The Shadow Shark really caught my eye as it is very obviously based on a formula one type body shell and just looks great.  This is helped by the lovely sticker set giving it a retro WW2 plane type look with the growling shark teeth.  It also comes with a nice set of silver chrome wheels as standard.

• Body: ABS plastic
• Chassis: AR
• Motor: Stock 130 with a single shaft which transmits power using a prop shaft to gears on both axles.

This is one car I definitely set out to build as a racer from day one.  So once the chassis was completed I added various stays along with side mass dampers and aluminium spinners, spacers and balls on the posts.  These have been colour co-ordinated to add to the look.

To finish this I intend to paint this a bluish-green colour with maybe some highlights picked out in silver before adding those cool stickers where appropriate.  But before I do that I need to trim a bit off the rear spoiler which fouls on the top rear stay or find a way to re-seat the spoiler so the body can clip down correctly.  Watch this space to see the finished model when I get time to dedicate to it.

17/07/25: This is my latest acquisition and for me is a bit of a departure.  Normally I love fast looking cars etc... and wouldn't normally give a truck a second look.

But, this one came along and caught my eye due to it just 'having the look'.  Also unlike the 'real world' models that Tamiya make as Mini-4wd this one is actually built on a proper racing chassis in the form of the very aerodynamic AR design.

• Body: ABS plastic
• Chassis: AR
• Motor: Stock 130 with a single shaft which transmits power using a prop shaft to gears on both axles.

Despite only having received this kit today I just had to assemble it as I'd been waiting for it to arrive.  I have to say it doesn't disappoint.  Aside from the racing chassis the body is pretty well designed and even has a separate insert to emulate tinted glass, so no stickers for the windows!

At this point I've only assembled it as a box stock model, although may at some point in the future upgrade some bits and bobs as I would love to see this one racing eventually.

One thing of note is the body is not installed in the same manner as the average racer.  As shown in the 3rd down right picture you have a special mount that you attach to the chassis.  On the body are two tabs that have pegs that match the holes on this mount and then the two are held together by clips which double as the foot plates below each door.  Different, but very well thought out as a big exhaust or similar would not have looked quite right.

Based on the Thunder Shot Mk.II model this is a special edition release that commemorates the Asia Challenge 2025.  This comes with a gorgeous metallic green set of wheels, a transparent black body shell and a nicely contrasting white and green chassis.  Combined with the supplied transparent backed sticker set it makes for a really nice model out of the box.

• Body: ABS
• Chassis: MS
• Motor: Stock 130 with a dual shafts each which transmits power directly to gears on each axle.

As with quite a few of my Tamiya models the chassis is built and tested with the body to be completed, if I can make up my mind whether to paint it or not.  Similarly I've not finished it with the 'box' spinners etc... until I decide if I want this as a box class or something more modified for the final model.

23/07/2025 - Added this new model to my collection.  Will be updated when constructed.

• Body: Polycarbonate
• Chassis: MA
• Motor: Stock 130 with a dual shafts each which transmits power directly to gears on each axle.

This model is not intended for racing whatsoever, although it is reasonably fast in comparison to the 'crawlers' usually found in this range of 'real world' Mini-4wd's.  The other thing that is unusual is that you do not get a sheet of stickers like you do in the racer range.  Instead you actually get a rather large sheet of water slide decals instead.  In some ways I wish that decals were supplied with the racers instead of stickers as they can make a model look so much nicer.  Even if they were offered as an upgrade part it would be useful (listening Tamiya?).

• Body: ABS plastic with a separate insert made of transparent but dark black ABS to simulate glass.
• Chassis: I'm not sure, anyone know?!?
• Motor: Stock 130 with a single shaft, this still drives a propshaft, but unlike the racers transmits the power via worm gears, which in turn transfer the power to the gears on the axles.

This one is going to be completed as a straight box version as it is really for display rather than racing.  Although quicker than many of the others in its range it is still slow in comparison to a racer.

I will however be painting the body, probably in pearl white with detail picked out in appropriate colours before adding the decals.

This model was the first Tamiya branded Mini-4wd that I built after having practised building some of the Da-Xing models first.

I was attracted to this model as it is a much like a real world car and simply looked great to me.  I was also interested in trying a car with a polycarbonate body as normally found on a full size R/C car. 

This is also a 'Black Special' release which added a bit extra to my eyes, especially with the quality of the wheels and sticker set provided.

• Body: Polycarbonate plastic
• Chassis: MS
• Motor: Stock 130 with a dual shafts each which transmits power directly to gears on each axle.

As you can see I went for basically a box standard with this kit and used only what was in the box.  I even painted the polycarbonate body using black which seemed appropriate.

However, I still messed up a bit as although I painted it from the inside as is appropriate for polycarbonate bodies I totally didn't realise it had a protective plastic film on the outside.  It was only after I added the stickers and then wondered why it didn't look as glossy as the box illustration that I found a video on youtube that showed someone painting and removing the film when finished <sigh>.  Thankfully though it still looks pretty good with the 'matt' finish lol!

When I saw this kit I just had to have this car in my collection as it just looked gorgeous.  Looking very much like a real world super car it really appealed to me and to me should make for a good racer too.

• Body: ABS plastic
• Chassis: MA
• Motor: Stock 130 with a dual shafts each which transmits power directly to gears on each axle.

As you can see the chassis is finished, I've also added a Tamiya MA upgrade pack to the model only replacing the plastic spinners with aluminium ones as well as the silver spacers with matching coloured ones and finally aluminium balls on the posts instead of the Tamiya plastic ones.

All that remains to be done is to spray paint the model and add the appropriate stickers - not all may be used as I'll be painting the body.  Check back at some point in the future and the finished model should appear here.

This limited edition model released to celebrate the 2024 'Year of the Dragon' is a pretty cool car.  Using the same basic body design as the 'Santa Special' also to be found in my collection the main difference is that this uses a different chassis.  What the reason for this difference is I'm not really sure, but it still works fine.  The colour scheme is also pretty good for the box model, although the body will need painting and I am tempted to get some gold chrome wheels instead of using the basic white ones.  These would match the gold chrome dragon so should set off the model nicely.  What do you guys think?

• Body: ABS/Polycarbonate plastic
• Chassis: MS
• Motor: Stock 130 with a dual shafts each which transmits power directly to gears on each axle.
• The motor is a stock 130 with a single shaft which transmits power using a prop shaft to gears on both axles.

This is a quite recent acquisition so I've not worked on this at all yet and may wait till I decide if I want to source new wheels etc...