i had the boomerang when i was 15 ...1989....Was perfect those days . I upgraded the moter to go faster . I went to race 4 times and it was great momonts for me ...Love and miss those days ...
I owned both of these back in the 80’s. The bigwig was so much more better in the dirt because of the enclosed pan chassis vs the boomerangs open rail design that gets bound up a lot when bashing. I used the Boomerang the most tho.
Back in the 80's I raced my stock Boomerang and could win anything until the Bigwig came out, the 8.4v withTechnigold 540 motor would clean up - straight line speed was in no doubt so not sure why you were getting the same speeds.
My fox owned the bigwig on speed and agility, only the 4wd aspect made the bigwig perform better on long steep hills. On average the fox won. My fox was outfitted with a technigold an 8.4v battery though.
Hi Jason. Thank you. Ahh, yeah, I still struggle with that. I don’t want too many colors on the letters, but I know sometimes the white/black it hard to read against the background. Hmm, maybe one day I have to surrender to big red or yellow letters.
Wow! Welcome back to the hobby! Both the Hornet and Boomerang are some of the most iconic and most beautiful 80s buggies in my opinion. You have good taste :-)
@NordicRC At first I almost another Hornet, but I remember aback in the day my friend had the Hotshot that performed so good. I only learned through my recent research about how the Boomerang was an improvement on that class/series. Ive also got a bearing kit and a sport tuned motor on the way,....I was considering a Traxxas Bandit, but I much prefer to build it.
Yeah, funny and strange. To me, the Boomer looks a little faster. Yeah, love these tires. The same where copied to the Taiyo aero Jet Fighter which I had back then, so looking and listening to those giant knobs brings back 1980ies memories :-)
Thanks, Bro Yeah, me too, although I like the Boomer just a tiny bit more (fresh re-release and a lighter chassis and I looove the looks). Thanks for watching, Tibor! (Can I call you that?)
Great video for all of us who were kid's in the 80's and parents wouldnt buy us one these the videos bring back a nostalgic feeling i finally pulled the trigger and have a vintage frog on the way lol keep up the great videos👍👍💣
Thanks, bro! Nice, you got one! Be careful with the vintage ones when you run it. Old brittle plastic. I haven't had one single run with this vintage Bigwig without one or more plastic part breaking :-)
Thanks for the advice i knew i could have some problem s but had to go vintage for my first tamiya and thanks to your videos ill know how to fix it lol
Oh of course 😎👍🏻 (excellent test btw - and surprising result for me) I was merely reminding the nice folks at home that she was never a budget or slow buggy when new and that she was a bit of a revelation from a performance standpoint. One of my top five standout RC moments ever was the first time I ran my Bigwig. The only factor that came close to eclipsing her rocket-ship speed and acceleration was her epic understeer 😆
@@SANDSCORCHER Yeah, I actually ran her the first couple of years with a 12T brushless and a 2S LiPo. Got a lot of videos with it. But in the end she was too brittle for any serious runs. Would love to build a re-release (with fresh plastic) and see how she would hold up.
Same here re a new build 😎👍🏻 That said, the black plastics were not fit for purpose in 1987 Every time I took mine out she came home in bits with a repair bill I’ve never repaired any other car so many times Bigwig ownership is definitely an abusive relationship 😆 Tamiya should have engineered all of the black plastic components out of a combination of the materials that the blue and yellow parts are made of. Mine was laid up for years with a broken back after a particularly unpleasant crash (chassis snapped on both sides behind the battery location) until a while back when I finally got round to a chassis swap. Upon driving her I discovered there was so much distortion and wear in other parts that she didn’t drive straight, track correctly or perform in any manner that she should do, so she came off the road again. I’m still gathering parts to carry out a complete bare bones strip and rebuild with every worn or damaged component exchanged for new. I can see myself ending up in a scenario though, where the only original components are the screws, the gears and the electrics. I really should have purchased a rere a couple of years or so ago🤔
Yeah, they used much too hard and brittle plastic for the arms on almost all the 4WD buggies from the 1980s. My Boomerang and Terra Scorcher got them too, But at least the fresh re-re parts hold up better than 30+ years old plastic :-)
Ahhh Mikael - the joy and pain or owning and running a classic Tamiya - I know the feelings well! Both cars ran well, and a surprise that the vintage Tamiya is just as fast! But too brittle! Easy fix though, my friend, but I am sure (in my experience) that another part will fail soon - good too see the hobby-box, but no part to fit! You can't carry everything! My Johnson motor out-performed the Marbuchi on our recent XV vs TT-02 test - as you say, the Johnson is SUPPOSED to have more torque and not speed - I wonder? Great video, as usual, lots of food for thought!
