So..what's the one thing you LOVE most about Tamiya?

[Juhunio 6830]

It struck me that there have been a couple of threads recently discussing what people hate about Tamiya, whether Tamiya Hop Ups are a con, or indeed whether Tamiya kits are a con...

It also struck me that we are all members of a forum called TamiyaClub. Not RadioControlClub. Or RCHotTakesClub. TamiyaClub.

So I thought I would open up an opportunity to discuss..what is the one thing that you love about Tamiya?

It could be absolutely anything connected to the twin-star brand. But it has to be positive, in whatever way

So, to kick us off, at a very broad level...I love the heritage.

I first encountered Tamiya back in 1986 when I was 12 and every lad in my year at school seemed to get a Tamiya for Christmas 1985. The school let us have the gym at lunchtimes for RC racing, which was full of Hotshots and Boomerangs, and one flash kid with a Bigwig. Saturday shopping trips to Gloucester or Bristol saw me breaking away from the family to browse record stores or visit model shops, nose and hands pressed against the windows staring longingly at the latest Tamiya kits. Oooof, would you just look at that Porsche 959....

But I could never afford one myself, making do with the Nikko Black Fox that my mum got for me on the never-never from the Kays catalogue. By the summer of 1987 I had lost interest, music had taken over; George Best, License to Ill, Music for the Masses and Substance 1987 came out and that was me for the next 30-odd years.

Fast forward to 2019 and a friend bought him and his son a pair of Racing Fighters for Christmas and brought them along on a long weekend in Devon, where us bigger boys spent all weekend playing with the cars and the kid didn't get a look in. I was back in!

I didn't want an RC car. I wanted a Tamiya RC car. And my choice of re-entry point? The re:re Bigwig. It took me right back to what I wasn't able to have in 1986, and had all the same 'feels' that Tamiya kits had held back in the day...the box art, the instructions, the build quality, the size, and the blast of driving it!

I started to dig around and couldn't believe how broad the range was, and that was before I went on a voyage of discovery looking at everything that Tamiya had released in the 30 years since I last cared. 

Three years later, and I love the fact that I can buy an absolutely brand new kit (eg XV-02), a re:re'd TA03 or search high and low for a specific TA04 variant or Hop Up. I love the now, but I love how it is built on heritage. I love the depth and breadth of what sits behind those Twin Stars, and that everything new is a continuation on that 40-odd year journey. 

So...what's the one thing you love most about Tamiya?

[Juhunio 6830]

TL:DR? 

At a more rational level, I love the quality of the body sets. Night and day compared to those I have tried from the likes of HPI, L&L Models or other eBay sellers

The detail of the moulding, the clear cut lines, the thickness of the lexan, the quality of the masking and body stickers...superb

[Willy iine 18804]

I love Willy and Billy and the detailed hard shell cars I made for them thanks to Tamiya.     

My RC revolves around Tamiya.  

[Nikko85 3439]

Great thread

I love the design of the cars, the fact they are quite cheap (some of them) and the general design philosophy. It's a great antidote to a world of bigger, faster, newer.

The designs are fantastic, and there is real variety. Looking at many other makers often the chassis look very similar, but I love how Tamiya try new things and offer such a mix.  In terms of bodies The Clod, Pumpkin, Grasshopper, Blitzer, Blackfoot etc. are all marvels of design to my eyes. 

They are much cheaper than many other makers, even if you add a price of bearings + pinion.

For me an RC car is a toy car - and it's about fun. Nothing says fun like a Heavy Dump, modified MF01x or Pumpkin etc. Sure I could go faster, harder, jump over a house or race a horse, but I don't want a toy car to do that. 

 

[OoALEJOoO 3127]

I also really love the body quality. Once you put enough effort and time on a lexan body, the realism is fairly close to their 1/24 counterparts, especially when looked at racing distance. Case in point:

Tamiya 1/24

Tamiya 1/10

Tamiya's performance is plenty for a basher like myself. I've never felt that I need more speed, precision, stability and even general reliability. This includes touring cars, buggies, comical buggies, monster trucks, trail cars, you name it. I'm starting to think my recent TT-02R build is overkill!

