My Random Memories, Thoughts And Maybe Misbelieves About Vintage Rc.

[The Hornet]

Ok here it goes:

Misbelieve or fact.

I feel like the hotshot or boomerang will handle better in real off-road bashing, compared

To lets say a durga or dark impact.

Memories

I dont know about you but when I first started in this hobby (I was like 10 years old) my friend had a frog and wished I had a hornet, and there was kind of rivalry between the two of us about which car is the best.

Thoughts

The frog was the sexier high upper class car while I felt like the hornet was more heavy metal!!..kind of hard to explain

Did you guys ever identify with a car when you were young?

And this final point..i started looking again into getting a re-re hotshot, at the beginning I was all excited about getting the kit that used to make me daydream, then I started reading about all the bump steer and strange suspension.

So I started saying to myself maybe Im better off with a dark impactbut every time i look at it i say to myself oh man the car just doesnt have any soul

So do you go with your heart or your head?

Fact

Oh and the Dynatech 01R is most beautiful motor ever produced..yes I said beautiful;)

Hello everyone

[hedge]

I like this hehehe

As far as mis-believes go...

I really believe the Sand Scorcher is THE car for sheer driving experience and that the Blazing Blazer is THE only 4x4. Ive seen the promo videos and they both just rock:)

The truth:

I can't bear to drive the Sand Scorcher I own, it would just shatter so many fond memories and desires. The Blazing Blazer should be re-named "The Bouncy Undriveable"

For me the first real RC was the HotShot, I had owned in no particular order a Sand Rover, Lamborghini and Grasshopper prior to getting the famous 4WD red devil. It was an amazing day when it arrived. Of couse you threw away the single shock for double shocks at the front - using hand made shock towers, then get rid of the plastic tub chassis and replace it with an FRP open frame chassis again hand made. The car was so cool and would go mostly anywhere I wanted it to.

It was the fact that you could and people did make stuff in garages for their rc cars that made it exciting. Nothing I made would ever score any points for beauty, but it all worked. The basic Kit was the start, your garage and thoughts on design just made the hobby more rounded. Plus I loved just running out of my garage throwing my car down and racing up and down the street. My current HotBodies pre-madonna has never set foot on a public highway - far to unclean

Sadly after I sold the Hotshot and in short succession was the first UK Schumacher Cat which I swapped for the first PB Mini Mustang, both worked extremely well, but the passion was gone and the cars didnt need anything - they where good to go - soon after I left the hobby for many many years.

[WillyChang]

Misbelieve or fact.

I feel like the hotshot or boomerang will handle better in real off-road bashing, compared

To lets say a durga or dark impact.

Memories

I dont know about you but when I first started in this hobby (I was like 10 years old) my friend had a frog and wished I had a hornet, and there was kind of rivalry between the two of us about which car is the best.

...

And this final point..i started looking again into getting a re-re hotshot, at the beginning I was all excited about getting the kit that used to make me daydream, then I started reading about all the bump steer and strange suspension.

So I started saying to myself maybe Im better off with a dark impactbut every time i look at it i say to myself oh man the car just doesnt have any soul

So do you go with your heart or your head?

Hotshot

Frog

Hornet

DF03

JUST BUY THEM ALL

[retroman]

I like this hehehe

As far as mis-believes go...

I really believe the Sand Scorcher is THE car for sheer driving experience and that the Blazing Blazer is THE only 4x4. Ive seen the promo videos and they both just rock:)

The truth:

I can't bear to drive the Sand Scorcher I own, it would just shatter so many fond memories and desires. The Blazing Blazer should be re-named "The Bouncy Undriveable"

How very true!! Had my Blazing Blazer out in the snow last night.....Ace on fresh snow, definately "The Bouncy Undriveable" on the rough stuff!

[dimblum]

Great topic

Truth is the HotShot and Boomerang cannot perform nearly as well in off-road bashing or racing when compared to a DF-03 or DB-01. The engineering is vastly different for stability, balance, adjustment, gearing, durability, etc...

Regardless of these differences, cars like the HotShot and Boomerang are one of a kind!! The vintage rides have all the style and individuality that the modern rides cannot hold a candle to. This is the reason I love this hobby and can't wait to work on my next vintage restoration project. Most of my vintage cars are shelf queens, but I always admire looking at them more than I ever will my DB-01.

I first and always will identify with the GrassHopper.. It might have been one of the least expensive off-road cars Tamiya ever made, but it had cool looks and a lot of character. I actually plan to run my GrassHopper at a vintage race next month.. I don't plan to win with it and I will probably have trouble keeping it stable on the track, but it should turn a few heads

For racing, I have to go with my head and run the DB-01.. There is no way I can compete at the local track with a vintage design. But if I could run a car that looked like the HotShot etc and had the same engineering as the DB-01, then I would switch over in a heartbeat.

