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Evilweevil

How do you Tamiya?

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This has been a question I struggle within my own behavior and use of RC models and for me in changes from manufacturer to manufacturer. I don’t know if this question has been ask before but I will ask this question as it relates only to Tamiya vehicles.

When you purchase a new Tamiya vehicle, what plans will you have for it and why? Will you race it? Bash it? Build it as a shelf queen? Or store it in the unopened box?

if you build it and drive it, do you buy spares as they need replacing or do you buy spares and upgrades before you start building?

do you have a contingency plan to restore the vehicle to its factory box art finish at a given point or do you typically sell the vehicle when you are done with it?

if you do restore the vehicle to its original new condition, do you ever run it again?

finally how many of you leave the vehicle in its used and or broken condition with no plans for restoration or sale?

I have many vehicles from different manufacturers for many different uses but Tamiyas live in a special class for me that deserve more attention and respect for their nostalgia. 
so again…ahow do you Tamiya?

77213FCE-948C-45EB-BDFE-BB8C84D7A297.jpeg

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There is a golden Rule:

 

Buy 5 Kits.

 

1 for building

2 for Spares

1 for a shelver

1 for keeping it in the original Box, sealed and untouched

 

Also try get other People addicted....      ....it is much like heroin, i would say...

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When you purchase a new Tamiya vehicle, what plans will you have for it and why? Will you race it? Bash it? Build it as a shelf queen? Or store it in the unopened box?

- Some I build for static display on a shelf and others I definitely buy to run. If like the shelfer a lot, I'll buy a second to run. This habit started way back with the first Hotshot re-re. I have only one NIB kit that I keep that way because I like Tamiya kit presentation, otherwise NIB collecting isn't for me. I have 3 more NIB to save for a rainy day, but other than that, I never have a big "backlog" of kits to build. 99% of the time, I buy one at a time and build one at a time.

if you build it and drive it, do you buy spares as they need replacing or do you buy spares and upgrades before you start building?

-Other than bearings and a steel pinion I don't upgrade right out of the box normally. Half the fun is running it stock and then seeing how upgrades improve it. Since I only buy rerelease, I like to enjoy them in stock form and only make mods that don't take away from their original appearance/design aesthetic. i.e. if I do run 2.2 wheels on my Egress, they will minimally be black like the originals. I also don't personally care for bling. I'm pragmatic in this sense.

do you have a contingency plan to restore the vehicle to its factory box art finish at a given point or do you typically sell the vehicle when you are done with it?

-Always, from the get-go. Struggling to find restoration items for my 80's cars in the early days taught me this lesson. Minimally every runner I assemble has a new body, tires and wheels tucked away for it since they take the most beating. I often concentrate on specific chassis types I love (and know I won't fall out of love with). Thus, I have a stockpile of spares for Hotshot series buggies, ORV monsters, Clod Busters etc. Few things spook me more than the dreaded word "discontinued" in this hobby. I want to be running and enjoying these cars and this hobby until I die and don't want a car to become a paperweight when I'm 60 because it broke a knuckle that is nowhere to be found on Earth anymore. 

finally how many of you leave the vehicle in its used and or broken condition with no plans for restoration or sale?

What? No no no. Everything will have its day in the sun at my house. There's some cool old race cars that I don't want to ruin by restoring, but minimally, they get torn down and cleaned up. I just leave the battle scars and some patina they've earned. Even this pile of about 80% of a Big Brute sitting next to me at the moment will become whole again. My house is not a junkyard where car/trucks go to die quietly, but rather a rehab center where they are made whole again. There's a huge satisfaction I get by saving/restoring something that I never get by just buying the latest and greatest. The older I get, the less I like just being a consumer, "buying stuff". But that's just what works for me personally. Everyone else can do as they please as long as no one gets hurt and we all keep enjoying this great hobby and keep it going.

Good topic:)

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36 minutes ago, whahooo said:

There is a golden Rule:

 

Buy 5 Kits.

 

1 for building

2 for Spares

1 for a shelver

1 for keeping it in the original Box, sealed and untouched

 

Also try get other People addicted....      ....it is much like heroin, i would say...

Why stop at 5?   ;)  jk

 

I build my Tamiya's as models I enjoy building, painting, driving privately in my indoor makeshift track.  I've done plenty of bashing and racing in my youth, so these days it's more about just enjoying the cars cleanly at my own pace without getting them all soiled up.   My latest build is going so slow.. :ph34r:

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I had been building models for 4 decades and had always been a Tamiya fanboy. So when I started first RC a decade ago, I got a Lunchbox, something of my dreams in my youth but could not afford. After the Lunchbox I got a TT01. And after that I paused.

