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I started this build more than a year ago, but hoping to bring it all together in the next few weeks. The original thread is here, but as I near crunch time I thought I will put together proper build thread: The idea for the build stems from my love of the Avante, but it gradually crept in scope to factor in the Paris-Dakar Rally, the Mini 4wd Dash Warriors anime and copycat brand mini 4wds from the 1980s. This image sums up the influences …

Hello everyone! My name is Aries. And I have been a fan of tamiya cars since I have first bought my first mini 4wd kit, a magnum saber, in the early 90s. However, being a kid at that time, I suppose some of you know what it’s like not to have the ability to afford these precious little beasts. I can only drool at them from a nearby hobby store back then. Fast forward two decades later, I am already on my 30s and still feel the hole it left in my heart. So, here I am, humbly asking asking for your help to locate these four 1986 tamiya mini 4wd kits that have become a dream for me to find ever since I was a kid. If any of you has any of these kits, built or unbuilt, please...do let me know. For if I can afford it, I would love to buy it just to rekindle if not revisit a lost childhood that this young boy in me still hopes to find. These kits are: Hotshot Jr. (2901) Hornet Jr. (2902) Fox Jr. (2903) Boomerang Jr. (2904) Thank you so much guys for at least taking a minute or two of your time to read my post up to this point. Now more than ever, as we all face this pandemic around the world, finding a happy place within our hearts is something I hope all of us can find to keep. I wish everyone stays safe with their family and loved ones and know that I am happy for you if you already found yours; that small piece of joy that makes you truly happy. So...I hope any of you can be kind enough to help me find mine. Sincerely, Aries

Hi everyone, I've been stalking this forum for about a year and been really grateful to everyone for the accrued wisdom that I've been able to tap into to help me build my Avante shelfer (first RC car I've owned since 1993!). I wanted to ask for some help /inspiration for the next phase of my project. As this is fo the shelf, it's mainly cosmetic, so might not interest everyone, but, here goes … I've built my Avante box art, and I also have Black special shell and wheel tyre set to give it an alternate look when I feel like it. Just a visual flip, not all the mechanical changes. I thought I could use one more change of style to give me some options, and I went searching for nice custom Avantes online. I think the price point means not too many people have gone far from box art with these, but I did find some interesting things. I was especially taken with @neobrunox 1/10 Azente, based on the special edition Mini 4WD variants: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=117752&id=24357 . As you probably know, the 1/10 black special is also based on a Mini 4WD, which has me excited as I got interested in RC as a child having been weened on Mini 4WD. So, I wondered if I could do another Avante variant that stemmed from a Mini 4wd. The idea I've settled on is to do something based on one of the styles in the Avante Mini 4wd Dress-up Sticker Set (I'm thinking the pin stripe one): and here, alongside someone's nice Azente: So here' say vision for the car, and I wondered if anyone woud like to add any imaginative suggestions or give me some advice? VISION: Both the Azente AND this dress-up sticker set mention "TXR", which is spelled out in very small letters as "Tamiya Experimental Racer". I understand that the 1/10 Avante was the first effort by the tema that became "Tamiya Racing Factory", so I'm going to imagine that TXR is an early interpretation of TRF. The colour scheme here is also reminiscent of the white/cyan/blue/pink used in later TRF models. So I thought I would style my car with these things in mind, though I'm on the fence about using much pink. I'm seeing this car as like a development version of the finished Avante, before everything was finalised, but also aiming for a race spec, rather than the 'retail spec' of the finished machine. ARTWORK: I plan to draw the graphics myself and get them printed at MCI. Anyone have any experience of MCI custom decals? Anything I should watch out for, or any recommendations for another supplier? SPONSORS: For the most part, I'll scale up the Mini 4wd stickers, but I'll try to add in a few more details and small stickers, the same as how the original Avante and Avante BS decals are not simply scaled up versions of the Mini 4WD version. If anyone could suggest some additional sponsors or details that might add some flavour of Tamiya's experimental racing division c 1988, I'd be delighted! DRIVER: Well, Paranoid Perry I guess, but open to other ideas? I found this fun article the other day which suggests maybe one of the other Tamiya drivers. This is really just silly fan fiction, but i guess that's the realm I've descended to with this project! Here's the quote: "First, be aware that I was the one chosen for this project among almost one hundred drivers. Among them, the promising Albert Attaboy who remained stuck in Baja Buggy races, Evert Edwards who had relatives working at Tamiya and who couldn't get more than the Vanquish. Even Greg Martin, who was popular thanks to the Hornet, was in the list. The most pathetic of all was undoubtely Ricky Roop." COLOURED BITS: TRF stuff tends to have some anodised cyan/blue elements. Anyone recommend some avant compliant shocks I could try out in this colour? Or any other metal parts? WHEELS: In keeping with most TRF creations, probably white wheels, but I'm after something that might have felt experimental in '88 Or could have been donated from another car at the time, as part of the development process? Perhaps some white Thunder Shot rims? Like on the Terra Scorcher? Anything more interesting out there? TYRES: I fancied doing something a bit crazy, like some slicks? If not that, perhaps some more modern looking buggy tyres, to suggest the car was ahead of its time, but that ultimately Tamiya went with the more conventional option in the release product? (sorry, in fan fiction territory again!) REAR WING and OTHER AERO BITS: I was toying with the idea of a wing fro another car. I've not seen other wings that I think really look good on other custom Avantes (you often see an astute or Egress wing, I think). I was thinking maybe something more out there like a terra scorcher wing? Other thoughts? I hope some of you find this interesting and might be willing to chip in. Once I've got started properly, I'll try tout a build thread together. Appreciate your help!