The original 58087 Manta Ray was released in 1990 and was the first to use the new DF-01 (Dirt - Four
Wheel Drive) chassis. If you've ever built a TA-01 or TA-02
touring car chassis, the DF-01 may look familiar because it is basically
the same thing and gave rise to those iconic versions. 15 years
later the Manta Ray was re-released as 58360
with hardly any changes, but sadly I missed that one. Luckily for
me, Tamiya came out with another limited production run in 2018, this
time numbered 47367.
As far as I can tell, it is exactly the same thing. Of course it
uses an electronic speed controller rather than the vintage mechanical
speed controller, but the chassis and body appear to be what was used 28
years earlier.This is a four wheel drive chassis with CVA oil shocks and double wishbone suspension all around. The tires are pin spike and the wheels are dish variety. I find it to be quite durable and well mannered. It is stable and flat at any reasonable speed and even jumps well. It is also a lot faster than I've come to expect of classic 540 powered buggies. I really like it. I didn't know much about this one prior to building it so didn't have much in the way of expectations apart from an assumption that old buggies tend to handle pretty poorly. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised at its capability. It even does a passable job of looking like a manta ray. Unlike many other classic buggies though, it does not come with a driver or a clear windshield to install one. A cursory look through the back catalog suggests that this might actually be the first Tamiya buggy to not come with a driver (or maybe it was the Egress). There is a sticker that says "Slippery Sam" though, so I guess he must be back there behind the tinted glass.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
 Page 1: Assembly |
 Page 2: Final Photos |