Avante Coming Soon

[MrUnlimited 0]

Was the break a moulding weak spot do you think? Or do you think the placement is wrong like it needs to be reamed a little further forward or back rather than where the mark is? Or did it fit perfectly and could just do with reinforcing with some glass tape?

It is very thin material I think a better choice was thicker material.

[Colt Seavers 14]

I would like to get two Avante kits, one to build and another to keep NIB. For this reason I want to get them from somewhere where they're going to arrive in perfect condition. There is a note on Stella's site saying that the boxes have creases and the blister packs are split. Is this something that is unique to the kits from Stella or are they all like this? Who do people recommend for good packaging? It would be nice to be able to buy the kits from a shop here in the UK, but so far the only price I have seen is £449!!

[thetamiyakid 38]

Y'know what? I don't think I used EMS. Tracking for mine is still on the 29th and just says it's still in transit. Next time I should really pay attention to which service I use instead of just speeding through the checkout system. Oh well, that's what I get for wanting this kit so bad!

I always use EMS from japan / Speedpost from HK as it is 24 hr from delivery to the local hub. Its more expensive but better than waiting another 48 hours knowing it's been in the country up to 24 already. Plus less time for it to be 'manhandled' by some delivery chap moving it about the warehouse

[thetamiyakid 38]

Y'know what? I don't think I used EMS. Tracking for mine is still on the 29th and just says it's still in transit. Next time I should really pay attention to which service I use instead of just speeding through the checkout system. Oh well, that's what I get for wanting this kit so bad!

I always use EMS as it is 24 hr from delivery to the local hub. Its more expensive but better than waiting another 48 hours knowing it's been in the country up to 24 already. Plus less time for it to be 'manhandled' by some delivery chap moving it about the warehouse

[VagabondStarJXF 350]

It is very thin material I think a better choice was thicker material.

Ok then. I'm going to have to order some glass tape aswell!

I would like to get two Avante kits, one to build and another to keep NIB. For this reason I want to get them from somewhere where they're going to arrive in perfect condition. There is a note on Stella's site saying that the boxes have creases and the blister packs are split. Is this something that is unique to the kits from Stella or are they all like this? Who do people recommend for good packaging? It would be nice to be able to buy the kits from a shop here in the UK, but so far the only price I have seen is £449!!

The £449 is pretty much the price here in the UK so until the price drops, or unless you have some awesome discount vouchers or something, you aren't going to get it any cheaper. Keep your eyes peeled though. You never know when a great deal will pop up.

I always use EMS as it is 24 hr from delivery to the local hub. Its more expensive but better than waiting another 48 hours knowing it's been in the country up to 24 already. Plus less time for it to be 'manhandled' by some delivery chap moving it about the warehouse

Yeah. True that! I just didn't think of that as I went though the checkout. I just wanted to make sure I got my order in.

[GTodd 1344]

I would like to get two Avante kits, one to build and another to keep NIB. For this reason I want to get them from somewhere where they're going to arrive in perfect condition. There is a note on Stella's site saying that the boxes have creases and the blister packs are split. Is this something that is unique to the kits from Stella or are they all like this? Who do people recommend for good packaging? It would be nice to be able to buy the kits from a shop here in the UK, but so far the only price I have seen is £449!!

I know its difficult, but if you want a prestine box be patient and order it through your local hobby shop. If the box comes jacked up, dont pay for it.

[TamiyaVancouver 5]

I noticed that Dinball now has some on ebay for $406 USD + $44 USD for shipping which makes him the cheapest on the Bay I believe.

Mark

[thetamiyakid 38]

For uk purchases, fusion hobbies is the way to go. If you are a full member of tamiyaclub they offer a 10% discount, so that brings it down to 405GBP ish. That's still 33.33333% more than it cost me per kit from Stella incl shipping. Fusion are great, don't get me wrong, used them loads, but still no guarantee boxes et blisters will be A ok even at a premium price

[djmcnz 754]

I noticed that Dinball now has some on ebay for $406 USD + $44 USD for shipping which makes him the cheapest on the Bay I believe.

Mark

Save $7.50 and buy it from their site... but be aware that's standard shipping, not EMS.

[HunterZero 76]

Sounds like how my Frog arrived from RCMushroom, My Scorcher was from an Ebay Seller and arrived in flawless external condition, Cracked blister around my Motor though. Got a HotShot coming from Stella, heard good things about there packaging.

My Fire Dragon came from RC Mushroom. It had a few dings on the box, but not too major. It looked more shop soiled than anything else.

Stella's packing is good, and their service is fast, which means less time for mailroom monkeys to throw them about. The worst I've had from Stella was a slightly dinged corner.

How much weight does the titanium screw set save?

- James

[TamiyaDan 8]

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[litespeed 0]

Hi,

I bought mine from Dinball website direct yesterday for $369 usd.

Seemed to be the best price I could find from a known site.

This particular one comes with ESC, no spare wheels & no T-shirt.

[Taman 3]

Pretty sure the Dinball one comes with the Bonus Part s- pare wheels, it seems to be you either get an esc + wheels or just the t-shirt

[Swarm 242]

Hi,

I bought mine from Dinball website direct yesterday for $369 usd.

