FORD F-350 HIGH-LIFT is coming!

[DJTheo]

Agree Jim, hope now that Tamiya will have designed the chassis they will have time to design more body versions, also the 2nd servo room gives them endless possibilities, I am positive that more great stuff will come, since they once again prooved that they are listening what Tamiya fans want, as they did also with the re-releases! [H]

Cheers

[akemag]

I agree with Shodog. When i came back into the hobby, i first wanted to get a nice scale looking truck. I knew they made the CRV and Wrangler  before, and thought they might be in production or maybee some similar model. Was very surprised to see that there wasnt any such car in production. Only monster trucks. So the HiLift with its nice scale body is just what´s needed. The monster trucks are great in what they do, but as for realism, they leave a lot to ask for.

[Mad Ax]

Following from Shodog's post, I'm actually hoping that this is a return to scale realism across the board - not just in trucks.

The hi-lift I'm sure will be a hit, and it'll be interesting to see if

Tamiya release another shell on a similar chassis in the future - but

what about better scale buggies?

The Vintage forum shows the massive following for SRBs - and the reason

is obvious when you see a tidy Scorcher.  They look fantastic -

full of scale realism - from the body detail right down to the

chassis.  Compare that to a modern buggy that looks like it

dropped from a comic-book - there's no contest, really...

[DJTheo]

I think the market for a scale buggy would be much smaller, as it wouldn't perform so well and a buggy is a speed vehicle, not a rig or tank, also a large truck like F350 appeals to the younger generation, same as to tank and rig fans, while a Baja buggy is something pretty unknown to the younger generations, as the 1:1 era had its peak in 70s and early 80s. People tend to identify more easily with vehicles they have seen on the street and pickups are much more common the buggies.

Still it would be nice if it would happen and we are allowed to dream, aren't we? []

Cheers

[Mad Ax]

People tend to identify more easily with vehicles

they have seen on the street and pickups are much more common the

buggies.

Still it would be nice if it would happen and we are allowed to dream, aren't we? []

Cheers

I suppose this is true of the truck genre in particular, but doesn't

explain why there hasn't been a good scale truck on the market for some

time - Tamiya make very good big rigs, but like all the other mfrs the

only trucks they make are monsters and stadium trucks.

In the racing buggy world, you can't buy a buggy that looks anything

like what you'd find in a real baja race these days (with the possible

exception of the Baja Champ-type shells).  Things like the Dark

Impact, Gravel Hound, Top Force etc are supposedly 1:10 - but compared

to a touring car, they're huge.  In this respect, a Sand Scorcher

re-re or redisigned Baja bug would be significantly smaller than a

racing buggy in order to remain in scale, and therefore wouldn't be

competitive.  But I think there would still be a market for those

after scale realism rather than outright racing ability.

I guess you have a point that off-road beetles are no longer relevant

in todays world.  If you see something with off-road ability,

chances are it's a truck.  I just think it's a shame that if you

want to buy a buggy, you're restricted to something that looks like it

fell out of a sci-fi movie!

[Acto-Tuned]

Does anybody here think that the Hi-Lift will be profitable for eBay sellers that split the kits and sell parts?

There are some nice things on this kit: The body, 3-speed gearbox with 4WD output, axles that look a bit more scale then the TLT-1 axles, nice looking wheels and tires that are not available from any other kit (and since they’re 1.9†they might be something to put on an XC/CC).

Anything else in this kit you think would sell?

And what spares do you think will be available from Tamiya? Body, tires…?

BTW I’m not an eBay seller and I’m not planning to ever split a Hi-Lift kit for profit. But I wouldn’t mind having an extra set of those parts I mentioned.

Ole

[MikeT]

That's a good point Ole!

Because over at Scale 4x4 RC a lot of people use the 3-Speed trannys, with a Pede gearbox setup as a transfer box! This would eliminate the need for the x-fer box!

The body is stunning, enough said really!

If the tyres prove well, i'm sure they'll find themselves onto a range of XC's

Mike

[DJTheo]

@ Madax: Agree, also I think a problem is that 1:1 Baja racing isn't as popular as it was (like since late 80s touring car racing is popular which didn't exist before) and if Tamiya would make baja racers they would replicate current vehicles (like they chose the F350 and not the 80's Hilux) which imho don't look so cool as the old buggies and would appeal to a very limited audience.

