sed 1:12th Scale Fun!

The Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux is one of those hidden gems in the rc world, offering up semi-scale looks and impressive off-road prowess at a reasonable price; and now that we have a solid North American distributor with Graupner USA, this little scaler can be wrung out in the dirt without worrying about parts availability if something goes wrong. As a die-hard Toyota fan and the proud owner of two Tacoma's over the years, I jumped at the opportunity to review the Hilux.

The Hilux was built to be a great crawler and general off-road truck right out the box. With locked front and rear axles and a linked suspension that articulates quite well, it can climb over obstacles and push through sticky mud effortlessly. But with an impressive checklist of features, the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux does have a few shortcomings which we'll discuss in the review. Let's get started!

• The box. This one is officially licensed by Toyota.
• Fully built and packaged well.

Having Toyota's blessing with licensing rights makes the Thunder Tiger Hilux complete; the TOYOTA lettering on the tailgate and quarter panel badges add to the realism, even with this semi-scale truck. The "pizza-cutter" tires and wheels are a nod to the stock setup on any early generation Toyota truck, although I would have preferred the steel-wheel look over the aftermarket American-Racing style chrome wheels that the Hilux came with.

• 
  Decals applied. This Toyota looks sharp!

With the decals applied, the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux takes on a look of a heavily modified truck, complete with a front aftermarket rock bumper with d-rings, rock sliders to protect the sides of the body, and a bed-mounted roll bar with faux driving lights. The suspension is also heavily modified with a 4-link setup out back and up front. Beefy axles that resemble GM 14-bolt housings are found front and rear, and they feature locked differentials for maximum traction. As an added bonus, the Hilux is outfitted with ball bearings on both axles and the transmission. For those drivers wanting a slight more scale look, the friction dampers are adjustable to reduce ride height.

• The Hilux comes with a plastic aftermarket rock bumper with d-rings.
•  

The chassis is a metal c-channel ladder frame with plastic cross members bolted on. The front and rear bumpers can be adjusted in or out, but I found their stock location to be a perfect fit for the body.

• Under the body is a metal c-channel ladder frame and a 4-link suspension.
•  

The electronics packages included with the Toyota Hilux is a good fit for this 1:12th scale truck. A 380-sized brushless motor and 40 amp waterproof esc provide reliable power to spin all four wheels, while the 850mAh Li-Ion battery serves up decent run times around 15 minutes with varying throttle usage. The steering servo is nothing special: plastic gears and somewhat lacking in the torque department. If I were to change anything about the electronics package, it would be to replace the steering servo with one featuring more torque. The receiver is not sealed in a plastic compartment; a feature that has almost become a standard on other crawlers. I did, however, put the Hilux in plenty of muddy water and hosed it down afterwards with no problems to note.

• Plastic "nerf bars" add a little protection for the body.

• The 4-link suspension is very plush and doesn't bind under any circumstances.
• The stock chrome wheels remind me of those vintage American Racing wheels, while the tires have that classic skinny "pizza cutter" look that early Toyota trucks were known for.

• The plastic friction dampers contain no oil, so they're very bouncy. However, with the slow speeds of the HiLux, they conform very well to the terrain.

Driving Video

Driving Review

The Hilux has plenty of power from it's 380-sized brushed motor to keep the wheels spinning under any circumstance. Coupled with the aggressive tread pattern on the tires and the locked axles, there's very little terrain the Hilux can't conquer in its size range.

• The Hilux does exhibit some body roll, due in part to the long travel 4-link suspension and lightly sprung friction dampers.

The 4-link suspension is one of the few non-scale aspects of the Hilux. There are a couple of leaf-sprung scale trucks out there, but their performance is somewhat limited. The Thunder Tiger development team wanted the Hilux to not only look great, but to also perform well, thus they opted for a 4-link suspension setup. The friction damper shocks don't come with oil, so the ride is a little bouncy if you're fire-walling the throttle over obstacles. Additionally, the long travel suspension, coupled with the relatively uninhibited movement of the friction dampers, makes for some excessive body roll in the turns. These are my only real negatives about the Toyota Hilux, and they only become apparent if you're expecting scale driving performance under the body. Otherwise, the Hilux has not disappointed!

• The locked axles and aggressive tires are what keeps the Hilux moving forward on even the most demanding "trails".
•  

The Hilux had no problems powering through some pretty sticky mud. Even with the tires caked with sticky clay, the Hilux just kept clawing its way forward. I really liked the Li-Ion battery included with the Toyota Hilux. At 7.4v, it supplies enough voltage to keep the motor spinning happily, and the 850mAh size is a great compromise between run time and weight. However, if 30+ minute runs are what you're after, there's room on the battery deck for a longer pack.

• With my 4-year old son driving (yes, he's an excellent driver!), we pushed the Hilux through some sticky clay mud; the tires caked up heavily but the Hilux just kept powering through. A brief splash through a puddle shed the mud easily.

• After 15 minutes of driving, the battery was spent. Time for a cool-down shot!