This chassis is based on the Avante and then the Vanquish which I already wrote about it great detail, so I
will concentrate only on the differences here. Those interested
in all the other details of this chassis can read about them on my Avante and Vanquish pages.
The Egress Black Edition comes in a large box that
looks almost just like the Avante Black Special box. Unlike a
standard white Tamiya box, there is no box art. There is just a
simple side view photograph of the car. Inside the box are a pair
of
blister packs highlighting the most interesting parts, as well as a
unique body layout that places the tires in the correct locations over
protuberances on the body. Interestingly, even the internal
packaging is not identical to the regular edition. The colors of
the boxes behind the blister packs are darker here. The selection
and arrangement of parts is otherwise the same.
Here are all the parts laid out on my build table along with the blister
packs. I can tell already this is going to be a fun build.
I'm building this immediately after doing the VQS, so the differences
should be obvious to me.
The gearbox and motor mount goes together just like the Avante and the
Vanquish. The original Egress did not come with a motor but
suggested the use of the Dyna Tech 01R racing motor. I have a
GT-Tuned installed here, but I later changed it to a Super Stock
TZ. This kit comes with full ball bearings throughout.
This car uses ball differentials which are
identical to the versions that came with the Avante Black Special and
therefore I've written about them before. They have been updated
from the original Egress which used different drive cups. The
carbon chassis plates are similar to those used on the Avante 2011, but
reversed. The Avante used the small plate on the bottom and the
large on the top. This does it the other way around which gives
more support to the battery.
The front and rear suspension arms are taken directly
from the Vanquish, but the camber links are now turnbuckles instead of
just threaded rods (the original Egress didn't have these).
Another thing that has changed from the Vanquish is the attachment point
for the shocks and sway bar. The sway bar now attaches where the
shocks once did, and the shocks have been moved to the very back behind
the suspension. The holes were unused on the Vanquish, but Tamiya
must have already been planning for them because they were
present. That front bumper mount part is new for the Egress.
The front uprights and from the Avante 2011, but the originals were
still castings which had been somewhat strengthened from the Avante
originals. The original Egress used dog bone axles in the rear and
universals in the front. The re-release gets CVD axles all
around.
Those taller carbon shock towers are new for the Egress. The
steering setup is carried over from the VQS and uses bearings in all the
moving joints. The clamping aluminum hexes were in all the
re-releases, but not the originals. The Egress reverts to the
smaller front bumper from the Avante versus the wider one from the
Vanquish. The rear bumper is eliminated altogether.
The high capacity dampers have an inner diameter of
11mm in the front and 11.5mm in the rear, compared with 9mm and 9.5 in
the Avante. This makes for an almost 50% increase in volume.
The original Egress used a clear anodize, but this black edition uses a
titanium color with dull yellow springs. The rear shocks have
been moved all the way, and look how far back that shock tower is
installed.
Here's the completed rolling chassis with electronics installed.
The Egress uses the same wheels as the Vanquish, but where they were
white on the Vanquish, they were black on the Egress and gray on the
black edition. The cylindrical spiked tires were new for the
Egress.
The Egress has a unique body, under tray, and wing that are not shared
with the previous models. The wing uses separately attached side
panels which are quite thick for rigidity. The wing mount uses
strong bent wire. That blister you see on the right side of
the body is to make room for the battery retaining clip.
Trimming everything out takes a while because there are lots of curved
details and the trim lines are not symmetric. Once everything was cut, I
had to test fit them on the body to see how they looked. They
look good.
The paint scheme is simple enough in all black, and
unlike the regular Egress, the black edition comes with window
masks. The transparent windows are then covered by blue
translucent stickers which looks pretty cool. There are also foil
reflective stickers included.