Builder of the Month: Thorsten Illhardt (April 2026)
Boom Racing:
It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Boom Racing Builder of the Month. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
Thorsten Illhardt:
My name is Thorsten, and I live in the southern part of Germany at the northern Black Forest, but was born and raised in NRW. My journey started in late 2023, and now I own four scalers—three BRX02s and something with a bit of Traxxas TRX4 DNA.
After my early career as a technician, I moved onto a different professional path and no longer work as hands-on. That’s why I’m so excited that this hobby lets me keep developing my practical skills and continue learning new ones.
It is clearly obvious that I am a big fan of the Camel Trophy. I like the spirit and teamwork of men and machine exploring their way through the jungle with all the Land and Range-Rover vehicles. I could watch the videos all day and never get bored. Even as a child, it must have been in the late 80th, I saw a VHS tape of the Camel Trophy at a friend's house. I seem to remember some Range-Rover Classic 3-door, so it was probably the Trophy in Sumatra or Papua New Guinea. Back home, I drilled holes in the roof of my Matchbox RR Classic to fix a wire-made roof rack on and painted the car somehow yellow.
Boom Racing:
Being based in Germany, how does that environment fuel your passion for building and running Scale RC? I’ve heard the scene there is both diverse and incredibly vibrant.
Thorsten Illhardt:
The scene in Germany is diverse indeed. You have different groups specializing in various areas. Some focus on scale models, others build performance crawlers, and some are into functional model building. Have you ever seen "pistenking.com"? Top-notch functional model making. It feels like that classic “German engineering” spirit - many people building innovative things with a huge amount of functionality and details. There’s a lot of inspiration. For me, I am very impressed by the very scale build vehicles. I like it when it looks, feels, and drives as realistically as possible. And it's not just in Germany. Also, Switzerland, which is close by, also has excellent model builders, such as my friend Christoph Ganzmann and Tom Lahoja, who do an incredible job in building scaled models. We have some nice online shops where you can get scale stuff, such as Job RC, Crawlermanufaktur, and Scale Man in our country. I live near the French border, and even in Alsace, you find many modelers and great events. Whether it’s in Cattenom, Steinbourg, or Germany’s Superscale event, there’s so much happening. I like to be outdoors with the team without "hand of god" if somehow possible.
Boom Racing:
Do you remember the first RC you ever saw? And your first that you owned? When did the RC bug turn to scale and scale realism?
Thorsten Illhardt:
The first time I came across scalers was when we were out mountain biking in the Palatinate Forest. Suddenly, a huge group of RC crawlers came toward us—Unimogs, all kinds of off-road vehicles. Must have been around 2020. Back then, we thought: What kind of strange guys are those? And honestly, we laughed our heads off. But something stuck. Deep down, I already found it pretty fascinating.
My own journey started shortly before Christmas 2023. The same friend I used to laugh with about those “strange guys” simply sent me a photo of his new RC crawler—and he instantly got me. I was hooked right away and wanted one of those things too.
My first vehicle was a used Traxxas TRX-4 Defender. At the beginning, I was totally blown away by what that truck could crawl over. I loaded it up with accessories—the classic “TRX-4 Christmas tree”: boxes, ropes, buckets, all sorts of stuff, which I’d say today is way too much. Looking back, the thing looked pretty wild, but the fun factor was huge. Over time, I got deeper into the scene and started focusing more on scale building.
Boom Racing:
How did you first hear about Boom Racing, and what was your journey to becoming an owner and multi-rig builder and fabricator?
Thorsten Illhardt:
A key moment came at an event in March 2024 in Stadtoldendorf, where I saw a Boom Racing vehicle for the first time that went far beyond anything I had known before. I still have the image in my head of a Land Rover 88 Series II or III with a Bob Marley driver figure and a Playboy magazine inside—hello, who was that among you?
At that point, I looked at my TRX4 Defender with its huge tyres and all the accessories, and it became clear that wasn’t what I wanted anymore. Somehow it was obvious that, like with all my hobbies, this would escalate quickly and I’d end up fully committed to a real Boom Racing scaler. It took me nearly another year of going back and forth before I finally bought my first Boom Racing kit, and now it’s slowly becoming funny when people who once looked to me are asking me for parts and opinions. That’s a real honor for me, especially since I haven’t been in the scene all that long.
Boom Racing:
Can you tell us about your Boom Racing builds? What was the inspiration behind each rig?
Thorsten Illhardt:
At the moment, I own three Boom Racing Models, all BRX02 with leaf suspension.
Land Rover 88 Series III Station Wagon "Blue Tit":
My first Boom Racing model and also my first "build yourself kit" is a Land Rover Series 88 Series III Station Wagon. I painted it in the original Land Rover Marine Blue, with the roof and rims in Limestone. I named it Blue Tit way before Tati Reed with "overintherover" went viral.
