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Blakbird's 56714 Grasshopper Mini Build 1 year 10 months ago #71455

The TamTech Gear series of 1/12 scale vehicles came out in 2006.  The GB series were smaller versions of classic 2WD buggies.  On the GB-01 platform we got the Frog, Hornet, Fox, and Desert Gator.  They were well advertised but short lived and went out of production quickly, becoming very difficult to find.  Fast forward to 2021, 15 years later, and this chassis made a surprising comeback.  The first to be announced on the GB-01S chassis was the Grasshopper, a model that had not previously been available in the Tamtech line.  For whatever reason, this new line of Tamtech buggies was only available in Japan, so I had to import mine.

So what's the difference between the original GB-01 and the new GB-01S?  Not much or a lot depending on how you look at it.  The main change is to the electronics.  The original AM transmitter has been replaced with a modern 2.4 GHz unit.  This means the receiver also needs to be replaced.  Tamiya made the decision to do away with the separate receiver entirely and instead integrate it with the new TRE-01 ESC.  One feature of the new ESC is a "high power" mode.  In high power mode it is really slow, and in normal mode it is pathetically slow.  Why so slow?  Mostly because the original 5-cell Ni-Cd battery pack has been replaced with a 4AA battery box which takes up a lot more space and has a lot less voltage.  The original uniquely shaped steering servo has also been replaced with a standard full sized servo.  Mechanically, the model is very much the same as before.  The front and rear suspension are identical to the old version with a rear ball differential and full bearings right out of the box.  I've always thought this was a really well designed chassis, but sadly the Achilles heel of the old model has not been changed, the pogo stick shocks.  This model is screaming for CVA oil shocks, and rumor has it that they may become available again.  Fingers crossed.

The performance of this model out of the box is so bad that I can hardly imagine anyone enjoying it apart from small children.  The good news is that a 2s LiPo seems to work just fine with the electronics and massively improves the driveability to the point that I can almost recommend it.

This new generation of Tamtech-Gear models is packaged a little differently than the older models (compare to The Frog).  The RTR is still shown vertically in the front window, but the box is a bit smaller.  The side panel shows the updated chassis highlighting the new 4AA battery box.
       
    

The bottom and rear panels have a lot more information than the front and sides did.  Here many of the features and specifications are elucidated.  I was actually surprised to see so much information presented in English given that this model was only available for the Japanese domestic market.
   
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Last edit: by blakbird.

Blakbird's 56714 Grasshopper Mini Build 1 year 10 months ago #71456

Here is the model as it appeared straight out of the box.  With the body on it looks just like any of the older Tamtech models, but on the right you can see the chassis a bit more closely.  The black fuse holder is immediately evident, a feature I've never seen on a similar RC model.  It hardly seems necessary.  Perhaps the use of AA batteries and the presence of a fuse allows the categorization of this model for children in Japan.  Pure speculation.  I did end up replacing the connector with an XT30 so I could use a proper LiPo, but the model is otherwise stock.
   
    

Let's compare the GB-01S chassis with the original GB-01.  In each image, the Frog is on the left using the original chassis and the Grasshopper is on the right using the S version.  From above you can clearly see that the wheelbase is identical and both models use the same suspension.  You can see the 4AA battery box protruding and taking up the space where the receiver used to go.  The new version integrates the receiver with the ESC.  You'd have to look very closely to notice, but the S version also now supports a full size steering servo (TSU-03) instead of the long out of production and strangely shaped TSU-02.  From below you can see that the S chassis is slightly wider.  This allows for a bigger battery door.  Less evident is the fact that the chassis tub is also a different, softer kind of plastic now.  The physical changes seem limited to the chassis tub.
   
    
Here is the 4AA battery pack which I tried for 30 seconds before immediately deciding it had to go.  My little 2s LiPo shown fit perfectly with room to spare and massively increased the performance.  On the right you can see a comparison with the full size and tiny size Grasshoppers.   The differences in proportions are evident in a side by side comparison, as is the vastly different front suspension.
   
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Blakbird's 56714 Grasshopper Mini Build 1 year 10 months ago #71457

This is a very good likeness of the original Grasshopper, even with the polycarbonate body.
   

   
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Blakbird's 56714 Grasshopper Mini Build 1 year 10 months ago #71460

Roohhh funny tiny grasshopper.

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Blakbird's 56714 Grasshopper Mini Build 1 year 10 months ago #71462

That looks good.

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