Tex76

Just seen this thread: as i know nothing about Tamiya models and chassis classification after the very early '90s, I never knew they released another R5 Turbo after the vintage one, let alone in FWD...that's just madness And from the above posts it seems the same happened with the Alpine A110 I'm passionate about classic cars and those two are among my (and surely others') all time favourites...I think that because of their racing careers, intrinsic beauty/exotic appearance, supercar-for-the road status, they fully deserved a "Porsche 959" treatment: a bespoke chassis suitable for some mild off-road running...they would have sold by the bucket load, IMHO

I would have liked building some vintage/re-re NIB on Christmas day, like in my teens, but money is tight at the moment and has to fund 1/1 projects, therefore running an old one from the collection will have to suffice; hope to get some snow to recreate the atmosphere in full

Nowadays I run my cars very sparingly for lack of hobby time (1/1 cars and static models absorb most of it), therefore by memory of my youth I'd say, quite surprisingly, that my porsche 959 behaved absolutely bulletproof despite an intensive use on unforgiving terrain. I could say the same for my RC10 Graphite (I just used to dismantle it every now and then to keep the ball bearings clean). The Grasshopper lived a long, intense and faultless life until it fell off a wall, breaking the differential case in tiny bits. I remember the ThunderShot to be quite tough, but clearly I'm in the wrong as I recently got its remains out and found out I had destroyed more than a couple of suspension pickup points (I've absolutely no memories of that). I haven't got enough running experience with the Avante and Egress (both vintage, but acquired as a grown-up) to get an idea: I had to replace some suspension parts on the Avante, but they looked to be damaged prior to purchase; the Egress is clearly tougher, but I run both of them with as much care as possible. Back in the days I had a Kyosho Salute, too, which looked to be way tougher than any Tamiya car, but suffered the only proper breakdown in my entire RC career, down to my fault really: as I got it 2nd hand as a gift from a friend, I didn't have a manual, therefore I didn't know I had to check the chain tension regularly...it eventually got loose and stripped some teeth from the rear differential case, forcing me to retire the car (which by that time was oop and impossible to repair).

I like these more than the Super Avante (or I rather dislike it less than the SA), but the most important thing I got from the video is how good and cool the original Astute looks, a model I'm not familiar with and which I've never considered, being the 2wd slot in my collection very finely occupied by a RC10 Graphite...****, another one to consider...

I'm not familiar with the Vanquish/VQS, but I own both an original Avante and Egress. I'm no racer and I treat the Avante with due care (and stocked some spares), but as a runner it never lets me down: of course it's oversteering and underdampened, but if you already have a large collection of buggies you could always save the Avante for the most appropriate courses (the 2011 should be tougher than the 1988, as well). And then there's the building process

Quite an amazing collection you got there

It seems we share the same car interests, be they 1/10 or 1/1

Hi Lee Is it possible that I've seen your HotShot on the SELOC forum? I'm Gil over there...

Love both your occupations, classics are my biggest passion. Last year I re-upholtered the seats of my Elise S1 in tartan (Esprit S1-style) on my own and - while not easy at all for a total newbie - it was great fun!

O tempora o mores

In this day, age and country...no, not all, unfortunately

I'm a lawyer

Memories...

Great project! If sanding/polishing it should not be enough to get a decent finish, you could spray it with some car bodywork clear coat (1k should be enough)

- vintage Grasshopper (my first RC ->mangled to bits); - vintage ThunderShot (my second ->mangled to a little bigger bits); - Porsche 959 (my third -> well used, hopped up with bearings and Toyota diff&stabilizer); - vintage Egress (bought in top condition circa 12 years ago after a long RC hiatus); - vintage Avante (same as the Egress); - early Rough Rider (bought in very very good condition earlier this year - I plan to get a Sand Scorcher and a Ranger body and make a custom Funco body to cover more bases). Other Tamiyas I really fancy: - Blazing Blazer; - vintage (80s) Lancia Rally (Audi Quattro and Opel Ascona are two close seconds...I've something for those chunky tyres and the box art: I remember I lusted after them in my LHS as a kid...) - mk1 Wild Willy.

