Some modifications on the Hornet chassis
Apart from replacing plastic bearings with ball bearings during the assembly, you can easily improve the front drivetrain.
If you stick to the assembly manual, the front drive train will be very "hard", even if you choose the soft suspension setup. The bad sliding damper axles are responsible for this: in the middle of the first run, the front drive train will automatically lower and won't rise anymore. The result is a very bouncy front drive train that won't stick to the ground.
The trick here is to lubricate each damper o-ring: this will dramatically help the axle to slide. I also recommend you to add some weight into the part located to the front of the chassis bathtub: the extra weight (a few grams) will help the front drive train to better handle the ground.
The o-ring (MD6 part, step 19 of the manual) are pointed by the arrow number 1. The place where to add weight is pointed by the arrow number 2.
One year after...
My Hornet was part of almost every run I made because it is one of my preferred models. The fact is there is absolutely nothing to worry about it. This car is just very reliable.
Even the battery cover no longer escapes. It is true that I changed my playground and the new location is plane though. Before each run, a few oil drops on the front dampers to ensure they work well, and that's it. The rest is just pleasure to control this bouncy buggy with approximative steering.
The only wear is located on the rear tire set: the pikes have almost disappeared, and I will have to change them soon. Just considering removing them and them mounting the new ones, the envy vanishes 
Some photos
As for the handling, the Hornet is fast, even with the stock silver can. You can take little jumps without any problem. Its overall handling is a little bit erratic (compared to the Blackfoot's and especially to the Baja King's). You will mostly have to learn to control the rear drive train that tends to live its own life.
Bonus: 2 promotional videos of the Hornet when it was released back in 1984 (© Tamiya)
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