Beetlemankurt

Yep, if I’m headed off road. Otherwise I use the kit ones on tarmac.

A picture speaks a thousand words.....rally block v kit tyres side by side....

Ahhhhhh...sorry, was thinking diameter...so likely to get about 2.5mm instead in additional height or thereabouts I'd say.

Hi, you can fit Tamiya Rally Block tyres directly to the kit rims. I did this and it provided I would say about another 5mm or so in height with no problems. These are cheap as chips and readily available. Cheers Kurt

That looks really tasty ..I like how subtle this colour coding is. A little customisation seems to work well on these rigs. Also, Man, that colour really pops in the sun! Love it. @Re-Bugged, great to see you working on this again now you have finished your stunning Scorcher. Exciting stuff! Cheers Kurt

It’s an interesting thread for sure. For me personally as a customer, this all boils down to changes that occur over time, skill progression, and personal desire for different product types (putting questions of business practices aside). Also, here in NZ Traxxas are pretty expensive compared to Tamiya. This is how the hobby unfolded for me which is all I can relate to (those with short attention spans please skip to the last paragraph ).....The first RC I ever saw was a Tamiya grasshopper back in the 80s and it did exactly what Tamiya intended it to do....amazed me and gave me a hobby I will have forever. When I found out you had to build these things, it didn’t excite me any more, or any less...it was just something that had to be done to get to the end product. In fact, my Dad did all the building BITD and I always painted and stickered the bodies because that’s what we were both good at and enjoyed. At the same time, my cousin had a Nikko Bison buggy, it was RTR and to me that didn’t matter one bit. It was great in my eyes and it spent a lot of time hooning around next to my Falcon through the first half of the 80’s. As I got into racing, I moved from Tamiya to Kyosho and finally Losi because what I wanted out of a car changed as I did too. I didn’t have any more or less fun with these cars, just a different kind of fun and I still have these two cars today. I also moved on into Karting for roughly 10 years and dipped my toes in other full size Motorsport so I guess I cover both sides of the customer base mentioned in the above post .... As time went on, my mechanical and artistic skills improved and I am pleased to say my painting has also improved a lot since I was 11 as has my attention to detail.....probably to the point of being a bit obsessive!....but hey, I’m sure most of us can relate. So, I guess what I’m trying to say here in my long winded personal story is that most people will probably shift through different manufacturers as their tastes change over time. This is probably neither good or bad as long as they are having fun and are choosing RC as a hobby instead of the multitude of other things they could be doing. For me, the fact that Tamiya hasn’t changed much is one of the things that actually draws me to them now and the awesome detail aspects (I.e. just getting into their semi trucks now) really spins my tyres! I love it! Tamiya will always have a special place in my heart and the majority of my RC collection is Tamiya. Would I have a Traxxas UDR if I had the cash...absolutely! Why? for a different kind or RC fun. Interestingly, this is also quite a similar discussion to what has happened in the RC aircraft world with Foam almost ready to fly models outgunning traditional balsa and ply models, I own and appreciate both types for different reasons. I agree that Traxxas are probably in a similar space as far as desirability to the current customer base that Tamiya was in the 80s, if that means that people get hooked on (or even come back to) RC, then that’s ok by me. I think Traxxas have their place and I admire the vehicles for what they are and the slice that is there to fill in this hobby currently, however, they will have to try pretty darn hard to get me to spend my hard earned $ on a non-Tamiya vehicle these days! just my two cents . Cheers Kurt

Cheers Exit13! I say get one, great fun on loose dirt like this (providing a couple of mods are done as per the main thread to limit loose stones binding the steering) and heaps of fun and very stable on tarmac. TT02 seems to be quite neutral handling wise. Not a whole heap of adjustability but it's a great, simple, no frills chassis that seems pretty hard to break. As far as it being a 're-re', these two cars dont really have anything similar design wise about them other than them both being Audi Quattro's which if I read you correctly, is the main attraction anyway so shouldn't matter ...it should still give you the same nostalgic buzz as the Quattro is so iconic. It will be intersting to see though if they ever do re release the original version in time. The new TT02 is definately more scale though although some prefer the 'big wheel' look of the original Audi and the hard ABS body it came with. Horses for courses I guess. Me, I'm more than happy with the TT02 version and the price certainly ain't bad. Catch ya Kurt

Bit more damage and some patching this morning ...feels so wrong to scratch up my lovely paint but at he same time oh so right! ..

Hi Exit13, it's a great car! Love mine and run it whenever I can. As others have said, it's not a grass runner due to the ground clearance. However, while it is formally listed as on road, mine is quite happy on dirt and gravel etc and looks awesome doing it . If you drive it in scale like conditions it's fine. I certainly wouldn't try jumps etc. though. I did make a couple of mods to help keep stones out which are pictured in the larger thread about this model. I guess it really just depends what sort of driving you want to do and whether you are happy with a scale type of off road experience vs ago anywhere off roader. Hope this helps Kurt

Ha ha! and what would be wrong with that?......I see what you mean when I look at the first photo again . I'm just lucky my lovely Wife let's me take up the dining room table, let alone the entire lounge :)... Cheers Kurt

Well, i got a bit tired of my 40 foot shipping container looking 'nice and pristine' as they hardly ever are in real life so decided to do something about it .... I didn't want it to be a totally rusty wreck, more of something that's a bit more subtle in appearance but has still been around the block a few times and is starting to show the effects of use and a salt water environment that it would have been subject to. A bit of googling of shipping container images followed.... I'm more used to weathering my RC aircraft and have always used an airbrush to do weathering, that is up until now. A MASSIVE thanks to Berman for putting me onto the Tamiya Weathering Master sets which I had previously seen but could never really see the point of...until now. If you havent used these sets before, give them a shot as they are really easy to achieve good results and are quick to use. Some of the best effects actually came about by simply experimenting a bit. Because the pigments are suspended in a waxy substance of some sort, you can muck around with them a bit (or wipe it off if you dont like it) and it's not permanent until sealed with a misting of Tamiya semi gloss clear. Anyhow, while the pics haven't really picked up the full effect very well, this should give a bit of an impression of how its turned out. Have a great weekend all! Regards Kurt

Old T-Shirts have always worked well for me Mad Ax, never really had issues with decals lifting due to wiping them. I always just cut them into suitable size squares/rectangles and use them as temporary car covers as well so dual use (with household dust at least). You could probably still tuck em in somehow around the bumpers so they stay put hanging on the wall. Get too dusty just chuck 'em in the washing machine (the t-shirts, not the cars! he he.....). Also used to use Pledge furniture polish as it is plastic safe and has dust repellent/anti static properties or something like that so it says.... Smells nice too :)... Cheers kurt

Very nice kit. Bet it's good fun to build. Look forward to the completion photos Cheers Kurt

Lovely job mate. Love the paintjob. Cheers Kurt

Oh yeah, and sorry....no idea how the shell would fit on a TA02 chassis but someone else might chime in.