Tamiya RC Radio Control Car 1/10 Electric Wild Willy 2 Jeep Kit

Product Information

With the sturdy Wild Dagger gearbox within a ladder frame with even an indication of a V8 engine and the TL01 suspension arms and chromed Mad Bull wheels, Tamiya has a winner. Top this chassis with the Wild Willy body, and you have a future classic. Having built models on the CW-01 wheelie chassis before and being unimpressed with the ability to hold a wheelie, my expectations of the WR-02 were not high. I was pleasantly surprised. This model holds a wheelie much longer than something like the Midnight Pumpkin. My addition of heavier wheels moderated that a bit, but I still love the way it drives. It is even reasonably capable in the grass. The "Differential Gear Case" of the LWB Willy has a small aluminium skid plate. The plastic mouldings have rebates to suit. Overall, the Willy is a better build (even though the gearbox comes assembled) and a more interesting chassis to tinker with, but the Lunchbox/Pumpkin is less frustrating to drive.

Finally, body clips: on the SWB these should be the type with the "waggly" bit on the inside (compared to the large loop)- the LWB and most other cars have the "normal" arrangement with it on the outside.The original Wild Willy released in 1982 was purposely designed with its weight center in the rear. The motor was positioned behind the rear axle and the battery placed toward the rear of the chassis, giving rise to dynamic wheelie potential. The original Willy was equipped with an independent spring axle suspension on the front and a sturdy trailing link, coil spring on the rear. These mechanics allowed for highly effective off-road performance. Willys was an American automobile manufacturer. They received a commission to build four-wheel drive reconnaissance cars for use in the Second World War. The original model was the Willys MB. The Willys M38 succeeded it and was in production from 1949 to 1952. It is this Willys M38 that serves as the basis for this kit. Tamiya first produced a Wild Willy in the 1980s. The Wild Willy 2 is an updated and improved version!

It's been a while since I penned part one (detailing the differences between the Wild Willy M38 and Wild Willy 2 body and fittings), this time I'll be covering the differences in chassis parts on the earlier "Short" wheelbase (SWB) and the later "Long" wheelbase (LWB) versions. Thanks for the interest in this build. It sounds like a few of you have similar love for Tamika RC. 😍 I think I'm missing out on the joke that's made, is wheel the wrong word for a rim with a tire? I'm not English, so I'm trying my best to translate everything the right way. Enjoy some thrilling wheelies with this assembly kit R/C model! The chassis is constructed around a lightweight and durable monocoque frame, with 4-wheel double wishbone suspension and sealed differential gears. A roller on the rear support bar ensures longer, more stable wheelies. The model features a detailed ABS plastic boy with driver figure included. Wheels already have tires pre-attached, and the motor comes attached to the gearbox to ease the assembly process. I managed to get hold of a spare driver from RiKo and used him on a Tamiya moped kit mated to some bits from other 1/12 bike kits to make a caricature Police motorcyclist as a presentation piece for a Police motorcyclist who was an excellent modeller and good friend of the Bristol shop. RIP, Howard. Might have some 35mm photos somewhere (remember those?).

Specifications

The Wild Willy II performs much better than the Wild Willy and it sure it's much more durable. Because of the better handling, it feels slower than the original, but the high center of gravity and short wheelbase doesn't make it suited for a hotter motor, if you care about the rather fragile body. L7/L5 (steering wheel and post) which I glue prior to painting, although not attaching to body until after everything is painted. I also came across HPI Wheelie King rims and the tires on the net and they have the look I'm after. They look closer to the WW2 tires, but bigger. And I like the chevron look better as of the Traxxas ones. With the exception of a few screw and bearing dimensions, the chassis of the "M38" and "2" generations of the Wild Willy have no parts in common.

Sorry if this is out of place but I love to share my builds and I hope you’ll indulge me as I’m planning on doing some sweet paint action on this beautiful beast. I can’t imagine it’ll take long to build and I hope if you do follow along you’ll find it interesting. Rear Spring Stays have a larger hole on the LWB and the brass fitting has a corresponding extra step. BTW, the rubber plug for the SWB resistor wiring is a 3-speed gearbox bung, now easily available with the Bruiser and Mountaineer re-releases. An even more visible hop-up is an insider tip from the time of the old monster QD's; the hop-up # 43009 QD Monster Spiked Tires fit! Spikes? Yes, "normal" rib tires with spikes between the ribs! They look great on the Wild Willy II.

Item Details

J1/J2 (sparewheel) I usually assemble it before painting, sand the edges where the two parts come together, same glue/screw prosedure as first mentioned parts The second / front part of the chassis gets constructed next allowing the steering servo to get added and the rods pushed into place with ma big pliers. I like projects like this normally but was never 100% happy with my set-up. Looking at B.M.T's job though I am tempted to have another go.The alignment issue is minimal and easily solved. By reversing the front body post, you can fit the WW body straight out of the box. By adding 4 simple spacers, you can fine adjust the lateral alignment of the body. I'll design a set of these spacers now, it's a very very simple part to make, I keep my fingers crossed, and hope if this is released, that Tamiya take their time to update with some cool new details, like jeep wheels and new tires for it, to make it a new release, rather than just a GF-01 Willy release with the same parts that have been available for almost 15 years now.

The original 58035 Wild Willy came out in 1982 and was really unlike anything that had come before it. It had the large tires of the 58029 Blazing Blazer but with a short wheelbase and a high center of gravity mated to a new wheelie chassis. The name "Willy" comes from the fact that this is a model of the M38 made by Willys as the second generation of the original military "Jeep". The body is scale accurate but placed on a crazy high 2WD stunt chassis. May as well name the driver "Wild Willy" and give him a giant head and a lot of detail. Willy would go on to pilot other vehicles over the years including the 58039 Willy's Wheeler only a year later. The 58242 Wild Willy 2 came out in 1999 as a tribute more than a re-release. Although the newer model bears a superficial resemblance to the original, virtually everything has been changed. The original chassis is gone and replaced by a more modern WR-02 wheelie chassis with balloon tires and chrome wheels. At first glance the lovely hard shell body might appear original, but for reasons that are not exactly clear subtle details (including the grille) have been changed which make this now resemble the M151 made by Ford as a successor to the M38. Maybe it was a licensing thing, or maybe Wild Willy 2 is the successor to the original just like the M151. Willy is still there driving. Although this model is still for sale (as of 2019), it is now marketed as Wild Willy 2000. The long rear arms - for the LWB version an ornamental hole is deleted, and the stabiliser bar mount points move forward.The "Switch Stay" also sees some changes between versions: the LWB pressing is narrower & loses the reinforcing fold, but gains an upright section which helps to position the MSC servo. the slats run horizontal rather than vertically. That grill looks like it’ll be a pain to paint so because you get the original grille.