Avante Coming Soon

[tamiyoman]

one thing is we don't know if tamiya is planing on re-releasing the hop ups.

the titanium screws are ok for the basic hardware, but just like back in the day there is some model specific titanium hardware that you won't be able to find unless you find an original avante or egress titanium screw set or if tamiya re-releases one. if you go the regular route you will be able to source about 90-95% of the titanium screws you need, but the really long ones needed for the rear arms and the ball joints and pivots for the suspension will remain stock.

back in the day the titanium sets outside of japan were non-existent. remember how impossible the original universal drives were to find?

Based on my previous experience with the titanium sets and the ability of the hardware to fracture i'll stick with the stock hardware and trade 1-2 grams for durability.

i really hope they re-release the egress it has some pieces i would love to get my hands on as well.

I found an original technigold motor to install on my 2011 as well.

now i have a dilemma, do i buy a 3rd kit for Spar parts for the one runner i'm building out of this, or just put this all together for a shelf display.

have to order those aluminum suspension parts from parg off ebay.

$$$$$$$ flying out of my wallet.

IM ok on the TI rods n screws I have 2 sets of each NIP, that i have been holding onto for 6 years now

[BeetleLover]

the C parts (that s u c k) seem to be the same as before, i'm going to switch them to aluminum aftermarket.

Tamiya sorta screwed up here, they beefed up the original part that wasn't too bad, and left the plastic part that always broke alone.

Looks like I'll keep my C Parts for another 20 years until they're all broken again and then I can sell them for top dollar! Don't know why this part did not get any attention with the re-re, maybe it's to drive their parts market, rumour has it there are more 27 x more C Parts made additionally than the number of kits being produced. Can't back that up just made it up!

James

[TamiyaDan]

.

[GTodd]

What a dilema, do I spend the 450 I save on the Avante that Ive been waiting for since my original in 1989 or use the 450 for a M1918 Barrel for my BAR build that just poped up on Gunbroker that Ive been waiting for the past year?

Why am I envolved in expensive hobbies?????? And the GF is talking about Marriage and Valentines......

[VagabondStarJXF]

Just got email from stella

Me too. I'm a little disappointed that they aren't getting the T-Shirts but nevermind. The T-Shirt probably wouldn't fit me anyway!

[TamiyaDan]

.

[Swarm]

I also got an email from Rc Champ

Dear Mr ******

Hello.How are you doing?

About the Tamiya Avante 2011 kit,Tamiya changed its releasing date and it will come in 28th of January.

Once we receive it,I let you know,sir.

Best regards,

RC Adviser Champ

The first pre-order batch will come with a t-shirt ,I am not sure about a esc the other kits the Buggy Champ ,Sand Scorcher that were released with a t-shirt did not come with an esc .

Having said that the few Avante 2011 kits I have seen on ebay selling for AUD$470.00 + postage came with both the t-shirt and esc ,so if I find that rc-champ is releasing these kits without an esc and with the t-shirt only and they are the same price as the ones I have seen on ebay with both I will probably end up buying mine off ebay .

PS:I would go with the BAR barrel they are hens teeth rare especially if in good condition with good riffeling and foresight ,Is your BAR equiped with a bipod as there were 3 variants used the M1918,M1918A1,M1918A2 all 3 were fitted with a flash suppressor as well from memory ,Also make sure the the screw thread that screws into the receiver is not threaded,The BAR also came out with a Bayonet but few were made and as a result are extremely rare, might be a good idea to see if the barrel you are looking at has the Bayonet stock fitted . The Avante 2011 kit is not a limited release so it will be around for a while.

[HunterZero]

The ones from Stella come without the T-shirt, but do include a TEU-104BK ESC.

- James

[Corpse Thrower]

Stella sold out already!

[Wandy]

Just received the email from Stella too.

What is going on with this blister pack issue? Apparantly the Avante is going to suffer from the same issues as the Champ & Scorcher with motor blister splits. Why can they not do this properly in 2011 when it was a doddle for them 30 years ago? Very strange.

[TenzoR]

Just received the email from Stella too.

What is going on with this blister pack issue? Apparantly the Avante is going to suffer from the same issues as the Champ & Scorcher with motor blitster splits. Why can they not do this properly in 2011 when it was a doddle for them 30 years ago? Very strange.

Well, stand up to Tamiya and don't buy this kit!

