HorizonHobby.com Review - Tamiya Frog Re-Release
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2010
- For more information or to purchase a Tamiya Frog Re-Release please visit :
www.horizonhobby.com/Products/...
Perhaps no other platform has been as responsible for bringing people into RC cars and trucks as the Tamiya Frog. The Frog's chassis was spun off and tweaked for other cars such as the Hornet, Grasshopper and the Blackfoot. Back in the mid-80's this was the platform to have. Despite some issues with the drivetrain the Frog was wildly popular due to its great looks and, at the time, good handling.
Fast-forward nearly 30-years and the Frog is back after a hiatus. Re-released by Tamiya, it has seen a number of updates to the handling and durability while still retaining the overall "Frog-Experience." I recently had a chance to put one of these classics together and relive what it was like in those early days of off-road racing.
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Want to see the build of the Frog? Check it out on our UStream Page at the links below:
Part 1:
www.ustream.tv/recorded/7682214
Part 2:
www.ustream.tv/recorded/7702382
I had a Frog back in the early 80's and loved it. Even won some races with it. Happily, it managed to hide in my folk's basement and not get noticed for years afterward and escaped being tossed. Now I have it again and it still runs like a champ. I bought the re-release for my 8 year old son and he just finished building it yesterday. Painting the body today and then he and his old man can race together! Never would have guessed that would happen back when I bought mine. Great R/C car. Get one!
Getting the Frog with my Mum in 1984 was one of the best days of my life. Subbed and belled. I have nothing now, but still love it all. Thank you very much. x
I'm proud to say this was my first RC. It's such an iconic little 2wd Buggy. I remember in the 80's watching all the bright colored modified frog's flying over jumps at the races.
2023 here and it's the 40th Anniversary of the original Frog release!
Awesome little RC, very tempted to go retro with a Frog now. Great review 👌
Awesome video and review. It was all in the driver back then. I loved my Frog. I have a new one in the case and my Original Brat next to it. It will put a smile on your face.
I'm glad they upgraded axles. That pissed me off as a kid. I had a blackfoot and a frog. Constant diff and axle issues. Once I bought a RC10, I never messed with tamiya again.
User error, and NO fault of the toy engineering. Inappropriate use caused by the stupid ego maniac driver. Fact. It's a FUN thing which looks funny like a frog because its got 2 bumps in the bonnet like area at the front of the car. You didn't drive it like an imaginary car, you drove it like a future space rocket and it broke and you gave yourself mental brain damage and you blamed the product like a spoilt ego maniac kid! Now we see in 2018, the rise of the ego maniac generation and its terrible effect on society and re-released tamiya toys! Stop commenting. You're NOT right!
User error frogs are indestructible
Had one of these .Now have the reissue. To solve your steering issue toe the front tires in. It will cure the under steer problem.
Too cool! Im going to have to pick one of those up, I still have my Frog I found in the garbage when I was 10 LOL I have a Brat too, I had ton of fun with the Frog, and only replaced it with my JRX2(It was an oldie when I got it too) after I broke it and we had real hard time finding parts.
Seems I can make a clone of my OG Frog.
Cool I always wanted a Grasshopper or Frog.
The 1982 Kyosho Scorpion and 1983 Tomahawk were way ahead of the Frog in 1983. They had oil filled shocks front and rear. The 1983 Kyosho Tomahawk was technically like the Scorpion, but also had a differential.
I really want a Frog rere though. I remember when Punky Brewster built one. The one in this video seems to have too thin oil in the rear as the rebound is kicking the rear end up inthe air on jumps.
Great video could’ve done without the music I like how you explained how they upgraded the rear hex drive shafts to dog bones that was my biggest complaint when I owned it back in 83 it looks like they also gave you a lipo compatible ESC
I used to own the original Frog and superwheelie . The frog was my fav.
Just curious with the batteries of today do they last longer than the ones that came with back in the 80's ? I could only go about 10min before recharge :/
@indy34096 Pretty close since the chassis are very similar, however you should think of the Hornet as the next generation of the Frog. The Hornet has vertical rear shocks and, instead of the front dampener tubes on the Frog the Hornet has actual front shocks.
