Mountaineer Re-release #84386 (Mountain Rider)

[JYCM3]

I'm gonna have to try this color out, it looks great

You should, it's very nice color I have it on my Hilux retro

http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70280

[JYCM3]

Tamiya rc guide

Source:tamiya blog

[Wandy]

So why did they go to the effort of making the diffs lockable/unlockable when re engineering them? Why not leave the rear locked and the front one way? Why make the gearbox better instead of the same? Why switch from a nostalgic 750 to the most commonly used motor in RC?

Tamiya have boasted all along that the rere Bruiser is a modernised classic.

For the same reason they updated the Avante & Egress with new uprights, Scorcher & Buggy Champ with new dampers, Hotshot & Supershot with better chassis access etc etc, ie small design changes designed to merely improve on known design flaws so that the owning experience could be a little bit better the second time around.

They never said that they have modernised it, or for that matter any of the other re-releases, they just said they have improved them. If they had modernised the Bruiser to the wishes of those on the Scale & Crawler scene they would have done stuff like make front & rear axles equal in length, changed the gear ratios to suit crawling terrain and completely upgraded the leaf spring & damper set up. But they didn't. They made sure that the Bruiser was essentially the same truck in aesthetics with a few performance upgrades to ensure that it continues to uphold the company's reputation for care & attention to detail and also give their core fanbase what they want over any other group of people.

Saying that the Bruiser should be legitimately compared to modern scalers & crawlers that look very similar is like saying that the Avante & Egress should be compared to something like the Associated B5, but nobody does that because they accept that for that to happen the Avante/Egress would have to be radically redesigned and that would defeat the whole point of bringing them back. The exact same thing can be said for the Bruiser & Mounty re-releases.

I dont know how much closer a bruiser/mounty could get to the 'scale crawler scene'...

Scale metal chassis: check. Realistic locked/able diffs: check. Hung leaf springs: check. Gearbox/transfer case: check. Scale pickup body: check.

The thing is though, it's not the Bruiser that gets "close" to the scale crawler scene. It is in fact the other way around. It is the Scale/Crawler scene that got close to the Bruiser, by basically copying the design & ethos and then elevating the performance to another level by making changes that also happen to change the aesthetic look of the chassis. Now this might seem irrelevant to scaler fans in the grand scheme of things but to diehard vintage Tamiya enthusiasts it is a deal breaker. And those are the people whose opinions count when it comes to re-releasing a kit, which is why Tamiya went to such trouble to make the new one look identical to the original.

Remember Tamiya floored everyone in the 80's with the scale aspect of these trucks. Now with a huge bunch of new 'scale truck' style companies with roots that probably began in modifying bruisineers are making their own kits, it seems a logical manouvre by Tamiya to bring back two trucks that can sit tall with todays current crop.

They already have brought out three kits to sit tall with the current crop though.....they were the three High Lift 3 speeds. That was your perfect example of Tamiya acknowledging the Scaler & Crawler scene and offering up a chassis to directly compete in it. Whether they succeeded or not is irrelevant, it was created to do that job and was aimed at that group of people. Vintage enthusiasts were not the target consumer in that instance.

To think it is soley a 'nostalgia trip' is silly, more like a smart business plan by a company that wants to make money.

You are right of course, they do want to make money. But they also have a brand reputation & tradition to protect. You've got to remember that back in the day the Bruiser was a high end luxury kit, stratospherically priced, and owned by only the most fortunate group of people. There is no way that they were going to re-release it in a manner that cheapened or tarnished the memory of the original, therefore a pricing structure of the re-release has been put in place with relevance to the prices of their own other RC kits, not those of the lookalike scale trucks from other manufacturers. I'll say it again...Tamiya could not give a monkeys about the price & performance of the "competition" because in their eyes there is no competition. The Bruiser & Mountaineer are super-detailed models designed for light off road use. It just so happens that the re-release versions can do this a bit better than the originals can.

Shodog......is the perfect candidate Tamiya are looking for, not somebody who is being picky over what colour 'mica red' a colourless styrene body comes in.

Well, for me, speculating on design & detail changes is part of the intriguing fun when a kit is about to be re-released. And stuff like this can stimulate much chattering & even discontent amongst the vintage community. You only need to remember the furore around the Scorcher, re-released with Blitzer body, to realise that. For the record, whatever shade of red they recommend will probably be irrelevant to me as I plan to paint mine white.

[mongoose1983]

Not particularly excited over any Mountaineer myself, but I'm certainly digging the 1:1 here...

[ukfox]

While I wait for the new mountaineer to be released,

Are there any must have hop ups needed for this?

I presume it will come with bearings.

Would a crawler motor be better suited, rather than a standard silver can?

[Tamiya1/10]

While I wait for the new mountaineer to be released,

Are there any must have hop ups needed for this?

I presume it will come with bearings.

Would a crawler motor be better suited, rather than a standard silver can?

Cosmetic wise, add another set of shocks at the rear, exhaust pipe, lights, winch etc. Performance wise, can't think of too much as the old 3spds are not that good compare to the current models by Tamiya or other brands. Maybe more functional shocks or hardened drive shafts are the only 2 items can think of. Visit webshop like rc4wd and see what's available.

[Grastens]

How about a slipper clutch? It was a popular upgrade for the re-release Bruiser...

[ukfox]

I have seen the slipper clutch (thanks Grastens)

I have a few Junfac drive shafts, from an 8x8 project..

