Help On Sourcing My First Vintage Kit.

[ne0star]

Hello everyone,

Managed to stumble across this site and forum while researching my first step into the world of Tamiya RC so Im hoping I can get a small amount of help.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to own a Tamiya RC kit. Unfortunately I never got the opportunity due to age/expense. I finally decided that now while I have the time and resource I would try and at least have a bash before its too late (I have been married just under a year so you can imagine what comes next).

Now the model Im looking for will sound as an unusual choice, especially after doing some research it turns out it was far from popular!

Its the original 'Thunder Dragon 1/10 kit' 58073

I know people tend to put this kit down as a failed attempt to cache in on the 80's, but I was only 10 when it was released, and I was very much a star wars / Transformers era individual. This is the kit that I would sit with my face pressed up against Beatties window looking at, but all I managed to get was the little mini clip together version (which I still have).

I suppose its a good thing that its not really popular with collectors, but since it wasn't popular when new it doesn't seem to make it any easier to get hold of.

Does anyone have any tips on sourcing such an old kit? I'm willing to pay good money for one. I have monitored eBay for a bit, and the original un-built kits do pop up from time to time, but they tend to be based in Japan and are quite expensive which I wouldn't mind too much, but they charge you 30 quid for postage on top, and there is the risk of import tax. How much should I be looking to pay for such a kit? I want one, but at the same time I don't want to be totally ripped off!

I need to stress that its the original un-built kit that Im after. I know it would probably be cheaper and easier to source one of the re-releases and buy the shell, but its the nostalgia of owing the 80's original thats driving me.

Also am I likely to face any issues with (hopefully) owning such and old kit? Parts seem fairly plentiful on eBay, and other than very light use it will be more of a collectors item for me.

Whats the crack with batteries on these older kits?

Any help / tips would be appreciated even if its to shoot it all down

Cheers

Dan

[ryanbored]

Firstly-welcome! The research you've done so far is great, and you're def on the right lines. I would search the Showrooms of people in your country and perhaps make them sensible offers on their cars? Failing that keeping an eye on ebay is the way forward. Either that or bite the bullet and order from HK/ Asia

Good luck

Ryan

[Mad Ax]

I find Hong Kong to be one of the best resources for unbuilt kits. Many of the HK Ebay sellers have a good repuration and will do their best to make sure you get a hassle-free deal. Import duty is always a risk but people are usually lucky - particularly if you don't have a history of high-volume imports. The more you order, the more often your address gets checked - in my experience. Also goods from the US seem to get checked more often than goods from Hong Kong, again in my experience. If asked, some Hong Kong sellers will deliberately mark down the sale price of the shipped item so that you may avoid import duty. I don't know the legal implications of this but as a buyer, I don't think you're at risk of anything more than the customs charge (I've certainly never had any problems )

That said, if a sale does go wrong, it's harder to put right. If a seller mistakenly sends the wrong item or a part is missing / broken, it's harder to put right - it's not like buying from a local shop where you can just take it back. But if you're buying vintage, you won't get one from a local shop - only a local private collector, if you're lucky enough to find one - and then you generally have no recompense at all if things go wrong. Generally I find the reduced price of buying from HK outweighs the risks involved. I've also found that on many modern kits, the HK price plus postage is still cheaper than the local shop price for the same kit. With vintage kits you always pay a premium - to get a good deal you have to be very vigilant, check Tamiyaclub's trades regularly, check Ebay regularly, and see what you can find. Chances are if you do find an NIB Thunder Dragon, then it will be owned by a collector who is aware of its value.

Regards running a vintage kit - I never owned that particular model and am not familiar with it, but generally speaking, if you're going to build it and put it on your shelf then you should have no problems at all. If the box has been properly stored then the plastics, shell and tyres should still be in good condition and will last a lifetime on the shelf if you keep them out of sunlight (which can bleach plastic and make rubber perish).

