The Sarawak Chamber is the largest known underground chamber of its kind in the world. It is part of the ‘Good Luck Cave’ system which is located in Gunung Mulu National Park, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

The chamber is not yet fully explored, and roughly measures about 700m (2,300 feet) long, 400m (1,300 feet) wide and at least 70m (230 feet) high. To get a sense of how much space this is, imagine the amount of land you would need to park ten Boeing 747-400 aircraft in line.  That’s a lot of space! The irregular shape of Sarawak Chamber would probably fit at least 30 more inside if the ground was flat, and the entrance was big enough… well, it’s safe to say that I would have to be making a good number of assumptions indeed. In any event- It’s BIG.

There are no good photos of the chamber because it’s rather difficult to get to, and lugging along a light source powerful enough to light up the entire chamber just to get a photograph is not a trek that would provide a very good bang for the buck.

The story of the initial discovery itself is quite interesting as well. Andy Eavis, Dave Checkley, and Tony White – all highly accomplished spelologists wandered into the chamber not quite realizing what they were in. At some point they realized from the air and how sound carried that they were inside a large chamber, but their lights were not powerful enough to see where the border walls were. Imagine the terror of not knowing where the walls are, and that you’re just in the dark somewhere underground, clambering about in a field littered with giant boulders.

One of the men had a panic attack (the other two won’t say who of course) and they spent some time just trying to find a wall so that they could make a bearing. The whole story is documented in greater detail in the book “Underground Worlds” by Donald Jackson.

There are few places left on Earth that inspire such wild imagination of the unknown.

You’re probably here because of a random search. Well, i’m no expert, but i’ve got some equipment, and i’ve been shooting for only a little while. I’m probably the perfect person to offer an objective point of view! I’m a newbie too. Just like you, but the only difference is that I have some gear, and you don’t (yet).

Well, I want to help you. I want to help you save money, time, and frustration. So without further do, please allow me the opportunity to set you straight on a few things.

1. The equipment DOES NOT really matter!
2. Persistence and patience do matter, however.
3. Being creative and curious helps a lot.
4. Special effects are easy. Time consuming, but still… easy.
5. Connections help more than expensive lenses.

The explanation for each of these points continues after the break.

The Equipment Does Not Really Matter

I shoot Canon gear, and I have invested in it mainly because it’s what I’ve always been comfortable using from starting off with point-and-shoot cameras. That’s it. I’m perfectly comfortable with the prospect of having to use Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, and even Sony (who bought up the assets of what was once Konica-Minolta).

Anyone who tells you one system is flat out superior to another is a fanboy. Don’t listen to them. No how good they seem to be at their craft, they are doomed to be the frog in the well. Definitely do not listen to the boisterous keyboard warriors of the Internet forum wastelands. More often than not, these are the types who never even post photos. Probably because they are too busy arguing the merits of one brand over another.

…The camera at its core is just a f#*%ing box that captures light…

Save yourself a lot of stress, go to a camera store, or a Best Buy, and play around with the interface on the cameras on display. Put your brain on ‘IGNORE’ mode with the salespeople. Feel the camera and look around in the interface for what is intuitive for you. Don’t worry if you don’t know what buttons do which. At this point you are not supposed to know. Just put the camera in your hands and work on these things:

1. Can I figure out how to turn it on or off?
2. Is it comfortable in my hands?
3. Is it too light, or too heavy?
4. Can I reach all of the buttons, switches, and doodads with both hands comfortably?
5. Does it feel right?

Seriously, that sounds simple, like for developmentally retarded individuals. But I have quantified the exact things that will be running through your mind at that point. Pick something you’re comfortable with. You’re the one that is going to have to use it every day.

Don’t worry about megapixels. Don’t worry about the ISO rating of the camera. Don’t worry about technobabble this, or whachamcallit that. Don’t let anyone- whether it be a sales droid, a crazy uncle, or even myself get to you to influence the TECHNICAL aspects of your decision. Camera bodies are all competent regardless of the manufacturer and worrying about the TECHNICAL details is really useless at this point.

The camera at its core is just a fucking BOX that captures light. An empty coffee can with a pinhole and some film can do that. There is even a trend these days to use deliberately crappy cameras and lenses to take artsy, strangely overexposed photos. I am serious! (wikipedia – Lomography). So DON’T WORRY about these technical aspects at all.

Don’t worry about getting additional lenses at this point. Learn and use the kit lens that comes with your camera first. I had a kit lens and I regret selling it, because it was damn good at what it did, and was light and cheap. Put thoughts of loading up on lenses firmly out of your head.