[MrUnlimited]

Mine is still 3 days in transit now at the Airport now. I hoped they worked faster but they seemed lazy watching airplanes all day.

26/01/2011 12:10

Received at Destination Transit Centre

25/01/2011 21:48

Departed from Destination Transit Centre

25/01/2011 21:48

Received at Destination Transit Centre

25/01/2011 21:47

Departed from Destination Transit Centre

25/01/2011 21:46

Received at Destination Transit Centre

25/01/2011 13:06

Received at Destination Transit Centre

20/01/2011 22:08

Handover to Airline

20/01/2011 22:07

Processing at Air Transit Center

20/01/2011 18:27

Processing at Sorting Centre

20/01/2011 09:44

ALEXANDRA POST OFFICE

Accepted at Post Office

[Wandy]

Just received the email from Stella too.

What is going on with this blister pack issue? Apparantly the Avante is going to suffer from the same issues as the Champ & Scorcher with motor blister splits. Why can they not do this properly in 2011 when it was a doddle for them 30 years ago? Very strange.

Well, stand up to Tamiya and don't buy this kit!

Heheh, no chance of that. Not that big a deal to me personally anyway as mine will get built, but it's just a bit odd that they cannot seem to overcome something which would appear to be straightforward to solve.

[animamundi]

Just received the email from Stella too.

What is going on with this blister pack issue? Apparantly the Avante is going to suffer from the same issues as the Champ & Scorcher with motor blister splits. Why can they not do this properly in 2011 when it was a doddle for them 30 years ago? Very strange.

Got mine from Hong Kong for $359 USD, I will pick it up next week!!

[TenzoR]

Anyone have a pic of the T-shirt?

[thetamiyakid]

Ordered mine from Stella, well 2, great price at $400.

p.s. he has them showing as in stock on his website

Anyone have a pic of the T-shirt?

Avante T-shirt pic

click on link under the date/price

[WW-nut]

Ordered mine from Stella, well 2, great price at $400.

p.s. he has them showing as in stock on his website

Avante T-shirt pic

click on link under the date/price

Though expect some TC'ers are going to be a bit worried about:

There maybe:-

Minor crease on box corner

Blister pack split around motor - this is very likely. We will add more packing protection for this area

http://www.stellamodels.net/catalog/produc...roducts_id=5358

But guess the same applies to wherever you buy it from...... Maybe as we get older we just get overly picky about minor details. As a kid you probably wouldn't have even cared, you would have been too busy trying to get it built.

[VagabondStarJXF]

I ordered mine on my lunch break today! I've ordered parts and body shells from Stella before but this is the first time I've ordered a kit from them. Come to think about it I think this is the first NIB kit that I've ordered from outside the UK. I guess I've been a lot more faithful to UK sellers than I'd give myself credit for.

I'm not overly bothered about the box unless it's completely wrecked. I've just started 'collecting' my boxes so to speak but I do understand that it's coming a long way to get to me and, on the last stretch, it's going to be handled by Royal Mail. I know they all work hard in RM but every once in a while someone lets them down along the way (that, in itself, gets them a load more bad rep than they deserve) so, as I've said, I'm not overly bothered about the box unless it's completely wrecked. After all, I've bought this kit to build it so the box is just going to be put on the shelf or stored away afterwards.

[thetamiyakid]

Stellamodels are excellent packers, if there is any sort of box or blister damage it would have happened before they reached HK.

I have spent a fair bit on kits from them, I have not had any problems at all. Mine are due to be built as I have a NIB original so I am not too worried either about any slight box or blister damage.

[ozace]

Mine is ordered, it will be built and run so i am not too worried about the box etc.

Unfortunatly i payed a little to much but i was keen

[billzeebub]

Hello to all..I have just joined the forum today, basically as a result of the re-release of the Avante. I have been away from RC Cars since my early teens and now in early 30s....waiting for this for 20 odd years and had given up in recent years all hope of ever owning a brand new Avante. I had not been in my local model shop for 20 years, went down a couple of weeks ago and placed my order for the re-re.

