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Wooooaaaaaaa. Beautifull rims buddy.
For ebay desasters, the best advice, avoid it.
I have the same problem

... well, I guess this is some kind of 'buggy', at least it is an off-road type vehicle designed for the military. I never realized the amount of detail in the body, it's almost like a regular plastic model kit. Which is why it took me a while to finish. I simply didn't have the motivation doing all the cutting, glueing and painting. Meanwhile I built and drove my Konghead (also without a body), kind of as an escape from the XR311 project.



The chassi, on the other hand, was ready and tuned within two days, I ran it on a couple of occasions testing it. Only it's not really the XR311 without the body. Is it! This is the most realistic looking and interesting build to me this far. And because of the body's fragile character I had to get the best sealing compounds I could find, to be able to drive this awesome war machine without breaking it the first bump in the road!



I used Tamiya's epoxy ofcourse, then some Zap-a-gap instant glue, and then EMA's Plastic Weld which has supperior bonding property on this type of plastic as it infact resolves it and joins whatever other piece of the same material you put in contact.



This kind of bonding power demands a certain degree of respect. I had to practice on surplus plastics just to become aware how it works. I did not paint the body more than necessary, the dark green plastic is perfect right out of the box. The driver needed some work though, as he's made of white plastic. I didn't go with the box-art here as I want the driver to stand out a little more, but not too much.

So one of these days, if the weather allows, it will be doing the dust-run here in Alby. As it is in the smoke and dust this beast really thrives.

I definitively want one. It is toooo awesome.

Somewhat muddy today, but clearly a great day for a country drive in my XR311.




Just look at all that gore sticking to the tires.




Oh yeah, let's get down to business...

So what can we say about the XR311?

I have two issues with it that kind of bothers me. 1/ it never goes straight due to its too soft servo saver, and 2/ it is too small, rather the wheels are too small for any regular terrain. But it is fun to drive in spite the 'drunk steering', and when driving with care at about half speed on gravel and grass paths, it does provoke feelings of adventure and exploration. That is why I am strongly considering keeping it, though I am very protective and prefer to drive like a sissy to avoid spoiling that awesome detailed body.



Anybody here has any experience with this particular model?

Some more pics for you.

Woohoo. It is too pretty. I am falling in love with it.

Well that does look great, very inspiring.

You asked for any experiences with the XR311 so....
I have been a fan of the model since the early days although honestly I never did own one back in the day. I have had a few since. Yes, everything you mentioned about driving is very true but you do need to remember a couple of things.....This was Tamiya's very first off road type R/C and was fairly advanced for it's time...that is 1978.... So given Tamiya's history as a scale model maker it is not surprising that it has a delicate moulded body in 1/12 scale, all their early cars did. The independent suspension was quite amazing at the time, all the other cars were just a flat plate chassis with a couple of little springs to take up any tiny bumps..... not very effective and no ground clearance at all.
One thing I did like about the re-issue was the upgrade to the torsion bars as the first ones were just plastic rods and broke a lot. However both designs still need some sort of dampers as the XR also bounces a lot. Yes the steering is sloppy due to the basic "wire in hole" approach to end linkages, not great but the same as everything else they had done up to that point.

So I really think taken in context of the time it was a very good model as was the Cheetah. They are still fun to drive around, not a racer but just a good drive....but don't run into anything..

So yes I like it, I like yours, I think I need to build another one..................

Thanks boys. I'm sure it must have been a real master piece in the seventies, with a fairly advanced design. I still wish that Tamiya would make it 4WD like the real vehicle.

I did manage to flip it twice today. Once on the gravel and the next time on asphalt. Each time I thought "that's it... something broke", but no. It just rolled over with no damage, not even those thin rails around the rear cracked, them I glued with Plastic Weld. Then again it wasn't going fast, it got out of balance as I made a 180, made a roll staying upsidedown. Think there was a scratch on the windshield frame only.

And yes, buy one before they'll go out of stock. I was thinking of buying another one just so I could paint it in happier colors to make a 'civilian' of it. Perhaps red with yellow roof top.

Red and yellow???? Are you sure?

No, not sure, perhaps. I thought I'd leave it to you Sting, as being french you're my natural option for any aesthetic opinion. Am I right?