I've got an Avante 2001 body as a spare/alternative for my Egress and it fits perfectly, indeed (it also has the correct shape lower section). The shape of the upper body is very similar to the original Avante (I used Avante decals), they only differ in the rearmost section.

To me 3 are a bit too few to pick, as I feel there are more major "iconic" categories to choose from in the Tamiya range. I'd say a complete collection of "essentials" should include: - 1 vintage SRB chassis; -1 vintage 3-speeder; -1 vintage Group C; -1 golden age "fun" car (HotShot/Frog/Brat/Grasshopper/Hornet/Wild One/FAV/Fox/Monster Beetle/Blackfoot) -Porsche 959 or Toyota Gr. B; -Avante I lost interest at the beginning of the '90s, therefore I don't have the same affection or knowledge about later kits.

I'm not familiar with the VQS chassis, but I suppose it's the same wheel base as the Egress one... you should check this thread out:

First Tamiya and first RC car: a Grasshopper as a family Christmas gift in 1986 IIRC; I was around 10 and the box was bigger than me... I spent all day with my technical-minded uncle building it; when I finally ran it in the evening I couldn't believe it moved on its own power It was followed by a ThunderShot and a Porsche 959 (family Christmas gifts, as well, somewhen between '87 and '89). Last family funded RC was a nitro Mantua Model Dingo that never worked: the LHS persuaded me to get it in place of the Avante I had ordered months before and which never turned up

Having about 8 + some left over bits, I've just discovered I'm way below the average on here and have not to worry too much about my sanity. Must point the wife to this thread...

At the risk of going off-topic, in brief the Egress is a better and tougher runner than the Avante, partly because of its simpler suspensions, which are also the reason why the Avante is a more interesting kit and (to my eyes) a looker in comparison to the Egress.

My two cents (useless, probably): - the Avante has been my all-time favourite RC model since its release: I was 12 at the time, very inexperienced in all things RC (I had been running a Grasshopper for a couple of years), fell in love with it and, in spite of its outrageous list price in Italy (and the need of a previously unknown thing called "ESC") I convinced my parents to place an order for Christmas; - the car never turned up: I don't know if it was my LHS's fault or whatever, but I didn't get it; - time passed by, price kept staying high, other cars came and went until I lose interest in the RC hobby; - more than a decade ago I was in the position to indulge in this hobby again and in a few months I got an original Egress in virtually as new condition for what seemed a very good price (300 euro with a very good motor and electronics) and a newly built Avante for a not so good price ( circa 700 euro IIRC, but none was thinking a re-re was in the cards, back then). What I'm still missing after all these years is the big-white-box-opening-on-Christmas-morning experience, therefore I could be firsti in line among the potential buyers of yours, BUT I don't see any appeal in getting a NIB kit and never build it: I'd buy it specifically for the building experience (if not for running the car with extreme care), therefore I wouldn't pay an uber premium price for a box which will lose half (?) its worth the moment I open it. In recent years I've been tempted to buy a re-re Avante, but somehow I fear that knowing it's not the real deal could spoil that ^^ experience. But @Willy iine speaks sense IMHO: there should be lots of interested NIB collectors out there or just enthusiasts richer than me ready to spend "interesting" sums on yours; I just think that 1500$ for a technigold-less kit could be a bit too much, but I admit I'm no expert of this sort of market.

- Porsche 959 (as a source of spare parts for my original one); - blazing blazer (I'd like a 3-speeder at an acceptable price and it's the one I like the most).

You've been very lucky indeed! Plastic bearings were provided in the original kit and you did the right thing in sourcing metal ones. Re: differentials as you already discovered, the 959 has front and rear differentials; you can install the centre differential from the Celica (it was available separately as a hop-up: when I bought one over a decade ago it was easy to source, don't know if it's rare now), but I can't comment on its effect as I've just rebuilt my 959, but I've not run it yet as the electronics are giving me a headache.

Adding to what @FlyHustla already said, in original form the Avante had a FRP SWB double deck chassis (wide upper deck, narrow lower deck), whereas the Egress had the CF LWB double deck chassis you see in this thread (narrow upper deck, wide lower deck)