Built my Supra first without the shims just to see how bad the slop was. It was definitely up there as among the worst I've seen in a Tamiya kit. Once I added the shims and various hop ups though it's become a decent runner. I think some of the issue is that Tamiya intended this to be a begginers kit in Japan, or a "get your kid into RC" kit, so things such as slop and friction dampers are to expected in such a basic kit. A basic kit that is easy and customisable to build and fairly simple to add hop ups as your confidence grows. Whereas say here in the UK where we have to pay tax on top, it was kind of like "Wow I paid £170 for a kit with THAT much slop, and now I have to FIX it?!" I watched a lot of Japanese youtubers who acknowledged faults in the designed but then took it as a challenge to fix it. Whereas a lot of the TH-camrs in the UK who are paid and sponsored and get an influx of different brands and cars were very quick to call it a dumpster fire, which I think is purely for click bait and partly as well because if you're paid to talk about a £800 kit and then are given a £170 kit intended for a beginner, yes there will be a massive difference in terms of quality. Whilst I agree it shouldn't be on us to fix Tamiya's design flaws, I think it is overboard for people to call it the worst Tamiya ever.
Thanks for this! Well said!! I know the first few videos I saw on this kit were doing the same thing...calling it a "dumpster fire" as you say. It never made sense to me as there had to be a reason that Tamiya built them this way. After all, the BBX came out before these two kits and the quality of the build was better than anything so far so maybe there was an expectancy that these kits were going to be like the BBX build? That would definitely explain the initial negative reviews. If they were supposed to be beginner kits Tamiya probably just needed to say so to make sure other markets (UK, USA, Canada etc) didn't start ripping them apart at first sight. Marketing mistake? Guess we'll see what happens.
The BBX is in its own category with its hex hardware, full ball bearings, ball diff, and proper dampers out of the box. I haven’t felt like any reviewers have compared the MB-01 to kits that cost 300 bucks and upward. But when it feels like a downgrade from an M-05 or M-06, the criticism is justified. I’m a tinkerer and like to work around things on the bench even more so than on the track, so the MB-01 has a certain appeal to me. The Japanese folks who took it as a challenge understand the point. But I wouldn’t call the process beginner-friendly. What beginner wants a car that doesn’t work right and breaks very easily when you build it exactly as the manual advises?
@Glocktologist Agreed, i think Tamiya were perhaps a bit erm...hopeful/optimistic maybe? Intending this to be a ideal beginners kit but with enough potential in the Hop Ups route to appeal to long time fans and enthusiasts, but as mentioned in the video, the overall design and set up of the car seems to be flawed from the get go.
I still have to build the BT01 but I have built the MB01 and I was not concerned about the slop in it. I did use the metal pivot balls as that does help out a ton in both of them as well as the TT02 kits. Of course by design there are shortcomings in them. It kind of stinks as I don't think they are going to be around for too long, seems like they heard all the feedback and have not started cranking them out like the TT02 chassis. Your points are all valid and the "jack of all trades" complex is strong with them. It was a cool idea but creating all the complexity and adjustability lends itself to having these issues. I do thin the slop things was a bit blown out pf proportion when they first came out. I do understand as a newly designed car should not have all the wiggles and jiggles it has but 95% of us are not racing these and are just bombing around in parking lots so it is not terribly critical they are finely tuned performance machines! LOL! It does really suck the steering broke on yours, it may have been a wonky casting. Any sign of an air bubble or anything inside the arm where it broke? Hopefully it was a wrong place wrong time thing. It still looks freaking cool sitting there!
Hi Addam! You'll actually find that the MB-01's slop is less than the BT-01 when you finally build yours. I think it's because all the arms are shorter and smaller meaning the slop isn't as apparent. The slop is there but not nearly as much as with the BT-01. I'll be curious to see what you think when you finally get to building yours. As a whole...it's too bad really...I think these kits had great potential but people have not been kind in reviews lol - Someone commented on this video talking about the fact that in Japan these were marketed as beginner kits to get kids interested in R/C. And they were designed to be built in all these configurations for mechanical understanding of the different drivetrains. The point I made after I heard that was that Tamiya should have maybe been more clear, especially with other markets, that these kits were designed for "mechanical understanding of R/C's" - but who knows. Personally I really liked the build but I do know that I have a LOT of TT-02 kits and I probably wouldn't buy another BT-01 or MB-01. - You are right about the performance thing...most of us are not using these for competitive racing...myself included...and I didn't notice anything wrong with the plastic steering mount post so I'm not sure how it could have happened so easily. I definitely hope this isn't a regular occurrence for people - but I agree with you...it does look very cool sitting there :) Thanks for well thought out and detailed comment...and again..would love to hear what you think when you get your BT-01 finished.
