I
was not particularly interested in the "comical" line of buggies when
Tamiya first released them. Putting out "super deformed" versions
of classic buggies on a modern wheelie chassis seemed like a blatant
cash grab. They capitalize on the nostalgia of the historic
buggies but have nothing in common with them. Beyond that, even
though all those old bodies had different chassis, these comical
versions can all be released on the same chassis with only a slightly
different body making development costs extremely low. So I
thought, meh. Then they had to go and come out with an Avante
version on a 4WD chassis. Sigh. Resistance.......
failing.......I pretty much buy anything that says Avante on it so that got me suckered into this one. My expectations were low, but I actually ended up really liking it. No, it isn't really an Avante, but it is a very solid chassis, with good handling for its height and great wheelie action. It is a blast to drive, and that is mostly what Tamiya is all about.
This is the first model to use the GF-01CB chassis. The GF-01 already existed for various wheelie models, the GF-01 Trail for the Monster Beetle Trail, and the G6-01 for the Konghead and subsequent models. For this variant, the CB presumably stands for Comical Buggy. It seems to be exactly the same base chassis as the old GF-01 but with a bunch of extra trees for bumpers, lights, and exhaust. It has four wheel independent suspension, oil CVA shocks, 4WD, and even accepts modern batteries. This is a very robust chassis. The huge square block tires are new for this model but I'm sure they'll be used again. There are more historic 4WD buggies to capitalize on. So, while it is no replacement for a real Avante, is a load of fun and I can easily recommend it as a good buy for the price.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
 Page 1: Assembly |
 Page 2: Final Photos |