[Busdriver 6209]

I have to say I have much the same feelings as above. My first RC car was a Sand Scorcher from Beatties in Bristol. I was 21 and had a good job so this was a treat for me. In those days you had to get a license to use rc stuff. I dabbled with rc off and on doing planes( crashed a lot) boats ( still got them) and back to cars in 2018.but static modelling was my main interest during that time and that is probably the biggest reason I love Tamiya and that’s the scale(ish) quality of their bodies, both hard and PC. Take a look at the Renault Alpine or the humble beetle, they are really good models. Or if hard bodies are your thing then the 037 Lancia is hard to beat. But I can only give the 9/10 as they seldom seem to mould the right wheels. More a case of make do with what they’ve got☹️

[Busdriver 6209]

Meant to say great positive 🧵 

[alvinlwh 5888]

Since I was the one that started the con thread, I guess the opening was directed towards me. Well, what I like about Tamiya kits are its looks. I never was one for buggies but Tamiya do make buggies that I like the look of. I guess that is because, being Asian, their designs are more to my taste. I mean, I even find the Super/Storm Dragon good looking, a design that was often panned. I guess that is because I grew up on a diet of Dragon Ball and Mini4WD. Which is why, con or not, I still keep buying Tamiya.

[Juhunio 6830]

8 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Since I was the one that started the con thread, I guess the opening was directed towards me. Well, what I like about Tamiya kits are its looks. I never was one for buggies but Tamiya do make buggies that I like the look of. I guess that is because, being Asian, their designs are more to my taste. I mean, I even find the Super/Storm Dragon good looking, a design that was often panned. I guess that is because I grew up on a diet of Dragon Ball and Mini4WD. Which is why, con or not, I still keep buying Tamiya.

Nothing was directed at anyone at all, I was just reflecting on the nature of some recent threads. I've also got no idea who started the 'What do you hate' thread, but I wasn't throwing shade on them either

[Juhunio 6830]

Keeping things upbeat and positive....

I also love the flexibility, particularly in the case of touring cars. With a few notable exceptions (I'm looking at you, 306 Maxi) pretty much any 257mm body will fit on any 257mm chassis, and with such a wide range of chassis-only kits available this really bumps the opportunities to create something personal. Something you can call "mine" 🙂

This is supposed to be "the one thing you love" thread, and I've had three things now...this is turning into "what have the Romans ever done for us" 😂

[TurnipJF 9180]

For me, it is parts interchangeability. There is enough commonality in terms of suspension mounting systems, straying components, drivetrain parts, etc to be able to come up with any number of models that Tamiya themselves have not released, but can still be built out of stock parts.

Even if you lack the tools, skills and space to custom-make your own parts, you can still create a custom vehicle unlike anything anybody else has built, and if they like it, they can build one too!

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

For me, when I think of Tamiya, or I think about why I love Tamiya, the one word that always pops into my head is "FUN".  Whether it's the over engineered complexities, the goofy buggy body shells, or the laughable wing decals, the Tamiya lineup just makes you smile.  Who else would create model-quality on-road and rally shells AND commit themselves to a goofball driver like Willy?  Who else would make a tractor being driven by a bear?  There are a lot of strong points for the brand, and certainly a lot of history... but there is also a lot of FUN.  And fun makes me smile.

[Re-Bugged 10099]

The thing I love most is there is something for everybody what ever their budget or skill level and the endless possibilities that can follow.

 

[Nicadraus 6194]

I love the history, legacy and a lot of their cars from the 80s to the present. I love the Wild One, Astute/Super Astute, FF series especially the 01 & 03, I love many of their buggies (too many to mention) and I love the box arts. Definitely the best RC boxes and instructional manuals. Considering that many of them were hand drawn and painted in the 80s & 90s.

As much as I hate a lot of things about Tamiya, the love still weighs more than the hate. Haha! 

[Busdriver 6209]

Apart from the above!!!! Well variety maybe. All these are M chassis!!!

Sorry about photo but there’s so many I struggled to get them in🤪 And there’s another not a million miles away 🥰

[mastino 1084]

I love the Tamiya T wrench

[Frog Jumper 3656]

Its a pile of pieces in the beginning and a cool RC at the end...

