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 XB Pro series

Tamiya XB ProXB Pro means eXpert Build Pro. In Tamiya words, this means the model is factory assembled, painted and decorated. The model comes with everything needed to be driven right out of the box. These are called RTR (Ready To Run) models... as soon as you got the battery pack charged and batteries fitted into the transmitter.

Well, the box contains the complete vehicle, its radio equipment, a battery pack and a charger. So be carefully when buying abroad: the charger will have to accept 220v (or 110v) and the plug has to fit your country standard. This last point may not be a problem as long as you already own another charger.

Note that the radio equipment radio is basic, but performs very well: it's Tamiya made, named AdSpec GP. This tranmsitter is sometimes referred to Dark Vador due to its shape laughing For some time now, the new models are equiped with a more conventional aspect 2.4GHz radio which is called FineSpec.

Several models in my collection are XBs: the , the  and the .

XB versions mainly target the RC beginners market. That's why you often find them in supermarkets and toy stores (especially in France, which is probably the country that is most infected by big stores). You can also find them at your local hobby shop since everyone needs to begin one day.

 

Differences with kit versions

The target market and the cost constraints imply differences between the XB and the kit versions of a model. Not exhaustively, differences affect one or several of these elements:

  • Speed controler: often mechanical vs electronic
  • Dampers: friction vs hydraulic
  • Bearings: plastic vs ball bearings
  • Shafts: plastic vs metal
  • Body decoration: color and stickers often vary
  • Base chassis: sometimes it's not the same

Again, these differences do not always occur and do not affect the model quality. In fact, some kits are also provided with mechanical speed controlers (for the oldest models of the lineup), friction dampers and/or plastic bearings.
Never forget XB models come with a complet radio equipment, a battery pack and a charger: kits require you buy these elements separately. OK, the battery pack capacity is generally limited (1800 maH for the most part) and the charger is very basic (count an all night long charge). But they are in the box.

Anyway, these elements can easily be changed to improve the model performance. But for this, you need a complete setup manual to identify each part. This page is meant for that: to help you find the complete manuel corresponding to your XB model.

 

Finding the manual 

The detailed manual is required to better understand a model since the one included in XB boxes is very simplified. In case of breakage but most of all to maintain and take care of it, the detailed manual will let you precisely identify what has to be changed, how to disassemble all or part of the vehicle, to clean it up, to reassemble it the right way, but also to inventory the parts needed to upgrade the model performance.

Several Tamiya website over the world offer some kit manuals to download for free. However, they are sometimes difficult to find.
TamiyaClub is an english fans website that hosts many manuals. The problem is you must pay a fee to register the site as a premium member otherwise you won't be able to view manual pages bigger than a post stamp. I do not recommend.
The solution is Vintage-RC, the french-speaking reference for Tamiya and other vintage brands. The manual database is growing every day thanks to members who scan their manuals to offer them to other members. You don't even need to register the forum (yet it's free) to access this huge database:

Vintage-RC.net

Now you know where to look for the manual. Let's see how to find which manual you need.

 

XB Pro => kits cross reference lists

The next pages list every Tamiya XB Pro model ever released. This is how to use them:

  • Find the reference of your model in the first row (the reference is clearly stated on the box and in the footer of the manual that comes with your model)
  • Check that the model name matches yours
  • Read the line to find the corresponding kit reference

Go to Vintage-RC manual database to find the manual you are looking for.Sometimes, your model may point to a kit reference which looks very different from your model. Here's why: 

  • There is no perfect matching between the XB Pro and the kit series
  • The XB model is sometime based upon a different chassis even if the body is exactly the same
  • The manual of the kit version that exactly matches your XB model may not be yet in the database

Anyway, the recommended manuel in the following list best matches what is available in the site database. Know that Tamiya often releases many models based on the very same chassis but with different bodies.

On some models of the list, there are links to detailed articles since I own models based on the same chassis, or even the very same XB model.

 

Related articles:

 

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