What Obsessive Behaviour Do You Display, In Relation To Tamiya?

[Hibernaculum]

Further to the "ever question your sanity" thread, I thought I'd start this.

Owning lots and lots and lots of cars is one thing that suggests insanity. But even if you only own a few, there are many things you can do that would qualify as insane hobby worship

Put it this way. I grew up in total awe of Tamiya as a brand. Sure, racers will scoff at Tamiya's meagre world championship race results compared to other brands. But their attention as a company was always spread across a range of hobby disciplines besides R/C, and at the heart of everything was their amazing attention to detail and pride. Reading the catalogues over and over (because they were all I had initially), I was fascinated by how thorough they were. From instructions on how to take corners and drive gymkhanas with your R/C car, to a paragraph description for every single model and product, from PLA-Plate, to wooden mosquitos, to paint thinner.

Their pride in their work was only eclipsed by the quality of the products themselves. Whether you bought their biggest, most lavish R/C item. Or their tiniest, most basic educational model. You were in for a treat and a sampling of the best in Japanese manufacturing culture.... AKA, the best in the world. I'm sure they've made some dud products over the years, but I honestly can't say I've had many, if any. They got so much right, that they set a standard for others to follow.

I guess I respected the Tamiya brand before I even owned a single Tamiya item, so when I eventually did get into Tamiya stuff, it was actually a bit like seeing a celebrity in real life for the first time How's that for nuts? Ever since then, I've treated all my Tamiya stuff with an enormous respect. I've also since learned that other brands were just as good in many ways, so I treat my Kyosho, AYK etc stuff the same. But I do think that Tamiya inspired all the other brands, in many ways.

Crazy stuff I do...

- When I open a Tamiya part, I have a habit of keeping the original packet. I usually reattach the tab to the empty plastic bag, with the original staples.

- I accidently dropped a newly finished Super Shot body on it's head the other day, and put a tiny 2mm mark in the rear wing. I was so incensed, I bought a new body set and stickers within a week for US$150, so I will start it all over again. If something isn't as perfect as I can make it with my modest skills, then it doesn't seem to do justice to the product so I'd rather start again.

- I keep all the receipts for Tamiya things I buy - everything from kits to masking tape. I have receipts going back 14 years.

- I keep all the used parts trees, empty boxes, empty damper oil bottles etc.

- I have some notes about the first parts I ever bought and changed on my first Hornet (dates, diary descriptions).

Insane? Oh yeah

These are just things I do though, that I don't really think about. I look at an empty damper oil bottle, and remember a time when I didn't have a single Tamiya toy, and would have wished I had a bottle of damper oil or something because it would have been a sort of 'link' to all the great cars I had been dreaming about.

I don't have to do these things though, it's just part of the fun. I usually feel very patient when I'm working on Tamiyas...almost, serene. Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid Packets are never torn open, but carefully plied open. When you read about the tireless efforts of Shunsaku Tamiya and the struggle he faced in getting the company where it is today, it's just a respect thing.

What obsessive little things do you do? (Don't let me be the only one! )

cheers,

H.

[Butler]

I have a thing about tidy wiring. Must be tidy.

Also I wont run a car unless it's body shell matches the correct drive train of its 1:1 equivalent. IMO 4wd F1 cars are just wrong. lol.

[Victorious Secret]

One phrase...

AIR BUBBLE FREE!

VS

[ryanbored]

I have a thing about tidy wiring. Must be tidy.

I hear ya fella- And often postition electrical components in awkward places, just because it looks 'Neater'

I like Tool boxes (I have 4) with everything in it's place, and go a little bit crazy if I can't find my 'favorite' screwdriver etc.

Buying hop-ups for cars that i don't own is another good one!

Or how about shelf queens in general? All that money tied up in something that (as my other half puts it) "Has no use what so ever bar collect dust"

She has a point...

Or spending all evening seperating out screws/ nuts/ bolts/ bodyclips etc into different sections. Incredible feeling of welbeing when i had finished.

Crazy.

You might wanna have a read of this thread- Some of it is very funny

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...c=38864&hl=

[Victorious Secret]

Buying hop-ups for cars that i don't own is another good one!

LOL good Ryanbored, you crack me up!

