Wandy

I wonder if this could be one of those kits that UK dealers will get burned on? As an example, a full option Knight Hauler will set you back ~£700 here in the UK whilst it can be bought from a Hong Kong seller for under £500. If they try and ask a price of similar proportion for the Rough Rider - say ~£250 - then they may be in for some pretty poor sales figures IMHO. I think most enthusiasts will stretch to £200 but no more than that.

Also, judging from the link, it looks like the first production run comes with that T-Shirt too. A bit like the re-re Brat with the chrome chassis.

Stop panicing people, it's NOT going to cost £300. Look at the link http://www.rakuseimodel.co.jp/index_top.php on the first page of this thread. It says 20500 JPY, which equates to roughly £140. The UK dealers might try and charge silly money for it but if you import it from Japan I bet you will pick it up for less than £200. No way could Tamiya justify asking premium prices for 30 year old technology.

First line in the "Features" list.

Haven't all of the re-releases been sold with a "limited edition" tag? The Hornet was certainly marketed as such here in the UK and it's still on sale now....

Darryn/Swarm...what kind comments did you guys receive in terms of hate mail? I know that there are some spitefull people around but that takes the cake. Yeah thats a great post Bluefoot. I think most people can identify with it in some capacity. I certainly can!

Actually, on reflection I agree with this. Well said, Singapore.

Well for a start it's a storm in a teacup what has been said on the two RR threads. There was a definite tone of sour grapes from one or two posters, implicating that the re-re was not a good thing and that Tamiya was somehow dumping on a section of it's fanbase. I even get the impression that some who were adamant that this would never happen are a bit peeved that they have been proven wrong and are looking to pour cold water on the excitement around it. When you get comments like those from a minority you are always going to get a passionate response from the majority who think it's a great thing. And give me topics with a bit of passion any day of the week over conversations such as "what colour you have painted your driver today" etc etc. (Note : That's not me saying those topics are a bad thing, just I prefer topics that get the blood pumping a bit more). At the end of the day it is a well argued debate going on over there, nobody has been abusive or anything like that. We all love this hobby, we all generally "get on well" with each other and are allowed to have differences of opinion now and again so lets keep the Thought Police at bay eh? Back to the original question though.....I would say practically everyone on here is a "Collector", providing they have at least one kit and are looking to increase on that number. I have 8 NIBs, 2 runners and 4 projects and that definitely makes me a collector. I think we need to come up with a new term for those who are buying NIBs/New Builts/Restorations with a strong focus on what they are valued at, and for me the term would be "Hoarder". How do you tell the difference between a collector and a hoarder? Well if you amass a collection of vintage kits at considerable time, effort and expense and then complain when Tamiya re-issue it in some capacity for a much cheaper price then that makes you a hoarder in my eyes. It's not necessarily a derogatory term either but there maybe has to be a distinction made between the two because at the end of the day both sides are gonna argue their case and will have to agree to disagree on the thorny issue of Tamiya's re-release programme.

Yes, yes all very good...but did you get any information on the Sand Scorcher? On a serious note, I wonder if Tamiya have completely re-tooled for all of the other re-releases? If not it just reinforces how significant this kit is and suggests that there must surely be one of the other SRBs on the way.

The front tyres issue is something of a mystery and an annoying one at that, seeing that vintage items are now going to command a price of ~£50+. However we still might see the production items in original form. Maybe they were in a rush for the toy fair? All of the re-releases so far have come with the same tyres they had in the original kits. As for the name, well it's already been explained that the kit was originally called Buggy Champ anyway, but maybe it is a little doff of the cap to collectors of the originals. And as for the technical changes, that was always going to happen if they were to re-release this kit. No way would they re-issue it in it's original form as it has been proven to be woefully weak in many areas. They obviously are selling this kit as a beach runner and want new customers to be impressed with it at least in that environment. That wouldn't happen with rubbish shock absorbers, weak drive joints and flimsy chassis parts. At the end of the day they still have a brand image to protect.

Actually this statement goes back to a few years ago when the company were in the middle of re-releasing the Manta Ray, Thunder Shot, Top Force & Frog. There was a magazine article in Japan that implied, in the eyes of some, that those re-releases were to be the last and that the company was to end this phase with something big. That something was soon after assumed to be the Ford 3 speed as it was deemed to be a tilt of the cap to those who craved a Bruiser re-release. Since then that article statement has been shown to be either misinterpreted or Tamiya changed their mind and decided to continue with the re-release programme. My own opinion is that the article was misinterpreted. Even if the Scorcher does get re-released I don't think that will be the end of the programme. There are still a few iconic 1980s models that they will be able to make a killing from and they know it. My own feeling is that the re-release of the Scorcher depends solely on if there are licencing issues with the bodyshell and whether Tamiya wishes to resolve them, which they undoubtedly could if they thought it was to be financially rewarding for them. The revelation from yourself that they have completely retooled for the Rough Rider suggests that they are taking this re-issue very seriously and expect to make a significant amount of money from it. I suspect that tentative plans have been put in place for the Scorcher re-release, and over the next 6 to 9 months they will monitor Rough Rider sales very closely. If they sell in the same manner as the likes of the Hornet, Frog & Hotshot clearly have then it will come. If they crash and burn like the Manta Ray & Thundershot then they will bin the idea. If we had seen the Monster Beetle re-released by now I would be 100% confident that the Scorcher will be coming. That's the only thing that places doubt in my mind. However the discovery that they have re-tooled and designed a new battery for this chassis suggests that at least one more spin off of the SRB kits must be on it's way.

