bjr250

It was good to meet you Mark and to have a bit of a yarn to you and your young bloke as you were packing up. The next few weeks I am working on Saturday mornings so I can't get out until 1ish but from mid December I will have Saturdays off for a few weeks and I should be able to get out early.

I won't be able to get out until 1pm probably as I finish work at 12:30. I will go round and see if anyone is still there but there is no need for anyone to wait around.

The Super Hornet rears have a ridge around where the drive adaptor fits in that the original wheels don't have. If they don't fit over the dive adaptors this can be removed with a dremmel or the drive adaptor can be sanded down to make them fit. You can then spray them white.

I will be out again this week as it is the last week that I won't be working on Saturdays. Next week (21st Nov) I can't make it out until after 1pm due to work.

I remember different decals for the frog being mentioned before. Looking through my 30 year Perfect album confirms it. the rear wing has a different font and colour. The Super Champ is also pictured with the red rubber bags (did Tamiya ever produce these?) and only the yellow/orange stripes.

Just my little corner as I hit the post button

Edit as Blacque Jacque beat me to it as the internet crashed.

I had noticed that. I think that all of the ones sold outside of Japan were marketed as "Micro Buggy" instead of as their original names given by Tamiya. I have not got the special ones with the Off road one mat circuits or the tool boxes but they have been around for some time. The official Japanese website has some good information. If you go into products and click on the individual model down the bottom you can see what comes in the boxes. The dates of release are the top number in each model (i.e. the Rough Rider was September 2008 and the Fox was August 2008 ) and the recommended retail price in yen (single models are JPY1890, the two one mat circuit models are JPY2940 and the box models are JPY4200)

The photos came out great. I am in the middle of decalling mine up at the moment. I also have to sort out the steering issue so that we can have a decent run together.

When I was in grade two I received a Tandy Lamborghini Racer for my birthday. This was my first RC car and it got a fair bit of use in the kitchen/dining room as it was the only place in the house that had enough smooth floor space. In 1986 not long before my birthday we were in the local Toyworld and I saw a display with several Tamiya kits including the Hornet, Boomerang and the Fox. From there I was hooked, it was the box art that did it. I pestered my parents to get me one for my birthday but the answer was no as they were too expensive. I managed to do a deal with them that I if I could pay half I could get one. By using every cent that I could get together and getting my parents to double it (they probably more than doubled) I managed to get a combination kit with a 1200mAh racing pack, Acoms radio, timer charger and a Fox kit. That Fox has been well used and it still runs although it has had a few parts replaced over the years. I do also remember the some of the promotional videos being on TV but I can't remember if I had seen them before I got the Fox. The Hornet is the promo that I remember most as it was on high rotation leading up to one Christmas, as a result Hornets were fairly common and to this day is the most iconic Tamiya buggy for me.

There is a boat club that uses the Entertainment Centre, the Triple S Model Boat Club. The lake that they use is across the main loop road from the car track and is quite close by.

It was a really good day. I had a great time and not to much broken (Fox only made about two laps before the front shock mount broke). Next time I will have the glitch in the Wild One worked out so that I can give it a proper run.

I should actually make it this time. I have been preparing some cars but I have been finding breakage sand cracks all over the place. I should have some re-releases and maybe a Wildone and a Fox to run.

My last Avante went across the Tasman. Along with the Rough Rider they seem to be the hardest to get individually.

Georgia is the brand of the premixed canned coffee that the cars came with (it is owned by Coca Cola). Also try searching for buggy champ as that is what it was known as in Japan. Edit: The Rough Rider is the one car that I couldn't get a spare of. For me it was harder to find than the Avante.

For the location of specific shops it depends on which city you are going to. For Tokyo the shops that I use are in Akihabara with a map here. I mainly use RC-Champ (RC- Champ website) and Super RC (Super RC website). However Futaba-sangyo (Futaba-sangyo website) and Rakusei Model (Rakusei website) are good too. These shops usually sell well below the manufacturers recommended retail price but it can be beneficial to shop around. There is also the Tamiya Plamodel Factory in Shimbashi (Website) but from previos experience Tamiya sell at the MRRP unless it is a clearance item. Keep in mind that languages other than Japanese will be limited so it is best to know specifically what you are after and have the part number.

Hope that you get it running, it looks like you have some work ahead of you. The Super Hornet is not my favourite model but I would like to see photos of the Fox as it was the first model that I had as a kid. Good luck with it it will be good to see it running around one day.

I have been out to Boondal before but I forgot that it even existed until I was reminded the other week. I am working Saturday mornings for the next month but I finish at 12:30 so I will see if anyone is still around at about 1pm.

I agree with many of the previous posters. The wait it out principle does work it just is not instantly gratifying. Another source of parts that I have found is that some parts for current kits can be had by getting in contact with one of the Japanese or Hong Kong shops and seeing if they can obtain the part as a special order directly from Tamiya (even if it is not listed as an official spare). Berman if it was the old school gold 3x12mm self tappers the re-release Hornet had 36 of them in screw bag B.

That has come up well. You are further along than me and I started both of mine a couple of years ago. I still need to get decals for my shells and I need one more part for the second one. Congratulations on getting it finished and this will look great going around the track.

My method for HPI T-Drifts is similar to this but I use a hair dryer ( a heat gun would be better) as the source of heat. I place the tyre on the tiled bathroom floor (any flat hard surface would do) and aim the hair dryer at the middle of the tyre and wait until I can feel that the tread of the tyre has heated up. Working quickly I then place the wheel on top of the tyre and stand on the assembly so that my heal will push the wheel into the tyre by using my body weight. It is possible to do the two step method for getting them over the ridges as described above and this is highly recommended

I am neither here or there so I guess that I am ambivalent. It is not some thing that I would go out of my way to obtain but I would not say no for the right price. I think that they are less popular than some of the other models like the Jeep or the Pajero as the CR-V was not as popular / common in 1:1. As for Marmite I can't stand it but I love Vegemite (well I am an Aussie). I think that I will go and have some Vegemite on toast now....

I would be keen to meet up for a bash. I don't live far from the CBD so I can get to most places fairly easy but I don't know of anywhere that is particularly suitable for a bash (I usually go down to the local park). It has been too long since I have run any of my cars (abut 5-6 months) so I would be keen to meet up if I can fit it in around my weird work schedule.

I don't reckon that they would be worth as much as a Conrad 240826.

I have never had a problem on international flights with my gear as either hand or checked luggage. I have been asked some questions and asked to remove the gear from the bag (like you have to for a laptop) when it was in hand luggage. Also keep in mind if you are travelling to countries with strict quarantine laws (such as Australia) that the car will need to be clean, as any soil, dirt, mud, grass etc. will need to be cleaned off.