@@FastFreddyRC Thanks Freddy, it is on the list of things to do. I am trying to figure out if I am doing a simple paint job on it or trying to get fancy with it. I need to get my act together and get a plan for the projects I have here LOL!
I've had loads of different Tamiiya kits over the years, and they've almost all had 'slop' of some sort. My TT-01E truck had a fair bit, but I upgraded a few parts and it was way better. The 'slop' seems to me part of a Tamiya kit, and to be fair it's not a massive issue. We all know that when Tamiya put 'high performance' on the box it doesn't mean it, at least not as most of us would think of 'high performance' meaning. Don't get me wrong, I love Tamiiya, I love the fact that they make kits is awesome, I love the experience of building a kit, sometimes more than actually running the car. I've got a DT-03 Aqroshot, a Clod Buster, and a TC-01 that I was racing indoors on carpet. The TC-01 has got a lot of good points, BUT it also has negatives, the main issue for me is the awkwardness of adjusting the camber on the car, it's a pain in the butt! Out of the box the Clod is terrible, mine has had a LOT of upgrades done to it, and I love it! The DT-03 has had a few things done but not much, it's a load of fun to race, although a choice of more than 2 pinion gear sizes and a slipper clutch upgrade would be nice. I used to have a TA-05IFS years ago, and that chassis was utterly brilliant out of the box, easy to adjust and pretty tough, and very competitive with no upgrades needed. Great video though!!
All great points Barry! and you might be right about their "high performance" designation lol - Like you, I spend a lot more time building Tamiya kits than running them because that's the part I enjoy the most. As a whole I'm not sure any one Tamiya is perfect. My first kit as a kid, the Blackfoot, certainly went through drive shafts a lot but it was still a performer in my eyes. I wore the tires down to the bone with that one...so much fun. So even that kit had issues but you weren't too bothered about it at the time. Thanks for sharing! - You've got some great kits there. The TC-01 I would definitely consider to be a performer but based on your experience even that still has issues. It's all good fun no matter how you slice it...thanks for watching!
Great video fella!! The term 'jack of all trades ,master of none' springs to mind here mate! (i mean the kits,not you!)😅 The actual concept Tamiya have come up with is actually very clever,and they were definitely thinking outside of the box,which is good. Unfortunately to enable a product to be multi function will always cause it to be less efficient at one sole purpose. Also,as with the real motor industry,the first iterations of a brand new product line always suffer design faults that need addressing. Its a shame,as with a little bit more effort put into R/D these kits could have been a big success. Unfortunately,as with many of the newer Tamiyas (TD4 etc) once they get a bad reputation people tend to not buy them,and the product line flops. This is a shame,as part of our hobby is upgrading and improving these things out of the box,its part the fun of building kits.....although there is no excuses for ABS that brittle! That plastic component that broke is very reminiscent of the hubs and arms on the Porsche 959 back in 86,a total design fault! This is very poor,as Tamiya have had 40+ years to evolve from issues like this,and plastics have improved ten fold. Lets hope they can sort these issues out,and bring out a revised version of these chassis .....as many youtubers have actually achieved good results with a little bit of tinkering and ingenuity. Personally,im all about the vintage stuff,and generally dont buy anything modern......it just doesn't have the same appeal to me as a collector. But,i still find them interesting non the less. Enjoyable upload Freddie!😊 👍 👍
lol all good! I was reading your first comment and thought you must be following along :) I definitely was hoping that these kits would be a hit...they seemed like a great line for Tamiya. But with all the negative reviews that I've seen so far let's hope they come out with some design changes for future kits...although maybe that's asking too much. Who knows...guess we'll see. I still want to pick up a Brat as I can't get enough of the ORV chassis...just a bit pricy here these days...but it's on the list as a must have! lol Thanks for watching!
