Fallen's Tamiya BBX

[Fallen]

First things first; the BBX is really fun to drive. Now, being a Tamiya I have it underpowered, and find it very fun to drive like that.

I'm using a Tamiya 540 silver can brushed motor with a 20T pinion. This probably tops out around 15MPH. But in a small space, it's a blast to drive. And since this is a smaller buggy, you wouldn't want to drive this in a large space anyway. Once this buggy is about 30 feet away, you lose all the details that make it so neat.

The factory suspension settings are pretty good too for low speed performance over rough terrain. It's a very planted buggy that sticks to the ground and handles small jumps very well.

Onto the photos already!

I painted the roll cage and suspension components with Krylon Fusion, metallic dark gray. This was to add some metallic sparkle to them. The cage looks nice without the body panels, but looks better with them.

I never intended to install the stock tires. This being a scale version of a late 70s / early 80s desert buggy, I wanted a tire that would match. Unfortunately no one makes a BF Goodrich A/T small enough. The stock tires are 3.5" OD and I didn't want a 4.19". I went with the good 'ol Dirt Grabbers which are 3.8". The stock wheels are 1.9s by the way.

I painted the panels with Tamiya Metallic Blue. It's slightly brighter than the color the manual calls for. I've used it on lots of bodies and I really like it when backed with a light color. I stickered the panels according to the manual.

Low profile steering servo installed with no servo saver.

ESC: The stock one that came with an old Tamiya M05 chassis.

Since that Tamiya ESC doesn't have a LiPO cutoff for the right voltage, I use these low voltage alarms, tucked under the driver figure.

And powering the 6 LEDs is the MyTrickRC HB2. Taped to the underside of the "hood" panel.

Speaking of LEDs...

And finally, I used Axial's plastic Walker Evans wheels glued to the Dirt Grabbers.

Due to a mistake Tower Hobbies made, I ended up scoring this kit for $160. And once again, it is a lot of fun to drive. The scale off-road experience is on point with this one, similar to how my UDR felt. Obviously this thing should be run in much smaller spaces than a UDR, but if you stick with that it really is a fun buggy. My 5 year old son did the same thing I did with it: drive it around the backyard staring at it until the battery hits low voltage. Then charge another battery...

Buy one! Or buy two, and send me the spare.

 

[OSRC]

Very nice!! Such a cool looking buggy.

Mine just showed up last week, just waiting for a nice quiet day to get to work on it.

 

[ferp420]

There's something about those Tamiya kits there vary satisfying

 

[Fallen]

Thanks! In standard Tamiya form, the instructions are clear and the build is pretty straightforward. Plus, the finished product is a scale looking and performing buggy.

OSRC, add 3 O-rings to the bottom of your rear shock shafts before you attach the rod end. That keeps the shocks from compressing too much and allowing the driveshafts to pop out of the drive cups.

The steering on these buggies is very precise. It makes for a very predictable buggy. Even on loose dirt, my 5 year old son could control it well and keep the front wheels in front. I don't think the slipper clutch is a necessity, though I'm sure it adds adjustability.

 

[smog]

Such a cool looking buggy. Nice job with paint and lighting, it looks great. Such a tempting kit. I haven't built a Tamiya buggy since I was a kid

 

[utieh]

I love the look of those tires, did you have a chance to compare them with the stock ones? I tried them on a 2WD buggy (on loose dirt) and they were not ideal, still fun to drive.

 

[Fallen]

Thanks Smog! If you buy one, you'll be pleased with it. Fortunately since its a Tamiya, there's no hurry. 50 years from now Tamiya will still be selling them.

I haven't tried the stock tires for comparison. But I've run several sets of Dirt Grabbers on different types of cars. They're not a performance tire. If I had a brushless motor with a big pinion gear, my BBX would be uncontrollable with these Dirt Grabbers. If shaving seconds off of lap times is the goal, these tires are not what you're after.

They perform OK if you don't ask too much of them. And they're good if you run on multiple surfaces... concrete, grass, dirt. I use my BBX mostly on loose dirt, and these tires have been great so far. I've also done a little road driving with it, which is also fun. But once again, my BBX is underpowered and I enjoy it like that.

 

[Fallen]

A few updates:

RC4WD Scale King shocks, 70mm fronts and 90mm rears. The stock shocks leaked oil pretty badly. Since these RC4WD shocks have been Teflon taped and the seals have been greased, they definitely hold oil better than the stock shocks.

New wheels & tires:

1.55 RC4WD Stamped Steel wheels with Ground Hawg 2 tires. The foams in the rear are super soft. These tires do really well in desert conditions; deep sand mixed with hard packed dirt.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Looking good! How's the reliability been? I really want to build one of these and have since they were announced. I just keep buying other stuff...

 

[Fallen]

Solid. I've only suffered one failure. I've put about 15-20 batteries through it in solid off-road terrain.

The CVDs use a snap ring to hold the drive pin in place. Without that snap ring the CVD falls apart = no drive.

One of my snap rings fell off and got lost. The replacements weren't available yet, so I just used an O-ring to hold the pin.

Fortunately the snap rings are available now, and I just ordered 4 yesterday.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Solid. I've only suffered one failure. I've put about 15-20 batteries through it in solid off-road terrain.

The CVDs use a snap ring to hold the drive pin in place. Without that snap ring the CVD falls apart = no drive.

One of my snap rings fell off and got lost. The replacements weren't available yet, so I just used an O-ring to hold the pin.

Fortunately the snap rings are available now, and I just ordered 4 yesterday.

Good to hear. I will need to get a BBX kit. Tamiya anodized blue turnbuckles for it from overseas are already on the way. I have buggy fever right now...

 

[Fallen]

The BBX is great fun for scale offroad driving.

Bashing where you never lift the throttle, probably buy an Xmaxx or something.

But for realistic driving where you actually slow down for certain terrain features, but still hit them as fast as possible, the BBX is a blast for!

Looks very realistic and handles very well. It's a predictable, precise car to drive. And it looks good sitting still.