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Jake James

Are they worth anything?

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Hi Guys

Total noob here.

I've come across a box of Tamiya remote control cars that I was bought many many many years ago. I'm guessing anywhere between 1977 to 1980... (I'm sure someone could probably tell me exactly when these models where available!)

I remember the first one I had was an M4 Sherman Tank. I was quite young at the time and I remember the tracks taking forever to make!

The next one I made was a Rough Rider and for some reason I also have a Sand Scorcher body and front conversion pole. I think I did this as I had the Rough Rider custom sprayed and I didn't want to spoil it! Therefore, the Sand Scorcher was my day to day body which I sprayed black and covered in decals.

The 3rd car was a Williams F1 car which i remember being incredibly quick. again, I sprayed this black as I was more interested in racing them rather than aesthetics. sorry!

The last car I ever made was a Lamborghini and this was painted quite nicely.

I've also got all the original controllers and batteries. Not that I expect the batteries to work... or any of the servo's for that matter.

The last item i have is a Tamiya bag. Bit strange to mention it, but I didn't know if it was of any interest. It's a kind of Square oblong shape made of an olive green canvas material. It's in pretty good condition as it's always been inside a cardboard box with some of the cars inside and its sat in a loft for the last 35 years!

So thats it really. If this generates any interest I will endeavour to see if I can work out how to upload some images of the cars if people want to see them.

Obviously it depends on condition, but are these cars worth anything?

Regards, Jake James

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James if you have some photos of it that would help a lot. They are still bought by drivers & collectors. Like you said it will depend on condition. I would be interested in the rough rider & lamborghini models..

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Post them on photobucket and the link them to here

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Doesn't work too great with Internet Explorer though, try Chrome or Firefox if it plays up :-)

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I apologise ahead of time for how filthy they all are. They are literally straight out of the box from 35 years ago when i last played with them!

JJ

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Great. Thanks for that. Not sure what I'm going to do with them now that I've found them. I've got to boys aged 10 and 13, so they are pretty excited! Will they be ok to use? As i was initially worried that they would have weakened with age

Regards

JJ

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Will they be ok to use?

You can get some other RC cars for your kids to run, mate. Running these would be like running a Ford A! ;)

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Aaah. ok, I get the point! lol

But are they worth much? I'm not intending to sell them, But it would be nice to know!

Also, I'm guessing the servos, batteries, controller etc are shot. Are they expensive to replace?

Regards

JJ

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Aaah. ok, I get the point! lol

But are they worth much? I'm not intending to sell them, But it would be nice to know!

Also, I'm guessing the servos, batteries, controller etc are shot. Are they expensive to replace?

Regards

JJ

The whole lot should sell for about $1000 as it is. I guess you'd be surprised if you test the electronics because they're probably still working alright. The costs of replacing the radio gear and electronics may or may not be expensive. You can find new stuff VERY cheap, but if you want originals in new or mint condition you better be prepared to let some interesting money go, mate.

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Quite a find there - lots of things that could potentially fetch good prices! And with that money, you can pick up the re-releases and run them guilt-free :P

I kid, of course - given the history they have with you, I would think about holding onto them somehow, in whatever way you see fit. I hope to do that with my RC cars one day, but that is a long time to go...

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You could restore them with your boys, I'm sure you can find all the guidance and help here on tamiyaclub. Nice models, for sure and I really like the bag.

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the lambo and f1 should worth $600.00? the tank$200.00.?. the $1000 price for all seems to be within the ballpark.

check ebay for completed transaction to get a better #.

To bad you didn't dig them out 10 years ago . The re re from Tamiya dampen the demands and price for vintage stuff.

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You could sell the F1 + lambo and buy a nice new Sand Scorcher re release kit to build and use yourself, plus a couple of MadBulls/ Lunchboxes for the boys.

Just a thought ;)

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Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate it.

I think i will go with the general consensus and hang onto them, It will be fun to restore them with my boys and get them up and running again. Although i think it would be prudent to get a couple of 'affordable' cars for them to build and race themselves!

It would be good to see if that F1 car is as fast as i remember!

Regards

JJ

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Ahhh the old "Are they worth anything " question.

Nice cars ,but its very much a buyers market at the moment with all the re-releases Tamiya have thrown our way in recent times .

Thanks for sharing the pictures with us :)

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Yes, I did hesitate a bit before asking the old 'Are they worth anything' question! tbh I thought I would get a bit of stick for it!

I was never going to sell them or bin them... although I could potentially move on the Lambo as it doesn't have as much sentimental value as the others... I was just curious about them

Very glad i joined the club forum

Regards

JJ

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Sorry to break this to you JJ, but I think the other guys are just trying to spare your feelings. None of them are worth anything really - they just old kids toys. If you like, I'll dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way so you don't need to worry about them. I'll send you my address...

The bag might be useful for shopping or something though?

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