@@FastFreddyRCYep mate.... I suppose in reality they are still a 'relatively' cheap kit, and they are obviously trying to stay within a budget to keep them affordable. They are pretty much in the same market sector as the TT02..... an affordable chassis that has the potential of fitting a multitude of beautiful body shells on, something that Tamiya excel at! The stock TT02 is pretty poor right out the box, with all it's slop, torque steer, pogo sticks and non adjustable steering. But, at the same time it can be made to perform really well with some time, and lots of money thrown at it! The vast array of hop ups is mind boggling..... and i think that's half the fun of these kind of kits, slowly upgrading/improving them as time goes by. (although I personally didn't bother with the TT02, and got the kyosho fazer instead, which is a lot better from the off, albeit more expensive!) Glad to hear of your love for the ORV platform buddy, Its one of my favourites..... although i haven't got the Brat (yet) 😅 You may enjoy our latest video at GH.... no less than 6 ORV big wheelers featured on this one if you haven't already seen it! This latest video of yours was great viewing, would love to see you produce more content along those lines.... very enjoyable to watch mate. 😊 👍 👍
Hands down the best video so far on the bt01/mb01 kits explaining the reasons behind the way the kits are the way they are. Great technical explanations especially if you’re not technically minded. Great stuff
Wow...Andy...I don't know what to say...thank you so much! Coming from you this means a lot. I know you do a LOT of reviews so this is much appreciated. All the best!
Interesting review and great tips Freddy. If I got no luck, I'll for sure invest a little money for the F-tree to get this tool😉 Yes, I want to see the conversion. This is the one, how I would do the build. Annoying damage, I think it's because of the leverage force of this long arm. My opinion to the slop is, even if it's a modular chassis, rear uprights might be done stationary (thinking of the 4WDs). And even on the Highlift, the CR-01 or the G6-01 have mobile rear uprights and no slop. Just a longer adjustmend, but then they stay in place. I'm hoping shimming here and there like on the MF-01X might help a little bit.
Thanks Dirk! Crossing fingers for you! :) only a couple more hours left here for entries!!! I’m working on a few projects at the moment but I’ll get back to the conversion video idea in the new year. If you want to see it I’ll make it happen! :) And yes I would agree about the damage. Easy fix now that there’s a cheap upgrade. But yeah the slop is interesting…I’ll definitely be doing some test runs now. The biggest thing I hear is it’s hard to keep it running in a straight line as the wheels go where the terrain takes it so that’s definitely where you’ve got to figure out a solution.
True. The slop issue reminds me of the evil handling found when people try to use FWD drivetrain assemblies in their 1:1 mid-engine conversions. Steering tie rods aren't designed to handle the forces seen on the rear.
Interesting...that's a great analogy! I'm really not sure why they didn't just design and give you the right parts for the rear drive setup. All the other conversion parts are there in the box and if they had done that I would have said these kits would have been more accepted.
Most high-end touring race cars for the past few years have had what they call an Active Rear Suspension. Basically, it’s a steering knuckle that causes toe-in to increase when the suspension is compressed. Exactly like these cars have. I don’t think the problem is so much having the same feature as touring cars have, but quite simply the tolerances for the parts are way off. Which is odd to me, since Tamiya parts usually fit together with ease without being way too loose. Seems to me that the M-06 is a better RWD chassis for driving if you don’t mind the rear motor configuration. The M-08 is a well-liked chassis for those who want a mid motor, but I don’t know how well it works for rally stuff as it’s supposed to be on-road only. Also, it costs twice as much as the other kits. I believe the TT-02 (or TT-01E) can easily be converted to 2WD so you could have a tried and true full-size 1/10 car if you feel like the B in MB-01 and BT-01 stands for ”body holder”…
Interesting. I guess if these cars had true "Active Rear Suspension" they would perform the same but just not with all that loose play that they have at any position. What you're saying makes sense because the toe in would help keep the car going straight in severe cases of suspension compression...if I'm wording that correctly. I'm going to have to do a comparison on all of these in the future. Maybe take an M-06 out and run it on a circuit that I can repeat with the BT-01 and see the difference in performance and control..might be an interesting test.
Excellent review Freddy 👍 INCREASING IRRITATION LEVELS... Your chosen words were perfectly executed. Agreed, the rear uprights should have been a solid unit to not have any slop in the first place. Most kits, like you said, do have some kind of slop but not as much as the newer models. I suppose we will have to wait and see if Tamiya decide to upgrade these kits or not. Probably not. Thanks for the review 👍
Thanks Peter!! It’s definitely strange that they passed quality control having such movement in the rear. But then again…I think the intended purpose of the chassis was to give people options and it does that incredibly well. I think it’s wrong to throw the chassis completely under the bus because I think it does have its place. But we’ll just have to wait and see how well it’s received over time.