…Don’t worry about megapixels. Don’t worry about the ISO rating of the camera…

The main merits of sticking with Canon or Nikon (since they are the big dogs) or some other recommend brand is that if you’re in a class/group environment, you can share other people’s lenses.

Otherwise if you want to go with some other brand, knock yourself out. Building a good DSLR is not rocket surgery, and pretty much everything out there is competent at taking pictures, so you will be perfectly fine with whatever gear you are comfortable with.

Still not convinced? Check out this rant written by Chad Coombs, a professional photographer. He says it a lot more to-the-point and jarringly eloquently than me most of the time. I am being dead serious. Stop right now in fact, go read that page RIGHT NOW, and you can thank me later. I won’t be upset if you decide not to come back. I’m being serious.

Persistence & Patience Really Do Matter

I read my manuals and documentation all the time. I frustrated the hell out of my wife because I take my cameras into the bathroom, and use that opportunity while downloading a brownload to fully understand the feature sets, limitations, and experiment while my gear has a captive audience. No, I don’t take pictures of my own poop. I might though, if I leave one large enough to clog the whole thing down, but you get my drift – OKAY back on subject…

There is a lot to understand about photography, and while I cannot claim to be an expert at ANYTHING in the field, I can at least have conversations with those that do, and take away a reasonable understanding of things they have to say. There are quite a few technical terms, a little bit of math, TONS of marketing bullshit, but even more good tips and techniques.

My point is that I still may not be a good photographer after all is said and done, but I have learned a lot of random things related to the study of light, and there is always more to reach for. Don’t let the initial overwhelming flood of information intimidate you. Embrace it, and just try to digest comfortable sized bits at a time.

Being Creative & Curious Helps a Lot

I’ll admit I need a lot of work in this regard. Every time I give my camera to a child to use, more often than not I get something back that looks better than if I had taken it. This happens! Accept it!

The trick is to not get discouraged, and instead capitalize on the lesson they are sharing with you. Keep an open mind, be creative, and be curious. Who cares if you’re at a museum, and you are lying on the ground to get a better shot of a statue?

Sure, people are laughing at you now, but these are the same people who would gladly over cashmoney for one of your prints afterwards.

Special Effects are Easy, But Time Consuming

If you’re looking at this photo and you say “Wow! I really want to do this! This is SO FREAKING COOL!”

…let me just tell you first to smack that thought out of your head and come to your senses. Don’t fall for this sort of bullshit. You are better than that.

There is nothing wrong with this type of photography- it’s called high dynamic range imaging, or HDR (sometimes HDRi) for short- but it is a special effect. Time will tell if it fades into obscurity as a mere gimmick, or continues its life in a more muted and upscale fashion.  Photos like this are composed of at least two images taken at different exposure settings which are ‘muxed’ together using Photoshop or other applications.

Remember, that these are special effect shots. Good effects like any must be used in moderation. If you rush out and get yourself a DSLR thinking you want to shoot only images like this, chances are you will be frustrated and disappointed. These sort of shots take a lot of time to craft, and it’s all too easy to fall into the trap to overdo them.

Connections Help More Than Expensive Gear

This is something I don’t need to elaborate much on. If you’re at a venue, and you can get front-row access, you stand to get much better, intimate shots than the guy slathered in gear who is sitting in the nosebleed seats, doesn’t know any of the performers, doesn’t even know where the dressing rooms are, or can’t even get the time of day from the security staff.

I often have to remind myself to work on this aspect. It’s really something that people overlook until the last minute.

Conclusion & Wrap-Up

Below are two of my cameras. I use both of them. If you’re bored, you can see a head-to-head comparison between David and Goliath that I am slowly pulling together here and here. You can decide for yourself if even using a DSLR is what you are looking for.

Well, I really hope that this helps you in making your purchase. Remember that what matters is that you are happy and comfortable taking photos. Good luck!

It pays to take your camera around everywhere. This may not be a ‘great’ photo but I love the emotion it sparks when I see it. Best part? No posing, and total spontaneity. I wish I had a better eye for this sort of thing.

Again, not a technically impressive shot, and completely lacking in an interesting subject… but its always fun to experiment.

Normal, mundane things can be fun too.

Construction updates can also be seen here at the full construction thread on scale4x4rc.us.

Overview

This project sort of started by accident. I was bored, waiting for raw materials for something else and decided to use what i had lying around.