VS

[Gruntfuggly]

Not particularly Tamiya, but everywhere I go these days, in my head I assess the ground for suitability for running cars. I haven't even run a car since the summer...

[WillyChang]

What obsessive little things do you do? (Don't let me be the only one! )

umm yea you ARE the only one...

Like, repairing TA05R that ran fullspeed into a board yesterday... found a slight crack in knuckle

so i replaced it with new... if only for reliability & handling as its a stressed precision item.

And i THREW AWAY today's broken knuckle.

I keep some broken bits, some for keepsakes & others may have a 2nd life elsewhere - who knows?

Tag from partsbag usually gets filed in a stack so i can refer to what i need to reorder,

but if there's multiples then the extras get tossed, umm, filed in the universal disposal receptable.

(haven't heard of anyone else restaple the empty bags)

These things are made to be enjoyed not worshipped.

[Singapore_959]

Well I do much the same as Hib. but I also drive, jump, race, splash, muddy the products too! (I am sure Hib does too). He sounds more organised than me tho. And if the bits are greasy, broken they do get binned. I keep the bag labels in the kit boxes, along with tires, esc boxes, the used trees, stickers etc. There is the fantasy (I imagine for Hib too) that this somehow retains/increases the value in the event of a one time (unimaginable) sale...

Its just fun.

Checking terrain and hobby shops, and an eye open for Tamiya logo stickers appearing anywhere out in the real world are also things I do.

[ryanbored]

and an eye open for Tamiya logo stickers appearing anywhere out in the real world are also things I do.

Think we should all make the effort to display a "My other car is a Tamiya" sticker

[secretasianman]

Ok, I don't feel crazy then. I just polish my painted styrene shells with car wax.

oh, and keep wires tidy, ballrace everything, not start a kit until I have all electrics on hand.

[Singapore_959]

Think we should all make the effort to display a "My other car is a Tamiya" sticker

I have already bought a bag load! A Brillian idea. TOP initiative.

[blakeatron]

when building i always dress my screws - make sure they all point up-down exactly, if they aren't i get really mad

[Gruntfuggly]

Think we should all make the effort to display a "My other car is a Tamiya" sticker

Surely it should say, "My other 20 cars are Tamiyas", or even, "My other 20 cars, 40 half disassembled cars, and huge box of spare parts I don't need are Tamiya"...

[ryanbored]

when building i always dress my screws - make sure they all point up-down exactly, if they aren't i get really mad

I thought i was the only one that did that!! But what happens when yhey're too tight/ loose?

What do you do?

I get worried....

[Bin ^jammin^]

This all sounds too familiar, although i don't do the screw alignment thing, but part bags I usually make a very neat slice through the top of the plastic bag under the folded card label, just big enough to get the screws etc out of, i used to take the label off and reattach it with the staples now i don't have to.

When it comes to screws i hate using anything that isn't a perfect fit in the head, and if it's damaged i will replace it.

The brocken parts, pff i've got a lot of those, but i keep them because i also like to modify stuff and you never know what you are going to need in the way of bits.

I wonder if there is a link between OCD and the Tamiya addiction?

[blakeatron]

I thought i was the only one that did that!! But what happens when yhey're too tight/ loose?

What do you do?

I get worried....

i will try backing it out then back in, sometimes leave a little loose with some thread lock or on the rare occasion tighten a little bit more (never strip tho!) I have also been known to try a different screw

Also just thought that i keep baby wipes on my desk to polish off my finger prints / clean up grease etc!

[hairyguy4]

welll...

.I won't drive a car if it isn't bullraced, doesn't have a shell, has better parts coming for it or has a very tiny thing wrong with it such as my xc had a slight gear ticking so i got a new chassis and gears

.If im building a kit i won't build it if it hasn't got electrics to put straight into it

.I am always thinking about buying new cars and what i want may change up to 7 times a day and will always look for something to buy even if i have no money at all

.I feel as if they should teach the difference between hobby grade and toy r/c's at school

and that is all that comes to mind at the moment

[ryanbored]

.I am always thinking about buying new cars and what i want may change up to 7 times a day and will always look for something to buy even if i have no money at all

Only 7? You're fine....

[markbt73]

Wow, I feel (relatively) sane...

