SimonDM

Whoops, I think I posted this in the wrong forum. Maybe one of the mods can move it over to the re-re section. So my girls and I are having a great time building our kits, and I can’t believe how quickly they have picked up the ability to build on their own! once I explained to them how to read the directions, and always keep the part you are working on orientated the same as in the manual, they got it rather fast. It’s just amazing with a little guidance and instruction how fast they become builders. I remember when I was their age, I had to figure everything out on my own. I didn’t have anyone with experience to explain some of the subtleties in the instruction manuals like how things go in order and how everything is labeled and how to organize your pieces parts. Funny because the first thing they wanted to do was open up all of the bags and dump everything into a pile! Ha ha ha! Another thing I’ve learned is, I’m not sure if I could’ve built the Bruiser back when I was 14. Or if I did, I’m sure I would have made a ton of mistakes and the kit would have been butchered when I was done. I’m an adult with AutoCad training, years of working on equipment, cars and truck, house projects, etc, just life experience and while not difficult to follow, you really need to pay close attention and I’ve still made two or three mistakes by step 19. I’m enjoying building my Bruiser and I like the newer kit having the extra experience of building the transmission as well. When these are done, we’ll get a few more kits to work on for sure!

Four kits and related gear to USA. About 7 days and zero VAT, tax, import duty, whatever. I’m in NH and we do not have sales tax, and I’m not sure what role this played either. Regardless, this is my go to Tamiya shop from now on. I can literally buy, depending on the model, two kits for the price of one compared to USA pricing. Thanks Tamico!! I’ll be back!

Define other manufacturers? My first NIB car was a Cox Gallop. Yup, go find that one. I believe this was actually a rebranded Kyosho, comparable to the Hotshot, but actually barely in my price range. Sold my Honda ATC 110 three-wheeler, because my parents moved from 6 acres in the country to a more urban neighborhood .15 acres, to buy it. Then I traded the Gallop for a Wild Willy, which I destroyed from use. Otherwise I was too poor to do anything other than stare at the Tamiya RC guide and dream. Most of my adolescent cash went to a Tony Hawk skateboard and upgrades until I got my drivers license and my life changed. Always dreamed of the Bruiser, finally bought a built unit 21yrs later, which I still have, and just bought a NIB Bruiser so I can finally check that box. If my kids like building their Hornet and Grasshopper, I’m thinking of getting and building as many 1985 models as they like. Probably a Hotshot and Frog next. Which ones would you get?

18yrs since I posted! Now my kids are going on 13 soon and we’re getting back into RC by building our kits together. I was 13 in the heyday of the Tamiya classics (1985) and lusted after a Bruiser, as well as every model in the 1985 catalog LOL. 16yrs ago I purchased a shelf queen off a member here (Neil in the UK I think?). He sold his pristine Bruiser, all original 1985 version to me, as he and his wife were purchasing their first house back then. Still have it. Fast forward to the present, and I’d like my kids to have the experience of physically building something which comes to life, provides a fun learning experience, and gives me an excuse to finally build my own Bruiser! Thanks Tamico for saving us literally 50% off the price of the Bruiser here in the US, as well as the Hornet, Grasshopper, and necessary accessories. If they enjoy the Hornet and Grasshopper, we’ll be ordering more!

Thank you! I swapped the purple wires around on the resistors, and presto! I now have a properly working MSC! That was easy enough [:I]

I just received my second Bruiser, a step up from my first which I sold, and I seem to have a speed controller problem. I am not sure whether I have a problem or not because I never ran my first one. It seems that there is only one speed position on the controller, full power, at full rotation. The contacts, and my experience with other controllers tells me that there should be a 2nd speed, but it is not working. I checked the wiring comparing it with a Bruiser manual and everything appears to be correct. Are these controllers only one speed, due to the 3 speed transmission? Does anyone have a properly working controller who can tell me?

What were your goals when restoring your Bruisers, and what modifications from original did you consider acceptable during restoration? Were you conservative in your choices? Just bearings? Stainless hex screws? Plating metal parts? Or were you radical? Powder coating, different body choice, gobs of parts from RC4wd, or the like? I'm curious to know where people believe the lines between a good, better, best, and or to the screw restoration are. I am more of a purist, to the screw kind of guy, but I just purchased a restored Bruiser where some decisions were made to change to bearings, plate the frame, and replace the screws with ss hex bolts and lock nuts. That was all, and I feel any more than that would be too much. I thought that I might be disappointed because the truck was not 100% original, but actually, this is the truck that Tamiya should have produced, with all of the items most would upgrade out of the box.

I just built a TXT-1, and out of the box the transmission is noisy, even with ball bearings. I do not believe that two motors and that beefy tranny can be quieted down any, but I do think that you have another issue which sounds like a gear mesh problem.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a QD kit? Some very good points have been brought up, sorry I didn't see the post last week, but I did do a search. Yes, I believe that there is a place for RTR kits, and that would be your local Radio Shack. I just don't think that a company like Tamiya which has built its reputation on high-quality build kits should move into such a market, although economics will probably dictate otherwise. Tamiya obviously can not sit idly by while the market changes, I am just saying that I hope the entire lineup doesn't move that direction.

Hi there, I am just getting back into r/c after many, many years, and while researching new kits for purchase, I realized that rtr kits are taking over. I searched several local shops for a TXT-1, eight in fact, and they either did not stock it, or tried to convince me to purchase a Traxxas. Where is the pleasure in assembly? The part that I always enjoyed the most about r/c, was putting the kit together, and the more complex the better! This fact is what I have always loved about Tamiya, the quality and detail of their kits. I hope that there is always atleast one kit in the line-up that fills that spot.