Schumacher Mi5-Evo: Part 1

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Part1: How old is Old?

a second hand Schumacher Mi5-Evo


Speaking of Rc Touring Cars, what can be considered as old? Or would you prefer the term nostalgic, retro or vintage? Once I came across this explanation: ‘Vintage really is old, discontinued for a long time. It might be rare, hard to get hold of - what makes it expensive. Retro on the contrary is new but wants to appear old. Like a rerelease, an old label design or color scheme reappearing on a new product.’ And nostalgic? I guess that is something you just long to own because you connect good memories with it.

My first Electric Touring Car was a Kyosho EP Spider MkII. Placed as a budged version of the TF-3 it featured RWD, Aluminum Chassis and Topdeck, a simple Geardiff, fixed upper control arms and oil filled plastic shockabsorbers with a shiny blue aluminum top cap. Nowadays aluminum chassis are a must have indoors. Who would have guessed back then?

my Kyosho EP Spider MKII back in 2002


I have made a list of 1/10 Rc Electric Touring Cars which I’m particularly interested in. Some of them I consider to be ‘iconic’ or a milestone in the EP TC development. Most times I simply like the different approach in construction and / or package because I have a favor for quirky cars, even if I know that they never performed top-notch.

Here is my wish list (can be subject to changes):

  • 1994 Kyosho Spider 4WD (Touring Force = TF-1, based on the Optima Mid Buggy)
  • 1998 Kawada SV-10 Alcyon
  • 1998 or 1999 Schumacher SST
  • 1999 Corally C4
  • 2001 Kyosho KX-One
  • 2002 HPI Pro 3 Hara Edition
  • 2002 Losi XXXS Graphite Plus
  • 2003 Alex Racing / Tech Racing Barracuda (R2, R3)
  • 2003 OVA T4 Neo
  • 2003 Corally Assassin (Rear Motor, Stock Spec with single Belt configuration)
  • 2003? Robitronic ETC V1
  • 2004 Kawada Sigma V2 Blue Edition (Inspiration for the Tamiya TA-07?)
  • 2005? Robitronic ETC V2
  • 2006 Team Magic E4 (Concept Car :-))
  • 2009 Tigermoth LCG V10
  • 2010 Schumacher Mi4LP
  • 2012 Corally HMX-M1
  • 2014 Schumacher Mi5-Evo (with Mid Motor Kit, Blinky Motormount and Option Batteryholder)
  • 2017 Top Racing Sabre S4S
  • 2021/22 Schumacher Mi7-Evo :-)

Surely you would agree that such a list is highly individual, like the definition of what is iconic. Moreover most of the cars I’m after are not that old. You on the other hand might fancy really old cars, back from a time when the whole Rc Car thing was just invented. Or you might collect every TC that won the World Championships? What about collecting every Corally 1/12 scale that ever came out, only from the Netherlands of course, in mint condition with box art, manual and a binder full of old magazine articles?

Sometimes a car from my list pops up on Ebay-Kleinanzeigen or in a Forum. Sometimes prices are sky high, a Corally Assassin or Schumacher Mi4LP might look too worn out for my liking or an HPI Pro 3 not worth converting to a Hara. By now I can already cross the Kyosho KX-One off the list, but that will be the subject of another story.

my Kyosho KX-One back in 2008


Now I can cross of the Schumacher Mi5-Evo, step by step. My first impression is that the car looks excellent, there is not even a single scratch at the bottom of the chassis. I noticed some slope in some of the suspension components and some worn out bearings, but that’s something I wouldn’t except when buying a used car. Right now I’m looking forward to completely disassemble the car, replace some parts and put it back together. Many of the original spares and options can still be ordered by the German Schumacher distributer CS Electronic.

Some years ago I bought a reasonably priced, used Kyosho TF-3 of Ebay. It is only the simple version with fiberglass chassis and topdeck. The goal is to recycle some parts of my EP Spider. A project that needs some attention in the future.

a future Project: Kyosho TF-3


So let’s finally answer the initial question: ‘How old is Old?’, at least for the Schumacher Mi5-Evo. This car surely is not old. It was released in 2014 so it’s simply outdated. I don’t intend to run it much or used it for races. But anyway I intend to hit some fast laptimes during indoor trainings on black carpet. Already I wrote down some ideas for further upgrades and optical refinements, with the aim to increase performance as well as the look on the shelf. In the end this is a nostalgia build.


Highgrip - Always getting high on 𝝁