A tale of two Javelins...

[ahenderl]

Hey guys...

Indulge me for a bit as I attempt to recapture a bit of my youth. Back around the summer of 1987 or so when I just turned 13 the Kyosho Javelin was the one car I wanted more than only other. Even when the Turbo Optima debuted, it was the Javelin that I wanted. There was just something about the way it looked. Unlike all the other buggies, it looked so much more real. A friend who I played little league baseball with had a father who had a rail buggy and he used to take me for rides after ball games. Although his was not orange, there was something about the real-life looking Javelin that captured the same youthful enthusiasm of riding in the open air and the Javelin became a source of much daydreaming and wishful thinking on my part at the time.

That Christmas my parents bought me a Tamiya Hornet that I still have today...but with much wear. A Javelin wasn't in the cards for me...but that's ok. Life went on and I forgot about my early-teen rc interests until around 2006. In 2006, I pick up a RC Car Action magazine and read all about the emerging technology of both brushless motors and li-po batteries. Holy moly!! Long run times and faster speeds than the obnoxious nitro cars I has seen over the years...no offense to nitro lovers, but they are kind of loud if you play in a neighborhood close to other homes.

At that time I built a RCB4, a jacked-up bad-a brushless E-Maxx, an RC18B & a TC5, however, I still wanted a Javelin. I can't tell you how much of a following vintage rc had at the time and to be honest I really didn't care. I began checkin eBay regularly and found a relatively complete Javelin and picked it up. The orange cage had been painted half-black and the other half left orange. It had a gold chassis, the original electronics and tons of spare parts...along with an old school Kyosho field bag.

My intention was to resto-mod & rebuild the Javelin with modern brushless & li-po power. I stripped the cage with a razor blade back to bare orange, disassembled the entire buggy and rebuilt it using an original Javelin manual that I downloaded & printed from somewhere I found on the internet. The original shocks were good but the collars were all broken (more on that later). So, I retrofitted some aftermarket shocks at the time...which I intend to remove soon. I installed a Hi-Tec servo, futaba 27 mhz FM receiver & a Novak GTB speed controller along with a 7.5 turn Novak motor but I never ran it.

One kid came along & it ended up on the shelf...with two kids it was in a box in the closet. Years later the receiver, esc & motor were put to use in other vehicles. My Javelin never moved under it's own power and my childhood dreams of driving my own Javelin through the dirt and grass faded away just like my youth.

In the last few years with interest in re-releases I've toyed with the idea of doing something with my Javelin, but it seems too nice to risk damage. I'm a believer that toys are meant to be played with and I think the idea of shelf queens is a bit laughable, but at the same time I am a bit sentimental and know it is not easily replaceable.

...fast forward to 2017 & the wonderful folks at Kyosho gave me another shot at living my daydreams from 30+ years ago...the Javelin re-release. I plan to take the original completely back to stock...with exception of the rear wing...and I'll have the re-re to play with like a 13 year old who doesn't understand the value of a hard earned dollar...waaa-hooo!!

Following are a few pics of my original Javelin, my re-re and a few of them together...

[ahenderl]

My original as it looks today.

The Novak stickers are all from 10 years ago when I installed Novak electronics and was attempting a modern (for that time) Javelin. I have few extra sheets or repro stickers, so I plan to strip it down and take it back to original box art.

I do remember painting the "Sand Super" on the tires with a toothpick...it was a major pain-in-the -a$$.

The driver was partially painted by the previous owner...I need to finish it.

[ahenderl]

This is my new re-re that I just finished this weekend. I say finished but I haven't soldered the esc to the motor & I haven't soldered battery terminals to the esc yet...I'm waiting on new tips to be delivered for my soldering iron.

It has (will have) Reedy 8.5 brushless power with a Reedy 1000Z esc...I know, over-kill but I can always dial it back. Please don't flame me for Reedy power in a Kyosho, I just had it new-in-box and it was looking for a new home. Besides...I've read a couple of reviews about re-re Optimas and they seem to be able to take 8.5 brushless power quite well.

I built it with the belt drive thinking it would be smoother & more efficient.

Here are the pics...

[ahenderl]

The two of them together:

[ahenderl]

Here are a few of the extra parts I got with the original Javelin 10 years ago. I also have have the original silver chassis, an extra driver figure new-in-package, a few extra plastic trees with a battery mount set as well as an old school dc charger.

[XLR8]

Sweet! I have one just like it. I've also just completed a Javelin runner that was converted from a vintage Turbo Optima (added a white re-re cage). I really like the wing on your vintage car. I have one of the Kyosho bags as well.
The re-re I built is actually the second orange Javelin I've owned. The first one was much bigger. I built that car between '78 and '88 and then sold it. It looks so old school now.

[XLR8]

Oh, and vintage Kyosho motors are very collectible it seems.
Nice cars!!

[ahenderl]

That's pretty sweet Doug.

As a matter of fact...I happen to have an AMC 360 in my stable...it just happens to better at getting over rocks than down 1320 feet of pavement...

Meet my 1979 J10 Honcho...

Adam

[ChisaiKuso]

As a matter of fact...I happen to have an AMC 360 in my stable...it just happens to better at getting over rocks than down 1320 feet of pavement...

Meet my 1979 J10 Honcho...

Sweet!

[XLR8]

So now that you've built your re-release, you know that replacement spring collars are available again. Now you can re-fit the original shocks.
I notice an instruction sheet for that awesome aluminum wing, does it identify the manufacturer? I'd like to fit one like it to my runner.

[XLR8]

Ooh, that's a nice pickup. I've been looking for one like it.

[GeneralZod]

I think you need to paint the tire lettering on your re re as well! Tried that on mine many years ago and after the first run, most of the paint had flaked off!

[ahenderl]

So now that you've built your re-release, you know that replacement spring collars are available again. Now you can re-fit the original shocks.
I notice an instruction sheet for that awesome aluminum wing, does it identify the manufacturer? I'd like to fit one like it to my runner.

When I bought the Javelin, the wing was still in the original packaging & uninstalled. If you look back at the pic, the original label is in the picture to the left of the instructions. It was made by Trinity and was their part # 7016.

Oh, and yes...I've bought some repro shock collars so that I can put the originals back on my original Javelin. What about the other components?? Are the other parts available to rebuild the original shocks?

[ahenderl]

I think you need to paint the tire lettering on your re re as well! Tried that on mine many years ago and after the first run, most of the paint had flaked off!

I agree...it does look good.

As far as my re-re runner goes, I don't plan to use the kit tires and wheels. I plan to pick up 4 Turbo Scorpion re-re 2.2" rear satin chrome wheels and install ProLine Dirt Hawgs on them for all around bashing. That being the case, I should be able to paint the letters on the kit tires white and keep them looking good.

[XLR8]

Oh DUH! I was focused on the instructions sheet and totally missed the label sitting right next to it.

As for the shocks, I would guess that re-release parts would also fit the vintage shocks.. but I'm guessing, I'm not sure.
I recently used a white Sharpie Oil Paint maker (fine) to do tire lettering. It worked pretty well.