Ha ha, yeah, though I prefer the re-releases it's just fun to try out the vintage ones as well once in a while. Especially the second hand bargains like this, although my lack of talent of keeping them as shelf-queens (I just can't not run them) are often proving to be more costly in the long term :-) Yeah, I am so surprised at the GPS reading as well. On paper, the Bigwig just should be a little slower: heavier chassis, vintage parts, 13T pinion compared to the 15T on the Boomer, and then yes, the Johnson, on paper, just aren't supposed to be that faster. Reading other people's experience on the net though, it seems like other's have been surprised that the Johnson was faster than the RS540SH too. So maybe it is faster. Ohh, and well, then there's always the thing about motors: one RS540SH can be faster than another RS540SH. And one Johnson faster than another Johnson. All these silver cans aren't really standardized that well by the manufacturers it seems. Seen a lot of people talking about that too. And yeah, I've not had a run with my Bigwig yet, where some brittle plastic part doesn't break. Thought I would manage this time, after rebuilding the entire thing and checking for hairline-cracks. But hairline-cracks can be thinner than a hair sometimes, and new cracks can appear when those brittle parts are put under "stress" (running slowly back and forth on pavement, lol). It was fun while it lasted, but I suspect if I continue to run this one it will end up as a 100% Bigwig 2017 at some point, and that was not the idea. Easier and cheaper to get a Bigwig 2017 then and have the fun of one's own build too :-) Ohh well, I have my Boomer now. It performs better to my liking, it's smoother and with new fresh plastic (although some parts are the same hard brittle plastic - but at least not old yet). Thanks a lot for watching, Mark! Sorry for the long reply :-) But yeah, these GPS speed tests are funny and food for thought :-)
@@STEVOD313 Ahh yes, he did that a year or two ago. He´s such a good fellow. That was the first channel I started following here on youtube after re-entering the hobby and it is still my favorite channel too. I watch all the videos. Such good positive vibes on every video. You are there too! Nice! I didn't back then and I haven't noticed any increase in subscribers or views as a result of that though. I doubt that many people visit the "channels" section nowadays and even less, I think, are clicking on the channels featured there. But it's such a cool friendly gesture from him. Love him :-)
Yeah, a lot smoother. And it sounds smoother too. Maybe that's why it also looks faster. Yeah, I think the problem with these are that they are the original ones and I used to have a brushless motor in the Bigwig. I haven't had any problems with the re-release ones from the Boomerang and Thunder Shot yet. Thanks a lot for watching, my Nordic bro ... og mange hilsener fra Danmark! :-)
I actually went with my old man back in the 80s and the guys behind the counter said that is the fastest you can get in it's time was the boomerang so my old man purchased it for me was a lucky kid
Fixed the steering issue in my Bigwig. With the included 25 turn motor and I think 15 tooth? Pinion is does low 20's Im assuming. That motor also has pretty good torque as it seems like it wants to wheelie on grass haha. The suspension on the Bigwig also soaks up bumps pretty well. Overall I'm really happy with its performance.
@@NordicRC Got mine for a great price. It was someones shelf queen since it didnt have a scratch on it! The motor didn't even have any wear on the comutator haha. Paid $90 for it complete with radio, servo, esc and even a battery. It was poorly assembled though as some hardware wasn't installed correctly and it was also missing the rollcage and metal roof part.
Yeah, you are absolutely right. They can do, especially NiMHs like this, but these two batteries charge to the same voltage and where fully charged at the same time just before the run. And I did a speed test with them in the same car last weekend and they where approx. the same. So in this case probably not a big difference. But a good point still, since it could make a difference of 1-2 kph even though. Thanks for watching and the good point, MeesterDash.
Excellent video,sir! They both look awesome and run like velvet. Sorry about the wheel adaptor on your BigWig...I'm pretty sure that she will run perfectly very soon. Cheers!
Thanks! It's fun testing out these old designs. The fresh re-release Boomerang sure is a smooth runner, but the original Bigwig has seen better days even though I just re-build her :-) Cheers mate and thanks for watching.
I have a bigwig on a shelf. It's not run for 30 years. The speed controller broke and I never fixed it. I moved on to other hobbies. Will it still run if i get a speed controller. Will the motor have ceased?
Wonderful video! 👍🏻👍🏻 Could you recommend a 4x4 Tamiya buggy with excellent durability for use on a backyard track? It would need to be able to reach 25 mph or so to clear the jumps. I would prefer one of the "classics," but if they can't hold up to fairly hard running then maybe something more "modern?" Thanks!
Thank you! Not sure if 'excellent durability' exists with Tamiya ... sometimes they tend to use a bit too hard plastic and make some odd choices. You would also need to get a different motor (or different gear ratio) than the standard silver can motors provided in most kits to reach 25 mph. It's hard to recommend one ... with the classics, go for the one that you most like the looks of, with the more modern there's the TT-02B and DT-03 in the more affordable end and then the TRF line-up in the more expensive end.
Hi I run a super saber every time it's fixed and ready for another run. it's my only hotshot family car and it's great apart from how fragile it is. But even my DF3 has similar probs they spit there UJs out the side and one hit and the suspension is toast. I run a dyna run motor in my saber and it really drifts nice on slilcks. My fastest car is a frog modified front and rear suspension purely for speed with dynatech 02 it does close to 70clicks in a straight line on suparu brat wheels and hups. Love Tamiya and all those that do to.
Yeah, huh, I imagined the Boomer being at least 2kph faster, from the looks and the sound (and on top of that knowing it has a 15T pinion compared to the Bigwig's 13T) Strange indeed. But the SkyRC seems so reliable and consistent I have to believe it (more or less). Ahh, not prepared, lots of 12 mm hex adaptors but no Hotshot adaptors :-) But I enjoyed running the Boomer after the camera was turned off :-)
I got the original big wig in the 80's from Santa :). Dad spent hours putting it together (I was only 7 or 8) ... I remember that thing was very fast with a fully charged battery (for that time) people sure didn't like it when it hit their foot at high speed LOL. Always took it with me when we went to the beach, cleaning out all the sand in the evening. I remember that when the battery was low, it no longer responded to the remote control and it would just continue driving at fairly high speed ... often straight towards the sea. Not sure if that's a thing or my dad screwed something up while putting it together. Too bad the new version isn't as fast? If it were identical (or faster) I'd probably get one eventhough I'm not into RC cars. Don't want to ruin the memory with a slower/sluggish version.
I have a similar memory of my dad putting together my Christmas Boomerang - It didn't work so we took it back to the store in the mall and my dad almost got into fight with the dude because the thing wouldn't work until he replaced the crystal in the Transmitter LOL - Then we coulnd't believe how fast the thing was. Awesome memories.
Thanks, yeah, poor old brittle Bigwig :-) I think I actually found out I packed all my spare Hotshot family wheel adaptors in the package with my re-release Thunder Shot which I traded off earlier this year. Ha ha, typical. Should have kept some, but I thought I had others. Ohh, well, then I have to get a while parts tree :-/ But yes, beautiful Bigwig :-) Thanks for watching, bro.
