In terms of performance, the Grasshopper is actually a pretty great vehicle to drive. Naturally, being a kit-based model that you fit your own radio gear into, you end up with a vehicle that is more responsive and smooth when compared to most ready-to-run R/C toys. But in addition, the use of a 380 motor just makes this car quite a lot easier to drive than many of the faster (540 powered) buggies of the early 1980s. Here are sample of video of i posted on my Youtube channel contain fun driving & bashing around my TAMIYA GRASSHOPPER. The overall effect is of something that’s familiar, yet fresh, and that “just looks right” as a scale model toy. You might even say that the car’s relationship to the shape of the animal, echoes how we respond to the things like the Volkswagen Beetle. After all, ‘the Beetle’ was inspired by real beetles – the bonnet and boot resembling folded insect wings. Sometimes a industrial design’s link to the natural world can result in an evergreen shape that human eyes will appreciate for many years. Perhaps at some level, we actually crave seeing the natural in the unnatural. Think about how people often view car headlights as being like “eyes”.

Tamiya model information database: https://tamiyabase.com/articles/52-things-to-know/180-the-grasshopper-by-tamiya-1984Length: 389mm, width: 223mm, height: 135mm, weight: 830g 380 type motor (chassis compatible with 540 type motor - sold separately) The rear needs to be switched to Hornet-style floating system (fixed pivot), This stops the bunny hop or torque slap. Suspension: Front Swing Axle, Rear Rolling Rigid ●Gear Ratio = 14.7:1 ●Type 380 Motor ●Requires an Electronic Speed Controller (sold separately) Just like the original, this re-release features an easy to assemble chassis and drivetrain consisting of a durable but lightweight ABS resin bathtub frame, diff gear loaded sealed gearbox, oil filled rear dampers, powerful 380 motor and high performance suspension system.

As the decades passed and nostalgia for toys of the 1980s grew, this inevitably meant Tamiya began issuing updated versions of those past hits, trading on past glories, yet releasing few brand new models that could be said to carry the spirit of what made those originals great in the first place. (One wonders what Tamiya will have left to reissue 20 years from now?). So the Neo Scorcher and dual ridge (which are the same apart from body) with the TT02B 4wd chassis or Neo fighter/ racing fighter with the dt03 2wd chassis.

The cheaper kits don’t have oil filled dampers which I think are a good mod to fit once a bigger motor goes in. Based on the popular single seat off-road racers seen in events like the Baja 1000, the Grasshopper was a toy that continued Tamiya’s devotion to scale realism as well as being fun and versatile. That’s not to say Tamiya don’t continue to make quality products. It’s just that the 1980s was such a unique time, when the R/C hobby was new and exciting. Each successive model felt fresh and different. There was still an emphasis on scale model realism, even in buggies. And the real world vehicles the toys were based on also seemed to lend themselves extremely well to miniaturization – with simple, attractive Baja bug and sand rail designs with modest suspension travel, and lots of bright, attractive colours and graphics. Unlike the gangly looking vehicles of today. Bearing Upgrade: These make the car run more smoothly and are easily installed during assembly. If there is no option for these shown, then the kit already includes the bearing upgrade as standard. These are entirely optional. Tamiya 2005 re-release THE GRASSHOPPER specification sheet: https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/58346-58346