Tamiya Bruiser Project

Tamiya released the 58048 Bruiser in August of 1985 and, at the time, it was an absolute revolution.  All metal chassis, 3-speed transmission, oil filled shocks, 4WD with shifting transfer case, real leaf springs, this model had it all.  The problem was that it also cost 39,000¥ or $350 at the current exchange rate, perhaps twice that much adjusted for inflation.  That put it completely out of reach for most kids.  But in March of 2012, 27 years later, Tamiya re-released this classic this time at 89,800¥.  So it wasn't any cheaper than before, but the people who wanted it had grown up and had more money now.  The updated model replaced the old 750 sized motor with a more moderate 540 and also updated the transmission considerably.  Of course the old mechanical speed controller was replaced with an ESC, but other than that this model is much like it was decades ago.

I managed to get ahold of one in 2017 and couldn't have been happier with the build.  This is a pretty complex assembly project with loads of metal, hundreds of fasteners, plenty of painting, and anything else you could want out of an RC project.  The final model is a bit hard to categorize.  It is certainly a scale model and uses a hard body rendition of an RN36 type Toyota Hilux.  The tires are obviously much larger than stock, and the suspension is considerably lifted as well.  The finished model is certainly not fast, but neither is it a crawler.  It is not a monster truck, so what is it?  I don't know, it's just awesome.  It is a scale cruiser and works great on pavement, on grass, or on the trail.  With open front and rear differentials the off road performance isn't great even in 4WD.  You can lock the differentials manually, but then it is no good on road.  I used anti-wear grease in the diffs for a happy medium.  The 3-speed transmission is really the star of the show and shifts on the fly.  Multiple speeds are not strictly necessary with electric, but it makes low speed crawling quite pleasant and high gear is fun on the road.  With leaf springs and fat tires, this thing bounces around plenty.  As of this writing many upgrades are available and I installed plenty of them.  I used relatively inexpensive analog Futaba servos and the stock ESC, but I replaced the silver can 540 motor with a moderate brushless motor.  I also added lots of lights and some additional interior details.  Battery space is limited so a 7.2V NiMH works best.  You can read about the whole experience in my build journal below.

Update:  This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire.  It has not been replaced.

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©2017 Eric Albrecht