I never race them as there is not really anyone to race them with although I hope when my kids get older, I can race them. 

I only restated RC last summer and got a M-05Ra, 2 SW-01s, a Thunder Dragon, a DT-02 and a M-06. All of them at runners or basher, I run them, crash them and flip them. I always make sure that I have the "big 3" in any of my builds at least, and often try to acquire more hopups as Tamiya are never great OOB (static models or RCs). Tamiya is known as something that is a "shake and bake", good for most people but not great in any way. 

I had always been loyal to Tamiya for my first half dozen or so until recently, I came across a great deal for a 3R MG Evo and decided to try it out. I am impressed OOB, it comes with bearings, CVA, universals, FRP, hard plastics, metal motor mount etc..., all extras with Tamiya. With a Tamiya, I tend to spend another 150% of the kit price for extras and with this 3R kit, I don't really need to spend any extras other than the electronics. So I am going to pause on Tamiya for a while while I try other brands. 

I still like Tamiya as most of their cars are good looking (good for most people I mentioned above). I will still buy Tamiya when I see a good deal or when I can fly out to the Far East where they are cheap.

And of course I still continue building Tamiya static kits. 

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I'm not a collector at all, so I buy Tamiya kits to build and run.  They always get bearings/pinions, but I always build them stock and see where to go from there.   Most often I keep them stock and run them with care since they are most fun that way and let's be honest, if you want extreme performance or durability there are plenty of better choices out there.  

I only have two shelf queen Tamiyas, a Clod and an M1025 Hummer.  In the process of selling the Hummer and thinking of parting the Clod for another racer build.   So I guess I don't really like shelf queens either :)  

Tamiya will always have a special place in my heart and will always be my answer for, "What's your favorite brand?" but I have lots of other makes/models in my "collection".  I build everything with a purpose and try to run everything, even if it's gently for certain models.

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I Tamiya with the same old cars I grew up with, and I know this will ruffle a few feathers but Tamiya is the same in my mind as Traxxas, since they were given to me in a junk box together from my cousin. One RC is from one company, and one is from another, but at the end of the day they're both MY cars and I love them equally because they were from a family member (used and abused, some assembly required, but loved just the same).

Dad picked up a few more Tamiyas later on from a thrift shop for super cheap, so the closest I've gotten to buying a new Tamiya is when I got a used Grasshopper chassis a few years ago for my old Parma body. I think 6 Tamiyas is the perfect number and I doubt I'd get any more unless I come across a "too good to pass up" deal. We all know how that goes :ph34r: but I've got no plans for more.

Since mine were mostly junkers to begin with, the fun of the last few years has been getting them up and running, and actually being able to DRIVE them again! (for the first time in some cases)

Now that they're alive, I've still got plenty to tweak and tune and fiddle with and fabricate for years to come. I always try to salvage as many broken parts as possible before replacement, so they all have lots of battle scars and bush mechanic fixes, but it doesn't matter to me because I'll probably never sell them.

Having too much fun driving them all :D

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I make it up as I go along. Usually no "hopups" except bearings. Drive, break, fix, hack up and modify into somethng completely else, decide I liked it better stock, replace the hacked-up parts so I can put it back to stock, get bored and modify it again differently. Then repeat.

Except the vintage ones. They get treated with a lot more respect. Still driven, but usually in a stable "lightly restomodded" form, and not hacked up for weird ideas.

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"Mechanical efficiency." 

That's how I do Tamiya. I bought Konghead to test efficiency. Looks are important, but it's somewhat distant second. I don't feel the need to display because efficiency isn't something you can display.  You can move one Konghead with 3AA batteries. Yet, another one will not budge until you line up 6 AA batteries. The game (for me) is to make it run with as little energy as possible.  

NIB kits and broken down chassis are not mechanically efficient. I must build/restore. In the name of 'efficiency,' I often take ball bearings apart.

I see a pre-teen kid riding a bicycle with a squeaky chain?  I have a strong urge to stop her/him and lube the chain.  Of course, I don't do that. I don't want to be known as the neighborhood 'gear-napper.'  I just daydream of making that chain improve efficiency by 5%!  If I can't use dry chain lube, let me use a WD40 pen!!!  (No, I don't own a WD40 pen, because I'm afraid I'll be carrying the darn thing everywhere.)  

