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Prescient

Tamiya Today

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My first Traxxas was the SRT 2wd stadium truck, back round 98. Yes, back then you built a Traxxas, not like todays all plastic RTR's. It came with a good bit of hop-ups, but was a real dog on the race track compared to the RC10T3 of the day, never won anything with it. Sold it to get something more competitive, Losi XX-T Matt Francis I believe.

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On 10/28/2016 at 9:18 PM, Backlash said:

 

I think that what Theibault and acprc has written is a big part of the "problem" as we see it with Tamiya.. 

 

You appear to of miss quoted me.........I have no problem with what Tamiya release.

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13 hours ago, acprc said:

You appear to of miss quoted me.........I have no problem with what Tamiya release.

Sorry, I have edited my post.....

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"I think that what Theibault and acprc has written is a big part of the "problem" as we see it with Tamiya.

 

 

I have no "problem" with Tamiya, what they release or otherwise. "We" don't see it.

 

 

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I think his was simply a statement of fact.

This is not an issue for acprc, nor by all accounts Tamiya; but for some of us highlights where we believe they seem to be lacking. 

 

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Indeed. Tamiya catering primarily for the Japanese market may or may not be a problem depending on your point of view. For those who relate to its idiosyncrasies, it may even be considered a good thing. It is also easy to see how some people may consider it a problem, even if one doesn't share that point of view.

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I find catering for the Japanese marketing interesting as this isn't the first time a move like this as been done.

I was a TV / Engineer and I regularly attended as many free seminars as possible. I was up at JVC and was chatting to the TLO, Resham about the training course. A lack of features topic came about Ghetto Blasters and HiFi's etc and even in the mid to late 80's the Japanese were scaling back options on brown goods due to lack of interest or ability for parts of Europe including us on how we used it. I said like the ability these days to buy a ghetto with chrome and metal tape and say Dolby. He replied 'yep'. The users want to put in a TDK D90 and press record. They aren't bothered about quality, just ease of use and hiss is just one of them things..

 

Models in this day and age are a thing of effort and if Tamiya have a better Japanese market then can you blame them? I have my son and stepson into kits now, and scalextric and rc cars.. I've dragged em out of Argo's and shown them look what effort and a furtive imagination can achieve.

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acprc, SORRY, it appears that I did misunderstand your original post and as such misquoted you...

 

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I'd like to see them at least start offering some more of their kits with radio and battery included, which surely must be pretty cheap for the manufacturer to include considering i can get a radio and transmitter for $25 shipped. I think people are more turned off by having to buy extra stuff than having to build themselves - for many this is a plus, even the younger generation. But when you are a new entry to the market about to spend your money and Racer Joe's model has "Everything you need!!!" written on the box, meanwhile Tamiya gives you a list of required accessories, it does not bode well in the current market.

 For example, if Tamiya offered a few all inclusive TT-02 kits with radio and battery gear, but still required assembly, I think that would be more appealing in the current market,  Surely it could come in around say $160 with similar profit margin, which would be a pretty darn good deal for a 1/10 scale 540 based hobby grade car. 

 

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1 hour ago, Driveforfun said:

I'd like to see them at least start offering some more of their kits with radio and battery included, which surely must be pretty cheap for the manufacturer to include considering i can get a radio and transmitter for $25 shipped. I think people are more turned off by having to buy extra stuff than having to build themselves - for many this is a plus, even the younger generation. But when you are a new entry to the market about to spend your money and Racer Joe's model has "Everything you need!!!" written on the box, meanwhile Tamiya gives you a list of required accessories, it does not bode well in the current market.

 For example, if Tamiya offered a few all inclusive TT-02 kits with radio and battery gear, but still required assembly, I think that would be more appealing in the current market,  Surely it could come in around say $160 with similar profit margin, which would be a pretty darn good deal for a 1/10 scale 540 based hobby grade car. 

 

Tamiya does/did:

57001 Thunder Shot Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58067
57002 Sonic Fighter Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58071
57003 Calsonic Skyline GT-R Gr.A Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58135
57004 Blazing Star Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58204
57005 Calsonic Skyline GT-R Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58191
57006 Mad Bull Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58205
57007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58219
57008 Subaru Impreza WRC Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58226
57009 Pennzoil NISMO GT-R Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58223
57010 Toyota Celica GT-Four `97 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58201
57011 Peugeot 406ST Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58212
57012 Castrol Honda NSX Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58233
57013 Racing Mini Cooper Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58211
57014 Suzuki Wagon R-RR Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58234
57015 Lexus IS200 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58237
57016 Honda S2000 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58236
57017 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Originalteile Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58244
57018 Wild Willy 2 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58242
57019 Toyota bB Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58265
57020 Calsonic Skyline GT-R R34 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58255
57021 Castrol Toyota Tom's Supra 2000 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58264
57022 Mercedes Benz CLK DTM2000 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58260
57023 Opel V8 Coupe DTM Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58263
57024 Subaru Impreza WRC 2001 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58273
57025 Mad Fighter Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58275
57026 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup VIP Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58283
57027 Nissan 350Z Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58287
57028 Ferrari 360 Modena Challenge Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58289
57029 Honda Integra-R Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58293
57030 New Mini Cooper Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58295
57031 CLK-DTM AMG-Mercedes Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58296
57032 Baja King Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58301
57033 Enzo Ferrari Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58302
57034 Z33 Fairlady Z Racing Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58304
57035 Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58305
57036 Ford Focus RS WRC 03 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58308
57037 Raybrig NSX 2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58313
57038 Calsonic Skyline GT-R 2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58314
57039 CLK-DTM Team Vodafone AMG-Mercedes Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58318
57040 Xanavi Nismo GT-R (R34) Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58319
57041 BMW M3 Sport Evo. Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58323
57042 Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo.II AMG Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58327
57043 Gravel Hound Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58328
57044 Xanavi Nismo Z Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58330
57045 Mini Cooper Racing Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58211
57046 Wild Willy 2 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58242
57047 Mad Fighter Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58275
57048 Baja King Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58301
57049 Enzo Ferrari Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58302
57050 Nissan 350Z Race Car Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58304
57051 Subaru Impreza WRC2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58305
57052 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58307
57053 Raybrig NSX 2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58313
57054 Calsonic Skyline GT-R 2003 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58314
57055 Subaru Impreza WRC 2004 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58333
57056 Rising Storm Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58334
57057 Ford Escort WRC Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58335
57058 Raybrig NSX 2004 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58339
57059 Ford F-350 Hi-Lift Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 58372
57060 Toyota Hilux Hi-Lift Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 58397
57061 Toyota Tundra Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 58415
57062 Mini Cooper Racing Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58438
57063 Abarth 500 Assetto Corse Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58444
57064 Honda S800 Racing Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58454
57065 Alfa Romeo MiTo Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58453
57066 King Hauler Metallic Special Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 56308
57067 Mazda RX-7 Complete Kit Complete kit version of 58493
57068 Toyota Hilux Hi-Lift Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 58397,
57069 Globe Liner Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 56304
57070 King Hauler Black Edition Full Operation Kit Complete kit version of 56336
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16 hours ago, Driveforfun said:

I'd like to see them at least start offering some more of their kits with radio and battery included, which surely must be pretty cheap for the manufacturer to include considering i can get a radio and transmitter for $25 shipped. I think people are more turned off by having to buy extra stuff than having to build themselves - for many this is a plus, even the younger generation. But when you are a new entry to the market about to spend your money and Racer Joe's model has "Everything you need!!!" written on the box, meanwhile Tamiya gives you a list of required accessories, it does not bode well in the current market.

I was about to argue with this point, saying it's nice to have a choice of buying non-Tamiya radio gear or being able to get the kit a little cheaper so I can use my existing multi-model transmitter.  (I remember the early days of RC before I could afford a 2.4GHz system and I had about 12 Acoms transmitters lying around the place).

But then I remembered one day when I was visiting my friends in the LHS, when a customer entered to ask about a new Tamiya kit for his son.  He seemed to be very confused and a little annoyed that the shop owner was trying to sell him Acoms radio gear instead of Tamiya.  He did seem willing or able to get his head around the idea that Tamiya radio sets weren't stocked by many UK retailers, and that Tamiya are designed to work with various different manufacturer's radio gear, and that Acoms is a perfectly good brand for a first Tamiya kit.

Back on topic, I do find myself worrying a little about where Tamiya RC is going to go.  Despite the lack of speed compared to other brands RTRs, I still love that essence of Tamiya-ness in every new kit and I wonder if there will come a day when Tamiya scale back their operations outside of Japan and reduce the (currently huge) number of kits available to us at any one time.  But who knows what the future holds?  Tamiya aren't daft, I'm sure they've got a plan, one way or another.

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I have to say, prompted by this thread I spent some time looking at electric RC's on Modelsports website, there looks to be some great models out there, (HPI Firestorm Flux looks pretty beastly) but actually, when it comes to it, Tamiya have the most eye catching lineup for me, obviously through the Tamiya tinted specs and indoctrination, I wonder how newcomers would view the range?

I think the last time this thread came around, I summarised my thoughts in one word, for me 'Cohesion' pretty much summed up Tamiya's approach and I believe is largely responsible for their success.

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On 28/10/2016 at 5:35 PM, Prescient said:

it is the licensing of Lego that has really made the difference

It's definitely attracted a whole new set of customers and is presumably also a massive success commercially.  As a long-term LEGO fan though (there are six 100-litre boxes full only a few yards away...) it's disappointing that they choose to make so many one-off bespoke parts these days.  I'd happily trade some perfect detail and exact colour for a bit more old-school LEGO-ness.

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On 11/1/2016 at 7:09 AM, Mad Ax said:

I was about to argue with this point, saying it's nice to have a choice of buying non-Tamiya radio gear or being able to get the kit a little cheaper so I can use my existing multi-model transmitter.  (I remember the early days of RC before I could afford a 2.4GHz system and I had about 12 Acoms transmitters lying around the place).

 

Yes i definitely did not want to suggest they should stop selling bare kits of the same cars. But either way sounds like from Mokei's post my wish has already been granted.,..so there goes that theory! 

 

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