Jato The Tamiya Desert Fielder TA02T

[JatoTheRipper]

It's been a while since I built a Tamiya "fun" kit. Good thing I just won a NIB Desert Fielder TA02T on eBay. This will be my very first TA build. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm behind in documenting this build on this site so the time frame might be off slightly. In the case of the below, "today" is not actually today.

Well she arrived today. Luckily I only work 8 minutes from home so I was able to run home at lunch and open it up.*

This build was supposed to be first, but my RC4WD Trail Finder 2 arrived yesterday and that build was started right away. This one will get put away for a week or two, but I'm still really excited to build this.



As any Tamiya fan knows, they are still stuck on Phillips screws much to the dismay of most people. Instead of ordering a stainless steel screw kit like I typically do I ordered some JIS screwdrivers before the truck arrived. *JIS screwdrivers are supposed to fit the Tamiya screws much better than standard Phillips. These are Vessel brand which, apparently, are high quality. *High quality tools are everything.



Ah take a deep breath of the plastic and rubber chemical smells emanating from the Tamiya box. Under any other circumstances these smells would be putrid. But to RC addicts they are an awesome smell.*



I also picked up some Fast Eddy bearings. Tamiya should kill the plastic bushing mold forever.

[JatoTheRipper]

Step 1 in the build is a diff. Oh, what's this? It's a ball diff! I've built ball diffs before, but never a Tamiya ball diff. I've heard good things about them so this should be fun.

It looks great all laid out. I was questioning how much I should tighten the screw that holds the diff together. Other ball diffs are adjustable and you can ruin them from making them too tight or too lose. In this case it looks like Tamiya designed in the correct tightness by using the shoulder on the screw. After much contemplation and dismay I tightened it all of the way. Hopefully that was right. But even at all the way tight it doesn't seem to bind. It actually seems kind of loose for my liking, but Tamiya knows what they're doing so I will trust them.




Diff installed in the housing. I am not a fan of this shade of blue by any stretch of the imagination. I wish these components were still made in red.



The JIS screwdriver fits tightly in the screws. Still, there are stubborn screws that are difficult to thread into the plastic and the screwdriver wants to slip and strip the screw head. That's why I'm not a fan of Phillips / + screws. As the build continued I also found that there were screws in which the #2 was too large yet the #1 was too small.

Tamiya is awesome. We all know that. You won't find more fun per dollar in RC. They also include clever little tools like this that make certain assembly steps so much easier!



Very tight clearance between the pinion and diff housing!



This is my very first TA build and this is a cool little diff! I'm impressed.



I really like the plastic coated dog bones. I'm not sure how well they hold up, but it's a great idea for lubricity and reduced wear!



Here is the finished rear clip. It's the diff housing with the suspension bits installed. I'm not a big fan of plastic links. I might have to upgrade these to turnbuckles at some point. Does Tamiya make a TA02T turnbuckle kit?

[alexleblanc]

I built the F150 version of this TA02T and I though it went together quite well, neat driving little truck. Saw your post on TC too, you'll get a wealth of knowledge from that bunch on all things Tamiya.

I run mine with RC4WD 1.55 steelies and Mickey Thompson tires and it works awesome.

the plastic Links haven't given me any trouble but I did shim them tight during the build.

you can see it in the photo in Red beside the Winnie. (not a recent photo but all I had at work)

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by alexleblanc

I built the F150 version of this TA02T and I though it went together quite well, neat driving little truck. Saw your post on TC too, you'll get a wealth of knowledge from that bunch on all things Tamiya.

I run mine with RC4WD 1.55 steelies and Mickey Thompson tires and it works awesome.

the plastic Links haven't given me any trouble but I did shim them tight during the build.

you can see it in the photo in Red beside the Winnie. (not a recent photo but all I had at work)

Very cool. I wanted the S-10 version when it first came out, but always found reasons to buy other RCs instead.

I see you have a bunch of Tamiya kits. They give the most smiles per dollar, from build to running, than any other brand IMHO.

[JSterrett]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I'm not a big fan of plastic links. I might have to upgrade these to turnbuckles at some point. Does Tamiya make a TA02T turnbuckle kit?

I don't know if they make a turnbuckle kit, but it looks like roughly the same layout as my old TA04S, could probably just use turnbuckles from something like that...

I can take some pics when I get home if you think it would help...?

Btw, old Tamiyas are cool. I have a Manta Ray that I rescued from my work (electronics recycling co.) and a TA04S I bought way back when I was stationed in Germany

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[OSRC]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Ah take a deep breath of the plastic and rubber chemical smells emanating from the Tamiya box.

Someone needs to make a car air freshener in this scent. I'd buy a bottle in a heartbeat!

[alexleblanc]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Very cool. I wanted the S-10 version when it first came out, but always found reasons to buy other RCs instead.

I see you have a bunch of Tamiya kits. They give the most smiles per dollar, from build to running, than any other brand IMHO.

That photo is about a year old, there's about 15 more tamiya cars and about 20 unbuilt kits sitting up top right now, I've gone tamiya crazy.

