By Oz Mick 06/03/2010 10:01:36

Yep, they're back and I am assembling line at the moment.

Given the second opportunity to assemble and drive one, I'm giving the build the reverence it deserves :)
The kit is different in places, (included esc, battery, some material colour changes) but its all good.
There's a small problem with the front wheels. The instructions ask them to face one way, but the wheel centers foul on the upper nad lower arms. No problem however, turn them around and all is well. If it was perfect, then it wouldn't be a sand scorcher yeah?

By zambo76 28/12/2009 11:35:10

TAMIYA ARE GOING TOO RELEASE THE SANDSCORHER.COME ON TAMYIA THE TOYOTAHILUX NEXT PLEASE.

By Blackbobba 19/12/2008 23:57:25

Hi folks!
I'm very excited about this site! I never thought that there is such a big fan community for this 'old toys'. I own the incredible SAND SCORCHER for more than 25 years (a gift from my Daddy at the 'Dortmunder Modellbaumesse' in - ahm, hm, I think 1982? for 209,-DM, by the way...) - he scraped a bare living in the cellar for years but now it's time to hit the (off)road again! A fellow worker of mine (he's a Tamiya-RC and real-life-trucker) reminded me of that forgotten treasure down below. By ordering some rare spareparts on Ebay I hope to reanimate this beauty real soon. Sorry for my Germenglish! I hope we stay in touch! Merry christmas and a happy new year to all of you from Germany!!
P.S.: pics will follow!

By DRAGON3Y3 09/04/2008 22:50:32

To bad the peeps from Tamiya are not considering a remake of this marvel.

By Supra44 06/01/2008 13:05:56

An early 80's marvel

My buddies all had the "Rough Rider" I deviated from normality by purchasing the Sand Scorcher.

I found my Sand Scorcher in standard form lacking perfomance and handling I got round that by fully ball racing gearbox and wheels etc swapping RS540 motor for the RS540S (black motor) and opting for ESC also a more powerful steering servo.

With the above changes cured the Sand Scorcher's ills allowing it too keep pace with other Tamiya models.

By MikeT 03/03/2007 15:40:02

Well, i LOVE EM! Nah, they aren't the best handling cars in the world, they aren't the fastest, but the peope who own em, DON'T CARE!!!!

Just look at Joe's stunning examples of Baja Racers and you'll see why!

By Stevo309 19/08/2006 00:23:42

There's really not much to say that hasn't already been said about the Scorcher. For many it has become the holy grail of vintage Tamiyas. Astonishing realism and based on a real life classic with charm and character guaranteeing it's success from the start. Although parts are plentiful, they command high prices due to the competition for them. Expect to pay £1000 and up for a nice new in box kit!