@ Acto tuned: Interesting question, I guess most of current NIB Tamiya kits bring more money if splitted into parts, as spares sepearately are always more expensive, but you must also consider the work and more laborious and expensive selling of each part, manageable maybe for small sellers but not for big shops. I think any part of it will be available as spare, the most common and wearing ones like bodies or tires as normal 51xxx and the lower volume selling ones as 9 digit, like for every non-limited Tamiya RC kit.

Cheers

[Old Busted Hotness]

Tamiya has the whole parts list up on tamiyausa.com. Everything from the chassis rails to the screw bags will be available. I think they'll be in such high demand the eBayers will make more selling complete kits. Many people don't have an LHS and even buy new (commonly available) plastic models on eBay.

I don't think this will have any appeal to the younger generation. It costs more than a T-Maxx and isn't RTR, and doesn't go 40 mph and isn't nitro. Thank God.

The notion of a "kit" is lost on people in the USA, except for hard-core racers. Most think "kit" means all-inclusive, with battery,charger, fuel and nanny to read the manual to you and hold your hand when you can't get it started. Not to steer the topic, but the hobby is being dumbed down to bring in more newbies and everyone is worse off for it, including the newbies.

Maybe the F-350 will change that a little bit. We can hope.

[Mad Ax]

Maybe the F-350 will change that a little bit. We can hope.

I can just hope it will keep more of us pipe-and-slippers [] scale

modellers interested in the hobby without having the expense and time

of scratch-building or part-cobbling good scale RCs like over at

scale4x4rc.

I think there will definately be a market for wheels, tyres and

transmission components from the kit as people scratch-build their own

4x4 models choosing the most scale-looking parts.  However I doubt

it will be immediately profitable for ebay sellers to do this, at least

not until box prices have dropped and there's a solid steady supply to

keep up demand.

Those that break up boxes to sell of trannies and axles to modders will

have an abundance of shells and cosmetic parts for Hi-Lift owners to

repair their crash damage.

OTOH, I do expect sales to drop once the initial rush is over - as has

been said before, the market is for nitro stadium trucks, not scale

models - at that point, the box-breakers will become those keeping up

the demand at keeping it in production, not the kit buyers

themselves...

[jocktheglide]

that truck aint no racer thats for sure LOL...

[jocktheglide]

Tamiya has the whole parts list up on tamiyausa.com. Everything from the chassis rails to the screw bags will be available. I think they'll be in such high demand the eBayers will make more selling complete kits. Many people don't have an LHS and even buy new (commonly available) plastic models on eBay.

I don't think this will have any appeal to the younger generation. It costs more than a T-Maxx and isn't RTR, and doesn't go 40 mph and isn't nitro. Thank God.

The notion of a "kit" is lost on people in the USA, except for hard-core racers. Most think "kit" means all-inclusive, with battery,charger, fuel and nanny to read the manual to you and hold your hand when you can't get it started. Not to steer the topic, but the hobby is being dumbed down to bring in more newbies and everyone is worse off for it, including the newbies.

Maybe the F-350 will change that a little bit. We can hope.

good points dude...I agree man....probably older crowd who as a teenager has 400 bucks plus lying around to get this going in general I know as a kid I didnt have that money lying around and if I did I would not buy RC I do other things with 400 bucks...like buy food.

[barney buggy collector]

i get really annoyed at people who split bruisers etc up for parts for some reason.

as for kits, i really prefer kits because if i break something, i know how to replace it.i hate rtr cars,it might get newbies in but they they take it back to the hobby shop who in a lot of cases do not do repairs.

id love to see even stadium trucks like the associated T4  with a scaler looking body.even the good old satdium blitzer body is a lot better lookin than whats offered on todays trucks.why not release a buggy like the B4 but put a baja body on it, gotta look better than the gay assed B4 body.i personally run a  bug body on my T2 for racing, looks pretty goos too, and always gets looks. 

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

just thought i'd add my 2 cents worth []

the highlift is a very refreshing product to the r/c market. its bringing back the scale realism to more people, as not everyone wants a tank or 1/14 scale tractor truck.

i dont agree that tamiyas past electric "monster" trucks have lacked realism though! the clod buster has a great looking body, the txt-1's chassis is a very nice replica of the real thing and the juggernaut - well thats what the high lift body has been taken from. [] i think tamiya have done a great job of making r/c monster trucks that look and drive like real 1:1 monster trucks in the past. Nitro trucks on the other hand, have no realism at all - the highlift is in a league of its own right now []

ages ago, when the first rumours came about this new truck (and loads of people said its picture was a photoshop job[]) this truck was known as the new bruiser. in my opinion, thats exactly what this truck is. a scale looking rc pickup truck, with 3 gears [H]

[mobias]

I would be very, very suprised if this truck isn't a massive success for Tamiya, it does look utterly amazing. I'd actually be equally suprised if their next release after the F350 isn't a revamped Sand Scorcher of some description, basically a kit which is to the SS what the F350 is to the Bruiser/other old 3 speeds.

