TOPIC:

Hi Everyone 

I am new to the forum and a returning Tamiya enthusiast.  It has been 30 years since i built a Frog so excited to get back into it.

I have just proudly purchased the Toyota Hilux High-Lift 58397. I have been running around in circles for days trying to decide the best speed controller, Radio, servos, hopups for this please could you guys give me some guidance.

I prefer to go for the best spec kit so please could you help me with the following

Servos, ESC, Controller. Batteries  and any attachments or mods required or advised.

Hop Ups or modifications that would make this Model even cooler and more fun.

I am very fortunate that my wife has already bought me the MFC02 kit.

I am full of new found enthusiasm so a little advice would be very much appreciated 

Thanks in advance 

Welcome on board pal. The first hop up is a ball bearings kit. You already have the light and sound module. If you search efficiency, better wheeles are enough IMO. But all depend of your wait. Crawling, country or realistic runs.

From what i've read, I'd be looking at a 2-stick, 4-channel (or more) 2.4ghz radio, with manual trim tabs - which excludes a lot of the "best" sets, which have  trim buttons, or worse, have the trim options buried in a menu.

The Planet T5 looks good & feels sturdy despite it's 50 GBP price tag, but only hada very short/small production run. The Flysky FS-CT6B & similar models would do the job, but they're cheap & look it. Various Futaba models around 80 GBP would look to be a good choice, but if you really have to spend a lot, there's a Tamiya Finespec model (made by Futaba) with no more function for 289 GBP

Batteries, I don't think you need the extra performance (and safety issues) of Lipo, as for NiMH, I'd suggest two medium capacity packs will give you more flexibility & reliability for the price of one high capacity pack. I like vapextech packs, not sure what the availabity is going to be like for you though. www.vapextech.c...ech-tamiya

Chargers, I think we're always going to suggest an Imax B6 & a suitable power supply - they're fiddly but will charge anything if you do want to switch battery types later. Other brands/models are available with the same "4 button" firmware, some of which will do multiple batteries at once.

Servos, you might want to look for full metal gears and slightly higher torque, but I don't think there's any need to be spending a fortune there either. 

Tamiya screws and screwdrivers are NOT Phillips, they're JIS - getting an "M" and "L" size Tamiya screwdriver is a must IMO, future you doing service work some months from now will that current you

I'd also look for a driver figure, a moving cab looks weird without it. A Tamiya 4x4 driver figure would probably be the best option, but may well need modifying. Epoxy putty, files, mutliple grades of wet & dry paper, + some decent small brushes & lots of Tamiya 10ml acyrilic paint pots.

It's perfctly possible to put a kit like that together, paint it & have in running in a weekend, but the biggest thing you can "upgrade" is your head - specifically, the patience to do it, especially them painting without rushing. There are lots of articles on painting & so on under the articles section on TB (not all by me ) you don't have to follow or even read them all, as long as you come away with the idea that paint isn't just giving the body a quick blow over at the end of the build.