[Saito]

This is fun.

1. The fact is a Dark Impact would make a better overall off road basher than the Hot Shot series of cars (I can't speak for the Durga as I'm not keen on belt drives in bashers). The drivetrain is tougher and more refined. The steering is light years better. The suspension is more rugged and less sloppy (and will remain so over time). Its more adjustable and goes where you point it. If you want to compete, the DF03 is up to it, not the Hot Shot. But hey, that's what they call progress. Nooowwww... does that make the DF03 "better" or more fun for that matter? Nope. Not nessesarily. So the ' Shot series is old, not as durable, refined or competitive, but that doesn't mean running them aren't tons of fun. If I had to pick just one to run, it would still be the Hot Shot. Strip away the romance and nostalgia, and that car still has soul.

2. Frog vs. Hornet? Depends. The Frog was competitive in its brief era before the RC10 went on to dominate. Alot of folks still raced them as they were cheaper outside the states than the RC10. Lots of people have fond memories of Tamiya's lilly pad predator. The Hornet, while quick, couldn't hold a candle to the Frog. But it was BULLETPROOF! Many many people got their start with Hornets. Fact is, both cars are equally iconic the RC world.

3. Heavy metal? I always thought the Frog was more like that. While mostly plastic, the Frog chassis had a good bit of metal almost like a carryover from the SRB era...a transitional chassis if you will. The Hornet is all plastic like the buggies that would follow up to the late 80's. If you meant "heavy metal" as durable, I dig it. The Hornet is way tougher over the long term than the Frog.

Get the Boomerang. As much as I hate to admit it, its the best compromise. I never liked the Boomer. It was waaay too bland for me. Just didn't stand out in the series at all to me. Technically, it has most of the Hot Shot kinks worked out aside for the sticking steering mechanism (if not maintained properly) but is still full of old school charm. If it was me, I'd get the Hot Shot (as I love the car) drive it for a little bit then upgrade the suspension. Who cares about bumpsteer? That's character! Bottom line, these cars weren't fragile little trinkets when new. They were meant to be driven. The re-res mean they are "new" again, so go have fun.

P.S. WillyChang's right. If you get hooked, you'll wind up with all of them eventually

[Gruntfuggly]

The 01R is nice, but the 02H is better looking IMHO.

[The Hornet]

Well i don't know if i am mistaken but the old buggies seem to have more ground clearance compared to the DB-01 for examples

Coupled with the fact that a front mono-shock is less prone to damage(i always break my front shock tower) and you have combination that is more suited IMHO to real off-roading(bashing).

I think i am over thinking this decision and just go with my heart.

One more thing that always happens to me is that i buy the top race type buggies then realize all the implications that it causes(buying high-end batteries,running on a proper track) then i get discouraged and leave the hobby, this is what happened to me the last time.

And i remember my fondest memories are just simply mucking about or just racing with my friends on make shift tracks.

[Saito]

Go with your heart. Its about having fun, not making a "right" or "wrong" decision. Despite the improvements modern buggies have, they can be dull at times. Point and shoot controllability might be great in competition on a track, but gets old when bashing about. Where's the slight unpredictability, neat handling quirks and fun of mastering an older chassis? That's where the older buggies win every time.

[Live Steam Mad]

Well i don't know if i am mistaken but the old buggies seem to have more ground clearance compared to the DB-01 for examples

Coupled with the fact that a front mono-shock is less prone to damage(i always break my front shock tower) and you have combination that is more suited IMHO to real off-roading(bashing).

I think i am over thinking this decision and just go with my heart.

One more thing that always happens to me is that i buy the top race type buggies then realize all the implications that it causes(buying high-end batteries,running on a proper track) then i get discouraged and leave the hobby, this is what happened to me the last time.

And i remember my fondest memories are just simply mucking about or just racing with my friends on make shift tracks.

Exactly. This is why I loved the TC meeting (Easter Spring Drive) so much. There was no hyper modern, hyper fast, hyper competitive element, with hyper needing to have the latest expensive gear. Just pure fun with a makeshift or decent track would do me fine, (must have some kind of track though), "fun racing" with vintage buggies and silver cans or at the most Sport Tuned motors. With every car having it's own novelty racing characteristics Interesting and fun.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Kokuzu]

Old times: AC/DC

Individual parts made for one single model

Metal gears

metal axles

metal rims

metal bearings

ABS bodies

New times: Boyzone

Parts shared for mutliple models

plastic gears

plastic axles

plastic bearings

plastic rims

Lexan bodies

I have fun driving both types of cars, you need to change your attitude, expectation and slip onto amateur mode when re-vitalizing the bobbing 3-speeders....