What started off as a stock Tamiya Rock Buster TLT-1 1/18th scale electric monster truck is shaping up into an interesting, compact nitro-powered machine.

The engine is from an HPI RS4-2 Nitro 1/10 scale touring car. It has been abused, so it is definitely not in its prime. No matter, as it will work fine for this truck.

This is a picture of it in its current state, along with a cross-section.

So without further ado, here are some answers to some frequently asked questions:

What is this truck unique?
It is a nitromethane burning conversion of what was originally an electric powered truck.
It is also fairly small, as most monster trucks are 1/10 (or close) scale and around 20 inches long. The Super Peanut is around half of that.

What kind of engine is inside it?
The engine is the HPI .15FE, a basic model that came with the HPI RS4-2 Nitro series on-road touring cars. It’s not a particularly high performer, but it has been a reliable little thing so far.

In practice it has shown to be a perfect fit for this truck. It doesn’t have the lightning-quick throttle response of a proper racing engine, and is running with stiff clutch springs, so the truck tends not to wheelie. This makes it a lot more controllable and fun.

How fast does it go?
The truck tops off at around 20MPH or so. I have not accurately measured it yet though. It has an insanely tight turning radius, so it can get very squirrely at high speed. That speed is perfectly reasonable for the truck too, and because of its small size it has the illusion of going very quickly..
Without a radar measurement this guess can be wildly inaccurate. Smaller vehicles typically have the optical illusion of moving faster.

UPDATE! I have measured the top speed of this truck on hard pack dirt with a radar gun- it came out to 21MPH consistently

Where are the brakes?
The brake disc is hiding right behind the main spur gear. It has been dampened so the truck has a (hopefully) lower chance of flipping over at the slightest touch of the brakes while at speed.

It has four wheel steering?
Yes, in a standard ‘claw’ fashion. One set of wheels turns right, the other turns the opposite direction giving a sharp increase in turning angle and making the turning radius tighter. Of course, when done at high speeds, it makes your model flip over a lot more easily as well.

Is it top-heavy?
It’s actually less top heavy than the stock TLT-1 truck, and definitely less so than variants of the TLT-1 (Such as the Max Climber) that have a new battery clip placing the battery pack high above the chassis. A goofy, non-pickup body was also used to help hide the bulk of the battery pack.

Also, the stock TLT-1 coil-over-oil dampers are pretty much worthless and i won’t be using those on this truck.

In actual driving, the truck tends to do donuts on hard dirt when at mid throttle and the steering is jammed over, instead of just flipping. Not enough time has been spent on pavement, but it would be safe to assume the truck will roll over on that kind of surface very easily.

How about its off-roading performance?
The short wheelbase gives the truck a squirrely ride. Its quite entertaining to watch, and this factor alone limits its top useful speed.
It also has the stock TLT-1 tires, with its goofy super-wide axles, so it won’t have much ground clearance either. This little truck is pretty much at home on large, relatively flat, hard pack dirt surfaces like a baseball diamond infield.

Despite not having much suspension travel (vertical movement is about 3/4″) the truck seems to soak in landings fairly well. However i don’t think any level of suspension travel is going to help with its current short wheelbase setup.

Why run with the short wheelbase?
I went back to the shortened setup to match the ‘box stock’ appearance of the truck, and to also try and keep the it as physically small as possible.

Why the name ‘Super Peanut’?
Tamiya has a glorious tradition of Engrish on their website which manifests itself in very subtle ways. Names of their past kits are just funny without being over the top.

Things such as ‘Terra Conqueror’, ‘Blazing Blazer’, and ‘Mad Fighter’ come to mind. I was just trying to mimic their slick Engrish style

How’s the driveline holding up?
Unbelievably… very well!

The TLT-1 series of trucks seems to be on the receiving end of quite a bit of harsh criticism from people about its driveline. Some of it has been rightfully so. Before going any further, the one thing that should be noted about these trucks is that very few parts on it are actually ‘new’.

The axles are retooled units that comes from Tamiya’s 1/14 scale big rig lineup of trucks. The transmission is essentially just the belt-driven rear end ripped out of the TA04 series of on-road touring cars.

These are all proven parts with a good track record of reliability. This however does not prevent the kit from looking like it was put designed by a Tamiya intern digging through the parts bin (it really does!). There is one weakness to me in the belt is that it does not have a tensioner and its stock position seems rather slack. At the very least, Tamiya should include an eccentric that makes belt tension adjustable over time. This is where most people are running into their problems, running with modified motors.

