For the moment I’m (was) the “lucky” owner of two NIB Kyosho Scorpion’s that differ thirty years in age. So I'm going to build the new one, and compare the parts with the old Scorpion and try to point out the differences between the parts. I will start with the boxes, and then star with the actually building as you know are almost done.
When you compare the boxes they look the same at first, but when you look closer you will see there is a big difference. The 2014 one is always on top...
Her is a close up on the technical spec, still 2014 first.
When lift the lid it looks like this.
This is the first time sins -97 I'm assembling a new kit, so here we go.
The first thing I notice after opening bag A & B is that all the aluminum parts is thicker than the original parts. And the resembles with the -85 works Scorpions/Tomahawks is almost spot on. But knowing that Kyosho hired the original designer was hired form HPI for this project it came as no surprise. Mr. Akira Kogawa was also team driver and her is some pictures of Akira's works Tomahawk.
First out is the chassis rails, they are almost identical except for bit more kick-up and that holes for the bumper slightly moved forward on the 2014.
As I told you earlier are all aluminum parts except for the chassis rails about 0.5-0.75mm thicker. All screws underneath are countersunk on the 2014 compared with original Scorpion that had button head screws. This was a perfect brake after jumps on the old car.
Next is the servo saver: They are almost identical, spot the difference... the new one is on the right side. I also notice the new spring is as weak as the old one. So to get this to work on a runner you need to put a 1mm thick washer underneath the spring.
There is also a part that you only fine on the Tomahawk; the distance is mounted with the front shock towers rear screws. A new feature on the new car is that the front arm shaft has markings that will help you line it up and in the right angle. But when I compare this to the original manual this would be the wrong angle, the arm shaft should parallel with the kick-up. One thing that still is missing is a set screw on the arm shaft holder to keep the arm shaft in place. At least that's my opinion... but that’s easy to fix.
The rear sus plate in one piece appeared first on the Turbo Scorpion; the old version is in two pieces.
Next is the gearbox and here Kyosho had done the most of the modernization. The gearbox is preassembled, the only thing you have to do it to drop in the RB5 gear diff. This means that the RB5 ball-diff will also fit.
Back in the days Kyosho newer sold anyball-diffs to the Scorpion; they only made some for their works cars.
That wasn't any problem because others did. The most legendary is the Thorp/Dirt Burners ball-diff. Others were MIP, Nodis and some others.
One thing that puzzles me is that Kyosho didn't make an adjustable motor plate this time neither. They still insist to only have two gear ratios. This problem has already been taken care of by Dwayne in California. And Chris (REC) has said he have some idea how to make an adjustable motor plate.
They have equipped the new gearbox with a slipper clutch, but it doesn’t look that good I think. I might be out of line her, so correct mi if I’m wrong.
The rear shock tower also has its roots from the turbo version; it has three attach screws to the gearbox. Originally there were only two screws.
When attaching the gearbox to the gearbox plate, don't tighten the screws. The resend is that Kyosho done the fitting of the driveline a bit too tight. On the old Scorpion you had the problem with losing dog-bones all the time. So this time they rely tighten it up, but they over did it. The mounting holes on the gearbox plate should have been a few tenth of a millimeter further back. At least that’s my opinion.
The rear arms are a bit different, the new ones on the left. The rear arms pivots are also different; the new ones are mad out of steel and the old ones is in aluminum. Now you have to try to get the rear arms move up and down freely.
The 10mm socks first appeared on the Turbo, the original ones had outer diameter off 8mm.
When assembly the shocks, do not forget the almost invisible gaskets/sealing’s.
When I assembled the rear motor cage I noticed that the plastic is much harder than the original one. But the bumper is softer than the original. Now it starts to look like a Scorpion…
I have chosen to go with a red radio tube sins I had advance paint job in mind. Kyosho had done some upgrading sins last time (30 years). Nowadays you can bolt the steering servo instead of using double-sided tape and a strap. I noticed that you can use any type battery packs.
But on the other hand they kept the old “cable tunnel” instead of upgrade it to the Turbo version. On the turbo version you can slide down the cables to the “cable tunnel”.
If you gone run a brushed motor with two cables than it’s okay, but I gone run a 17.5T with 4 cables in total, then it will be a tight fit. So I did my own modification with my Dremel...
The body is almost the same as the old Scorpion except for the drivers head made in ABS.
I'm not that fond of "box-art", so instead of yellow I did mine white. So that's my "advance" paint job guys, no masking, just a rattle can...
When I was trying the body I discover that the front shock towers is too close to radio box as it was on the old Scorpion as well. So I did as I use to do, just bend the shock towers slightly and problem is solved.
The roller bar are made out of the same harder plastic as the rear motor guard. A new fetcher is a hock that snap around the aluminum roller bar.
The wheels are updated to one piece wheels, the old ones had 3 pieces at the rear and 2 at the front. The first tires that came with the Scorpion had Good Year on the sidewalls, later it was Sand Super. Now you have Good Year on one side and Sand Super on the other side. One thing they did in the factory was to put the tires in the blister pack before the paint was dry. So part of the Good Year printing is still in the blister pack.
Another difference between the rear tires is the blocks. The new ones have smaller blocks and come in 3 different compounds as the front tires.
So what do I think about the Kyosho Scorpion 2014? Well I would say this is a copy of the -85 Kyosho Works except for the slipper. Just like this 3 team cars at the Japanese championship in 85 with their drivers.
) Your Suite is ready for vonats.
