Tom Daniels Baja Beast

[TonyW]

Here's my build of Toms Baja Beast VW Van.

I added tire decals and a brown flock interior. Paint is Tamiya Camel Yellow with clear pearl over that. The Monkey Bike is Tamiya clear red over gold.

I love the stance, it sits perfectly right out the box.

It would have trouble driving anywhere as there's no cooling or charging system provided, and the open headers running through the rear cab would get things a bit warm pretty quickly. I guess as long as it got to the beach in around ten seconds or so, non of that would matter.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by TonyW

[Dave Van]

VERY NICE work!!!!! I wish the reissue had made it out......and the alternate Firefighter version too!! 

[ChrisR]

COOL!!!

[TooOld]

Beautifully done , it looks perfect in that color ! 

[PappyD340]

Very cool!

[unclescott58]

Very, very kool. A you don’t have to worry about radiators and such on vehicles like these. In world they come from, they all have a “special” coolant, just in the engine, that keeps them cool and running just fine. The exhaust and heat in the shared compartment with the driver and passenger is not a problem either. As long as one looks kool driving it. 

in all seriousness, great job. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by unclescott58

[unclescott58]

I just thought about this. The Baja Beast is based on VW bus. So no worries about cooling it! Volkswagen buses where all air cooled. ?

[TNT]

Looks great. I have one i built in the 70s. It is in a few pieces. 

[PatW]

Superb! This was one of my first VW van builds, some 20 or so years ago!

[Nacho Z]

Love it!!  How cool is this model?!?!  I really like the first couple of pictures on the sandy beach display.

[crazyjim]

Very nice build.

[slusher]

Beautifully done and very cleanly build!

[TonyK]

Very nice model! The whole diorama scene looks good. One of the things about Tom Daniel cars is to throw out all things realistic which allows for a radical custom.

[Mr mopar]

very cool ride !

[TonyW]

Thanks for the kind comments Guys. Much appreciated.

I like the offbeat stuff as an antidote to full on modelling every now and then. Weird Ohs, Finks, Silly Surfers, Dave Deal and Tom Daniel designs, all are pure fun to build. The reissues make building them affordable as well.

I have a Rommels Rod nearly finished now, I'll add it once I'm done. 

[showrods]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:04 AM, Dave Van said:

VERY NICE work!!!!! I wish the reissue had made it out......and the alternate Firefighter version too!! 

What happened that it didn't..or that it hasn't made it our yet?

[CabDriver]

On 7/16/2022 at 3:01 AM, TonyW said:

It would have trouble driving anywhere as there's no cooling or charging system provided

It's a VW - it's air cooled and the battery is under the seat

@Tom Geiger has a funny story about VW batteries and contests, as I recall.

 

Cool build!  Nice to see these TD kits getting built

 

16 hours ago, showrods said:

What happened that it didn't..or that it hasn't made it our yet?

 

I know Tom Daniel posted about the reissue on his site a while back - I hope it DOES get reissued, but it doesn't sound promising:

"Well, it looks like the BAJA BANDITO kit is toast!

In addition - due to MAJOR contractual differences - my involvement with the “new”  REVELL-USA is over."

Edited July 26, 2022 by CabDriver

[Dave Van]

16 hours ago, showrods said:

What happened that it didn't..or that it hasn't made it our yet?

First RM said they were slow walking the WV license paperwork. Then they got into a fight with Tom Daniel over his license fee and the two split ways, TD saying there would never be a Revell TD kit again. So if you want Baja or the Baja based Fire trucker.....find one!!! 

[CabDriver]

1 hour ago, Dave Van said:

First RM said they were slow walking the WV license paperwork. Then they got into a fight with Tom Daniel over his license fee and the two split ways, TD saying there would never be a Revell TD kit again. So if you want Baja or the Baja based Fire trucker.....find one!!! 

Wonder if eventually they'll do what they're about to do with the Cop Out funny car, and just remove Tom's name from the box, add new art and reissue them anyway...

 

[Dave Van]

2 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Wonder if eventually they'll do what they're about to do with the Cop Out funny car, and just remove Tom's name from the box, add new art and reissue them anyway...

 

I like Tom Daniel.......And no disrespect to him......but from what I understand TD did not have anything to do with 'FIREBOMB'. It was a Monogram attempt to get more mileage out of a TD tool. So reissue the Firebomb and allow folks at home NOT use the fire truck parts. I have a decent build up of a Firebomb but want a kit to build!  I think the same can be said for the VANAMBULANCE kit too. 

 

[CabDriver]

3 hours ago, Dave Van said:

I like Tom Daniel.......And no disrespect to him......but from what I understand TD did not have anything to do with 'FIREBOMB'. It was a Monogram attempt to get more mileage out of a TD tool. So reissue the Firebomb and allow folks at home NOT use the fire truck parts. I have a decent build up of a Firebomb but want a kit to build!  I think the same can be said for the VANAMBULANCE kit too. 

 

Interesting!  Did not know that!  

I wouldn’t feel so bad in buying one, if they got around to rereleasing it, in that case…

I wonder WHY they canned the project altogether then?

[showrods]

On 7/26/2022 at 5:26 PM, CabDriver said:

Wonder if eventually they'll do what they're about to do with the Cop Out funny car, and just remove Tom's name from the box, add new art and reissue them anyway...

 

That sounds like a lawsuit ready to happen...

[Dave Van]

1 hour ago, showrods said:

That sounds like a lawsuit ready to happen...

Was Cop Out ever credited to TD??? It has been reissued many time, even a WalMart exclusive.  Either way, Change a item 30% and it becomes yours. The Firebomb kit with the alterations not shown on box top above (a roof mounted water cannon, left side body mount control panel and ladders.) is a 30% change. 

[CabDriver]

1 hour ago, Dave Van said:

Was Cop Out ever credited to TD??? It has been reissued many time, even a WalMart exclusive.  Either way, Change a item 30% and it becomes yours. The Firebomb kit with the alterations not shown on box top above (a roof mounted water cannon, left side body mount control panel and ladders.) is a 30% change. 

Not sure if he was credited on the box art, as such (although maybe he was?  It's a while since I had one of these to hand) but he was involved in the development apparently:

https://www.tomdaniel.com/85_kits/85_kits_pages/cop_out.html

"Tom's Inspiration:

We had developed a cutting edge "Funny Car" Chassis for the '57 Chevy kit "Outcast"...and the powers that be at Monogram wanted to utilize that chassis under some other kind of car body...I thought that was a kind of a cop out; and I wasn't too thrilled about using the Plymouth Duster body, so "COP OUT" it became, complete with Cop car accouterments."

[stavanzer]

6 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Was Cop Out ever credited to TD??? It has been reissued many time, even a WalMart exclusive.  Either way, Change a item 30% and it becomes yours. The Firebomb kit with the alterations not shown on box top above (a roof mounted water cannon, left side body mount control panel and ladders.) is a 30% change. 

Bring on the Firebomb. I could use the Water Cannon!