The engine in this truck has a slower throttle response, and also has very stiff clutch springs. This in turn gives the truck a nice, soft acceleration which keeps it from tearing the belt to pieces.

How long did it take to build?
Design and construction took about two weeks.
The truck first ran on 16 July 2005.
One of my design goals was to try and fabricate as few parts as possible, using things off the shelf when i could.

So what is the point of this project?
The goal is to create a reliable, fun little truck. I’m not looking for killer performance. I wanted to build something compact that didn’t require a double-wide hand truck to lug around, like my bigger projects ( Mammoet 6WD/6WS, and Tiamat 6WD/6WS ). Those monsters close in at 24 pounds EACH. The Peanut clocks in at just around 3 pounds. It can be tossed into a backpack and run at a moment’s notice.

If i really wanted power, i would have ditched the .15FE and picked up a higher revving engine. The suspension links would also need to be a lot longer to cope with the engine power too.

Why are you using a nitro engine for rock crawling?
Well, this truck was not optimized for rock crawling at all. I built this as a general purpose dirt-bashing truck. The stock TLT in its electric form was not even a very good rock crawler without modifications.

It would perform better with bigger tires and longer suspension links. Why not?
One reason i built this truck was to keep it as small as possible, and that meant using all of the stock driveline where i could. Bigger tires and longer suspension links sort of defeat the purpose of ‘small’

Media

I have added a bunch of photos below, during the construction process.

As for videos, they will be added over time as well. It’s difficult for me to get them in during the week since i do most of my bashing on the weekends.

On top of that, this truck is so incredibly fun to drive that i just don’t even bother taking videos most of the time either.

I have a feeling that most of the videos that will populate this section will be made when i’m not actually driving the truck

	sp_bashing01.wmv (8.3MB) – Filmed 24 Jul 2005. Testing and bashing around in Central Park. My friend John is at the wheel, getting used to the handling (or lack of!) on the truck. This is the second weekend that the truck has been run, and it is happy!
	sp_bashing02.wmv (13MB) – Filmed 30 Jul 2005. More testing and bashing around at Randall’s Island. A variety of people are driving the truck, my friends Chris, Maurice and Ray, who also operated the camera.!

Extra!

Apparently the people at BoyToys Hobby Shop, a Canadian outfit in Toronto are in the process of producing a Nitro TLT-1 conversion kit! I chose a slightly different method of design from theirs but i wish them the best of luck in marketing their rig!

At this time i have no plans for mass production of my system. Check out their media here: http://www.teamboytoys.com/rockbuster/index.htm

Thanks for reading!

This is Mammoet, a six wheel drive, six wheel steering monster mutant truck.

It was built from a Tamiya Juggernaut 2 and TXT-1 truck kits, both of which were originally 4WD vehicles.

So without further ado, some answers to frequently asked questions…

How big is this thing?
The truck is about three feet long, 20″ wide, and closes in at 24lbs.

How fast does it go?
It is meant to be a scale truck, and has a top speed limited to 21MPH.

What powers this thing?
This is an electric powered truck. The ‘standard’ for electric are 6-cell rechargable battery packs that usually come in a stick form factor.
The average car model takes one stick pack. This truck consumes three at a time.
Two stick packs drive the motor, and one stick pack is dedicated just to run the electronics and radio gear.

The current trend of new trucks is to go with nitromethane and alcohol powered ‘glow fuel’ engines.
However they are much louder, definitely get messier, and require more maintenance to get running.
Don’t get me wrong, i love nitro power too, but it does not fit well on a scale-type rig like this.

How long do the batteries last?
It depends. On a standard 2400mAH ‘sport’ pack, the truck gets about 10-12 minutes of full driving per set of packs. The electronics battery lasts about 30 minutes.
Yes, i do own bowling ball bags, filled with batteries

What is this rig based on/inspired by?
Well… honestly Mammoet is not entirely to scale, as the body is 1/14th from the Tamiya Ford Aeromax kit, while the rest of the drivetrain comes from the 1/10th Tamiya TXT-1 and Juggernaut 2 kits. It’s sort of a fantasy mishmash of things.

In terms of inspiration, the long discontinued (and now highly valuable) Tamiya Toyota 4×4 Pickup Bruiser kit is what got me going. The Bruiser featured a variety of goodies such as:

• Three speed manual shifting transmission with 2WD and 4WD modes.
• Steel chassis, and many metal parts for scale realism.
• A hard plastic body, with further scale realism amenities.
• Authentic leaf spring suspension.
• Large RS-750SH motor (most kits that time had the smaller RS-540 sized motors).

