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Yesterday I traded this Tamiya Aero Avante...


For this "used only once" Kyosho Turbo Scorpion re-release...


I had been wanting to get rid of this particular Tamiya kit ever since I got it in a lot a few weeks ago. I dislike the cosmetic design, all the plastic in it, the plastic bearings, and pretty much everything else about it; even the way it's packaged.

So I offered it up for trade (plus some cash) to this guy who was asking a fortune for the "used only once" Turbo Scorpion.

But when I got there, and saw the Scorpion, I noticed the guy had neglected to mention that that one time it had been run, ...it had likely been over a boulder field.


I had only seen pictures of the top of the car placed in the box, and I already new the paint job was not my cup of tea, but the previous owner (who was not the guy selling it) had taken it upon himself to ruin the kit as much as possible in the short time he had had it.


So I shook my head and told him this didn't look like it had been run only once, and that the car had been damaged in several areas even it hadn't been run. Even the wheels had been painted black (and that had not been shown in the original photos), not to mention the damage to the tub in order to fit he battery leads. Man! He even wasted decals on the bottom and inside of the tub!

So we agreed on an almost even trade for the Aero Avante and I walked away with the Scorpion.


The good news is I will feel little remorse when running this car, and the best part is I get to tear it all down and rebuild it (which was what I was lamenting most from buying the car already assembled.

A new car that already needs a restoration...cool!
Any chance of original wheels and tires, (MARWAN), and LeMans brushed motor?

Not really. I'd love to get those chrome plated style rims like the Scorpion has. But for now I'm going to try and remove the paint from these. At least try and make them white again.

Not sure what to do with the body; the paint used on it seems to be high quality. Probably Tamiya. Not sure if the usual nitro fuel or Dot 3 will work on it. I can't stand what's been done to it though. Short of damaging the plastic I will do whatever to get it off. If not, I'll paint on the out side. Maybe get a new body in the future.

I'm having some real trouble getting the wheels off the hubs. They are really stuck on there. Is this normal? Might they have been glued on?!

Not normal on those hubs

It's like the axle thread is catching on the wheel. The hex nut on the other hand seems to have some play inside the wheel.

I've now removed the retainer pin/screw form the hex adapter, which should free the adapter form the axle, but the wheel seems to stuck to the axle and is keeping everything from coming apart. Very frustrating.

OK. Got it off. The rim was indeed screwed onto the axle which prevented me from pulling it out directly. Once I released the hex adapter I was able to rotate the wheel on the axle and it unscrewed off. Relief!

I have these and I really like them. I use one as a daily runner.
Initially, I didn't care for how it handled so I've modified the rear suspension to remove some camber angle and increase toe-in and replaced the kit tires with Proline Bowties and it drives like a champ now.
You'll want to use a drop of blue threadlock on all the screws that go into aluminum - mine were backing out.
It sounds like the wheel nut had been over-tightened.
Looking forward to your next update.

One of the best looking 2wd buggies ever - imho.

The center of the rim has been crimped around the shaft thread by the overtightened wheel nut

Thanks. Yes, I figured as much.

I’m debating whether I should enlarge the hole again, or require dismounting the shaft each time I need to remove the wheel.

The suspension was really stiff also. I’ve since found that the shocks were over full and incompressible beyond half way.
The shock oil does seem too thick for this car also. And the springs too stiff. Those look stock though.

The previous owner really didn’t know what they were doing. I’m imagining a meatheaded brute at this point.
Good thing the model is fairly resilient.

No doubt he was disappointed with the performance and traded it in for a Traxxas Stampeade, or something like that.