@@FastFreddyRC Let Tamiya use the chassis of the HBX-dirtcheap, indestroyable-and-sturdy chassis. If HBX succeeds in creating decent drivable cars without noticable slop in drivetrain or steering, why doesn't Tamiya?
It's a weird one that's for sure. The first new kit Tamiya came out with was the BBX which is getting great reviews. Then the BT-01 and MB-01 chassis were released which were an overall disappointment. Why? I'm recently beginning to find out that when I said "think of these as an R/C version of a lego kit" I may have not been far off. In Japan they are being marketed as beginner build kits that give newbies an opportunity to try out different drive trains. Another reason for me why they should have left off the "performance" label on the box. I really want to see a 2WD on road touring chassis that is truly designed as a performer like the TT-02 was for 4WD.
Tamiya really needs to start working on making steering systems that actually steer with SOME sort of precision... especially for an onroad car where it has traction. On loose dirt you're going to notice, but not nearly the same...onroad if the car won't even track straight, reliably center, etc... that makes driving it for anything other than random driving around an open area a LOT less fun. The next thing I think they need to do, is try some designs with caster blocks and spindles, not the uprights with pivot balls at the end of the arms, so much slop .... Lastly, it is well known that Tamiya CAN make quality plastics, yet they keep pumping out models with sprues molded out of cheese... a few small changes in designs, like what you mention with the rear uprights, etc... some more precise steering... bearings and oil shocks... and decent materials and fitment... these kinds of things are always praised highly on the few kits that include those things, sadly that is a rare case like in the BB01. Tamiya would sell me a LOT more kits, if they made them a bit higher quality...even if that means a bit higher price per kit. For now, I have mostly put my "wish list" of Tamiya kits to the back burner, and just wait for them to release one that I actually like enough to end up purchasing... but they need to make some of these kinds of changes first. I like what I see of the Hornet Evo in some ways, and would love to see more kits get the Evo treatment, but the actual materials used should really be part of that evolution... Cheers!
Well said! You've made a lot of great points and they're all valid. I have a Hornet EVO on order and I'm eager to see just how different the kit is compared to the standard hornet. I'm hoping everything they've done to it makes it a real upgrade. I definitely like the fact that it comes with a full set of ball bearings. The thing that's weird is that the BBX came out first and then the BT-01 and MB-01 were announced. So everyone who LOVED the quality of the BBX got a shock I think when the BT-01 and MB-01 came out because it was the old way of making kits again. It's like they listened to their fan base, and then went back to the old ways after the BBX lol
I won't be buying these kits-when I saw the first reviews I came to the same conclusion as you have-too much engineering doing things it isn't meant to.Front wheels steer, rears drive. Stop there. All Tamiya kits have horrible slop, without exception. Comparing to a Kyosho there is no competition. (Having said that I own 20+ Tamiyas so I still buy bloody things). I am not overkeen on the hard plastics they use as well, again Kyosho and the "cheap" brands like HSP have them beat by a mile. Will Tamiya listen to the criticisms of the buyer? Nope. How much would a conversion kit of the 4 plastic parts and 2 screws cost? For them next to nothing, but don't expect one any time. Unless they can do some fancy "hop up" bag at £50 for all the fan boys out there.....
Yep..100% agree with you there. The one thing I didn't mention in the video, which I could have added, is that if you want to convert the BT-01 from the standard MR drive configuration to front motor rear drive, you have to change the whole thing around. The front becomes the rear, and the rear becomes the front. So you are literally rebuilding the whole car in many ways. It's just weird.