Do I want a mechanical speed control for the sake of memories? Even though I grew up with it, I don't want it. (Raise your hand if you accidentally touched the ceramic resistor and burned your finger!)  ESC is cheap and efficient. I have no desire to go back to the stone age (ceramic age?).   

My transmitter's power management is terrible. But I don't need to replace the voltage regulator because I am using a 2200mAh LiPo.  It should last about 35 hours.  But I want to get a down-regulator just to make it more efficient.  Do I really need the transmitter last 70 hours?  No. But it's more efficient. 

It actually bothers me that I worry about silly efficiency.  Hobby is a leisurely pass time, by definition.  Worrying about efficiency is the opposite of that.  In turn, leisurely pass time is not the most 'efficient' use of time either, if you think about it.  It's all quite confusing...as if this guy is trying to pull a fast one on me with his dizzying intellect. 

a9kSQf8.jpg

 

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I generally just pick up what I like the look of, and can run, mostly off road stuff but I’ve got a few on roads now too, when spare cash is available.

I get the most pleasure designing and doing my own thing with the paint job of a shell, something I find very rewarding and satisfying when it goes well, with both Polycarbonate or Hard bodies. I think my dream hobby space would now consist of at least 3 tins of every rattle can on a Tamiya rack (like in the Hobby Shop) and a cupboard full of masking tape rather than NIB kits. 

I don’t tend to go mad on hop ups just the necessary usually, Oil Shocks if not in the kit, bearings, steering upgrades for a more enjoyable/reliable run time.

Spares tend to come as they are needed, and I never buy a kit with the intention of selling it down the track.

 

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I've got four Tamiyas since getting back into RC during lockdown. I like running them. I don't buy a spare kit, or a box version. I really don't get the whole in-a-box thing. Mine are to be run, but not trashed.  I see it like this, there's no point getting an expensive chef's knife set/professional musical instrument/sports car etc. and never using it (or opening it) and there's no point having any of those things and trashing them either.  Use, but don't abuse. I can imagine a bunch of Tamiya fans in 2300 finally opening up their boxes to find the plastics have turned to dust, and then trying to work out if this BNIB Clod dust was worth more than the BNIB Avante Dust. 

For me Tamiya represent nostalgia, but also some of the best looking RC cars, especially the vintage models. Blackfoot, Grasshopper, Hornet, Clod, Lunchbox - all look amazing and are design classics. I'd rather a good looking car than all out performance, and modern batteries and motors means anything can go as fast as you'd need. Kyosho seem to be the one other company that stand out to me (and early Traxxas, but that's from wathcing Rustlers and Stampedes as a kid....)

For what I drive...

All the cars I've got (QD Pumpkin, GF01 and 2 x MF01x) have had a lot of mods. I like custom cars, not something off the shelf. The MF01x kits have both been reduced to 175 mm wheelbase with 1/14 shells on top, the QD was made "hobby grade" with a WPL D12 body, and the GF01 Heavy Dump turned into a 1/14 Monster Truck.

In terms of the designs. I like making something that looks like it could have been released as a proper model but is home made to some degree. But still looks Tamiya, if that makes sense.

To be honest, I've now started down this 1/14 rabbit hole, and a 1/10 car would look odd on the shelf. I'd probably have as much fun with a clod, blackfoot, blitzer beetle and Lunchbox (and spent less) but now I've gone small anything else would seem too big. I also don't have a real 1:1 car, so everything has to go in a rucksack to the local park. 1/14 scale means I can take two, and also drive indoors.

Upgrades are CVA dampeners, ball bearings and a steel pinion. I like upgrades that make a difference. Personally I don't really get the anodized blue look - if it makes a functional difference yes, but buying something bling (and blue) for the sake of it - no thanks. I've also never got the point of buying a car and then replacing everything about it, as well, that seems wasteful.

Anyway, here are mine.

epr9X1v.jpg

Pumpkin QD with brushless motor and WPL D12 body

mrZuJ1S.jpg

MFO1x, widened with TL01 arms, shortened to 175 mm and with a the QD body as a stadium truck. I've since widened with longer hexes, it looks great.

2GB3wEe.jpg

GF01 (a heavy dump) with black chassis, chrome wheels and an F100 body to make a monster truck.

PLFK75x.jpg

MF01x (foreground) again reduced to 175 mm wheelbase with Sand Scorcher/Grasshopper rears) as a mini monster truck or trial truck. 

I've always like smaller cars, and Tamiya don't make many, so I've had to make do! 