I think most of us who's collecting Vintage TAMIYA RC cars is not about how fast nor how they perform. There are many much cheaper RC cars perform much much better with fast speed. No hard feeling though my friend
Ahh, I think you missed the intention behind these speed tests. A GPS speed test is just a measurement. Not an attempt to go fast or go even faster 😊 It’s fun. Fun to see the top speed of both classic and modern models, and sometimes to try it out with different combinations of motor, gearing, battery, tires. To see the differences. Or the differences between classic models like the Boomer and the Bigwig. Or the Grasshopper and the Hornet. And so on. We couldn’t really do this in the 1980ies so we do it now. I even measured my Tamiya Grasshopper. Was it fast? No of course not. But it was fun to measure the top speed of a stock Grasshopper instead of just guessing. And the upgrade part is fun too. Recently I upgraded one of my Hornet/Hoppers. Will it ever perform as well as a cheap modern DT-03? No. Never. But it was fun ☺️ It’s a celebration, a tribute to the old designs - and fun - and nerdy ☺️
Lol it's absolutely fine my friend. I just think there is no point of measuring the speed. My personal opinion, they are meant to be go slow lol but I still like to watch your upload ^^
Yeah, you’re right. It’s just a matter of personal taste. But yes, these where never meant to go fast. I’ve had a lot of fun with my GPS though. I just think it’s fun to measure the actual speeds. And see the actual differences of different models, of ball bearings versus bushings, different motors, gearings, tires, batteries etc. Most of the time I leave my re-releases stock. But still fun to measure a Grasshopper’s top speed. Or a Boomerangs or a Bigwigs. And measure the actual speed people where most likely to run these with back in the days. Most of the times I do not upgrade them. Everytime I put out a video with one of my Grasshoppers I’m told I should put a 540 motor in it. But sometimes it’s just much more fun to run these stock. It’s not about speed for me ☺️
Actually, the ratio pinion gear matter. The same case with Tamiya F201, between the old one with the latest one. Even the latest one looks slower, but run faster. And for the brushless motor, much better if you use competition parts like materials from alloy or steel, and carbon. As the power of brushless motor easily to break the plastic parts.
As far as I remember, the BigWig was also a few hundreds of grams heavier, so that can eplain why it feels a bit less snappy. With same motor, the boomerang will be faster.
Yeah, just strange because the Boomerang got a higher gearing too. But yes, maybe the slow acceleration of the Bigwig cheats the eye, and it seems slower.
Great video as always! I hate when I end up finding cracks here and there on my original Bigfoot...Kind of sad she might be shelved for a bit. Great content though!👍
Yeah, these vintage ones where not really meant to be run with all that brittle plastic. But it's hard to keep them on the shelf :-) Thanks a lot for watching, Haydad RC!
Yeah, some better than others but all a great part of the RC history ☺️ I like the looks of the Boomerang better too. But the Bigwig looks good too I think, especially in box art (not like this old second hand)
@@NordicRC I also like thinking how some buggies look amazing on the box but a little weird in the flesh, whereas others look so much better in person. Everyone's tastes are different, so I guess Tamiya caters to everyone which is cool
Yeah, well, personally I love looking at all my Tamiya buggies on display. I grew up with the Nikko and Taiyo buggies in the 1980s so getting the real thing now is a real treat ☺️
Ah that Bigwig is a bit of a liability with the breakages. Do you remember our discussion about 'Triggers broom' ? Anyway can't remember if I said but I've got a vintage M01 Mini and that does 17mph with standard motor and battery. It looks quicker because it's quite little. Good fun though with the analogue speed controller. Vid coming soon. Maybe :-) By the way, what is that building that you are always running your cars next to ?
Yeah, it behaves ‘a little’ different than a re-release. He he, Trigger’s broom’ 😄 That’s the problem I’m facing with this one. Still, the majority of the car is the original, but if I keep running it for a few years I might end up with a Trigger’s Broom, he he. You got a strong vintage piece there. Those M’s are pretty fast and high geared stock. Think my M-03 does around 30 kph stock. And yeah, they look fast with their tiny wheel base. Would love an M-01 some day. It’s a school yard this one, so the building is a School. Basically a couple of different School yards are the only RC options in walking distance in my part of this City so I tend to use them a lot. This one is perfect for speed runs since it has some fresh smooth asphalt ☺️
Thanks for watching (and thinking) Derek! :-) Yeah, thought about that too. It is classified as a Tamiya Hop-Up Motor, like the torque and sport tuned, but I think it's strength (compared to the standard Mabuchi RS540-SH) lies more in torque than speed, if I remember correctly. Same 27T. Maybe the battery. But I tried several times, and they continued getting the same result. And even though the Bigwig looks and sounds a lot slower, I also tried to compare the milliseconds (from a certain spot in the location to another) in the videos and they are very close. Maybe eyes and ears are deceiving.
Yeah, looks and sounds at least 2 kph or more faster. Strange indeed. Yeah, aluminium could be cool, but I think the re-release ones are good enough. These old original ones has probably been stressed out when it was brushless. Thanks for watching, my friend.
Can even drive it straight. I demand a re-run the bigwig wins everytime I had both and the grasshopper neither of these were on par with my bigwig and now I have got older and balder I can put the bigwig on my head to hide the big bald patches which means this car is definitely a all rounder.
Could be a difference of motors too. No silver can is the same, and the Johnson silver can is considered a hop-up by Tamiya (though it should be more focused on torque/acceleration and not top speed). Maybe combined with other factors. Like difference of ball bearings. Both these units are fully ball raced.
I don’t think there are links to a specific song. Do you know what the youtube audio library is? That is where I got it from. And it’s there. I just looked. Sorry I can’t help more.
Yeah, watching these classic buggies brings me back to my childhood each time too :-) Good old 1980ies. Didn't know about Tamiya back then, but all my toy-grade buggies that where inspired by Tamiya, the Nikko Turbo Panther and the Taiyo Jet Fighter reminds me of these. Ja, dansk! Og du lyder svensk?
