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Rockcrusher

Tamiya's sexiest buggy

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Just out of curiosity, do all the 40-50 year old guys out there who grew up with Tamiya as teens think 1980's buggies are cool, and all the 20-30 year old guys and 40-50 year old guys with no sense of nostalgia think modern buggies and other brands are cool? I'm starting to think there is a correlation here...

In essence we are almost talking about a generation gap between enthusiasts... Kind of like American muscle cars vs. import tuner cars...

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I can't believe all of the views and replies this thread has gotten and nobody has given a shout out to everyone's true favorite ... the Sonic Fighter. Hmmmmm, wonder why?

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Hmmmm, Yes. The Sonic Fighter and Striker seem to be absent for some reason ;) . Its interesting to see the reasoning behind the replies. I'm generally a fan of the first 100. While I know some don't like the "spaceship" buggies, the combination of unique engineering, exotic materials, and slippery bodies make them fit the bill. But the idea that the realistic earlier buggies could be sexy due to their miniature realism in motion never occurred to me. There's alot of truth in that.

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Yes, I am one of those 40+ yr old people who do find the older, less spaceshipy types of buggies to be more desirable.

I prefer the hardbodies for painting, and details. Also the look of the open cages with drivers is so much more realistic to me. The FAV and Wild One are for sure good looking buggies. The do remind me slightly of the Kyosho Optimas...

I'm actually not a huge buggy fan in general, but I do think this is one of my favorites. And it's got a Willy in it. ;)

willy_scorcher1.jpg

willy_scorcher2.jpg

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I'm 39. I like the early to mid 80's buggies. I can't stand the srbs because of the stance of the rear. I don't like muscle cars and I drive a Lancer Evolution VIII. ;) I must be a weird mix.

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"Nostalgia" must be the reason why some of the guys here can't see how awfully cartoonish and kiddie-like these old Tamiya models are.

I can understand liking scale and realistic buggies vs the modern sort that look like "spaceships" or so. But cartoony, kiddie buggies are supposed to be sexy? I'll take my spaceships over the baby toy buggies anyday.

But as they say there's no disputing taste.

Among vintage Tamiya: the Hotshot looks cool. The Avante looks real cool. But in a sense how cool they looked, IMO, is/was a function of how cool they looked relative to each other -- Tamiya masterminded that world of gradients where sexy rose in increments along with the price.

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I can't believe all of the views and replies this thread has gotten and nobody has given a shout out to everyone's true favorite ... the Sonic Fighter. Hmmmmm, wonder why?

Hmmmm, Yes. The Sonic Fighter and Striker seem to be absent for some reason ;)

Maybe not sexy, but not forgotten! I was thinking about it but really, all those plastics and flawed designs do not really appeal aesthetically or even kinaesthetically. It seems that people like more than plastic on their cars, should the other materials be FRP, carbon fibre or metal. It at least makes the car interesting...

"Tamiya's 'Most Striking' Buggy" may have those two as candidates. But I love my Striker anyways!

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another way to think of the whole vintage vs spaceship sexiness preference is possibly related in other ways to what we all see as sexy in other respects. like with women (or, fill in the blank ____ ). i would equate the slick, sleek spaceship designs to a tanned sports illustrated bikini model. which is probably high on some people's sexiness scale. then there are those who find things that are a little more subtle or individualistic as sexier. uniqueness and maybe a certain character (in the 'builds character' sort of way) as opposed to raw, objective features that many find sexy. i can honestly say i'm not attracted to supermodel types. or most female celebs that people would usually point to as being benchmarks of universal appeal. for me the most attractive female characters are usually the quirky and unusual ones. like clementine from eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, ramona from scott pilgram vs the world, margot from the royal tennenbaums, norah from nick & norah's infinite playlist. these may not win the title of 'most sexy' in a vote of a bunch of people, but they're who i would choose. in the same way, i would choose the super champ over the faster, sleeker modern buggies any day. but that's me, and probably some of the others who prefer the older more individually unique models, and obviously others legitimately feel differently...

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I can't believe all of the views and replies this thread has gotten and nobody has given a shout out to everyone's true favorite ... the Sonic Fighter. Hmmmmm, wonder why?

Err, I refer you to post #20...

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Well, in all fairness it seemed you quickly recanted with the Vanquish, which is a very respectable buggy itself.

With sexiness being relative and all, I find the prospect of a buggy using highly-advanced technology and thinking at the time with certain features to cut down costs (referring to the general chassis architecture and the bathtub chassis v. the double-deck configuration, respectively) to be very attractive...

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Err, I refer you to post #20...

