TD4 NO MORE

[Smokescreen38]

Tower/Horizon still have the TD4 in stock with no mention of it being discontinued and no sale price.  The 47481 limited edition version is showing as discontinued though. 

https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/110-super-avante-td4-4x4-buggy-kit/TAM58696.html

Is this unusual though? It seems like Tamiya cycles through models and chassis pretty regularly.  

 

[Twinfan]

I don't think it would show as discontinued if they still have stock available.  Only once it's all gone.....

[Elbowloh]

Glad I bought a TD2 when i did then at a rock bottom price of £145, but then I started second guessing on whether to build it.

I will though, as the building part is the bit i love the most. I don't have any shelf queens, let alone any NIB.

[Smokescreen38]

I’m invested in the TD platforms since I own one of each and I want them to keep making parts but I kinda get it.  

The TD4 wasn’t really a fun build (TD2 was obviously the same minus the 4WD stuff). Usually I have to pry myself away from a satisfying Tamiya build but I found these to be a bit tedious.  Out of the 15 or so builds I’ve done including nearly as many platforms, This is my least favorite Tamiya build to date. 

The TD2 looks amazing IMO but the TD4, not so much.  It’s just not as cool as the box art makes it look.  Also; while I’ve never seen an original Avante in person, I can tell that this one definitely lacks the panache of its namesake. I understand the complaints about the name usage now. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to have both of these models but if they’re going to cut them to make room for new stuff, that’s ok with me.  How about more like the BBX? 

 

[Big Jon]

I really think that the body just killed the car, really ruined its chances. It’s just so ugly, and they never offered an optional one. They’re great runners, and I enjoyed the build quite a bit. I hope that Tamiya has something coming on the platform; I could see it as a modern Hot Shot -type chassis, with body and suspension variants targeted to mid-level hobbyists. They built a lot of flexibility into this one, especially for body mounting. I could even see a cage buggy on the stock chassis.

[Pablo68]

Yeah, bodies that only a mother could love.
The chassis seemed relatively sound though.

[skom25]

17 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

I always felt that the TD (and TC) chassis are not going to do well in the market. 

Probably because of design, which can be understood only by Tamiya engineers.

RC car should be easy to maintain, with easy access to all elements without need to disassembly half of the car. I saw Build Threads, YT Videos and checked Manuals. They are absolutely overengineered. Price is also really high.

It is the same story with XV-01. I believe it was really good selling chassis, only because of unique handling. However, design is absolutely complicated and I do not even want to think, that I will need to do service again.

Hard to understand, what happened to Tamiya. I am not expert, but I can clearly see trend:

• TT-02 is great cheap platform. You can build it almost stock or add a lot of Hop Ups. Choice is yours. I believe TT-01 was similar and I know that there are still places where you can race them.
• DT-02 is great Buggy. Sand Viper even straight from the box is really nice car and needs only few Hop Ups to be even better. Easy to maintain, a lot of place for electronics. DT-03 is good successor. Additionally, there were funny versions like Holiday Buggy, Kumanon but also MS, Truggy etc. A lot of different versions and styles on one chassis.
• DB-01. Really nice Buggy for reasonable money. Once again, except of details, it is really good straight from the box. It shared a lot of parts with 501X, so it was easy to build even higher version.
• I believe FF cars were also quite nice.

What we have now, instead of new versions of cars above?

• TD cars which are awful in each aspect. 
• BT chassis which is like toy. I believe MB is very similar.
• Lot of Re Release kits.
• XV-02 and XM-01 which are nice I believe. What a surprise...

Conclusion:

• It is really sad, that they have not design TT-03, with few improvements over TT-02.
• There are no reasonable new Buggies in offer. DT-04 with improved design of DT-02 would be great.
• Race Buggies for amateurs would be nice. DB-02 was fail, but I believe they have possibility to design DB-03 and use materials as in TD series, with simple design as in DT/DB.

In my opinion, Tamiya started to do weird things around 10 years ago and it seems that it will not change. Let's wait 10 years more, maybe they will Re Release TT-01 and DT-02, so people will be happy that they can put outdated cars on shelf. It sounds like best business practice...

 

[Morinstal]

Well, considering its price, ugly body, and borrowing a established name for that, im glad it discontinued.

You can buy 2 tt-02(/b) with that price. And buggys not really famous here. Its all about 1/10 rally and adventure. Thats why we see alot of more xv-01 in rally race or tt-02 for cheaper alternative.

Heck, even if someone want a buggy, theyre going to buy rere stuffs with alot cheaper price and more nostalgia related, or add some money and buy real race worthy buggy like losi or team ae.

[toyolien]

Just watched the Blockhead Motors Outdoor Festival video and spotted Satoshi Maezumi's TD4. Is this a test for a TD4 monster truck, OR just a bit of fun?

 

[Saito2]

1 hour ago, toyolien said:

Is this a test for a TD4 monster truck, OR just a bit of fun?

It would make more sense than the Vajra did but then again, that's a low bar...

Off topic, I was born in the wrong country. Seeing all those people happily enjoying Tamiya vehicles in a variety of fun ways nearly brought a tear to my eye. It was like a small slice of heaven on earth. And children! Did you see? Actually children outside and playing with RC! Amazing!

[Howards]

The parts trees have body mounting posts intended for racing trucks, presumably.

[TurnipJF]

I would be very surprised if we don't see these chassis again, with different bodies. Even the TC-01 eventually made it back onto the shelves with a different (and to my eye far nicer) bodyshell. I fully expect these to do the same. 

[Howards]

20 hours ago, Saito2 said:

It was like a small slice of heaven on earth. And children! Did you see? Actually children outside and playing with RC! Amazing!

The 2024 popalong RC was a bit like this....what a day out that was.

[Wooders28]

On 1/15/2025 at 5:35 PM, skom25 said:

Kits were also rather expensive, so at the end, who was the target for Tamiya? Racers: no, because of design. Bashers? Too expensive and complicated. Tamiya fanboys?

If it was quick and good value, Racers would run them, but when you have to spend another pocket of cash to get them race ready, it puts them up at a tried and tested race car!! 🤷‍♂️

Putting the TD4 was up against Kyosho's Optima Mid price wise 🤦‍♂️ there's only one winner there imo...

 

 

[GTodd]

As much as I hate cab forward generic bodies I still think they are better looking then the TDs.  THe Tds were blobs and Tamiya was lazy in sing two iconic names with none in relation to the originals to try and sell it.  Upright shock towers, modernish bodies, and original names wouldve saved the line. 

[No Slack]

I always wondered if the TD4 and TD2 accept the standard NiMH racing packs? And is the TD2 better or worse compared to the DN02 Zahhak?

[Twinfan]

8 minutes ago, No Slack said:

I always wondered if the TD4 and TD2 accept the standard NiMH racing packs?

Yes they do, that's what they were designed for along with identically dimensioned LiFe packs.

[No Slack]

Thanks. I know my LMS has several kits of the TD series on the shelf. Maybe I can make deal and use my racing packs.

[Smokescreen38]

I’m still working on mine. I hope it has a long life in my fleet.  
 

The blue is too blue for my taste but I have two more bodies to experiment with.