[soze]

All these cool new companies and products, but I'll always love vintage style Tamiya and Kyosho. I've been snapping up re-releases of the Kyosho buggies and Tamiya monster trucks and buggies.

[kgb424]

I own a TA02, that I think had the F150 body but was not a truck chassis, I got the red diff cases and red knuckles with TA01 A arms with a TA02 tub

Tamiya used to make a Tie Rod Set for the TA02 cars, I found this it has a parts list and shows the length of turnbuckles needed, I don't see why it wouldn't work for a TA02T since it basically the same as a TA02 is

I priced every thing and its about $50 to buy your own kit, you can still find the Tamiya kit but there not cheap, and the shipping is crazy on the few I did see online for sale

I was going to make a set for my TA02 and set it up to Drift with, but decided not too since the TA02 is old and the parts are not there, like they used to be, when I first got mine and was looking for parts to restore it

Will use mine to cruise parking lots with and take care of it

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by kgb424

I own a TA02, that I think had the F150 body but was not a truck chassis, I got the red diff cases and red knuckles with TA01 A arms with a TA02 tub

Tamiya used to make a Tie Rod Set for the TA02 cars, I found this it has a parts list and shows the length of turnbuckles needed, I don't see why it wouldn't work for a TA02T since it basically the same as a TA02 is

I priced every thing and its about $50 to buy your own kit, you can still find the Tamiya kit but there not cheap, and the shipping is crazy on the few I did see online for sale

I was going to make a set for my TA02 and set it up to Drift with, but decided not too since the TA02 is old and the parts are not there, like they used to be, when I first got mine and was looking for parts to restore it

Will use mine to cruise parking lots with and take care of it

That's extremely helpful! Thank you for the info!

[JatoTheRipper]

As it usually happens, my enthusiasm and excitement take over during a build and I forgot to take many photos. There aren't many photos of the front differential / front clip, but it's not a big deal as it isn't much different internally than the rear. The main difference is that the front is a gear differential instead of a ball diff.



Here it is with the suspension components attached.

[JatoTheRipper]

The next step was to build the shocks. This is always one of my least favorite tasks in a build. I've built many shocks, but I still don't feel that I'm good at it. I do think a large part of that is because of my lack of patience. I probably close the shocks before all of the air bubbles have risen out of the oil. These shocks were easy to build and relatively pain free. I used Noleen SF3 (AKA Associated Green Slime) on the o-rings. I did not use Teflon tape on the threads like I normally do.



Next up was attaching the shocks to the front and rear clips.

One thing I found really interesting is that clinch nuts are used to hold the top shock mounting screws onto the tower. I've never seen these used on an RC before. Is this common for Tamiya? I use clinch nuts quite often as I am a Project Engineer at a large sheet metal fabrication company.





Shocks on the front clip.

[JatoTheRipper]

Here's the chassis with the bellcrank and Savox steering servo installed.



Then I installed the rear clip on the chassis. It looks pretty finished to me.



Doh! I forget to install the prop shaft. What is this? It's the most spindly looking piece of junk I've ever seen. Oh well, it will have to do for now because my Yeah Racing shaft has not yet arrived. Time to remove the rear clip and install the prop wire err shaft.



There. That looks complete.

[JSterrett]

Originally Posted by kgb424

I was going to make a set for my TA02 and set it up to Drift with, but decided not too since the TA02 is old and the parts are not there, like they used to be, when I first got mine and was looking for parts to restore it

This guy is a good source for old Tamiya parts. Quite a few of my Manta Ray's (TA01-based) parts are from him. Has actual NEW parts, not old stock, so they're not brittle. He's in the UK so shipping takes a minute to the US, but not too bad. Shipping rates are very reasonable for being overseas...

https://www.ebay.com/usr/tonystamiyaparts975

[JSterrett]

And the build is looking good, Jato!

[kgb424]

I have bought from tonystamiyaparts975 before

[JatoTheRipper]

As I said earlier, I have wanted the TA02T since the Chevy S-10 body came out. What reignited my interest in the truck was watching a friend drive his during an "on road day" that a few of us had about a month ago. It just looked like a ton of fun. He has the HPI WR8 Rally tires on his F-150 TA02T and they were squealing like 1:1 tires in turns. It was really cool so I had to have them.

Gluing tires - sometimes it's painless, fun and even kind of relaxing. Other times it's a pain. These tires are not the easiest to glue and get the bead seated properly and looking good. And then, of course, on the last tire the tube popped out of my glue bottle and glue went everywhere. Luckily, I was able to quickly clean it up so there isn't much left on the tires.



I think installing the wheels and tires is always the most exciting step.



Looking good! Don't mind the messy workbench. And you can see some of the errant glue on the rear tire in this photo.

[alexleblanc]

how do those tires compare to the stockers in terms of size?

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by alexleblanc

how do those tires compare to the stockers in terms of size?

They are smaller than the stock tires by a good amount. I'll try to get comparison photos for you. The stockers are rock hard - almost plastic-like. These HPI tires are much softer.

[JatoTheRipper]

The motor plate. Anodized blue sure is pretty. Now I just have to install it.