Grastens

Bruiser. Definitely a Bruiser. Even more so than a Tamiya Lancia Rally, which I know I would use to bits. Even if I would take that Lancia Rally everywhere with me, taking the time to fit a set of lights and thus drive at all hours on almost all surfaces, I would still want a Bruiser more for the complexity of the build, that excellent 3-speed gearbox, the ruggedness, the scale realism, and then the sheer pleasure of having one as a regular runner... Even as a young(ish) man, I do have to wonder if I would take one over an actual car. "Eh, city transit does just fine..."

I for one would completely support this idea, having been genuinely interested in learning about the history of RC yet finding few resources. Putting them here on Tamiyaclub, where many people have an appreciation for their information, would be excellent. For instance, I asked about the history of speed controls; specifically the first ESC units as we know them today. A history section would have been a perfect place to pose and field the question. And it is a fascinating story, what with Kevin Orton's pioneering work and genius undone by mental conditions and competition from other innovators...

I will admit that is an interesting look to the chassis, namely the 'crab track' effect with the narrower rear track v. the wide front. Following this thread with interest!

Tamiya TS-22 in the lungs and Molybdenum Grease on the skin ... Hopefully you know what is meant by 'sexiest.' I find myself drawn to older buggies for similar reasons Hibernaculum listed - I may be oversimplifying by saying that imperfections are my perfection in an RC car, but many of those cars had unique engineering solutions that today I find exceedingly interesting. Working with them in a runner is part of the charm, even if I do admit there is a time when I want a better-performing or more-reliable car...

My first thought used to be: "See, this is where that Pajero Wheelie could have come in handy!" Now it is more like: "Shovel a track in the backyard tomorrow..." Thanks to the latter I can now run buggies, with smaller wheels, in the snow. I only recently got into winter driving and realized what I missed out on; I love the challenge of driving a car around a snow/ice circuit and getting either a good line or massive four-wheel drifts!

Well, in all fairness it seemed you quickly recanted with the Vanquish, which is a very respectable buggy itself. With sexiness being relative and all, I find the prospect of a buggy using highly-advanced technology and thinking at the time with certain features to cut down costs (referring to the general chassis architecture and the bathtub chassis v. the double-deck configuration, respectively) to be very attractive...

This kind of technology could become cheaper, but I have to wonder about the plastics themselves given dwindling petroleum... But I suppose by then we can find alternative materials for these purposes. A project like this is a hobbyist's dream!

I have four such parts from my Avante kit, in black plastic. I have no need for them as I do not run wheels requiring this hub type. There have been issues with postage; for some reason Canadian postal companies have proven slow to dispatch items, but if you are still interested send a PM.

I would, had I not made that discovery after I glued and mounted the front tire... Phooey. Initially I thought it was an eccentric bearing or a problem with the front upright, but neither theory worked. It could still be worth a shot, though!

I murdered my digits mounting new front wheels on my Striker (including tires on the wheels), only to find one was warped... A Chinese-made generic ESC was tested. The wires were not long enough for my model and the little bit of music that plays when I start it up somehow has me thinking the car is just a toy; all that plastic is not helping... So I dropped money on a still Chinese-made (but more respectable) ESC, hoping it will fit properly.

New front wheels for my Striker: Unfortunately one of them proved to be warped, but I think on this kind of chassis any eccentricities with the wheels will be the least of its problems!

Maybe not sexy, but not forgotten! I was thinking about it but really, all those plastics and flawed designs do not really appeal aesthetically or even kinaesthetically. It seems that people like more than plastic on their cars, should the other materials be FRP, carbon fibre or metal. It at least makes the car interesting... "Tamiya's 'Most Striking' Buggy" may have those two as candidates. But I love my Striker anyways!

I love both the Avante and the Astute - the Avante for its chassis and materials and the Astute for its good looks: (unfortunately I did not have a picture of the Avante's glorious chassis)

It was still a very strange way to make a joke, though... Incidentally, a colleague of mine is trying to get into RC, starting with an old Schumacher touring sedan he recently found lying around. Who knows; maybe I could be witnessing a fellow RCer beginning his journey...

The Hot Shot 2 is also quite rare, is it not? I was always under the impression that they are quite scarce, which if true would strengthen the argument for a Super Hotshot/Supershot.

