Tamiya TRF 418 Project

The fifth generation of the TRF touring car line began in December of 2013 with the 42270 TRF 418 chassis one year after the last version of the previous generation (TRF 417 V5) with a price reduced by ¥10,000.  This chassis was available for only a single year before being replaced by the TRF 419, a situation which was unique in the history of the TRF line.  From the beginning, these chassis were released in multiple versions over a period of years.  The TRF 414 and TRF 415 had 6 versions each, the TRF 416 had 3 versions, and the TRF 417 had 5 versions.  In each case, Tamiya was quick to release a special edition whenever their chassis won a major global racing event.  There were 2 race winning editions of both the TRF 414 and 415, and one race winning edition of both the TRF 416 and 417.  According to Tamiya's advertising, the TRF 418 was designed in an attempt to achieve a sixth victory in the IFMAR ISTC¹ world championship in 2014.  They were defeated by Yokomo and, as far as I can tell, never won another global championship again.  Perhaps this is why the TRF 418's run was so short.

¹ International Federation of Model Automobile Racing, International Scale Touring Car class

While the TRF 418 looks extremely similar to the TRF 417, virtually every part has been changed. Like all the TRF touring car chassis, this a twin belt driven 4WD model with carbon fiber chassis plates, loads of machined aluminum parts, and generally the best parts Tamiya could come up with including hardware and axles.  The general layout with the electronics on one side and the battery on the other is the same.  The real changes are all in the details and are explained much further in my build journal below.