The RC Deep Dive

Many things in life are built , repaired, it disassembled exclusively with power tools, but there's one thing that you should never use power tools on, and that's your hobby grade radio controlled car, truck, buggy, jeep, bus, or van. Why? We drive to the core of why no power tools are allowed anywhere in R/C model vehicles in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

Can you leave your fully-charged batteries plugged into your radio controlled car, buggy, truck, or van? What if the R/C battery is fully drained? Are the rules different for NiCd (Nickel-Cadmium) vs. NiMh (Nickel-Metal Hydride) vs. LiFe (Lithium Iron Phosphate) vs. LiPo (Lithium Polymer)? We get charged up and drain all of our aggregated knowledge about battery storage in this episode of the RC D...

Some of the greatest dyeable white nylon and hop-up parts made by CRP, Parma, Pro-Line, Tamiya, and others in the 1980s are starting to yellow and weaken, becoming brittle. However, there are easy ways to restore their strength, flexibility, and vintage white color. We dig deep and show you exactly how to bring your vintage radio controlled model vehicle hop-ups back to life and looking just like...

The Tamiya GH2 (Grasshopper II) comes with really wide pin drive to 4 point wheel adapter mounts on the rear axle, but if you upgrade your wheels to the Hornet Large Diameter Wheels you need to use the very narrow 5 point adapter wheel mounts, which leaves a lot of threaded axle and a smidgen of unthreaded axle, meaning your nylock nut will get stuck if you tighten it up enough to prevent wheel wo...

In the instruction manual, Tamiya shows to install a C-Ring clip on to the spur gear. However, this piece often gets lost when trying to install it. So we answer the question, is this C-Clip absolutely necessary in a stock Frog? How about if you have a MIP (Moore's Ideal Products) Super Ball Diff hop-up installed? We dig deep into the inner workings of Tamiya Frog's ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis...

CRP (Custom Racing Products) made a nerf wing for the vintage Tamiya HotShot to protect it's monocoque chassis and battery. But many R/C model vehicle hobbyists have wondered if it will fit the other members of the 1/10th scale HotShot 4WD R/C family, including the reres (re-releases) like the Super HotShot and HotShot 2 Blockhead Motors Edition. We take a deep dive into this CRP nerf wing, how to...

Many RC model vehicle hobbyists have a hard time getting the Frog Lexan body shell on and off it's ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis. One of the reasons is that the measurement from the mounting holes in the polycarbonate body is  shorter that the distance between the two rear mounting posts. We dig deep into why this is and the proper way to install and uninstall the Frog's body with no headaches in...

The Grasshopper, Hornet, Lunchbox, GH2 (Grasshopper II), Super Hornet, Rising Fighter, and many other Tamiya R/C model vehicles have an extra long to front shock mounting M3 screw that extends well beyond the nylock (nylon-insert lock nut). How do you fix this offending problem? We dig into the various fixes and rate them in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

Balancing your radio controlled vehicles' tires and wheels gives you advantages with speed, control, and less time between repairs, not to mention a better, more steady driving experience. We take a balanced deep dive into the best and cheapest compounds to balance your tires and wheels of your R/C cars, trucks, buggies, and vans in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

When using the Tamiya Hornet R/C buggy top rear shock extender mounts on the Grasshopper, the brass tube bushings that protect the shock eye are just wide enough to make the Grasshopper's ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) body shell no longer fit. We dig deep into why you have to use these brass tubes along with four distinct fixes for this roadblock when upgrading your friction dampers on you...

Miniature Manufacturing makes a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machined Alloy Heatsink for the Tamiya 1/10th scale Lancia 037 Rally, Subaru BRAT, Frog, Pajero,  Grasshopper, Hornet, Lunchbox, Blackfoot, Monster Beetle, Midnight Pumpkin, Montero, Unimog, Stadium Blitzer, Blitzer Beetle, Super Storm, Grasshopper II, and Super Hornet, but it can also be used in other radio controlled model vehicles...

Many radio control hobbyists, when building their vintage, classic, rere, and modern radio controlled model cars, buggies, trucks, and vans use an RC vehicle stand and an A3 self-healing hobby mat. Why use these two tools and what secrets can they unlock to make your building easier and more enjoyable? We dig deep into this question in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

CRP (Custom Racing Products) made Nerf Wings for the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) Chassis R/C cars, trucks, and buggies like the Lancia 037 Rally, the Subaru BRAT, and the (Mighty) Frog, as well as the HotShot family of 4WD radio controlled buggies. Were they a necessary hop-up when the vintage models of these radio control model vehicles came out? What about now, with reres and modern electronics? The...

