Construction of Tamiya R/C Monster Truck – Lunch Box

When we opened the shop, a few years ago, we imagined stocking radio controls one day. It was an aspiration that remained an aspiration for so long because we just didn’t know where to begin! Little did we know in 2025 a customer would bring in a R/C kit and the rest is history.

We’re starting our R/C collection with a classic Tamiya kit – the Lunch Box monster truck!

This kit comes with everything to build the car (the body, chassis, wheels and typres). To make it move, you will need in addition: a two-channel radio, steering servo, and a 7.2volt battery pack with a compatible charger.
The body is made of ABS plastic. It can be coloured with any Tamiya TS sprays.
The wheels and trims are pre-coloured.
The gearbox, battery holder, and front arms are all in black plastic, which can be easily wiped clean after each use.
The smaller parts (screw, bearings, and washers etc) are packed in several bags (labelled A, B, C, D). The kit came with many screws of different shapes and sizes – keeping them in these labelled bags makes it a lot easier to locate them.
In the kit are also sticker markings, an electronics speed controller (ESC), and the motor. The motor has snap connectors – no soldering required!
As mentioned, we do need some extra equipment to make the R/C car move. For this project we used the Carson stick transmitter set that contains all the other things we needed.
This box comes with a stick transmitter, a battery pack, a USB charger, a steering servo, and AA batteries for the transmitter.
With the battery charged, we connect the electronic parts together and test the equipment. This is an important first step – you don’t want to build everything only to find the motor doesn’t work.
To identify the correct parts to use, refer the side column in the instruction. BC means bag ‘C’. Pull out the part from the bag and align it to the image on the instruction. The images are life size – right down to the number of threads on the screws. You will have some screw left over, keep them safe for repair work down the line.
The servo-saver is attached to the steering servo.
The body mount and the steering servo is added to the chassis.
The on-off switch (receiver switch) couldn’t be screw-attached because the screw holes are in the wrong position. This was also the case with the Rising Sun kit we built previously.
To solve this, we used some of the double sided tape and stuck it in postion. We’ve not had any problem with it so far.
The receiver and ESC are also mounted with double sided tape.
The on-off sticker is added on the chassis.
The gearbox is assembled – make sure you apply plenty of grease!
We secured the wires using the large nylon band provided and then positioned the pinion gear and secured with a grub screw.
Attached the motor and wheelie bar to the gearbox.
Here we are assembling the axle holder. The screw in the centre holds the spring down for the gearbox attachment. Remeber to remove it again once it is attached.
Gearbox attached to the chassis.
Motor cables connected.
Attached rear dampers.
Assembled the front arms.
Secured the front arms and attached the front bumper.
Attached the front dampers and battery holder.
Fitted the tyres onto the wheels. Check the rotation direction so you have a right and a left for both front and back wheel.
Attached the wheels – again, remeber to apply plenty of grease.
Installed the battery pack and connected the connectors.
Next, we sprayed the car body. The instructions recommended using TS16 Yellow. We wanted something brighter, so we went with Tamiya TS47 chrome yellow instead.
The small areas were hand painted. Here we used an acrylic black marker (DSPIAE Pure Black) for the windows.
We used masking tape to paint this straight edge.
Result!
The sticker markings are added.
Last but not least – we attached the body to the chassis.

When Radio Control Knock on the Door

Last week, someone came in with a half-built R/C car.

“Help, it’s an emergency!”, they exclaimed.

But…I’ve not built an R/C before.

“It’s OK, just type in the computer, you’ll work it out,” they answered.

I did not know how to argue with that.

So they left me with this giant box and my adventure in radio control began…

This is what it looked like when it arrived in the shop. I took it part to see how everything works.
First things first – check the electronic components work.
The suspensions and motor added in.
The front wheels needed to be aligned…almost there!
Wheels aligned, just a small matter of adding stickers now.
Ta-da!

Construction of Sarissa Precision 28mm Chateau

Being dangerously close to the two-year mark since we last posted a construction project, we tried our hands on a Chateau by Sarissa Precision. Sarissa Precision produces a range a MDF buildings in 15mm, 20mm, and 28mm scale that can be used for wargaming and dioramas. We made the 28mm version, which came with laser-cut cardboard roof tiles.

Included in the kit are laser-cut cardboard roof tiles and window shutters.
This kit came with 5 A4-size MDF sheets. Here are the floors and support structures.
Here are the walls and window surrounds.
The main building structure ‘snaps’ together – no glue is necessary. If you are using it for wargaming and want to keep the roof and each floor separated, you might want to loosen the inter-locking parts. Otherwise it is very hard to get it apart again once snapped together.
The window and door surrounds were glued on with superglue.
The roof tiles were attached using masking tape to see how they fitted before gluing on permanently.
Here is the entire building assembled.
The building was covered with a layer of PVA glue to stop it soaking up too much paint. A wood filler was used to add texture and cover up any gaps.
We hand-brushed the entire building with Army Painter acrylic paint and added stone scatters.

New Stock – Ammo Atom Paint

ATOM is a paint specially designed for modelling, formulated for maximum performance with both brush and airbrush application. ATOM paints provide strong covering power without obscuring details, resulting in a smooth, uniform, and durable matte finish. They can even be applied without the use of primer. In addition to their excellent resistance, fluidity, colour intensity, and fast drying time, ATOM paints also possess exceptional self-levelling properties.

ATOM paints are water-based acrylics with the benefits and properties of lacquer paints when applied using an airbrush. This includes minimal clogging, excellent durability, and a quick drying time. When applied with a brush, they retain all of the advantages of acrylic paint, as well as the unique properties of the ATOM range. ATOM paints are odourless and non-toxic; and they are manufactured in compliance with the latest global safety regulations.

The advantages and innovations of ATOM paints extend beyond their formula. Their revolutionary packaging, designed and manufactured exclusively for this range, is completely transparent and features a vertical dropper, accommodating quick, convenient, and clean use with just one hand required to open and close the cap. Additionally, its 20ml capacity is larger than most acrylic paint containers, providing a much more favourable price-to-capacity ratio.