The lunch box is probably the most famous Tamiya RC of all and I have yet to build one. I did however stumble across a Mini 4WD version of the lunch box which would make a nice scaled down model to have on a desk. Mini 4WD is something that never seemed to make it to the UK, probably because of Scalextric’s dominance of the slot car market. I only know of their existence thanks to someone bringing me one back from a visit to Japan as a present.
Mini 4WD is similar to Scaletric but you have no control over the car once the race has started. This means everything is more down to the build and design of the car rather than adjusting the speed as it goes round.
Anyhow I now have a few mini 4WD cars. They make a nice break from larger projects as they easy snap together kits that can be made up in an evening. They also make for good shelf models of full size Tamiya RC kits.
They are also good fun to run although its better if you have a track for them to follow. This one in particular has a wheelie bar and some hub cab extensions for two wheel driving.
Here we have the box contents. I had already sprayed the truck body at this point which is why it looks a different colour to the wheels.
I sprayed the model yellow which always seems to be the hardest colour to paint. I think it may be because I always use grey primer and it could probably do with white.
This is a nifty gadget on the spruce. In order to get the pinion gear on the motor in the right place you simply pop the gear into the cup and press the motor down onto it.
This ensures the pinion is firmly on the motor shaft and in the right position.
The motor is in snapped into the top of the chassis and the gears are added under neath. These are only on one side of the model and directly drive wheels on that side by engaging with the gears on the wheels themselves.
The wheels and tyres are fitted to the chassis on hexagonal shafts.
The battery case is made by snapping the contacts into place. Its really clever how these things just snap together and yet still work perfectly when powered up.
Painting complete and ready for stickers.
Lunch Box complete and ready for test run!
Shane's Shed 