Baja King

As a result of surfing forums and RC sites, the passion stroke back. Today, a buggy comes in to join the BlackFoot Xtreme. A 4-wheel-drive vehicle, faster than the Blackfoot, but with a lower ground clearance. I directly fitted a more powerful motor and a full set of hydraulic dampers. This one will also be mainly painted yellow (official color scheme: just perfect as I had a yellow can left).

 

The Baja King family

The Baja King uses the same chassis (TL-01B) than the Baja Champ. This chassis is the on-road TL-01 variant with different front uprights and longer arms (to make it larger, thus more stable on off-road tracks).

 

58221 - Baja Champ

Tamiya 58221 Baja Champ TL-01B

58191 - Calsonic Skyline GTR

Tamiya 58191 Calsonic Skyline GTR TL-01

TL-01 chassis (on-road)

Tamiya TL-01 Chassis

 

There are only two models based on the off-road version of this chassis (TL-01B). The TL-01 thought received many different bodyshells, an off-road adaptation where only tires were changed, and also an on-road evolution with the TL-01LA which is only a classic TL-01 with options directly included into the kit.

Photo gallery of all the models that share that famous chassis in addition of those presented above:

 

58195
Alfa Romeo 155

Tamiya 58195 Alfa Romeo 155

58201
Celica GT-Four 97

Tamiya 58201 Celica GT-Four 97 Monte Carlo

58212
Peugeot 406 ST

Tamiya 58212 Peugeot 406 ST

58216
Ford Escort WRC

Tamiya 58216 Ford Escort WRC

58219
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV

Tamiya 58219 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV Monte Carlo

58222
Ford SVT F-150 Lightning

Tamiya 58222 Ford SVT F150 Lightning

58223
Penzoil Nismo GTR

Tamiya 58223 Penzoil NISMO GTR

58226
Subaru Impreza WRC (ltd ed)

Tamiya 58226 Subaru Impreza WRC Ltd Ed

58228
Ford SVT Mustang Cobra

Tamiya 58228 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra

58233
Castrol Mugen NSX

Tamiya 58233 Castrol Mugen NSX

58237
Lexus IS 200

Tamiya 58237 Lexus IS 200

58238
Schlesser Buggy Megane

Tamiya 58238 Schlesser Buggy Megane

58241
Ford focus WRC

Tamiya 58241 Ford Focus WRC

58244
Mercedes CLK GTR

Tamiya 58244 Mercedes CLK-GTR Original-Teile

58246
Stadium Raider

Tamiya 58246 Stadium Raider

58251
Lexus GS 400

Tamiya 58251 Lexus GS 400

58255
Calsonic Skyline GT-R

Tamiya 58255 Calsonic Skyline GT-R

58260
Mercedes Benz CLK DTM

Tamiya 58260 Mercedes Benz CLK DTM 2000 Team D2

58263
Opel V8 Coupé DTM 2000

Tamiya 58263 Opel V8 Coupé DTM 2000

58264
Castrol Toyota Toms Supra

Tamiya 58264 Castrol Toyota Toms Supra

58273
Subaru Impreza WRC 2001

Tamiya 58273 Subaru Impreza WRC 2001

58277 (= 58273 peinte)
Subaru Impreza WRC 2001

Tamiya 58277 Subaru Impreza WRC 2001 Painted

58283
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Tamiya 58283 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup VIP Car

58287
Nissan 350 z

Tamiya 58287 Nissan 350z

58289
Ferrari Modena

Tamiya 58289 Ferrari Modena

58292
Ford Focus WRC 02

Tamiya 58292 Ford Focus WRC 2002

58293
Beams Integra Type R

Tamiya 58293 Beams Integra Type R

58296
CLK DTM 2002 AMG

Tamiya 58296 CLK-DTM 2002 AMG-Mercedes

 

This is a wide family and one can easily find what he likes. The bodyshell brings the main difference among all these models, and sometimes rims and tires may also vary. The 58238 kit was never released due to a body license problem. It would have been based on the same setup as the Stadium Raider (58246) with its off road wheels.

So let's get back to the Baja King and its assembly process. I will proceed like the Blackfoot Xtreme: the chassis on one side, the bodyshell on the other. The bodyshell is made of lexan (thus transparent) and will not need as many paint layers. Instead, the two-color scheme (yellow-silver) requires to apply masks: not as easy as it seems.

 

FlickR