Apologies Gruntfuggly, I missed that one (and yes, I have been following the thread, but somehow just didn't catch it). Good to keep me honest, though!! ;)

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I AGREE ... THE SUPER CHAMP IS HAWWWWT! UNF UNF UNFFF

This one is gorgeous too. Rad22's SRBs are always something special.

img1892_26022008235334_9.jpg

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What have you all inhaled; injested or injected? Which RC buggy is the sexiest? I guess add some hop ups like fish net stockings on the windows or a skin tight paint job, no bubbles....I've been spray painting in an enclosed area.... :blink:

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Nice thread.

IMHO, there's more to it than looks. There's design and intention. And meaning. And maybe that's what many here are trying to describe and quantify, perhaps without even really knowing it. :) There's an "X" factor in many old cars that made them special. They weren't just popular because they were new fangled toys. Their colossal sales were also thanks to great designs that stirred imaginations.

Earlier cars had thematic purpose, and a lot of time was spent on small details, even subliminal details.

Cars based on real cars, yes, but there's more to it...

Cars based on distinct animal themes, colour, shapes, profiles and behaviours.

Cars based on weapons, machinery, and other vehicles.

Cars based on caricatures, characters and personalities.

Cars over-engineered for little reason other than the sheer fun of over engineering - adding to both play/build value, and visual appeal.

In the 1980s, the visual aesthetic of RC cars came from a different level of thinking, to most cars of today.

Today's cars often seem, at least to me, to exhibit very little creative thought at all. Many sleek buggies with grandiose, yet meaningless aerodynamic shapes that could be generated in 1 second by a computer or anime illustrator. While others just trade on the memorable successes of the past - rereleases, and of course variants like the wheelie vw combie, and so on.

Cheers,

H.

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My choice would be the Hotshot and the other buggies from it's era, like the Fox, the Hornet and the Fast Attack Vehicle. Some of today's newer 2WD buggies like the (sleek, but still a bit rugged looking) Tamiya Zahhak (see this showroom entry for a nice Zahhak bodyshell paintjob including a driver figure) or the Losi XXX-SCB short course buggy have a certain appeal to me, too. But most of the recent 4WDs seem generally quite distasteful to me.

As Anime was mentioned too, the same goes here. Just compare any old '80s episode of Macross/Robotech with all that streamlined and soulless cartoons of today. The newer ones may look cleaner with all their computer-aided digital ink and paint (no more oldschool pencils and brushes in todays' 2D animation) or even 3D animation, but they lack in good looking versatile human character & mechanical design and also in imaginative storytelling. I'll try to gather some references tonight, if that's not going too far off the topic. :)

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What have you all inhaled; ingested or injected?

Tamiya TS-22 in the lungs and Molybdenum Grease on the skin ;) ... Hopefully you know what is meant by 'sexiest.'

I find myself drawn to older buggies for similar reasons Hibernaculum listed - I may be oversimplifying by saying that imperfections are my perfection in an RC car, but many of those cars had unique engineering solutions that today I find exceedingly interesting. Working with them in a runner is part of the charm, even if I do admit there is a time when I want a better-performing or more-reliable car...

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Wild one

Super champ

Sand Scorcher

959

celica gr.b

hilux

mini cooper - more rally the better

(sshh... Hornet.. my first RC... can't help loving it!)

That old, scale look is what it's all about.

I mean, when we were kids(still now) we were dreaming, dreaming we were 1/1 scale, right... subconsciously maybe?

Deep down that's what it's fundamentally about I think, scale look, creates dreams. Maybe I'm missing the point of the OP, but the scale buggy/off roader is what I always find looks best and makes me feel so ... excited! :lol:

Although I still want a cross between the WO and the super champ... nearly there tamiya!

Also I only have two static kits - both the dakar bikes... I guess I'm a dirt lover all day long... lol

There are loads more I like, but they don't have the same appeal

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My vote:

Avante / Avante BS

Durga

Super Hotshot

Aero Avante

SC/SS

None Tamiya:

HPI Apache C1

Vintage Kyosho optima mid, vanning/ integras.

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Tamiya......hmm, having just bought a runner, which im about to tart the pants off (thread due soon, much Nimrod to add) the Dynastorm.

Non Tamiya, for pure retro, yet timeless looks.....this

My Kyosho boxart Optima.

SAM_0296.jpg

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Optima is cheating - much nicer looking than any Tamiya, but this thread is title "Tamiya's sexiest buggy"...

BTW - I was definitely joking about the Sonic Fighter.

(Or was I? mwhuhahahahaha....)

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