Tamiya know fine well that the next most beloved vehicle after the Bruiser is the SS and there are some truly amazing 'refurbished' SS out there. There is no question it would be another huge hit for them, you're talking massive cross market appeal. The fact that they never did re-re the Monster Beetle also adds weight to something new being in the pipeline if you ask me.

[Solan]

I agree, the Sand Scorcher & co. would be the next big thing (somekind of re-release). I´m a newbie to rc, but what started it for me was the wanting of a scale rc car. The Sand Scorcher that a friend of mine had in the early 80´s was what I was looking for... and guess what? I didn´t find any, until TC... I still

want a new one that I can drive without having 2nd thoughts. Just look at the front suspension on the SS!! I still picture the box of the SS standing i the hobbyshop!! - that`s some years ago!

There is enough ugly sci-fi things with weels out there.

Tamiya! -Are you listening!? (Whispering; "give us a XC/CC01 Land Rover too" - ABS body!!! Don´t even try to do it the Touareg way again.) Even thoug I own one...

I am patiently waiting for the High Lift, in fact two... :-)

Still not owning a Sand Scorcher!

[terry.sc]

I'd actually be equally suprised if their next

release after the F350 isn't a revamped Sand Scorcher of some

description, basically a kit which is to the SS what the F350 is to the

Bruiser/other old 3 speeds.

Tamiya know fine well that the next most beloved vehicle after the

Bruiser is the SS and there are some truly amazing 'refurbished' SS out

there.

Actually the Monster Beetle seems to be the most

requested model by far, based on requests from the general public. The

Scorcher is popular here but we are a very small minority of potential

buyers. I would expect to see a Monster Beetle long before the Scorcher

but I think either is unlikely as Volkswagen would have to allow them

to be made.

I would not be surprised if there isn't any more trucks based on the 3

speed chassis, after all there was only one TXT-1 and only one (apart

from re-engineering out design faults) Juggernaut.

[theshopkeeper]

Are you sure they'd need the license?  The Pumpkin was a Ford originally but the rerun is now a "50's style pick up" and has the ford logos molded out.  Couldn't the Beetle become a "rounded characterful cult vehicle with oversized tyres". Monster Bug maybe?

[mobias]

I'd actually be equally suprised if their next

release after the F350 isn't a revamped Sand Scorcher of some

description, basically a kit which is to the SS what the F350 is to the

Bruiser/other old 3 speeds.

Tamiya know fine well that the next most beloved vehicle after the

Bruiser is the SS and there are some truly amazing 'refurbished' SS out

there.

Actually the Monster Beetle seems to be the most

requested model by far, based on requests from the general public. The

Scorcher is popular here but we are a very small minority of potential

buyers. I would expect to see a Monster Beetle long before the Scorcher

but I think either is unlikely as Volkswagen would have to allow them

to be made.

I would not be surprised if there isn't any more trucks based on the 3

speed chassis, after all there was only one TXT-1 and only one (apart

from re-engineering out design faults) Juggernaut.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see a TXT-2 or something similar in the not to distant future. I don't understand the argument that Tamiya won't have a TXT type truck and the F350 out at the same time. They have pretty much always had similar vehicles competing with each other since the early days and the TXT and F350 are really pretty different beasts anyway.

I reckon a revamped TXT with a similar system to the F350 for locking out the diffs will come out eventually. Perhaps even a 3 speed TXT, that would be incredible. I bet you that not before long people start modding the F350, putting bigger wheels on it and jacking it up for serious monster rock crwaling action.

I'm sure Tamiya are more than aware that there is a big shift in their market now towards scale(ish) realism for the non nitro/non racers out there. I'm suprised in a way that its taken them so long to release a truck like the F350, I suppose there are a lot of developement ideas that have to implemented.

[terry.sc]

I don't understand the argument that Tamiya won't

have a TXT type truck and the F350 out at the same time. They have

pretty much always had similar vehicles competing with each other since

the early days and the TXT and F350 are really pretty different beasts

anyway.

