Tamiya New Item Release list for April 2018

R/C Models
　56357　　1/14 R/C Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3348 6×4 Tipper Truck
　58649　　1/10 R/C NSU TT Jägermeister (M-05)
　47366　　1/10 R/C Plasma Edge II Black Metallic (TT-02B)
　56545　　Electric Actuator Set for 1/14 Scale Tipper Truck
　54794　　2-Piece Mesh Wheels (2pcs., Black)
　47368　　1/10 Scale R/C Mercedes-AMG GT3 Lightweight Body Parts Set

Scale Models
　10204　　1/12 Caterham Super Seven BDR

Kids
　18092　　Mini 4WD Panda Racer 2
　19452　　Brocken Gigant Premium (FM-A Chassis)
　95386　　MS Chassis Set (Light Blue/Orange)
　95387　　HG Mass Damper Set w/Ball Connectors (Block Weight/Carbon Plate)
　95388　　Aluminum Spacer Set (12/6.7/6/3/1.5mm, 2pcs. each) (Red)
　95389　　Low Friction Large Dia. Low Profile Tires (Maroon, 2pcs.)
　95393　　Rubber Body Catches (Blue/Red)
　95395　　HG Aluminum Wheels for Low-Profile Tires (Super X & XX, 2pcs.)

Tools & Paints
　87191　　Tamiya Fine Lapping Film #2000 (3pcs.)
　74140　　Fine Pivot Drill Bit 1.1mm (Shank Dia. 1.5mm)
　74141　　Fine Pivot Drill Bit 1.2mm (Shank Dia. 1.5mm)
　74142　　Tamiya Cutting Mat a (A5 Size/Blue)
　82116　　LP-16 Wooden deck tan
　82117　　LP-17 Linoleum deck brown
　82118　　LP-18 Dull red
　82119　　LP-19 Gun metal
　82120　　LP-20 Light gun metal
　82121　　LP-21 Italian red
　82122　　LP-22 Flat base
　82123　　LP-23 Flat clear
　82124　　LP-24 Semi gloss clear
　82125　　LP-25 Brown (JGSDF)
　82126　　LP-26 Dark green (JGSDF)
　82127　　LP-27 German gray
　82128　　LP-28 Olive drab
　82129　　LP-29 Olive drab 2
　82130　　LP-30 Light sand

Tamiya Mini 4WD Setup Guide – Enhanced Version by Max Li

Our loyal reader Max Li was kind enough to extend the Official Tamiya Mini 4WD Setup Guide we posted recently with his own tips and experience and send them to us:

Motor and gear
Depending on track type, if it is a:
– Technical with few jumps and etc. (Lots of long straights)
You can use a high speed gear ratio 3:5:1/3:7:1 with speed motors like Atomic Tuned ->Light Dash -> Hyper Dash -> Sprint dash
And etc.
– Technical track (Tight corners, lots of wave, lots of jump)
Acceleration ratio of 4:1, 4:2:1, 5:1 with torque focus motor like torque tuned. Motors like Hyper dash you can tap on it’s torque by using a bigger ration of 4:1 and etc.
*For pro chassis only 4:1 gear ratio

Tire size
Many want the fastest Mini 4WD so they use large diameter.
However large diameter is not suitable for tracks with lots of jump.
Since the car height is further from the track.
Large Diameter – High speed courses with only 4:1/4:2:!/5:1 gear supported
(Suitable for tracks with No jumps) *Lots of optional tire
Low profile (New type of tire design) – High speed courses with only 3:5:1/3:7:1 gear supported (Suitable for tracks with few jumps)
*Lots of optional tire
Small Diameter tire – Technical based tire (Found in VS, MS Chassis, Super X/XX car kits) All gear ratio are supported.
*No optional tire
Small Diameter racing slick tires (Early Mini 4WD tires (Found in Super 1 onwards car kits) – All purpose tire depending on gear.
All gear ratio are supported.
*Limited/rare optional tire

Bearing parts
For rollers, best to use bearing type of rollers so the machine can zip in track easily. Here is a tip many may not know.
For tracks with lots of jump, if you are using bearing on the wheel shaft.
If the car keeps flying off, it doesn’t always mean putting on more weight. You can remove the bearing on the wheel or just a pair of two ball bearing at either the front or rear.
This will helps to slow down the vehicle thus jumping off the track will be minimize.

Tire/Roller size
Roller and tire size fundamentals are the same
Bigger the tire/roller, it is focus on speed settings and speed track.
Small the tire/roller, it is focus on cornering and technical track.
– Three Point roller setup for older chassis Super 1/2/FM and etc.
Setup no need always be double roller, you can explore three point roller setting.
Meaning on roller in the nose, middle and tail of the chassis.

