Wandy

I can't see them bringing back the Ultima anytime soon. In fact I think it's the least likely of all the classics to make a comeback. They will move away from 2WD for a while now, seeing that they released all four from the Scorpion chassis. My bet is that it will be Javelin next, followed by Optima Mid & Turbo Optima. Then maybe Turbo Mid & then Turbo Mid Special. If we are lucky they will briefly go back to 2WD with the Ultima and finish it off sweetly with the original Lazer ZX and/or ZXR.

I disagree with the comments above. if the Javelin is what you really want then hold tight because it will definitely be coming, probably within the next 12 months. The delay of the Turbo Scorpion to this springtime probably means that there won't be another Kyosho re-release announced till later in the year but it will happen. No way do they re-release the Optima and then miss out the Javelin.

Me too. I have been meaning to copy it for years. I need to get some screenshots of it and get it nailed down.

Nope. Same discount every time you order a kit with them.

They usually go for around the £350 mark, and have done for quite a while now. I wouldn't be paying any more than that.

Schumacher themselves are still showing it as releasing this month.

Nah. Check out scalamon's other photos and you will see they are identical in terms of length and width. If anything the new box looks slightly taller.

Yep. You get 10% discount for being a paid up member of TC.

Well I got this wrong. Mine turned up yesterday and I realised that the original kit did indeed have the same size box as the Hotshot. I could have sworn it was an Avante sized box but obviously my memory was playing tricks on me. And then scalamon posted a side by side comparison, fully confirming it. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=130437&id=21779

The only thing I can think is happening there is that they have a pre-order list for the second batch too and have deliberately bumped up the price to discourage anyone from buying whilst they sort out the pre-orders. They have done that with other kits in the past.

On the main page, when you sign in you will see a membership number next to your username. Not sure how mamy digits the lastest memberships consist of (mine is four), but simply send Fusion an email, quoting your menbership name and number and then they will send you a discount code once they have confirmed your membership with the TC mods.

Now up at Fusion too... http://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/58577-tamiya-novafox £139.50 with the TC subscriber discount.

£148.55 from Fusion with TC subscriber discount... http://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/58418-tamiya-boomerang

...and now up at Fusion too. http://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/58489-tamiya-avante £386.10 with TC subscriber discount. Tempted to get another one myself at that price!

Available to pre-order in the UK for £430.... with "limited stock" available. http://www.tjdmodels.com/tamiya-avante-rerelease-58489-p-26163.html?cPath=66&search_in_description=0&keyword=Avante Incredibly, they still seem to have Black Special kits in stock too. http://www.tjdmodels.com/tamiya-rc-avante-black-special-model-kit-p-4212.html Edit : Although in the bottom corner, in tiny writing it says "sold". So why have it in huge green font right next to the kit that it's in stock? They need to sort that out.

They have the Avante up for pre-order too for £429.99. That's not a bad price for the UK IMO. Pretty sure it was £479 to buy one in the UK in 2011. http://www.tjdmodels.com/tamiya-avante-rerelease-58489-p-26163.html?cPath=66&search_in_description=0&keyword=Avante Edit : Novafox for £154.99 too... http://www.tjdmodels.com/tamiya-nova-fox-58577-re-release-p-26164.html

Mine is on it's way from Fusion today so they appear to have sold out their entire 1st batch. The end of March must be when they are getting their second batch.

The price will be interesting. Won't be surprised if it's around the £500 mark here in the UK. That seems to be the current ebay value too. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152425024019?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I plan to get two kits. One for the shelf and one to run. The runner will get the transmission upgrade.

Much like the Associated RC10, the original SWB CAT was apparently an absolute nightmare to build. I would imagine the new XLS re-release will be a lot easier to put together though.

I don't see Tamiya being one of the companies being in danger either. They have a cult following that will prop them up for decades to come and even though they have re-released most of the iconic RC cars there are still enough of them yet unreleased to keep the frenzy going for another 10 years. It would be quite ironic if we eneded up back to the situation of the mid 1980s whereby Tamiya is the biggest player in RC, with the others operating on the fringes of the hobby.

This is one of the coolest RC videos I have ever seen. Amazing stuff.

Great to see that there are still plenty of new members joining up to keep this place thriving. Welcome, ernieks. I hope you brought your wallet with you because you are going to be using it.

Great find Robert. I will resurrect that thread soon with some questions of my own.

Interesting. From a Tamiya point of view, I have wondered for a while now if the re-releases, far from being a small niche section of their RC portfolio, have actaully significantly helped their RC divison from staying out of trouble. Can it really be a coincidence that manufacturers such as Associated, Kyosho and now Schumacher, who for the longest time turned their noses up at the idea of re-releasing kits, have all in recnt years jumped on the badwagon? Maybe old technology is the future for RC? Just putting it out there....