Beyond Tamiya's own 540 motors like the Tuned and Super Stock hop-up options, there is a wide array of 3rd party aftermarket 540 motors you can use to hop-up your site and torque. But which ones are any good? Which ones should you avoid? We rev our engines loud and dig deep into all of your motor hop-up options for your radio controlled cars, buggies, trucks, vans, busses, and tanks in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

Tamiya, during the golden age of R/C completely ignored the standard type 1 Volkswagen Bug, instead focusing solely on the modified Type One Beetle, the Baja Beetle. Why is this, and do the body shells of on-road Beetles fit on these off-road Baja Beetles? We get inside the people's wagon and put our coleopterologist hats on to answer all of your many questions about the iconic radio controlled bugs in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

This episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast brings out the spooky and analyzes the best Halloween-themed Tamiya R/C monster trucks and cars, comparing the nostalgic charm and delightfully chaotic handling of iconic classics like the Midnight Pumpkin and Monster Beetle against the superior all-terrain performance of their more modern radio controlled counterparts like the Squash Van and the super popular Blackfoot III.   

What is causing Gen Z and the Alpha Generation to get into vintage and rere (re-release) Tamiya R/C buggies, vans, jeeps , trucks, cars, and busses? It's not just Gen X parents introducing radio controlled model kits to their kids, but also from their peers on TikTok. Maybe not too surprisingly to a veteran radio control hobbyist, there's a digital detox and psychological or mental health advantage to youth getting into this hobby from the 1980s. We investigate the reasons that these younger generations are embracing vintage and rere Tamiya RC  in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

We all know the pain of installing or removing the e-ring or e-clip, often called the Jesus clip or Jesus ring. Normally, R/C hobbyist pliers and a flathead screwdriver are used to attach and uninstall this pesky shoulder clip. However, Tamiya has made an E-Ring Tool that promises to make installing and removing e-rings a breeze. Sure it really work as well as promised, and is it worth the cost? We unclip the hidden knowledge about this eclip tool in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

If the greatest superheroes of the DC comic book universe in the Justice League like Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Firestorm, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow, had vintage R/C cars, which ones would they be? We didn't just look at the color schemes, but the innards down to the soul of each character and their matching radio controlled cars, buggies, trucks, jeeps, and vans in this DCU Superheroes x Tamiya R/C Garage episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast.  [NOTE: While we love Batman, and think the HotShot II would make a fine Batmobile, we didn't include him because he already has his iconic car. And yes, we know that the GL (Green Lantern) Corps member in our thumbnail (for those if you who are using a podcast aggregator that shows it to you) is Guy Gardner rather than Hal Jordan.]

If you really want to get control of your bouncing rear end on your Tamiya ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis 1/10th scale R/C vehicle like the vintage Lancia 037 Rally (not the rere [rerelease] model),  and either the vintage or rere versions of the Subaru BRAT and the (Mighty) Frog you can upgrade your stock shocks to TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory) Aeration Dampers. We pump the oil of knowledge into your brain about this expensive but powerful hop-up and what it can do for your ORV chassis radio-controlled model vehicles in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

You are out bashing your off-road buggy and on the process of doing massive jumps off a huge ramp at the lovely skatepark, and you see something horrible. Your oil filled CVA (Constant Volume Adjustable) damper has come loose, your shock spring is missing and you are unable to find it. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we unspring your ability of buying separate spare spring parts or possibly upgrading to TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory) hop-up dampers instead. 

In most of the world, vintage Tamiya R/C model cars, tanks, buggies, trucks, vans, and busses all included or recommended Futaba servo savers, radio control receivers, and transmitters. Why was this? What was their connection or relationship? Why was it often different in the UK (United Kingdom)? In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we look at the contacts and deals and unlock the secrets behind the Tamiya- Futaba alliance and why it eventually ended after the end of the R/C golden age. 

