Whenever, there are breaking news available, I am more than happy to post them here on my Blog.
Today Tamiya has published loads of news, which are interesting for both, TRF racers and also Tamiya RC fans. Most importantly: #42391 TRF421X Chassis Kit! As the numbering is not totally new, it means a (massively) reworked evolution of the well established #42384 TRF421 Chassis Kit presented 2 years ago at the 2024 Nuremberg Toy Fair.
Lets come to the details of the new TRF421X Chassis:
TRF421X – the best 1/10 touring car from Tamiya ever! The TRF421 is not a completely new development, but many parts have been redesigned and weaknesses of its predecessor have been improved. The overall package is now suitable for even more tracks – where the TRF421 had previously struggled with a lot of grip or at high temperatures. The basic 2-belt layout has been retained. It already worked perfectly on the TRF421!
And now for the new features: The cardan shafts are now equipped with ball-bearings, which eliminates the need for (wear-prone) blades and at the same time reduces friction losses in the drive train. The wishbones (top & bottom) are now injection-molded from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (PA-CF), which leads to sharper steering response (less flex), especially on tracks with medium to high grip. In addition, there are now new damper stays, which position the dampers closer to the chassis. The motor mount and chassis plate have been redesigned so that the motor now sits lower in the chassis. The upper decks have also been redesigned and are stiffer than their predecessors from the TRF421 thanks to additional struts. The mounting on the top can also be varied with screws, slip-on sleeves, and shims. The upper bulkheads now have mounting points that are 1 mm further inwards for more cornering speed. There is now also an eccentric sleeve on one of the two sides to mount the upper wishbones without tension, e.g. when driving with anti-dive. The steering lever arms have also been redesigned and now have outwardly offset connection points for more steering on the front axle and more traction on the rear axle. The kit now includes 2x 1.2mm stabilizers and an additional 1.3mm stabilizer. A flat 20g receiver weight and a 0.6mm 30g battery weight plate are also included. All new features are also compatible with the TRF421 (chassis plate only in conjunction with the 421X motor mount).
The TRF421 comes standard with a 2.0mm aluminum chassis. It has been shown that the aluminum chassis performs significantly better than the carbon chassis, even on asphalt.
More good news: most of the previous TRF421 spare parts remain in the range and are now available as options for the TRF421X. This means that the “soft” swing arms #51739 + #51742 and the old upper decks can prove very advantageous on tracks with little grip. The stabilizers from the TRF421 (0.9 to 1.1mm) remain compatible. The upper bulkheads (1mm further out than the TRF421X) and the steering lever arms will also remain available.
Here are all the new features (compared to the TRF421) again:
- TRF421X sticker sheet and plastic carrying box with pink printing
- 2.0 mm aluminum chassis with stiffening struts #51759
- New upper #51766 and lower #51765 suspension arms made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (PA-CF) – (almost) same shape as previous #51739 / #51742 (here the lower damper position has changed)
- Eccentric adjustable upper arm mount to enable tension-free anti-dive
- Red TRF springs included in the kit (slightly harder than the green ones from the TRF421)
- New 46mm front #51761 and rear #51760 drive shafts with ball bearings #51762
- New diff joints #51764 and spool cups #51763 to accommodate the cardan shafts with ball bearings
- (New gear diff #51767), which is “apparently” identical to the old #51745, which has the new joints #51764
- New damper stays that hold the shocks closer to the center of the chassis
- New one-piece and split top deck with new flex screws (split for maximum steering and one-piece for tracks where you have enough steering)
- 2x 1.2mm stabilizers (medium hard) and 1x 1.3mm (hard)
- New very flat additional weights for receiver (20g) and battery (30g)
With all its new hop-ups, the TRF421X is a logical further development of the TRF421. Especially in combination with the old TRF421 parts, you now get a complete package that can unleash its full potential on tracks with little to extremely high grip. No TRF touring car has ever been more competitive than this one!
All my customers can (as always) expect full setup support! I also guarantee full spare parts availability for all TRF421/421X customers from May 2026.
The electronics shown are not included!
Furthermore, what else can we see at the Tamiya booth?
As 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Tamiya RC, there is … tadaaa … #47524 Porsche 934 RSR Vaillant 50th Anniversary. It features a new RWD chassis with centrally & longitudinally positioned motor. Different FDRs are possible to set. At the rear axle it features trailing suspension arms made from carbon reinforced plastic. The main chassis is molded from glass fibre reinforced plastic with a standard wheelbase of 230mm. It can be modified for 251mm wheelbase also. Also new is the option for both conventional and magnetic body mounts (both included). Black TRF dampers and 24mm medium narrow tires with mesh rims are also included in the kit.
New body variant for TT-02 Chassis will be the #58751 BMW M4 GT3 Evo, which comes also with new rims in Y-Spoke Design.
Further releases:
#58449 BMW M3 GT2 2009 TT-01E
#58483 Mini Cooper Monte Carlo ’94 M-05
#58516 BMW 318i STW TT-01E
#58755 Lunch Box Evo (Double Wishbone suspension front and upgraded rear suspension)
#58756 Quirkhopper (GF-02)
#58759 Ford F150 Ranger XLT (Re-Release from 1981)
#58760 BMW M3 Sport Evo Jägerm. 92 TT-02
#47528 1/14 Truck Series Volvo FH16 Globetrotter 750 8×4 Tow Truck (Silver Edition)
#47526 Ford Zakspeed Capri MAMPE TT-02
Gallery No. 2
