When you get into the build, it’s actually quite impressive. Everything is well organized and the quality of the parts is outstanding. In fact, having built a fair number of kits lately from a variety of different manufacturers, I’d still rank Kyosho number one for parts quality, fit, finish, etc. but I’d place this kit from MST a close second. It really is that good. The plastics feel right and are molded super accurately. The axle gears and other metal parts are also made to a very high standard. The only real design flaw I found was with the position of the motor screws – access to one of the screws is blocked by the spur gear. Perhaps the suspension links are a bit thin as well. Another problem for me is that the gears are M0.6 so my 32dp and 48dp pinions won’t fit the spur.
I’m also not a fan of the yellow shocks but their nylon material should accept dye. The wheelie bar assembly is removable.
Notice how the C-hub hinge points are stacked so that neither pivot screw is in tension. I’ve never seen this before but it should make for a very strong front axle.
Here’s the exact livery I was going for...
… and this is what is supplied with the kit:
This is an unlicensed body so I’ve replaced the TH-1 and rc-mst.com stickers, making the Toyota, Ultra Custom Wheels and Joe MacPherson logos using a vinyl cutter. This meant that the red on the rear fenders and tail gate area had to be painted and the color match with the red stickers isn’t perfect.
Including the Joe MacPherson logos, there are a total of 10 Toyota logos on this truck. Obviously, Toyota wants everyone to remember who made it.
The goal here was to build an Ivan Stewart replica not a monster truck so, for the more scale accurate 2wd chassis, maybe I’ll re-lengthen that RC10 chassis and add suitable wheels and tires or I could build something from scratch.
Actually, I think I’ve already found the correct wheels. I have these aluminum bead-locks on the Bronco and they look like a good match to the wheels on Ivan’s desert truck. They’re not terribly expensive so I’ll go ahead and order another set.
As for the MTX-1 chassis, I could paint-up a Ford pickup body to make a Big Foot model – I believe MCI has the decal set. I’ll probably want to change wheel color to white however.
Anyway, I’ll post photos of the finished Toyota with its little brother later. Meanwhile, here’s what I have so far.
