Kyosho Shadow?

[WhoKnowsWho]

Not a lot of info out there. Are they prone to breakage if driven lightly? Guy has one that is partially built but I forget how much he was asking for it. $50 I think.

[Lowgear]

There isn't a lot of info due to their rarity. Which also means you aren't going to find much real world experiences from people about their durability. One R/C they can be loosely related to is the Bigwig.

[WhoKnowsWho]

There isn't a lot of info due to their rarity. Which also means you aren't going to find much real world experiences from people about their durability. One R/C they can be loosely related to is the Bigwig.

Thanks. I did see several comparisons to the Big Wig. Even with the release timing of it. It looks very Tamiyaish when I checked it out.

Thought it is rare, it doesn't seem to command a high price since no one wants one, or knows of it I guess.

I might try to get it cheap and build it the rest of the way. I will share if I do.

[Lowgear]

Well in the world of vintage R/C, rarity doesn't necessarily mean desirability. If a model is rare or obscure now, it generally means something happened back then to make it that way. Design flaws, lack of advertising, poor distribution, market over saturation, competing products, cost of manufacture etc... are just some of the many potential reasons. This means that the general public never got a chance to embrace and fall in love with whatever it was thus lowering the overall desirability these days. I'm not saying the Shadow isn't desirable because it is. Especially to Kyosho collectors of course. I know I have one. I'm just giving a little insight into things.

If you do decide to get it, I think you should run it. I would normally advise against this but it seems like the eBay parts availability has been abundant as of late in case you break something. Team Blue Groove even has the body available. It's a pretty robust design so you probably don't have to worry about breaking anything more than you would with any other model of that age. Last but not least you might be able to find additional info if you search for Aero Streak as that was the same model with a different body.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Well in the world of vintage R/C, rarity doesn't necessarily mean desirability. If a model is rare or obscure now, it generally means something happened back then to make it that way. Design flaws, lack of advertising, poor distribution, market over saturation, competing products, cost of manufacture etc... are just some of the many potential reasons. This means that the general public never got a chance to embrace and fall in love with whatever it was thus lowering the overall desirability these days. I'm not saying the Shadow isn't desirable because it is. Especially to Kyosho collectors of course. I know I have one. I'm just giving a little insight into things.

If you do decide to get it, I think you should run it. I would normally advise against this but it seems like the eBay parts availability has been abundant as of late in case you break something. Team Blue Groove even has the body available. It's a pretty robust design so you probably don't have to worry about breaking anything more than you would with any other model of that age. Last but not least you might be able to find additional info if you search for Aero Streak as that was the same model with a different body.

I did see a good amount of parts in eBay when I searched. And one post did mention the Aero Streak as similar but didn't confirm they were the same.

I kind of like the look of it. I have a lot of recently picked up kits, but since this one doesn't seem to be super expensive, I'd be more okay with building and driving it.

[rccars4sal]

Shadow and aero streak were plastic fantastic models from kyosho. Cheaper entry level cars with a funky look,, much like a tamiya. For collecting, the plastics will tend to crack with age, especially around the screw holes. Not going to be as fast or adjustable as the regular aluminum and frp models. If its cheap, and mostly complete,, and not used,, then I would say get it!

[tomolupus]

the plastics will tend to crack with age, especially around the screw holes.

I have two and some parts, and as you say they crack over time.My first real rc car was a Aerostreak that had been used in shop for display and for customer to test run indoors. I abused it quite hard (in my opinion) one summer and it held together well, nothing broke on the car.I found another one on a flea market a couple of years ago and on closer inspection it had those cracks around the screw holes. I later found some used parts and it was the same story there.

Here's the manual for the Shadow.
http://www.vintage-rc.org/manuals/kyosho.php?show_heading=list&dir=Shadow

[rccars4sal]

It seems like the black and colored plastic is worse for cracking. Im recently digging out ta01 cars from sealed storage,, and to my dismay,, the screw holes are compromised.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Since this car would still need to be built for the most built, should I try the heat the screw trick so it melts the plastic as it screws in if I get it?

[rccars4sal]

What I used to do is to boil the plastic parts for a while before assembly. It slightly anneals (softens) the plastic, makes it flex a bit more. I never heard of the heating the screw trick, but seems like that would help as well.

[WhoKnowsWho]

What I used to do is to boil the plastic parts for a while before assembly. It slightly anneals (softens) the plastic, makes it flex a bit more. I never heard of the heating the screw trick, but seems like that would help as well.

I've heard of the boiling trick too. I might do that just to give everything a little more flexibility.

Boiling might have worked for my first RC car, the FX-10. I think every part split during the building of that car. It was horrible.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Picked it up. Cheap enough that I didn't mind taking it home

Box has definitely seen better days. The diffs and shocks were built.


Center stick, not shaft...

[Lowgear]

I didn't know it was going to be practically NIB. Now I'm back to being against running it. You should put it on eBay and make a nice profit. Heck, I'd bid on it.

[WhoKnowsWho]

I didn't know it was going to be practically NIB. Now I'm back to being against running it. You should put it on eBay and make a nice profit. Heck, I'd bid on it.

Man... Now you are making me rethink my plan to drive it...

Well, I have an Ofna Ultra LX to convert to electric, a Tamiya 801xt to build and convert to electric, a Clodbuster to modify with a CPE chassis, and a pile of parts Slash from eBay coming, so I guess I will think about this Shadow a bit...

I got another kit too. Planning on selling this one though.

[rccars4sal]

All those plastic fantastics sure are tempting, very pretty! Build build! I sold the super scale cars in my collection some time ago, but regularly enjoyed looking at and handling them. It would be nice to know if any of shadow mechanical drive train parts would retrofit to other models. Axles, dogbones, hubs, suspension arms, steering crank assemblies....