Rear Spring Stays have a larger hole on the LWB and the brass fitting has a corresponding extra step. Let's start with the most obvious difference between the two: on what Tamiya call the "Arm Stay". The SWB version has a round hole, and the LWB parts are longer overall with a slot. The Wild Willy II is great fun to build, but for those of us who can't let be (why should we?) replacing the bushings with ball bearings the preassembled gearbox is slightly irritating. Apart from ball bearings the Wild Willy 2 doesn't really need any hop-ups, but many of the TL01 hop-ups fit the model, and it's a lot of fun hopping it up as so much is visible even with the body in place. The Wild Willy 2 is a reproduction of the popular original Wild Willy from the mid 80s. The new Wild Willy has an all new chassis and larger tires allowing it to tread over rough terrain. Of course, the Wild Willys trade mark is the animated wheelie capability thanks to an all new wheelie bar. Specifications IBIFTKH pretty much sumed it up already, but now I know first hand from actually having built the chassis...

I think I'm missing out on the joke that's made, is wheel the wrong word for a rim with a tire? I'm not English, so I'm trying my best to translate everything the right way.The body is quite similar the original Wild Willy body, but to avoid problems related to licensing, Tamiya changed the vertical slots in the grill for horizontal slots, and added ribs on the bonnet. Now the model partly resembles the Ford Mutt rather than the Willys Jeep, but it still looks great. Tamiya deleted the hinges for the windscreen too, so it can't any longer be folded, but that's OK with me. I tried fitting one to a GF01 and there are a few fit issues that can be overcome by modellers but would not really be acceptable to be sold as such. It's been a while since I penned part one (detailing the differences between the Wild Willy M38 and Wild Willy 2 body and fittings), this time I'll be covering the differences in chassis parts on the earlier "Short" wheelbase (SWB) and the later "Long" wheelbase (LWB) versions. Having built models on the CW-01 wheelie chassis before and being unimpressed with the ability to hold a wheelie, my expectations of the WR-02 were not high. I was pleasantly surprised. This model holds a wheelie much longer than something like the Midnight Pumpkin. My addition of heavier wheels moderated that a bit, but I still love the way it drives. It is even reasonably capable in the grass.

Well it starts looking like a regular model kit. I guess the only difference is nuts and bolts and wires rather than glue and paint. Well for the first part anyway. The Wild Willy II performs much better than the Wild Willy and it sure it's much more durable. Because of the better handling, it feels slower than the original, but the high center of gravity and short wheelbase doesn't make it suited for a hotter motor, if you care about the rather fragile body. The long rear arms - for the LWB version an ornamental hole is deleted, and the stabiliser bar mount points move forward. L7/L5 (steering wheel and post) which I glue prior to painting, although not attaching to body until after everything is painted. This is a subtle difference, but if you look at the bumper mounting points on the LWB bulkhead you'll see the holes are much deeper.It’s pretty straight forward to set up but it’s best to get everything lined up at this stage other wise you’ll have a lot of unscrewing to do. 😌 Tamiya first produced a Wild Willy in the 1980s. The Wild Willy 2 is an updated and improved version!

BTW, the rubber plug for the SWB resistor wiring is a 3-speed gearbox bung, now easily available with the Bruiser and Mountaineer re-releases.LWB tub has slots for the antenna wire, resistor & battery leads (these correspond to slots in the Mechanism Box Lid); Next up, the "Mechanism Box Lid". The SWB has holes on the top for (from left to right) the antenna wire, speed control resistor wiring, and battery cables. the hole in the front of the tub for the steering ("Servo Saver Shaft") is larger on the LWB tub, with a simple metal sleeve acting as a bearing; I managed to get hold of a spare driver from RiKo and used him on a Tamiya moped kit mated to some bits from other 1/12 bike kits to make a caricature Police motorcyclist as a presentation piece for a Police motorcyclist who was an excellent modeller and good friend of the Bristol shop. RIP, Howard. Might have some 35mm photos somewhere (remember those?).