Built my Supra first without the shims just to see how bad the slop was. It was definitely up there as among the worst I've seen in a Tamiya kit. Once I added the shims and various hop ups though it's become a decent runner. I think some of the issue is that Tamiya intended this to be a begginers kit in Japan, or a "get your kid into RC" kit, so things such as slop and friction dampers are to expected in such a basic kit. A basic kit that is easy and customisable to build and fairly simple to add hop ups as your confidence grows. Whereas say here in the UK where we have to pay tax on top, it was kind of like "Wow I paid £170 for a kit with THAT much slop, and now I have to FIX it?!" I watched a lot of Japanese youtubers who acknowledged faults in the designed but then took it as a challenge to fix it. Whereas a lot of the TH-camrs in the UK who are paid and sponsored and get an influx of different brands and cars were very quick to call it a dumpster fire, which I think is purely for click bait and partly as well because if you're paid to talk about a £800 kit and then are given a £170 kit intended for a beginner, yes there will be a massive difference in terms of quality. Whilst I agree it shouldn't be on us to fix Tamiya's design flaws, I think it is overboard for people to call it the worst Tamiya ever.
Thanks for this! Well said!! I know the first few videos I saw on this kit were doing the same thing...calling it a "dumpster fire" as you say. It never made sense to me as there had to be a reason that Tamiya built them this way. After all, the BBX came out before these two kits and the quality of the build was better than anything so far so maybe there was an expectancy that these kits were going to be like the BBX build? That would definitely explain the initial negative reviews. If they were supposed to be beginner kits Tamiya probably just needed to say so to make sure other markets (UK, USA, Canada etc) didn't start ripping them apart at first sight. Marketing mistake? Guess we'll see what happens.
The BBX is in its own category with its hex hardware, full ball bearings, ball diff, and proper dampers out of the box. I haven’t felt like any reviewers have compared the MB-01 to kits that cost 300 bucks and upward. But when it feels like a downgrade from an M-05 or M-06, the criticism is justified.
I’m a tinkerer and like to work around things on the bench even more so than on the track, so the MB-01 has a certain appeal to me. The Japanese folks who took it as a challenge understand the point. But I wouldn’t call the process beginner-friendly.
What beginner wants a car that doesn’t work right and breaks very easily when you build it exactly as the manual advises?
@Glocktologist Agreed, i think Tamiya were perhaps a bit erm...hopeful/optimistic maybe? Intending this to be a ideal beginners kit but with enough potential in the Hop Ups route to appeal to long time fans and enthusiasts, but as mentioned in the video, the overall design and set up of the car seems to be flawed from the get go.
I still have to build the BT01 but I have built the MB01 and I was not concerned about the slop in it. I did use the metal pivot balls as that does help out a ton in both of them as well as the TT02 kits. Of course by design there are shortcomings in them. It kind of stinks as I don't think they are going to be around for too long, seems like they heard all the feedback and have not started cranking them out like the TT02 chassis.
Your points are all valid and the "jack of all trades" complex is strong with them. It was a cool idea but creating all the complexity and adjustability lends itself to having these issues. I do thin the slop things was a bit blown out pf proportion when they first came out. I do understand as a newly designed car should not have all the wiggles and jiggles it has but 95% of us are not racing these and are just bombing around in parking lots so it is not terribly critical they are finely tuned performance machines! LOL!
It does really suck the steering broke on yours, it may have been a wonky casting. Any sign of an air bubble or anything inside the arm where it broke? Hopefully it was a wrong place wrong time thing. It still looks freaking cool sitting there!
Hi Addam! You'll actually find that the MB-01's slop is less than the BT-01 when you finally build yours. I think it's because all the arms are shorter and smaller meaning the slop isn't as apparent. The slop is there but not nearly as much as with the BT-01. I'll be curious to see what you think when you finally get to building yours. As a whole...it's too bad really...I think these kits had great potential but people have not been kind in reviews lol - Someone commented on this video talking about the fact that in Japan these were marketed as beginner kits to get kids interested in R/C. And they were designed to be built in all these configurations for mechanical understanding of the different drivetrains. The point I made after I heard that was that Tamiya should have maybe been more clear, especially with other markets, that these kits were designed for "mechanical understanding of R/C's" - but who knows. Personally I really liked the build but I do know that I have a LOT of TT-02 kits and I probably wouldn't buy another BT-01 or MB-01. - You are right about the performance thing...most of us are not using these for competitive racing...myself included...and I didn't notice anything wrong with the plastic steering mount post so I'm not sure how it could have happened so easily. I definitely hope this isn't a regular occurrence for people - but I agree with you...it does look very cool sitting there :) Thanks for well thought out and detailed comment...and again..would love to hear what you think when you get your BT-01 finished.
@@FastFreddyRC Thanks Freddy, it is on the list of things to do. I am trying to figure out if I am doing a simple paint job on it or trying to get fancy with it. I need to get my act together and get a plan for the projects I have here LOL!
lol I hear ya! I have unfinished projects all over the place and I really need to get back to them.
