Which kit next recommendation

[JonoC]

Hi All, I am new to Tamiya kits and have made a monster beetle, and just finishing a Super clodbuster.I fancy something a bit different to the two I have got, perhaps a buggy like the  Tamiya Wild One Blockhead Motors Livery TAM58695. What do you recommend please? PS not for serious racing.

[Nicadraus]

The Wild One is a good choice. Fun to drive and is capable for vintage buggy racing to compete against the Frog, Hornet, Grasshopper, Super Champ/Fighting Buggy and the likes.

[BuggyDad]

Welcome! Those models of yours look really nice. 

Well, there is a list of kits as long as your arm. So I'm sorry to respond to your question with more questions but... Are you after easy to build or a bit more in depth? Basic performing or higher performing? Prefer a nostalgic rerelease or not bothered about that? Concerned about robustness or not at all?

Basically there are loads of rereleases that span from more nostalgic older ones to a bit more recent and where generally the more recent will be higher performing and usually but not always more robust. Then there are a handful of new designs too. And across that span there's 2wd and 4wd and in some higher end better specced options vs the opposite. 

So really retro you've got the old Sand Scorcher /Fighting Buggy type stuff. Then kind of mid 80s you've got Wild One, then basic grasshoppers, Hornets, less basic Frog and the iconic period 4wd Hotshot series, then you've got some more recent re releases of relatively high end 4wd Egress, Vanquish, Top Force, then the "current" stuff like cheap DT-03, racy TD2/4, and sort of pseudo retro BBX (which is fun and strong to build and run but pricey). 

But yeah, I too would quite like a Wild One, although I've no personal experience of them. It's one of the coolest looking in my opinion and I've always though it looks like quite an interesting design to get into

[JonoC]

1 hour ago, BuggyDad said:

Welcome! Those models of yours look really nice. 

Well, there is a list of kits as long as your arm. So I'm sorry to respond to your question with more questions but... Are you after easy to build or a bit more in depth? Basic performing or higher performing? Prefer a nostalgic rerelease or not bothered about that? Concerned about robustness or not at all?

Basically there are loads of rereleases that span from more nostalgic older ones to a bit more recent and where generally the more recent will be higher performing and usually but not always more robust. Then there are a handful of new designs too. And across that span there's 2wd and 4wd and in some higher end better specced options vs the opposite. 

So really retro you've got the old Sand Scorcher /Fighting Buggy type stuff. Then kind of mid 80s you've got Wild One, then basic grasshoppers, Hornets, less basic Frog and the iconic period 4wd Hotshot series, then you've got some more recent re releases of relatively high end 4wd Egress, Vanquish, Top Force, then the "current" stuff like cheap DT-03, racy TD2/4, and sort of pseudo retro BBX (which is fun and strong to build and run but pricey). 

But yeah, I too would quite like a Wild One, although I've no personal experience of them. It's one of the coolest looking in my opinion and I've always though it looks like quite an interesting design to get into

Hi, thanks for all the info. So, not too easy to build as I need these kits to slow me down from buying them.A decent performance I suppose after  my beetle and clod, 2wd would be nice to throw the back end around.. and money wise £200 ish rather than £300  +

[Juggular]

1 hour ago, BuggyDad said:

a list of kits as long as your arm

Last time I checked, Tamiya's latest kit number is over 700, so that's a looooooong list for a loooooong arm. 

Jokes aside, the Wild One is a good buggy. (Back in the days, I was hooked to this chassis to collect enough parts to build a couple of FAVs and a Wild One. For now, only 1 FAV is operational, though.)  But it was designed almost 40 years ago.  The performance was awesome then, but one may find it a sliver lacking. (But that's not the point of vintage chassis.)  

If you want something a bit more capable, the all-new BBX is a reincarnation of the Wild One for the 21st century. (It's bigger. The photo below shows without the body panels.)

Either BBX or M-08 was going to be my next, but I just spent money on track sets, so they'll have to wait.  

If you want something vintage, the NovaFox is another option.  

If you want something other than buggies, CC-01 or newer CC-02 can build into a nice trail rig. You can put tracks on if you wanted to.  

