Wandy

On my Turbo Mid I find that I have to tighten the nut really tight to make sure there is no slip even under ordinary motor use. My hands ache afterwards.[]

Yeah, try the search facilty Jim123....and pull your hair out in frustration when it doesn't find ANYTHING usefull at all relating to your search.[:@] Try this instead, the old Tamiyaclub forum. The search facility works a million times better and will find what you want within seconds! http://www.tamiyaclub.com/xforum/default.asp

[] I think Netsmith should do a new feature..."Top Ten Most Asked Questions" We all know what number 1 would be!!

Think it says they are 1/27th scale??

Tasty. Very, very tasty. Dare I say it, but is this the most exciting time to be in to R/C since the halcyon days of the 1980's? I wouldn't know since I had a 16 year break from the hobby but if there has been a better time to be into R/C since 1988 I would like to know when that was!

Thanks guys...so on average a kit loses about 40% of it's value once it has been built? Good news for buyers and bad for sellers!

Assuming the worse and there are no more re-releases in the near future what will be the average price I will be looking at paying for these cars new-built and unused? 1) Sand Scorcher 2) Holiday Buggy 3) Toyota Hilux 4) Super Champ 5) Porsche 956 6) Fast Attack Vehicle 7) Toyota Bruiser 8) Boomerang 9) Blackfoot 10) Porsche 959 11) Striker 12) Falcon 13) Avante 14) Fox 15) Wild One 16) Mitsubishi Pajero

It's a bit early in the year to be concluding whether the re-release blitz has come to an end or not. However if by the end of the year we have seen no more vintage kits then this might suggest that there will not be another batch for a while again...if ever. It's still quite likely that the odd oldie will get the re-re treatment from time to time though, but lets wait till the end of the year to see what happens in the current climate.

Wow that is gorgeous. Have to admit that I am a total convert to this buggy. I am normally of the opinion that modern buggies are lacking in character but there is something about this one that is different. It's been said that Tamiya re-re'd some of the old buggies in order to grab the attention of us 30 somethings so that they could show us all the new stuff and how much better it is. Well I have to admit it is a policy that has worked on me. The D.I is high up on my wish list now!!

Not sure what this does for the chances of a Bruiser re-re to be honest. This could be Tamiya telling us "This is as good as yer gonna get, now be gratefull"......but what about the other re-re's? Do those that were in the know on this release have any info on another one of the '80's buggies getting the go-ahead? I'm still adamant we'll see a Hotshot transmission buggy re-re'd, probably marketed in the same way as the Hornet....kinda '4WD for those just in it for the fun'. My money is currently on the Boomerang.

Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The greatest city in the world. FACT. []

Cheers, I will try the fender mender stuff.

I have an Optima Mid bodyshell that is still intact but is showing signs of giving up the ghost, namely at the nose area (a common fracture point on these cars given the way they are fitted on to the chassis). I was thinking of applying some additional strips of lexan underneath this area to give it some strengthening 'ribs' and would do this by glueing them on. Does this sound feasible? Is there a glue/compound to be recommended/avoided when using on lexan? Or should I strengthen it some other way? Additionally, is there a magical substance that I dont know about that glues broken lexan shells back together? Highly improbable I'm sure but there's no harm in asking!![]

Personally I'd rather it was the Brat re-re rather than any modern 3 speed....unless of course the Bruiser/Mountaineer is re-re'd in its exact 1980's form.

Yeah, two cars for the price you paid is definitely a good deal! []

If it had come with a body I would say you got a good price, but a new shell will cost you more than you paid for the car and they are hard to come by used. Still though it looks to be in good condition...check the upper rear wishbones as they break regularly due to the strain applied by the rear suspension linkage. The front gearbox wishbone location holes wear out badly but your car has the SRM support brace fitted so you shouldn't notice too much play. Also, the chassis upper-to-lower screw location holes strip frequently in the lower chassis half due to the many years of constant over-eager removal/refitting of it when changing radio equipment A nice thing about your car is that it has a 'series 1' bumper fitted to it. They are very rare, albeit weaker than the 'series 2' version (which is why Tamiya replaced it), and because your car has this bumper fitted to it the front gearbox mouldings and metal bumper stay will be different to 99% of all the spare gearboxes that become available on ebay so bear that in mind if buying spare parts. If you buy new front gearbox housings you will have to get a 'series 2' bumper stay and then file down the lugs of your bumper to make it fit on the car. Or you could just fit a 'series 2' bumper to it of course! Hope this helps.

It was awfull on the track, not because of the handling (which is pretty good) but more down to the whole bulkiness and weight of it. I had one and attempted to compete at the local club but got obliterated by all the Optimas at the time. Still though, it's a bit of a mystery why the BigWig is not more highly valued in the vintage price market because, as has been stated above, it pretty much is a unique car with it's own set of parts. Sure, it uses the familiar Hotshot transmission and yellow CVA's but the chassis, steering, wheels and body are only found on this car...and of course it is the 10th anniversary release too. One other thing...it's front end is embarrasingly weak, namely the bumper and front wishbones, as I found out to my cost on my first drive all those years ago. One (admittedly quite heavy) crash with a Boomerang left the front in tatters and the car out of action for weeks since there were no spares available at the time. For a car marketed as an off roader it was a spectacular failure, but it was a great looking thing IMO.

....and another great deal, this time with the Thundershot. Not quite as quick as last time but still delivered within 4 working days...and no duty to pay once again. Excellent!!

So Hotshot and Thundershot use the same wheel carriers? Another valuable piece of info from this place...cos I had no idea, and I like the T-Shot's wheels too.

Yep, one of the first things I had to get off ebay when I got back into this hobby was the good old R/C guide book. Trouble is if you want to have the photos and literature that covers the whole of the 'Golden Era' ie, roughly 1980 to 1988 then you need to have about 3 catalogues...say perhaps 1981, 1985 and 1989 to cover it, even though they all just repeat the same information! For me the Golden Era started with the Rough Rider and ended with the Avante, and I currently have the 1987 (Bigwig front cover) edition so I need a couple more. The 1986 Hotshot front cover edition is the one that seems to fetch the most money when they come up on Ebay. I think 1985 represented the absolute peak of Tamiya's 1/10th buggy era with the release of the Hotshot so it comes as little surprise that so many want the guide book that represented that time period.

I came across this whilst browsing the bay:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A%3AIT&rd=1 Plenty other people obviously do know about Tamiya's slot car history considering the amount of bids and the final price. I might have put in a bid but I doubt it would have run on my Scalextric Digital set.[]

I have no idea who you might have in mind with that comment Terry. [][][][]

Honda Spray Polish works like "MAGIC" on plastic for scratches. Trust me you won't be disappointed!! Great! Now, where do I get it from in the UK?[8-)]

Dont like the sound of sanding it down. I want to keep the original look. Might try the bees wax though. Is there any kind of filler that has been tried and tested?

So eloquently put Hibernaculum, couldn't have said it better myself! 1980's Tamiyas = Abba, Queen, Stone Roses etc Modern Tamiya = Westlife, Steps, Girls Aloud etc [:@] None UK posters wont have a clue what I'm on about but take it from me, the second group of 'artists' are dire!![]