Hey Everyone!

I’ve been getting loads of great feedback about this build, glad you’re all enjoying it! I certainly am ;)

Ok, build part 2…

So, first up was the spur gear and torque splitter set up. I opted for the torque splitter due to going brushless, but not being great with this modern technical lark, I’m hoping that’s the best move. There were a couple of new bits used in this over the original, namely the rubber end seen here. Sure feels nice fitting this together.

Installed and ready for the gearbox cover. I had to reverse the pinion gear here as when installed the way Tamiya advised, it was only getting traction with 50% of the spur. But I’m guessing that advice was based around Tamiya motors. Loads of grease again due to going brushless.

Onto the rear sway bar. Well, I can officially say that this is the first time I’ve built one of these and NOT had to get the Autosol/Peak on it. Nice and shiny, nice and new :)

Fitted and looking more and more like an Egress with every step.

Little close up…

And a booty shot…

The last gear assembly for the rear gearbox. No change here, all as original.

Rear gearbox casing fitted. Note to all Egress newbies, DON’T over-tighten the screw closest to the motor as it cracks the casing. This is something you find on about 70% of vintage models.

Another angle of the fitted cover…

Onto the rear swing arms (is that the right name? Not sure). They feel bulletproof now. Nice work Tamiya.

This completely new design is fantastic! The vintage one was quite weak, but this is great. A flat headed screw comes in from the other side of the arm, through a chunky spacer and then into this ball end. Its ROCK solid, well impressed.

Now, word of warning folks. THIS WAS A COMPLETE BASTARD. If you follow the instructions, you’ll be here all day, all night and for the rest of your life trying to slide those demonic little spacers in. Basically, its too tight as they are microscopically bigger than the vintage ones. Stronger, but slightly bigger. I spent 20 mins trying to squeeze one in…every time it popped out and hit the floor, grrrr. I resorted to loosening the rear gearbox cover a few turns to give a few mm play in the top deck. With that done, they slid in as easily as the vintage ones. Just remember to tighten those screws back up after!

Another angle…again…Gotta say, feels like its built like a tank.

And another angle…

Close up of the new braces taken from the 2001. Great addition Mr Tamiya! A couple of new spacers in there too, all very nice.

Close up again…

And another angle…

I forgot to photograph the drive shafts as I made them, oops. They’re all new too, every last element of them, as are these looooovely new hubs. Light as a feather these!

Rear adjustable arms made and fitted. Again, feel totally rock solid.

And to finish for tonight, the all new thick, carbon rear shock mount. Feels like I could slam this into a wall and it’d not flinch. So well built.

Somebody asked either via email, Tamiya Club or a comment (cant remember which) if I’d sealed the chassis, the answer is yes, both decs, chassis spacers and shock mounts. I just use Humbrol instant cement and a fine modelling brush. Seems to work for me.

Ok that’s it for today! More to come soon.

Mike.

Hey Everyone,

So between work, and family, starting this has been a challenge…but last night I got a 3hr window all to myself and guess what…the Xbox One got pushed to one side…to make way for the Egress!

What I will say before going any further is WOW, building this puppy is literally a dream come true and you know what, it lives up to my expectations in every way. All in all, across my 3 vintage Egress’s and my 4 Avante 2001’s, you’d think building this chassis would feel boring now right? Not a chance. Building this from new is so unbelievably rewarding its hard to put into words.

Tamiya always do a pretty top job with their kits, but this baby just slots together perfectly, a really masterfully made kit.

Ok, onto the build…

Opening this box is rush, as I’ve been dreaming of opening a NIB Egress for about 25 years now…oh momma!

With the box open, it was time to open up those crispy fresh instructions and start building the best RC car that Tamiya ever made!

First up was the rear gearbox casing. First thing I noticed were some new screw styles and the addition of the foam padding. If you can find me a classic that’s been run and DOESN’T have any wear in that spot, I’ll be amazed. Nice move Tamiya, these Egress’s will retain shiny gearbox plates forever more!

Now, being a daring soul, I decided to go all modern and use a brushless set up for this Egress. I’ve done this mainly for great run times, as I intend to dial back the power on this 9T bad boy as I don’t want to be buying tires after every run or melting my gearbox ;) My Spektrum DX3 has all kinds of settings so I think I can reduce the max power output that way. Oh and yes, idiot here used the wrong screws on the motor mount, I realised this once I’d got a few steps later down. You need the tiny stubby ones here!

Phwoar! Box fresh carbon chassis! All my vintages have some degree of wear here and there, so seeing a clean, fresh new plate like this was rather special…it’s going to be dirty soon so I’m going to enjoy this while I can! Again, everything is slotting/screwing together like a charm. Top job Tamiya!

Onto the front gearbox, nothing new to report here, but again, its damn nice to be building this from scratch and not soaking each of these pieces and scrubbing them clean ;)

Mounting the front geabox was a dream, nice and easy. Its already looking sexy!

Front diff together. If you’re new to building cars like this, here’s one HANDY tip. Make sure you put a nice fat blob of diff grease in the whole where each tiny bearing is to be dropped in…why?…well, you ARE going to drop one, or two, or three while doing this, so it makes life a lot easier if there is a blob of grease in place to catch them as they drop. Also, make sure you have a clear open space when doing this bit, as when a ball bearing brakes loose, its near impossible to find if your build space isn’t super clean.

Now, this bit is a seriously intricate bit. These bearings look big right? Wrong, I’m zoomed in. These little spawns of Satan are crumb sized. Drop one and its gone forever. The end.

Tamiya advises you to put some anti-wear grease on the washer…sod that…pile it on! You need a good thick cushion of the stuff as if you have even remotely adult hands/fingers, you can barely feel these bearings, never mind skilfully guide where they are going. Slap a load of grease on, and drop each one on. Once all on, use a toothpick to adjust their positioning. And once that’s done, slap some more grease on the underside of the top washer and make a bearing sandwich. Just be careful that none of the bearings push out as you squeeze the two washers together. I then used my finger to smooth the excess grease around the bearings for an additional level of security.

Both front and back diffs together. They just need tightening to finish.

Awwww what a lovely couple. The two finished diff’s all built and complete. These are quite different from the vintage diff’s, almost all the parts bar the plastic gears are new, but man, they feel like they are made from adamantium, so I doubt they’re going to wear any time soon.

I know this sounds sad, but seeing a minty fresh rear gearbox enclosure like this is heart-warming. You beauty.

And the same again at the front. And yes, I went to town on the grease as I’m going brushless…I don’t want to melt these little lovelies.

And the last step for tonight is closing those finalised gearboxes. Another thing worth mentioning is how perfectly the plastics are cast. That rear gearbox plate just dropped in place to a perfectly snug fit. Serious quality.

More to come tomorrow!

Mike.

So, I’ve essentially been waiting to own a brand new Egress since, well, forever. And today, OH MY GOD, that dream came true!

Expect the full build article very soon :)

Mike.

Oooooh the excitement is building!

After a monumental battle to get hold of one, mine is due to arrive tomorrow according to my tracking details. I was lucky enough to bag one from Banzai Hobby in Japan after placing orders for no less than 4! But the other orders didn’t come off, as if you’ve been around the forums, you’ll know that stock is super limited and only a few landed in shops outside of Japan.

I’ll post some piccies tomorrow and possibly and unboxing vid too…if it arrives anyway ;)

EXCITED!!!!

Oh and if you haven’t heard, Tamiya are also re-releasing the Avante 2001 bodyset too, YES!

Mike.