tamiya?

[davepettigrew 0]

lately i dont know what to think of tamiya, rere everything, havvent come out with anything new in years thats any good. puttin a vw bus body on a wild willy Whats that all about then?, puttin the end to repos . i love the older models but just dont know what to think really . i have an original bruiser and avante so the reres of them dont interest me . want to start on something new but have no idea what lol.

[OldSchoolRunner 116]

lately i dont know what to think of tamiya, rere everything, havvent come out with anything new in years thats any good. puttin a vw bus body on a wild willy Whats that all about then?, puttin the end to repos . i love the older models but just dont know what to think really . i have an original bruiser and avante so the reres of them dont interest me . want to start on something new but have no idea what lol.

How about finding a good original Sand Scorcher, Rough Rider or Super Champ and rebuilding it? If you were to do that it would keep you pretty busy trying to source all the original bits and pieces? Just an idea.

OSR

[davepettigrew 0]

read my mind honestly, i love the older stuff. metal parts are great might even get a re re schorcher or buggy champ. the rc4wd trailfinder 2 also is lookin good. for now i got a couple optimas and 2 optima mids to keep me busy lol. if kyosho would rere i would buy them all lol

[OldSchoolRunner 116]

read my mind honestly, i love the older stuff. metal parts are great might even get a re re schorcher or buggy champ. the rc4wd trailfinder 2 also is lookin good. for now i got a couple optimas and 2 optima mids to keep me busy lol. if kyosho would rere i would buy them all lol

Lot of people are thinking what you are there about Kyosho!

OSR:)

[davepettigrew 0]

i find kyosho to be the a better buggy the optima/ lazer is far superior to the tamiya buggys. i have a boomerang hotshot thundershot they fail in comparion to my optimas. i love my avante though its complicated but a great buggy and looks amazing

[mtbkym01 4008]

i find kyosho to be the a better buggy the optima/ lazer is far superior to the tamiya buggys. i have a boomerang hotshot thundershot they fail in comparion to my optimas. i love my avante though its complicated but a great buggy and looks amazing

Agreed, Kyosho are definately better cars, especially on track, I'm a huge fan for sure, even there current kits are awesome (numerous WC's, especially in 1/8 offroad). Having said that, as a 13 year old, the thing that got my attention was the Tamiya range of cars, Frogs/Hotshots/Hornets/Foxes. Coz of these memories, I will try and buy as many Tamiyas (and Kyosho's) as I can possibly get. The only thing that concerns me is the regular re-releases of classics, I for one, cant keep up

[OCD 514]

lately i dont know what to think of tamiya, rere everything, havvent come out with anything new in years thats any good. puttin a vw bus body on a wild willy Whats that all about then?, puttin the end to repos . i love the older models but just dont know what to think really . i have an original bruiser and avante so the reres of them dont interest me . want to start on something new but have no idea what lol.

*UGH* Do we really need another thread decrying that Tamiya is somehow letting us down?

If the original Avante and Bruiser are your idea of the last cars produced by Tamiya that are "any good", then you haven't been paying any attention. There's been plenty of new chassis that have been introduced recently, and no one, and I mean no one makes injection moulded bodies like Tamiya continues to do. Even their newest Lexan pieces are head-and-shoulders above the competition, and the variety is astounding.

I agree that the re-releases can be a little boring, but don't forget that for every reintroduced model added to the line-up, a least two newly designed models join the list. Even you simply can't stand the re-re's, there's plenty of other options to choose from.

In the last five years alone we have seen:

• Race-ready, highly competitive chassis in Touring , 2WD & 4WD offroad, and Mini classes.
  
• The Tamtech line with an all-new chassis and awesome range of bodies. They even did a kit with an injection moulded 934!!
  
• Love-em-or-hate-em High Lift series of trucks: Not everyone's cup of tea, but again plenty successful and widely popular.
  
• An entirely new class of car featuring a 380 motor, LiFe battery, and 1/12 scale bodies.
  

So as you can see, whenever I hear this call for Tamiya to 'make something that's good', I can't for the life of me understand what the problem is with the endless choices that they've already provided.

