New Tamiya Hotshot owner & Build

[metallicats33]

Well after I missed out on a Fox a while back, I kept looking and came up on a Hotshot. Now my problem is parts. I know Tamiya re-relesed the Hotshot. Are any of those parts compatable with the older one? Also, I'm having touble finding parts in general. I know I need new front upper Arms, a body/wing, random screws, front bumper, tires, 1 front hub and I think thats it for now. Where can I find any of these parts?

Thanks for your help,
James

[transamman908]

I see alot of re-re hotshot stuff on flea bay but don't know how much of it can be used on original hs. I have these original parts if your interested. Front arms part #9006 and the "e" tree #9005 which has the hubs.

[RedScampi]

There are still a lot of original issue Hotshot parts floating around. I have managed to almost totally rebuild my original Hotshot with parts I have obtained off the bay. The re-re body and wing look like they will fit perfectly. I haven't mounted mine yet. The current body on mine was over cut when i got it so it looks a bit different than stock.

[civilguy]

If you want to run the Hotshot, almost all the parts from the re-re work. There are some updated bits that affect others:
the chassis now has the door on top for radio access, so if you get the new chassis you need the metal battery door too (body post mounts on it)
the center driveshaft is a dogbone style, so you'll need different drive cups coming off the gearboxes (they do slide right in tho)
the a-arms are all the same

Good luck whatever you do with it!

[metallicats33]

Thanks for all the help. Two more questions, where do I get re-release parts? And is the re-release being discontinued?

[civilguy]

Your local hobby shop can order them, TamiyaUSA.com and eBay sellers have them. Those are in my order of preference, but rearrange as you see fit.

I don't know if they discontinued it yet, but Tower is expecting a shipment in March. My guess is that they are in the middle of another production run... maybe someone has some insider info if it's going to be the last run?

[metallicats33]

Well I've been caught up with other projects, parts cleaning and re-builds. I havent had a chance to go over the HotShot yet but thought Id post some pics of it on the day I got it:

I've torn it apart and it's all in it's own little box now. I think I got a good deal on it. Came with the LRP runner ESC, Traxxas receiver and Futaba servo. I think I got my moneys worth just in electronics. I'll keep posting my progress... It might be a slow build though.

[RedScampi]

Looks like a good start. I'm ready to get my Hotshot build going!