The Survivor – Scale Rat Customizes The Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Quadtrack GF-01FT

The Survivor – Scale Rat Customizes The Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Quadtrack GF-01FT

Those familiar with Tamiya’s GF-01 wheelie-happy, four-wheel-drive chassis will tell you that it’s a really fun and sometimes silly vehicle to drive. Combining the GF-01 chassis with the classic looks of the iconic Toyota Land Cruiser 40 (FJ40) makes it a combo that is really hard to top. We at RCCA love to customize our RCs, and this FJ40 is no different. With the right hop-up parts and the help of a creative friend, this pickup truck was destined to be one cool ride.

This isn’t our first article about the GF-01 chassis Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40, and it’s unlikely to be our last. The very fun to build and customize Tamiya truck is affordable and addicting. Avid RCCA readers may recall that we featured a customized and slammed GF-01 Land Cruiser 40 with bulbous go-kart wheels and tires over a year ago, and we’re back at it again with a completely different build.

Those familiar with Tamiya’s GF-01 wheelie-happy, four-wheel-drive chassis will tell you that it’s a really fun and sometimes silly vehicle to drive. Combining the GF-01 chassis with the classic looks of the iconic Toyota Land Cruiser 40 (FJ40) makes it a combo that is really hard to top. We at RCCA love to customize our RCs, and this FJ40 is no different. With the right hop-up parts and the help of a creative friend, this pickup truck was destined to be one cool ride.

This isn’t our first article about the GF-01 chassis Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40, and it’s unlikely to be our last. The very fun to build and customize Tamiya truck is affordable and addicting. Avid RCCA readers may recall that we featured a customized and slammed GF-01 Land Cruiser 40 with bulbous go-kart wheels and tires over a year ago, and we’re back at it again with a completely different build.

The tracks make quick work of sand, snow and mud, so wooden slats don’t stand a chance!

GF-01FT

This time, we’ve handed a GF-01 Land Cruiser 40 over to RC customizer extraordinaire, Robert Pezza, aka Scale Rat. This isn’t any ordinary GF-01, mind you; it’s Tamiya’s Quadtrack variation, the GF-01FT. Tamiya’s Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Quadtrack GF-01FT rides on a set of track units instead of wheels and tires. These 3-sided units allow this FJ40 to traverse dirt, snow, gravel, and other terrain with ease. The tracks offer incredible traction compared to even off-road tires and also enable the FJ40 to run on snow, sand, mud and other challenging terrain. The tracks themselves come in two types: a standard flat design, and a toothed grouser design for extra surface bite.
Out of the box, Tamiya’s GF-01FT chassis Toyota Land Cruiser 40 features a powerful, gear-driven 4WD transmission system and a tough monocoque frame. The chassis’ tread and wheelbase lengths are nearly the same, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons why it is so easy to pop wheelies when it’s fitted with standard wheels and tires. The chassis rides on a double wishbone suspension and includes friction dampers. A wheelie bar mounted in the rear keeps it from flipping.

Scale Rat’s signature patinas feature painstakingly  detailed oxidation elements, in this case indicating this rig is a true survivor.

Scale Rat’s signature patinas feature painstakingly detailed oxidation elements, in this case indicating this rig is a true survivor.

Sporting a cool vintage look and quad track units in place of wheels and tires, the Survivor is a unique and capable vehicle to drive.

Sporting a cool vintage look and quad track units in place of wheels and tires, the Survivor is a unique and capable vehicle to drive.

Here’s a look at the GF-01T chassis with its body off.

Here’s a look at the GF-01T chassis with its body off.

OXIDATION & RUST

Because we love seeing a well-customized RC, we thought we’d unleash Scale Rat’s creative mind and skills onto this unique, tracked FJ40. First of all, he decided to go with a vintage look and worn metal finish. The body was finished so that it looks like it’s a survivor of a very slow oxidation and wear process due to exposure to salt air.

He explained to us that there’s a reasoning behind his paint style on ’70s-era Toyota pickups: “Although Toyota trucks are known for their longevity and long-term reliability, there was a minor flaw in the bodies and frames in the ’70s that would make them easily corrode and rust— which was the steel manufacturing formula used in Japan at that time.”

It became such a known issue here in the States that this corrosion got a nickname—“Toyota Caner”—because of how fast the oxidation would take place. “Steel is an alloy blend with several metals, but its base is iron mixed with carbon,” Scale Rat explains. “This creates a strong alloy without being brittle. But when exposed to air and moisture it begins to activate an oxidizing reaction, and that’s when we get rust. This process accelerates even faster when exposed to water and salts. These hard conditions happen easily in the harsh winters in the U.S., where the moisture and salt are in the air and in the snow or frost.”

He continues: “Toyota designed its trucks very well, but these environmental conditions were never tested. Japanese and U.S. environmental conditions are almost like two different worlds. They would never have to salt their roads for icing because very rarely do they have a harsh winter. The trucks would rust, but at a much slower rate. The U.S. is native to rock salts, and our ocean coasts have practically salt air. So a dab of moisture, some salt air, and a slight paint chip could create rust consumption all over the entire truck.

The tracks make quick work of sand, snow and mud, so wooden slats don’t stand a chance!

The tracks make quick work of sand, snow and mud, so wooden slats don’t stand a chance!

The tracks make quick work of sand, snow and mud, so wooden slats don’t stand a chance!

The tracks make quick work of sand, snow and mud, so wooden slats don’t stand a chance!

“I am infatuated with oxidation. I think that the process is so fascinating and mesmerizing. I’ve done so much research, and you learn that its reaction has a different look all over the world. One way to think about this process is that it’s our planet using its resources to break down materials through corrosion. This is what influences me on how I decide to weather and distress an RC or model body.”

THE SURVIVOR

With a very cool vintage look and impressive crawling capabilities thanks to its quad track units, this FJ40 is certainly a handsome and unique-to-drive vehicle. We call it the Survivor for several reasons. First of all, as a Toyota of the 1970s, this FJ40 has pushed past its body corrosion difficulties and has been converted to be a track-driven vehicle, one that is capable of surviving over any terrain, even deep snow and sand. That’s a survivor if you ask us.

P/N: 58704 MSRP: $514 Type: Assembly Kit Scale: 1/12 Drive: 4WD

P/N: 58704
MSRP: $514
Type: Assembly Kit
Scale: 1/12
Drive: 4WD

FINAL WORD

Scale Rat’s customized rendition of the 1/12-scale Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Quadtrack GF-01FT features a convincing paint job that makes it look like it’s survived years of oxidation and wear. We especially like the subtle patina and the era-correct vintage colors that he applied to the body. Tamiya’s GF-01 chassis is always a fun vehicle to build, drive and customize, and this unique GF-01TF version adds to its already-incredible versatility.

Sources:
Tamiya tamiyausa.com
Scale Rat
Instagram: @ScaleRat20
Facebook: @ScaleRat20


Text by Robert Pezza and Jerry Tsai
Images by Jake Wilson and Nanishka Guillermety

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Updated: May 7, 2023 — 3:20 AM
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