[OldSchoolRunner 116]

i find kyosho to be the a better buggy the optima/ lazer is far superior to the tamiya buggys. i have a boomerang hotshot thundershot they fail in comparion to my optimas. i love my avante though its complicated but a great buggy and looks amazing

I agree with you 100% The only real reason a lot of us are running outdated tech buggies is because of the memories from when we were kids and the fact that Tamiya was so good at marketing catchy names that even as adults we still remember them! They had (for the time) fantastic promotional materials and videos running non-stop at the local hobby stores that in a childs eyes promoted adventure and freedom. By owning one of these you could literally drive a car before you had a licence! lololololol These three things plus the fact that you got to build it and it had characteristics of real 1:1 vehicles I know that I was sucked in hard! lololol! Probably why I have got myself into many different 1:1 project cars over the years lolololol Blame it on Tamiya! Ok I am off topic lololololol

OSR

[Daves956 157]

I'm a huge Tamiya fan of both the statics and RC. I got back into the RC with a TT01. In my opinion it's a dud they keep pushing, I went back to the old cars and modern electronics for them and I'm very satisfied with them. I looked at the XJR and the latest Toms as possible new ones but parts dry up for them faster than the old ones. It's been easier for me to rebuild the BT50 with all the missing parts than finding a good speed car other than the F series that's supported with spare parts. I look at the parts before I buy one, I run them and will crash them. So no parts is a no sale.

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

There's an easy answer for anyone who isn't satisfied with Tamiya's current products -- vote with your wallet.

-Paul

[Tamiya Era 778]

How about finding a good original Sand Scorcher, Rough Rider or Super Champ and rebuilding it? If you were to do that it would keep you pretty busy trying to source all the original bits and pieces? Just an idea.

OSR

+++1

[Meakz1973 36]

From recent experience I would recommend you explore the CR-01 range. The build process is amazing and these are like no other vehicles in the Tamiya line up.

As one member recently put it very well ( sorry, cant recall who it was), the CR-01's are also very easily pleased... meaning run them anywhere at any time, in any weather!

I would recommend the Jeep Wrangler, and the hop up / chassis tweak options are huge.

[commiedoor 18]

you have to remember . TAMIYA was about entry level/fun cars with only a few full on race models that were hopelessly expencive to buy , KYOSHO was just about full on race like AE RC10's , LOSI , YOKOMO , TRAXXAS and SCHUMAKER etc etc . although these brands did make some enrty level cars , most were race oriented ..

[loco_oso 108]

The thing I think about is that there is 'old' Tamiya and 'new' Tamiya. At the time everything was pretty fantastic with the Frog, Hornet, Fox, etc; but that was because that's how people felt at the time. The current trend was to have model cars that could run, and they looked like real cars. Now that companies have established the running part, the model part is sort-of gone I think. People now want cars that handle really well and run fast, and honestly from what I've seen scale cars can't do that to the extent that the new ones can.

I think for those that look back at when R/C's were scale models (down to the suspension, etc) and say that Tamiya aren't doing anything now are hoping that out of nowhere Tamiya will produce something awesome that is like the things you all had back in the day. Unfortunately, I don't think Tamiya will do that anymore; I don't think it sells well. Ultimately Tamiya is a company that has to stay afloat and producing slow-ish cars and trucks that look like a Fox or whatever is something that people don't really want now. Obviously the re-re market is doing well and we are starting to move back to scale vehicles, but Tamiya can't just go back to what they did before. Put a vintage 2wd buggy (or whatever) and a new 2wd buggy on a track or bashing and the one to come out will probably be the newer one. I really think that the direction they're going is okay; I much prefer the older models to a lot of the newer ones, but at the same time there's a lot of new models that are really great. I've got a GT-01 and love it, the new highlift is cool, others have mentioned some of the better ones, and there's plenty of others that in 10 or so years will be classics. I just don't think they'll go back to doing what they did before.

Don't mean to sound rude; just my opinion.

