Yokomo Super Dog Fighter Project

Page 1: Assembly

The box is not very big and doesn't include any hand drawn art, just a photo of the completed model. The side of the box contains some information on the key features, but doesn't tell you anything about the history of the original model.

The inside of box almost looks like something is missing because it is far from full. The photo on the right shows the parts laid out on my table. There are no specific hardware bags or plastic parts trees. Instead everything you need for each step is contained in an individually labelled bag.

The main deck is an FRP plate which slots and holes nicely cut and countersunk, and a couple of chamfers where the lower suspension arms will go. Notice that there are 4 slots on one side and 3 on the other? This implies the original may have used a 7-cell NiCd battery configuration, but that's just a guess. The picture on the right shows the tools which came with the kit. The familiar T-wrench is just different enough to make it clear that it's not Tamiya or Kyosho.

Bag 1 contains the front and rear bulkheads which are similar but not identical. These parts as well as the motor mount and fairly rough aluminum castings that look to be original from the 1980's. After they are attached to the chassis plate, a vertical chassis stiffener is attached. This part it quite thin and doesn't do much to actually stiffen the chassis given that it is pinned at each end.

Bag 2 is the parts for the slipper clutch which is integral with the 84T 48p spur gear. The 15T pulleys for the front and rear belts are also installed here. They are both locked to the shaft so there is no center differential.

Bag 3 is the parts for the front and rear gear differentials which are identical. These are sealed and filled with 5000 weight oil. I'm glad to see gear diffs here because I personally find ball diffs annoying and unreliable.

Bag 4 installed the front and rear shock towers which are also FRP plate. The rear is mounted vertically while the front is tipped back to match the kickup angle built into the bulkhead. The bulkhead and center caps are plain white plastic. The front belt is much longer than the rear, and there is an adjustable center idler pulley for tensioning. The chassis has no other provisions for adjusting the belt tension. Note that a sway bar is present in the rear, but the kit doesn't include one for the front even though the bulkhead is provisioned for it.

Bag 5 contains all the parts for the suspension which is quite a lot. The lower wishbone arms are very solid, but slightly different front to rear. The axles are nice universal style steel units.

Here is the completed front and rear suspension. Of note is the unusual decision to use the same uprights for the front and rear suspension, but installed differently. In the front these parts are installed on their sides and act as steering knuckles. This means there is an extra unused hole in front. In the rear they are installed upright which means the kingpin holes are unused. In both cases the upper arms are turnbuckle camber links. Note the unusual hubs which drive the wheels with large squares rather than 12mm hexes. This massively limits the wheels that cane be used. Note also that the front hub is much thicker than the rear.

Bag 6 is just a few parts for the steering. This includes the dual bell cranks and the steering links. The steering bridge is just a bent wire.

Bag 7 contains the parts for the nice aluminum bodied shocks. As usual for a buggy, the rear have much more travel than the front. These seem to be really high quality and were fun to build.

Here is the completed front and rear suspension with the shocks installed. They are at the extreme outer edge of the chassis leaving lots of room for the body.

The original Super Dog Fighter obviously didn't use shorty hard pack LiPo's, but it is nice that this modern version is provisioned for them. I've also installed servo mount, a modern design.

There was no motor included so I started with this 23T Yeah Racing brushed motor. It worked well enough but didn't have a vintage feel so I replaced it later. The kit includes a 21T pinion. Note the little loop used to route the motor wires and keep them away from the belt.

Bag 9 has the pink wheels. These look very similar to what was used on the RC10 Masami Edition I recently built. The picture on the right shows the completed rolling chassis.

Here is the 27T Yokomo Esprit RPM motor I was able to acquire later. It is modern but made to look vintage and seemed like a better match. Apparently the 80's originals used pink labels like this.

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