My learning curve with this rig was quite steep, but at the end, I can say that, through the enormous quality of Boom Racing and the manuals, it is also safe for beginners. My first experiences in painting were quite frustrating. After I managed to get a proper base paint on it, I destroyed my work with clear varnish at the end. I sanded and repainted several times until it was (somehow) fine. The vehicle has undergone some improvements over time, until I can now say it is ready. It received lots of patina because of the bad painting quality. Maybe it’ll get some new lacquering one day.
Land Rover 88 Series III Station Wagon Camel Trophy Zaire 1983 "Team EU":
After I finished Blue Tit, I was curious if I could build a Camel Trophy vehicle. But in this time of my origin as a scale builder, some technical skills were still missing. I was not able to create a roof rack and the jerry can holders for the front. An option would have been to buy it from a well-known manufacturer, but the price tag and the delivery times to expect have scared me. At this time, I met Christoph "Chris Cage" Ganzmann, now a friend of mine, who offered to support me with the required parts. Also, some 3D printed parts have been made by him, because myself lacking of the technical possibilities. I had to choose which team I should join. Switzerland has already been made by Chris, Germany, and the Netherlands where in the hands of Stefan and Marc from the Camel Trophy RC Team NRW. So I decided to create an artificial "Team EU", despite the fact that the EU was not founded in 1983 yet. Maybe some political statement, but I still like that idea. It has some nice, scaled details, such as a flickering oil lamp in the back, an original map from Zaire, and some other stuff.
Land Rover 109 Series III Station Wagon 5-door Camel Trophy Zaire 1983 "Support/photographer":
If it is about all Land Rover vehicles, the 109 station wagon Series III is the one that makes my heart jump. As Boom Racing finally released the station wagon kit for the 109, my plan was to build another Camel Trophy car. But there was a major issue: Boom Racing released a 3-door kit, and for me, it has absolutely not been an option to build a Camel Trophy vehicle from that. All the 109, used as Trophy support vehicle, have been 5-door versions - no exceptions. I called my friend Chris, who is most likely one of the most talented scale builders I have ever met, and offered my plans: to convert the 3-door kit to a real scale 5-door version. He was surprised and said to me that this would be a master project, which he thought about himself, but had let it go because of the tremendous effort required. He pulled the trigger for me—I was all in immediately!
One of the major issues was the lack of detailed footage of the 109. Available videos and photos of the 88 are very detailed, but the only 109 that can be seen clearly is the burning photographer's car, and some other, less detailed views. But I took the positive aspect - this gave me the opportunity to interpret it myself a bit and not strictly stick to the original car. Some freedom I chose is the ladder on the wrong side. In reality, it has been on the right side, but on my model, it would have gotten in the way of the door, which would have had the chance to damage the hinges, or would have covered the taillights.
It was clear to me to ask for tips and tricks in this project, but not for parts again. That led me to buy my first 3D printer to design and print all parts by myself. Except for the roof rack - this has been laser-cut with a design of Chris and LahojaScaleRC again and has finally been fitted to my needs by myself.
I am very proud to have managed all the major and minor issues, starting by cutting door-frames, re-designing the door "snapper" for passenger doors, integrating the rear interior, and all the way being in charge of the required tolerances to have looking perfectly at the end. Have you seen? I used real rivets in the areas where I had to add them, as on the real car. Time effort: Way more than 200 hours of intense work. Material: 109 Station Wagon Kit, a Series III conversion kit, and a Team Raffee 110 have been used for all the puzzle pieces.
Boom Racing:
If you could design any vehicle, from any era, as a 1/10th RC BRX-based kit, what would it be and why?
Thorsten Illhardt:
Through the fact that I am living next to the city where the Mercedes Unimog has been manufactured for decades, and I can reach the new Unimog Test Parcour as well as the "Sauberg" by bicycle, it would be a Unimog U1300. With portal Axles and AWB Chassis, it could be a pretty nice rig in Boom Racing quality. My Camel Trophy addiction will be satisfied by another 110 at some time, which doesn’t have a Traxxas base. I bet it’ll be a BRX02 again, but with linkage suspension off course.
Boom Racing:
Are there any Boom Racing releases or products you’re especially hoping to see in the future?
Thorsten Illhardt:
I would be happy about some lockable/unlockable differentials in front and rear axles. Besides lacking some crawling performance with unlocked diffs, it is so nice to see how those vehicles work in corners and when they lose and get grip with different tyres. Some extra driving skills are required to keep them on the ground - but it feels and looks pretty scale.
Oh, and I would love to be the bodies in grey or silver instead of white ABS. That would make it way more natural when the rigs receive some scratches.
And to be honest, I would wish a remake of the Muscle Winch routing. It is working so well until the rope ruptures. Especially if you have mounted the Skidplate, the fixing is a lot of work.
