TOPIC:

You're not going to believe this - but I've bought another car I'm happy with, and ebay of all places!

Described as a "Model racer part built", it is in fact a Mardave Meteor - I had one of these in my youth, they first appeared around 1988 - and sorry to say, it whizzes all over 2WDs Tamiyas of the time on price, setup/handling (collar adjustable oil shocks, double wishbone suspension all round & near perfect steering geometry, adjustable toe in/out on the front & adjustable camber all round), had a much superior mechanical speed control, and were much tougher too ...

... unfortunately they did look like they were designed & built it someone's shed ... in fact, they look to me like someone rolled up their sleeves & decided to make a copy of a Hotshot ... but did it in a very British sheddy kind of way ... I can just imagine some of the "design meetings" ...

"That body looks a bit complicated ... couldn't we just do a vacform of a brick instead?"

"4WD ... bit complicated - let's make it rear wheel drive"

"Want a biscuit with your tea? Rich Tea, Digestive? I think we might have some Jaffa cakes somewhere ..."

"We could save a few quid on wheelnuts if we just used circlips instead..."

(preceded by sucking air through teeth) ... "That injection moulded chassis looks expensive ... hang on, I'll just put a bend in this bit of ally sheet ..."

and so on


This is a much later model, judging by the gold anodised chassis with an increased angle on it, and by the dish wheels & spike tyres ...



No electrics at all, not even a motor ... which means no motor pinion either - and it's a problem to get one with few enough teeth now (ideally 9 or 10 tooth, 11 is a bit tall - in 48dp)...




Wheels & tyres look brand new...



Driver figures were rare - I think less than 1/2 of the kits had them in, or in may have been an optional extra - or at least they were, until someone started doing repro items on eBay :L





Paint is best described as a disaster ...




underside looks barely used...




Back end, doesn't look used at all ... note the plate under the wing - that's where you're supposed to put the RX antenna ...




Fluff is a big problem on this car - not often you can say that!







I've got to be honest, I only bought this because it was really cheap ... even so I don't think I would have if I'd known my finances were going to reverse to quickly ... so I think a quick paint strip & repaint in the boxart blue & yellow, a quick rebuild to get rid of the fluff ... then back on ebay

Nice, looks like a mix of Meccano, hello Kitty, Bratz and Tamiya.
Like the wing thingie for the antenna.

waterbok wrote:

Nice, looks like a mix of Meccano, hello Kitty, Bratz and Tamiya.
Like the wing thingie for the antenna.

Yes ... perhaps I should point out that the bits that look pink are in fact red

Nice buy the great thing about Mardave's are the parts are stupidly cheap

I have a weak spot for these so let me know when your selling it and i might relieve you of it

Don't mean to be funny, but that is probably the most un-aerodynamic buggy ever...

tamiya wrote:

...

I have a weak spot for these so let me know when your selling it and i might relieve you of it

That would have a certain symmetry about it - I bought it from someone less than 10 miles from you

Had to strip the paint of my DT-02 wheels last night so I thought I might as well do my Scorcher wheels & the Mardave body while I was stinking the place out ...

This is 30 minutes after applying the first coat of grafitti remover ... I swear the body & the photo haven't been manipulated ...




several hours later ...

I kind of like this totally non-subtle car...
But was it a mushroom in a past life?

Edou wrote:

I kind of like this totally non-subtle car...
But was it a mushroom in a past life?

I think it was red with white spots & a couple of gold stripes before being black, so very possibly...

Just dismantled it, and judging by the lack of wear, especially on the blacked ball diff outdrives, driveshafts, etc - it's never been run.

The question is, who buys one of these just to look at?