Yokomo Designers / Engineers?

[RCveteran]

So I see all the threads about the company/cars history. Anyone here with information on the designers / team behind the early cars. Was there "a guy" like Akira for Kyosho? Or a Cliff Lett, Cecil Schumacher type.

Doesn't seem to come up anywhere? I see the basic history of the company and founders and such but nothing on the designers. Maybe it was a team or they were just employees lost to history, but something that would be interesting to know?

[RogueIV]

I know Masaaki Hirosaka (Masami's father) Was and engineer for ABC Hobby and later Yokomo but not sure of exactly what he specifically did with production cars outside of Masami's racing career though.

[Frankentruck]

Did Masami ever race using an ABC Hobby motor?

[Jirka]

Did Masami ever race using an ABC Hobby motor?

According to Masaaki's web pages in 1/12 JMRCA (=Japan nationals) Masami did use:

1982 and prior, no pictures from his motors.

1983 Some "mystic" silver can based??? motor:

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29 1983 All Japan Championship 30.jpg (42.39 KiB) Viewed 1146 times

1984 Race (that famous that Joel Johnson win and Trinity did not get bankrupt) there is no clear enough pictures from Masami's car.

1985 There seems to be M&Y motor:

1986 M&Y Again:

1987 There was HPI motor. He used HPI also on 1987 IFMAR offoroad worlds in UK.

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14.jpg (37.21 KiB) Viewed 1146 times

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42.jpg (62.26 KiB) Viewed 1146 times

1988 And forward Reedy

Jirka

[Jirka]

Didn't Gil Losi Jr design 870c and since that the same design was used until 1997 worlds when MX-4 introduced.

Jirka

[Alex B]

Didn't Gil Losi Jr design 870c and since that the same design was used until 1997 worlds when MX-4 introduced.

Jirka

I think that is the case, then Masaaki took the design and refined it up until the introduction of the YZ-10/WCS 93. I'm unsure if that was designed completely by Masaaki but he certainly designed the MX-4.

[Phin]

Here's the 834b prototype, which the magazine associated with ABC Hobbies: https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?p=480864#p480864

[RCveteran]

Didn't Gil Losi Jr design 870c and since that the same design was used until 1997 worlds when MX-4 introduced.

Jirka

All these years I had no idea. He touched a lot of things. I've always thought the 870c design was amazing in its simplicity and serviceability and yet was a winner at the same time. It was the first car I won with at least

Until this thread I was unfamiliar with ABC hobby as well. Glad I asked.