The first Associate buggy the RC10 in 1984 was basically a light plastic and alloy copy of the 1979 Tamiya Rough Rider design which in turn I think was based on the one of the first Schumacher buggies...

The AE RC10 1984

http://67.199.85.166/companyprofile/...y_rc10.600.jpg

Anyway...buggy design has not changed a huge amount, just the materials and tech...if it aint broke don't fix it...but AE did not start it all. Probably Tamiya and Schumacher did :)

Really nice looking car, might add it to my shopping list :)

J

:drumroll:

And the award for the worst knowledge of the history of RC goes to...

...kaylon :thumbsup:

For the record, the Associated RC10 really has nothing to do with the Rough Rider beyond being a rear-motored 2wd buggy.

The Schumacher CAT you have pictured is at least the 4th generation of the car. The original CAT came out in about '85/'86, and has absolutely no connection with the Rough Rider or RC10 in design philosophy, apart from being a radio controlled car.

Good try though.

Already edited my post with the wrong cat pic haha...the article I was reading showed that pic I just hit copy paste LOL...

I still think the overall design of the modern buggy is hugely influenced by the 1979 Rough Rider.

:)

J

An experienced eye can see quite significant differences between the B4 and the XXX.

Exactly my point.
You should therefore also be able to spot the differences between the TRF and B4, right?

But I´ve said it before, you see what you want to see...

No, I can't see any differences apart from the style of some of the mouldings and maybe a couple of extra mounting positions. It looks like a complete geometric and conceptual copy. The vernier will be the proof.

I'm a little disappointed that Tamiya didn't try to develop the design a little now we are in the era of Lithium cells and brushless, but not surprised. The B4 has been an incredibly successful platform and this is a safe release for them.

If I get some off-roading done again, I'd happily consider switching to the Tamiya, simply because it is metric and the parts quality should be a little better than what Thunder Tiger are sending out for the B4 these days.

I see a lot of all three buggies in that car. If I know Tamiya, they took the best ideas and geometry from all three and made it into one buggy, but to high quality and manufacturing standards.

It doesn't look any more like a B4 than it does a XXX or an RB5. Some of you guys need to clean your Associated rose-colored glasses more often. At least this car will come with top shelf shocks and shouldn't break if you look at it sideways. ;)

Thank you Fredrik for this post..

I can spot a difference from the B4, the TRF looks stonger and beefier!

There is one thing that jumps out at me... Metric fasteners.. Having recently purchased a B4 I then had to get a new set of imperial tools:(. Ok Tools are shiney and I like them, but one very nice set of drivers has lasted me for years. I like metric

screw your standard tools. you all shoulve waited for the big T. cant wait to get one of these...yummy. Now To add to my arsenal I will own a 501x and a trf2wd car. :thumbsup::woot:

he,he,yeah I think so too. Anyway I still prefer the B4. Tamiya should have released that car a few years ago..

the key difference is:

- the tamiya uses stick packs
- the b4 uses 6x1 packs

<see picture>

:woot:

Paul

PS: thanks much to the guy who mentioned the Rc10 as being "inspire" by the SRB... you made my day, buddy!!!:thumbsup:

The motor does seem to be mounted further forward in the Tamiya compared to the B4. Is this an attempt to get the balance right for Lipo? If you think about the torque on the rear axle due to the mass infront and behind it. If you have less mass infront, ie changing from NiMH to LiPo, then you need to move the motor forward to compensate. I thought Associated might make a revised gearbox moving the motor forward to help a bit to stop the front wheels lifting and lessen the pendulum effect? A small but important difference.

Ben

ps, I hope they have designed it to take taller LiPos, doesn't look like it to my eyes

On a close inspection of the two photos (assuming the angle is near enough the same) theres quite a bit of difference in the rear suspension.
Just look at where the base of the shocktower is mounted on the Tamiya, it all looks further forward.:)
Heaven knows if its enough to make a difference, are there any team drivers out there that are now available to comment?:thumbsup::woot:

Guys seriously, lets not insult this great kit by comparing it to a B4. Ive driven the B4 and all the current 2wd buggies and havent been impressed by any which is why I run 4wd at the moment. B4's break if you sneeze on them. The Losi's, although I prefer them among any other 2wd, lack sufficient steering but work good with the right setup, and Kyosho..ehhh...no. Tamiya's back lets embrace it, buy it and run it instead oftrying to categorize and compare it to everything else. Just looking at it you can tell the plastic is better and ot made of rice paper.

I'm comparing it to the B4 only because with the shell on it looked exactly like one (frt shock tower apart) but also because thats what it could be replacing on mine (possibly) or alot of people's pit tables.:)

To be fair, the B4 is all I have ever raced so thats why I'm comparing, I'm sure I'm not alone.:)

i just hope they put the same little pictures in the manual showing the little kid eating screw's!!!
deffo will be on my list!,and lets face it how can you vary the design of a 2wd car? there all gonna look the same in one way or another.
except the kyosho maxum ff........which was crap!

In over a year of use Ive bust 1 front arm (cheers again J Wilkinson and your size 12 roadblock feet) and bent a rear hinge pin. Maybe you should stop sneezing on them ;)

Yeah it's derivative of what's already out there alright.

But I still want one.

@farmboy: spazstix is the paint MS's airbrusher uses. nice paint by the way

sometimes you see the differences only when you build them up. I thought my RB5 would be much more like the B4 but it wasn't. Even if it looks the same it will handle different. But it is more like the B4 than a XXX or Rb5.
That proves how innovative the Hotbodies 2WD really was.

The car will be called TRF201 and it will be sold from june for just 21.000 yen.

new info about the trf201
http://www.rcracer.com/off-road-elec...01-chassis-kit
pete68

My question is..will be the turnbuckles in titanium? Or will the use the easy breakable alum. they use?
In that link it says that it will available from may, but it will be form june.
Why they don't include a rear wing in the kit?

I think it's Ti for all fittings...so I'd like to assume this means turnbuckles too.

J

not just the wing?