I own a re release of both the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot. And with a Tamiya Super stock RZ motor and 13 tooth pinion on 2 S lipo battery my Super Hot Shot gets to 44 Km/h or 27 mph . Probably can makeitgo faster by running less geese in the front and rear differentials. So the gears have less resistance or drug from the weight of the grease. My Super Hot Shot LSO wheel stands but that probably is because the lower 13 tooth pinion gear which is required with that motor because the Super stock RZ motor makes its power higher up in the rev range its power band is 27500 rpm so it needs to use a 13 tooth pinion gear. But yeah really nice video. I like them both but I prefer the Boomerang . The Big Wig was a heavy car that came along a few years free the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot and didn't quite appelto me a much as the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot. I think the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot are 2 of the bet looking buggies Tamiya ever made. And now in 2023 with Tamiya re releasing a lot of these iconic 1980's buggies it is highly likely the Big Wig may make a return also as well as the Falcon and the Blackfoot and lots more. The sand scorcher VW Beetle is back as is the Subaru Brat and Wild One and Nova fox. On that subject though I think Tamiya should try to make their re- release kits look more period era vintage with genuine decals like in the 1980's. And these days electronic speed controls are so much better than mechanical speed controls of the 1980's . Great video I love your work man👍👍👌
I enjoyed that video immensely. I think the Boomerang was one of the best-looking models Tamiya ever made. I guess I have 80s taste and I just need to admit it. The Boomerang doesn't look as good (my opinion) but it has all the trick features of the day. Rack & pinion steering, wow! How does it steer, compared to the Boomerang? Re. the speed, the Bigwig came with a hotter "Technigold" motor. Why would they include a smaller pinion and handicap the speed? (or was that your choice?)
I love the looks of the Boomerang. So 1980’s. I think the boomerang chassis handles a lot better than the Bigwig. More nimble and agile, despite the mono shock front. The Bigwig was an old vintage second hand purchase. It did not have the technigold anymore, but came with a brushless motor 😂 (check the other Bigwig videos)
@@NordicRC I wasn’t sure if it was indicative of lower priced TAMIYA models, looking at buying a Terra Scorcher but this video has put me off a bit and made me think about spending more. Had a Falcon and wasn’t hugely impressed so I’m not sure a Terra Scorcher is much of a step up.
If your doing a true test, the bigwig is much faster. It came w a techngold motor. It was also a full bearing. You also didn’t match the pinions. If you did the bigwig would still be faster. If you match everything, bearings, motor and battery, pinion, they are the exact same. They have the same gears literally. I can see handling as a true test w equal eq. But the big wig chassis and steering I always felt was better.
![NISAMANEE - TADA (ท้าดา) [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hcQHEPMmJpU/mqdefault.jpg)
i had the boomerang when i was 15 ...1989....Was perfect those days . I upgraded the moter to go faster . I went to race 4 times and it was great momonts for me ...Love and miss those days ...
Such great memories. The Boomerang would have blown my mind if I had seen it back then. So cool you had one.
I have an original '86, complete, working boomerang.
Nice Rc.
It sure is a cool classic buggy. Great you have the original.
I owned both of these back in the 80’s. The bigwig was so much more better in the dirt because of the enclosed pan chassis vs the boomerangs open rail design that gets bound up a lot when bashing. I used the Boomerang the most tho.
Nice! Wish I had known these existed back in the 1980s :-) Must have been a blast.
Back in the 80's I raced my stock Boomerang and could win anything until the Bigwig came out, the 8.4v withTechnigold 540 motor would clean up - straight line speed was in no doubt so not sure why you were getting the same speeds.
Ahh, as stated, it’s not running with the Technigold or the 8.4v. But they have different pinions, so they shouldn’t really do the same top speed.
My fox owned the bigwig on speed and agility, only the 4wd aspect made the bigwig perform better on long steep hills. On average the fox won. My fox was outfitted with a technigold an 8.4v battery though.
Exactly!!! The bigwig was a different league. I'm heartbroken 💔 😞 to think a boomerang 🪃 could match a bigwig , how will I sleep tonight 😫.
Don't care which one goes faster.....just wanted to see 2 legends run.
Yeah! 👍
I like the video it's hard to see the writing up top that blends into the screen but very cool I love it
Hi Jason. Thank you. Ahh, yeah, I still struggle with that. I don’t want too many colors on the letters, but I know sometimes the white/black it hard to read against the background. Hmm, maybe one day I have to surrender to big red or yellow letters.
@@NordicRC no wrries brother still awesome video.
Very late to this, I had the Hornet back in the day and want to get back into it.......just purchased the Boomerang online like 5 hours ago!
Wow! Welcome back to the hobby! Both the Hornet and Boomerang are some of the most iconic and most beautiful 80s buggies in my opinion. You have good taste :-)
@NordicRC At first I almost another Hornet, but I remember aback in the day my friend had the Hotshot that performed so good. I only learned through my recent research about how the Boomerang was an improvement on that class/series. Ive also got a bearing kit and a sport tuned motor on the way,....I was considering a Traxxas Bandit, but I much prefer to build it.
exactly the same! that's funny.... Love the sound of real knobby tires unlike today's racing buggies with almost bald tires! Nice video.
Yeah, funny and strange. To me, the Boomer looks a little faster. Yeah, love these tires. The same where copied to the Taiyo aero Jet Fighter which I had back then, so looking and listening to those giant knobs brings back 1980ies memories :-)
Top stuff dude. Nice test and video. I like both cars
Thanks, Bro Yeah, me too, although I like the Boomer just a tiny bit more (fresh re-release and a lighter chassis and I looove the looks). Thanks for watching, Tibor! (Can I call you that?)
My name is Tibor. But i am generally known as Tib or the Tibster lol any is fine with me though buddy
Great video for all of us who were kid's in the 80's and parents wouldnt buy us one these the videos bring back a nostalgic feeling i finally pulled the trigger and have a vintage frog on the way lol keep up the great videos👍👍💣
Thanks, bro! Nice, you got one! Be careful with the vintage ones when you run it. Old brittle plastic. I haven't had one single run with this vintage Bigwig without one or more plastic part breaking :-)
Thanks for the advice i knew i could have some problem s but had to go vintage for my first tamiya and thanks to your videos ill know how to fix it lol
Adventure Time RC Yeah, sometimes one just gotta go vintage ☺️
Very good videos, I'm impressed. Keep up the great work!
