The RC Deep Dive

The unlikely cultural overlap between the straight edge hardcore punk scene (often shortened to sXe, XXX, or just X) and vintage Tamiya RC car enthusiasts is rooted in their shared 1980s origins, a mutual devotion to a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) ethos, and strikingly similar visual aesthetics. We clean up this connection that provides a constructive and sober-minded recreational outlet that aligns with...

Beyond Tamiya's own 540 motors like the Tuned and Super Stock hop-up options, there is a wide array of 3rd party aftermarket 540 motors you can use to hop-up your site and torque. But which ones are any good? Which ones should you avoid? We rev our engines loud and dig deep into all of your motor hop-up options for your radio controlled cars, buggies, trucks, vans, busses, and tanks in this episod...

Tamiya, during the golden age of R/C completely ignored the standard type 1 Volkswagen Bug, instead focusing solely on the modified Type One Beetle, the Baja Beetle. Why is this, and do the body shells of on-road Beetles fit on these off-road Baja Beetles? We get inside the people's wagon and put our coleopterologist hats on to answer all of your many questions about the iconic radio controlled bu...

This episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast brings out the spooky and analyzes the best Halloween-themed Tamiya R/C monster trucks and cars, comparing the nostalgic charm and delightfully chaotic handling of iconic classics like the Midnight Pumpkin and Monster Beetle against the superior all-terrain performance of their more modern radio controlled counterparts like the Squash Van and the super popu...

What is causing Gen Z and the Alpha Generation to get into vintage and rere (re-release) Tamiya R/C buggies, vans, jeeps , trucks, cars, and busses? It's not just Gen X parents introducing radio controlled model kits to their kids, but also from their peers on TikTok. Maybe not too surprisingly to a veteran radio control hobbyist, there's a digital detox and psychological or mental health advantag...

We all know the pain of installing or removing the e-ring or e-clip, often called the Jesus clip or Jesus ring. Normally, R/C hobbyist pliers and a flathead screwdriver are used to attach and uninstall this pesky shoulder clip. However, Tamiya has made an E-Ring Tool that promises to make installing and removing e-rings a breeze. Sure it really work as well as promised, and is it worth the cost? W...

If the greatest superheroes of the DC comic book universe in the Justice League like Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Firestorm, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow, had vintage R/C cars, which ones would they be? We didn't just look at the color schemes, but the innards down to the soul of each character and their matching radio controlled cars, buggies, trucks, jeep...

If you really want to get control of your bouncing rear end on your Tamiya ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis 1/10th scale R/C vehicle like the vintage Lancia 037 Rally (not the rere [rerelease] model),  and either the vintage or rere versions of the Subaru BRAT and the (Mighty) Frog you can upgrade your stock shocks to TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory) Aeration Dampers. We pump the oil of knowledge into yo...

You are out bashing your off-road buggy and on the process of doing massive jumps off a huge ramp at the lovely skatepark, and you see something horrible. Your oil filled CVA (Constant Volume Adjustable) damper has come loose, your shock spring is missing and you are unable to find it. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we unspring your ability of buying separate spare spring parts or pos...

In most of the world, vintage Tamiya R/C model cars, tanks, buggies, trucks, vans, and busses all included or recommended Futaba servo savers, radio control receivers, and transmitters. Why was this? What was their connection or relationship? Why was it often different in the UK (United Kingdom)? In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we look at the contacts and deals and unlock the secrets b...

Tamiya made so many junior versions of their iconic vintage off-road R/C buggies in their mini 4WD (Four Wheel Drive) on track racer line, but why didn't they ever make a 1/32nd version of the Mighty Frog Jr.? Is the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis to blame? We look at all of the miniature details in the 1/10th scale radio controlled 2WD (Two Wheel Drive) buggy to 1/32nd mini 4WD racers and get to...

Tamiya instructs you to attach the drive shaft joint rubber boots at the gearbox and secure it with a black zip-tie nylon fastener to the out-drives in ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis radio controlled model vehicles. But is there a better way? What about the wheel side of the hex-drives, dog-bones, universal joints, or constant velocity driveshafts? Should they get a zip tie too? We strap on our th...

