The first Tamiya you ever saw run?(pre1990)

[SonicCJ5]

It must have been 1983 I was 9 and just moved to a new house. Out new neighbor was outside with his Sand Scorcher. I have been hooked ever since. Another kid up the street owned a F-150 I have been tempted to go to the house and ask his parents if they have the truck and I would more then happy to take it away to save them room.

[Philyon]

My first Tamiya i saw was my first tamiya run with my Grasshopper II in 1989 ! Never saw other Tamiya before. But what a great moment !

[backtomyroots]

Hey Guys:

What a great question! The year 1987 or 1988. I saw several models that year running in this order:

1st car ever seen running: Tamiya Wild One

2nd: Tamiya Grasshopper

3rd: Tamiya Hornet (I saved up to buy it !)

4th: Tamiya Blackfoot

5th: Tamiya Wild Willy 2

6th: Marui Big Bear

How's that for a memory! My friend and I saw a guy run a Wild One on a street nearby and we got the hornet and grasshopper, respectively. After that he got a blackfoot and Traxxass Bullet (yep, the old days when you built your traxxass vehicles!). Nothing but fond memories and man, that hornet was indestructible !

chris

[HunterZero]

My first encounter with a Tamiya buggy was in the mid eighties. A friend of mine from school had a Tamiya Hornet. up until then I'd only seen the dinky little RC cars that ran on dry cells, I'd never seen such a large, fast RC car! And I remember being really impressed how the car not only had working suspension, but the rear suspension was oil damped, not just basic springs.

The friend with the Hornet had a few of the 'Moko Chan' RC lecture papers, and the RC guide book.

I was lucky enough to receive a Frog as a present from my parents soon after.

I remember around the same time going to an RC race track where they were running pan cars. Not sure exactly what the cars were, I can't remember, but I do remember they were fast.

- James

[terry.sc]

First Tamiya car I saw running were the F2s racing at my 1/12th scale club. One or two SRBs turned up and raced in their own class. These were seen as a bit of a joke amongst us racers as they seemed to fall apart easily in accidents that would have left our 1/12th scale cars unharmed. One Scorcher regularly finished the race with one front wheel missing.

The first Tamiya I owned was a Sand Rover bought several years later when I moved to an area where there was no local racing club.

[mud4fun]

The fist Tamiya I saw run was actually on a video playing in Beatties in Liverpool back in 1979-80'ish. It was a fantastic Tamiya promo movie of the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider running thru water etc. In those Days Beatties shelfs were piled high with Tamiya and they had those amazing glass display cases full of Scorchers, 3spds etc. At the time I was just 11 years old and I could only afford the beautiful Tamiya guide book which used to be worn out after a few weeks of drooling over those vehicles. We all used to sit around in lessons reading the Tamiya catalogue and not doing any work....

Finally I got my very own Scorcher for Christmas 1980 and I remember building it for the first time. It was like no model I'd built before (mostly just cheap airfix plastic kits before) and the quality was very impressive.

So like Chris (Netsmith) the first Tamiya R/C vehicle I saw actually run for real was my very own Sand Scorcher. In those days though the batteries were rubbish (as were the chargers) and you only got about 10 minutes run time before you had to recharge it. I was also dissapointed as well because I crashed the car into a flower pot and the top of the front body mount (aluminiuum one!) snapped off where the body pin groove is. This meant waiting for a whole week before my Dad could take my back to Beatties to get a replacement - I had to spend the rest of the Christmas holidays driving it around with no shell....

When I went back to school after Christmas a whole bunch of other Lads also had Scorchers and Rough Riders plus Holiday buggies etc. We played with them on the playing fields at Lunchtime, R/C cars were really big thing at the time back in the days before games consoles became so popular.

Wonderful memories!

[Scorchio]

School 1981 our class had to do a project and a talk on their hobbies, one kid had an XR3-11 that he drove around in the playground for a bit. Cool I thought, but in his talk he passed round magazine pics of the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider 'Beyond cool!' I thought.

