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I am facing a dilemma at this time.I have SWB mid I am gonna build, and as I always wanted a Turbo Optima Mid SE back then, I want to buy the SE body. looking at prices, it seems TBG is cheaper than MARWAN but doesn't come with stickers. Marwan on the other hand comes with stickers but no undertray. To me the best bet would be to buy Marwan body set since nobody elese has the SE decals, then buy a TBG undertray. Question is, has anyone tried to fit a SWB Marwan body on the TBG SWB undertray ? How does it fit, or don't fit ?

I would guess (haven't tried though) that it should fit. TBG stuff is repopped from existing bodies and due to shrinkage, are a couple percent smaller than normal. Marwan's bodies are the correct size, and therefore slightly larger, so they *should* fit on the very slightly undersized undertray. If it was the other way around, I imagine it might be a pain or not possible.

HI!... I have a ton of TBG bodies on most of my restorations. Never had shrinkage on any of them. Most of the time I find the TBG stuff superior than the original Tamiya stuff. I know the lexan is of better material. In some cases, thicker than the original.

THE H.P FREAK wrote: Never had shrinkage on any of them. Most of the time I find the TBG stuff superior than the original Tamiya stuff.

if you've never compared them to originals they would appear to not have any shrinkage but there is some. And being superior to tamiya....eh, I won't go there

Todd

klavy69 wrote:

THE H.P FREAK wrote: Never had shrinkage on any of them. Most of the time I find the TBG stuff superior than the original Tamiya stuff.

if you've never compared them to originals they would appear to not have any shrinkage but there is some. And being superior to tamiya....eh, I won't go there

Todd

HI!... I never said I don't have originals. I do. In most cases I prefer the TBG stuff.

I usually see the differences in the body hole dimples, on one body it was almost a half inch off gear covers are also a tight fit. I still like and use TBG but I go into it not expecting perfection. The lexan is great and typically thicker in the areas that the original manufacturer had trouble with. For example the Traxxas Bullet is much more stout than stock

I have never bought TBG, but this is my take on Marwan from the LWB mid I bought 3 years back. The undertray is short at the back, couldn't screw in the 2 holes into the suspension mount. Body holes also don't line up perfectly, gear cover is just a little tight but fits rather well, belt cover is brittle so have to be very careful, and the decals don't stick so well, they start to peel really quickly on a runner. In contrast my original kyosho decals really stick. The undertray wears out pretty quick too. I just bought some KAmtecs for my LWB so lets see how these are. I just realized kamtec makes for SWB too, but theirs doesn't have trim lines.

THE H.P FREAK wrote:HI!... I have a ton of TBG bodies on most of my restorations. Never had shrinkage on any of them. Most of the time I find the TBG stuff superior than the original Tamiya stuff. I know the lexan is of better material. In some cases, thicker than the original.

I have to disagree with the exception of your point about the TBG bodies being thicker. I have Marwan and TBG Optima & Optima Mid bodies. The TBG body is slightly thicker, but has less distinct details. In fact, trimming and painting TBG's Optima body using the original body lines & design elements is tricky and involves some guesswork. That's to be expected when you pop a body from an existing body as opposed to an accurate mold. And I can say for a fact that the TBG body is a bit smaller. If you've ever trimmed an original Optima body, you'll know that even at the correct size, it's a pain in the ass. With a couple percent shrinkage, it's even worse.

The body I bought for my turbo mid se from marwan a while ago came with an undertray.

TBG has improved the trim lines to many of his bodies recently and from my experience TBG bodies in general are better than Marwan, I find Marwan bodies especially the Beetle were way off and the finish was terrible. That's my 2 cents.

RC

HI!... All I know is I have never had any issues with TBG bodies and will continue to use them.

Marwan does a SWB mid undertray but it does not extend to the front and rear of the chassis which is odd, does anyone else make an undertray that covers the entire chassis for the LWB Mid?

Also, I'd love to see a SWB Mid body without the bubble for the mechanical speed control, I know the original had it but it would look nicer without it and who needs that bubble on the window these days really?

The Marwan bodies are slightly smaller too, I need to get another one for my Turbo Optima Mid Special as I followed the cut lines and its not quite right so with the benefit of hindsight will be able to do a better job second time round and use the first shell for something else, its part of the reason I still haven't painted it

I agree about the side window bubble...it looks retarded.

Wasn't bashing tbg but stating that for a fact there is shrinkage. There is another thread around here dealing with just that part. Can't really say that there is a better alternative out there since he is one of the only ones repopping just about anything out there. Definitely agree with the traxxas bullet body...those were paper thin from the factory. Wouldn't be a problem for a shelfer though .

Good luck with your endeavor.

Todd

Ive had both a marwan LWB custom body, and a tbg swb mid body. The tbg was noticeably thicker, especially in areas where the plastic will stretch thin around curves. The Marwan body was not a perfect fit, but I did use a rear shock tower that messed up the fit in back. The Undertray that was included in the Marwan body was is plenty thick enough, and fit perfectly all the way forward and back on my LWB custom. The tbg under tray was a joke going half way to the front and half way back,, so the middle of the chassis is protected, but thats it! Also, what happens when the front edge catches a rock or a stick,, and the tray wants to rip itself off?! Not a good design. The upper body on the tbg though, I found to be plenty good. I didnt paint it,, but I did work with it a little,, and found it to be sturdy. The original owner had painted and trimmed it,, and yes 1 body hole was out of place, but a careful modeller would have gotten it right even if the dimple was off.

So far,, I hesitate to buy another Marwan body for cost reason,, shipping from UAE is steep for a plastic shell. And,, I hesitate to by a tbg body because of the tray and many complaints about fit. So, despite the availability of these bodies,, most of my cars are still naked!

By the way, How is it these guys re pop from an original body? Wouldnt they have to make a hard mold? tbg seems to be making EVERYTHING, even some real odball stuff. Plus they are coming out one after another. He must have a way to very quickly copy from the original body.