[svenb 3759]

Nostalgia and titanium screw's 😉

[BuggyGuy 1105]

I like the quality of the manuals, body shells and the non-entry level kits.

I like breadth of the range of kits available as well.

Love the hop-ups, and the fact that many parts are interchangeable between kits, love the brand as well, especially the TRF stuff

I really love talking to people about Tamiya, and surprising people with the performance on track, my TA05 is still an awesome piece of kit, and has shown up many newer full carbon monstrosities from brands with no soul.

Oh and how could I forget the box art!

 

Tamiya forever 

[Big Jon 684]

What I love most? The FUN. Tamiya has never forgotten that this is supposed to be fun, and their product line reflects that. I can’t think of anything I’ve ever bought from them that didn’t seem like someone cared. From Mini4WD to TRF, from paints to 1/32 plastic airplanes, everything just works right and is pleasurable.

I dig the quirks in the RC lineup, even when they don’t quite perform like more conventional solutions. It makes them more fun to build, and nicer on the shelf.

The scale body sets are fantastic, with superb quality (never had a bad pull), and complete and complex sticker sets.

It’s cool that they started every major segment of our hobby except short course. Off-road buggies, monster trucks, scale trucks, crawlers, touring cars, stadium trucks…

I even love the “shortcomings “, really. I get an opportunity to improve, hop up, modify and tune to make something special to me, something that suits me and my idea of perfection.

Man, I can even appreciate the cross-head screws in entry level kits. Anything to lower the “kit barrier” and make kit building more accessible to rookies is good in my book.

Of course, there are a few things I’d change, but Tamiya has kept me (mostly) satisfied for a very long time, and I can’t think of any other company that’s come close. They’re not a racing company, and have never truly tried to be, and that’s what has kept them what they are. They’ve got something for every skill level, budget, and interest level.

[GeeWings 2830]

I love the designs, the little details and the fact that you can customise so that we could all have the same base kit but with totally different look and feel.

I love that you get to build them yourself. And I love that you can drive them, break parts and fix them (sometimes macgyver style).

But mostly the fact that getting a new kit still feels as exciting and cool as it did 30+ years ago. 100% nostalgia hit!

[lsear2905 1279]

One thing? They are the only RC manufacturer making well engineered silliness! GF-01 Dump Truck, G6-01 Konghead, WR-02G Kumamon Tractor, CW-01 Lunchbox (and the SW-01 Mini Lunchbox), T3-01 Dancing Rider. They seem to understand better than any other RC manufacturer that these are toys.

(obviously there's a lot of other reasons, but the post said one thing)

[Killajb 1546]

One think I love most about Tamiya?   Character

 

Here in Japan there is a kind of saying that roughly translates into:  when an item is used more than 1000 times, it develops a kind of personality or character.  

Tamiya just seems to have a special way of bringing that character out right away.  The smell of the tires, the box art and those gorgeous hard plastic bodies.. The way each part goes together during assembly.. How those Super Gripper tires sound when kicking up dirt, or that squeak that those plastic yellow cva's make when you press down on the suspension..  The sound of those course gears combined with the whirrrrrr sound of a Mabuchi at full tilt.  it all adds to the immense character they have.

 

[Silver-Can 402]

19 hours ago, Juhunio said:

...Music for the Masses...

Off topic/ awesome album and 101 also awesome album and video. /off topic.

 

Got a grasshopper for Xmas '85 when 11 and watched/helped my dad build it. Fascinated by the process and the detail (bearing in mind the quality of most kid's toys back then). Went racing following year, then secondary school then girls, music, mates, life then around 2010 was at work wondering what ever happened to tamiya. 5 Google minutes later had ordered a hotshot. I have about 12 models now but don't tend to use them that often - more into rc planes and scratch building models from cardboard these days. Still have all my models with all electrics ready to go. I love T because of the nostalgia of my childhood, simpler, more innocent times. 

[wtcc5 4870]

For me Tamiya is famous for complex designs regarding their chassis. Their design is like there is an internal championship on which engineer comes up with the most complicated-strange-design-tub. And that gives every chassis its uniqueness. And then the basic tub kit is an ugly plastic duckling, but you can grow it with Hop-Ups and it becomes a beautiful harmonic composition of aluminium-carbon-shiny-plastic.