought it second hand 20yrs ago and the guy i got it from reckoned he bought it in 89, even has original speed controller with resistor and runs perfectly, great video, many thanks.😀
Very nice! They are great trucks
😊👍love the orange paint job!
Thanks man. this is one of the rare instances where I actually have a box art shell so I decided to show that off.
This was my very first RC car as a child, still had the mechanical speed controller, my cousin had the Lunch box, the amount of hours and fun we had with the cars is just insane. Bought the chrome edition and still having just as much fun 15+ years later as we did back then.
It is a great little toy for sure. I love mine as much today as I did then.
I got one of these new as my second RC car (had a rough rider first) in '87 from the Sandown model show in the UK only a few months after release. Beleive it or not the body mounts are improved from the original as they were only the diameter of the lunchbox ones on the post that went through the body and would snap off if you looked at them incorrectly. Swapped the pumpkin for a Bigwig later on when I realised they were not great drivers. That said I will get another soon as shelfer as they are great to look at. If you want a Monster truck runner the Monster beetle or Blackfoot are far better.
I cant imagine them being worse! That is terrifying!
HPI Jumpshot is one of, if not, my favorite two wheel Monster Truck. I have both versions. I also have an original 1987 Tamiya Lunchbox. 😊
Wow I did not know about that truck! Looks awesome!
Got the chrome one today.
Ran it once and put the body back in the plastic bag.
I have a lunchbox body on the way
Gotta have chrome wheels on the lunchbox.
They are great trucks. The chrome wheels always help!
Informative video thank you.
Any time man!
I resently bought a Tamiya FAV , and I love it, I always wanted one and now Tamiya is giving us all the old goodies again :) . For a vehicle that's as much fun as Midnight pumpkin I have a MSX MTX-1 and it pops wheelies like a boss, it looks like a real monster truck , and has a brushless engine. But I also want to have a Lunch box or Midnight pumpkin :)
I totally hear you
I finally picked up a pumpkin after wanting one for years, but never getting it because I was always buying something else... What a mistake! Of all the RC cars I have, this one is the most fun to drive around! It doesn't jump as hard as my slash, but it jumps on anything with a slight incline. It's not as powerful as my TT02 speed build, but it does wheelies! It can't climb vertical rock faces like my scx10 II, but it does any outdoor surface in the neighborhood!
It's not a master at anything except fun! It does just a little bit of everything, and turns a pretty boring neighborhood for RC into what feels like a purpose built RC stunt stadium.
I run it completely stock except ball bearings, NiMH battery, hobbywing ESC and fs-gt5 radio system with fs-bs6 receiver(overkill for this, but is my standard receiver I keep lots of)
I totally hear you. These cars are bad at everything except one thing....being fun. At that they are the best.
Loving this one thanks for sharing very important information giving thanks blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
Oh thank you so much!
That's great info. I have the tamiya lunchbox and I love it.😎
My pleasure. It is a great car.
A brilliant review as always 👍
Yes, Tamiya vintage suck compared to modern kits but they provide a unique feature : fun !
That’s the point and you nailed it.
A bonus is they require a lot less space to play thanks to reduced speed and jump abilities.
That exactly it, it is the fun factor that people forget today. it is an awful RC car, but a fun one!
Keep up the good work ,I love your videos!!
Thanks brad!
Fantastic I love the midnight pumpkin great video 👍🏻
Thank you! I love it too.
I have all the pumpkins! Junior, Quick drive, Orignial, Chrome edition and the lowrider :D
Nice! You sick man. Haha!
I have all lunchbox junior mini and regular.
I ised to do backflips with my Wild Willy 20 yrs. ago.
I do not doubt that!
I believe the Black Edition also has dark chrome F parts, as opposed to the bright chrome F parts found on the original.
I looked but they seemed to be the same. I wish they did an "orange edition" or something flamboyant like the lunchie.
just got one for christmas(chrome). I'm waiting for ball bearing and a dumborc receiver, alredy got a sport tunned motor and a servo.
That is a great present! I would order some aluminum body mounts from ebay. The stock ones brake just looking at them.
The Pumkin was my second car, and it replaced the Sand Rover. What a difference...haha! Had great fun with it, even raced it against Monster Beetle's, Blackfoot's and Clod Buster's at the local RC club. They all handled like crap, but we ha such a great time :-) Sold it after a few years , and always regretted that... Any news on the Sand Rover project btw?
Man what a class that would have been! I bet that was a ball! No not yet, I have 3 in line before it! Haha!
the rear body mounts on the brat drive me nuts too - when you put the pin in the left rear mount it pushes on the rear glass making it come unglued.
Oh man, yeah those were terrible too.
