Your first Tamiya kit build?

[Tankbuster]

What was your first Tamiya kit build?

I ask as I was just trying to remember mine - it was one of the large scale motorbikes, back in the mid 1990s. Trouble is that I've built a few and can't remember which one!

[mad maz]

hornet mk1 had a paper round and passed the model shop ever day and wanted the monster beetle but wanted a rc so bad i could not wait to save for the monster beetle and the hornet was alot cheaper and still have it to day

[prplehz]

Mine was the almighty Grasshopper back in about 1987 or so. And that thing took a beating. And even wore a Toyota IMSA GTP body and slicks at one time in it's life. It sure seemed a lot easier to build the second time as an adult though, I finished it and was like, um that's it?

[Kenny G]

Toyota Celica GT4 Monte Carlo TL01. I wish I still had it NIB.

[markbt73]

First RC kit was a Grasshopper, in 1986. I mowed lawns and painted fences and walked dogs all summer long to buy it. Had it built and running in 1 night, put the first crack in the body the next morning.

I know I had a couple Tamiya static kits before that; I've been building static models since I was 8 or 9. I remember a 1:24 Honda City, and an Audi Quattro, and one of the 1:32 battery powered "Jr" cars (Fox maybe?), but I couldn't tell you which one came first. First model kit at all that I remember was a Monogram Snap-Tite 1:32 scale Camaro, molded in lime green.

[MadInventor]

Grasshopper, sold on several months later to get a hotshot. It was all downhill from there

[nosthevamp]

One of their WW2 military kits, can't remember whether it was a figurine, vehicle, aircraft or warship. I remeber buying and building them all back in the early to mid 70s. Later when I got married and had children I bought a Monster Beetle; that was in the mid 80s.

[TA-Mark]

My first Tamiya build was the 1:24 static Ford Sierra RS500 Texaco kit. Before this I mainly built AMT/Ertl, Monogram and Revell kits, mostly of US muscle cars.

First Tamiya RC built was the TA02 Ford Escort Cosworth WRC kit. It slowly turned into a short wheelbase DF01 with a Nikko Landshark body fitted. Eventually I bought another TA02 (HPI tub) chassis for the rally bodies.

[mongoose1983]

It was the LEGENDARY Midnight Pumpkin! How I loved that pretty lil' truck! Sighs...

[SB_Aust]

Tamiya Lunchbox. Got it for my Birthday late August 1987. Awesome Days! Oh so many repairs due to a hard life. I think it was held by super glue and sticky tape by late 1988.

[Retro rules!]

Tamiya Lunchbox. Got it for my Birthday late August 1987. Awesome Days! Oh so many repairs due to a hard life. I think it was held by super glue and sticky tape by late 1988.

Yep, me too. I remember riding down to Mr toys in the pouring rain and buying one for $200. The store wrapped it in a few big bags for me and then i rode home. Riding and trying to hold a kit box at the same time is not easy!!

I pretty much built it that afternoon too. I was 14 at the time, so it would have been 1988.

Paul

[HunterZero]

It was my Tamiya Frog! Prior to that it was just Airfix kits.

- J

[3minits]

I can't remember the first static kit there have been that many, however my first r/c was a fox, and the first brand new one I got was a monster beetle....which I later swapped for a thundershot!

[DooBeDooBeDo]

Lamborghini Cheetah . I think I'm showing my age

[Thommo]

My first Tamiya build was the Astute in 1990. 21 years and 4 owners later it became my first vintage re-build. Now I have Tamiya box wrench syndrome and an addiction to threadlock.

This is how she looks now.

[gozone]

My first attempt on a static kit build has been around 1980 i think, at the age of 8 years.. I am pretty sure it was a Mongram-kit, and it was a Ford (Capri or Mustang?), Imsa-kind of racecar-thingy, bit it was "built" with paper glue, and no painting at all, and never finished, as the paperglue obviously wouldn´t hold it together.

My first "proper" RC was a Frog in 1986, which also got built the very same day i took it home from the hobbyshop.

The owner of the shop, who actually became a very good friend, who now has sadly passed away (killed in the shop by a "customer" with an army assault rifle), anyway, he had told me to call him at home, if i had any issues with the car at all, and as i had almost completed the build in the evening, and it was time for the first testdrive in the livingroom, the car would only go around in circles.

Big frustration, and i called the shop owner at half past eight on a friday night, and he said: "I will come and help you straight away", so he drove from his home to ours, (approx. 35 km), to find out what was wrong with the car, and (of course) i had forgotten to turn on the radiogear, and get the servos into neutral position before moumtimg them, so the front wheels would only turn one way, making the car go in circles.

He then disassembled the steering and MSC, trimmed the levers, and put it all together again, and then the car worked flawlessly.

However, in about 1 years time, the car was completely worn out, and repaired with whatever i could find (spares and tyres were quite expensive back then), so eventually, it got binned, but boy, i had loads of fun with that little car.

I remember once, another guy from school came to our house to race (i had made a small track in the garden).

He drove the Ascona 400, and i drove my Frog, and his car was SO much faster than ine, and i just couldn´t understand why? Then, i one of the recharging-sessions (which were fairly long back then) i had a look at his car, and he had put in a new motor (can´t remember if it was a Techni-something), so after all, is wasn´t that strange that he could outrun my car that easy, lol..

Cheers..

Michael

[SteelRat]

Monster Beetle back in 1987. Still run it now, and still has its original shell. Click link in sig

[IBIFTKH]

I can't remember my first Tamiya kit, I was a keen (if untalented) model builder from about the age of 7 or 8. But my first RC was a Sand Rover, bought new in the early eighties, now restored and occasionally taken out for a gentle run and chuckles.

[KalEl63]

Mine was the Terra Scorcher worked my bottom off during school holidays to get the money to buy it, then had to wait til the weekend to build it as I wasn't allowed to during a school night

[Oldie-schrauber]

I began first with the little airfix ww1 planes wich are static models. My first RC car was around 97 when i was 4 it was a little Nikko 1:24 Rc car but it didnt had a long life... Shortly after that I got my Tamiya Fighter Buggy RX from the fleamarket wich I still got in working condition. After this mostly my rc cars where old ones I got from friends ... I never built a box new car but restored many old bashed ones. But I might go and buy a rere of the Holyday Buggy. That thing is soo cute

[AndyjcClod]

Mine was a Falcon in (if memory serves me correct) 1987 it was a Birthday present bought from ED Models in Shirley! (Its gone now)

Took me a whole day to build and I remember I didn't understand how trim worked so it went to one side for a few weeks until a guy at school showed em how to center the servo properly!

[Ricky850r]

Mine was a peugeot 306 maxi on the ff02 chassis. Ran it almost to death, the tires went so bald eventually they just disintigrated and had to be replaced. Sold it a couple of years back on ebay, really wish I hadn't now !

[Skottoman]

My first Tamiya kit was the Sand Scorcher back around 1983. Wish I still had that original one... My parents gave it away when I moved out of their house...

Cheers,

Skottoman

[simondo]

This thread has just made me realize that I have NEVER built a NIB RC car. My cars have always been second hand. Every car i have owned has been fully stripped and rebuilt though.

[94eg!]

First Tamiya Kit: Mini 4WD Vanquish in 1988 (see my avatar)

First Tamiya RC Kit: 1/10 scale RC Vanquish in 1990

First Tamiya Model Kit: 1/24 scale Castrol/Mugen NSX (painted silver w/ orange racing stripes) 1998

First Tamiya Restoration: 1/10 scale RC Avante in 2005