Tire grip
Only large diameter have many optional tires since this is the widely used tire diameter. Low profile there are optional tires but in some countries there are no soft/hard.
Small diameter and small diameter racing tires wise no optional tire at all
Soft – High grip for high speed tracks, slow on cornering since the tire grips on the track surface very hard
Not suitable for jumps as the tire is bouncy.
Hard – Low grip suitable for technical tracks, fast on corner and speed is not affected. (I recommend using hard than soft tire)
Suitable for jumps as the tire is not bouncy.
Offset tires – Cone shaped type of tires, the tire only have 2mm contact. Very fast on corner and outperform modified tires.
Suitable for tracks with many corners, however speed and stability isn’t’ that great so not ideal for high speed tracks
One way wheel (Rare/Outdated) – All rounder type of tire regardless of tire type whether soft or hard. These are mechanic type of tire.
Speed and corner are very good, since these tires have inner wheel. During corners, the tires will not be drag so the car can corner very easily.
However such tires are not ideal for jumps as the mechanism will get crash after some time of usage.
Reston Sponge (Rare/outdated) – All rounder tire, good grip and easy on corner. Light weight as compare with rubber tires.
Suitable for high speed tires.
Most early Mini 4WD have reston sponge as optional tire.
However not ideal for jumps as the tire is really bouncy.

How to handle jumps
Brakes and jumps are only some methods to handle jumps.
There are other things to take note such as:
– Motor used, if you are using sprint dash for jump.
Try changing to a slower motor
– Gear ratio, try using acceleration ratio of 4:1 and above but no 3:5:! gear for jumps
– Tire, large diameters are not suitable for jumps as the car height is very high. Try changing to small diameter tire.
* Such tires can only be obtained through kits like VS, MS chassis
or Super 1/2 onwards car kits with small diameter car kits

Brake types
– sponge brakes are great for high speed tracks but not climbs.
For some they use tape on sponge brake so it will not brake on climb.
– Rubber brakes all rounder brake for climbs and speed tracks.
Tip for rubber brakes is make it pointy so it touches the arc of the jump section. *Refer to TAM15198 you will understand what I am talking about.

Damper placement
For damper to work properly and correct the vehicle during jumps.
Recommend to place a damper set in front and one in the rear.
Middle damper even in the early days of Mini 4WD are not effective in anywhere so middle damper only helps to hold down the vehicle than correct the vehicle during jumps.
Take note do not use a pair heavy mass damper as the car will bounce off track during jumps. Mass damper block performs better than standard damper drums but do not use the heavier one.
Take note not all car you can place mass damper block in front.
Let me just share that mass damper is not intended to hold down the vehicle but to correct it.
Refer to the instruction of part TAM15392 you will understand what I am talking about.

Car width
Wider the front/rear of the car give more stability as well as cornering.
There are parts like side extension (TAM15230 *Rare, TAM15357).
Basically these are long reach type of FRP, they touch the track wall very closely.
Very suitable for technical tracks and cornering is superb.
However if the track have many tight corners, you might want to explore smaller car width than wide.
Either remove FRP or use FRP with no roller size limitation like 15150/15242. (If the chassis supports it)
Such FRP are from Mini 4WD early days, such FRP are useful since you can put almost any roller size.
If you feel your car is stuck in tight corners, install such FRP than with a smaller roller size like 13mm and smaller.
I use such setting to tackle very tricky courses using chassis like Super 1/TX and VS are a few older chassis that supports such FRP.

Explore sliding damper part and damper grease
FRP is the most popular among all the racers.
Sliding damper part TAM15198/15467.
Tip from me sliding part always put in rear than front.
Most don’t use siding damper as they feel it is slow.
Why is it slow is because the grease included in the part is a soft grease which is meant for low speed.
You need to purchase TAMIYA HG Sliding damper grease 15471.
For high speed use hard, for technical track use soft.
Such part no one have even explore or use.
Sliding damper usually have a aluminium plate which add as weight to hold on the vehicle.
Same concept with some who place weight in the rear.
Don’t worry about jumps, just place a damper in front of the car not the middle and the car can cope with jumps.
Last but not least, try to explore all the optional parts like what I did.
There simply a lot of parts for Mini 4WD other than FRP, metal rollers and etc.
Some rare/older parts are helpful in certain track conditions.
Example TAM15176 which helps Mini 4WD to corner smoothly since the arm slides along the track so the car will not get stuck in corners.