No modern car can give me the same intense goose skin than a vintage car does.

[TamTom]

Same is with me.

First contact with Tamiya was at the age of 12 when a friend of mine hat a Grasshopper and I saw a catalogue...I found a Wild Willy and wanted this car, but at that time it was to expensive. So I had to wait anothter two years....I was 14 when the Boomerang came out. At that time this was the hottest affordable 4WD car Tamiya offered. It cost exatly 2500 ATS (I still remember very well) which is EUR 182,-!! That was a lot of money at that time. But I had the most advanced RC car among all my friends. Others had BlackFoot, Monster Beetle, Grasshopper and a Falcon. Man I was so proud to have a 4WD! It handled so much better on loose ground. And yes, alse we had a battle among us who has the best RC car *lol*. One thing I never forget is, one of my friends with his Falcon always beaten me with the top speed. And he also could make much more fun with his turnarounds, slides and circles even on pavement.

I also remember that the HotShoI was unreachable for me. And my biggest dream was..... the Bruiser. I had never seen a real Bruiser, caus nobody aroung me could afford it, but I soaked up the catalogue with the Bruiser picture in it almost daily.

I have ordered a Boomerang which will bring back old memories. I will build it up while listing music from that period. I still remember that the radio Word up - Cameo, Papa dont preach - Madonna, Burning Heart - Survivor, My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen, and so on... I often back out into my hobby room in the evening, take a 80's Tamiya Guidbook and listen to 80's musik.

My feeling is, all these cars from the pre90' period have a unique character, Design an live in it. Also each single car from the 70's and 80's is an experiment on its own and has errors. But I think that is the reason why I love them so much.

[pUs]

The 01R is nice, but the 02H is better looking IMHO.

Agreed, the 02H was mighty. Actually quite useable as well back in the days, with the optional 7010W armature of course. I remember being juuuust able to squeeze out 5 minutes out of my PTI matched Sanyo 1700 SCE's with that setup in my Egress.. memories =)

[The Hornet]

Agreed, the 02H was mighty. Actually quite useable as well back in the days, with the optional 7010W armature of course. I remember being juuuust able to squeeze out 5 minutes out of my PTI matched Sanyo 1700 SCE's with that setup in my Egress.. memories =)

Hehehe i had the same setup! man the egress with locked center diff hybrid spiked tires and the 02h ate my backyard for lunch!

Its funny because the Egress seems to be very appreciated on TC, but i really did not like the car!

[kaiser]

i will always love grasshoppers and hornets. frogs are great but stock out of the box i find the hornet way faster.

my childhood friend was convinced his fox could beat my optima mid, sadly for him and tamiya has was mistaken.

for 4wd personally i like the manta ray/dirt thrasher chassis (df-01), they are a great mix of nostalgia and performance.

my first tamiya was a second hand wild one, i never really liked it and built a hornet out of spares and used that alot more than the wild one.

i always wanted a 959 and a bigwig, mostly for the coveted technigold.

[HunterZero]

My friend that I blame for getting me started on my RC addiction had a Hornet. It was very light, and fast in a straight line, and boy could it take punishment, but once the terrain was a little rough it bounced all over the place. I had a Frog, and while it wasn't quite as fast in a straight line, it was miles better at changing direction, but it did have a LOT of steering lock, and tended to traction roll.

I had head a story before I got my first RC, that there was a race in which a Hornet and a Frog were competing. There was a puddle on the track. The Hornet went through the puddle but became stuck, and couldn't make it as the electrics got wet. But the Frog sailed through with no problem! So for me, the Frog became my choice, it was the go anywhere wet weather warrior.

Another friend of mine was then given a Falcon, and that was pretty quick in a straight line on a standard motor on smooth ground due to its lightness, but by that stage I had a hopped-up motor in my Frog. Falcon had much more boat-like handling than the twitchy Frog, could not turn as tight, traction and stability could be a problem on rough ground as the back end wouldn't stay put, and was very prone to understeer. Tires were very hard, and didn't have a huge amount of grip. But with its excellent front suspension, it was always controllable, even with its rear end in the air, so it was still loads of fun. Why couldn't they do the same on the back as they did on the front!

Then a friend of mine was lucky enough to get... a Fox. Man, was I jealous of that thing! Handled very smooth and flat, and just looked so svelte. I didn't know what an RC10 was at the time, so for me, the Fox was the pinnacle of 2WD.