Thanks a lot for the nice feedback, JD! I appreciate it very much!
Give the Bigwig her factory motor back and install the 8.4v battery she was designed around and she’ll do more than 17😎😁👌🏻
Yeah, definitely. But hard to do a silver can comparison if one of them hasn’t got one 🫢😅
Oh of course 😎👍🏻 (excellent test btw - and surprising result for me)
I was merely reminding the nice folks at home that she was never a budget or slow buggy when new and that she was a bit of a revelation from a performance standpoint.
One of my top five standout RC moments ever was the first time I ran my Bigwig.
The only factor that came close to eclipsing her rocket-ship speed and acceleration was her epic understeer 😆
@@SANDSCORCHER Yeah, I actually ran her the first couple of years with a 12T brushless and a 2S LiPo. Got a lot of videos with it. But in the end she was too brittle for any serious runs. Would love to build a re-release (with fresh plastic) and see how she would hold up.
Same here re a new build 😎👍🏻
That said, the black plastics were not fit for purpose in 1987
Every time I took mine out she came home in bits with a repair bill
I’ve never repaired any other car so many times
Bigwig ownership is definitely an abusive relationship 😆
Tamiya should have engineered all of the black plastic components out of a combination of the materials that the blue and yellow parts are made of.
Mine was laid up for years with a broken back after a particularly unpleasant crash (chassis snapped on both sides behind the battery location) until a while back when I finally got round to a chassis swap.
Upon driving her I discovered there was so much distortion and wear in other parts that she didn’t drive straight, track correctly or perform in any manner that she should do, so she came off the road again.
I’m still gathering parts to carry out a complete bare bones strip and rebuild with every worn or damaged component exchanged for new.
I can see myself ending up in a scenario though, where the only original components are the screws, the gears and the electrics.
I really should have purchased a rere a couple of years or so ago🤔
Yeah, they used much too hard and brittle plastic for the arms on almost all the 4WD buggies from the 1980s. My Boomerang and Terra Scorcher got them too, But at least the fresh re-re parts hold up better than 30+ years old plastic :-)
Ahhh Mikael - the joy and pain or owning and running a classic Tamiya - I know the feelings well! Both cars ran well, and a surprise that the vintage Tamiya is just as fast! But too brittle! Easy fix though, my friend, but I am sure (in my experience) that another part will fail soon - good too see the hobby-box, but no part to fit! You can't carry everything! My Johnson motor out-performed the Marbuchi on our recent XV vs TT-02 test - as you say, the Johnson is SUPPOSED to have more torque and not speed - I wonder? Great video, as usual, lots of food for thought!
Ha ha, yeah, though I prefer the re-releases it's just fun to try out the vintage ones as well once in a while. Especially the second hand bargains like this, although my lack of talent of keeping them as shelf-queens (I just can't not run them) are often proving to be more costly in the long term :-) Yeah, I am so surprised at the GPS reading as well. On paper, the Bigwig just should be a little slower: heavier chassis, vintage parts, 13T pinion compared to the 15T on the Boomer, and then yes, the Johnson, on paper, just aren't supposed to be that faster. Reading other people's experience on the net though, it seems like other's have been surprised that the Johnson was faster than the RS540SH too. So maybe it is faster. Ohh, and well, then there's always the thing about motors: one RS540SH can be faster than another RS540SH. And one Johnson faster than another Johnson. All these silver cans aren't really standardized that well by the manufacturers it seems. Seen a lot of people talking about that too.
And yeah, I've not had a run with my Bigwig yet, where some brittle plastic part doesn't break. Thought I would manage this time, after rebuilding the entire thing and checking for hairline-cracks. But hairline-cracks can be thinner than a hair sometimes, and new cracks can appear when those brittle parts are put under "stress" (running slowly back and forth on pavement, lol). It was fun while it lasted, but I suspect if I continue to run this one it will end up as a 100% Bigwig 2017 at some point, and that was not the idea. Easier and cheaper to get a Bigwig 2017 then and have the fun of one's own build too :-) Ohh well, I have my Boomer now. It performs better to my liking, it's smoother and with new fresh plastic (although some parts are the same hard brittle plastic - but at least not old yet).
Thanks a lot for watching, Mark! Sorry for the long reply :-) But yeah, these GPS speed tests are funny and food for thought :-)
Boomerang feels and sound smoother but still love them both 😘😘😘
Yeah it really does. Would love a smooth Bigwig re-release some day too ☺️ But great looking buggies both, yes. Thanks a lot for watching, Ishtiaq!
Great video! Is it safe to assume that around 27 km/h was the Boomerang's top speed back in the '80s? And how fast were they with hotter motors?
Yeah, the Boomerangs top speed is about right. The Bigwig was much faster back then though, with the technigold motor and an optional 8.4v NiMH 7S.
@@NordicRC cool, thank you
Love these classics
Me too, Tim! I could look at them for hours and run them for months 😍
very interesting, I must dig out my holiday buggy and my frog !
Two other very cool iconic Tamiyas 🙂 Yeah, dig them out. Love running these classics 😊
I’d like to own either one of these rigs, both seem like fun buggies, great video bro, thx for sharing
Did u know ur a featured channel on rc Sparks channel? I’m on there also n seen u were on there too, that’s awesome!
Yeah, great beautiful 1980ies icons. Love them! Thanks for watching, Steve!
@@STEVOD313 Ahh yes, he did that a year or two ago. He´s such a good fellow. That was the first channel I started following here on youtube after re-entering the hobby and it is still my favorite channel too. I watch all the videos. Such good positive vibes on every video. You are there too! Nice! I didn't back then and I haven't noticed any increase in subscribers or views as a result of that though. I doubt that many people visit the "channels" section nowadays and even less, I think, are clicking on the channels featured there. But it's such a cool friendly gesture from him. Love him :-)
So fking expensive
Cool test and speed run. 👍
Thanks, Charlie!