Watched this vid originally in 2015. It's the reason i have a frog. Lol. That and nostalgia. Man i miss the 80s. Great vid 👍
@0012554 It's called Eli Field in Monticello, IL. It's run by a local club.
Frog was the most expensive back then, i had a grasshopper from race o rama in york pa. God bless that old hobby shop, spent every weekend there
nice video if i had enough money i might buy one
@teamlaguna It's a standard 540 Type J motor, not a 550.
@deadeye120596 Very cool. I have an M05 that I am debating about taking to Memphis next year. I also just ran a TA-05V2 and was very impressed with that too.
Any particular reason the twin roll correction spring rods were not installed for this run? Are they inclued in the rerelease? One of my favorite features of the frog back in the day was its ability to use those to bounce back onto its wheels after i rolled or flipped it on the track. The way it bounced or "hopped" around off the rods until it righted its self was i thought the reason tamiya named it the Frog. Aslo, just doesnt look quite right without the rx antenna wire wound around one of them :)
Since we were using a Spektrum Receiver with a short antenna they just weren't needed was all.
I got one on the way!
Love the Frog!
Was it Tamiya themselves that had those gears? Wasn't it Thorp?
What gear did you use for the demo video? I believe it ships with 3 choices?
Can anyone tell me whats a thrub lock???
Just rewatching this old vid - must say that the OG Frog also had ali rear dampers.
As for "there were no front oil shocks in 1983", the 1982 Kyosho Scorpion had them and would eat Frogs all day long.
I started all this hobby stuff with a Tamiya Super Champ, then got a Frog...back in 1986. My original Frog had the same rear shocks as the rerelease...I just put together one....and it is a project combinig old and new. I am using a Spectrum DX2S with the Marine 2 channel reciver...I have mounted both atennae to the posts. I am currently using a Traxxas XL-5 ESC...a Traxxas type 12T motor,and a Traxxas 2055 waterproof servo...and I aint done yet. I will post vids in the future.
My old frog in the 80s developed the dreaded gearbox grind.
what upgrade parts can you get for it?
@deadeye120596 Is that at Glen Burnie? I have friends out that way that race.
I have the re-release it's a shelf queen because I wanted to pay homage to the Punky Brewster Frog 🐸
haha...I'm from the Caribbean and they used to show Punky Brewster then, and I remember that episode! I wanted one of those cars so bad...we did not even have a model shop on the island!
@620ILoveSoccer620 No, we simply distribute and sell their products
@deadeye120596 So what class do you run in TCS :)
At 2:30 it looks like you have the front wheels on back to front
Ive got a rerelease wild one and people are quite shocked at how well it performed
j0nnyism I’ve either got or have driven pretty much all the 2wd buggies of that early to mid 80’s era and the Wild One is a real standout! I think it was designed to have scale looks more than anything, but handling wise I reckon it leaves the others for dead.
does the hornet have similar performance
Nice
i wonder if this is like the grass hopper looks like it
@beabiker They're not that expensive! It's only $159.99
original Frog had alloy rear dampers too..
Stickers are also different in the re-re, Tamiya must've let the licences expire or whatever.
What´s happening to your toe-angle on those front wheels? And why is the right-side front wheel built in the wrong way (nuts on the outside). Also, the original 1983 Frog came with aluminum-bodied rear shocks.. These new ones has been altered a little however. ;)
Great reviwe however. I also have great fun running both my re-re Frogs, even though i have hopped up both of them. :)
Cheers..
Top speed ?
The stock Tamiya ESC was able to handle the lipo battery??
NY ISLANDER313 no
NY ISLANDER313 They can handle them fine.
@deadeye120596 I've been friends with Doug Mertes for almost 15-years, I know both Bruce and Steve Hickman and Ray K.
Wow HorizonRCdotCom, The Frog is a completely different car than the Hornet. How can the Hornet be a next generation Frog? The ONLY parts they shared were the wheels and tires.
@HorizonRCdotCom really thats awsome..i race ray k all the time at glen bernie hes the best mini driver we have and he won the 2010 tcs....and ive met steve and bruce...i might have seen douge a few times
The Frog was also the basis for the Tamiya Blackfoot, which was a Frog converted as a truck.
perfectsplit
The Frog was also the basis for the Tamiya Blackfoot, which was a Frog converted as a truck.
