Vamp Mark II steering wheel

[Net-Viper X]

Ok, well I will have to bust out the camera sometime soon. I have have a spare Stinger that has the EXACT same dashboard as my Vamp MK II. It's the one with no male connector and the center console hangs down. I don't remember what my Stinger in storage has, I will check that out too, when I get to it. My Dreadnok jeep is in the same location, so I will get pictures of them at the same time. I do think you are on to something Net-Viper, with the dash variation being the determining factor of the steering wheel. I took a look at Bellemo's guide, 2nd Ed, and the picture of the wheel he has for the MK II is the same as the MK II in my picture above. This is very interesting to me. I wish someone had a sealed in bag that they could examine...

So are you saying your Vamp MKII has the center console and no male connector? That would mean there are three dashboard types then, since both mine with center console have the male connector, and all my dashes without the center console have female type with no peg. I need to get back to the warehoues soon and do some comparing of my other jeeps in storage. I did get to check my MRF racing jeeps from India and they have the female type dash with no peg and no console like a VAMP I, but the MRF has a steering wheel type that differs from the hasbro style wheel so I can't use that for comparison.

I have to wonder if that male connector dash with console appeared in later mail order vehicles that would normally have the female type without console because the mold for the no console dash was in another country being used for something else like the Action Force SAS jeeps or the Funskool versions. We need to find someone to give a good look at an Action Force SAS jeep and if my theory is accurate, it will have the female dash with no console. Also if this theory is correct, then the later mail order Stinger with the variant color scheme will have the male dash with center console.

Hopefully I can get back to the warehouse this weekend or early next week and check some more. I have one of those 1998 Rattler jeeps with the blue camo on it and it has never been played with so its wheel and dash will be original to it. Also have a couple of extra Stingers I can check that will all be either Store bought or early mail order that are identicle to the store bought.

We shall get to the bottom of this one way or another.

[tmc008]

Ok, here's my photos:

[Net-Viper X]

So it looks like there are indeed three different dash boards, the female type with no center console, and both a female and male for the center console dash. Looks like both versions of center console dash have same size hole in the dash and the wheel. I'm betting that center console dash with the male peg is a revision done to make the steering wheel attach more securely, and is the final version to be produced.

Edit: I havent forgotten about this thread, the black death is going around down here and I haven't had a chance to go check my other jeeps. Soon as the illness is cleared I will be going up there.

[Net-Viper X]

Ok, I made it to the warehouse today and had a good long look at several of my Stingers of various types. My original Stinger was packed away too deep apparently and I was unable to locate it (almost sure it will have a console dash without wheel peg), but the rest I found and examined, and here are the results.

All of my Sears Dreadnok Stingers have the center console dash with steering wheel peg.

My early Mail Order Stinger that is identicle in appearance to the store bought version has the center console with wheel peg just like the Sears version and Vamp II. I got this from Mail order the very first time the Stinger was available (1985 maybe), so its not the variant with the different colored roof.

The Tiger Force Stinger has the old style dash with no console and female wheel connector like is usually in the Vamp I. This is also the same dash as found in the Funskool MRF jeep and it also has the same steering wheel, a totally different design than the two spoke wheel found in Stingers and Vamps. EDIT: After a bit more checking I realised this was the same type of steering wheel found in the Vamp I, don't know how I overlooked that until today.

My 1998 TRU "Rattler" Stinger Jeep has the console type dash with wheel peg.

I don't know if this gets us anywhere or not, seems odd that the later release Tiger Sting would have the old school dash of Vamp I even though all later jeeps for US release have the console dash like Stinger and Vamp II had. Especially considering that the even later release of the TRU Rattler had the console type dash again. This is getting confusing now, we need more jeeps to look at and reference!


EDIT: I totally forgot to mention the observations about the steering wheel itself.

It appears that the original Vamp I dash board with no center console has a totally different wheel than the ones in the pictures shown in this thread. The wheel has a smaller column and has no chance of fitting the center console type dash boards.

Every jeep I examined with the console type dash and center peg uses the wheel with the three ribs down the column. I don't have any jeeps on hand with the center console dash and no peg that I have owned since new, so I can't be for sure if the ribbed wheel came with the pegless dashes or if it only came with the type with center peg.

[hotdog]

so this thread is getting confusing to me. for me personally I believed that there are 3 steering wheel types, the vamp I with the thick steering wheel pad, then the stinger and vamp II (the stinger being the one with the 3 ridges that fits in the dash with the male peg). all of the vamp II's i have seen do not have the male peg in the center of the steering wheel mount. i started looking at the stingers i have and found one has a dash like the vamp II and one has the dash like what i know the stinger should have (which is the same as my dreadnok ground assault).
heres some pictures of what I have:
stinger 1 - like tiffany's no male peg- takes no ridges steering wheel:


stinger 2- male peg, this is how ist should be, takes the steering wheel with the ridges:



vamp II (like stinger 1 photo above, it has no center peg):


tiger sting (same as vamp I):


three steering wheel types together:


so i guess my question is this- to my knowledge the vamp 2 should have the dash without a male connector, and thusly the only steering wheel it should have is the one without the ridges. does anyone have a photo contrary to that? I do not believe my stinger 1 has a vamp dash swapped out, but it is possible. I know it should have the one with the male pin, and thusly the steering wheel with the ridges, but of course this steering may be a variant? especially since tiffany has one like this too.

[Flophouse]

If you look at the tread I started last year about Vamps molds, Airedevon posts that there is both a male and female dashboard for the MkII. I trust her word on anything Vamp related;

http://forums.yojoe.com/toys-1982-19...rnational.html

p.s. I have Stingers with both male and female dashboards.

[Deadman2099]

Are the funskool vamps mkI, mkII, or stinger? :P

[hotdog]

If you look at the tread I started last year about Vamps molds, Airedevon posts that there is both a male and female dashboard for the MkII. I trust her word on anything Vamp related;

http://forums.yojoe.com/toys-1982-19...rnational.html

p.s. I have Stingers with both male and female dashboards.

thanks, i knew i saw some old posts, unfortunately that wasn't the one i was looking for, but i couldn't find any.
so the jist of it is that the vampII and stinger can have either the ridged steering wheel (if the dash has the male peg) or the non ridged steering wheel (if it lacks the peg).
that's good to know:

Some VAMPs and Stingers have differences in the dashboard where the steering wheel plugs in - some have a "backpack peg" while others have a hole. It's confusing, to say the least.

[Net-Viper X]

Thats the same conclusion I was coming too Hotdog about the three seperate wheel types going with the three seperate type of dash board. However it appears that TMC has a ribbed wheel on her no peg dash, so I'm wondering if the wheel is not the original to that jeep, or if they revised the wheel first then later added the peg, so that some ribbed wheels came with no peg dashes for a while.

To nail it down a bit more, I notice you have a Stinger with the peg dash while most are no peg. I assume that is a mail order version, and apparently a later release than my 85 mail order Stinger which has no peg. Is your Stinger the mail order version with the color variation or is it still original colors? It looks like the original colors from the pictures but I can't tell for sure.

[Flophouse]

Are the funskool vamps mkI, mkII, or stinger? :P

They are all MkI variations, either the non-shovel or shovel versions. No MkII or Stinger bodies as far as I've ever known. I'm looking for any of the green Funskool ones if anyone's selling.