Am I wrong or Super Avante doesn't sell?

[kontemax 1725]

One of the worst problems is generally the high price of kits and parts.
They are really expensive.
This hobby is the most expensive of all my hobbies. The others are mountain bikes and 2-stroke motorcycles and believe me, the cheapest is 2-stroke motorcycles.
With these crazy prices I want, indeed I expect, that even the models are really beautiful.
I think that in Japan the hobby is not expensive at all but here in Italy I can't bear these costs anymore.
For this reason I cannot consider the Super Avante as an option to spend money on.
Max

[YelloMello 99]

To be honest I like it.

Yes, I actually really like it, especially compared to other newly released buggies from other manufacturers.
Everything on the market looks like a color glitch, while the Super Avante really breaks new ground in terms of design (same applies for the Super Astute, I even think it's a little nicer).

What bothers me, and a lot of you guys have mentioned that before, is the poor price-performance ratio.
Well, prices have fallen since release and it's already available here for less than EUR 300. But that's still a lot of money for an average buggy.

As a retro buggy, it's not retro enough for me. I would rather spend my money for a Kyosho ReRe, Egress, Avante black Edition or something similar.
As a modern buggy, the driving performance (according to Youtube) is not good enough for me.
So, for me this nicely designed Buggy is neither fish nor meat.

But it's all my personal opinion

[RichieRich 685]

Yeah, some of the design is different and it can be a pain to do basic maintenance, but I still like it. In a few years, the threads on here will be people lamenting about not picking one up when they had the chance. History repeats itself.  I love mine. Now, I did have to add a few bits to enhance performance, slipper and front cvds, but still tons of fun.

[Saito2 6686]

1 hour ago, RichieRich said:

In a few years, the threads on here will be people lamenting about not picking one up when they had the chance. History repeats itself.  I love mine. Now, I did have to add a few bits to enhance performance, slipper and front cvds, but still tons of fun.

History repeats indeed. The same could be said about the original Avante. They were very expensive when new, but I bet many of us would have loved to snag one on closeout for $99 when nobody wanted them only to discover it would become an icon in the future. Tamiya made a ton of hop-ups for that one too, although they were aimed correcting flaws at making it a capable racer. In this case, the Super Avante is better than the original. It makes no illusions of being a top-tier comp 4wd buggy but still performs well out of the box.

[YelloMello 99]

3 hours ago, RichieRich said:

In a few years, the threads on here will be people lamenting about not picking one up when they had the chance. History repeats itself.

Yeah, you are absolutely right. I definitely will pick one up if they blow it out for EUR 99,-  

[Saito2 6686]

 

[bRIBEGuy 3050]

I'm not sure what's crazier @Saito2, the $99 sale, or the $471 regular price!

[Saito2 6686]

1 hour ago, bRIBEGuy said:

the $471 regular price!

To be fair, that's a list price comparison (as if $99 alone wasn't shocking enough). Common street price was low $300s to high $300s depending if it came with the Technigold motor or not, IIRC. I can dig in my archives for exact figures if you'd like.

[nowinaminute 2815]

I love it but it's a bit pricey for me, more to do with my budget than my assessment of value. 

I love how it looks and I think it's one of the most "Tamiya" buggies for years if not decades. Divisive and controversial, just like other models have been in the past. I think it will be highly regarded in a couple of decades.

Seems like a classic example of people getting what they ask for, then hating it. Then the icing on the cake: People taking away all it's personality and distinctiveness and making it look plain, the very thing the complain about. Or worse still, putting TRF colour vomit tribal tattoo stickers on, the very thing they moan about when it comes to stuff like Traxxas, and then saying "that looks MUCH better now!"

I like everything about how it looks with the possible exception of the wheels, I thought they were a bit cheap/lazy.

[joeling 1654]

If in doubt, remember this :

 

You only live once

[RC Perspective 511]

To me, it looks a lot like a hodgepodge of what used to be, instead of what it could have been.

-RC Perspective

[bRIBEGuy 3050]

4 hours ago, nowinaminute said:

I love how it looks and I think it's one of the most "Tamiya" buggies for years if not decades. Divisive and controversial, just like other models have been in the past. I think it will be highly regarded in a couple of decades.