I agree, they will always have different trucks out at

the same time. My comment was that based on their recent past record

with their high end trucks they have brought out the different chassis

with only one shell, unlike their touring cars (how many TT-01 based

cars can they possibly make!) and their cheaper basher trucks.

Again if they brought out a TXT-2 it would be an updated chassis with

its unique shell, rather than just a TXT-1 chassis with a different

body.

[MikeT]

Are you sure they'd need the license?  The Pumpkin was a Ford originally but the rerun is now a "50's style pick up" and has the ford logos molded out.  Couldn't the Beetle become a "rounded characterful cult vehicle with oversized tyres". Monster Bug maybe?

I totally agree, they could humiliate VeeDub with how similar they could make it to the beetle, but as long as it doesn't say VW or Beetle anywhere on it, i don't see the problem, and in the roof , it could say " BAJA BUG ".

Or, instead of  "rounded characterful cult vehicle with oversized tyres", as Mr.Pushrod calls it " Arr... Bum Engined Nazi Staff Car "

 

Mike

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

personally, i dont see why tamiya wouldnt do a re re monster beetle with all the vw logos and beetle name.

they must have some kind of deal with volkswagen still, as they made the VW race tourag thing [] and i think they still do static kits of the VW staff car.

i'm not sure why the chrome pumpkin couldnt carry ford logos, the new hi lift is an official ford badged r/c. maybe its because its a 1953 F-100, and not one of fords current models. i guess ford think they couldnt profit from "advertisment" of thier old trucks?

[terry.sc]

Product licensing is a bit of a minefield. Using Beetles as an example

Tamiya can approach Volkswagen with an idea ( and usually a prototype

mock up) and then Volkswagen decides whether to allow them to market

it. Volkswagen also decides how much money they want and how long the

license is to run. Tamiya would then have to decide whether they could

sell enough kits to make enough profit to pay for the licence fee. They

have to through the same procedure with every different model they do,

just because they can produce one model doesn't mean they can get

permission to produce any other. Why Tamiya can still produce the

Pumpkin shell without logos, the same with the Clodbuster shell without

Chevy logos, will be down to the individual contract with each

manufacturer.

There are ways around licensing issues (for example Parmas Ferrari F360

shell was called a 360 Modena, Protoforms Porsche GT1 shell had the

Porsche name separated into 2 separate stickers, etc.)  but Tamiya

is likely to keep everything within the law.

[kokopelli]

Tamiya would then have to decide whether they could sell enough kits to make enough profit to pay for the licence fee.

I think most of cars manufacturers don't earn anything when tamiya (or other RC company) uses their marks, because for the manufacturer, this is a way of pain (money earned by licensing RC cars is nothing)... by the way, rc cars runing with car manufacturers marks on them is free communication, and this is probably the best thing to happen for a car manufacturer ....

I think that when chevy doesn't want tamiya to use its mark, it is probably simply because at the begining, tamiya doesn't ask anything before using it, then after chevrolet knew that, they react with negativ ....

[terry.sc]

I think most of cars manufacturers don't

earn anything when tamiya (or other RC company) uses their marks,

because for the manufacturer, this is a way of pain (money earned

by licensing RC cars is nothing)... by the way, rc cars runing

with car manufacturers marks on them is free communication, and this is

probably the best thing to happen for a car manufacturer ....

I think that when chevy doesn't want tamiya to use its mark, it

is probably simply because at the begining, tamiya doesn't ask

anything before using it, then after chevrolet knew that, they react

with negativ ....

We seem to have drifted off topic here. Sorry for continuing it...

Every full size car manufacturer will charge model manufacturers a

licence fee. For example the Ferrari F2001 F1 car when first released

had a higher price than the F201 chassis kit, which came with an extra

carbon printed body. The price difference (and the value of the extra

body) was entirely due to the licence fee Ferrari demanded from Tamiya.

A few years ago Mattel negotiated a very expensive exclusive deal with

Ferrari for die cast models, which then meant for example the

Minichamps F1 grid had every car except for the Ferraris as only Mattel

could produce them.

In the 80s having their logos on the models was seen as free

advertising, until they discovered there was big money to be made in

licenses. The re-release buggies no longer have real sponsors decals

because of the extra cost in using the copyrighted logos and having to

negotiate with every individual sponsor.

Producing a model without permission from the 'copyright holder' will

mean that once found out you must stop all sales, destroy the

(expensive) patterns and then have to negotiate compensation with the

car company.