Although the Bruiser and its predecessors were legendary, they had a number of shortcomings too.

• Despite being largely metal, the bulk of the metals were diecast pot alloys. They were somewhat delicate!
  • The trucks of this design did not have rear differentials.
  • Front differentials were just a ‘slip’ design using a failure-prone one-way bearing.
• The transmissions shifted with gears in motion, as opposed to gears always in contact shifting via nubs or synchromeshes.
  • This meant the opportunity to grind gears during misfired shifts was a dangerous thing.
  • The stock transmission did not come outfitted with ball bearings.
• The steering linkages were less than desirable on most models.

But all of that having been said, Bruisers were really fun trucks to drive around.

Their leaf sprung suspensions gave them a really scale ride which simply has to be witnessed. Their shortcomings are among the things that made them interesting.

I tried to address some of these with this project. The name Mammoet sort of stuck, after i thought about a good name for the truck, and couldn’t come up with anything that sounded cheesy. Mammoet features the following:

• Three-speed manual shifting, with Tamiya’s more modern transmission from the Tamiya Big Rig series of trucks.
• Leaf sprung suspension, in the form of long travel, dual-ellipitical leaves facing one another. This design was inspired by Amish horse-drawn buggies of all things!
• A brushless electric motor. Just one would be needed to move this truck around with authority.
• An adjustable slipper clutch, to keep the driveline from melting.
• Six wheel crab-type steering, for ‘agility’, since this thing is going to need any help it can in that department!

Are you insane?
Well, i really hope so.

How long did it take to build this?
I started this in late summer of 2003. It was structurally complete about four weeks later.
The truck then sat around for a while and i had resumed work in summer of 2005.

Why not build the real thing?
Because i don’t have the estimated $200,000 in cash lying around, nor the storage space or garage to house this thing. Forget about the support equipment like one hell of a flatbed to transport it on, and the space to actually drive it.
Yup, this version of the hobby is much cheaper.

What’s the turning radius?
Surprisingly… about three and a half feet. For a truck of this size, and without using high-torque servos on the axles, it steers rather well.

You spelled ‘Mammoth’ wrong.
Well, the name comes from Dutch for ‘Mammoth’. Too many things are named ‘Mammoth’ so i figured it would mix it up to do something different yet recognizable.
Mammoet is also the name of a Dutch-owned heavy lifting and transport company.

This section is just for the hardcore R/C crowd. Newcomers, please feel free to skip over, or just let your eyeballs glaze

• ESC – Jeti Master Car Sport, 12 cells. These days, i would go for Schulze or Castle Creations instead.
• Motor – Hacker C50L, 11 turn. A nice beast of a brushless motor.
• Wheelbases
  • Front to mid axle – 16″
  • Mid to rear axle – 8″
• Radio – Futaba T9CAP surface, with analog servos.
• Lights – Tamiya Tractor Trailer (generation 1) kit.
• Sounds – Tamiya Tractor Sound (generation 1) kit.
• Suspension – dual-facing elliptical leaf springs, stayed with 4-links, dampened with coilless HPI Savage oil units, 80 weight oil.
• Steering – Claw type, 6WS. Front axle moves opposing the rear and middle axles.
• Balance – Almost 50/50, CoG about 1″ above the tires.

Links and Resources

• http://www.scale4x4rc.us/ – An excellent bulletin board catering to scale 4×4 radio control enthusiasts.
• http://www.tamiyatrucks.com/ – Tamiya’s official bulletin R/C truck bulletin board.
• http://www.tamiyaclub.com/ – A commercial site, but an excellent resource where builders can display their older (and newer) Tamiya models.
• http://www.sherline.com/ – Sherline, a maker of excellent tabletop machining tools.

This is Tiamat, a six wheel drive, six wheel steering monster mutant truck.
It is based on the Tamiya Clod Buster platform, and originally started out as two trucks.
I built this truck in the fall of 2001, and it has been periodically upgraded ever since.

Lineage

Based on the timeless Tamiya Clod Buster monster truck kit which was incredibly popular when first released in 1988 and is still sold today (albeit as the ‘Super’ Clod Buster)

Powerplant

The truck is powered by three Hacker C50L brushless electric motors. They are more powerful and efficient compared to their more commonly available brushed motor counterparts.