Nice video, is it ball bearings in both cars? Or plastic bushings (as stock) in the Boomerang?
Hi! Both are fully ball raced.
I agree the Boomerang looks smoother.
On ebay there is aluminium wheel adapters available :-)
Hilsener fra Norge ;-)
Yeah, a lot smoother. And it sounds smoother too. Maybe that's why it also looks faster. Yeah, I think the problem with these are that they are the original ones and I used to have a brushless motor in the Bigwig. I haven't had any problems with the re-release ones from the Boomerang and Thunder Shot yet. Thanks a lot for watching, my Nordic bro ... og mange hilsener fra Danmark! :-)
Cool brother they may not be all that fast but you just can't be those iconic Tamiya looks!
Yeah, beautiful 1980ies buggies :-) Thanks for watching, bro.
I actually went with my old man back in the 80s and the guys behind the counter said that is the fastest you can get in it's time was the boomerang so my old man purchased it for me was a lucky kid
That is a cool father! And cool to have had a Boomerang as a kid.
@@NordicRC yes he still is I just broke up from a 10 year realationship and he took me back in his house to stay best father ever mate
Very cool!
@@NordicRC thanks
Nice Video! 👍👍👍
Thanks, Luis!
Fixed the steering issue in my Bigwig. With the included 25 turn motor and I think 15 tooth? Pinion is does low 20's Im assuming. That motor also has pretty good torque as it seems like it wants to wheelie on grass haha. The suspension on the Bigwig also soaks up bumps pretty well. Overall I'm really happy with its performance.
Yeah, it's really an enjoyable model. Would love to build and run a re-release Bigwig some day. It will hold up much better than this old one :-)
@@NordicRC Got mine for a great price. It was someones shelf queen since it didnt have a scratch on it! The motor didn't even have any wear on the comutator haha. Paid $90 for it complete with radio, servo, esc and even a battery.
It was poorly assembled though as some hardware wasn't installed correctly and it was also missing the rollcage and metal roof part.
@@NordicRC Just out of curiosity how hard is it for you to get parts for the Bigwig? Parts for it don't seem abundant like for my Traxxas models.
Battery condition makes big difference... Use same battery in both tests?
Yeah, you are absolutely right. They can do, especially NiMHs like this, but these two batteries charge to the same voltage and where fully charged at the same time just before the run. And I did a speed test with them in the same car last weekend and they where approx. the same. So in this case probably not a big difference. But a good point still, since it could make a difference of 1-2 kph even though. Thanks for watching and the good point, MeesterDash.
@@NordicRC Yeah it was the only thing/reason I could think of... Nice video as usual.
Thanks a lot, mate!
Excellent video,sir! They both look awesome and run like velvet. Sorry about the wheel adaptor on your BigWig...I'm pretty sure that she will run perfectly very soon. Cheers!
Thanks! It's fun testing out these old designs. The fresh re-release Boomerang sure is a smooth runner, but the original Bigwig has seen better days even though I just re-build her :-) Cheers mate and thanks for watching.
I have a bigwig on a shelf. It's not run for 30 years. The speed controller broke and I never fixed it. I moved on to other hobbies. Will it still run if i get a speed controller. Will the motor have ceased?
I have restored several old Tamiyas and so far all motors have worked fine. But you never know. I would give it a try :-)
Wonderful video! 👍🏻👍🏻 Could you recommend a 4x4 Tamiya buggy with excellent durability for use on a backyard track? It would need to be able to reach 25 mph or so to clear the jumps. I would prefer one of the "classics," but if they can't hold up to fairly hard running then maybe something more "modern?" Thanks!
Thank you! Not sure if 'excellent durability' exists with Tamiya ... sometimes they tend to use a bit too hard plastic and make some odd choices. You would also need to get a different motor (or different gear ratio) than the standard silver can motors provided in most kits to reach 25 mph. It's hard to recommend one ... with the classics, go for the one that you most like the looks of, with the more modern there's the TT-02B and DT-03 in the more affordable end and then the TRF line-up in the more expensive end.
@@NordicRC
Thank you for the information and guidance my friend! 😁
Hi I run a super saber every time it's fixed and ready for another run. it's my only hotshot family car and it's great apart from how fragile it is. But even my DF3 has similar probs they spit there UJs out the side and one hit and the suspension is toast.
I run a dyna run motor in my saber and it really drifts nice on slilcks.
My fastest car is a frog modified front and rear suspension purely for speed with dynatech 02 it does close to 70clicks in a straight line on suparu brat wheels and hups.
Love Tamiya and all those that do to.
Hi Alli! Sounds like you got some cool Tamiyas there. Love Tamiya too 🙂
Huh. I was imagining the Boomer being faster? That was weird lol. Nice video and glad you were prepared. I would not have been. ;)
Yeah, huh, I imagined the Boomer being at least 2kph faster, from the looks and the sound (and on top of that knowing it has a 15T pinion compared to the Bigwig's 13T) Strange indeed. But the SkyRC seems so reliable and consistent I have to believe it (more or less). Ahh, not prepared, lots of 12 mm hex adaptors but no Hotshot adaptors :-) But I enjoyed running the Boomer after the camera was turned off :-)
I got the original big wig in the 80's from Santa :). Dad spent hours putting it together (I was only 7 or 8) ... I remember that thing was very fast with a fully charged battery (for that time) people sure didn't like it when it hit their foot at high speed LOL.
Always took it with me when we went to the beach, cleaning out all the sand in the evening.
I remember that when the battery was low, it no longer responded to the remote control and it would just continue driving at fairly high speed ... often straight towards the sea. Not sure if that's a thing or my dad screwed something up while putting it together.
Too bad the new version isn't as fast? If it were identical (or faster) I'd probably get one eventhough I'm not into RC cars.
Don't want to ruin the memory with a slower/sluggish version.