Oh yes, and all my cars are driven by Edgar-mon my mascot (based on my cat)

 

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5 hours ago, Nikko85 said:

 

Upgrades are CVA dampeners, ball bearings and a steel pinion. I like upgrades that make a difference. Personally I don't really get the anodized blue look - if it makes a functional difference yes, but buying something bling (and blue) for the sake of it - no thanks. I've also never got the point of buying a car and then replacing everything about it, as well, that seems wasteful.

 

Yup!

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When planning a build and considering upgrades, my approach is to start with the "Big 3" - oil shocks, bearings and a steel pinion, unless already supplied with the kit. Next is to research any known issues with the model and their best solutions, such as the MIP ball diff for the ORV, the metal A5 part brace for the Thundershot, etc. I also look into upgrades considered significantly beneficial to performance, such as high-speed gear sets, steering rack improvements and such. I then source these and include them during the initial build.

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Tamiya are toys to me so I play with them. 
 

To expand a little.. That wasn’t intended to be derogatory but my main rc interest is top-flight competition cars from the late 70s and electric cars (that were any good) came much later so to those who either raced or followed the racing Tamiya were definitely toys. 

That said I did go through a fairly major Tamiya collecting phase in the mid 00s and have been fortunate to own most of the early/important ones at some point and I had plenty of fun with them. The only Tamiya I’ve kept is a much used & abused repaired & modified Pumpkin which gets dragged out of ever life gets too serious. 
 

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23 hours ago, Mad Zero said:

Tamiya are toys to me so I play with them. 

This statement is actually mostly true. Take their static models for example; good enough for most people that are not "rivet counters", simple enough to build for most people, and my fav, easy to "batch paint". I can build parts with color A, parts with color B and glue them together easily for assembly. They are designed to be (usually) easy to build. Don't get me wrong, they have some good kits too, some of their anniversary or special release kits are, well, quite special.

However compared to serious brands like Dragon, Tamiyas are really lacking in details. Take the PE parts for example, Tamiya ones are (usually) thick as cardboard while most other brands are thin like paper. Thicker PE are easy to handle but terrible for scale. Most people don't mind, but serious rivet counting people do. A 0.5mm thick railing on a 700 scale submarine model (for example) will translate to 350mm thick in real life, for example. But a 0.1mm thick PE piece will be pretty hard for most people to handle.

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Why does this thread feel so overt it’s covert ?!

I only had one drink officer - and then … 😂

My Tamiya started with reliving my childhood with my kids - or at least that was my excuse for that first whiff of the crack pipe !

Restoring ? Yes - each kit I couldn’t afford as a kid, to new built standard, period correct with spares to run with my kids on dry days / clean beaches 

Collecting ? That came a few years later - and started as the other kits I really liked as a kid … then ballooned !

Some are new built (with no spares or hop ups) others NIB with NIP period hop ups, spares + RC … all to be built when I eventually retire 😇

I guess the best answer to How Do You Tamiya is however you like - which is why we’re all still having fun 👍

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This is so good a question, I've had to let is sit in the back of my mind for a few days while I mull it over.

What plans do I have, and why?  That largely depends on what I'm buying.  There was a time when I was buying cars for the shelf, but I have too many cars and not enough shelves, and I don't really enjoy ultra-detailing like some great shelf builders, so these days it's all about running.  I do a fair bit of vintage racing in the summer, so it tends to be re-releases that catch my attention most.  If I'm buying to race, I'll check what hop-ups and reliability fixes are eligible, and what are likely to make a difference, and gather those parts up-front.  Or sometimes I'll just build stock (plus bearings and pinion) and plan to add upgrades later depending on how the racing goes.  It's nice to have some tuning parts (turnbuckles, spring sets) so I can make adjustments if I'm struggling on track.

But I also love general bashing, such as at Tamiya Junkies meets.  I don't get to bash that often, but when I do, I like to take a big selection of cars.  When 2 or 3 people put their SRBs on track, I can go grab mine.  When they switch to Top Forces and Manta Rays, I can grab mine.  If someone digs out a WR-02 or GF-01, I'll get mine.  It's the ad-hoc, quick-change nature of that sort of bash that I love, so I like to have a plethora of cars to choose from.  If I find I have reliability issues during a bash, or if a car isn't performing as well as someone else's, I'll think about upgrades, but most of my bashers are more-or-less stock - I don't add hop-ups for the sake of them.

