Tamiya Dark impact unboxing and build

I decided to buy a different kit - the Tamiya Dark Impact DF-03 chassis. It is slightly more expensive than a TT-02b, but does have quite a few hop up options on it out fo the box. Lets see what it is like to build.

With its competitors!

The box is standard Tamiya - nicely packaged and a great box design.

The whole kit is clearly laid out and seems like it will be a typical Tamiya build.

Let's get the bits all unboxed.

Let the build begin!

First thing I noticed is we have full ball bearings, and ball differentials front and rear.

Went together pretty easy for a ball diff. Works beautifully and gives a slight amount of slip which helps protect the drivetrain.

Rear diff inside the housing. Gear seems to be nice and strong.

Some more gears from the rear gearbox.

In its almost fully assembled state - there are lots more moving gears than in a Neo Scorcher. Not sure how I feel about that. Overall I would say that the transfer box style gears will probably be a weak point especially if you run a brushless motor.

Finished rear drivetrain. No slipper clutch from the factory, but you can get one which is rather expensive unfortunately.

The motor I was originally going to use - although the slipper clutch being absent made me later change my mind. This car needs to be brushed motor powered for now.

Wheels look great, and tyres are superb quality for a sub £200 kit. Not what you would normally expect from Tamiya!

Chassis is very thin but very light also.

All plastic parts, so not too strong but also flexible and lightweight.

This kit probably weighs around 40 percent less than the TT-02b.

Kit looks superb now it is nearly finished. Just the shocks and tyres and electronics left.

Put my Fastrax tyres on as they will easily handle brushed power. I decided to go with an LRP V10 17x2 as this will provide nice torque and some decent speed.

The shocks are all plastic but oil filled. So nice and light and also not too bouncy. The car seems like it will be lovely and planted.

Installed some fairly basic brushed electronics and the car is ready to go!