Tamiya Toyota Hilux

[Dangeruss]

In 1981 Tamiya launched into a new segment of off-road vehicles with their 1/10 4wd electric Toyota Hilux. Constructed almost entirely out of metal Tamiya’s new pickup doubled down on the scale realism that made the SRB line so popular. The Hilux featured a pair of rectangular tube drop rails connected by a series of pressed crossmembers to create its ladder frame style chassis. Not stopping there the truck would be suspended at all four corners by a quartet of functional leaf springs with rear mounted swinging shackles to which oil filled aluminum shock absorbers from the SRB’s could be fitted as an option. The drivetrain however, is what really separated the ‘Yota from the pack. It’s electric motor was placed longitudinally in the same location as the full-sized trucks engine and was backed by a three speed shift-on-the-fly transmission with built in transfer case. From there two universal joint driveshafts led to a pair of live axles attached to the suspension by a set of miniature u-bolts. Tamiya’s attention to detail even extended so far as to equip the front axle with selectable hubs just like its full size counterpart. Putting all that 4x4 action to the ground was a set of two piece aluminum wheels with plastic inserts supporting four Goodyear branded rubber mud tires. The three servos and radio gear required to operate all this mechanization lived in a clear sealed box mounted in the bed area, which also housed the required 4000mAh oversized battery, while the linkages for the saddle mounted mechanical speed controller, transmission shifter and steering draglink exiting through the bottom. Topping their four wheel drive marvel was a three piece hard plastic body complete with nearly two dozen black and chrome components from bumpers and grille, to lights, roll bar, and brush guard, plus a fully detailed molded plastic interior with driver figure. The following year would see a rebody of the Hilux as Tamiya brought to market the “Big Oly” styled 1982 Blazing Blazer:

[vonmarshalll]

I remember the videos in my LHS showing these magnificent machines and I restored one a while ago. One of the most enjoyable and rewarding projects I have ever undertaken. While RC10s were massively outclassing the Tamiya SRBs, this was an area that Tamiya excelled at. True scale and staggering engineering.

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=122391&id=396