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1985 was the first year I found out about RC cars, and Tamiya. I had just turned 13, right before 8th grade started that year. Some of the guys were passing around the 1985 Tamiya catalogue, and after briefly getting to read through it, I had to go buy the '85 Guide Book, to stare at it for a few months.
https://tamiyabase.com/guidebooks/7-1985

In the 1985 Guide Book, they had about (15) Bruisers pulling a real Toyota, I've seen the Hilux photo of the same thing, but can't find the Bruiser pic from the '85 Guide Book posted anywhere. This made quite an impression on me, but knew I could never afford one, at 13.

Never saw the 1985 official commercial for the Bruiser, until recently.


Official 2012 Bruiser video:


Recently found a 15% off deal on a 2012 Bruiser from Japan on ebay, and seized the opportunity to get one for much less than anywhere else. Had never seen the Bruiser in person before, only pictures.

Until...


Box is 28" wide, the SRB kits are 23" wide.


There was some outer box damage, and the Bruiser box has some corner dings, looks like it took a decent fall, and ripped the chassis out of the packaging, and one of the axle housings was just floating around in there.

The parts all look fine still, despite the rough handling.

I had thought I read that the 2012 Bruiser windows are tinted, if they are, it's not much.


One nice thing about the 2012 Bruiser, is the rear camper shell is not molded in to the body, like the original was, it's a separate piece.


The short camper shell is really the only difference between the Bruiser, and the Mountain Rider (former Mountaineer), the roll bar can be installed instead of the camper shell in the Bruiser, if desired.

Search Tamiya K parts for the roll bar kit, to make the Bruiser a Mountain Rider, minus the decals.

Will get the body in primer soon, and start building the chassis tonight.

So stoked on this one, looking forward to building the 3-speed gear box.

Enjoy the build. Toyota UK reproduced the advert for the release of the new Hilux so I got to build quite a few Bruisers. Just make sure you don't miss any bearings when you build the gearbox

GreenBar0n wrote: ↑Wed Jul 02, 2025 8:15 pm I had thought I read that the 2012 Bruiser windows are tinted, if they are, it's not much.

The window tint varies a lot. The same body mouldings are used on the High Lift version which is heavily tinted to hide the gearbox that sits inside the cab. While most Bruisers usually have a much lighter tint, others have had darker windows.

terry.sc wrote: ↑Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:56 am Enjoy the build. Toyota UK reproduced the advert for the release of the new Hilux so I got to build quite a few Bruisers. Just make sure you don't miss any bearings when you build the gearbox

Thanks!

You built those Bruiser's for that commercial?? Very cool! Was the stunt driver in the Toyota just having a laugh with that crash helmet?

Interesting too about the window tint. I definitely plan on getting the driver for this, glad he'll be able to be seen in there after all.

The tires in my kit stunk so bad that I had to leave them outside for a few hours after opening the box, brought them back in and they still stunk up the place. Had to seal them back in the box. Can only imagine what a room full of (15) Bruiser's tires would smell like

Got through Step 1 last night, going to see how far I can get today.

The hole in the picture was not drilled out completely, it was the very last screw for Step 2.


Had to retap that hole to get through Step 2.

Step 3 front of chassis.


Step 4 rear chassis.


Chassis linkage completed.


Axle's are next.

Steps 5-7 completed, rear axle.


Locked the rear diff, had read that was the best way to go for off-road and 4wd with the Bruiser.


Can still unlock the rear diff from the access hole in the axle housing.


Front axle, diff unlocked for better turning.


Steps 8 and 9 completed, front axle and steering.


Ready for suspension.


This is definitely the best and most fun kit I've ever built, really enjoying the scale design.

Those redesigned front knuckles look to be so much better than rhe originals. The pin retention plates would develop slop. The one way bearings in the wheel hubs were also a pain.

Looks to be a fun build overall, enjoy the process!