A Fast Attack Vehicle (or Desert Patrol Vehicle) is a real thing,
although you've probably never seen one. This is a fast off road
military vehicle similar to a sandrail used for desert and dune
driving. They have been largely supplanted with Humvees now,
although they are still in use by Special Forces.The 58046 Fast Attack Vehicle was first released in 1984. This is a rear wheel drive, independent trailing arm suspension buggy with a tub chassis and roll cage. It has simple friction dampers on all four corners and a hard body shell. An updated version was re-released in 2011 as 58496, then again as 58539 in 2012 with a shark mouth graphic. If you are paying attention you might notice that my model number is none of these. At the time I was looking to buy this model it was out of stock everywhere and I found that the "Expert Built" version was available and was actually for sale at a lower price than the kit. Although I usually like to build a kit myself, I had heard that Tamiya did a great job with the graphics on their pre-built kits and it turns out to be true.
The 58050 Wild One released in 1985 is almost the same as the Fast Attack Vehicle but with some key differences. Most importantly, it comes with aluminum oil shocks instead of friction dampers. It has a flexible polycarbonate body instead of a hard body, and it also has different wheels and tires. What I wanted was a combination of these two things employing the hard body and scale wheels and tires of the FAV but the nice aluminum shocks of the Wild One. You might think this would be as easy as buying some shocks, but they are not for sale as complete units. I had to buy dozens of individual spare parts to make the conversion, but I am very glad I did. I drove the model both stock and after the upgrade, and the shocks make a huge difference.
So is this Fast Attack Vehicle actually fast? It kind of is! It is much quicker than I expected. It is not a 6s brushless insane-mobile, but it is quite quick. The model comes with two pinion gears, a high and low, and it is pretty fast even on the low. With an all rigid chassis it is not advisable to jump it since you might break something, but on gravel or sand it is a blast to drive. I may convert it to a special ops version with some Knight Customs accessories later.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
 Page 1: Unboxing |
 Page 2: Upgrades! |
 Page 3: Final Photos |