£55 for a set of Sand Blaster Juniors!!!! ;) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=380123241222 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=380123241033 I guess that's what you can add on to the cost of your re-re if you want it looking like the original. Who bought/sold these babies then?

A question to all of the collectors who are unhappy about this development.... Are you saying that the primary reason you have been collecting all these years is so that you can show off the fruits of your efforts on Tamiya Club to a bunch of people you will never meet? What about if TC did not exist? Surely the re-releases would not upset you so much because at the end of the day no-one would have known you had the kits in the first place? I've got loads of kits but I've hardly added any of them to my TC account simply because it doesn't bother me that much to show them off. For me the real joy in this hobby (and TC) is to be part of a community who has the same enthusiasm for it, and to waffle on endlessly about it too. No doubt the ability to show off your pride and joys to lots of people online is one of the great things about being part of TC and Tamiya in general, but surely it's not the primary reason for collecting? At the end of the day your real joy and satisfaction came from finding, obtaining and building/restoring your vintage stuff, and no re-release can take that away. The ability to brag about it to people is just a nice little bonus. And I speak from experience as I spent £400 on a NIB Hotshot a couple of years before the re-release came out.

Terry, what's your thoughts on this re-release? We have had lots of debate about the possibility of this ever happening, and you were always one of those who believed there was virtually no chance it would. Having looked at the new parts and your experience of the toy industry do you now think differently about how difficult it will have been for Tamiya to make this happen?

Yeah, every time they released another full scale re-release from the coffee cup promotion it became more obvious that they were at least considering the Rough Rider too. I think some people thought that Tamiya would be embarrased to re-issue SRBs but clearly they aren't and nor should they be. Surely they would have had a mould for each model as they were all pretty much in production together at one time or the other? The Scorcher was still in production when the Monster Beetle came out. If your right and there are no licensing issues then I really dont understand why they have not re-issued the Monster Beetle as that would also have been a licence for them to print money.

Apart from that they are at the cutting edge of technology. :lol:

Good point. Maybe they really do just throw darts at the wall and see which posters they land on.

Eh? Are you sure? Here in the UK they were ~£80. Surely the exchange rate wasn't $4 to £1 in 1984?

Like I say, because of licencing issues. The Frog chassis was used on lots of cars but they only re-released it on one other vehicle, the Brat. Another important issue is the balancing of giving the customer what they want without damaging the brand. Re-release the odd vintage buggy and they get a warm reception. Do it to everything from the 1980's and they just look desperate and lacking in innovation.

LOL, yeah I read it but couldn't see how anyone could make the assumption from the photos. Does it have a black antenna tube? I was looking for the white one used on the likes of the Hornet etc

So are these new battery packs 1100mAh? That means awful running times right? I know we want to relive the old days but not to THAT extent.

Yeah, where did the antenna tube claim come from?

Honestly guys I wouldn't get your hopes built up for a Scorcher re-release. Obviously we now know that the company has all of the tooling and cost requirements within their control to bring it out...even with blister packs...but clearly there is a licencing issue with the Beetle bodyshell. By bringing out the Rough Rider they have shown that they really do listen to customer demand and if at all possible will re-release the most in demand vintage stuff. This means that they are also aware that the Monster Beetle is up there with the Scorcher in terms of demand for a re-issue and after nearly 4 years of having the opportunity to do it they still have not done. The only reason for this must be to do with licencing of the Baja bodyshell. If this proves to be a limited edition then dont take the risk. Buy 3 of them and hunt down Scorcher/Blitzer Beetle/Ford Ranger bodyshells. Then if they do re-re the Scorcher it's just a huge bonus.

Actually it looks like you may be right. Those new photos confirm that the front tyres are not Sand Blasters. Unless these are merely pre-production items I wonder why they included Sand Blaster tyres on the re-re Brat but not on this kit? Another thing to make the collectors happy I guess.

They would no doubt sell plenty if they did what you are suggesting, but no way more than they will sell with this re-release form of their choice. At the end of the day there is not much you can do to change this design anyway if you want to stay remotely faithfull to the original. They've obviously just gone for beefing it up here and there and you cant ask for much more than that. What I will slightly agree with you on is that the company should be looking to produce new buggies with a strong accent on realism in the looks department instead of just a performance chassis with a small and vaguely rounded piece of lexan sat on top of it.