As you finish building your R/C buggy, it's time to paint the body shell. But do you paint the rear window? And if it has a windscreen/windshield in the front and a space above it that you cut out, do you paint the windscreen, it do you leave it clear? Prevailing wisdom has changed over the decades, so we dig deep into the hows and whys of radio controlled model car window painting in this episode...

The Tamiya Electric Handy Drill model kit is great for hop-ups that require you to make a hole in your R/C model vehicle chassis, such as many AmPro Engineering hop-ups. However, first you have to build the model kit. Once you do that and use it, you will realize that this tool, which is extremely useful for being a low RPM drill, needs hop-ups of it's own to reach peak performance. We dig into al...

The vintage Tamiya Frog instructed builders to attach the power switch to the rear window of the R/C buggy, causing massive issues for bashers and racers. However the hobbyists, hobby shops, and radio control magazines had an alternate way to attach the on/off switch following the Subaru BRAT instructions to place ot in the side of the chassis. Even now, with the rere (re-release) version, there a...

Many of Tamiya's rere (re-release) R/C model vehicles have been reissued with entirely different chassis than the ones their vintage release originally came with. We dig deep into this mystery of why these changes were made for the Mitsubishi Pajero, Lancia 037 Rally, the Audi Quattro Rally, and many other Tamiya rereleased radio controlled vehicles in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast.  

How do you get perfect chrome on your R/C model vehicles? Airbrushing, markers, powders, inks, paints, glosses, polishes, foils, clear coats, etc. all claim to be the best solution, but they cannot all be right. We dig deep into chroming options for your radio controlled car, truck, buggy, or van models in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. You can find the markers we were discussing at htt...

It is often said to fix the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis gearbox flex you either need to install either the MIP Super Ball Diff (Differential) or the RcAiDong Carbon Fiber Gearbox Plates or the Skibby's Performance Mods Support Tensioners. But if you want to make your gearbox figuratively bulletproof, can you use two of the above or all three? If so, are there any hidden benefits or disadvantage...

In 1987, the last member of the 1/10th scale HotShot 4WD R/C buggy family came out... ....but not in a vacuum. Along with it, radio control model hobby shops also received the first of a new generation of Tamiya 4WD radio controlled buggy, the Thunder Shot, often at a lower price than the last vestiges of the previous generation. This sabotaged the sales and popularity of the Super Sabre.  Why did...

Say, "No Guts, No Glory!" to an R/C buggy enthusiast and they think of the Frog. Say, "Being Nuts is Neat!" And the same be radio control model hobbyist will think of the Avante. Where did Tamiya come up with these crazy mottos for their iconic vintage radio controlled buggies and why did some models not have any motto? We dig deep into the history and reasons for these tail wing motors in this ep...

Box art dictates that the Tamiya (Mighty) Frog is painted pink, white, and black. (Although box art shows a red helmet for the driver, the vintage directions say a blue helmet for the driver, and the rere [re-release] directions show a white helmet) However both all pink and all green are popular alternate liveries. We wondered what the most popular colors for the Frog were, so we dig deep and res...

The CRP (Custom Racing Products) #3043 ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) Chassis Stiffener for the BRAT, Frog, Blackfoot, and Super Beetle, is more than a replacement skid plate, but also an integral hop-up that strengthens the chassis and helps fix front steering issues. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast, we dig into why this one item, especially when combined with the CRP #3044  ORV Front Bumper,...

Often when you buy an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) for your radio controlled vehicle, you get a Dean's connector T-plug, but your battery may have a Tamiya plug connector or a different type of connector. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we dig into your options how to fix this issue, including step-by-step directions how to solder new connectors, even if you've never soldered befo...

[NOTE: This was recorded before the completion of Poor Boys RC Summer 2025 Speed Run Challenge announced in June] The Tamiya Grasshopper 2WD R/C buggy is an icon and a legend that originally topped out, in it's stock configuration, at approximately 12 mph / 19 kph. We dig deeply into the speedrunning records year by year since 1984, going to 62 mph / 100 kph in 2023, and the speedrunners' quest in...