Review: Tamiya Land Cruiser 40 Pickup

On a daily basis, UPS boxes arrive at the RC Driver offices filled with the latest and greatest race-bred machines from around the globe. On that same daily basis, it’s not uncommon for the editors to squabble over who is going to do the review on the next wonder car. When the Tamiya box rolled through our doors we were certain it was some new TRF supercar, so we prepped ourselves to pounce. Upon opening the box, however, we were greeted with the Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Pickup. There was a short pause followed by, “wow, that’s pretty cool,” and finally the “I-want’s” started flowing. Thankfully my “I want” was first (and the fact that I ran down the hall dragging the box), so the little blue ‘Yota became mine.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Tamiya
WHO IT’S FOR: Everyone
PART NUMBER: 58589
HOW MUCH: $204.99
BUILD TYPE: Kit

FEATURE BREAKDOWN
• One thing I love about Tamiya kits is the packaging. Open up any Tamiya kit and you’ll see everything packed neatly into place; no bags in bags tucked under bodies with tires shoved along the edges. Everything has a place inside organized compartments.

• As I mentioned before, the parts quality is among the best. All parts fit together like a glove and require zero hand fitting. There can be a little slop sometimes, but this GF-01 kit is near-perfect.

• The body is downright beautiful. Only three colors are needed for completion (black, white and blue) and unless you want to do something custom, Tamiya’s instructions explain in great detail how to paint it to match the box. I’ve always loved the Wild Willy’s driver so I was glad to see him make an appearance. If you want to paint him up, you’ll need to pick up some modeler’s paints as well.

• I’m not a huge fan of the wheel/tire combo, but I wouldn’t give this kit negative points for it. While the overall size is good and great for traversing most terrain, I would like to have seen a little less wheel and a little more tire.

• The 4WD system is a trip. A centrally mounted motor rotates a pinion that feeds two separate four-gear setups to the rear wheels. Don’t be intimidated; the build is very easy, however this is where my only complaint comes into play. You’ll want to grease up the entire eight-gear system, including the bushings, to provide maximum protection from gear wear. The problem is Tamiya only includes a Lilliputian tube that is good enough for MAYBE half the system…then you’re out. Be prepared to have some additional grease on hand to finish the job.

• Tamiya includes their standard Mabuchi brushed motor with the Toyota. In addition, they’ve thrown in their new TBLE-02S ESC. This little black box can feed off of NiMh or LiPo batteries and is capable of powering brushed or brushless motors. This combo (paired with the 5000mAh MaxAmps NiMh pack) is quite the powerhouse already…I’m not sure you’ll want to go much bigger than this.

PROS
+ As always, Tamiya kits are a b-r-e-e-z-e to build. Excellent instructions combined with some of the best parts quality in the industry make this build an absolute joy.
+ Tamiya is the master of RC bodies and the Toyota is evidence of that. Beautifully molded with a full decal sheet, the final product is awesome. I was also extremely happy to see the “Wild Willy” figure returning to the driver’s seat.
+ Yes, the odd 8-gear 4WD chassis setup is odd, but it’s actually fun to build, plus the fact that the gears are meaty. Unless you put some competition-level brushless setup in this thing, the gears should last the life of the truck.
+ Most kits require you to buy all the electronics, but Tamiya throws in their standard Mabuchi brushed motor and, check it out, their solid new TBLE-02S ESC.
+ The battery tray can accept NiMh or LiPo packs.
+ The oversized tires work well and are directional to provide the maximum grip.
+ While some may consider the lack of bearings a negative, I think that their omission is perfect for those wanting a truck to just play with. No worries about damaging the bearings when driving through water or mud.
+ Final positive; the fun factor. Most people buy an RC car for fun…this Toyota will definitely put a smile on your face.

CONS
– The build requires a lot of grease for the gears, bushings and dogbones. The puny grease tube Tamiya provides doesn’t quite cut it. Prepare to have some additional grease on hand to make sure you give everything a good coat.

OUT FOR FUN
After spending all of about 3.5 hours building this rig (that includes the body), I dropped the pack in and did a few test runs down the halls of RC Driver. There is an equation here I’d like to share with you: 4WD + Short Wheelbase + Carpet = Serious Fun Time. Yes, my first few blasts with this truck put it up on the wheelie bar all the way down the hallway. Back and forth I went, at times blipping the throttle to get the front end up and then instantly lifting to get it to drop, bouncing it that way down the halls like some pimp’s ride on donks. It was a bit twitchy on the carpet so I figured I’d better shut it down before I tested its durability against the door jamb of the building!

My next run was in both a dusty parking lot and dirt field. I raced up and down the lot, into the dirt and grass, over some leaves and through a couple of very small puddles. The torque-tuned motor is perfectly matched with the ‘Yota’s short wheelbase and 4WD system to provide wheelie action at any speed. Slam on the brakes and you can perform a stoppie; when coming to a stop and the rear tires leave the ground. The high CG makes cornering just as fun and I found myself putting it up on two wheels quite often. I kept telling Greg that this was a fun little truck and that it was nice to just play for once. He asked to drive it and, well, that was that.

Because it was a Land Cruiser, he said it needed to go on a little safari, so it found itself lightly jumping off of small mounds in the area. It’s not the most graceful vehicle, but it did look cool when it bounced all around off the jumps. Even trying to trek up the sides of some of the medium hills you could see the 4WD at work, clawing at the dirt and grass as made its way to the top. He didn’t beat it up, but it did get a pretty good workout. Back at the shop, I gave it a good look and other than some twigs and grass stuck up in the suspension arms, the Land Cruiser was good to go.

SPECS & TUNING OPTIONS
DIMENSIONS
LENGTH: 13.1 in. (333mm)
WIDTH: 9.6 in. (244mm)
WHEELBASE: 6.9 in. (175mm)
HEIGHT: 9.5 in. (242mm)

BODY, WHEELS AND TIRES
BODY: Clear Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Pickup with driver
WHEELS: 5-spoke 2.6 in. plastic wheels
WHEEL ADAPTER TYPE: 12mm hex
TIRES: Directional V-pattern rubber tires

SUSPENSION
TYPE: 4-wheel independent
SHOCK POSITIONS: 1-tower, 1-arm
CAMBER: Fixed
ROLL: Fixed
WHEELBASE: Fixed
RIDE HEIGHT: Pre-load spacers

STEERING
TYPE: Center bellcrank with offset servo
TOE: Adjustable threaded rod

CHASSIS
TYPE: 2-piece fully-enclosed
MATERIAL: Plastic
THICKNESS: NA

DRIVETRAIN
TYPE: 4WD
TRANSMISSION: 8-gear reduction system
DIFFERENTIALS: Fluid-filled gear differentials
GEAR RATIO: Optional pinion gears
BEARINGS: None, plastic bushings
CLUTCH TYPE: None

WRAP UP
While I’ll admit that the Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Pickup does remind me of the Wild Willy’s from many years ago, the addition of the new GF-01 4WD chassis, the TBLE-02S ESC and the ability to use LiPo packs has created a futuristic Willy’s that we can’t put down. We love this little Cruiser which, coming from racers, is a pretty big deal. Now if I can just get that Tactic radio out of Greg’s hands.

LINKS
Futaba futaba-rc.com, (217) 398-8970
MaxAmps, maxamps.com, (888) 654-4450
Tactic, tacticrc.com, (217) 398-8970
Tamiya, tamiyausa.com, (949) 544-7500