June 6
Manta Ray Black Special
The inspiration for this model came from the Mini 4WD Manta Ray Black Special (item 18512) and QD Manta Ray Black Special (item 49509), with ideas combined from both.
The basic concept is the fantasy about how a “real” (1/10 scale) Manta Ray Black Special could have looked if Tamiya had ever made one. It’s based on a box stock re-release Manta Ray, modified with red TA01 gearboxes, red wheel hexes, red Super Sabre/Hot Shot 2 dampers and a few other red parts. Wheels are from the DF-03 (Keen Hawk to be exact), which are a similar design as the wheels on the QD Black Special, wrapped in DF-02 tires.
The logo and Manta Ray on the wing were painted, as were of course all the red areas. Stickers are a combination of selfmade and Tamiya stickers, using the stickers of the Mini 4WD and QD siblings as a guideline. Hop-ups were deliberately avoided to not distract from the imaginary “built from kit” look and to stay in line with the anime-inspired cartoonic style so typical for Tamiya models of this era.