'
brat / frog / lancia rally are same color gray chassics...
beetle / blacktruck are same red chassics
Anyone remember the name of that front wheel drive car? I think it was Tamiya but I'm not sure. It smoked 2wd cars and got destroyed by 4wd cars. It failed ultimately because it had no class to race in.
Kyosho Maxxum
WOW , that thing comes with a 550 not a 540 like the original one? I bet it fly's !
The BRAT was also built on that chassis, but it had a 380 motor , but handled like a dream on pavement.
Hmmm, Horizon is a Tamiya distributor in the US? Never knew that.
Adddam
Hmmm, Horizon is a Tamiya distributor in the US? Never knew that.
'
any hobbies stores and tower hobbies are still has tamiya brat / frog cars
My bro had the original frog with the 7V bat... he put a 9V out of my nan's hand help vacume cleaner, he raced are dad in his car it was clocked a 30+ :D the lil white resister used to smoke if ya left in standing still though lol
Pretty sure finned aluminum body shocks were standard back in the day. I had a Frog in the 80's.
They were mate: the only difference is the rerelease version has plastic ends as opposed to the original’s metal ones.
Yep they were ..i had one in 83..
Glad they addressed the rear axle issue and beefed up the gears..thats the only issue i ever had...
those shocks are the same ones that came on my dads original frog
I had this car back in the 80's. I loved it.
@Hewey19 just like you?
It always had rear aluminium oil filled shocks.
Tamiya has "gone ahead" with a lot of stuff.
I love this review format though.
The Frog had the same wheels, front tires, and front bumper as the Grasshopper and Hornet. Unlike the Grasshopper and Hornet, the Frog had independent rear suspension. Unlike the Grasshopper, the Frog had an RS-540S motor, whereas the Grasshopper had the smaller RS-380S. The Frog was like the "older brother" to the Grasshopper and Hornet. At one time, the Frog was considered Tamiya's best car ever. There were gazillions of aftermarket upgrade parts for it. Tamiya's later attempts to make a competitive car, such as the Avante and the Astute, were never as successful as the original Frog was in the early 80's.
And companies such as Thorp THRIVED because of the aftermarket parts, specifically the driveline components, for the Frog and Blackfoot!
It wouldn't have hurt to get the information about the original release Frog correct.
Whats a thrub lock????
Thread Lock. It's used to help keep screws from vibrating out of metal-to-metal fittings.
i have the origional frog from the 80s.
i have that same shirt :)
@HorizonRCdotCom i ran mini cooper..i have an mo3 :)
It's not a real Frog without the twin aerial masts :P
Yes, Frogs had ali rear shocks standard.
As equipped? Eh, Maybe 20-22MPH.
I know this is old but my stock frog with the speed gear set does 23-24 mph with the stock rear tires
@HorizonRCdotCom yes it is!..wow small world :)..who do u know?
that's pretty quick for a stock buggy
@HorizonRCdotCom i hope i can travel and race like u eventually ive been stuck in mayland racing in a parking lot..but i make due
i had a grasshopper lol
Tamiya has "gone ahead" with a lot of stuff.
Tamiya the frog best💪
NO cars of that time had oil filled front shocks? I'm not sure that's true... I got my Kyosho Scorpion around 1983-1984 at the same time my brother got his Tamiya Frog, and my Scorpion had front shocks. The Frog was a significantly better car... Faster, and much more robust. I always envied my brother's Frog... I'm going to get one!
There weren't oil filled shocks for the front of the Frog, not that there weren't oil filled shocks at all.
+Horizon Hobby
The original Frog DID come with the oil-filled rear shocks. That was one of the selling points, compared to many models at that time with just spring shocks.
It's designed well, it's weight distribution is good, and it has a nice wide footprint so it typically lands right side up and flat. It literally sounds like a frog "splat" when it lands, especially on pavement.
If you build it... the Frog will come.
Gotta love a “Doooon Buggy” !
Srry to bother u guys but my traxxas cat beaten all of this
Haha good eye..
Great video!!! Makes me cringe every time you pronounce "Tamiya" like you do though.....😖
Traxxas cat is wayy faster in the 80s
looks and jumps like a frog
no wounder it jumps its a frog
Nice Rc car though
Most boring