[WillyChang]

(hey wow, a vintage thread that I haven't seen before!!)

Raced against a Celica LB Turbo (CS) with my 936 (nonCS),

must have been around 1978. Another kid had a Scorcher.

The toyshop where dad bought parts for his PB9 International

had shelves full of SScorchers & RRiders, but they weren't

all that exciting just sitting there on a shelf.

Who cared about Baja when the 70s had F1 (REAL danger & skill),

Grp B rallying, World Sports Cars and the CanAm series?!? []

[Tamiya fever]

First RC car I ever saw run was my older brother's Cheetah. This was probably 1980-81. He never had the patience to take proper care of it, so I didn't get to see it run much. It mostly sat on display, until he sold it. [V]

[Acto-Tuned]

First Tamiya I ever saw was the Ford F-150 XLT Ranger. The car belonged to the father of a friend (he ownes it now). I can't remember the exact first time I saw it as I was about 4years old when he bought it (born in 1980). About a year ago I found a picture of it taken by my mother in the mid eighties. This car is the main reason I got into RC cars and the F-150 is still my favorite Tamiya (to bad I don't have one).

(this is the first time I try to post a picture so it might not work)

[MonkeyFooty11]

Well I was about 12 and a friend had a guy living on his street that had a sand rover. I had never seen anything so quick or realistic before, when he showed me it could do skids by putting the front wheels into full lock and throwing it onto reverse I was sold.

When I finally got my Grasshopper I couldn't wait to do the same thing for myself!

Pete

[sradjoe]

Back in the late 80's, My buddy had called me up and told me about this R/C car his mom had bought him, and he wanted me to see it. I get there and he is running around with a Monster Beetle. It was the coolest thing! All the neighborhood kids were there gathering around to watch it blitz around. Of course I was hooked. I asked my parents for one, and then I cant remember how long it was, but they eventually got me my Manta Ray. Still use it to this day. Now when my son gets old enough, I will hand him down my MR, and it will most likely be his first R/C.

[maxHiLux]

What I first saw was the TV movies in the shop back in 1981. I really wanted a Sand Scorcher or Rough Rider (attracted by the real looking shocks). But it was to expensive so I had to go for a XR311. I built it, drove it and after the first run almost every screw and nut that mattered had fallen off (I didn't use thread lock, thought it was unnessecary!). After rebuilding with the blue stuff it ran fine but of course the very low impact body was quickly bruised.

I also experienced my first amazement about the forces off an offroader: the metal bearings completely wore out after 10 or 20 runs. And ball bearings cost tons back then, so my XR 311 drove very badly straight lines because of the wobly wheels. But I had fun! After that my beloved Sand Scorcher came and it is not good looking anymore but it still drives and drives well!

Now I'm collecting these beautiful cars and still enjoying driving my cars!

Max

[RedFrits]

The first one I saw was in 1987. I was 15 years old and a kid from my neighbourhood had this old Frog. A few years later I bought this car since he bought a new Boomerang! i still have pieces of it and it is waiting to be restored.

[Backlash]

Hi, It would have been 82/83, I was about 12, and on the way home from a family outing, when we stumbled accross this model fair at a high school. Shortly after arriving, we came accross this make shift track mowed in the grass. My father and I started chatting with one of the RC Car owners, and he was showing us this mangled wreck, that I think was a Cox Kyosho Scorpion. The chassis was twisted and bent, and the owners explaination was " run into a wall"? Both Dad and I stood looking at each other Puzzled, wondering how that much damage could happen to a small "toy" RC car. Then, a few of the other guys came out and gave their cars a run. I was amazed at the speeds these cars could do. You could say from that moment on I was Hooked.

I remember as soon as i got home and for the following few weeks, trying to build one of these amazing RC Cars out of anything I could find. I soon gave up the building idea and decided to save up and buy one. Lots of school holidays and weekends doing odd jobs etc, and I finally had enough to buy my first RC car, THE FROG.

