New Optima Mid - Do I build it OR Shelf it?

[LOVE THE FOX]

Hey fellow Tamiya Clubbers. So I have a question for you all. This could almost be a poll :-)

I just picked up a Brand New In Box Optima Mid. My question is do I build it or just leave it in the box?

I can't make the decision at all. The box is screaming at me to build it however I see that cars NIB bring a higher price if you ever decide to sell than built cars.

Man this is a tough one!

[alfagta]

hi , question,, "do you love rc cars and building them or are you a speculator that got it cheap and could sell it for a large profit?" the speculation is always tempting when its to make more quick cash to fund other rc projects , however ,if it was me that had it , I would build it ,, oh yes , I'd build the **** out of it , whatever you decide ,enjoy owning such a nice old buggy.

[pizzachaude]

Care to share how much you paid for it??

I would build it if I got it for relatively cheap, just finishing up mine (its a few threads down now) and it is absolutely fabulous, I'm almost done with the body. Mine was a restore, and its turning out to be quite expensive now...

[Hibernaculum]

hi , question,, "do you love rc cars and building them or are you a speculator that got it cheap and could sell it for a large profit?" the speculation is always tempting when its to make more quick cash to fund other rc projects , however ,if it was me that had it , I would build it ,, oh yes , I'd build the **** out of it , whatever you decide ,enjoy owning such a nice old buggy.

There are actually many more options than "love of building" vs "speculating for profit".

Love The Fox, it depends on whether the idea of keeping a kit unbuilt appeals to you. Many people just like unbuilt kits, and like the idea of keeping them - to always remember the feeling of seeing the cars brand new. Further, many old kits are masterpieces of presentation - more showy even, than all those vintage boxes of large Lego sets that had the flip-lids.

Given how many unbuilt kits there are in the showrooms as of 2013 (thousands, and many of them are recent releases which are not even hard to find) you wouldn't be alone in this feeling!

Personally, my preference is to either have more than 1 of each kit (so you can build one, and keep one). Or leave it unbuilt for some years, and display it. Then one day, when it's raining and you get tired of the kit, then build it and enjoy. That way, you can say you've enjoyed both options for a while.

cheers,

H.

[alfagta]

There are actually many more options than "love of building" vs "speculating for profit".

Love The Fox, it depends on whether the idea of keeping a kit unbuilt appeals to you. Many people just like unbuilt kits, and like the idea of keeping them - to always remember the feeling of seeing the cars brand new. Further, many old kits are masterpieces of presentation - more showy even, than all those vintage boxes of large Lego sets that had the flip-lids.

Given how many unbuilt kits there are in the showrooms as of 2013 (thousands, and many of them are recent releases which are not even hard to find) you wouldn't be alone in this feeling!

Personally, my preference is to either have more than 1 of each kit (so you can build one, and keep one). Or leave it unbuilt for some years, and display it. Then one day, when it's raining and you get tired of the kit, then build it and enjoy. That way, you can say you've enjoyed both options for a while.

cheers,

H.

thankfully I didn't say they were the only reasons , but they are valid ones , if I had the funds to have two and build one I too would do that too , but, its an optima mid , a model I have always liked but no longer have , so if it were me I would build it , it is certainly a dilemma , but its one for love the fox to weigh up, does he already have an optima mid? does he have lots of kits in mint unbuilt in the box condition ? if yes then its another for the collection , so,, which type of guy are you LTF?? I would love to see a full build thread for an optima mid

[Grastens]

Or, if you see enough people with immaculate Optima Mids, you can run it knowing there will always be near-perfect examples around. It could be fun - that is, until parts start to go... But eh, it convinced me to run almost every car I have owned!

I am sure the answer you seek will come with a bit of time.

[MAD RACER]

I run all Mids at some stage .

I had a lot of success with Mids & still have the very first one I bought back in 88.

To me I build my kits as i can appreciate them built a lot more.

I have one NIB kit and it's that way because I simply have no more room to display it.

[LOVE THE FOX]

There are actually many more options than "love of building" vs "speculating for profit".

Love The Fox, it depends on whether the idea of keeping a kit unbuilt appeals to you. Many people just like unbuilt kits, and like the idea of keeping them - to always remember the feeling of seeing the cars brand new. Further, many old kits are masterpieces of presentation - more showy even, than all those vintage boxes of large Lego sets that had the flip-lids.

Given how many unbuilt kits there are in the showrooms as of 2013 (thousands, and many of them are recent releases which are not even hard to find) you wouldn't be alone in this feeling!

Personally, my preference is to either have more than 1 of each kit (so you can build one, and keep one). Or leave it unbuilt for some years, and display it. Then one day, when it's raining and you get tired of the kit, then build it and enjoy. That way, you can say you've enjoyed both options for a while.

cheers,

H.