For running, if you take it steady and treat it with respect then things should not break too often. Tyres will obviously wear, the chassis will get scuffed, and the shell may get scratches or dents if you roll it over. The Thunder Dragon took regular stick battery packs which are still common today, so you will have no problem with modern batteries. If you want to stay vintage then the mechanical speed controller will be OK, but ESCs are more reliable - this is down to personal choice. Personally I'd rather all my runners have ESCs, since I've had too many MSCs jam open and send my favourite truck into a wall at full throttle

Above all good luck, hope you track down what you're after. If you want to complete the "Dragon" series then the Fire Dragon is being re-released this year. Don't overlook the re-releases - they're a simple and economical way of reliving the vintage building experience without opening up an old-school box

[Backlash]

I would search the Showrooms of people in your country and perhaps make them sensible offers on their cars?

Dan, Instead of searching through peoples "Showrooms", may I suggest that you search through peoples "Trades" section instead.

The trades area is where members post things that they have "FOR SALE" or for trade...

The Showrooms are for members to "show off" their collection, generally being the cars they want to keep..

Cheers

[ne0star]

Excellent, thanks for the positive feedback and help, its good to know i'm at least on the right track.

I have familiraised myself with the trade section so i will keep a close eye in there.

Does anyone have any particular Ebay UserID's worth keeping an eye out for with regards to stuff? I'm certainly not against going the overseas route I have done that in the past for stuff I have really wanted. a seller called 'tamiya-rc' currently has one listed which will be around 200 including shipping. Anyone any dealings with that person, and is that a reasonable price to expect to pay?

It will probably spend most of its life on a shelf which is why I am particularly interested in that specific model, and i'm willing to pay the premium it will probably cost. I will also probably buy some key spare parts while they are still available just in case something does get damaged.

cheers

Dan

[terry.sc]

It does depend if you really insist on having an original, especially as if you are going to build it. Once it is out of the box it is no different to a Thundershot rerelease and a Thunder Dragon body kit, which is quite a bit cheaper and more readily available. The Thundershot range was a good enough chassis that Tamiya didn't make any changes when they remade it, unlike a lot of the re-releases which have been updated.

[ne0star]

It does depend if you really insist on having an original, especially as if you are going to build it. Once it is out of the box it is no different to a Thundershot rerelease and a Thunder Dragon body kit, which is quite a bit cheaper and more readily available. The Thundershot range was a good enough chassis that Tamiya didn't make any changes when they remade it, unlike a lot of the re-releases which have been updated.

Its a fair point and something I will definitley consider if I can't get what i'm looking for. There is just something about owning the proper original kit, but at the same I don't want to break the bank.

Will keep you updated on how I get one

cheers

Dan

[lentner3]

i might be wrong but i'm sure i read somwhere that tamiya were going to do a re-release of the thunder dragon in the near future.

[lentner3]

my mistake i think i was thinking of the fire dragon

[ne0star]

my mistake i think i was thinking of the fire dragon

I would be nice if they did and I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a hardship as terry.sc pointed it its essentially the same car as a thunder shot. The problem is it wasn't exactly a popular model for them.

[ne0star]

Just to update I decided to go with the 'new in box' set that was currently on ebay. It was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, but this kind of stuff is getting more and more rare and I don't want to miss out.

I did look at buying a thundershot, and a thunder dragon shell, but after pricing it up it didn't work out that much cheaper.

Its coming via EMS from Japan so provinding the seller gets his finger out I should have it end of next week if i'm lucky.

Fingers crossed it arrives in one piece

When I do get it I will sign up for a full membership on here and get a showroom up and running detailing my progress.

Thanks for all the advice.

Dan

[markbt73]

Just to update I decided to go with the 'new in box' set that was currently on ebay.

...

Fingers crossed it arrives in one piece

If it's NIB, it's not supposed to be in one piece yet.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[ne0star]

If it's NIB, it's not supposed to be in one piece yet.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

LOL nice one, fingers crossed it arrives in pieces then, but without any missing.