Hope this helps and enjoy.
Max Li
Mini 4WD tester and collector

Tamiya Mini 4WD Setup Guide

Introducing the foundation you want to know in order to enjoy mini 4WD setting!
Even though it says “to make Mini 4WD faster”, machine seasoning depends on the course, depending on the strategy, such as fast machine and fast machine in the corner. On this page, we introduce the basic knowledge useful for machine setting and custom for those who are planning to challenge mini 4WD!

motor catalog


The speed of the machine is controlled by exchanging the motor!
There are various types of motors such as those focusing on acceleration, those with emphasis on maximum speed, and average type, and when you replace, the characteristics of the machine will change drastically. For a course with many uphill slopes and corners, it is important to accelerate, and for a course with many straight lines, the highest speed emphasis is a standard, but which motor is the best is “course-dependent.” Regardless of which type you choose, if you replace the motor from a normal motor, the machine will be faster, but the speed of cornering will also increase, so the probability of course out when the parts other than the motor is the kit standard is greatly improved. When changing the motor, it is indispensable to upgrade the performance of the whole machine according to it.

■ Further fine tuning with gear exchange!
A gear set for setting is useful for finer tuning . It is possible to enjoy delicate tuning according to the course by combining with the motor, such as adjusting the acceleration-oriented motor slightly to emphasize the highest speed, putting importance on the motor with the highest speed priority for a bit, and acceleration power … and so on .

■ Tire & Wheel “Size” more finely!
Even with the same motor & gear setting you can adjust to “Focus on Acceleration” if you decrease the “Diameter of Wheel”, you can adjust to Maximum Speed ​​if you enlarge. Furthermore, when attaching the tire thin, emphasis on acceleration, focusing on the highest speed if thicker. Motor type + Gear + Wheel diameter + Tire diameter. Let’s explore the best setting for the course by combining it well!

Check the mini 4WD motor!
Check the setting gear!


The axis of the rotating part is smooth!
By maintaining the rotating parts such as bearings and gears of rollers and shafts to move smoothly (with less frictional resistance), it improves to maximum speed, acceleration, cornering speed, and even running time. The basis for reducing frictional resistance is careful grease-up as per the explanatory diagram. Also, as garbage adheres during traveling, it is also important to periodically clean and grease up again. However, too much grease will itself become resistance, so be careful with overexposure. In addition, it is more effective to use high-performance grease such as “Mini 4WD F Grease (Fluororesin formulation)” or oil pen etc. which is smoother than Grease attached to the kit!

■ More smoothly with the introduction of a bearing!
If you aim for a smoother machine, where you want to think about bearing bearings where large friction occurs. Bearings that can be used for each part, such as gears, bearings, bearing loaded rollers, etc. are prepared, and by replacing these parts, frictional resistance can be greatly reduced.

Bearings & shaft list
F Ferris wheel
Watch the oilpen


Is not necessarily a fast grip tire fast?
In the actual race, the grip performance of the tire is emphasized, but soft tires to be gripped are tires with large frictional resistance when changing the point of view. With mini 4WD, the cornering speed will be reduced because the friction with the road surface at cornering increases with soft tires. But it is also true that cornering will stabilize as speed decreases. Do you run through as if you slide through the corners with a hard tire, or do you place emphasis on stability with soft tires? Would you also change the alignment of the front and rear left and right tires? . . The best setting will change depending on the course!

■ Grip changes even with tire width!
Width is important as well as softness. Even with the same tire, if the width of the tire (the part in contact with the road surface) becomes thinner, the frictional resistance will become smaller. A tire with a rounded ground surface like a barrel tire, although it looks wide, is only slightly in contact with the road surface. Therefore, the speed down in the corner is very small.

■ In addition, the grip changes even with the distance between the left and right tires! When
the distance between the left and right tires (tread) becomes wider, the frictional resistance at cornering increases due to the influence of the inner ring, more stable orientation (speed reduction at cornering) It becomes the setting of. Offset tread tire is a unique tire that can adjust the tread width according to the direction of installation. When used in combination with a barrel tire, it is possible to set three types of tread width, inside, middle (barrel tire), and outside.

Check tires & wheels for Mini 4WD!


Jump is controlled with brake & mass damper!
If the machine gets faster, you can also go out of the distance as the flight distance goes beyond the jump section. “Brake unit” and “mass damper” are helpful to prevent it. In the case of a brake unit, you can control the flight distance and flying attitude by controlling the speed before jumping, by adjusting the sliding condition of the sponge in contact with the road surface, the number (area) to be installed, height, and so on. And the impact of landing after jumping is controlled by the mounting position and weight (number of installed) of “mass damper”. Whether it is a weak brake & lightweight damper that can clearly clear the course, or is to be the first safety heavy brake & weight damper of safety. Even if you can clear the course safely, if you set the speed-oriented setting where rivals have taken risks … setting according to course and rival is important!

