Tamiya Re-released Super Hotshot

I added this to my original showroom on March 17, 2012. As soon as I heard about the Super Hotshot re-release I knew I had to have one. This one made the long 3,000 mile journey from California, USA in March 2012 for $276 USD and I was thrilled when it arrived. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of the name change but I guess it helps maintain the value of the original so it's growing on me. My thoughts on how to build this up evolved from stock runner with box-art livery to vintage racer with a slightly altered paint scheme that pays homage to the box-art original while incorporating a personal touch with my favorite color blue which I ultimately settled on since I have a restored original for the shelf. It ended up being a frustrating and lengthy year-and-a-half process to complete with numerous obstacles to overcome but it got finished. I ran this in the Vintage Offroad Nationals until 2016 when I retired it to a backyard runner. For vintage racing, I added modern Tamiya 2.2 dish rims with proline M3 Hole shot tires (have M4 Suburbs also) , a Tamiya TEU-302BK ESC, Yeah Racing shocks (70mm/front, 90mm/rear to lower COG), Novak low-voltage cut-off module, vintage Pro Track front anti-sway bar and a hand-out Tamiya Sport-tuned motor. The body color is Tamiya light gun metal with a combination of mostly repro blue SS decals with a few of the original decals here and there covered with several coats of Tamiya semi-gloss clear top/bottom to protect the paint and seal the decal edges. The lightweight and dish rims were dyed using RIT royal blue liquid dye which luckily provided a close match to the decals. Coincidentally, I found that cheap plastic rims from China did not accept the dye at all and simply melted in the pot while the Tamiya plastic rims dyed beautifully and evenly. For backyard bashing I'll use a cheap set of 2.2 rims/tires and keep the gold rims on spiked tires and lightweight wheels on oval block tires for display. Between the included ball bearings, ESC (now easily accessible through a hatch) and upgraded parts like a beefier drive shaft and dog bones these SHS make for ideal backyard bashers or vintage racing candidates. That said, it did suffer from a heavy front end and a variety of frustrating and race-ending bugs due to my inexperience and the larger, punishing jumps of the modern track but it was great fun to race. Thanks for looking and hope you enjoy.