Mad Ax

Another vote for the Dark Impact - mine is totally standard, but is an absolute hoot to drive. After my antics at the weekend I'm also prepared to believe it's indestructible! I gave it some serious head-on jumps into grass banks and didn't break anything! If your garden grass is really long you might consider putting some bigger wheels on it to increase the ground clearance a bit more. You might need to drop the gear ratio to make up for the taller gearing tho. Best of luck []

Some very interesting points raised there Dee, will be interesting to see how this works out. Like I said previously, if this is a joke it will probably crush some people's will to live [] I for one am eagerly anticipating more news...

Surely, this is just a risk of collecting / restoring anyway? Collectors of anything (be they models, stamps, postcards or whatever) always run the risk of trend changes. What is cool today may be rubbish next week. However, that shouldn't affect the serious collector's opinion of his own stuff unless he is prepared to be swayed by general opinion. You like your original vintage Tamiya, you spend months and money restoring it to its original specification, you polish it up and put it on your shelf and you love it - because you put in the effort to restore it. Now Tamiya re-release that identical model. So what? Your model should not depreciate in its sentimental value to you unless you are prepared to be swayed by puplic opinion. It it still a lovingly-restored original model; perhaps even more rare, because it has all original parts - it was completed before the re-re was available; whereas other collectors after you may be tempted to buy re-re parts just to finish their restoration. It should also lose none of its original monetary value to collectors (although there may be less collectors if the less-than-serious just buy a re-re instead of spending a fortune on an original model). But hey-ho, that's the risk of the collector's market - you knew that when you started, right?[] Personally I love some early models - Pumpkin, Brat, King Cab - and would love to own them - not for the shelf, but to drive. I couldn't possibly justify spending lots of money on an original Brat, because I want to drive it (and quite likely ruin it). I will buy a re-re so I can do exactly what I would have done with it when I was first into Tamiya: drive it, bash it, break it, fix it, drive it again. I think Tamiya are still making very good forward progress. Talking to other members at the weekend, it was apparent that Tamiya have made some excellent releases. I was astounded at the sturdiness of my Dark Impact and my Blackfoot Extreme (with Lexan shell) - both were involved in plenty of high-speed rolls, flips and crashes; both came away with absolutely no damage whatsoever. That kind of running would have had my original Mud Blaster in numerous pieces, 12 years ago. My re-re Pumpkin (with Lexan shell) however, managed to break two body posts in less than one battery pack. In the last year or so Tamiya have released a very good back-yard buggy (Dark Impact), a good modern representation of the 3-speeds, a competitive racing buggy (new TRF), some very successful mini buggies to rival the Mini-Ts etc, and lots more besides. Tamiya are still a competitive modern RC company. However, it cannot be denied that the re-re craze has brought lots of old members back into the hobby. In the day and age where NIMBYs and whingers are trying to have everything but everything banned, outlawed or legislated into oblivion, the more members we can have in our hobby the bigger voice we'll have when residents associations try to get us pushed out of the local playing fields or country parks []

Excellent day - excellent venue - excellent weather - and excellent company, too [] Couldn't have asked for more from my first TC meet [] Breakages thus far: some scracthes on my lovely Pumpkin lexan shell, and two broken Pumpkin front body mounts, but otherwise everything survived intact (despite a great many nasty-looking flips from the Dark Impact and Blackfoot Extreme). Things seriously have changed since the last time I drove Tamiya cars that hard - all those crashes and rolls, and not a single major breakage [] Whose up for round two..? []

Well the weather today is lovely, with any luck it'll stay that way for tomorrow [] Wrap up warm tho peeps!!