I pretty much like the freedom of the BRX kits so much without being limited in one direction. These rigs are amazing base models for your own creativity, so I hope to see in the future again wide open kits without the limitation of "this is a firefighter's truck with a ladder and blue lights and also the decals - you just need to paint it red."
Boom Racing:
Other than Boom Racing rigs, what other vehicles have you built, and what was your experience like?
Thorsten Illhardt:
Besides my Boom Racing rigs, I still own something that contains the genes of my first Traxxas TRX4 and which is a Camel Trophy Land Rover 110 from 1991 now. From this vehicle, I changed the portal axles to straight axles with portal delete kits, massive underdrive, and a fusion 1200 KV motor to compensate for the underdrive of the portals. It has an RCdream hardbody and a lot of scaled parts and some changings as the historically correct bonnet.
This is probably one of the most expensive TRX-4s out there. But it was important as a learning platform. The vehicle still exists with my completely rebuilt, very first chassis, and I still really enjoy driving it with front and rear diffs all the way open. Maybe some irony - but pretty scale for a TRX4.
Boom Racing:
Is there a build or project you’re especially proud of? What made it meaningful, and how did it come together from idea to finished result?
Thorsten Illhardt:
That is clearly my 109 5-door, something I’m really proud of. It is one of the first ones in the world (or even on social media) build from the 3-door kit and has been a very successfull project.
Boom Racing:
Which rigs do you enjoy driving most, and where are your favorite trails near you?
Thorsten Illhardt:
I do not have a special rig I like most or as a favorite. If it is getting heavier terrain, I like to choose my "Blue Tit" as a daily driver because of the tyres. The Expedition Classic Rubbers are a little too large to be 100% scale in my opinion, but they do a perfect job thanks to their size and softness.
If I meet my Camel Trophy team or I’m at a Camel Trophy event, I mostly drive my 88 Team EU, but I believe it will be my 109 in the future. It’s amazing how the driving experience is with the long wheelbase.
Next to the town I live in, I’ve got the first hills of the northern Black Forest, so mostly I do a little hike. Some walk the dog, I do my rig. Easy :-)
As you can see from the pictures, I only clean my rigs from a technical point of view. But the bodies are collecting mud and some patina. The 88 Camel Trophy still has some mud from last year in Cattenom, which is nearly 10 months old now.
Boom Racing:
If you took a small group of newbies on the trail with you for the first time, what would you do, and what advice would you give them?
Thorsten Illhardt:
Good question. In general, I would suggest trying out a few different vehicle classes (Performance Crawler, Scaler, something in between) and then following your heart.
The most frequent question of newbies is how much money has been spent on the rig. I think this question is a natural one, but at the beginning, newbies should find orientation first before getting all in.
If you start your first rig, take your time to build everything carefully. It is not a race, it is model making. If you wanna learn techniques such as weathering, a look at YouTube could be worth it. There are a lot of tutorials on how to start. Take a piece of whatever, maybe a door you don’t need for your build, and just start trying.
If you start your first rig, take your time to build everything carefully. It is not a race, it is model making. If you wanna learn techniques such as weathering, a look at YouTube could be worth it. There are a lot of tutorials on how to start. Take a piece of whatever, maybe a door you don’t need for your build, and just start trying.
If you are on the trail with an unknown group, watch how their style of "scaling" is. Some try to avoid "hand of god" if possible, some don´t care about it. Some people place great importance on vehicles that could pass TÜV/MOT or vehicle inspection, with details like correct lighting and tyres properly tucked inside the fenders. Then it’s not the group to pop in with a monster truck and balloon tyres. I guess it’s a bit nerdy, but isn’t that what our hobby is all about?
Boom Racing:
What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you because of this hobby and to balance that, what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened, and what did that teach you for the future?
Thorsten Illhardt:
I've met some really nice people who share my hobby. Whether it's the Camel Trophy RC NRW Team, Chris Cage, Tom Lahoja, or the others from Switzerland. I've experienced some fantastic events, like the one in Cattenom 2025, and during that weekend in the "Cattenom swamp," I completely lost track of time and space during the nightly Trophy.
Another very positive aspect is that I can constantly learn and develop more skills through this hobby, whether it's 3D printing, brazing, painting, and CAD drawing.
The worst thing is the impact on my bank account :-P I built three BRX02 kits within one year and bought a 3D Printer, which is quite an impact. To be honest, I did not have too bad experiences right now. Let the good times roll!
Thank you, Thorsten, for sharing your story with us! For more, readers can follow Thorsten on social media:
Facebook: @ti.rc.blackforest
Facebook: @ti.rc.blackforest
ByBeth Liang
Tags :Boom Racing, BRX01, BRX02, BRX02 109, Land Rover, Camel Trophy, Crawler
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