Is Tamiya right for me?

[Nicadraus]

4 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

Tamiya is not the cheapest way in, for the reasons you outlined. And they are neither as high performance as race cars nor as tough as RTR "bashers". But you get a build experience, scale shells etc., they are often more interestingly designed and some say they have more character. Therefore, it depends on what you value. 

I would also suggest that although TT-02 is about the cheapest Tamiya kit, it maybe isn't the best value if you're upgrading it. Other kits have both some of the upgrades already, plus far higher quality, for not that much more money when you cost in the "plus plus plus". 

This is very true.

Also to add, like most people know, Tamiya is a money pit. They will offer many kits in total stock form and come up with very expensive hop-ups. But like fools, many or majority of us still fall into that trap. Why? Because of the build and quality. I know that many kits from Kyosho, AE, Xpress, X-Ray, and a few others offer more when you buy their kits and out of the box, are also equiped with many parts standard that are optional for Tamiya. But once the Tamiya kit has been dressed up, oh man, they look gorgeous. Especially in those anodized "Tamiya" blue color. Plus the precision and performance it adds (well not all). Some Tamiya kits are still flawed even after upgrading them. Like the CC-01's steering. It will never be perfected unless its steering mechanism is redesined and customized totally. The stock design is just so awful.

Going back, as mentioned above, TT-02 and its variants are the entry level of Tamiya. It's probably the top selling kit that brings the money in their RC department. If you're still aiming for Tamiya on your next project in the future, try to get some TA, TB, FF, XV, or TRF kits and you'll be amazed how those cars are way, way above the TT level. The design, adjustability, many options for upgrades, and performance out of the box.

24 minutes ago, toyolien said:

I think some of their "chassis only" cars couldn't be described as working models. All the TRF cars, and chassis like the XV-02, XM-01 and M-07/8 etc are build to race.

Agreed!

[Dakratfink]

8 hours ago, Albert Attaboy said:

For me that is true, that's why I don't own a Tamiya anymore.

I don't own the 3S Typhon but the 3S Senton and that thing is a blast to drive!

I have a brushed 4x4 Mega Senton but I have a line on a cheap 3S set up and I’m looking to upgrade. 
It’s a fun Basher, and I enjoy it for what it is.

I also like my crawlers and Tamiyas all for different reasons. 
Equate it to this:  I enjoy some casual gaming. I love an occasional round of FIFA on my PS4 ( this would be analogous to the ARRMA rtr bashers ) but I also like playing old Gran Turismo 4 and olther retro classics on my ps2 ( Tamiya )  different experiences.

Also, The big modern RTR Basher companies have yet to release a 2WD Tractor with a cartoon bear that pops wheelies. 

[lee82gx2]

I compared an Arrma 3S to a TT02 / DT03 and there is no doubt which one is sturdier. And thus my return to RC world began with Arrma. You get all the slipper clutch / heavy duty plastics / 12.9 steel hexes / large pitch gears in an RTR package. 

But, I yearned for the kit build and I realised that you can only get those from Japanese kits and certain high end racing kits (pointless for a hobbyist like me). Then I realize Tamiya is just a build and appreciate hobby, we are all looking at HW1060 here. Out there nothing short of Castle Mamba or HW Max6 is acceptable.

[markbt73]

11 hours ago, Dakratfink said:

Equate it to this:  I enjoy some casual gaming. I love an occasional round of FIFA on my PS4 ( this would be analogous to the ARRMA rtr bashers ) but I also like playing old Gran Turismo 4 and olther retro classics on my ps2 ( Tamiya )  different experiences.

That's a good analogy. Another is the two cars currently parked in my garage. One is a Chrysler 300 sedan with a 5.7 liter Hemi V8. It has 363 horsepower, and can run a 1/4 mile in 14 seconds with the air conditioning on. It's extremely quick, comfortable, and full of gadgets, half of which I don't even use. And yet, to some, it's considered "slow" and "cheap."

The other is a 1971 MGB GT. It has all of 95 horsepower to its name, and can just about hit 60 MPH by the time I get to the end of a highway on-ramp. It has no power features whatsoever, is incredibly loud and hot inside, and has a tendency to break down at inconvenient times. I've spent massive amounts of time and money just keeping it on the road.

Which one is the "better" car? Depends where I want to go. The MG is terrifying on the highway; it's just so small and tinny that I feel like I'm going to get squashed like a bug at any moment. It can't keep up with the traffic very well, and gets lost among all the big trucks. The Chrysler is built for the highway, has the power to pass almost anything I want to with just a flex of my right calf muscle, and will happliy cruise along at 80 MPH or better for hours on end.

On a two-lane country road, the roles reverse. The Chrysler feels too big, its automatic transmission is always in the wrong gear, and its numb steering and soft suspension make it a chore to go fast around curves. The MG, on the other hand, comes alive on these roads. You can feel every little bump and imperfection of the road, feel the tires squirming on the asphalt when you take a corner fast, and flicking the long gear lever back and forth between second and third gear, while heel-toeing and cranking that big thin-rimed steering wheel around becomes a sort of dance.

Likewise, take a stock Tamiya TT02 out to a big empty parking lot, or take a DT03 to a skate park, and it will get boring very quickly. There's just too much ground to cover for that little 540 motor, so you upgrade the power. And now it's fast, but the handling is still lousy. So you throw more money at it, and it gets better, but now it breaks every time you hit something. You realize you could have bought an RTR model for less than you've spent, gotten better performance, more durability, and enjoyed your parking-lot sessions more.

Does that make the Tamiya models a bad choice for everyone? Not at all, because that RTR is only ever going to be exactly what it was when you cut the zip-ties holding it in the package. There's nothing to improve; all you can really do is replace the body with something different, maybe change the wheels, and then go burn through more battery packs blasting around. Even if you up the power, it does exactly the same thing, only a little faster. For something meant to jump over houses and survive, it's surprisingly one-dimensional.

The trouble with things that only are meant to go fast is, how fast is fast enough? When does simply mashing the throttle reach a point of diminishing returns? If you're drag racing or something, I can see chasing that next tenth of a second, but if you're just messing around, are you really going to notice a meaningful difference between the toy car that does 50 MPH and the toy car that does 60?

But take that same stock Tamiya model, and put it on a small, tight race track, where you can't hit more than 30% throttle. No need to actually go to a track, just set up some markers in that same parking lot. Watch that super-scale-looking body shell zooming around the track, and try very hard not to hit a board and mess it up. Find a line that works, and spend an entire battery pack learning how to put the car within a few millimeters of the same place, lap after lap. Then take it back home, see all the cracks and scuffs on the body, and decide to replace it with a new body, only detail this one even better. Experiment with springs and shocks to see if you can shave a little time off your laps, upgrade the steering to be just a little more precise. Leave the 540 motor alone; it's plenty for this, and battery packs last ages.

I guess the point of all this ramble is that if you only want to see a model car go flying past as fast as possible, then no, a Tamiya model is probably a terrible choice. But if you want to explore the depths of what's possible, if you really want to get into a hobby that can last a good long time, there is no substitute for putting in the work.