Best “low risk- high reward “ classic Tamiya ?

[Dakratfink 1026]

Your answer and mileage may vary depending on what you are seeking ( rare historic model, reclaiming your favorite childhood car, obtaining your unicorn model etc ) but it would be interesting to hear what other hobbyists find to be a “safe bet” when buying a model on flea bay or a local marketplace ad.

By “high risk low reward “ I mean I model you feel you can safely buy used and get without too many unpleasant surprises once you take delivery.

To me it seems the CW-01 family are bog simple and plentiful. They are easy to get back on the road as long as you don’t mind having a few reissue parts on them.  They are also pretty durable and “fun” to drive if you want a classic that is also driver 
Clods have  also had such a long production run and so much aftermarket support I also feel like one can hardly go wrong buying one ( assuming a clod is your “thing “ of course) 

Any other thoughts ? 

[Frog Jumper 4475]

TT02 or Hornet

[Juggular 5254]

The Frog. 

 

[Twinfan 2468]

Thunder-Fire-Terra-Shot-Dragon-Scorcher  

[Saito2 8484]

Having been stuck with "dry-rooted" Tamiya plastic in older used buggies, I tend to favor ones least affected. The Lunch Box (CW-01) and probably their Hornet/Grasshopper siblings are safer bets. While primarily ABS/PC plastics, their durable nature makes them good choices. Plus, their simplicity means low parts count so even if there are bad parts, there won't be as many. The axle assemblies are known for their toughness and the front arms are flexible (probably a PA type plastic) and less likely to shatter.

The Clod Buster can be a good pick as its devoid of many self tapping screws that often lead to cracks in time. They are abused from time to time and I do see plastic failure in older models, especially in the axle tube and knuckle area. 

ORVs, despite there design issues (gearbox, etc.) are pretty safe. The chassis is pretty tough and there's a nice bit of metal in them that doesn't crumble with age. The few plastic parts that do give out are easily sourced.

The Hotshot family and Fox seem to have plastic failure, particularly in the arms and hubs.

I've seen some pretty bad DF01s, Madcaps and Astutes too.

None of my picks are set in stone because it all depends on how it was stored. A big part is the loss of plasticizers in the non-reinforced ABS and PC plastics Tamiya favors BITD. Stored in sunlight is a killer thanks to UV. You never know for sure. Other problem stems from construction/design like the Hotshot/Fox cars suffering from cracked arms from the screw pins Tamiya used and lack of adequate material at the screw point.  These have just been my findings over the past decades of collecting. I'm sure others may/will have different opinions/experiences. Hopefully my findings do not offend anyone.  

[Willy iine 18843]

For me I would recommend the M03 to anyone that want try m-chassis.    They are simple yet very fast on the track even today given one sets it up properly.  

My favorite is the M38 original Wild Willy, but they are expensive to restore, plastic can be pretty brittle depending on how it was stored, parts are hard to find or expensive so would not recommend it unless one truely wants to try one.  

[lsear2905 1279]

I would agree with the CW-01 - but one thing I always do when buying used is look at what power system is in it. Stock, lower power, electrics are a sign that the car's internals haven't had a hard life, but a lack of any modifications/hop-ups indicate that the owner lost interest, and the vehicle is unlikely to have been serviced, or even maintained... That said, when buying anything second hand I just assume I'll need to spend another 30-50% to get it right, which is why lately I've been tending to buy new more often than not.

[Kowalski86 5012]

One big factor in "risk/reward" for me is how easy/hard a model is to reassemble. You will very likely be replacing old dirty bushings, I've had to do this in all of my vintage models. Most ORVs have the benefit of having bearings in the transmission from the getgo, so you just need to throw them into the wheel hubs.

On the other hand...something like the TL-01 can be an unwelcome surprise, thats...20 something bushings? And you'll need to re-build the whole thing. Any of the 4WD models are high risk for similar reasons.

2 hours ago, lsear2905 said:

That said, when buying anything second hand I just assume I'll need to spend another 30-50% to get it right, which is why lately I've been tending to buy new more often than not.

That's a good call, plus you'll be able to build it correctly from the start rather than tearing a model down to replace every bushing.

[markbt73 6271]

I would think the safest bets would be the most desirable classics. Especially ones that are largely metal, to avoid problems with plastics aging. SRBs come to mind immediately. Plentiful, but valuable, so restoring one shouldn't be an exercise in frustration, and if you decide you don't like it when it's done, you're more likely to recoup some costs if you sell it.

[MadInventor 3888]

I've had 2 bargain Clod buster purchases, and 3 TXT-1s, but this was quite a number of years ago now and I paid 'market' rate for the TXT-1's. If I was looking to buy something to restore now it would probably be a Hotshot II with a tidy bodyshell, as the mechanics can mostly be covered with re-re parts from re-re Hotshot.

[Busdriver 6675]

A Blitzer. Always good value and fund. Solid gearbox and don’t need to much finesse to run well. Especially good if your near a beach or sand!!

[moffman 6101]

Yeah I’m going with the CWU-01 family and my choice in that is the lunchbox replace the week body mounts and you have a brilliant robust total fun rc which if desired you can upgrade it so it goes crazy fast because it has a bulletproof gearbox! And the parts are very well available! I’ve never actually built one also the blitzer pair of buggies I’ve had a few of those over the years and another easily built and fun to run chassis with bulletproof gearbox!

[Kowalski86 5012]

I'll have to agree with others and go with the Lunchbox/Pumpkin, they go on grass easily, the tires hold up, very good battery life. and they'll take whatever motor you throw in them.

I'd even argue that they're a safer pick than some of the more recent kits.

[Frog Jumper 4475]

59 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

I'll have to agree with others and go with the Lunchbox/Pumpkin, they go on grass easily, the tires hold up, very good battery life. and they'll take whatever motor you throw in them.

I'd even argue that they're a safer pick than some of the more recent kits.

One of the tracks near me does an unmodified Lunchbox race.  The videos are hilarious to watch…

[c64orinoco 670]

Hornet / Grasshopper, with their cousin the Lunchbox. The Hornet / Grasshopper are pretty much indestructible, and the Lunchbox is just pure fun on four wheels. Driving the Lunchbox always brings a smile to my face.

[Exit13 780]

Grasshopper and Lunch box tied for first. Thundershot takes second 

[Grumpy pants 5568]

I’d be going with a Lunchbox too.

I’m sure there are many other worthy contenders, but the LB has to be one of the toughest and one of cheapest to fix. 

[Pablo68 1255]

Not the Falcon whatever you do. Even if it looks sound after a close inspection. The cracks will start to appear before your eyes.

I'm going to also say the Hornet/Grasshopper. Tough and fun.

[Kowalski86 5012]

9 hours ago, Pablo68 said:

Not the Falcon whatever you do. Even if it looks sound after a close inspection. The cracks will start to appear before your eyes.

I'm going to also say the Hornet/Grasshopper. Tough and fun.

For me it was the dogbone issue that made it annoying.

I'd argue that the Grasshopper is an even safer pick, with a smaller 380 motor you're looking at less wear, and the hard body doubles as structure reinforcement.

The biggest risks are broken chassis and the fact that anything more than a 540 can make a Grasshopper virtually undrivable, lots and lots of rollovers are abound.

The CW-01 may not handle well either, but it's more predictable and much better at off-roading. It actually has some suspension travel and soft tires (that won't loose tread) that help it over bumps.