Tamiya Toyota Hilux Extra Cab Project

This model has a very unusual genesis.  Most Tamiya R/C models can be grouped into one of three backgrounds.  Some models are scale versions of a real type of vehicle.  For example, 58098 is a 1/10 scale model of a ~1990  Ferrari F40.  Other models take that even further and are scale versions of a specific example of a vehicle.  For example, 58168 is a 1/10 scale model of the #28 Renault Alpine A110 driven by Ove Andersson to win the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally.  Finally, some models have no basis in reality and are purely fanciful.  For example, the 58083 Saint Dragon doesn't look like anything that has ever existed.  Of course there are many more subcategories that can be added, but this is a good baseline.

Our story all started with the RN36 Toyota Hilux truck first released in 1978.  In 1985 Tamiya released the 58048 Bruiser which is a scale version of this truck, but has been modified to look much different than a standard street version by lifting the truck and putting on huge tires.  Tamiya also came up with the "Hog Heaven" graphics scheme.  So far as I am aware, this was not based on any real Toyota Hilux monster truck anyone had built.  But that didn't stop people from making 1:1 versions of the Tamiya Bruiser over the years.  Fast forward to 2017, and Toyota made a real life Bruiser replica from a modern Hilux truck using the "Hog Heaven" graphics scheme.  This was a reverse scale model actually based off the R/C.  But why stop there?  Tamiya then released a CC-01 Hilux based on Toyota's modern tribute and called it 58663.  So here we have scale model of a specific truck which itself is a tribute to an R/C model of an older type of truck.

I really like scale trucks, but I am typically not a huge fan of Lexan bodies because they don't have the accuracy of hard shells.  However, being a lover (and owner) of the original Bruiser, I couldn't pass up on this opportunity to own the tribute model and display them together.  Unlike the original, the CC-01 is almost all plastic and does not have leaf springs.  It also does not have the huge lift or giant tires.  The similarities are in the graphics and the fact that both are Hilux models.  I built my model entirely stock.  The kit included a light kit, so the only updates I made were to add a few more lights to fill up the available light buckets.

Update:  This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire.  It has not been replaced.