Seemed to be the best price I could find from a known site.

This particular one comes with ESC, no spare wheels & no T-shirt.

They have listed on their site a picture of the kit which clearly has both the ESC and Bonus parts sticker .So if you think you are not going to get the wheels then what is the bonus parts sticker for ?.

I just brought 2 from Dinball as well from his main site,Which I noticed had both stickers on the box I fully expect to get the bonus wheels .

He has not said on he's main site nor ebay page he has removed the bonus parts so they should be there.

As mentioned on this thread on the previous page the Japanese version only had the T-shirt,the other release has both the ESC and Bonus being the Wheel parts .

Even though last week when the Avante first came out there was a seller in Japan selling the T-shirt kit (boxed T-shirt release) with the bonus wheels and a ESC (Which created some confusion on my behalf I must say)

[Swarm 242]

Some people selling the kit have it listed as this :

Tamiya (#58489) 1:10 Avante (2011) W/ESC EP

What does the "EP" stand for ?.

[HunterZero 76]

What does the "EP" stand for ?.

Electric Powered.

- James

[WillyChang 1814]

Mine just arrived, i must make comment to all: I purchased from Banzai in Japan. Service was quick and efficient BUT packaging was terrible. My box is all creased and one end is crushed.

I have a kit with Tee shirt, no esc, no extra wheels. The inside all all excellent, no blister damage at all. Thank goodness mine will be built and run as i would be very upset with the damaged box.

i put a small order thru Banzai mid Jan... its been 3 wks since & still no sign.

Quite verbose communique they were so for now i'm pointing blame at the mail system.

[HunterZero 76]

I suspect the new avante is a touch lighter then the original thanks to the carbon chassis.

Oooh, can someone with both cars put them on the scales? I'd be interested to see the difference.

The carbon chassis on the 2011 Avante is a thing of beauty...

- James

[Swarm 242]

Thanks James

I emailed Dinball after my purchase as there was no mention of the bonus parts .

I think there was a communication breakdown as they did not understand my question .

So I said okay I will put it another way what is the sticker on the front of the box saying "Bonus Parts Included "

I got an email back from them.

Oh...we checked it, 4 Bonus wheels are inclued.

You will receive total 8pcs wheels. Thanks

- dinball

Then all of a sudden they jacked their price up on their main site and their ebay listing ,they had no idea of the bonus wheels until they cracked a kit open and were suprised I think .

[mccoy 0]

how well do Dinball pack there gear? anyone know???

[Swarm 242]

how well do Dinball pack there gear? anyone know???

I have had some items from them before but only small packages and they were well packed.

I did stress that I would like it packed in a strong outer box ....so time will tell .

You can read the feedback on their ebay page it does have a few negative but they sell a huge amount of stock so perhaps its only reflective of this ,Its like anything though a little bit like Russian Roulette .

I purchased my kits this afternoon and they have already been posted with a tracking number .

They are great with communication very thorough .

You could always buy from Toy Traders when it hits Aussie shores to ensure a good quality kit but it will probably be disscontinued by then and if you manage to get it you will probably have to take out a second mortgage on the house

[Wandy 1527]

The £449 is pretty much the price here in the UK so until the price drops, or unless you have some awesome discount vouchers or something, you aren't going to get it any cheaper. Keep your eyes peeled though. You never know when a great deal will pop up.

I will give it 6 months before UK sellers start knocking off 15%. There is no way this thing is going to sell in the UK to Tom, D*ck & Harry for £450.

[tamiyoman 2]

I will give it 6 months before UK sellers start knocking off 15%. There is no way this thing is going to sell in the UK to Tom, D*ck & Harry for £450.

Totally agree with that statement, £450 to walk in your local hobby shop and get one, or stay at home nice n warm clickety click and one arrives a week later for £275-290......................

[WillyChang 1814]

how well do Dinball pack there gear? anyone know???

last kit from rcmart/dinball telling them "kitbox is for collection"... wasn't all that impressed.

Kit had a narrow wrap of bubblewrap around its middle, then chucked rattling around in a larger box.

It arrived relatively unscathed mostly due to luck.

Stella, when asked the same... wrapped the kit in bubblewrap, then cardboard. Then bubblewrap again, then another outer box!

Champ usually recycles shipping cartons for your kit if you're lucky (or double your luck by buying collectable kits in pairs)

so they're not too bad. They stuff a bit of bubblewrap inside too if there's too much spare air in the kitbox.

JRRC does similar... usually with a fair bit of extra bubblewrap on outside.

At the other end of the spectrum... one HK seller packed 2 Scorcher bodysets into the volume of 1.5

Had an outer wrap of brownpaper (umm its actually GREEN more than brown) and nothing else,

lucky those SS shells are pretty tough to crushing.

[Wandy 1527]

Stella now sold out of 1st batch, and the kit has disappeared off the site. Wonder how many were in that batch?....I think their 1st batch of Sand Scorchers was approximately 50 of them. If 50 Avante kits have been sold in a week that's a pretty promising start.