£450 seems kinda steep but I am only too happy to pay it to get my hands on the best looking RC Car ever produced!. I am fully aware if I had bought from the far east the kit may have been quite a bit cheaper, but I am loving the whole romance of going back to the same shop where I used to lust after it as a small boy with only paper round dosh to invest ( in a Boomerang..which I loved at the time). I was served by the same chap who used to take my pocket money/earnings/allowance every weekend back in the day!..the shop hadn't changed a bit. I always strived for this car, and what made it worse was my best friend in the local car club having one. My Dad used to go to Hong Kong on business quite a lot back then and I beged him to pick me up an Avante every time he went..but it was obviously too rich for even my Dads blood as he finally got me an Optima Mid Custom Special (SE) on the HKG shop recomendation. Although its arguably the better car I still wished I could obtain an Avante

I have read with interest all the wisdom that has been posted by members and look forward to seeing peoples completed cars and modifications in due course. Mine can't arrive quick enough. Once Ive built it I will definitely be getting another (subject to availability) in the summer to keep NIB for a rainy day build in future.

Also I wonder if anyone thinks its a good idea/will organise a 'Vintage/Avante' series or Race meets..from the interest levels I have seen, there would definitely be demand for that sort of thing...as the general consensus from those in the know seems to be that the car will not be regularly competitive at even club level these days... It would be great to have a UK outlet to race and compare set ups etc

Also does anyone have an up to date estimation for UK model shop delivery on the first batch?

[Swarm]

I am not to crash hot on the idea of cracked blister's ,I would prefer them not to be cracked and I will do my best to get 2x kits that do not have cracked blister packs I don't think its a case of being fussy especially when you pay top dollar for a new kit .

As a collector I will be keeping mine in NIB condition .

It comes down to poor materials or packing to much into a particular blister pack that causes cracking/splitting.

[DynaHead]

I am not to crash hot on the idea of cracked blister's ,I would prefer them not to be cracked and I will do my best to get 2x kits that do not have cracked blister packs I don't think its a case of being fussy especially when you pay top dollar for a new kit .

As a collector I will be keeping mine in NIB condition .

It comes down to poor materials or packing to much into a particular blister pack that causes cracking/splitting.

Definitely.

The only area where Tamiya is perhaps "cutting corners" is in things like blister packs etc. Slightly thinner plastic can translate to large cost savings in material over thousands of kits. Again I can't totally fault Tamiya, since they are doing their best to give us all that we want within cost. It is the responsibility now of the seller to do their best to include soft packaging.

If you want a perfect undamaged Avante kit for collecting, then it is better to spend a little extra on shipping and buy it from a local internet dealer with explicit instructions on packaging.

[Swarm]

I contacted a couple of ebay sellers last week that were selling the 2011 Avante ,They mentioned in their listing the kits had split /broken blister packs ,I made enquiries and asked them if they had any without cracks /splits as I was a collector, I got 2 replies back both saying they had kits without cracks/splits stashed away and if I wanted one it would cost me more ...huh .

So if its not important why were they stashing them away ?.

I am not buying kits as an investment I buy kits because I like to collect them and new kits I buy I expect them to be excatly that NEW undamaged.

Are Tamiya selling these kits to distributors at a reduced cost because of a known issue with the packing / blister packs ? ,And if so are these sellers passing those savings onto us the buyers ? .

As for the BC,SS all 4 of my nib's are undamaged regarding blister packs .

I think its great that Tamiya are re releasing these fantastic kits .I did not see the damaged blister pack at the Japanese hobby show and rightly so Tamiya were not going to present a kit that had damage to it they wanted to show off a pristine unblemished kit ,If they are not concerned with poor packing then why not show a kit with damage to it ?,because image is everything .

You can't tell me that if you go into a shop to buy something and you see a damaged box and beside it is an undamaged box with the same product in it that you are going to purchase the damaged box regardless if the contents are undamaged .

And playing the stock markets is like russian roulette the way the markets have been off late.

Yep each to their own....... I prefer undamaged kits .

[DynaHead]

I contacted a couple of ebay sellers last week that were selling the 2011 Avante ,They mentioned in their listing the kits had split /broken blister packs ,I made enquiries and asked them if they had any without cracks /splits as I was a collector, I got 2 replies back both saying they had kits without cracks/splits stashed away and if I wanted one it would cost me more ...huh .

So if its not important why were they stashing them away ?.

Yeah, holding out for more $$$ on un-split motor blisters is BOGUS. I would not buy anything from them.

"I am not buying kits as an investment I buy kits because I like to collect them and new kits I buy I expect them to be excatly that NEW undamaged."

100% agreed.

BTW, it it me or all, or most, of those original Avantes on ebay are being ignored. It seems no one wants to buy them, even the near mint conditions ones. Can't blame them, the 2011 is nicer.

Thoughts?