Greetings: Some winter sessions with my Buggy Champ had me thinking about rally racing and the kinds of cars Tamiya made. The tire size on my buggy was ideal for the snow on the ground at the time, and the only one I kept returning to was the Lancia Rally - the original version with the oversized tires and wheel arches. Since I am still in school, I really have no idea if I really should be beginning another project, but if I wanted one badly enough, I would make it happen... and I could probably do with a few less drinks (to save money for it)! So regardless, I did have a few questions about the original Lancia Rally and about other members' experiences with it: - The body was not exactly scale, but wheel arches aside it appeared realistically-proportioned by itself. Would a re-release Lancia 037 decal sheet be useful for restoring an original Rally, or are the body dimensions too far off? - The kit-issued tires appear to be smaller than those on the comparable Subaru Brat. A potential project could involve using a Lancia Rally bodyshell on a slightly-modified Brat chassis. Are the tire sizes significantly different to the point where another gear ratio is required if running Brat tires? - A period accessory was a 'Mini Light' set, the dimensions of which are unfamiliar to me. Would a modern light set require re-drilling of the front headlight holes (accounting for any size difference), and are taillights also able to be mounted on the body? The original manual mentioned nothing about installing taillights but the pieces appear capable of taking them. - Has anybody undertaken such a project, where a Lancia Rally body was mounted to a re-release Subaru Brat or Frog chassis? I do have an idea of what parts would be required to complete this conversion and the slight differences between the original and the re-released versions, but if this does happen advice from those with such cars would be much-appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read through this; even if nothing comes of this it at least satisfies my general curiosity!

This is why winter is one of my favourite seasons! Looks like a lot of fun!

I have never seen any other cars, but I have talked to other people who are into RC and - by incredible luck, it seems - know what a Tamiya is and even about their vintage models. The guys are usually in their late 30s-early 40s, so they were teens or kids when those models came out, and I remember one man told me about his collection, which featured a few Super Champs and a Frog among the vintage kits still in his basement! Another said he had a Fox that was going to be fixed up once his kid grew up a bit, maybe as a father-son project. Lucky kid... The third person I met who knew about Tamiya saw me with my Avante, and he began telling me about how as a kid he wanted one so badly but predictably never had the cash. He seemed to cheer up a bit when I told him it was re-released recently! Other than those three individuals, however, most people have little clue about what RC is, let alone about Tamiya. Reading this thread, though, I appear to be quite fortunate in having met three.

The track layout and medium sound promising! Will you be racing primarily buggies, off-road cars, trucks or a combination?

A very nice-looking project in the works! I acquired new front tires for my Tamiya Striker, which will be paired with brand-new front wheels! The front tires in the background are still in good condition but my obsession with NOS parts will see the new front wheels mounted when they arrive. Waiting for them to appear was hard enough as it was...

Noticing that the Astute is also of the same front wheel size as the Falcon, aftermarket or stock tires for the Astute should also fit. These tend to be a spike pattern instead of ribbed, but they are still tires! The wheels themselves still tend to be rare, however. Best of luck finding them!

And maybe one day, someone will be crazy enough to attempt a 1:1 scale Avante... I love seeing the Bugbox Sand Scorcher; it is shockingly accurate and immaculately detailed!

There is probably another solution, but I would just re-paint it, giving the previous coat a sanding with fine sandpaper prior to the painting. The matt finish does well to hide some of the brush-strokes, though.

So it would seem that running a Bigwig is well worth it; just not an all-original Bigwig... which makes a lot of sense, actually. Interesting to read about the different experiences people have had with the car, either as owners or as observers!

I am in the throes of that with my Buggy Champ, as I likely mentioned several times over already... I would like to begin new projects but selling one of my current cars will help that greatly, and of my collection the Champ is the one that handles badly, is incredibly inefficient and outshone on my shelf with some of my other finds. But then I get it running and I find myself admiring the sleek sand-rail profile, or the scale looks, or the power slides I can carry out with the car... I think it will perform even better once I get a better look at the differential and replace the nearly-shot universal joints. But if I really wanted to sell the car, given the condition of the rest of it, would I put in the extra work? Couple that with the absolutely unique engineering on this car and I find myself in a dilemma. However, the fact that strictly-runner-condition re-release SRBs do not seem to be very popular has kept it in my collection, and so I am enjoying it while I can. Given a good price (or even interest), though, I have resolved to sell it. Its unique off-road capability (just enough traction to run, but not too much to make it boring!) would be missed, though; already I had thoughts of replacing it with a Subaru Brat/Frog mated to a Lancia Rally shell - if I could ever find one!