Building Buggies From Nip Parts

[rbmjmw]

Hello, I have not seen this topic covered on the forums (if it has I would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction).

I was wondering how many people have built up new Tamiya buggies from spares off ebay and whether it was economically a good thing or just a labour of love?

I built up a Gr.B last year for not to much of outlay around 130. Some parts were NIP, wishbones, shocks, gold motor and wheels were not. There is no body but I have a Kamtec Escort which fits very well. It is built to run and is great fun.

I am now looking for a similar project, but has anyone built up a vintage Tamiya buggy from mainly NIP spares of ebay and done it for less than 100? Basically put something together (that has not been re're'd) from scratch and then put electrics in it?

Rich.

[RichieRich]

I've built an RC10 from NIP parts and it's incredibly expensive...unless, you grab discounted parts or make trades. The only reason I did it was as you said, a labor of love. I have another custom project involving a vintage RC10 and newer RC10B4 parts.

[retroman]

Yeah, my Super Champ. I built it with a mixture of NIP, and second hand parts sourced from ebay. It started when I saw a chassis cheap, and went from there. The hardest part to get was the body, then I wound up with 2 good ones in about a week! During the build, I also won a big haul of SRB spares, which were listed wih a pretty bad picture. After straining my eyes at the picture, I went for it, and put in a winning bid. There was enough in there to finish the Super Champ, and build a Sand Scorcher/ Rough Rider chassis, minus a few bits here and there. I think in total, including electrics, my Sand Scorcher cost me 120GBP. Even got a brand new rear cage for it. Lucky newly listed BIN find!

I think something to be careful of, is it can cost the same, if not more, to build a non re-re buggy out of NIP parts, than it can cost to buy a really tidy complete model. Everything on Ebay is like buses........If you miss one, there will be another along soon

[smokescreen]

I've been building a Supershot from new parts for about 6 months and its cost me $$$. I still need a few more parts and the hunt is just as good as the build. I don't see a problem with pulling off a project like that for the price just as long as you're willing to incorporate a few used parts in the build. Two things to think about are: If you decide to build a popular car, parts are going to be more available but pull in a premium. If you build a less desirable car, parts will be cheaper but harder to find. Either way good luck and happy hunting !

[TA-Mark]

The Top Force Evo chassis under my Blazing Star was built from NIP parts from eBay, it cost a small fortune and would have been cheaper to just buy the rare kit.

The 2nd hand Fox I bought from eBay cost the same amount as a NIB by the time I repaired all of what was broken. Will have cost more by the time I replace the cracked up body too.

It's all luck sometimes. My Super Champ runner has cost less than my NIB Grasshopper rere + hopups (If I'd actually paid for the GH kit).

[HunterZero]

I have a new built Fox and have accumulated enough parts to build another new Fox stashed away. Plus I have a new built Super Shot, original Hot Shot, original Hornet and original Frog built entirely of NIB spare parts.

Can't put a number on how much it cost, but certain parts could be EXPENSIVE, such as the gold wheels and body parts sets. This was before all the re-res, so some parts such as the tires and body parts were very difficult to come by. I remember when Frog bodysets alone were going for $150-$200 (but I was lucky and found mine for a lot less). Once, a Frog H parts went for around $100, and the C parts weren't cheap either.

However, a lot of the fun is tracking down parts, then getting a good deal and receiving those parts. And when you finally end up with a complete set of parts, you have the joy of building a brand new car. Almost just like building a NIB, but I'd say it was cheaper (until the re-re's come along), and you can build the car without the guilt of destroying a rare NIB kit.

- James

[HereBeMonsters]

I bought a Bear Hawk project off ebay, and eventually I've replaced EVERY part on that car, with the exception of the chassis tub. It would have been cheaper and far less grief to buy everything NIP and build it from scratch.

In fact, I was thinking of doing that again as Bear Hawk parts are still quite cheap.

[terry.sc]

It will almost always work out cheaper to buy a new built example than to buy all the parts, there's always something that's hard to find and costs a lot more than expected when it does appear. My original Hotshot restoration (still has the original chassis, gears and metal parts) totalled almost 150 when done, front wishbones and wheels being the hardest part to get at what I thought was a reasonable price, the NIB body cost me 40 on its own. Restored examples at the time fetched 100-150 on ebay.

The decision to restore or build from parts has the advantage of spreading the cost over some time, but the biggest reason is the challenge of looking and waiting for every sprue and part bag to pop up somewhere until you have everything you need to put it together. Another example, one truck I have needed a bumper mount to complete it, could have used something off a similar model but I hung on for the correct part. It took over 18 months of scouring ebay and TC traderooms before the right one appeared and paid 4 times the price of a similar but incorrect one. There's more satisfaction from knowing how much time it took to put it together.

[HunterZero]

It will almost always work out cheaper to buy a new built example than to buy all the parts, there's always something that's hard to find and costs a lot more than expected when it does appear.

Yes, of course, but then you don't have the pleasure of building it from NIP parts. Opening bags with minty parts, painting the body, cutting parts from sprues etc. And if you'r super-anal, you can guarantee they're all new or are not reissue parts.

It is still cheaper than buying a vintage NIB though.

- James

[Rayman011]

Over the years I have managed to accumulate every single new part to make 2, 1/12th Kyosho CRX's and then some. Did cost quite a bit, but how often does one come up?

[loaded]

Consider building a complete Rough Rider from new parts. I am certain it would cost less to build it from a NIB kit if you were absolutely honest about sourcing original new parts for the whole build and calculating all the costs including shipping.

I personally enjoy building from a NIB kit rather than parts, but I understand the desire some people have to do it from spares. If it wasn't cheaper to get one ready built, then there wouldn't be much market for those who buy them and break them to sell for parts. I myself had a couple of Porsche 959 kits which weren't 'honest' and were cobbled together from various bits (guys, we can tell when you do this!), so I decided to sell them off as parts as so many people need parts for these kits. In the end I calculated that at least half as much as a modest value of a NIB 959 had come back (although for me it isn't worth the hassle) so there is money in splitting NIB kits too, although not all of them, I am sure.

Paul.

[Madmuz77]

My latest project was a Monster beetle that had been beat to death & decided to restore it with nip parts form e bay. After a couple of months of searching I now have a Monster beetle that is 95% new, the only non original parts are the body parts which come form a blitzer(new)but I wanted to add lights & did not want to drill holes in the original body. Certian parts where hard to find & quite pricey(E & G parts sprues)& I'm still searching for another set of nip MB gold rims. all up though it cost me less than what a new built or clean COMPLETE Monster beetle goes for & a few 2nd hand parts seen me rebuild my original runner. From what i've seen though it pays to keep hunting because parts from one source may be significantly cheaper then others for the same nip parts. In my opinion it's to much of a shame to build a nib kit of a car that has not been re re & is no longer in production plus I like the enjoyment of restoring an old runner to as new condition. I have also been giving a Nissan kingcab the same restoration treatment,been ongoing for over a year now & some parts are proving near impossible to find, oh well the hunt continues.

[Jack_Truck]

I would recommend that you buy a good example from ebay, then get the parts you need to make it 'perfect'.