Whats been your biggest Tamiya RC model let down.

[Blista]

DT03.  After building it I haven't even run it.  Not that I think it's particularly terrible or anything, but once you buy a couple of nicer cars it's hard to go backwards.  Do I really want to spend my free time with a buggy that can't jump, isn't especially fun driving, and will probably snap the chassis if I hit something?

[alvinlwh]

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[Nikko85]

2 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Problem is, if the MF-01X is a real car, it will be subjected to the Lemon Law. One should not be expected pay out of own pocket to replace drive shafts or suspension arms on a brand new real car just to make it work. Just because this is a toy car, Tamiya gets away with it.

Yes, it's one thing to improve it, another to make it work out the box.

However I also love it for the modularity, the options for arms, free gearing choice and it handles quite well. Robust drive train, good turning and it can be lots of things (although technically nothing that well) it makes for a fun simple drive.

[Wooders28]

4 hours ago, moffman said:

oddly the boomerang is in one of my favourite rc buggies

One of mine too, and I don't know why I like it more than the Bigwig, which I considered a let down!?!? 🤷‍♂️ 

Maybe as I didn't set the bar too high for the Boomerang, and I love the quirky front mono shock....

[Wooders28]

5 hours ago, Blista said:

isn't especially fun driving

I find mine a cracking buggy (for the cash)  but needs a decent brushless and at least 3s to make it come alive (you need to drive them though, none of this slam into full throttle, and wonder why it backflips...) 

 

 

[Honza]

It seems that I'm the only one who likes MF-01X - but only because I enjoy fixing things that Tamiya messed up. And there is a lot to fix. 😀

Sad thing about it is, that there is no reason why it wouldn't work from the start. Only if Tamiya designed it as a 4WD mini car from the start instead of trying to make a crawler with 2cm long suspension arms.

[skom25]

I am new in hobby but was very disappointed with TT-02B.

My first model was DT-03 which is quite nice model for price. Needs only few quite cheap Hop Ups to be really nice. 

Then I bought TT-02B which was MUCH more expensive. I thought that it would be jump in quality straight from the box. Well, it was not. Looking at both after some time, I really think DT-03 is much better in terms of quality.

What is wrong with TT-02B? Plastic, plastic and even more cheap plastic. Bad design in few places and awful steering. My plan was to build it almost stock, then I bought few Hop Ups to fix known weak points. Then I decided to add some upgrades and... currently I am somewhere around TT--02BR version and it still feels bit cheap.

[Ray_ve]

DT-03. I bought a used one thinking it would be a nicer 2wd buggy compared to a grasshopper. But after I broke the chassis nose twice, never again. Not a bad car, just not to my taste.

[compass]

The biggest letdown for me was the TT01 and later the TT02. I have had a manta ray, TA02, FF01, FF02, TA03 before 1 bought my first TT01. As others have mentioned, it is al plastic in plastic. I was so disapointed that after the build i put it up for sale . Fortunaly i didn't sell it and started racing is at my local track. and after the TT01 i switched to the TT02. And i am stil racing it. I actualy love the chassis now. Although i wish that a future TT03 would be more like a TA03. A little bit more metal en decent C-hubs.

[Honza]

1 hour ago, skom25 said:

What is wrong with TT-02B? Plastic, plastic and even more cheap plastic

I'd put more emphasis on cheap plastic. The biggest letdown about TT-02 is that it uses ABS all around. Even the fancy reinforced chassis is still ABS. Tamiya can do better than that. I understand that fiber reinforced plastics wear out molds, but even MF-01X has more varied use of plastic and metal parts.

[skom25]

Talking shortly, it is almost like rubber. Machine screws dig into it like in butter. There is also no clear "Stop" point, so it is super easy to strip threads.

Chassis is not bad but arms, diff covers etc in TT-02B are really bad.

[87lc2]

CC01 for me, I hate that thing.  I bought one a couple years back and sold it as soon as it was built, never drove it.  Don't get me wrong, I love my Tamiya "toys" (Grasshopper, Lunchbox, Mad Bull, etc.) but for a trail/crawler type rig the CC01 just doesn't cut it.  Looks like a piece of junk.  Might perform just fine, but I don't even want to look at it. 

[bRIBEGuy]

10 hours ago, Blista said:

DT03.  After building it I haven't even run it.  Not that I think it's particularly terrible or anything, but once you buy a couple of nicer cars it's hard to go backwards.  Do I really want to spend my free time with a buggy that can't jump, isn't especially fun driving, and will probably snap the chassis if I hit something?

Ditto here.  I picked up a Neo Scorcher (thankfully cheap) since I heard what a great kit/runner they were for the price.  Well, I'm glad I had fun turning mine into a "Neo Frog" version of the vintage Frog (another one I dislike...lol) that I restored, since I found the build so boring, and the fit/finish so poor, that I too lost all interest in evening taking the thing out for a spin.  At least it looks nice gathering dust...

[Kowalski86]

2 hours ago, Honza said:

I'd put more emphasis on cheap plastic. The biggest letdown about TT-02 is that it uses ABS all around. 

I don't mind ABS on a cheap kit that I'm going to use as a "toy", but it doesn't inspire me to throw hop ups at it to "fix" it 

[87lc2]

13 minutes ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Ditto here.  I picked up a Neo Scorcher (thankfully cheap) since I heard what a great kit/runner they were for the price.  Well, I'm glad I had fun turning mine into a "Neo Frog" version of the vintage Frog (another one I dislike...lol) that I restored, since I found the build so boring, and the fit/finish so poor, that I too lost all interest in evening taking the thing out for a spin.  At least it looks nice gathering dust...

 

That Neo-Frog looks awesome!  Love it.

[Kowalski86]

11 hours ago, Blista said:

DT03.  After building it I haven't even run it.  Not that I think it's particularly terrible or anything, but once you buy a couple of nicer cars it's hard to go backwards. 

I felt that way about my DT02, it was a decent (if not highly derivative) design, handled fine, but it felt like a step down from other 2wd buggys 

It's probably the best Tamiya kit for newcomers though, specifically the Sand Viper. What other entry level kit comes with bearings and oil filled shocks?

[Nikko85]

11 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Problem is, if the MF-01X is a real car, it will be subjected to the Lemon Law. One should not be expected pay out of own pocket to replace drive shafts or suspension arms on a brand new real car just to make it work. Just because this is a toy car, Tamiya gets away with it.

btw if you are still looking for a solution, I think I may have solved it. Might have made a massive error however, so please do let me know if what I've done is going to set the car on fire or something. Seems too simple to not have been thought of before! 
 

 

[Rb4276]

Right before covid hit I ordered a clodbuster black. Everything from the build to performance was absolute garbage. Probably didn’t help that I had a TXT 2 already. I literally sold it 2 days later. I have to admit I was upset when literally a day or 2 after selling it that jconcepts released the monster truck kit for the clod. I would of definitely kept to convert. 

[Lone-Wolf]

I forgot about the CC-01 i wasted a pile of money building a Landfreeder the steering was awful, so i got the alloy link set and TBH it was no better sold it on