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Well… I must have gotten a bit of the TRF fever while building the FF-03evo in the past weeks. It got worse when @Juhunio and @lukej started their TRF415 build threads. And now here we are with another thread… What does this thread offer to the reader then? For the start, my 415 version will fit right in between Juhunios MS and Lukes MSXX MRE. So the reader can follow the late versions history of the 415 in close and all detail. Tamiya was a real race car manufacturer back then, updating their 415 platform every year, offering new parts regularly to keep the edge in the competition. And it shows. Juhunio had a hard time identifying his version and I would have the same problem just looking at the parts the chassis came with: I got a box that says 415MS upgrade set, I got upper bulkheads with different height, a front-one-way, a strange topdeck, hacked rear bulkheads (for the use of LiPo batteries I guess) and other strange parts like the rear suspension arms, that look like Evo3. And then there is the chassis. Undoubtedly an MRE, because you couldn’t buy an upgrade set and it got everything the MRE came with. So I guess the previous owner just added all TRF415 leftover parts he had. My build/restoration won’t get as beautiful as Juhunios or Lukes, but I still ordered some nice parts to give it back its bling. Next on comes the disassembly and cleaning… it is pretty dirty…

At the last ETS in Germany, Marc Reinhard announced he would part ways with Tamiya. It will be interesting to see where he's going to go next. Maybe Xray, to battle it out with fellow German Ronald Völker? Or will one of the smaller teams like Infinity snatch him up? And more to the point for us, what does the departure of 'our' front man mean for the future of TRF? Tamiya quietly pulled out of off-road racing a few years ago when they decided to stop updating their offers, and I have a feeling that this could very well mean the end of Tamiya Europe's racing ambitions. In Japan I'm sure Akio Sobue and Naoto Matsukara will continue to be a force to be reckoned with on track, but Tamiya Japan is very much a different company from Tamiya Europe and Tamiya USA. On his last race, Marc sported a classy black-and-white variant of his usual paint job. All I can say, as a fellow racer and fan of TC, is thank you Marc, and the best of luck to wherever you decide to go next. Source The RC Racer