I have a similar memory of my dad putting together my Christmas Boomerang - It didn't work so we took it back to the store in the mall and my dad almost got into fight with the dude because the thing wouldn't work until he replaced the crystal in the Transmitter LOL - Then we coulnd't believe how fast the thing was. Awesome memories.
Awesome test run, poor bigwig. I'm hoping you have replacement parts for it. Such a beautiful vehicle.😎👍
Thanks, yeah, poor old brittle Bigwig :-) I think I actually found out I packed all my spare Hotshot family wheel adaptors in the package with my re-release Thunder Shot which I traded off earlier this year. Ha ha, typical. Should have kept some, but I thought I had others. Ohh, well, then I have to get a while parts tree :-/ But yes, beautiful Bigwig :-) Thanks for watching, bro.
I think most of us who's collecting Vintage TAMIYA RC cars is not about how fast nor how they perform. There are many much cheaper RC cars perform much much better with fast speed. No hard feeling though my friend
Ahh, I think you missed the intention behind these speed tests. A GPS speed test is just a measurement. Not an attempt to go fast or go even faster 😊 It’s fun. Fun to see the top speed of both classic and modern models, and sometimes to try it out with different combinations of motor, gearing, battery, tires. To see the differences. Or the differences between classic models like the Boomer and the Bigwig. Or the Grasshopper and the Hornet. And so on. We couldn’t really do this in the 1980ies so we do it now. I even measured my Tamiya Grasshopper. Was it fast? No of course not. But it was fun to measure the top speed of a stock Grasshopper instead of just guessing. And the upgrade part is fun too. Recently I upgraded one of my Hornet/Hoppers. Will it ever perform as well as a cheap modern DT-03? No. Never. But it was fun ☺️ It’s a celebration, a tribute to the old designs - and fun - and nerdy ☺️
Lol it's absolutely fine my friend. I just think there is no point of measuring the speed. My personal opinion, they are meant to be go slow lol but I still like to watch your upload ^^
Yeah, you’re right. It’s just a matter of personal taste. But yes, these where never meant to go fast. I’ve had a lot of fun with my GPS though. I just think it’s fun to measure the actual speeds. And see the actual differences of different models, of ball bearings versus bushings, different motors, gearings, tires, batteries etc. Most of the time I leave my re-releases stock. But still fun to measure a Grasshopper’s top speed. Or a Boomerangs or a Bigwigs. And measure the actual speed people where most likely to run these with back in the days. Most of the times I do not upgrade them. Everytime I put out a video with one of my Grasshoppers I’m told I should put a 540 motor in it. But sometimes it’s just much more fun to run these stock. It’s not about speed for me ☺️
Actually, the ratio pinion gear matter. The same case with Tamiya F201, between the old one with the latest one. Even the latest one looks slower, but run faster.
And for the brushless motor, much better if you use competition parts like materials from alloy or steel, and carbon. As the power of brushless motor easily to break the plastic parts.
As far as I remember, the BigWig was also a few hundreds of grams heavier, so that can eplain why it feels a bit less snappy. With same motor, the boomerang will be faster.
Yeah, just strange because the Boomerang got a higher gearing too. But yes, maybe the slow acceleration of the Bigwig cheats the eye, and it seems slower.
Great video as always! I hate when I end up finding cracks here and there on my original Bigfoot...Kind of sad she might be shelved for a bit. Great content though!👍
Yeah, these vintage ones where not really meant to be run with all that brittle plastic. But it's hard to keep them on the shelf :-) Thanks a lot for watching, Haydad RC!
Tamiya have released some cool looking buggies over the years as well as a few stinkers. The boomerang looks so much better than the big wig
Yeah, some better than others but all a great part of the RC history ☺️ I like the looks of the Boomerang better too. But the Bigwig looks good too I think, especially in box art (not like this old second hand)
@@NordicRC I also like thinking how some buggies look amazing on the box but a little weird in the flesh, whereas others look so much better in person. Everyone's tastes are different, so I guess Tamiya caters to everyone which is cool
Yeah, well, personally I love looking at all my Tamiya buggies on display. I grew up with the Nikko and Taiyo buggies in the 1980s so getting the real thing now is a real treat ☺️
Ah that Bigwig is a bit of a liability with the breakages. Do you remember our discussion about 'Triggers broom' ? Anyway can't remember if I said but I've got a vintage M01 Mini and that does 17mph with standard motor and battery. It looks quicker because it's quite little. Good fun though with the analogue speed controller. Vid coming soon. Maybe :-) By the way, what is that building that you are always running your cars next to ?
Yeah, it behaves ‘a little’ different than a re-release. He he, Trigger’s broom’ 😄 That’s the problem I’m facing with this one. Still, the majority of the car is the original, but if I keep running it for a few years I might end up with a Trigger’s Broom, he he. You got a strong vintage piece there. Those M’s are pretty fast and high geared stock. Think my M-03 does around 30 kph stock. And yeah, they look fast with their tiny wheel base. Would love an M-01 some day. It’s a school yard this one, so the building is a School. Basically a couple of different School yards are the only RC options in walking distance in my part of this City so I tend to use them a lot. This one is perfect for speed runs since it has some fresh smooth asphalt ☺️
Very interesting. Is the Johnson motor a little bit more powerful, so giving the Bigwig the same result ? I like videos that make me think : ))
Thanks for watching (and thinking) Derek! :-) Yeah, thought about that too. It is classified as a Tamiya Hop-Up Motor, like the torque and sport tuned, but I think it's strength (compared to the standard Mabuchi RS540-SH) lies more in torque than speed, if I remember correctly. Same 27T. Maybe the battery. But I tried several times, and they continued getting the same result. And even though the Bigwig looks and sounds a lot slower, I also tried to compare the milliseconds (from a certain spot in the location to another) in the videos and they are very close. Maybe eyes and ears are deceiving.
Tamiya works in mysterious ways my friend. That's why we love them ; ))
He he, yeah :-)
Doesn't The Bigwig run 8.4 battery pack and an upgraded motor? Why isn't it faster then the Boomerang?
Yeah, the original certainly came with the fast brushed technigold. This is a second hand. Sadly no technigold.