My only thing is that the very first thing I do when I open a kit is put the tires on the rims. It's like that's the "official" start of its existence as one of my cars, even if I don't get around to acutally building the car for a while.

I do build kits very slowly. My cars may be lacking in visual appeal, but they are always mechanically as close to perfect as I can get them: no binding or slop anywhere, no bubbles in the shocks, silky-smooth gearboxes. I understand completely about the serenity of workbench time; it's my favorite part of this hobby.

Oh, and I can't walk past a car sitting on a table or shelf without squishing the suspension down. Don't know why.

[hairyguy4]

Only 7? You're fine....

Wow, I feel (relatively) sane...

Oh, and I can't walk past a car sitting on a table or shelf without squishing the suspension down. Don't know why.

, if any of my cars are sitting aound the house and i walkpast them i have to put them in a cool pose like articualting up a cup or what not lol

[ryanbored]

Oh, and I can't walk past a car sitting on a table or shelf without squishing the suspension down. Don't know why.

OH MY GOD... I feel like you're my long lost brother!

It's like when you have a car/buggy/whatever with dececnt suspention travel i feel the need to drop it onto the floor from about a foot up in the air!

[Karmann]

i rip the bags open with my teeth, i then throw the car together as quickly as i can and sit there with it for a bit.

Bodies get painted meticulously (sp).

then i raid another car for some electronics. Raided car gets stuffed in the cupboard in bits.

New car gets driven. If it doesnt break i re charge the batteries and try again.

Still not broke? Build a big ramp.

Repeat till broken.

Stick new car on shelf till new parts arive.

Sooner or later buy a random car i dont really want, take electronics out to rebuild previously raided car.

Stick unwanted car remains in the cupboard in case i can ever use its other parts.

Sorry folks but its all true, no obsesions for me.

Well, apart from my drive it till its broke obsesion.

im currently building a carbon fiber, polished imaculate super scorcher, i expect that will also get driven till its broke despite all the cash/effort.

maybe i'm the one with the strange behaviour and your all far more sensible?

I do however keep all the ripped open bags and empty tree's.

[94eg!]

My obsession only goes as far as keeping all my R/Cs in tip-top condition at all times. If something is messed up with one of the cars, it just sits in the back of my mind and eats away at it until I fix it. Only problem is that once I fix it, I feel a little empty inside. I like having r/c projects that need to be done, and searching for deals on parts.

On the contrary, it no longer seems to work the same way with my 1:1 scale cars. Since getting this heavy into R/C, I'm now dreading doing the 1:1 maintenance that I used to love so much...

[ryanbored]

Repeat till broken.

My favorite quote of the day!!

[Saito]

In my youth I was much like you Hib. I couldn't afford a Tamiya RC to save my life but every little Tamiya purchase was like meeting an idol of sorts. I saved up and got a mini 4wd Monster Beetle Jr. as my first Tamiya product. I was sooo happy with it! I still remember marveling at the small tube labeled "Tamiya Grease" and thinking "Wow, someday I'll get some of this with a real RC Tamiya". Of course I still have that tube along with every empty bag, plastic spur, oil bottle, baggie header etc. I keep everything but the shrink wrap. I remember finding Tamiya paint jars in my grandfather's paint collection for his wooden ship models and being in awe for some reason (little kids are weird after all).

I was totally obsessed with the Wild Willy which was discontinued long before I could afford it. I scanned all my guide books and magazines with a magnifying glass for the tiniest shot of the Jeep in action. I remember buying a 1/35 military Willys MB kit that must have been older. Inside was one of the earlier folded product leaflets and on the front was the Wild Willy. I was quite happy. I bugged my grandfather to drive me to MANY hobby shops in search of the elusive little Jeep but to no avail .

Today I build cars intending to run them and think "darn, this looks too nice to muck up." So on the shelf it goes and I get a used one to actually run with. I've sent kits back because the boxes are creased or bent. Even the ugliest new Tamiya runner I get never sees dirt until I get spare tires, wheels and a extra body so I know one day it will look nice on the shelf (as these items often are the ones to get mucked up). Don't even get me started on decals and proper paint colors! Yes, I'm out of my mind. I even have my collection set up in the house where a falling tree or even an out-of-control driver in a real car couldn't reach them (I've seen two cars plow through houses in my lifetime).