And now some answers to frequently asked questions:

How fast is this thing?
The truck tops out at about 26MPH. While it is not fast for racing truck standards, it’s definitely one heck of a handful for a large, scale-ish monster truck.

How many motors, and how many battery cells each?
The truck has three gearboxes (for each axle), and one 6-cell stick pack of batteries for each.
The motors are Hacker C50L, 10T units.

How many batteries does it need for a run?
On a typical bash day, this truck will consume 40 battery packs, which is about 10 runs or so, depending on how loud i leave the engine speaker volume.
The batteries are carried in a bowling ball bag.

How heavy is it?
The truck closes in at 24.5lbs fully loaded.

Why the name Tiamat?
The thought of a large, destructive, rumbling beast sort of came to mind naturally.
At the time i was thinking of the multiheaded dragon thing from Babylonian mythology.

How long did it take to build?
About four weeks initially, to chassis and rolling stock complete. The whole truck took about another two weeks to get to a running state.
The truck first drove on 20 November 2001.

Six wheel steering? What? Why?
I wanted a maneoverable truck. It has about a four foot turning radius.
The setup chosen worked extremely well. The servo savers are of the Kimbrough black version variety.
The quarter-scale servos (normally reserved for large scale airplanes) that were used are able to turn the truck’s tires standing still while on pavement!

What kind of chassis is it?
It’s a chassis that i made with hand tools, predating my purchasing of proper machine shop tools.
Its made of aluminum and is fairly beefy. Contrary to the beliefs of a barely literate backcountry Floridian hobo, it is not a Sassy brand chassis

How is the handling?
Actually very predictable, and plush when driving. The truck oversteers because of the torquey servo setup, but tends to drift nicely on dirt. It absorbs bumps reasonably well, with the long travel HPI Savage coil-over-oil dampers doing the dirty work. This vehicle will never have the jump handling of something like a stadium truck but it does have a fairly plush ride over the rough stuff.

How reliable is it with all that weight and power?
This is not my most reliable truck, but it’s rock solid in the right places. The driveline is pretty much bulletproof now. However it has issues mainly with the plastic parts breaking from wear over time, but as i run the vehicle i replace things with similarly designed parts made of more durable materials.
Therefore this truck is like an endless race to convert things that were once plastic to aluminum, what was once aluminum to steel, and so on.

Are any of these chassis for sale?
I don’t have plans to produce these, even in limited production runs. Besides, the total number of 6X6 enthusiasts is fairly small, and the design is fairly straightforward. I would be more than willing to help builders spec one out. Check out the wonderful forums at Scale 4X4 R/C.

Specifications

This section is just for the hardcore R/C crowd. Newcomers, please feel free to skip over, or just let your eyeballs glaze

• ESC – Triple Jeti Master Car Sport, 6 cells. These days, i would go for Schulze or Castle Creations instead.
• Motors – Triple Hacker C50L, 10 turn.
• Servos – Triple quarter scale- two Futaba 9301s for middle and rear. Single Hitec servo up front.
• Wheelbases
  • Front to mid axle – 15.5″
  • Mid to rear axle – 8″
• Radio – Futaba T9CAP surface, with analog servos.
• Lights – Tamiya Tractor Trailer (generation 1) kit.
• Sounds – Tamiya Tractor Sound (generation 1) kit.
• Suspension – 4-link, dampened with HPI Savage oil units, 40 weight oil.
• Steering – Claw type, 6WS. Front axle moves opposing the rear and middle axles.
• Balance – Almost 50/50, CoG about right above the tires.

Pictures

This photo gallery contains a bunch of pictures from when the truck was initially built, to its current state.

• Tiamat’s Picture Gallery

In addition i have made a few higher resolution pictures available.
They are Portable Network Graphic (PNG) files that most web browsers should be able to read.

	Higher Quality Image 01 (1280 x 1024) 2,310KB
	Higher Quality Image 02 (1280 x 1024) 2,321KB

Movies

These are some movies with Tiamat in action. More clips will be added over time.
Please note that since i am a cheap bastard, you will want to save these links to your machine before playing. Thanks!

Tiamat_bashing02.wmv (6.4MB) – Bashing around again in our favorite Central Park proving grounds. This was the first time i really felt comfortable with all that brushless power on the truck. Filmed in Summer of 2003.

nyc_cp_bashing01_small.wmv (11.1MB) – Tiamat and a bunch of other trucks and vehicles bashing around in the proving grounds.

I guess if you like watching radio controlled stuff it is fun, but the fact that what was being filmed was just bashing around, it might be boring to those outside the hobby.