TOPIC:

I am thinking of buying a re-re Hotshot. Can any one advise me on what parts are most likely to wear out or get broken if I run it, and that I should buy spares for whilst they are still available? Also, how easy is it to get the spares for this & where best to get them?

eBay is the place to be for the Hotshot I think. Even Seidel doesn't carry replacements.
I think it would be wise to get some spare D parts at least.
Especially the front uprights might be vulnerable in case of a collision :





Spoken in theory... (still) not having a Hotshot myself.
Many guys with building expertise for the car here so I'm sure they could shed some more light on the matter.

funny thing with buying spares in advance, it is always something else that breaks.

waterbok wrote:

funny thing with buying spares in advance, it is always something else that breaks.

Definately agree with that ... but from buying/restoring/running various cars, some trends emerge:
Bumper - gets very scratched
underside of chassis/gearboxes/underguards - get carved up
Body/wing - get tatty/split
decals - fade, peel & get dirt under them
tyres - wear out/perish/get very stiff
wheels - get bashed up outer edges, sometimes crack/break depending on model
front uprights - break where steering arms attach
front wishbones - break (and on Tamiya 4WDs of the Hotshot ilk) wear out where brass balljoints rotate
shock towers - break on top shock mounts (not an issue on the Hotshot )
lower wishbones (both front & rear) - get carved up
spur gear (first cog after pinion) - strip or lose teeth
hubs - crack up
battery retainers - get lost/break/scratched
drive shafts/gearbox drive cups - get lost in prangs

... of all of those, I think wheel hubs, front uprights and missing drive shafts/cups are the most common breakdowns, and a body set is the thing you are mostly likely to want to replace in the future ... but for a Hotshot, TBH the only thing I'd buy right now is the hubs, everything else will be available for years on eBay - I pretty much buy all of my bits from there, especially from Tony's Tamiya Parts , and to a lesser extent from Victor 101 , Vintage-TamiyaParts , melianw/JK-RC UK and Tamiya R/C Car Spares




Edit - the (triangular) hubs are on the E parts sprue

quick there is a nice looking vintage hotshot on the bay.

cgi.ebay.de/ws/...97.c0.m619

7 min. left

I think I found a good adress for spare parts.
Seems to be a very reliable shop in several aspects :

Banzai Hobby Hotshot parts

Postage starts at about 170 Yen = 1,70 euro = $2,50.

Thank you all, for a very informative response as usual!

I'll let you know in the re-re section if & when I finally build a re-re Hotshot

Life is too busy - need to cut out some more space for building Rc cars...