This memory has stayed with me all these years, and I still have a smile appear on my face, as I've not forgotten that this is where it all started.

Backlash

[scoobs]

Nothing until someone I knew got a Holiday Buggy - guess this was around 1980-82 somewhere, and ran it around the road, and I thought it was well cool.

Then nothing for a while (other than in the local model shop), and in I guess 1984, a guy who used to ride motorbikes (we were all BMXers) up the local woods bought a Wild Willy. Some others started bring their cars and they then cleared out a track in the woods and it was quite popular at the time.

Then nothing for a while and in about 87 I guess I got my Hornet, and some mates got a Hornet, Hotshot and Bigwig, so we had fun for a while...

Then nothing for a while and in about 2004 I got my Scooby and you know the rest...

[tamartin]

The first rc-car I ever saw was my Countach 58005 way back in 1979 at the age of 11!!!!

My mom and I was in a hobby-shop to buy a rc-car.

The man behind the shelf showed us the Countach 58005 and the Celica Turbo 58009. After checking the prices of the additional stuff (Acoms MK1 radio, Acoms 6V battery, Acoms charger) my mom decided to go with the cheaper Countach.

It was sprayed in orange by my dad.

It looked exactly like the one in my showroom.

After some days driving with the additional gear for extrem low speed, and driving for some time with the big gear I collect my complete money and bought a BLACK MABUCHI.

1980 or 81 I got a Sand Scorcher and some schoolfriends which had the same car for racing.

[RCHJR]

I am proud to say that I got to work on and drive the very first Sand Scorcher in the uS. My dad got his hands on it and that is how RCH came about. We have original Hot VW mags where the did articles on it and photo shoots. I think it was late 78 or early 79 when I first saw it....very cool stuff back then....

[davey_retro]

Well, it wasn't pre 1990 but the first tamiya I ever saw run was a Boomerang which belonged to a relative. This would have been 1994 when I was 11 and it was pretty knackered even then (god forbid what it looks like now!). I was absolutely gobsmacked about how fast it was because the only r/c I'd driven before was a little Nikko.

I convinced my dad to take me to Modelsport in Otley to get a car, (with a budget of £150) and came away with a Pajero Metaltop Wide (£260! Thanks dad!). I really wish I still had it but years of abuse took its toll.

[tarznatz]

I was in 7th grade, it was my best friend's brother's birthday present and it was a Frog. Man it was awesome to see. It was a dream come true to see a real true off roading remote control, no silly wires attached - vehicle....!

The following Christmas, after begging all year, I got my Brat.[]

Wish I was a better model builder back then. I remember having to take things aparts several times because I got things backwards and what not. That's what happen when you stay up over Christmas Eve and into the wee hours building for the first time I guess!

[melbsbalong]

dont know if its pre-1990 but my brother's hot shot

[rcracerpete]

My first tamiya i saw running was my 2st r/c car a Tamiya Mad Bull,i had never seen a tamiya run before that.[]

[csp27]

AHHHHHHHH yes,( with cigar in hand,Aficionado in the other),those were the good ol' days,it was a fine Saturday afternoon,back in '85 the fauna new something was going to happen that faithfull afternoon,the sound of Mabuchi caught my attention,the crowds were gathering,after an overcast morning,the FROG,AHHHH YEs ,the frog its name emblazened on my memory,I still vividly recall the pinks and whites....Those were the days.

And then I ram the ****** of a thing with my Hunter from the side!!

AHHHHHHHH yes,those were the days!!

(with a glint in his eye)

[)]

[Neil G40]

My dad took me to a shop (it wasn't even a model shop just a sports shop with a model section in it) and the guy behind the counter let me drive his own Holiday Buggy around the shop to see if I liked it, my parents bought me a Sand Scorcher (the one in my showroom) for christmas.

[frank2112]

A mate of mine had a Sand Scorcher and a Holiday Buggy. I remember seeing the original tamiya Ralt and BMW F2 cars at the big toyshop near my home. This would have to have been back in about 1982/83.