Tamiya TRF 418 Project

Page 1: Unboxing

The TRF 418 comes in a small box with a carrying handle like many standalone chassis. There is no box art on this kind of box, instead there is an insert on the side with the relevant details about the model and a small photograph. The stars shown on the front and side include years (2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, & 2012) in which the TRF team won world championships. The final empty star would tend to indicate that they were hoping for another win to fill in the blank. That never happened.

When the box is opened you see a pile of pretty Tamiya anodized blue, but no body, tires, or wheels. As a result the box looks almost empty with only a few bags of hardware visible. Because TRF kits don't come with a body, the sticker sheet doesn't represent any particular livery. These TRF 418 stickers are unique to this model.

The TamiyaUSA website on this kit includes the statement "The North American release of the TRF418 will include the following bonus parts. These bonus parts will only be available in kits during the initial launch date of December 2013. Kits produced after the December date will not include the bonus parts."

Damper Springs - soft & hard, 2pcs. each
Soft Stabilizer Rods- front & rear, 1pc. each
1 additional set of Suspension Arms - enough to kit out the chassis
1 additional set of Front Uprights - enough to kit out the chassis
1 additional set of Rear Uprights - enough to kit out the chassis

Given that my copy includes these parts, I know it came from North America and was produced as part of the initial production run. I don't really know what "kit out" is supposed to mean, but this essentially means that an additional set of suspension parts are included. The arms and uprights are the same as the kit parts so they don't represent any additional options. The springs and sway bars, on the other hand, represent different stiffness from the parts otherwise included in the kit. All of these parts come in a separate bag as shown above. I didn't use any of them.

All of the parts are laid out on my table. I've knolled all the parts, set out the manual, and have prepared to start the build. There is a lot of aluminum and carbon here. It looks like there aren't many parts, but that's because so much hardware is consolidated in the trays.

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