KCRC #7 Tamiya Thunder Shot Chassis Review (Thunder Dragon, Terra Scorcher etc)

[@rexrcs]

Terra Scorcher looks the coolest to me. I ended up with a Thunder Dragon because of the monoshock up front but now I noticed the monoshock acts like a solid axle almost in the sense that when one side goes up it forces the other side down.

[@KaiCityRC]

Yeah, the mono shock design isn't the greatest, but it gets the job done. 😁

[@Qthewingedserpent]

I really love your considered accurate vids, commenting to thank you and boost the algorithm. Keep it up David, I for one appreciate your work.

[@KaiCityRC]

Thank you! 👍 I try to be as accurate and concise as I can! 😄

[@Zed32_Customs]

When i heard that people think that the thunder dragon is ugly i was a bit surprised. I always thought it was the best looking of the bunch. Might have to pick one up, although the pre painted body is a let-down. Id want it orange and gold the silver is too basic imo

[@yellomello71]

Hi David, very entertaining and very informative. Thanks for that. In fact, I have the Terra Schorcher on my wish list, a little further down 👍

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks!

[@SPHurley32]

Thanks for the video. I have a fire dragon and did not know about the gear issue. The first time I ran it was outside after dark. The noise was so awful I could hear my neighbor say something from inside their house about that awful noise. Building the car was a joy. I too broke my blue wishbones on the cars very first run, but now have several extra. I added a different drive shaft and a 4000 KV brushless motor, however this makes the fire dragon rooster tail quite alot. It is still fun but I am considering just converting it back to what it was designed for, but maybe a sport tuned motor instead.

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks for commenting. 🙂 The gear issues seems to be really common, but usually resolves itself after running a few battery packs through the car. As for motor, I recall running a pretty fast motor in my original Terra Scorcher and it made is it a real pain to drive. I personally feel the sweet spot for performance, drivability and durability is something around the Super stock 23T motor. 👍

[@David-069]

Hi David my first racing buggy was the optima mid custom i used to race it at my local track i went on and upgraded to a Lazer zx because the mid custom wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the Schumachers i did get a 1/10 scale Thunder shot because they look really good in about 1990 which i later swapped for a Terra scorcher my first ever model grade Rc that got me into the hobby was the Monster beetle i loved it that much i went out and bought a Blackfoot. My favourite all time Rc’s is the monster beetle & optima mid custom & usa1 nitro crusher. Great videos too. ✌️😀👍

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks! I would have loved to get my hands on an Optima back in the day. I started out with a Frog, before getting a Monster Beetle and later because I wanted to get into racing more, a Terra Scorcher.

[@David-069]

O i saved every penny to buy that optima mid custom i think it took me over a year to buy it. But i started racing the monster beetle and continued to race it after i bought the mid custom i actually raced them both in different classes i won a special trophy in the monster class for 1st place. I will never forget that one of my hex drive shaft on the beetle actually fell out during the final heat and i had to jump down off this scaffolding made stand for the drivers and grab my truck and refit the shft as fast as I could during the race i still have that trophy.✌️🙂👍

[@David-069]

I actually had a special thing with my local model shop where I could go in and pay so much every week on the model of my choice thats how i got most of my Rc models back in the early 90s.👍

[@theoagrc]

Hi there David, great video as always! I have a Terra Scorcher tucked away at the moment and I am hoping to put that awesome Thunder Dragon body onto it. I was debating getting another but your video have made me realise that the TS is the top of the shop so I will put the RC tokens to another model 😁 Thanks my friend 👍🏻🙌🏻

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks!👍 Yeah, the Terra Scorcher can be considered the high performance version. If you already have one, then a mono shock T Shot or T Dragon would offer the greatest difference in build and performance.

[@asplenia]

Hey David, Amazing video. I am refreshing an 80's Thunder Dragon, thanks for the great advice! Asplenia.

[@KaiCityRC]

Glad it was useful! 👍

[@AddamsPlayground]

Thankfully I have not broken anything yet but I am sure I will eventually. I may go ahead and get a few of those parts to have on hand for when something does break! I love these cars and still need to get the Terra Scorcher but that is the last one I need (well want but need!). Loved hearing your thoughts and tips on them and of course always love the video clips!!

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks! Yeah, I recall back in the day breaking the suspension arms on a regular basis. I was surprised the Terra Scorcher's broke so easily, and couldn't believe when the exact same thing happened to the Thunder Dragon! Fortunately, the parts are pretty cheap and they come in sets of two.

[@DustyFingersRC]

I have the Thunder Dragon to build at some point. Can you advise or link the alloy parts to help strengthen the chassis for the Dragon? Much appreciated. Excellent overview & great video production 👍🏼

[@KaiCityRC]

I used parts from a company called G Force. www.gforce-hobby.jp/index.html They make a whole range of aluminum upgrades for this chassis. I only went for the A5 replacement part. Part #G0288

[@DustyFingersRC]

@@KaiCityRC That's great. Thanks you. You video production keeps stepping up a notch. I appreciate the time and effort on the editing as I am trying to improve myself in this area and find it very interesting yet a steep learning curve. 👍🏼

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks! I have been an avid photographer for many years. But since I started shooting RC videos I've found that I really enjoy the shooting/editing process. I still have so much to learn, but I'm having a great time experimenting! 🙂

[@DustyFingersRC]

@@KaiCityRC Great thumbnails explained 👍🏼

[@adrianharrison5208]

subscribed with in the first few seconds of the video

[@ioskaioska5166]

Great Video! If you had to pick one: Thunder Shot or Fire Dragon

[@KaiCityRC]

Thunder Shot! 😁 I much prefer the styling (even if it doesn't live up to the box art) and the mono-shock is just so old skool. 👍 That said, the Fire Dragon would have a slight edge on performance.

[@rc-dom-uk]

Very good video. I had the terra but I never really gelled with it. It overheated first and just really didn’t like the Velcro attachment and front pin for the body. How does the thunder shot body attach ? If you don’t mind me asking where are you based . ? Nice video and thanks for the info👍😊👍

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks! The Thunder Shot uses body pins, front and rear, similar to the Thunder Dragon. My Terra Scorcher also overheated with the first Super Stock motor I installed. I used the BZ motor (the one which comes with the dust cover) but it didn't like the Scorcher's 7.68:1 stock gearing. Dropping the pinion down to the smallest 13T (8.86:1) helped, but in the end I replaced the TZ with the Super Stock RZ motor and it runs much cooler now. I'm British, but live in Japan. 🙂

[@rc-dom-uk]

@@KaiCityRC thanks for the info 👍

[@Toystheyrenot]

Great video on this chassis family:) They are pretty much the same car with different body options. After the Hotshot family, the designs of these buggies were a lot more adventurous.. I like the look of the Terra Scorcher and ThunderShot. The others.. not so much.😅

[@KaiCityRC]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm not really a fan of the Fire Dragon or Saint Dragon, but the The Thunder Shot looks OK. (Wish the actual body was more like the box art). The Thunder Dragon is one of those buggies that looks better in person! That said, the Terra Scorcher is by far the best looking of the bunch! 😁👍

[@Toystheyrenot]

@@KaiCityRC Back in the day.. I remember being slightly disappointed that my Boomerang looked somewhat different from the box art.😂 The proportions are much better in the artworks.

[@KaiCityRC]

@@Toystheyrenot Yeah, Tamiya's box are is fantastic, but it is a shame that sometimes the actual buggy is quite different...Sand Scorcher's front bumper especially!