Unboxing a Legend: Schumacher XLS Cat "T403" 1987 4WD World Champion Original Replica with Manual

[TokyoProf]

The thrill of a vintage unboxing never gets old. No, this isn’t the 2017 re-release of the XLS Masami—this is the real deal, the original commemorative 4WD production kit by Schumacher, released after their iconic 4WD victory at the 1987 IFMAR Worlds in England. Thank you for guiding me about this ebay purchase in 2024 in my previous post, I was finally able to open up the kit and see it for myself.

As the “exact replica of the World Championship winner and top qualifier” it felt like striking RC gold. It offers a cool glimpse into early RC engineering. The parts, the design choices—every detail is a time capsule of racing history. I particularly enjoyed the vintage exploded-view poster of the kit and the original manual, which walks you through the setup that helped secure its legendary win. The thickly baked polycarbonate body sheets were also interesting. Here are some kit pictures that capture the spirit of the 80s and for RC history. These are my first look photos of the Schumacher XLS Cat "T403" 1987 4WD World Champion Replica.

Masami Hirosaka won the 4WD class at the 1987 IFMAR/Parma 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship held at the now-defunct Romsey Club, located on the site of the Malthouse Inn in Timsbury, Hampshire, near Southampton in England (Wikipedia).

[1911Colt]

RC porn!

Congratulations on a magnificent find!

[Moggie XL]

I think all fans of Schumacher would like to have this in their collection, will you be building it up or leaving it in the box

[Dustydrone]

Thank you for sharing the opening of this time capsule!

If you build it, we will watch

[TokyoProf]

Thank you! Here are more photos to share. Having the reissue Masami XLS model built up and painted, makes it a little less tempting to build this one (but barely).

[howsyouraspen]

Man, that's really awesome! Love seeing these OG vintage buggies showing up.

[LurkingCAT]

Congratulations again on this jewel of a kit!

Do you have "blank" 3 mm steering rods and rear track rods turnbuckles or are they hex ones? Would be interesting to know.
I bought my XLS kit as soon as it was available spring '88, and it had the blank ones.

From the price tag, the code can be an indication that your kit arrived to the hobby shop in October 1988?

[1911Colt]

The Masami re-re was $10 less than the original price tag from 1988.

[TokyoProf]

Do you have "blank" 3 mm steering rods and rear track rods turnbuckles or are they hex ones? Would be interesting to know.
I bought my XLS kit as soon as it was available spring '88, and it had the blank ones.

Hello! Do you have pictures of what you have (or what you are referring to)? Would be nice to see and compare actually. Here are the complete manual pictures for the kit. The first page of the manual is above (because of upload limitations).