I’ve been into radio-control cars for over 30 years, and have built countless kits from nearly every RC car manufacturer on the planet, thanks in large part to a steady stream of review cars when I was helming RC Car Action magazine (which is still around, on paper and everything!). One brand I’ve returned to over and over again as a favorite is Tamiya – you may recall I wrote about the passing of founder Shunsaku Tamiya, and most recently I built a (very loose) replica of David’s Ebay Jeep using a Tamiya Wild Willy 2 kit. As a top manufacturer of both static and RC models, the brand has a highly devoted following. Any new model from Tamiya is big hobby news, but especially so on the radio-control side.
Tamiya’s latest release has got me super-double-extra excited, because it combines all the things Tamiya does best: scale realism, clever engineering, premium quality, and fun performance. I say “fun” instead of “high” because there are plenty of competition brands that go all out for track performance at the expense of even remote scale realism, whereas Tamiya’s replica designs aim for high performance within the constraints of a realistic model. And, importantly, it’s a Beetle.
Tamiya is no stranger to Beetle models and currently offers the rally Beetle, Monster Beetle, and Blitzer Beetle (in that order clockwise below), and there’s another ’68 Beetle on the M-06 chassis that goes in and out of production that is also on my wish list.
These are all wonderful models and clearly lean more heavily between realism and fun, depending on the model you’re looking at. But even the most realistic of the three, the rally car, isn’t exactly realistic beneath its polycarbonate shell:
The MF-01X chassis is pretty neat, and Tamiya configures it as rear-motor befitting a Beetle, but the monocoque design with integrated gearboxes and full-time four-wheel drive (note the driveshaft running along the top edge of the chassis) is far from what underpins an actual Beetle. And that’s OK! This model is a ton of fun, just not realistic technology-wise.
So you can imagine why I’m so stoked on the Dune Beetle Cross and its BB-02 chassis. Look at this beauty!
Now, true, no Beetle had massive trailing arms like that, and though you can’t see them from this angle, there aren’t swing axles back there, either. Instead, it’s got the same rear end as the BBX buggy, which gives us a closer look:
The Dune Beetle will arrive with plastic-body shocks instead of aluminum as the BBX wears, but Tamiya’s oil-filled dampers are exceptionally smooth regardless of what they’re made from. The front of the trailing arm is ball-mounted, allowing for camber to be adjusted by altering the length of the upper threaded link.
They’ll be covered by rubber boots for the Dune Cross, but universal joints as configured above are standard equipment.
Also standard: a ball differential, which is my favorite bit of RC car tech that doesn’t exist in full-size cars – or has it been done? I’d love to be proven wrong and see what that looks like in a “real” car!
Back to the suspension. The Dune Cross will also get a double A-arm front suspension like the BBX buggy, but that won’t be the only front suspension in the box …
In addition to the A-arms, a much more Beetle-like trailing arm front end setup will be included with the kit. I’ll likely go with the A-arms, as they also widen the front track width and I intend to hit the local dirt track with my Dune Beetle (you can see the trailing-arm car get a little roly-poly in the GIF below), but the trailing arm option is a great touch. Note the waffle pattern that emulates the texture of an actual Beetle floorpan, though the chassis itself is not constructed like a real Beetle’s.
More details abound in the rear of the car, with a nicely detailed flat-four left exposed by the bodywork. Driver and navigator figures are tucked beneath the roll cage, and there are dash details as well. Gotta go into Zen mode to paint those guys. 
It’s just a beautiful model that should be a blast to drive, and I can’t wait to get my hands on one – hopefully as soon as they drop for the holiday season. As a full assembly kit, it’ll need a few items to complete it. If it’s like the BBX buggy, I’ll need to supply a radio system, steering servo, motor, speed control, battery, and paint. Good news, I already have all this stuff. 
Where my fellow RC fans at? Does the Dune Beetle Cross have a spot on your wish list? Would you like to see a build story here at The Autopian? See you in the comments.
All images: Tamiya
I like the details on this one! Especially that engine and pipe on the back.
1:9 scale seems odd to me. I am used to 1:5, 1:8, but 1:9 is an odd scale for me to think about because 1:10 is the dominant size. Of course there are those smaller 1:18 and 1:24’s as well, so I guess at some point we’ll just have scales of all sizes.
Tamiya makes the worlds best model kits and RC kits in the world. Their attention to detail is incredible, it is what you would expect from Apple. Materials, construction, instruction manuals are of the highest quality. They are not meant as the highest performing, lightest or most advanced kits but they certainly are most fun to spend time with. I built several Formula 1 kits and several RC kits among them the BigWig and Boomerang.
Rc cars are souch fun. I had a Big Boss years ago, spent a such time fixing it as piloting it.
Tons of fun!