Cool... I just upload my midnight pumpkin (crome)
Nice! I love the chrome version!
I think it's the same wheel mount as my Super Sabre, so when my son isn't looking and assuming there's space behind the bumper my Super Sabre is going to have a go with some monster wheels!
It may very well be. Tamiya loves parts bin engineering.
太帅了，大神又更新了！
Thanks!
Great video and info.
Make me wants to add to my collection.
Oh man...sorry! Haha!
I use the have one back in the Philippines back in 1992 as a birthday Present its was White Midnight Pumpkin with Yellow Tires.. I think im gonna look for it and Restore it.
Please do! It's rare to find someone who has their original one!
Nice video. An other iconic tamiya RC this midnight pumpkin. Nothing to do with the Midnight pumpking but you give me the virus with the grasshopper and other same chassis, i just bought a used hornet for cheap :D.
Haha! Sorry I have that effect on people.
Nice build.
Thanks
I went out and bought a super black foot fought the new release these tires suck could I put the lunch Box Are the midnight pumpkin tires on this truck you are the brains of the operation if if I have questions I comment to you meant to you please please let me know I am so tired of this truck rolling in the turns
So they can fit but I think there is a clearance problem at the rear. Right now I do not have as super blackfoot tor try it on. They constantly roll over so I suggest a lexan body. Try team blue groove on ebay.
I have a lunchbox but the shell is really beaten up so I have decided to get all the bits for a midnight pumpkin shell
Oh nice, they are both a great option for that chassis.
could you do a video on the original king blackfoot
Yup, that is the next buyers guide series, starting from the Lancia ORV to the King Blackfoot ORV.
Do the midnight pumpkin tires and wheels fit on the black foot RC trucks Please comment back I am trying to find a good tire that does not have a rough compound and bounces around Thank you so much
No. they are different. I have answered this for you many, many times.
This truck or a parody of it is in Grand Theft Auto Online now as a body option for the RC Bandito. They called it "Midnight Pumpin"
Haha! Oh yeah I remember that.
@@AMPROEngineering
Haha, the Lunchbox is in there too. I use this body though, looks the coolest to me.
Hi! Can you please elaborate on using clear coat to make the decals less susceptible to peeling? Is there a tamiya clear coat for this abs body? Those tamiya decals love to peel when they get older
The clear coat seals the decals from oxygen. Over time, they bonding agent begins to break down as it is exposed to the air. Covering it in an enamel clear coat will forever prevent this. The problem is that most Tamiya paints are Lacquer can technically be covered in Enamel (NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND). This needs to be tested on a sample piece as paint does weird things from time to time. Tamiya clears are usually lacquer and though you can use these, they must be sprayed over lacquer paints and many, many coats are needed. Enamel paints are usually good one with one coat. I cannot stress enough that you need to try this on something with the same paints on the car before you try it on the car.
Great video !
Thank you Philippe!
+AMPRO Engineering .👍
Hello! I love your videos! by chance could you tell us what kind of clear coat you use on your shells with the decals? thanks!
Sure! Testors enamel clear, not lacquer.
I gotta pick myself up wanna these
Its a great choice!
I buy Reedy Wolfpack lipo battery they look like NiCo batteries
I used to have some of those.
Hey I know u have a grasshopper if I could get a picture of it to show urs off on my tamiya Tuesday vid,I have us starting the grasshopper build this week n will be done by next Tuesday so if u can get a picture of urs before we finish I will post urs with the name of the channel which is u and the picture of the grasshopper u own! Awesome grasshopper I see there👍👍👊👊📹📹
Yeah i sure can. What is your email.
Question for you! Have you remade the lower price of the control arms for the Tyco twin Turbo Lamborghini? The part where the shocks mount?
I have not since I do not own the car. I may need to get one one day
Hi, friend! I want to buy a lunchbox or a midnight pumpkin (I understand that they are the same chassis and transmissions) if I put a 12 Turns motor and a 60 amp hobbywing variator on it, do you think the differential and transmission will wear out quickly if I drive it to 22 mph? Greetings :)😊😊
So the gearbox is tough as nails on those but it will be nearly undrivable. They are super top heavy and love to fall over. I have never run anything but a hot stock motor.
Hi, are you familiar with the tamiya qd jeep wrangler from 1993? (Monster truck)
I know of it but thats about it.
Can you do a buyers guide for the avante that you have?
Yes I am planning on it and the Vanquish.
I got the crome one for free for a friend and I hate the crome I haven't ran it even and it has so many scratches. FYI it's a re re
I also don't like the chrome one.
Thank you for helping me feel like I'm not alone
Great video. The Pumpkin is such an iconic, nostalgic RC. Are you selling your body mounts for it? It seems as if your website has them listed as "not for sale?"