What is the ultimate tag team if not the pairing of iconic WWE superstars with their legendary Tamiya RC model counterparts, based on shared personas, historical context, and cultural impact? We wrestled with this question, and are ready to tag-in, and roll-up these legends into a pinfall of perfected information that does just this in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. Whatcha gonna do whe...

Why were Tamiya's original radio controlled model vehicle decal sheets uncut? And why did they start pre-cutting some (but not all) of the decals in 2005? What are the radio-control hobbyist's options to get precut decals or stickers if you don't like uncut ones, and vice versa? We take a deep slice into the sticky situation of Tamiya's iconic R/C model car, buggy, truck, van, jeep, bus, and tank ...

How did we get here? 2.4 ghz was a huge increase in technology from AM (Amplitude Modulation) and FM (Frequency Modulation) crystals. But that was a huge technological leap from the previous radio controlled vehicle technology. But what about the future? Will mobile phones control our R/C cars, trucks, buggies, vans, busses, and tanks in the future? We take it to the cellular level and uncover the...

What are the fastest high performance 540 brushed motors for 1/10th scale R/C cars, buggies, trucks, vans, busses, and tanks? What are the differences in the top tier of these radio control motors? What do these rules mean: Red for raw speed, Blue for tight track turn performance, Gun Metal Grey for off-road grip? What electronics and gearing do you need for these super non-stock motors in your ra...

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we step into fashion, explaining why the iconic Osiris D3 2001 skate shoe has been unexpectedly adopted by many in the R/C hobbyist community, driven by a unique convergence of its DIY (Do-It-Yourself) construction story, its practical durability, a shared technical design language with these R/C vehicles, powerful Y2K (Year 2000 Era) nostalgia, and the...

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we peel the backing off of the vintage Tamiya R/C restoration market by examining how MCI Racing navigates a legal grey area to produce high-quality reproduction decals, and window paint masks which are intentionally designed to fit only aftermarket bodies from their partner, TBG (Team Blue Groove), rather than original Tamiya Lexan polycarbonate body sh...

As the R/C hobby has changed over the decades, how has the average age in the radio control hobbyist community changed? We travel through time, from the beginning of radio controlled model vehicles in the late 1950s and 1960s, to the Golden Age of RC from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, to the RTR revolution of the 1990s to 2000s, back to the modern age of the 2010s to the 2020s to calculate th...

The Holiday Buggy is an iconic radio-controlled model vehicle that really captures that 1980s spirit. But what holidays are the buggy's name speaking of, if any, and is it really Crocodile Dundee driving that R/C car as many believe? We break into the true nomenclature and who Tamiya actually designed the driver figure to look like in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

The first Tamiya Mini 4WD Racers were 1/32nd versions of popular 1/10th and 1/12th R/C buggies, cars, trucks, jeeps, and vans. Which radio controlled motor vehicles were chosen to have Junior versions and why? We go small scale and uncover these shrunken 'kids' of iconic vintage Tamiya model vehicles in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

The boxes of Tamiya models, radio control model vehicles, and junior racing mini 4WD (Four Wheel Drive) cars and buggies are more than a marketing image, they are literally works of art displayed in museums. Who are the artists behind the iconic images that have captured the attention, hearts, and minds of generations? We brush away and find the history and philosophies behind Tamiya's classic whi...

What is the fastest motor that you should put in a Tamiya Frog 1/10th scale radio-controlled buggy and what is a line too far? What ESC would such a motor demand? We read the meters and come up with the sane limits and the motors you should never use in your ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) Chassis in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

This episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast details the definitive method for not only repairing but restoring and strengthening cracked hard plastic ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) bodies (such as the Sand Scorcher, Lancia 037 Rally, Subaru BRAT, Blackfoot, Grasshopper, Pajero, Grasshopper II, Rising Fighter, etc.) on vintage, classic, and rere (re-release) Tamiya R/C vehicles to withstand hig...

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we analyze the parallel DIY (Do It Yourself) old school resurgences observed in TTRPG (tabletop role-playing games), skateboarding, and R/C model vehicle kits which are not just a simple, nostalgic retreat to the past golden age. This is not a generation (X) attempting to live in the 1980s, but rather a generation actively curating the best of the 80s to...