The first Tamiya you ever saw run?(pre1990)

[Novastar 241]

I can see the Nikko Bison being there. But did Big W once also stock Hirobo? Seriously amazing if so

Nowadays many of the things sold at places like Target, Big W, K Mart etc aren't even a brand at all. For those unaware, they are basically budget department stores - ok if you need a quick toaster for $15 or some blankets for $10. But they have very little in the way of premium goods.

Imagine seeing something as complex, engineered and inspiring in the toy section, as a Hirobo Zerda.

Maybe someone from Australia can confirm this but I remember it being a Zerda. In any case it wasn't a Tamiya and definitely had an exposed frame. The thing was quick and it had barely any traction on the smooth tiled floors. Imagine Big W having a kit running rampant on the floor these days, someone would lodge a complaint with Safe Work Australia

[Hibernaculum 933]

Maybe someone from Australia can confirm this but I remember it being a Zerda. In any case it wasn't a Tamiya and definitely had an exposed frame. The thing was quick and it had barely any traction on the smooth tiled floors. Imagine Big W having a kit running rampant on the floor these days, someone would lodge a complaint with Safe Work Australia

Ah, so did you have the fun of racing it around the store? Or someone else?

There were a number of exposed frame buggies in those days, but we'll go with the Zerda until someone proves otherwise

[Swarm 242]

My Uncle use to manage a Tandy store in the early 80's he use to let me come in and run all the cars around the shopping mall to the annoyance of many people ,Tandy back then had a good collection of ready to run cars ,I remember a big yellow buggy like a sand rover but 3 times its size ...good times

[Novastar 241]

Ah, so did you have the fun of racing it around the store? Or someone else?

There were a number of exposed frame buggies in those days, but we'll go with the Zerda until someone proves otherwise

I never managed to get my hands on the radio set unfortunately but probably just as well - I had zero experience with a real RC Car then (only the slower toy variety) so I would have lost it into a display stand and probably wrecked it. The closest thing I had before the Avante was something called the Bullet (A bit like the Tandy Golden Arrow) which came ready to run but was powered by 8 x AA batteries. I wanted a Tamiya but my folks maybe could not afford the price tag. I had a peak at the wrapped Christmas present and thought I was getting a Boomerang. It was good for a toy though and helped peak my interest in RC.

[Hibernaculum 933]

My Uncle use to manage a Tandy store in the early 80's he use to let me come in and run all the cars around the shopping mall to the annoyance of many people ,Tandy back then had a good collection of ready to run cars ,I remember a big yellow buggy like a sand rover but 3 times its size ...good times

You never mentioned that before And yes, Tandy stores were amazing in those days.

The yellow buggy was: The Dune Buggy.

http://rctoymemories.com/2012/05/20/tandyradio-shack-dune-buggy-1981/

Manufactured by Nikko, and 1/10 scale. It was originally released in Japan as the Nikko Road Star G2.

Tandy licensed it, and it was released under Tandy/Radio Shack branding in their stores.

The closest thing I had before the Avante was something called the Bullet

(A bit like the Tandy Golden Arrow)

(You guys do realize this is my Jeopardy topic, right? )

The Metro Bullet was the Australian release of the Taiyo Jet Racer 4WD. They had twin motors. Haven't written an article about it yet, but here is one I sold...

http://rctoymemories.com/items-for-sale/for-sale-2-taiyo-jet-racer-4wd/

It was in the ballpark of a Golden Arrow, but the Golden Arrow was bigger (1/10) and 540motor + 7.2v powered.

http://rctoymemories.com/2013/04/29/tandy-radio-shack-golden-arrow-1987/

[Terz1 745]

I'd forgot about the tandy stores. We had them in the UK too. That golden arrow does look pretty nice and very similar to the hornet.

[ddaenen1 278]

First one i ever saw was a Sand Rover from a friend which i eventually bought from him and upgraded with a 540 motor and a self-made gear casing. I actually don't know what happened to the car though. The Hornet that i bought afterwards always stayed on my parents attic until i collected it several years ago which sparked my interest for the hobby again. They might have put it in the bin as it was quite worn down and parts were harder to get those days than they are now.

[Nitomor 2122]

My sister in law still has her Tandy Golden Arrow, used but still in its original box!