I've had loads of different Tamiiya kits over the years, and they've almost all had 'slop' of some sort. My TT-01E truck had a fair bit, but I upgraded a few parts and it was way better. The 'slop' seems to me part of a Tamiya kit, and to be fair it's not a massive issue. We all know that when Tamiya put 'high performance' on the box it doesn't mean it, at least not as most of us would think of 'high performance' meaning.
Don't get me wrong, I love Tamiiya, I love the fact that they make kits is awesome, I love the experience of building a kit, sometimes more than actually running the car. I've got a DT-03 Aqroshot, a Clod Buster, and a TC-01 that I was racing indoors on carpet. The TC-01 has got a lot of good points, BUT it also has negatives, the main issue for me is the awkwardness of adjusting the camber on the car, it's a pain in the butt! Out of the box the Clod is terrible, mine has had a LOT of upgrades done to it, and I love it! The DT-03 has had a few things done but not much, it's a load of fun to race, although a choice of more than 2 pinion gear sizes and a slipper clutch upgrade would be nice. I used to have a TA-05IFS years ago, and that chassis was utterly brilliant out of the box, easy to adjust and pretty tough, and very competitive with no upgrades needed. Great video though!!
All great points Barry! and you might be right about their "high performance" designation lol - Like you, I spend a lot more time building Tamiya kits than running them because that's the part I enjoy the most. As a whole I'm not sure any one Tamiya is perfect. My first kit as a kid, the Blackfoot, certainly went through drive shafts a lot but it was still a performer in my eyes. I wore the tires down to the bone with that one...so much fun. So even that kit had issues but you weren't too bothered about it at the time. Thanks for sharing! - You've got some great kits there. The TC-01 I would definitely consider to be a performer but based on your experience even that still has issues. It's all good fun no matter how you slice it...thanks for watching!
Very helpful in depth comparison. Thanks Freddy.
Thanks Trey!
Great video fella!!
The term 'jack of all trades ,master of none' springs to mind here mate!
(i mean the kits,not you!)😅
The actual concept Tamiya have come up with is actually very clever,and they were definitely thinking outside of the box,which is good.
Unfortunately to enable a product to be multi function will always cause it to be less efficient at one sole purpose.
Also,as with the real motor industry,the first iterations of a brand new product line always suffer design faults that need addressing.
Its a shame,as with a little bit more effort put into R/D these kits could have been a big success.
Unfortunately,as with many of the newer Tamiyas (TD4 etc) once they get a bad reputation people tend to not buy them,and the product line flops.
This is a shame,as part of our hobby is upgrading and improving these things out of the box,its part the fun of building kits.....although there is no excuses for ABS that brittle!
That plastic component that broke is very reminiscent of the hubs and arms on the Porsche 959 back in 86,a total design fault!
This is very poor,as Tamiya have had 40+ years to evolve from issues like this,and plastics have improved ten fold.
Lets hope they can sort these issues out,and bring out a revised version of these chassis .....as many youtubers have actually achieved good results with a little bit of tinkering and ingenuity.
Personally,im all about the vintage stuff,and generally dont buy anything modern......it just doesn't have the same appeal to me as a collector.
But,i still find them interesting non the less.
Enjoyable upload Freddie!😊
👍 👍
Edit...... As I watch more of this video you have pretty much said exactly what I have just stated!! 😂
lol all good! I was reading your first comment and thought you must be following along :) I definitely was hoping that these kits would be a hit...they seemed like a great line for Tamiya. But with all the negative reviews that I've seen so far let's hope they come out with some design changes for future kits...although maybe that's asking too much. Who knows...guess we'll see. I still want to pick up a Brat as I can't get enough of the ORV chassis...just a bit pricy here these days...but it's on the list as a must have! lol Thanks for watching!
@@FastFreddyRCYep mate....
I suppose in reality they are still a 'relatively' cheap kit, and they are obviously trying to stay within a budget to keep them affordable.
They are pretty much in the same market sector as the TT02..... an affordable chassis that has the potential of fitting a multitude of beautiful body shells on, something that Tamiya excel at!
The stock TT02 is pretty poor right out the box, with all it's slop, torque steer, pogo sticks and non adjustable steering.