Seems like a classic example of people getting what they ask for, then hating it.

I like everything about how it looks with the possible exception of the wheels, I thought they were a bit cheap/lazy.

^^^ This!!!  Ha ha.... love it.

I agree on the wheels, though Tamiya has a long history of beating the same wheel design to death over many many models.  The biggest sin of the TD4 hoops is being a different yellow than the rest of the car.

[94eg! 834]

This is nothing like the original Avante situation. The 1988 Avante has timeless style shrink-wrapped over amazing engineering. Unfortunately those didn't come together on the track.....which was the ONLY place the car disappointed.

This new car fails at every level (except maybe driving). The novelty pushrod suspension adds needless complexity, weight & unsprung mass, while simultaneously ruining the off-road buggy aesthetic. Coilover dampers are the single coolest part of any off-roader.  The 10th-tech Predator pioneered the idea and even managed a decent style at the same time. But ultimately it wasn't practical, especially for racing.

Unfortunately I believe, like the new pig-nose BMWs, this car will not age well.

[bRIBEGuy 3050]

1 hour ago, 94eg! said:

...needless complexity, weight & unsprung mass...

Sounds like an Avante to me!  

[nowinaminute 2815]

2 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Sounds like an Avante to me!  

EXACTLY

[94eg! 834]

We'll have to bump this thread in 20 years and see. LOL

[Saito2 6686]

I'll be here. I'll be old, but I'll be here, lol.

[Hobbimaster 190]

Tamiya has gone down the "new design" route before with the failed 2013 DB02 Leonis. Unfortunately, This new TD4 Super Astute seems to have even less appeal than the DB02 did. At least the DB02 was based off the TRF race kits from that time period. This TD4 is not something a Tamiya collector, or a racer will want. Still I'd get one, to bash on if the price was right just to see how it performs. Its just not a shelf queen type of kit.

[Willy iine 18806]

Was the SuperAstute something a collector would want?  Because I don't think it was, but I think it is..well, not in stock form, but it holds a lot of appeal to me right up there with my Egress, Avante, HotShot and my other display cars I drive on occasion.  

Everytime I see @moffman's TD4 there is definitely chemistry there.. I just want one with all the hopups included.  Does not need to be box art.  I will own one, one day.

[GeeWings 2830]

I’ve got close to buying a TD4 quite a few times. The appeal is that it’s still Tamiya but more robust etc than the vintage stuff I’m generally interested in. I don't really like the look of it but I’ve seen enough people do great things with it to convince me that’s not an insurmountable obstacle. Some have even fitted different shells entirely to great effect.

Underneath the shell is definitely appealing though. I’m no racer but it seems a great performer and looks fun to drive. A few too many other projects taking my attention at the moment but as soon as an idea pops into my head about how I want it to look then I will get one.

[FlyHustla 32]

I'm an Avante nut, so I bought one but didn't go box art.

[bRIBEGuy 3050]

12 minutes ago, FlyHustla said:

I'm an Avante nut, so I bought one but didn't go box art.

That looks great @FlyHustla!

[GeeWings 2830]

@FlyHustlathat's what I'm talking about. Miles better than the box art version I reckon. Love it!

[scoobybooster 248]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:58 AM, kontemax said:

I believe that Super Avante have 4 big problems:

1st -  Too expensive.
2nd - The name. Avante is a sacred name, you can't use it for anything you want.
3th - The shape, it's ugly, let's admit it, more than ever if compared with the real Avante, whose it shares the name (added with "Super" moreover).
4th - Too complicated. We call it "Ministry for complication of simple affairs" also known as Ockham's razor. Why, when you have an easy solution, searching for a complicated one?

My 2 cents.

Max

200% agree with this.
As a 5th, i would add that the time gap when T announced the 2WD version was waaay to short ! They should have waited for at least half a year before they released the TD2. Like this it only killed sales and interest in the new TD4. 

[Saito2 6686]

I'm sure the price hike (here in the States at least) will certainly help boost sales too.