The Boomerang looked faster that was strange. Look on ebay there is someone who makes the hubs in alloy.
Yeah, looks and sounds at least 2 kph or more faster. Strange indeed. Yeah, aluminium could be cool, but I think the re-release ones are good enough. These old original ones has probably been stressed out when it was brushless. Thanks for watching, my friend.
Can even drive it straight. I demand a re-run the bigwig wins everytime I had both and the grasshopper neither of these were on par with my bigwig and now I have got older and balder I can put the bigwig on my head to hide the big bald patches which means this car is definitely a all rounder.
Bigwig comes with ballraces as standard and Boomerang with nylon bushes so I'm guessing that's why the Bigwig is faster even though it is heavier.
Could be a difference of motors too. No silver can is the same, and the Johnson silver can is considered a hop-up by Tamiya (though it should be more focused on torque/acceleration and not top speed). Maybe combined with other factors. Like difference of ball bearings. Both these units are fully ball raced.
Great, thanks for clarifying that both were fully ball raced.
It’s obviously. Big wig accelerated slower then boomerang.Run time of boomerang will be longer. So, put in a larger pinion and speed wil increase.
In 1987 at age 12....I bad the Tamiya Grasshopper and tamiya striker
Sounds like a lot of great childhood memories, Jay. You are lucky having a Tamiya back then :-)
Wow what music is that?? Please let me know, it screams 80’s!!😎👍🏼
It does? Maybe the synthesizer vibe does the trick. It's a tune from youtube's audio library called Addicted. Quite fitting for a Tamiya Addict :-)
Nordic RC Visions wow I can’t find it all, do you have the link?
You need to go into the youtube audio library and then search for addicted. You will find it :-)
I searched and searched with no luck!☹️. If you have the link that would be great🙏🏼
I don’t think there are links to a specific song. Do you know what the youtube audio library is? That is where I got it from. And it’s there. I just looked. Sorry I can’t help more.
This video brings me back to my childhood!👍 Är du dansk?
Yeah, watching these classic buggies brings me back to my childhood each time too :-) Good old 1980ies. Didn't know about Tamiya back then, but all my toy-grade buggies that where inspired by Tamiya, the Nikko Turbo Panther and the Taiyo Jet Fighter reminds me of these. Ja, dansk! Og du lyder svensk?
I own a re release of both the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot. And with a Tamiya Super stock RZ motor and 13 tooth pinion on 2 S lipo battery my Super Hot Shot gets to 44 Km/h or 27 mph . Probably can makeitgo faster by running less geese in the front and rear differentials. So the gears have less resistance or drug from the weight of the grease. My Super Hot Shot LSO wheel stands but that probably is because the lower 13 tooth pinion gear which is required with that motor because the Super stock RZ motor makes its power higher up in the rev range its power band is 27500 rpm so it needs to use a 13 tooth pinion gear. But yeah really nice video. I like them both but I prefer the Boomerang . The Big Wig was a heavy car that came along a few years free the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot and didn't quite appelto me a much as the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot. I think the Hot Shot and Super Hot Shot are 2 of the bet looking buggies Tamiya ever made. And now in 2023 with Tamiya re releasing a lot of these iconic 1980's buggies it is highly likely the Big Wig may make a return also as well as the Falcon and the Blackfoot and lots more. The sand scorcher VW Beetle is back as is the Subaru Brat and Wild One and Nova fox. On that subject though I think Tamiya should try to make their re- release kits look more period era vintage with genuine decals like in the 1980's. And these days electronic speed controls are so much better than mechanical speed controls of the 1980's . Great video I love your work man👍👍👌
I enjoyed that video immensely. I think the Boomerang was one of the best-looking models Tamiya ever made. I guess I have 80s taste and I just need to admit it.
The Boomerang doesn't look as good (my opinion) but it has all the trick features of the day. Rack & pinion steering, wow! How does it steer, compared to the Boomerang?
Re. the speed, the Bigwig came with a hotter "Technigold" motor. Why would they include a smaller pinion and handicap the speed? (or was that your choice?)
I love the looks of the Boomerang. So 1980’s. I think the boomerang chassis handles a lot better than the Bigwig. More nimble and agile, despite the mono shock front. The Bigwig was an old vintage second hand purchase. It did not have the technigold anymore, but came with a brushless motor 😂 (check the other Bigwig videos)
No comments about the aero being affected by the GPS? Your aerodynamics are totally outside the factory specifications.
Nooo….where you placed the GPS would increase drag on the vehicle! :)
He, don’t think it makes much difference with this speed and this size 😉 Maybe a little but not anything significant.
The bigwig wouldn’t go in a straight line, what’s that about?
Hi Mark! Uhh, I can’t remember. Too long ago. Probably just needs some better steering trim?
@@NordicRC I wasn’t sure if it was indicative of lower priced TAMIYA models, looking at buying a Terra Scorcher but this video has put me off a bit and made me think about spending more. Had a Falcon and wasn’t hugely impressed so I’m not sure a Terra Scorcher is much of a step up.
Where’s the techny gold?
BenLang77 Would have loved one, but this was just a cheap second hand
bigwig with 8.4v battery blew everything away... then.
Yeah, and the Technigold motor :-)
@@NordicRC hehe
Like shur
Thanks!
If your doing a true test, the bigwig is much faster. It came w a techngold motor. It was also a full bearing. You also didn’t match the pinions. If you did the bigwig would still be faster. If you match everything, bearings, motor and battery, pinion, they are the exact same. They have the same gears literally. I can see handling as a true test w equal eq. But the big wig chassis and steering I always felt was better.
A true test? This is a true test: My Bigwig versus my Boomerang 😉
Tamia is the best
I certainly love my Tamiyas :-)
Pretty slow
Yeah, compared to modern standards ☺️
Motor is dodgy In that bigwig. Unfair test 😒 😪 bigwig goes way faster than that if its running right, yours is a old 🐕.
Yeah, not the original motor. Could be different pinions too.