Welcome aboard the, er, board []

I had exactly the same thing earlier this year, walking past my old hobby store where I used to drool over the Midnight Pumpkin, and just happened to notice... A Midnight Pumpkin!! Re-releases are probably the best move Tamiya has made, a look at the re-re Brat thread has shown that in the last few days alone, Tamiya has pre-sold a handful of kits just from this site. Imagine what they'll sell globally []

Well the good news in my blackfoot pinion arrived so I can run the new motor, but the tyres are on back order, so I can't actually run it anyway [] Might have to see if I can get the tyres off the Monster Beetle wheels that I've got lying around, or alternatively see if I can put the monster beetle spindles on the front until the tyres for the BEx wheels arrive []

Some people take this hobby a little too seriously, I think []

I felt just like that when I got my NIB Midnight Pumpkin (re-re) a few months ago. It was the car I drooled over for hours when I was a kid - never had a guide book, but I had a few Tamiya Juniors (inc. a Midnight Pumpkin []) and it had pictures of the boxart of lots of other models inside the box. Hope you have lots of fun, whatever you decide to do []

So sorry, I didn't know it was you[:$]. This is shaping up great! JUST DON'T BE LYING TO US JASON, we couldn't take that kind of heartbreak, you might have a wave of Tamiyaclub suicides if this turns out to be untrue... Could you handle that much blood on your hands? [] [] []

Can't help with the tarmac clubs thing, but just go out and see what you can find - on weekends, some industrial estates have got warehouses or offices with really smooth tarmac - they usually have "private" or "keep out" signs, some may have CCTV, but in my experience as long as you don't leave litter, don't damage property (including bumping the warehouse doors), don't invite huge groups of people and don't block the access road or whatever, then you shouldn't have any problems. If you're asked to move on, then move on without a fuss. Regarding off-road stuff - off road buggies and trucks are excellent fun because of their run-anywhere design. Buggies are just as fast on tarmac and dirt, but don't bounce around like a TT01 will. Trucks have better ground clearance for rougher off-road terrain, but aren't as fast as buggies. My Dark Impact is a suberb go-anywhere basher - 4x4, really quick out of the box, loads of hop-ups now available, will handle tarmac, gravel, even proper off-road stuff (although it will bounce and get stuck from time to time). I also have a Blackfoot Extreme - a 2wd version of the Twin Det - but it's very slow out the box, and I expect a TD will be the same, only with more torque. My Dark Impact will also climb some steep bumpy sections better than the BlackfootEx - 4x4 and faster-spinning wheels help to power it up rough hills where the BEx runs out of torque through its big wheels. Summary - the buggy is better if you want to run it anywhere, but a 4x4 truck will be more fun if your off-road terrain is very rough or dirty.

I like that... Want to do something similar myself one day, maybe after my TXT...

Wow! I said months back that if the Brat was re-re'd, I'd buy one. Looks like it's time to put my money where my mouth is!! My first NIB Tamiya was the Mud Blaster, but I soon converted it with smaller wheels as it rolled over far too easy. The Brat was blatantly the car I should have got, although it wasn't available (or at least not in my LHS) when I wandered in with my pocket money. Depending on how many funds are available I might even buy two - one to keep standard (plus bearings) and one to modify with hot motor, oil shocks, various other bits & pieces...

I got my Pumpkin running again last night - now with oil shocks - seems to wheelie much easier now. Whoopeeeee!! Really hoping the bits for the Blackfoot Extreme turn up on time...

One of my hobbies is fiction writing. When I was a kid, I had an idea for a screenplay about a small-time off-road racer who ends up in financial trouble and takes up a job smuggling guns across the country in his off-road truck. I had ideas for all the good chase scenes, including the bit at the very end when he has to drive his truck off the end of a pier in order to avoid capture when the cops are all over him (bit like the Italian Job, where they push the Minis off the cliff). I was planning to use our home video camera to record the movie, use mates and family members as actors, and - most of all - my Mud Blaster as the star of the show [] Would have been hard tho - back in the days of analog recording there was no hardware in the household for editing videos together, so the whole thing would have to have been done in a series of individual takes back-to-back on the cassette. One of these days I'll get a decent digital video camera and start making proper movies - had an urge to for ages, but can't justify spending that much money on what is basically a random idea. A mate of mine produces high-quality DVDs of motorcycle stunts here the UK (he records footage from all across the globe) and has the technology to do some cool stuff, but he won't let me get involved []

