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Thunder Tiger AVANTI
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About this boat
This ARTR model has kept me “active” at the lake when my restoration and rebuild projects have not been ready for me to sail.
I bought my orange coloured AVANTI (old stock new) in a shop clearance sale not long before lockdown and I was fortunate enough to pick up a nice used blue one shortly afterwards.
Spare parts don’t exist for these super little models so I am always looking for any discarded AVANTI models or spares to cannibalise so I can keep at least one of them running for as long as possible!
I added a couple of extra stickers to them to brighten them up a little and to identify them from any other AVANTI models that may be running locally.
Although I did see one other Avanti running very nicely on our Southport club lake some years previously, I have not seen any other AVANTI models running anywhere since I have had my blue and orange coloured versions.
Bob.
I bought my orange coloured AVANTI (old stock new) in a shop clearance sale not long before lockdown and I was fortunate enough to pick up a nice used blue one shortly afterwards.
Spare parts don’t exist for these super little models so I am always looking for any discarded AVANTI models or spares to cannibalise so I can keep at least one of them running for as long as possible!
I added a couple of extra stickers to them to brighten them up a little and to identify them from any other AVANTI models that may be running locally.
Although I did see one other Avanti running very nicely on our Southport club lake some years previously, I have not seen any other AVANTI models running anywhere since I have had my blue and orange coloured versions.
Bob.
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This would have been the perfect opportunity to put some more hours on the hull and to get it “run-in”.
The weather was perfect - dry and warm with a pleasant breeze…….and I was the only club member with a boat on the lake!
What I hadn’t reckoned on was a sudden Autumn, with all the deciduous trees along the far side of the lake deciding to dump their leaves on the lake at the same time.
I launched the boat several times, but it barely made any progress before either the propeller or the rudder (or both) got themselves wrapped in leaves and unable to function.
Eventually I gave up and enjoyed running my Sea Commander for a couple of hours when no other boats were on the lake!
The Sea Commander was not affected too much by the fallen leaves that stopped me running my AVANTI - it only needed some of them removing from around the propeller each time I brought the boat in for a LiPo change.
Bob.
Bob.
The paint finish is stunning , quality that I can only dream about Col
It is also really enjoyable to drive a performance model that handles and steers so precisely - even if I usually only drive them when the lake is empty or in a part of the lake that does not have any slower scale models floating around at the time.
I like making “white water” with my Classic Model Power Boats, but even the best of them does not drive as precisely as the AVANTI, so it is nice to keep them in my fleet to enjoy occasionally.
It will be good to see your electric conversion Nitro Vee on here when it is finished Dave, and I am sure that you will enjoy driving it !
Bob
You have inspired me to look at repowering my Traxxas Nitro Vee from Nitro I/C to electric. I haven't used it in ages because of the I/C powerplant.
Dave B
The Thunder Tiger AVANTI looks like quite an up to date fast boat, but its features date it back to being quite an old Classic Model Power Boat design.
For starters, most “up to date” fast power boats have flexi-drive shafts with surface piercing propellers, but the AVANTI still has a short M4 conventional drive shaft with a submerged propeller that works really well.
The radio receiver, battery, ESC and steering servo are housed in a box that has a fitted lid to make it splash proof - a real 1960’s style of fitting the radio control parts into a box with a sealed lid.
We used to use Tupperware boxes back then, but this factory moulded box is made specifically to fit into the AVANTI hull.
The lid of the box slides into a pair of slotted brackets at its rear, and has a snap-fastener at the front to firmly keep the lid closed once it is shut down.
What was novel back in the day, was the use of inbuilt magnets to hold the superstructure on with.
Two magnets are sunken into the front parts of the hatch and the cover and a single pair are fitted into the rear parts.
When the lid is gently placed onto the hull the magnets self-align the hatch cover and lock it into place.
The small “lift handle”moulding at the rear of the hatch cover only needs very gentle pressure to remove it from the magnets, and yet the magnets have never failed yet to hold the hatch cover securely in place even when racing around and steering sharply when “flat-out” and in choppy water !
This was a brilliant designed little model boat that is fast, reliable and great fun to own and drive.
What a shame they are still not being made now.
I have seen very few of them in use (only one other!) but I hope that some more of them will turn-up and be re-discovered in the future.
I would be more than happy to find and buy another one (in any colour or condition) just to make sure that I can keep the marque alive and continue to run one as they become quite a nice “talking point” that demonstrates a vintage model that is better made and more reliable than the latest “newer” types that are available now.
This “old technology” can still work very well to day, and may well still be running when its newer counterparts are forgotten !
Bob.
This refined little model boat really does drive beautifully and it is such a shame that Thunder Tigre stopped making them quite some years ago.
Sadly, the spare parts supply dried-up soon afterwards and there are no spare parts available anywhere world-wide, so any damaged or worn-out parts will need to be repaired - using alternative parts where needed - I suppose due to its age it could (almost) be described as a Classic Model Power Boat.
Mechanical parts such as pop shafts, propellers, rudders, ESC and out—runner motets should be easy to substitute, but any hull or superstructure damage would have to be repaired by whatever method worked at the time.
The super-structure is held onto the hull by a magnet, and although it is very easy to lift off, it has never come adrift when it has been running around our local club lake - even when charging around flat-out on choppy water. Quite impressive.
The Thunder Tigre steer-wheel radio set that always came with these RTR model boats is quite a well made fairly large sized unit that does work very well and automatically “pairs” itself to the model every time both are switched on.
The only problem I have had with these radios to date, is that the transmitters on/off switch can sometimes times fail to switch-on.
With some rapid on-off switching, it always cleans itself and then works perfectly - until it is left unused again for any period of time.
I am hoping to find some sort of switch cleaner /lubricant that will help with this, but I have not seen anything that I can try so far.
Wooden Stand - with extended base.(pictured here).
The wooden stand that comes with each boat has been extended to include a base with an “end wall” to protect the rudder and propeller when in transit, and this shallow box section that is formed under the hull is very handy for transporting minor tools and spare LiPo batteries etc.
Overall, the Thunder Tigre Avanti has been a really good little boat to take with me when I am in-between builds, repairs or restoration of my favoured Classic Model Power Boats, and its refined performance always makes me smile when I use it.
I really should run these little boats a lot more often than I do - the orange one in particular has not really had too much use from new, but the older blue coloured one has clocked -up plenty of hours and has been totally reliable……other then that sticky “on-off” switch that seems to “dog” these Thunder Tigre transmitters.
Bob.
Some years ago, Thunder Tiger re-released this model with either a yellow or a green coloured hull (with more colourful paintwork and decals) and called it "OUTLAW Jnr OBL".
This re-release had a different radio box cover that had a clear lid that has to be screwed down every time it is removed to change the LiPo battery etc.
Almost all parts for this re-released model and the AVANTI are exactly the same, so I was hoping that this would improve the supply of basic spare parts - but I was wrong!
There are no spare parts available for this model either 👎
Bob.