It certainly is. They show not for sale! Oh jeez. Ok I fixed them. Shapeways changed a requirement but now they are all set.
AMPRO Engineering
Sweet! Thank you 👍🏻👊🏻
Hey, I have a question: I remember being really impressed by the size of the Midnight Pumpkin when I was a kid back in the 80s. Do you know whether the new release of it is the same size or smaller as I feel it was advertised as "1:10" scale in germany while now it's 1: 12.
It is the same size but was always advertised as a 1/12. it does seem tiny but we are all taller!
@@AMPROEngineering thx
Might buy a pumpkin body for my lunchbox do u think I should.
It will definitely allow you to change the look relatively cheaply. Buy aluminum body mounts. The standard plastic ones are trash
@@AMPROEngineering Ok thanks. I think I'm gonna do it when I get money.
recently i got a good lexan body which is designed for M01 chassis but also fit cw01 chassis perfectly, I will post it on your facebook
That is a great idea! The M chassis has a perfect wheelbase for it.
ARE THESE NEW PUMPKINS 1/12 SCALE LIKE THE ORIGINAL?
Yes, though this one is an original. They are all the same molds.
I had the first version end of the 80's Edition of the Midnight Pumpkin and I loved it but permanently one little piece (sry maybe my English isn’t good enough) wich always broke after one or two little jumps made me freak out & after ordering 4 or 5 times this part I really was pis**d & so I sold it.
Would be very interesting to know if today this problem is solved?!
With kindest regards from Germany!✌🏼
Can you tell me what part would break? This is also a vintage original truck. Tamiya made no changes to the new version. The worst part is the body mounts that constantly break but you can get aftermarket metal ones now!
@AMPRO Engineering
@AMPRO Engineering
th-cam.com/video/bUFOUTCcxYo/w-d-xo.html
In your Lunchbox-Video exactly beside your right thumb at 5:22,
this little, kind of triangle white little piece.
The problem was that the steering material between servo - to the wheels,
this was the only little "cheap-plastic" instead of the other material.
The absolute genius solution would be to have this little piece in metal but I had no connection to anyone who could made it for me =/
I spent (like I said) a lot of money to import it from Asia.
And then it broke immediately at the next jump.
My brother had a monster truck (same year of release like my pumpkin) from Kyosho and did the same jumps without any problems.
I hated him for that but the midnight Pumpkin was & is the coolest looking thing!!! 👍🏼‼️
i have trouble with my battery holder arm thing. the screw doesnt bite at all! it just falls off...
Oh yeah those can be a pain. you could plug the hole with epoxy and then drill it out and re-tap the weird little screw/post thingy. You can also go on a Facebook group on these chassis and see if anyone has a spare. I will have a new one soon so you can install a Lipo
@@AMPROEngineering i put one of those long screws from the A bag, and threaded it thru the top. it secures it, but wont screw, so the battery should be safe. i'll look on some groups too, thanks dude
could someone tell me what type the original battery was?. I have a VG condition Midnight pumkin but battery has died. Can I recover the battery rather than replace?
It is a 7.2V battery. Closest thing now is a 7.2NiMh battery.
🎃👍
Great truck!
where is the gloomy cat? I didn't see her in your running video.
Haha! She was on the porch watching.
Hey buddy please help.. can my standard ESC midnight pumpkin take 3s? It's a new model.. I know the instructions say 2s but I am hearing different things what does your advice?
No it will fry. Plus, the pumpkin cant handle that much more speed.
@@AMPROEngineering cheers mate thanks for the feedback...it's been 35 years since my last pumpkin..
Hi, thanks for the video. I was wondering if this is a 1/10 scale or 1/12 scale? Thanks
1/12 scale
It is hard to say. They claim that it is 112 scale but it may be closer to 1/14 scale. They made concessions based on the size of a chassis that already existed so they kind of had to shoehorn the body onto the chassis and estimate the scale
seems that Parma has discontinued this lexan body?
I think so. Team Blue Groove makes it now.
When is the Bandit restoration coming back?
As soon as my Bronco interior is done.
Sweet I love your videos you got me into the hobby :).
I had one very fun to drive until it was run over by a Citroen very sad day
Oh thats awful!
is there someone like you but like traxxas?
I dont know. I am working on the TRX4 Bronco interior as we speak though. Prototype is almost done.
Buyer's guide? People are still buying these antiquated trucks in corona 2020? LOL
Yeah, one of the most fun RC's ever made.
I really wanted to buy one until Tamiya had a big brain fart!!!!
They have a lot of those.
@@AMPROEngineering Tamiya cars not good to buy then? What was the brain fart?