[OCD 514]

The thing I think about is that there is 'old' Tamiya and 'new' Tamiya...

Don't mean to sound rude; just my opinion.

I don't think this sounds rude at all - You summed it up nicely.

People are predictable and forget that ultimately Tamiya does listen to what they want. The re-re Sand Scorcher is a perfect example of this: Collectors begged for another batch of Scorchers that were just like the original but still discernible from the vintage release. Not only did Tamiya deliver this but went so far as to give us BLISTER PACKS and a BALL DIFF! Yet I still hear people complain that Tamiya has "given up" producing "anything good" ... While neglecting to recognize that Tamiya produces all new and original designs at a rate of 2 to 1 over re-releases.

You just can't please some people I guess.

[bromvw 744]

I don't think this sounds rude at all - You summed it up nicely.

People are predictable and forget that ultimately Tamiya does listen to what they want. The re-re Sand Scorcher is a perfect example of this: Collectors begged for another batch of Scorchers that were just like the original but still discernible from the vintage release. Not only did Tamiya deliver this but went so far as to give us BLISTER PACKS and a BALL DIFF! Yet I still hear people complain that Tamiya has "given up" producing "anything good" ... While neglecting to recognize that Tamiya produces all new and original designs at a rate of 2 to 1 over re-releases.

You just can't please some people I guess.

i started a debate similar to this some time back . At the time i was dissapointed with Tamiya's lack of recent scale offering's and felt they had lost their way . However all things considered with the recent re releases i have to admit , reluctantly, that they are doing a good job .

[Muzzy 0]

I find the re-releases exciting! It means I can go a new classic for one of my kids, just like I used to have. (and still do).

[HunterZero 76]

Seriously, I don't understand how anyone can have a problem with Tamiya re-releasing these older kits.

Think about it - Tamiya makes no money whatsoever from the collector's market. They only make money selling new kits and new spare/option parts. For those who always wanted these cars and could never afford one, re-releases are fantastic. These kits are still great fun, even today to somebody who hasn't had one the first time around. It makes perfect sense for Tamiya to re-release them, and make some money from them without huge R&D investment and tooling/moulds to make a totally new kit.

And Tamiya not releasing anything new? Uh, hello? Yes, they do keep releasing heaps of boring generic TT-01 kits (albeit with very, very nice body shells), and some naff kits (Vajra, anyone?). But what about the TRF cars (TRF417, 201, 511), the DB01, TA05, TA06, M05/M06... It will be interesting to see what the DB02 is like... So, Tamiya have decent offerings in both onroad and offroad cars. Tamiya still have exceptional build quality on all their kits. Their TRF dampers are some of the best around. Their off-road body shells may be a bit bland, but that's the fashion these days. Their touring car bodies are still the most detailed around. Plenty of aluminium and carbon option parts to bling up your creation. How many variations of these chassis do you need?

Add to this some of the new static kits they've been releasing - Have you seen the 1/32 P-51D Mustang and Spitfire kits? There is some serious engineering and R&D in those.

If you're in this hobby because you like to have the old stuff - Tamiya aren't taking that away from you. The re-release versions are different enough from the original kits that the 'hardcore' collectors can still tell the difference, for those who really care about that. You can still trade with other members through community sites like Tamiyaclub, and continue to search for the older stuff (although true vintage spares and NIB kits are getting harder and harder to find now). For the Tamiya completist, you now have both an original kit, and a re-re kit to collect.

The only reason I can see for someone not liking the re-releases is because it takes away some of the exclusivity and prestige that goes with owning a rare original kit. Newsflash - It is still impressive to collectors if you have an original version. But really, to anyone who's not a collector - they don't care if it's original or not. They didn't care before. They don't care now. The only person it really matters to is you.

It's been said before - If you're in this hobby to speculate and are in it for the money, you're in it for the wrong reasons.

- James

[qatmix 794]

Seriously, I don't understand how anyone can have a problem with Tamiya re-releasing these older kits.