But the car I always really wanted was... The Super Shot. THAT was top-of-the-line for me. It had 24 ball bearings, that was unheard of! 4 huge yellow dampers. Technipower. And it just looked MEAN. They say never meet your heroes, but I went and tracked one of these down after the RC bug hit again. And it actually handles better than I ever thought it would! The suspension works really well, and the mass of the car means that it stays quite stable, even after landing big jumps. It can pull off amazing long 4-wheel drifts on a track. It's like the Cadillac of the offroad world.

I had never even seen a Bruiser in real life, only pictures in catalogues... That car looked very interesting, but was always a bit mythical for me. The first Bruiser I actually saw in the metal was my own one, bought to see what all the fuss was about. And... WOW. I immediately saw what the fuss was about!

For bashers, you want a car that's fun. Sure, a DB01 will outhandle and outperform almost anything else, but it becomes a sterile experience. It's too predictable. A bit of bump steer or an unruly bouncy back end makes a car come alive, and gives it character through its own unique quirky handling characteristics. This is in addition to a model's unique appearance, and unique early attempts at solving scale chassis mechanical issues. So when you define 'what makes a better basher', I think most of us here would equate 'better' to 'more fun, more character, entertaining and unique', not 'what's quicker around a track'. That's why the old cars still appeal, and that's where the nostalgia comes from.

- James

[Live Steam Mad]

My friend that I blame for getting me started on my RC addiction had a Hornet. It was very light, and fast in a straight line, and boy could it take punishment, but once the terrain was a little rough it bounced all over the place. I had a Frog, and while it wasn't quite as fast in a straight line, it was miles better at changing direction, but it did have a LOT of steering lock, and tended to traction roll.

I had head a story before I got my first RC, that there was a race in which a Hornet and a Frog were competing. There was a puddle on the track. The Hornet went through the puddle but became stuck, and couldn't make it as the electrics got wet. But the Frog sailed through with no problem! So for me, the Frog became my choice, it was the go anywhere wet weather warrior.

Another friend of mine was then given a Falcon, and that was pretty quick in a straight line on a standard motor on smooth ground due to its lightness, but by that stage I had a hopped-up motor in my Frog. Falcon had much more boat-like handling than the twitchy Frog, could not turn as tight, traction and stability could be a problem on rough ground as the back end wouldn't stay put, and was very prone to understeer. Tires were very hard, and didn't have a huge amount of grip. But with its excellent front suspension, it was always controllable, even with its rear end in the air, so it was still loads of fun. Why couldn't they do the same on the back as they did on the front!

Then a friend of mine was lucky enough to get... a Fox. Man, was I jealous of that thing! Handled very smooth and flat, and just looked so svelte. I didn't know what an RC10 was at the time, so for me, the Fox was the pinnacle of 2WD.

But the car I always really wanted was... The Super Shot. THAT was top-of-the-line for me. It had 24 ball bearings, that was unheard of! 4 huge yellow dampers. Technipower. And it just looked MEAN. They say never meet your heroes, but I went and tracked one of these down after the RC bug hit again. And it actually handles better than I ever thought it would! The suspension works really well, and the mass of the car means that it stays quite stable, even after landing big jumps. It can pull off amazing long 4-wheel drifts on a track. It's like the Cadillac of the offroad world.

I had never even seen a Bruiser in real life, only pictures in catalogues... That car looked very interesting, but was always a bit mythical for me. The first Bruiser I actually saw in the metal was my own one, bought to see what all the fuss was about. And... WOW. I immediately saw what the fuss was about!

For bashers, you want a car that's fun. Sure, a DB01 will outhandle and outperform almost anything else, but it becomes a sterile experience. It's too predictable. A bit of bump steer or an unruly bouncy back end makes a car come alive, and gives it character through its own unique quirky handling characteristics. This is in addition to a model's unique appearance, and unique early attempts at solving scale chassis mechanical issues. So when you define 'what makes a better basher', I think most of us here would equate 'better' to 'more fun, more character, entertaining and unique', not 'what's quicker around a track'. That's why the old cars still appeal, and that's where the nostalgia comes from.

- James

Excellent stuff! Enjoyed reading that.

Cheers,

ARG.

[pUs]

Hehehe i had the same setup! man the egress with locked center diff hybrid spiked tires and the 02h ate my backyard for lunch!

Its funny because the Egress seems to be very appreciated on TC, but i really did not like the car!

I always ran it with the centre one-way. Loads of steering, that car was actually quite hooked on grass tracks and tracks without many jumps and bumps. Lots of memories, however it was so much worse than the Manta Ray/Top Force, which I realised soon after switching.. Still, it wasn't a bad car. It had lots of character.