Tamiya Mercedes-Benz Unimog Project

The CR-01 was Tamiya's first dedicated crawler chassis (as opposed to a scale truck chassis) and first appeared in 2008 as the 58405 Land Cruiser 40.  It was followed by a couple of RTR versions the same year, and the 58414 Unimog 406 version (pictured here) only 6 months later.  Later versions include the 58429 Jeep Wrangler, 58436 Ford Bronco, and the 84411 Toyota FJ Cruiser.  All share the same chassis.  The 58592 Rock Socker from 2014 is the only version not to include a particular scale body but uses a more generic truck body.  Most are still in production as of 2017.

The CR-01 is not a scale model.  This is a purpose-built crawler optimized for uneven off-road use.  It has full time 4WD with locked (but un-lockable) differentials.  It has a low gear ratio with a centrally mounted planetary gearbox.  Suspension is 4 link with solid axles.  The axles are provisioned for four wheel steering.  The chassis uses aluminum ladder frames with tall stiffening side plates.  The steering servos are axle mounted.  The most unusual feature is the shock geometry.  The shocks are located inboard along the side of the frame and connect to the axles via crank arms and push rods.  The springs are totally separate from the shock dampers which allows a lot of movement of the axles.

Compared with my other 4x4's, this is generally a more capable crawler.  Typical scale trucks are limited by the poor articulation of leaf springs and other scale details.  This chassis resembles no real world scale machine and therefore can do what it is supposed to do quite well.  The bodies which have been fitted to it over the years are typically much too small for scale which allows lots of room for the tires to articulate without contact, but does not make for a very realistic appearance.  That's why I chose the Unimog body.  I think it looks perfectly fine being ridiculous.

I upgraded this to the maximum extent possible such that it bears almost no resemblance to the original kit.  This made it very expensive but also very awesome.  There are less esoteric and probably more capable crawlers on the market, but I like the things which make this uniquely Tamiya.

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