Think about it - Tamiya makes no money whatsoever from the collector's market. They only make money selling new kits and new spare/option parts. For those who always wanted these cars and could never afford one, re-releases are fantastic. These kits are still great fun, even today to somebody who hasn't had one the first time around. It makes perfect sense for Tamiya to re-release them, and make some money from them without huge R&D investment and tooling/moulds to make a totally new kit.

And Tamiya not releasing anything new? Uh, hello? Yes, they do keep releasing heaps of boring generic TT-01 kits (albeit with very, very nice body shells), and some naff kits (Vajra, anyone?). But what about the TRF cars (TRF417, 201, 511), the DB01, TA05, TA06, M05/M06... It will be interesting to see what the DB02 is like... So, Tamiya have decent offerings in both onroad and offroad cars. Tamiya still have exceptional build quality on all their kits. Their TRF dampers are some of the best around. Their off-road body shells may be a bit bland, but that's the fashion these days. Their touring car bodies are still the most detailed around. Plenty of aluminium and carbon option parts to bling up your creation. How many variations of these chassis do you need?

Add to this some of the new static kits they've been releasing - Have you seen the 1/32 P-51D Mustang and Spitfire kits? There is some serious engineering and R&D in those.

If you're in this car because you like to have the old stuff - Tamiya aren't taking that away from you. The re-release versions are different enough from the original kits that the 'hardcore' collectors can still tell the difference, for those who really care about that. You can still trade with other members through community sites like Tamiyaclub, and continue to search for the older stuff (although true vintage spares and NIB kits are getting harder and harder to find now). For the Tamiya completist, you now have both an original kit, and a re-re kit to collect.

The only reason I can see for someone not liking the re-releases is because it takes away some of the exclusivity and prestige that goes with owning a rare original kit. Newsflash - It is still impressive to collectors if you have an original version. But really, to anyone who's not a collector - they don't care if it's original or not. They didn't care before. They don't care now. The only person it really matters to is you.

It's been said before - If you're in this hobby to speculate and are in it for the money, you're in it for the wrong reasons.

- James

Also to add to the list of new and cool cars, add the Ta05VDF drift chassis, the M-four and the RM01! Tamiya actually makes a proper 1/12 race car with a pretty body shell. Oh and the CR01 which I think is classic tamiya in that its quirky, can rock crawl and looks great with a nice shell on it. Hopefully the TITAN will be a short course truck.

[MadInventor 3884]

I'd add to the list of recently developed kits the Panther, Japdpanther, Panzer IV, KV1 and KV2 tanks. These take a lot R&D to make accurate scale replicas. The Flakpanzer has also been released as a scale model minus the RC equipment, but this could easily be converted to a FO RC kit for anyone with a deep enough wallet (Cheapest I've seen the bare kit so far is £280).

Having said that, it would be nice to see another scale looking monster truck like the clod / Jugg2 with solid axles, a tank even bigger than the King Tiger (E100) or one with 540 motors in that had a higher scale speed (T55/T72 ?).

It's nice to see the re-res, but for me personally, having owned most of the chassis combos at one point or another, I also know the faults in the kits, and am therefore reluctant to put my hand in my pocket for them (FAV & Wild one spring immediately to mind). Either that, or they are too expensive for what they are. I would really have liked an avante re-re, but I just can't justify spending more than £200 on a 4x4 buggy kit.

I'd also like to see some form of 6x6 lorry with an off-road capability, and of course, the 4x4 tractor I keep harping on about

Realistically, T are making a lot of wedge from on-road at the moment, it's where a lot sales are made and they obviously make good on-road cars. The offroad market is less in Japan, and although they cater to the off-road market, there are also a lot of new manufacturers out there looking to muscle in on that market.

I think if anyone could have a realistic gripe, it's that although tamiya have a wide range of products, a lot of what they produce is more of the same of what has already been produced, and we would like to see genuinely all new products, not an evolution of a previous design / idea.

If this was the 80's now, now doubt upon the release of the super sabre, we would all be moaning about the fact it's fourth car Tamiya had produced using the same gearboxes since the hotshot, really just a boomerang with a cut down rear end, and when are they going to come out with something new .........