With these all assembled we need to mount the arms onto the chassis. Again you will want to use Tamiya set screws. These are held in the steel suspension mounts with two bolts. They need to drop under their own weight, so make sure you do not over-tighten them. The upper bolt is harder to fit, I used a set of pliers. The Monster Beetle is a nearly 30 year old design and that means that the gearbox is not going to be as advanced as modern RC cars. You still have a differential, however it was designed before crazy brushless motors were around, so you will have to consider that when upgrading your motor. Left: Take a closer look at the complex drivetrain, shown here in this profile view of the chassis. Body is molded in red ABS Plastic. It depicts a customized Beetle with gaping fenders, triple auxiliary lights and a shortened rear end. Ceramic grease is okay for the gears, but again, the lightest coating is best. Most people put too much grease on the nylon gears. Super light coating with a tooth brush is enough. You risk mixing the ceramic grease with the anti-wear grease, and that is a bad combination.

Also, install aluminum spacers on the ball ends of the left and right steering axle. You will need a ball end as shown. Or, you can use extended-length ball ends by Tamiya. Be careful about tightening things too much in the rear suspension trailing arm...they have a tendency to create other issues.

A 3-gear differential is housed between a pair of aluminum plates that make up the transmission case. The original Monster Beetle used hex shaped dogebones for driveshafts and they were prone to rounding out. This time around Tamiya has included a more traditional dogbone with a CV joint on the axles.

Once these are assembled we need to add the front axles. These are made from steel and are very sturdy. They fit into the c-hub with a classic Tamiya Step screw. Every angle of the chassis has something that looks interesting and unconventional. This is one of the great charms of older designs. At the time no one knew what would make a great RC car so all of the designers were trying new things to help pioneer the types of cars that we currently use.

PROPS

Thank you very much, actually, I recently came over a set of those, and plan to use it on my Super Monster Beetle, too. Yes, it´s a bit overkill. But you can never have good enogh dampers! The large front bumper is next. This is attached with 3 screws on the front of the chassis and will hopefully help protect you from the occasional mishap! The injection-moulded plastic body accurately captures the classic Tamiya Monster Beetle shape and style.

I had a lot of fun painting and detailing this model, including the window frames and the driver figure inside. It wasn’t really that hard – just time consuming. The key is to be patient and take your time. It may take quite a few days as you let the paint dry, and do a bit more each time. The 1985 Monster Beetle is why I do what I do for a living and driving the 2015 proves to me that this model is still King of my hill! It’s not my fastest or most technologically advanced but it is the one I have the most fun with. It represents everything that I love most about the hobby. If you have never built a Tamiya kit I think it is time you do. In my opinion there is nothing cooler looking than the Monster Beetle. Now with the few upgrades the Beetle can once again recruit some hobbyists that stand a good chance of being in it for life. Tip - When you build your drive shaft, make sure that the pin is seated perfectly and does not pop out of any of the sides. This will make your drive shaft vibrate and ultimately break. It is a very easy thing to overlook if you have not made them before.

Whoa~ Quite a lot going on in this photo.. a slipper clutch mod? plastic insert shape that follows the shape of the transmission.. threaded rod and nuts suggest a different motor mount position(perhaps larger pinion) as well. Do tell us more! The model features a stylized version of the timeless Volkswagen Beetle body, mounted on an all-action 2WD chassis fitted with big tires for rough-and-tumble off-road fun. Just got to fit the massive rear bumper and the gold rims and tyres. The tyres are made from a medium stiffness rubber and they have spikes for that extra bite on rough surfaces. The front wheels fit on the axles via some 1150 bearings. The rear wheels are not a standard 12mm hex fitting, but they feel secure on their plastic wheel mounts. At the time of writing, the Monster Beetle is one of the few remaining Tamiya models of the 1980s that has not been rehashed by the company, to cash in on nostalgia. Although I’m sure that can’t be too far away, because… “money”.

The incredible 130mm diameter tyres with lug/pin spike tread provides fantastic off-road performance. The tyres are also paired with gold-effect, (one-piece) rims. The rugged ABS space-frame chassis fromthe original model (58060) has remained. The chassis uses a double-wishbone front with trailing arm rear suspension setups that work in tandum with the CVA oil dampers.

Steel brace for the servo saver, which necessitated longer upper screw pins for the upper front suspension arms The rear universal drive shafts transfer power smoothly and come with rubber boots to protect them from dust. with metal-plated parts supplied in the kit to add the finishing touch for handles and headlight frames.