■ The best landing form depends on the course and the machine!
The basic condition of the landing is to landing on “a condition that can be accelerated quickly”. If the machine bounces after landing, it will be late to accelerate by itself, leading to time lost. Front soaking landing to the uphill slope and falling down to the descending slope are not easy to absorb the shock even with the mass damper, so be aware that the machine tends to bounce.

■ Determine which section is the most important Setting! If you
have more than one section jumping on the course and the landing point is flat, climbing uphill or downhill, finishing in a setting that determines the ideal landing in every section is very It Is difficult. In these cases, it is likely that the landing at which section is likely to affect the most time (eg, the straight after landing is long) or which section is the most dangerous (eg, there is a section that becomes unstable after landing) It is fundamental to judge and set the corresponding setting accordingly.

Look at the damper and related parts
Look for brake system parts


Light is justice! However…?
What is important in the world of racing is weight reduction of the machine. As the machine gets lighter, the burden on the motor will be lighter, so even with 1 gram of the same motor machine it is advantageous for lighter machines with either accelerating power or fastest elongation. Also, when weighing is done, it can not be missed that the position of the center of gravity changes. In general, the center of gravity is lower, more stable in the center is possible. For example, in a case where only the chassis is made lighter in weight and only the body has been reduced in weight, the center of gravity is lowered and the body is stabilized by lightening the body. Let’s remember that “To lighten things above” is the basis for weight reduction!

■ When the center of gravity changes, the attitude of the flight will also change! If the
weight of the machine is reduced, the position of the center of gravity will change, but if we reduce weight of only the bonnet of the body, for example, we will change the flight attitude during the jump . If you prepare several bodies with different weights and centroid positions, not only the look but also the range of the settings will expand.

Check body related parts!


Roller position and machine width are key!
Roller is indispensable to get through the corner smoothly with Mini 4WD. In the official competition, the number of rollers that can be installed is decided to be six pieces, and the running of the machine will change depending on the way of choosing these six rollers, the position to install (As of February 2018, the number of rollers is unlimited as a special rule It is becoming. One criterion is whether you can stand upright alone with a roller when you stand the machine sideways. There are many kinds of rollers with many types, and diameters, thickness, weight, biting to the wall (friction resistance) etc. are different, so let’s choose according to the course and machine.

■ The full width of the machine is up to 105 mm including the rollers! In the
official recognition competition, the full width of the machine is determined to be 105 mm including the roller. If you use a large diameter roller or combine FRP plates etc. to expand the full width of the machine, the machine will run inside the course rather than in normal condition and you can goal with a shorter mileage It is advantageous to broaden the whole width). However, since corners running inward become more tight, do not forget to set up accordingly!

Check it for the corner! Stay & roller!


It is also recommended to start with a set for beginners!
As introduced so far, it is the charm of the mini 4WD that you can enjoy various settings, but do not know where to put your hands … so do not worry. There is also an item called “Starter Pack” which is a set of high-performance motors, rollers, stays, mass dampers, brake units and basic upgrade parts and mini 4WD. There is also a “Fast Trial Parts Set” where basic upgrade parts such as rollers and mass dampers are prepared, and if you purchase it along with your favorite machine, you are ready to challenge for circuit running at once. It is also recommended to debut using these set items!

Look at the first try parts set
Machine is also included! See “Starter Pack”

Upgrade parts by function and machine link
Machine (assembly kit)
Machine (finished product)
Fast Trial Parts Set
Chassis
Body
MotorTire & Wheel
Stay & Roller
Battery & Terminal
Gear
Shafts & Bearings
Damper
Brake
Tools & Boxes
Sticker & dress up parts
Other parts

The history of Tamiya Mini 4WD in nice artistic photo arrangements

The history of Mini 4WD is felt when it compares variously with the arrangement of friends, old and old, sorted and aligned by painting, colour, and time axis


Source: Mini 4WD (Tamiya) official twitter account

40th anniversary issue of the RC magazine with Black Porsche on its cover


RC magazine has been renewed considerably as a commemoration issue of the 40th anniversary of the April issue! In big places I returned the name of the magazine to the original radio control magazine. And this memorial issue is double appendix. A special DVD with plenty of volume has been recorded for 2 hours, and there is plenty to see from the old RC scene to the latest information. And a special RC sticker of a major RC maker is also attached to the special decal! Of course I lost the appendix and it was substantial enrichment. The newest best-billed feature and new series that will become useful are pushing down. Bookstore release on March 2, the cover of Black Porsche of Sahara Teruo’s painting is a landmark!
Source: RCmagazine