Kyosho Turbo Optima Project

I've heard that many classic Kyosho buggies came in two versions:  a caged version and a Lexan bodied version.  The Javelin and the Optima are Kyosho's early 4WD buggies.  The Javelin had and open cage and the Optima had a closed shell.  They were otherwise identical.  However, while the Javelin only had the one version, the Optima went on to have more than half a dozen variations including the gold version, the Turbo, the Mid, and the Turbo Mid.  The Turbo Optima re-release which became available in 2019 is a combination of the Turbo Optima with the gold version.  Almost all of the metal parts are anodized in gold including the chassis, the motor mount, and the shocks.  As a "Turbo", this is a bit of a deluxe version with nicer, longer stroke shocks and a full length undertray.  It uses slotted wheels with hard pin tires.  Otherwise it is just like my Javelin. 

Like the Javelin, the Turbo Optima can be configured with both the original chain drive or a more modern belt drive system.  Since I already used the chain drive on my Javelin, I decided to install the belt drive system here.  I wanted this model's performance and electronics to match the speciality of the chassis, so I installed a Savox gold servo and a Le Mans brushless motor and controller.  With this combination, the performance is quite incredible.  I am able to run the model on 3s and it is quick, planted, and stable.  Turning and jumping are completely predictable.  Pretty impressive for a 30 year old chassis.

Update:  This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire.  I was lucky enough to find another one of these to replace the original.  I built it very much the same as the first time, but I used the newer gold Le Mans motor on the second one and also took the opportunity to install some upgraded aluminum wheels with gold anodize.