Hiber I am leaning toward what you said. I would like to have the NIB and then a shelf queen to boot. Then you have an actual car on display and the one not built. That is my ultimate goal I think the more I think about it.

[LOVE THE FOX]

It's my first and only Optima Mid at this point....... Hint, Hint :-) I wanted to bid on Wandy's ( I think that's his name, sorry if I got it wrong) that this was beautiful.

I have 3 regular Optima's. 1 is really nice, just a little dusty, that I picked up locally for 200. The other 2 are well.... The one is complete and runs but needs a lot of TLC. The other is just mostly frame but it's the Hot Trick Frame that I guess used to be a big hot item back in the day?

Then I have a Turbo Optima that I literally just bought, but haven't got it in the mail yet. It hasn't even been completely built yet. Looks like the guy started the build but never finished it yet? So it has never been ran. I am excited to finish that off and Shelf Queen that bad boy.

I would love to have 1 of each of the Optima series cars and then also 1 each of the NIB Optima Series Cars. That would be the ultimate goal now that I have truly been thinking about it. So with your help and I guess mine I have made the decision to not build it and pick up another Mid to Shelf Queen.

Check out this bad boy I just unpacked today!

[LOVE THE FOX]

It's my first and only Optima Mid at this point....... Hint, Hint :-) I wanted to bid on Wandy's ( I think that's his name, sorry if I got it wrong) that this was beautiful.

I have 3 regular Optima's. 1 is really nice, just a little dusty, that I picked up locally for 200. The other 2 are well.... The one is complete and runs but needs a lot of TLC. The other is just mostly frame but it's the Hot Trick Frame that I guess used to be a big hot item back in the day?

Then I have a Turbo Optima that I literally just bought, but haven't got it in the mail yet. It hasn't even been completely built yet. Looks like the guy started the build but never finished it yet? So it has never been ran. I am excited to finish that off and Shelf Queen that bad boy.

I would love to have 1 of each of the Optima series cars and then also 1 each of the NIB Optima Series Cars. That would be the ultimate goal now that I have truly been thinking about it. So with your help and I guess mine I have made the decision to not build it and pick up another Mid to Shelf Queen.

Check out this bad boy I just unpacked today!

[BadWagon]

Saweeet looking ride.

That pic reignites my desire for a Javelin.

Enjoy it bud, no matter whatcha do with it.

Cheers

[Wandy]

If you don't have a new built Optima Mid and very much want one then I say definitely build it. If you were thinking of attempting to build a brand new one out of sourced NOS spare parts then I will stop you in your tracks right now because many of the vital parts are simply not available anymore ie vital stuff like genuine OT-106 & 107 body/wing sets are non existent, as are stuff like the gold & platinum dampers, the OT-90 wheels and OT-66 tyres. Genuine original screw sets are long gone too, and there are a multitude of little fiddly bits that you will need too but won't be able to source, ie tiny but crucial parts like the OT-103 Tape Set. And secondly, even if you could somehow find these bits you may still end up forking out more in total than you would for a NIB kit. For example I would expect a brand new genuine Kyosho body, wing, decals & gold dampers set to fetch ~£250 in total if they ever came up on ebay. A set of OT-90 wheels would fetch ~£60 and OT-66 tyres roughly the same. Thats pushing £400 and you've only managed to find the bulky bits!

If having one as a NIB piece of treasure is of vital importance to you though then it may well be worth leaving it untouched as they are getting rarer and ever increasingly expensive. They are still very common in various states of used condition, ranging from anything as low as £70 up to about £230 so I guess it just depends on whether you really want an immaculate and untouched built example on your shelf to swoon over or a nicely presented collection of blister packed parts to admire from time to time when you pull it out of a cupboard.

[LOVE THE FOX]

"so I guess it just depends on whether you really want an immaculate and untouched built example on your shelf to swoon over or a nicely presented collection of blister packed parts to admire from time to time when you pull it out of a cupboard." - Wandy's quote :-)

This really sums up the thread right here. Would you rather have a beautiful car to display or a cardboard box and plastic blister packs to display :-)

I would like to have a NIB and a restored car together actually. I think that's my goal. We'll see how that goes :-)

I have no doubts about the "True" parts so that would be a tough one as well. It really boils down to how much you want to pay?

[markbt73]

The Mid is a really great car to run. Much like the old Associated RC10, it has more character than modern cars, but with most of the bad habits of earlier designs ironed out. So no matter what you do with this one, look for a slightly scruffier example and run it. You'll be glad you did, and it will keep your shelfer (boxed or built) clean.