Tamiya made so many junior versions of their iconic vintage off-road R/C buggies in their mini 4WD (Four Wheel Drive) on track racer line, but why didn't they ever make a 1/32nd version of the Mighty Frog Jr.? Is the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis to blame? We look at all of the miniature details in the 1/10th scale radio controlled 2WD (Two Wheel Drive) buggy to 1/32nd mini 4WD racers and get to the bottom of this many-decade long mystery in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

Tamiya instructs you to attach the drive shaft joint rubber boots at the gearbox and secure it with a black zip-tie nylon fastener to the out-drives in ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis radio controlled model vehicles. But is there a better way? What about the wheel side of the hex-drives, dog-bones, universal joints, or constant velocity driveshafts? Should they get a zip tie too? We strap on our thinking caps tight and drive you to the answers to these questions and more in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

What is the ultimate tag team if not the pairing of iconic WWE superstars with their legendary Tamiya RC model counterparts, based on shared personas, historical context, and cultural impact? We wrestled with this question, and are ready to tag-in, and roll-up these legends into a pinfall of perfected information that does just this in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. Whatcha gonna do when the RC Deep Dive podcast mania runs wild on you, brother? 

Why were Tamiya's original radio controlled model vehicle decal sheets uncut? And why did they start pre-cutting some (but not all) of the decals in 2005? What are the radio-control hobbyist's options to get precut decals or stickers if you don't like uncut ones, and vice versa? We take a deep slice into the sticky situation of Tamiya's iconic R/C model car, buggy, truck, van, jeep, bus, and tank  decal history in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

How did we get here? 2.4 ghz was a huge increase in technology from AM (Amplitude Modulation) and FM (Frequency Modulation) crystals. But that was a huge technological leap from the previous radio controlled vehicle technology. But what about the future? Will mobile phones control our R/C cars, trucks, buggies, vans, busses, and tanks in the future? We take it to the cellular level and uncover the future of radio control in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

What are the fastest high performance 540 brushed motors for 1/10th scale R/C cars, buggies, trucks, vans, busses, and tanks? What are the differences in the top tier of these radio control motors? What do these rules mean: Red for raw speed, Blue for tight track turn performance, Gun Metal Grey for off-road grip? What electronics and gearing do you need for these super non-stock motors in your radio controlled motor vehicles? We brush off the sources and unspin the knowledge you need to know for maximum speed in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we step into fashion, explaining why the iconic Osiris D3 2001 skate shoe has been unexpectedly adopted by many in the R/C hobbyist community, driven by a unique convergence of its DIY (Do-It-Yourself) construction story, its practical durability, a shared technical design language with these R/C vehicles, powerful Y2K (Year 2000 Era) nostalgia, and the radio-controlled model vehicle hobby's deep-seated culture of personalization through color matching with the shoes' ever-changing colorways.  

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we peel the backing off of the vintage Tamiya R/C restoration market by examining how MCI Racing navigates a legal grey area to produce high-quality reproduction decals, and window paint masks which are intentionally designed to fit only aftermarket bodies from their partner, TBG (Team Blue Groove), rather than original Tamiya Lexan polycarbonate body shells. 

As the R/C hobby has changed over the decades, how has the average age in the radio control hobbyist community changed? We travel through time, from the beginning of radio controlled model vehicles in the late 1950s and 1960s, to the Golden Age of RC from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, to the RTR revolution of the 1990s to 2000s, back to the modern age of the 2010s to the 2020s to calculate the median, mode, and mean age of radio controlled model enthusiasts in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

The Holiday Buggy is an iconic radio-controlled model vehicle that really captures that 1980s spirit. But what holidays are the buggy's name speaking of, if any, and is it really Crocodile Dundee driving that R/C car as many believe? We break into the true nomenclature and who Tamiya actually designed the driver figure to look like in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

The first Tamiya Mini 4WD Racers were 1/32nd versions of popular 1/10th and 1/12th R/C buggies, cars, trucks, jeeps, and vans. Which radio controlled motor vehicles were chosen to have Junior versions and why? We go small scale and uncover these shrunken 'kids' of iconic vintage Tamiya model vehicles in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast.