Kyosho Optima Project

Page 1: Stock Assembly

The chassis of the Optima is nearly identical to that of the Javelin which I've already documented in detail. Please see that page for more information. I'll only highlight some interesting build milestones here.

The Optima comes in the same style of box as the other Kyosho legendary series with a colorful photograph on the front and a series of blister packs on the inside highlighting the most interesting parts and showcasing the body. Of particular note is the drive belt and the optional original chain with pulleys for each.

As usual I've knolled out all the parts on my build table. There is something special about Kyosho parts. I don't know if it is the way they are packaged or the type of plastic they use, but it feels good. Their hardware comes in six bags sorted by build sequence.

The front and rear use nearly identical oil filled gear differentials with integral pulleys for the drive belt. The left hand image shows one built and an exploded view of the parts for another. On the right I've placed the rear differential into its housing with the drive gear.

I chose to use the belt drive rather than the chain drive. This will allow me to directly compare it to my Turbo Optima (which I built with the belt) and the Javelin (which I built with the chain), and I'll have optional spare parts for all of them
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Here I've added the chassis supports and the suspension arms. Apart from the color, everything looks just like the Turbo Optima and at this point is still identical to the Javelin.

The suspension has now been completed and the electronics deck added. This is a very solid chassis.

Now the shocks have been added. These are oil shocks but do not have a threaded spring collar. The collar just clamps with friction instead, which seems weak but appears adequate in practice.

I expected painting the livery to be quite difficult, but it turns out that the whole thing is just painted in white and everything else is stickers. If you are wondering how anyone could possibly cover that complex rear geometry with stickers, you'd still only be getting a hint of what a nightmare it is to get it all to line up. Kyosho did a lovely job of planing everything and precutting the stickers, but it is still a lot of work to match all that complex curvature.

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