SuperChamp82

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete, in excellent condition and comes complete with a set of RC Channel ball bearings. Price is £625 posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete, in excellent condition and one of only 333 cars ever released by Tamico in 2018. Price was £800 (now £720) posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete and in excellent condition. Price is £375 posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete, in excellent condition and in the super rare NewMan livery. Price is £900 posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete and in excellent condition. Price was £750 (now £675) posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The bodykit is 100% complete, in excellent condition and the perfect partner to the original Porsche 936 Turbo listed above. Price was £300 (now £270) posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Hi all, Its time for my annual clear out to make room for new projects and let others better enjoy some superb Tamiya classics. The kit is 100% complete, in excellent condition and comes complete with an aftermarket driver - an Ickx / Bell XF GP helmet and gloves - in case you want to recreate the original racing team. Price was £650 (now £585) posted and insured to UK mainland - with overseas buyers welcome / shipping at additional cost. Obviously happy to answer any questions and provide further pics if you're interested. Best regards, SC PS This is one of a few posts and I'm happy to combine purchases if helpful.

Blue always makes you go faster … 😇 #TRF

That’s a superb project ! Agree that finding parts will be a time consuming / expensive challenge but you’ve got a great (and valuable / rare) start point 👍 Carefully strip it all right down to screws, give everything a good clean (ideally in a cheap ultrasonic cleaner)and take stock / sharing pics in the Vintage or Builds fora on here People are normally eager to help with the rare restorations - and will either sell parts at pretty much cost or put you in touch with others who might Have fun + good luck ! PS The oil tubes on the dampers might not come off and - if so - leave them for now Aftermarket replacements are available but they’re not the same - and new Tamiya originals are Hens’ Teeth 🙄

Yes - other’s suggestions might work to a degree on the battery contacts But you’ll normally find acid damage fumes have migrated onto the boards and internal joints - at which point you’ll either need to be adept at testing electronics (and have talent / patience with a soldering iron replacing components) or will have wasted hours / cost blunting your enthusiasm … Depending on your set, a nearly new replacement can be as low as $50 / £40 / €40 👍

Thanks @M 800STD what’s the specific MST site link for the wheels you’ve in mind ? Having trouble navigating the site 👍

Controllers are best replaced if acid damaged - normally plenty around depending on what you’ve got ? It’s usually cheaper than stamping new connectors yourself + more likely to work if acid has been fuming the innards for years … Far bigger expense ahead restoring a 959 😂

If Mrs Saito is like Mrs Super Champ she’ll also help you find your specs ? Especially when it turns out they’re on your head … Top story sir 👍

Would any re re follow the Bruiser - so a tweaked shell on the 2012 chassis or lexan horror on the CC01 ? Both just wouldn’t look right to me but others are prob right re nostalgia making either fly off the shelves

Final question - if it had to be Tamiya what would be the best chassis to start with ? Aftermarket Chevy Blazer shells seem to be tricky ? Ending up compromise between gently stepping up from what our youngest has built before vs Dad chopping a shell for hours to fit 🙄

Invested a lot of time answering this for my NIB 🙄 The 959 was released in 1986 so would have had the Futaba Magnum Racer BFR if Japan or Futaba Attack FP-2NL for RoW - noting the former is a 1986 model but hadn’t hit shelves outside Japan when the 959 was shipped Futaba had largely abandoned cobranding - Robbe / Ripmax etc - by then so there were minimal regional variations The Acoms Techniplus Mk3 would also be period correct in the UK 👍

Thanks v much all 👍 Sounds like no one has done this ? with some v good suggestions 🤔 @Mad Ax idea may be best for a Dad / Daughter build - as simpler, quicker, cheaper ? Thank you sir Open to any final thoughts though ? SC

It’s true that everyone (and everything) has its day However - does anyone remember the 1962 Ferrari GTO ? Or 1937 Jaguar SS - maybe 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom ? Each car would have been fairly costly to buy in its day - but each have sold for >$45m in the last 3 years And none are going down in value based on ageing appetite or buyer demographic … My point isn’t to applaud collectors hoarding value Its to gently remind that anyone who thinks old school quality will ever lack an audience might read their history It’s also to note that this isn’t w/o the odd exception - with Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar each having theirs … My sense is no one will ever write off any of those marques - in much the same as no one will abandon Tamiya or similar in the 70s / 80s etc It’s just a matter of scale - in car, price and time 👍 PS I’m building my NIB when I retire before anyone questions my motives 😂

@markbt73 is spot on - lexan bodies started with slots … with the first being released in the US around 1965 I think ? 🤔 Japan noted (then improved) almost all innovation back then - and, as far as I know, Tamiya beat Kyosho, Parma and Mardave to upscale lexan to RC ? Their first was the tricky VW Golf in 1981. Tamiya then beat everyone else to lexan detail with the first blown mould Porsche 959 - which put ambition above rigour to be fair … @Saito2 is also spot on - hard bodies existed well before RC … with the earliest being a bulky, US model train in the late 50s from memory ? Tamiya was then the first to realise static shells could be easily motorised - then controlled - in 1976 … with the first run Porsche 934 / 58001 bodies being white statics because the green RC wasn’t ready Edai, Otaki, Kyosho and others quickly followed by 1979 but it’s always nice to be first past the post 👍

I know @JennyMo did an epic take on this but has anyone done a vanilla version for their kids ? 1/10 seems to be a choice between RC4WD or Traxxas kits / RTR ? Both of which would also host a Jaws / Chief Brody shell 🤔 I’m going to build with my youngest - now 11 and 3 Tamiya under her belt ! - so all thoughts welcome 👍 Thanks in advance, SC

interesting thread The last 3 years have hit certain age groups, businesses and countries harder than others With disease, idiotic politicians and war all playing their part There’s also now a scarcity of mint 70s / 80s kits, spares, hop ups and accessories - esp in Japan / which used to be overflowing … which suggests the bulk of remaining stocks have now finally moved into collectors’ hands ? For me it’s a combination of both that’s lead to subdued input - not any loss of interest, value or knowledge in the cars ? I recently moved on a lovingly assembled, restoration collection of 80’s Tamiya classics - not because I’ve lost interest but purely because I’ve run out of room I’m now regretting it - because there’s nothing fun to reinvest in + empty shelves remind me of it every day 🙄 All of this will inevitably change over time - and I’m certain better times will renew usual enthusiasm on here 👍 For now, it seems like fairly hard yards for all - and we shouldn’t be surprised if it flows down to our hobby SC

Great thread @Saito2 👍 I raced my Super Champ in the early 80s - and it ended up with awful homemade repairs whilst spares arrived from Japan 😂 Front arms, rear arms and rear suspension uprights all snapped with stupid regularity … I remember ordering CRP plastic substitutes from the US - which worked way better but never looked the same !

There were 4 subtlety different 540 motors from 1977 to 1984 Casing slits, inner lugs, end bell shape and insert cap colour / tabs differentiate 👍

Hats off to everyone with an immediate itch to scratch ! My next build is a Mountain Rider / Back To The Future truck with my youngest 👍 Is it helpful to otherwise make a list of things most can’t afford ? How many NIB you have is possibly a separate thread …

Sorry Dave - it sold offline.