Fox On The Run – Building The Tamiya Novafox

The Tamiya “Fox” was my third Tamiya buggy back in the good old days.
And yes, I loved this car. Compared to my “Falcon” and “Grasshopper” the suspension worked really well. Incidentally, it was the first Tamiya vehicle to feature the “modern” yellow C.V.A. dampers. And the car wasn’t just fast, it looked fast too. The flat and slim design shaped a whole generation of buggies in the 80s and 90s.
And when Tamiya brought out the re-release of “The Fox”, the “Novafox”, I had to get one right away, of course.

Still, it took a while for me to finally finish it.
And that almost annoys me a little, because the “Novafox” looks so damn good now.

Back then, 1985 to be precise, the “Fox” could well be considered the first attempt at a competitive 2WD buggy, which, as we know, it never really was.
But for the ambitious leisure driver, the car was really more than good to use. And I had a lot of fun with my Fox back then when we competed with Hornet, Frog, Falcon, etc.

And with the closed chassis, the car was well protected against dirt, which of course was less good for quick maintenance at races.

But now to the “Novafox”.

As with every Tamiya re-release, building it was tremendous fun. It was like a little throwback to building my first “The Fox” back in the 80’s.
The “Novafox” is already almost completely equipped with ball bearings. We also gave him the 4 standard 1150 bearings for the front wheels, who are not included with the kit.
And of course a Tamiya “Sport Tuned” motor could not be missing. To give it a little individual “touch”, I use the “2WD Front Rib-Spike Tires” No. 54896.
The wonderful golden “Aluminum Nerf Guards” are an old Hop Up part from “Parma” which I had at home for almost 20 years. And goes wonderfully with the golden rims and the metallic green paintscheme.
We are extremely happy with the result and look forward to the soon to be released re-release of the famous “Thunder Shot”, one of our absolute favorite 4WD buggies from the 80s.

But for now, enjoy the “Novafox” !