Tobias kits hard to find / Chassis alternative

[Bob P.]

As I look, more and more suppliers are sold out of the Tobias modified kits.
Just for your information, if your looking for a Tobias kit and can't find any, Big Donkey resin has a chassis that will work for your build.

Hopefully this may help someone who needs a chassis for a modified.

Picture below of the Big Donkey chassis

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Picture with a short rear Tobias chassis in the foreground

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Packet of parts not shown above.

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Bob

[David Bogard]

That's really good to know Bob! Have you put one together yet? How was the fit and finish? Personally I wish he had used the shorty version instead of those long tails but still, they are easy to cut off and build your own way (like the one I am doing now). Way to go Larry for offering this!

Questions, what are the parts I have circled in yellow? And I take it there is no interior "box" or any kind of rear suspension?
And thanks Bob, this is good news for many of us. - David

[Bob P.]

David,

I purchased one of these just to check it out. The first picture is the one I put together. I have it laying on the shelf, never use it yet.

If you notice, the front axle is a little further forward than on the Tobias chassis. Larry claims the Tobias chassis is a little too short in the front.

Second picture, with the Tobias chassis in the foreground, you can see the front axle is forward further than the Tobias.

The parts circled in yellow, I think the two on the left are rub rails. The one in the center is the dash. The one on the right I think is a nose cone, not sure.
The bottom and rear of the interior box is built into the chassis.

I put this together about a year ago. If I look at it closer I can confirm the circled parts.

Bob

[David Bogard]

Larry is correct and that's why I always cut the kit Tobias up and lengthen the front end because it is too short. I like a lot of what I see and I will check with Larry and see what he does with the rear suspension. It would be an easy "leaf" car to do the way he has it.

[TonyK]

I really like the Modified kits but unfortunately am not educated enough to know one chassis from another. Want to build more with modifications so they don't all look alike but again, don't have much knowledge to alter them much. I look at other builds and real pictures to get ideas.

Have a few bodies from Big Donkey Resin and the quality is always excellent. Is this chassis a direct copy of the kit one or is it altered some?

[Bob P.]

Tony,

It's not a direct copy of the Tobias kit. If you look at my second photo, I have a white Tobias chassis beside Larry's chassis. The main difference is, the front is lengthened from the firewall to the front axle. Also the way the rear end and front axle mount to the chassis is different.

Larry took the Tobias kit ideas, and some of his own to improve on the chassis.

Bob

[Dirtman]

I really like the Modified kits but unfortunately am not educated enough to know one chassis from another. Want to build more with modifications so they don't all look alike but again, don't have much knowledge to alter them much. I look at other builds and real pictures to get ideas.

Have a few bodies from Big Donkey Resin and the quality is always excellent. Is this chassis a direct copy of the kit one or is it altered some?

I'm the same way. I don't know how their chassis are supposed to be. Maybe someday, when I grow up, I'll be like David and Bob and a few others,,,,,lol
Rett

[TonyK]

I don't see this chassis at the Big Donkey Resin site.

[Olderndirt]

Model Roundup has four of the modified kits listed.

  Olderndirt

[David Bogard]

Only one Tobias Kit on Model Roundup and it's $60; that's the problem Larry is addressing with his resin. The rail-frame Modifieds are fairly easy to come by (the Slammer type) and several of them are in the re-release mode currently.

TonyK, just email Larry at Big  Donkey. He is super friendly and helpful and frankly he has a ton of items that he does not have on his website simply because he and Bonnie are too busy creating, casting, and filling orders.

[TonyK]

Yes, I've dealt with Larry a few times and he's very friendly and helpful. Had some questions about wheels and turns out he had a couple versions that weren't listed.

[sentsat71]

I've dealt with Larry @ Big Donkey as well....and like the others have said, he is a great guy to talk to and deal with....he's done a few things for me as well....

[sentsat71]

For Tobias Modified kits, check out Spotlight Hobbies web site....Just looked and they have 5 Tobias kits....

[Bob P.]

David,

The two parts you have circled in yellow, on the left, are the side guards in the driver area, very similar to the Tobias kit.

Bob

[Bob P.]

After having more discussion with Larry from Big Donkey, I have this to add:

This chassis has nothing in common with the AMT kit frames. It is all Larry's design.
This was in the August issue of Scale Auto magazine. They had six pages dedicated to this project and other Big Donkey parts.

Everything in this picture is from Big Donkey resin except the window screen.

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Bob