I find it amazing that monsters of the time had painted wheels!! And here's me thinking yellow plastic wheels make an otherwise perfect monster truck look like a cheap toy []

Another ex-Capri owner here! Bought a 2.8i a few years back as a project car, but unfortunately had to have it scrapped [] Shame, I was going to paint it black, use a XX-pack nosecone, and make a Mad Max II replica - complete with tatty interior full of junk []

IIRC the Mud Blaster had a red chassis and friction shocks, think they were black tho; the Monster Beetle had yellow oil-filled shocks. Muddy also had yellow wheels, but can't remember if it had pins on the tyres or not. Note that the tyres may have worn and been replaced with tyres from a different model. Apart from that not truly familiar with the back end, but it could be a hybrid of different parts.

OK I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I haven't bought any new RC stuff for a while, but I've had lots of potential projects planned. Now I've just found out I've got some money coming through from a job I did back in the summer, and feel like splashing out on something... But - WHAT? Hopefully will have about £300 to spend, so... 1) My LHS had some Hi-Lifts in for £325 - inc. 4ch radio, battery, paint etc... They've sold out now, but I'm hoping they will get more kits at the same superb price. I could buy and build a stock Hi-Lift and have some fun driving it around my local woods, but worried that I might get bored with its lack of speed and lack of true climbing ability without any good modifications. Any Hi-Lift owners care to comment? 2) I could try to find a TXT or NIB Super Clod, and run it as a fun monster/crawler., then maybe modify it later. Any clod / TXT owners care to comment? Would a TXT or Clod be better? 3) I could try to find a TLT, build and run it standard while I get familiar with the chassis, then start modifying to build a good 1/10 scale off-roader during the winter months, ready for next year. 4) Buy an M03 Mini, build it standard, compare the chassis to my M04 and decide how to make my M03 4x4 Mini (either use back end of an M04, or an M03 front end reversed). Most of my running is done off-road, as that's what my local area is best for. Tarmac running can only be done on industrial estates when the traffic is quiet, which is a bit restrictive... I really fancy owning a Hi-Lift, but... Don't wanna buy one and then find myself bored, wishing I'd gone with a TXT / TLT / Clod. I like the idea of making something custom, but would also like to build and run something NIB to start with, before I get into making custom stuff. Your thoughts would be appreciated [] [] []

I wonder if my LHS has got a Mini in stock... cos ****, I really want one for this meet now!! Or I could try to bodge-repair my old Mardave []

Tis cool getting bargains like that! I got given a Mardave mini years ago, one of the original ministocks with the ABS shell. Sadly I drove it into the ground and beyond, now got half-an-eye out for another damaged one so I can build a good runner.

****, I really need to save up and get a Mini... In fact, I really need to save up and get my M03/04 twin-engine 4x4 hybrid off the ground [] My selection is looking a bit thin due to repairs and waiting on new parts, currently running is: Dark Impact (standard) TT01 El Camino drifter (if we find some smooth tarmac) Midnight Pumpkin (if I put the standard shocks back on, missing some parts for the new shocks) very well bashed Bear Hawk (if I put a radio and ESC in it for the day) And could possibly have running, if the tyres and pinion turn up: Blackfoot Extreme (with Super Stock BZ) I need more RCs []

Sand Scorcher / Blitzer / Monster Beetle shells always work well as they already look like off-road cars that exist. Otherwise you're pulling from the parts catalogs of existing buggy shells, or you could try to find a truck shell that looks good and make a racing pickup. Is the Baja Champ based on a TL01 chassis? If so then the wheelbase may be the same as a generic touring car body, so the world is your oyster - but maybe take the chassis into a hobby store and compare the wheelbase to a selection of shells first...

Sounds good to me, although half my collection seems to be in pieces awaiting parts... At this stage I might only have a stock Dark Impact and a Blackfoot Extreme on touring car wheels []