Kyosho Turbo Scorpion Gen. 7
Final version Gen 7
The Scorpion is by far one of the most legendary buggies ever made. The Turbo version only propelled it's legendary status into the history books of 1?10 scale electric buggy racing. The Scorpion was one of the winningest 2wd buggies ever made, and the one to beat if you were unfortunate enough to be racing against one. It's reign was from 1982 -1987. It was upstaged only by the Kyosho Ultima and the new Associated RC-10, two buggies which were revolutionizing the industry. Even those two buggies had a hard time catching a Scorpion with a well skilled driver behind the wheel. The Scorpion was just plane fast, and a good handling buggy as well. It set the base's for all the buggies I have highlited in my collection. It set the stage for the dominating Optima and Ultima as well. The Scorpion was introduced in 1982 by Kyosho and was sold under the Kyosho name in Japan and the United States. As well as by Cox Hobbies in the United States. It was sold under the Kyosho and Graupner Hobbies names in Europe. The buggy was a racing success and truly a work of art to look at. I still feel it is by far one of the best looking buggies ever made. This version I am showcasing here is the Turbo Scorpion. Quite allot sets it apart from its first generation counterpart. ( I have a first Gen Scorpion being restored as well and it has a page on this website as well. ) The one noticeable difference between the two buggies is the body. The body change slightly over its first generation brother. The addition of big squared ducts beside the driver, and numerous air scoops in both the sides, top, and front adorned the Turbo body. The driver got a new designed helmet, and a couple of square vent holes in the aluminum roof panel. The roll cage had to appendages to mount 2 of the 4 newly added auxiliary lights ( non functional ) borrowed from the Tomahawk and the Advance. The next notable difference was the larger diameter oil filled shocks. These were borrowed from the Assault and Advance buggies, as were the new rear swing arms and suspension mounting late. A new rear upper shock mount with three mounting points was attached to the newly upgraded gearbox that accommodated the addition of a third mount hole and a new surround behind the motor plate to keep out dirt. This was a new design exclusive to the Turbo. The Turbo also sported a new wheel combination from the first generation Scorpion. A new five spoke star pattern graced the Sand Super front and rear tires. Some of the early Turbo Scorpion's sported the 5 hole pattern wheels molded in white. These were borrowed from the Tomahawk kit. The biggest addition to the Turbo over the first Gen was the addition of a Kyosho Le Mans 360E motor. This was the propulsion system this buggy needed to propel it into the history books and onto it's legendary status.
specifications
Type : Off Road Racing Buggy ( Super Racing Buggy )
Chassis : Twin Aluminum ladder frame with aluminum
cross members and suspension mounts
Drive : Rear drive via cast aluminum gear box
Suspension : Fully independent cast aluminum trailing arms
front and back with aluminum oil filled coilover shocks
Wheels : Plastic injection molded
Front : 5 spoke Star Pattern 2 piece 2.0"
Early models had White 5 hole pattern from the Tomahawk
Rear : 5 spoke Star Pattern 3 piece 1.75"
Early models had White 5 hole pattern from the Tomahawk
Tires : Injection Molded Rubber/Nylon
Front : Sand Super twin rib
Rear : Sand Super Multi Spike pattern
Body : Polycarbonate molded clear with separate rear wing
ABS roll cage and aluminum top
Motor : Electric Kyosho Le Mans 360E motor
Mechanical Speed Control
Three step speed forward and reverse
Dual external resistor type
Special Features : ABS molded radio tray with ABS top
Radio tray also used as center chassis support
Special Details : Properly scaled dimensions
Driver figure ( Molded into body )
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Here's is mine when I first got it. I bought this off a friend of mine whom lives in Canada.
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I actually used two Turbo Scorpions to build this one. The one pictured above is the one I purchased from my friend Franco.
Below are the pics of the restoration started on the first buggy I bought from Franco
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Here is the second buggy. It too is a Turbo Scorpion. Though it is allot rougher than the one above it would be lending it's body, wing, wing mount, and front tires to the one I bought from Franco.
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Neither of the buggies had an original roll cage and roof panel. I have yet to find an original so I decided to build my own, using Styrene plastic tubing and strips. I also made a roof panel from .032 thick aluminum. I actually made two, one with the square holes like an original and one without. I have not drilled the mounting holes for the lights yet but it will have them.
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The second buggy had a nice set of original wheels on it. They needed to be stripped. Someone had painted them a dark metallic gray. After stripping the wheels I decided to paint them a bright silver. I had already repaired and painted the original set of wheels off of the car I bought from Franco, so now I was going to have two nice sets of Turbo Scorpion wheels.
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I decided to use the white chassis tub that came with the second car on another project, but I wanted a white radio tub on my Turbo. Both the radio tubs I had have minor cracks in them that I repaired. I decided to go with the black tub from the first Turbo because it was in better shape than the second. The white tub had been riddled with holes in it to lighten it. I will need to spray my black tub white on this Turbo both inside and out of the radio tub.
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I did not have a good original Turbo Scorpion front bumper, but I did have an original that was pretty well beat! I didn't want to use it on such a clean buggy and I could not find an original to buy. So I decided to make my own. I used 3/32 thick ABS black plastic sheet, and the beat up original as a pattern to fab up the bumper in the pic to the left.
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I decided to make several of the bumpers while I was making them. So I have a few of these now! will be good to sell and use on future projects.
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I don't know why I decided to go ahead and paint the Driver Dude, but I did, I just thought it was to plain looking while I was working on the car, and needed some color on the body.!
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The original Lexan wing that came with the second Turbo Scorpion was cracked and split in several places. I tried to repair it but it did not turn out as well as I had hope to. Since these wings are very tough to find, I decided I would make one out of aluminum. I modeled the wing after the old aftermarket Thorp wings that were available back in the 80's for these buggies.
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Here are some vintage adds of the Kyosho Turbo Scorpion
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