But, at the same time it can be made to perform really well with some time, and lots of money thrown at it!
The vast array of hop ups is mind boggling..... and i think that's half the fun of these kind of kits, slowly upgrading/improving them as time goes by.
(although I personally didn't bother with the TT02, and got the kyosho fazer instead, which is a lot better from the off, albeit more expensive!)
Glad to hear of your love for the ORV platform buddy, Its one of my favourites..... although i haven't got the Brat (yet) 😅
You may enjoy our latest video at GH.... no less than 6 ORV big wheelers featured on this one if you haven't already seen it!
This latest video of yours was great viewing, would love to see you produce more content along those lines.... very enjoyable to watch mate. 😊
👍 👍
Hands down the best video so far on the bt01/mb01 kits explaining the reasons behind the way the kits are the way they are. Great technical explanations especially if you’re not technically minded. Great stuff
Wow...Andy...I don't know what to say...thank you so much! Coming from you this means a lot. I know you do a LOT of reviews so this is much appreciated. All the best!
Interesting review and great tips Freddy. If I got no luck, I'll for sure invest a little money for the F-tree to get this tool😉
Yes, I want to see the conversion. This is the one, how I would do the build.
Annoying damage, I think it's because of the leverage force of this long arm.
My opinion to the slop is, even if it's a modular chassis, rear uprights might be done stationary (thinking of the 4WDs). And even on the Highlift, the CR-01 or the G6-01 have mobile rear uprights and no slop. Just a longer adjustmend, but then they stay in place. I'm hoping shimming here and there like on the MF-01X might help a little bit.
Thanks Dirk! Crossing fingers for you! :) only a couple more hours left here for entries!!! I’m working on a few projects at the moment but I’ll get back to the conversion video idea in the new year. If you want to see it I’ll make it happen! :) And yes I would agree about the damage. Easy fix now that there’s a cheap upgrade. But yeah the slop is interesting…I’ll definitely be doing some test runs now. The biggest thing I hear is it’s hard to keep it running in a straight line as the wheels go where the terrain takes it so that’s definitely where you’ve got to figure out a solution.
@FastFreddyRC I would try my secret weapon, this Carson 7 channel system with the gyro😉.
Nevertheless, I can't await to see the drawing
For the F2 part, a 3racing model I built, the M4 M-TC chassis, also came with a turnbuckle tool like that!
Very cool! It really is handy!!
True. The slop issue reminds me of the evil handling found when people try to use FWD drivetrain assemblies in their 1:1 mid-engine conversions. Steering tie rods aren't designed to handle the forces seen on the rear.
Interesting...that's a great analogy! I'm really not sure why they didn't just design and give you the right parts for the rear drive setup. All the other conversion parts are there in the box and if they had done that I would have said these kits would have been more accepted.
Most high-end touring race cars for the past few years have had what they call an Active Rear Suspension. Basically, it’s a steering knuckle that causes toe-in to increase when the suspension is compressed. Exactly like these cars have.
I don’t think the problem is so much having the same feature as touring cars have, but quite simply the tolerances for the parts are way off. Which is odd to me, since Tamiya parts usually fit together with ease without being way too loose.
Seems to me that the M-06 is a better RWD chassis for driving if you don’t mind the rear motor configuration. The M-08 is a well-liked chassis for those who want a mid motor, but I don’t know how well it works for rally stuff as it’s supposed to be on-road only. Also, it costs twice as much as the other kits.
I believe the TT-02 (or TT-01E) can easily be converted to 2WD so you could have a tried and true full-size 1/10 car if you feel like the B in MB-01 and BT-01 stands for ”body holder”…
Interesting. I guess if these cars had true "Active Rear Suspension" they would perform the same but just not with all that loose play that they have at any position. What you're saying makes sense because the toe in would help keep the car going straight in severe cases of suspension compression...if I'm wording that correctly. I'm going to have to do a comparison on all of these in the future. Maybe take an M-06 out and run it on a circuit that I can repeat with the BT-01 and see the difference in performance and control..might be an interesting test.
Excellent review Freddy 👍
INCREASING IRRITATION LEVELS...
Your chosen words were perfectly executed. Agreed, the rear uprights should have been a solid unit to not have any slop in the first place. Most kits, like you said, do have some kind of slop but not as much as the newer models. I suppose we will have to wait and see if Tamiya decide to upgrade these kits or not. Probably not.
