Fake driving lights: another lost relic

[markbt73]

So I'm up earlyish, wife's still asleep, and I'm going over the manual for the Fox in preparation to do some work on it today. And I notice something: no fake driving lights. So I check the box art images online, and nope, it never had them.

Which got me thinking: when did they disappear? From what I can tell, the Fox was the first Tamiya buggy design to not include them. And after that, appearances are few and far between: Falcon yes, but not on any later variants of that chassis, and they seem to have disappeared completely from the 4WD buggies after the original Hotshot. The last new Tamiya buggy body design to include dummy driving lights, unless I missed one later, seems to have been the Super Hornet.

Other manufacturers seem to have abandoned them around the same time: Kyosho's Pegasus and Icarus had them, but the Cosmo left them off. Marui Hunter yes, but Galaxy no. The RC10 included them (and a driver figure as well), but until the concept of a "vintage box-art build" came along, I never saw one in person with them installed.

A lot of people, including me, commonly left them in the box. Why bother drilling two more holes in the body for non-functional lights? But looking back at the designs now, they really did add something. It's the kind of little detail that seemed silly back then, but now, as my thoughts about RC vehicles drift ever further away from flat-out performance, and more towards nostalgia, realism, and intricacy, I really miss them.

[waterbok]

The Falcon has some then next is the rere Hornet

[Saito2]

Yep. Along with driver figures, driving lights have gone the way of the dodo. I honestly don't know why Tamiya doesn't get back into more realistic buggies. I'm sure between the new offerings (which are likely very cost effective) and the re-releases, there isn't a hard financial need to do it. Still, it would be nice to see the company return to its roots a little bit, considering hard core racing (like AE) has never been their main focus.

[kontemax]

This is my attempt with the headlights and the driver:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=119233&sid=24

Next one will be the Fox.

Max

[MAD RACER]

I Love the look of them but on runners they are the first to break off in a tumble .

My Re re Tomahawk has them on the roof with a guard around them. The guard looks stupid but seems to stop them breaking so much.

[GregM]

For the Super Fighter G, Tamiya went the extra mile to include a pair of big 'ol fake exhaust pipes, which needed to be painted and attached separately on the body.

Does that count too?

For some newer buggy bodyshells that neither include drivers nor fake lights, I've already bought some Super Hornet Z-parts bags. They're plenty and cheap, and they include both busts for top- and bottom-mounted drivers:

http://www.modellbau-seidel.de/index.php?firma=Tamiya&best=54626

Through the re-releases, there are also many similar drivers and lights in several sizes available as spare parts for little money. E.g. Sand Rover driver, Wild Willy, Holiday Buggy driver and square fake lights, you name it.

[TamTom]

This is really an interesting discovery. I haven't recognised that either until I red this thread.

[Brads442]

When I purchased my Fox in 1985 (the one pictured on the far left) I was bummed they did not come with driving lights too. My friend had a Frog and another friend had the Hotshot, both had driving lights and looked so cool! So, I went down to the hobby shop and bought the driver tree for the Frog and added them myself (at the age of 13). During the restoration of my Fox (in 2002), I painted them to match the Frog's driving lights and added the correct vintage decals.

Here's the thing if you install them. The width between that area in the body is pretty tight and sleek. I "think" that is why Tamiya did not add them as is it somewhat tricky to get a screwdriver in there to tighten them and not scratch or bend the body. You just have to take your time and be careful.

Over the years, I have purchased 2 additional Foxes, both of which I have added driving lights. They just add to the vintage look and feel & scale realism of these awesome R/C cars. The Fox in the middle was restored as well and the Fox on the far right is a fun driver, with an ESC, GT Tuned motor and light weight upgrades, it really moves!

[TamTom]

The Fox looks pretty cool with the lights added!

[Frog Jumper]

I took the lights off of my Frog... I think it looks "sleeker" without them... I may or may not add them back...

On my son's Blue Devil, there are no lights since we got a Parma lexan body (we don't have an original body)... For this one, I might add some lights, based on this thread!

I think he would like them, and for a truck, it seems more appropriate...

Terry