I will wait until I build the kit before I think about body accessories (thanks Tamiya 1/10)

Think I have a CR 35 turn motor spare.

If the kit is like the bruiser, it should come with bearings

[SteveU30]

How much are UK peeps paying for this from Stella as I've just noticed that it's only £450 delivered from Fusion (after discount)?

[Percymon]

The actual price hasn't been released by Stella yet but I'm guessing it'll be cheaper than Fusion including delivery to the UK. Depending on your standpoint however, the actual saving might not be significant enough to warrant buying from abroad and neglecting UK model shops. This was certainly my position when I bought a couple of RC10s, the saving of about 30 on each kit wasn't enough imo so I opted to buy from the UK instead. Guilty conscience really as 95% of my stuff comes from Asia!

I think a few of us have that same guilty conscience. Trouble is the exchange rate for buying from Asia is getting better for us Brits with the weakening dollar. Shipping costs do seem to be increasing though, particularly on the larger kits.

[Wandy]

I think a few of us have that same guilty conscience. Trouble is the exchange rate for buying from Asia is getting better for us Brits with the weakening dollar. Shipping costs do seem to be increasing though, particularly on the larger kits.

No feelings of guilt over here. In fact I look forward to the return of the heady days of the 2:1 exchange rate.

I do have some sympathy for UK stores who cannot compete with Asian prices though, but at least they are currently able to get a little bit closer to the pricing of the high-end expensive stuff, although for how long remains to be seen.

I still wonder why the Bruiser is so much cheaper everywhere now than when it was first released. And how come the Mounty looks like it is going to be at least 15% cheaper than the Bruiser when the two kits are essentially identical? Not that I am complaining mind, I dearly would love to get my Mounty for under £350 all in.

[JYCM3]

.....And how come the Mounty looks like it is going to be at least 15% cheaper than the Bruiser when the two kits are essentially identical? Not that I am complaining mind, I dearly would love to get my Mounty for under £350 all in.

I think the mounty is cheaper due to rere Bruiser need different decal to remove

Some of the original sponsors where as mounty there is hardly any. Also the Bruiser sleeper cab is new mold seperate pieces and additional brackets underneath so that probably where the higher

Cost come from as tamiya need to somehow recover some of the cost for that mold.

I seen a Japanese hobby shop listing mountain rider for USD $632 (6,4865 yen) after 30% off retail price hope I can get it £350 too

[GTodd]

I'm surprised this hasn't blown up the way the Bruiser and Avante did. This was my favorite, never could afford Tamiya. I just finished installing my black bumpers in my bruiser/mounty build I'll get pics up soon.

[Tamiya1/10]

Tamiya copied the Americans, kept the chassis, slap on a new body and call it a new model. once you have the bruiser, you'll realize the mounty is just a bruiser with the rear cap removed and roll bars added. The same for the blazer and hilux. Mind you is not 100% identical but close enough to call it the same. At aaround ~ $600 a pop it ain't cheap and majority of us has limited budget for big ticket items.

[mongoose1983]

Tamiya copied the Americans, kept the chassis, slap on a new body and call it a new model. once you have the bruiser, you'll realize the mounty is just a bruiser with the rear cap removed and roll bars added. The same for the blazer and hilux. Mind you is not 100% identical but close enough to call it the same. At aaround ~ $600 a pop it ain't cheap and majority of us has limited budget for big ticket items.

The Mountaineer might as well be one of the first Tamiya re-res ever, in this case a re-release of the 1985 Toyota 4x4 Bruiser. Earlier on Tamiya used to release two cars on the same chassis, but it's not the case with this Toyota.

[redzone]

I wonder if this will come with the tble02s?

[Tamiya1/10]

The Mountaineer might as well be one of the first Tamiya re-res ever, in this case a re-release of the 1985 Toyota 4x4 Bruiser. Earlier on Tamiya used to release two cars on the same chassis, but it's not the case with this Toyota.

Didn't tamiya used the same chassis for RR, SC and with the Ford body or the whole line up for TA02 / 03s and XC/CC chassis has to date at least 7 different bodies? Mind you Tamiya is not the only company doing it, even new company like Axial with their SCX10 chassis from Honcho to Jeep line or their wraith and yeti basically are the same vehicle.

Overall these old / re re 3spds are a keeper.

[Percymon]

Just confirmed my order with Stella - £357 shipped :D :D

[backtomyroots]

Just ordered me one !

Wanted two, but budget cuts this year

[SteveU30]

Hmm, might be tempted to get this in a couple of weeks when I get paid!

[GTodd]

Just ordered me one !

Wanted two, but budget cuts this year

Awesome enjoy! I just added the black bumpers and the slipper.

[Colt Seavers]

What's the significance of the 8xxxx kit number? Does that make it a limited release?

[Percymon]

What's the significance of the 8xxxx kit number? Does that make it a limited release?

It does, but then youhave no idea how limited - i have a Golf Rallye M-05 still NIB, had it nearly 2 years, but they are still widely available from retailers.

I think its more about how much hassle it is for Tamiya to offer the kit - if 95% of the parts are common then it relatively easy to keep the production trickling along,

[Colt Seavers]

Oh well, I went ahead and ordered one from Stella since I'd contacted them a while ago to get on their waiting list. No idea if I will build it though - I just seem to be accumulating NIBs since I don't have time to build them!

[Wandy]

Just had an interesting email from Stella. Apparently the kit box is different in size to the re-release Bruiser. Would be a nice little bonus if this one comes packaged like the original.