[67CamaroSS 304]

I was about 12 years old and I had a tyco turbo hopper that I really liked. A friend a mine brought over his Grasshoppet and I couldn't believe how much faster it was, even with the little 380 motor. A few months later he sold me the Grasshoppet and so started my obsession with Tamiya. My parents didn't have a lot of money so they couldn't buy me any kits but over the next few years I managed to buy, sell and trade at least a dozen cars and trucks, mostly Tamiya including a 959 and a Clod. I got out completely about 4-5 years later and then back into it just at the end of college. When I started working, I had a little money and started to buy all the cars I used to go crazy over when thumbing through the little Tamiya/MRC catalogs from the mid-80's. Now, I have over a hundred models, mostly Tamiya...

[Saito2 6686]

I think it might have been a Clod Buster. Someone brought it in to the local hobby shop to have the steering checked out. The clerk put it on the ground in the shop and drove it down an aisle. I remember, even in the shop, it was much faster than the Nikko vehicles I had. At the end of the aisle, the clerk cranked the wheel and the Clod steered around in a long drunken arc crashing into (and knocking over) an endcap shelf display in the process. Oops.

[bsy2010 218]

The first Tamiya I've ever seen was my Super Champ I got for my 13th birthday in '83. Never even heard about Tamiya before that, only knew Graupner and Robbe. But my dad thought a Tamiya kit would be best for me to start.

[AngryGoblin 15]

First see in the..um plastic? was a QD Pumpkin, saw lots on the video in Beatties stores, but it was the Pumpkin i saw first, screaming along with it's nose skyward.

Swapped the guy for a pack of cigarettes in the end and that was my first Tamiya, strange that i can't remember what happened to it.

[markbt73 5316]

First one that I knew was Tamiya when I saw it was a Hornet, sometime in winter 1985. Before that I had seen a group of 1/12 on-road cars racing, and some of them were probably Tamiya, but I didn't know it. The Hornet was one of three demonstrator cars at the local hobby shop (the other two were a Frog and a Wild Willy). It was painted sliver, I remember that. It had ball bearings on one front wheel, and plastic bushings on the other, so they could demonstrate why bearings were important, and therefore sell more of them.

The guy behind the counter took it outside, drove it off the curb, did a donut in the snow, and handed the controller to me, and it was all over. I started saving up money that day. Finally got my Grasshopper the next summer.

[MadInventor 3884]

Sand Rover, which my folks got me for my birthday when I was knee high to a grasshopper. They were available in model shops then, so must have been late 70's, early 80's

[smarty 0]

The first one I saw was a Rough Rider painted like the box art and I got a Sand Rover a bit later. I really wanted the Sand Scorcher. I'm now building one with vintage parts as and when I get them. This will join my garage of 20+ cars. Also on the work bench is a ducted fan car. Pictures to follow soon

[OzFrog84 1]

It was 1984 and I was 15. The owner of the local Toyworld had a demo grasshopper that we used to run around the yard out the back of the store. I convinced my mum to buy me a Frog kit to build over the school holidays and I had it done in the first weekend. Had to wait forever to get a radio for it though. The JR Circus 2 cost $400. Still have the lot and all working. Upgraded the Frog to ESC and now have the spare JR servo steering my son's DT03.

[Pintopower 1456]

Oh this is a great memory for me. It was 1984. I was 4 years old and leaving Chuck-e-cheese (common children’s play place/pizza parlor in the US) with my dad and his friend who had a daughter my age. We were driving through the parking lot in Glendora CA when we stopped. They took us out of the car and we walked over to this group of people. It was a RC Track called Hobby Bench. In fact, it is shown in the back of the 1984 or 85 Tamiya RC catalog. We as we walked over, all I could see going around the dirt oval track were Volkswagen beetles. Lots of them. They were all little baja bugs so I think you know what they were. I even remember a yellow one in particular. It was hastily painted, covered in its numbers and had matching yellow rims. The owner, a large bearded man, shoved his way passed me and tossed it on the track. He turned around, ran into me and pushed me out of the way, muttering something about how this was no place for kids. I still hate those people who forget that these are TOY cars. Anyway, I will never get how many beetles there were and how fast they all looked on that dirt track. Weirdly it is one of my oldest memories.