If you want a fun thing to bash around, I'm happy to report that Wild Will2 is still available. This one is reminiscent of the vintage Willy's M38.  There are number of Comical series now.  If you want a 4x4 version, there is GF-01 too.  6x6 versions is the G6-01.  

I initially focused on the vintage ones myself, then slowly expanded to other things like on-road M-chassis, Konghead, even a T3 trike (which is unexpectedly fun to drive. somebody did a custom sticker job below).  

If you want to stick with the initial 100, the Hotshot family has things like the Boomerang, etc. 

The choices are daunting, but the good news is that you've got lots of choices! (that sounds daft even if I say so myself).  

 

[BuggyDad]

58 minutes ago, JonoC said:

Hi, thanks for all the info. So, not too easy to build as I need these kits to slow me down from buying them.A decent performance I suppose after  my beetle and clod, 2wd would be nice to throw the back end around.. and money wise £200 ish rather than £300  +

Wild One does sound like a good call then. I hovered over a deal on the Blockhead one recently but didn't go for it. It seems to me that except the oldest models there are more 4wd reres than 2wd.

As well as all the above good options another to consider might be the TD2. It's apparently/possibly being discontinued and discounted, so if you shop around/wait you can probably find it within your price bracket, it doesn't really need much in the way of hop ups (it def needs the diff nut though) and is a good performer. 

It seems not to have sold well worldwide, perhaps because it's a race (ish) buggy with Tamiya quirks, and people who race don't want quirks. But those of us who buy tamiyas tend to like quirks and some of us quite fancy a race buggy, even if we're probably not going to race. So if you're like that, as I am, it's worth a look. I've got one and a TD4 but haven't run either yet, just because they're not quite ready. Mine appear to have quite high ground clearance by the way, so I think they might run nicely on varied terrain. 

[ADRay1000]

my first rere was a MB, and I decided on a Frog when I wanted a buggy, mainly because they share a lot of parts

[wolfdogstinkus]

Some say that the Clodbuster is the biggest Model ever made and that all Tamiya fans should own one, 

Some also say, that everyone should own a lunchbox,

All I know is that I've done all that and I'm not the Stig.

[Kowalski86]

On 4/20/2024 at 12:20 PM, JonoC said:

Hi All, I am new to Tamiya kits and have made a monster beetle, and just finishing a Super clodbuster.I fancy something a bit different to the two I have got, perhaps a buggy like the  Tamiya Wild One Blockhead Motors Livery TAM58695. What do you recommend please? PS not for serious racing.

The Wild One handles better than any of Tamiyas solid axle buggies, or the ORV. But it's still an old design made from cheaper plastics, bushings, and self-tapping screws 

For the price I'd strongly reccomend a BBX, they're much sturdier than the re-releases and you'll have more fun driving it. It's made from nylon plastics and comes with everything that you'd want for a reliable runner.

[JonoC]

2 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

The Wild One handles better than any of Tamiyas solid axle buggies, or the ORV. But it's still an old design made from cheaper plastics, bushings, and self-tapping screws 

For the price I'd strongly reccomend a BBX, they're much sturdier than the re-releases and you'll have more fun driving it. It's made from nylon plastics and comes with everything that you'd want for a reliable runner.

Extra cost of the BBX though? I’ll have a look at it, it has some good feedback on YouTube.Thanks.

 

 

[Kowalski86]

2 hours ago, JonoC said:

Extra cost of the BBX though? I’ll have a look at it, it has some good feedback on YouTube.Thanks.

Anytime, here in the States the cost difference between a Blockhead WO and a BBX is only $9, bearings for the WO alone will add an extra $10 or so.

[BuggyDad]

35 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

Anytime, here in the States the cost difference between a Blockhead WO and a BBX is only $9, 

Wow. You got me checking - here the BBX is +£100 or so, ~50% more. 

I think the pricing surprise there is the US one more than the UK example, although it's not cheap the BBX is another level of kit. 

[Kowalski86]

23 minutes ago, BuggyDad said:

Wow. You got me checking - here the BBX is +£100 or so, ~50% more. 

I think the pricing surprise there is the US one more than the UK example, although it's not cheap the BBX is another level of kit. 

Its a bit ridiculous imo, most reres are more expensive for us in general and we have good ol' MAP pricing to play, with so any discounts or sales end up hidden away.