I also love scale crawling, big rigs and monster trucks.  Those are more about looks than performance, so I like to have a plan about what wheels, tyres, body, and other not-too-cheap accessories like winches, trailer legs, MFUs and the like - sometimes I'll buy these kits without the budget for all the extra parts, and plan to add them later, with the hope that funds don't dry up and interest isn't lost in the meantime.

I also periodically buy "something for the NIB collection."  I don't specifically buy things to "keep" NIB, almost everything is bought to be built at some point, but I consider them "rainy day builds" - they go in the storage area and stay there until there's a rainy day.  Some things have been NIB for many, many years.  Sometimes I'll rob such a box for spares, I don't like doing it but in a pinch it means I can get on with a project.  I think I've got 3/4 of a bodyless CC01, and a pre-painted Scania rig with no rear axle or suspension.  There's generally some rough idea of what I want to do with these boxes when I buy them, but sometimes it's a case of "it's available right now dirt cheap, so I'll stick it on the pile and build it later."

Since 99% of my purchases are bought to be run, I tend to think about power, radio and servo during the buying process and stick these on the order if I don't already have them.

Do I buy spares as they need replacing, or do I buy spares and upgrades before building?  If I'm specifically building a race car then I'll add the necessary hop-ups during assembly, but that's not my usual MO.  I prefer to build stock, especially if it's my first go at a chassis, as I'm a completist and I like to do things by the book.  If there's a known flaw I will fix it during assembly (e.g. shimming the rear axle on a CC01), and sometimes I'll stick putty in the diff as it's a pain to pull it apart later.  I don't usually buy lots of spare parts even for a race car, unless I've been warned in advance (Super Astute D parts, IIRC).  But I also like to build custom projects and scratchbuilds, so sometimes I'll buy a kit just for the parts I need (Clod axles, TLT axles), build the parts I need along with aftermarket parts or home-made parts, and sell the rest or store it for another project.

Do I plan to restore the vehicle, or sell it when I'm done?  I'm never done with anything.  Sometimes I stop using a car because it's too broken to fix.  Sometimes I stop using a car because I've taken parts off it to build something else.  Sometimes I stop using a car because it isn't performing the way I want, or because I'm not going to that type of competition or event any more, or because I scratch-built something but was never satisfied with it.  These cars don't get restored or sold, they just go into the parts bin so I can build something different another time.  There are 19 cars in my home office right now, 8 of them were once something completely different, or were bought to be something different that never got made so they became something else a decade later.

If I restore a vehicle, do I run it again?  Since I don't really do restorations, this doesn't apply.  But, if I've stopped using a car for some reason (as above), then I build it into something else, I will usually build it to run.  For example my TL-01LA race car is looking a bit sorry for itself on the top shelf with a very battered race R33 shell (which I originally bought to make a drift car, then repurposed into a vintage racer, see above), right now I don't want to race it but if I decide to campaign it again I'll probably rebuild it with a shiny new body (or repurpose one I bought and painted for something else, see above), then go race it until it's ruined.

Do I leave a vehicle in a used or broken condition with no plans to restore or sell?  Well, from the above, yes and no.  I've got dozens of old chassis in various states of disrepair, along with boxes full of used and broken bodies, and no plans to sell any of them.  However, I also have no plans to let them sit in their boxes forever.  They are all there because one day I'll think of something I want to make, and they'll be a suitable donor.  Would I categorically not sell them?  Well, no.  If I desperately needed the space or the money then I'd let them go, but I don't think they're worth much so if I need money quickly there's other stuff that would have to go first.  Will they come out of the box this year?  Very unlikely.  In the next 5 years?  Maybe.  The next decade?  Who knows, my life could be very different in 10 years.  So technically, I do have vague plans to eventually use everything that's boxed and broken, practically they could stay boxed and broken for ever.

How do I Tamiya?  I feel this wasn't really a question, just a way to sign off the questions above, but I'll answer it anyway.  I get excited about some new idea - maybe a new chassis from Tamiya, a re-release that piques my interest for some reason, maybe a build thread on here that inspires me, or maybe I'll be at a bash somewhere and see something somebody else has built and I'll think hey, I want a piece of that too.  I'll generally let the idea mull around for a while - I almost never jump on something new as soon as it comes out.  I don't have the money or space to buy multiple kits at once, so I don't do that.  Then I'll just roll with it, see where it takes me.

I'll admit there is something special about Tamiya, but my process is the same for all manufacturers.  I see something I want, try to understand why I want it, work out if I can afford it, then buy.

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