Thanks for the review 👍
Thanks Peter!! It’s definitely strange that they passed quality control having such movement in the rear. But then again…I think the intended purpose of the chassis was to give people options and it does that incredibly well. I think it’s wrong to throw the chassis completely under the bus because I think it does have its place. But we’ll just have to wait and see how well it’s received over time.
@@FastFreddyRC Let Tamiya use the chassis of the HBX-dirtcheap, indestroyable-and-sturdy chassis. If HBX succeeds in creating decent drivable cars without noticable slop in drivetrain or steering, why doesn't Tamiya?
It's a weird one that's for sure. The first new kit Tamiya came out with was the BBX which is getting great reviews. Then the BT-01 and MB-01 chassis were released which were an overall disappointment. Why? I'm recently beginning to find out that when I said "think of these as an R/C version of a lego kit" I may have not been far off. In Japan they are being marketed as beginner build kits that give newbies an opportunity to try out different drive trains. Another reason for me why they should have left off the "performance" label on the box. I really want to see a 2WD on road touring chassis that is truly designed as a performer like the TT-02 was for 4WD.
Tamiya should put a small pack of shims in ALL their kits. I dont know about the TRF line, but everything under it needs shims..
That would be a smart move for sure! If you're going to have to use them...why not include them.
Tamiya really needs to start working on making steering systems that actually steer with SOME sort of precision... especially for an onroad car where it has traction. On loose dirt you're going to notice, but not nearly the same...onroad if the car won't even track straight, reliably center, etc... that makes driving it for anything other than random driving around an open area a LOT less fun. The next thing I think they need to do, is try some designs with caster blocks and spindles, not the uprights with pivot balls at the end of the arms, so much slop .... Lastly, it is well known that Tamiya CAN make quality plastics, yet they keep pumping out models with sprues molded out of cheese... a few small changes in designs, like what you mention with the rear uprights, etc... some more precise steering... bearings and oil shocks... and decent materials and fitment... these kinds of things are always praised highly on the few kits that include those things, sadly that is a rare case like in the BB01. Tamiya would sell me a LOT more kits, if they made them a bit higher quality...even if that means a bit higher price per kit. For now, I have mostly put my "wish list" of Tamiya kits to the back burner, and just wait for them to release one that I actually like enough to end up purchasing... but they need to make some of these kinds of changes first. I like what I see of the Hornet Evo in some ways, and would love to see more kits get the Evo treatment, but the actual materials used should really be part of that evolution... Cheers!
Well said! You've made a lot of great points and they're all valid. I have a Hornet EVO on order and I'm eager to see just how different the kit is compared to the standard hornet. I'm hoping everything they've done to it makes it a real upgrade. I definitely like the fact that it comes with a full set of ball bearings. The thing that's weird is that the BBX came out first and then the BT-01 and MB-01 were announced. So everyone who LOVED the quality of the BBX got a shock I think when the BT-01 and MB-01 came out because it was the old way of making kits again. It's like they listened to their fan base, and then went back to the old ways after the BBX lol
😎🤙👍
Please do the transformation video
Thanks for this...lot's on the go at the moment but I'll definitely do it now.
Shims I dont think Tamiya make spacers big enough
lol 👍
M-06 and M-05 are the better options
Yes I would agree with you. If you want a designated front wheel drive or rear wheel drive those kits are definitely a better choice.
I won't be buying these kits-when I saw the first reviews I came to the same conclusion as you have-too much engineering doing things it isn't meant to.Front wheels steer, rears drive. Stop there. All Tamiya kits have horrible slop, without exception. Comparing to a Kyosho there is no competition. (Having said that I own 20+ Tamiyas so I still buy bloody things). I am not overkeen on the hard plastics they use as well, again Kyosho and the "cheap" brands like HSP have them beat by a mile. Will Tamiya listen to the criticisms of the buyer? Nope. How much would a conversion kit of the 4 plastic parts and 2 screws cost? For them next to nothing, but don't expect one any time. Unless they can do some fancy "hop up" bag at £50 for all the fan boys out there.....
Yep..100% agree with you there. The one thing I didn't mention in the video, which I could have added, is that if you want to convert the BT-01 from the standard MR drive configuration to front motor rear drive, you have to change the whole thing around. The front becomes the rear, and the rear becomes the front. So you are literally rebuilding the whole car in many ways. It's just weird.