Jump to content
Wandy

Bigwig re-release #47330

Recommended Posts

19 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

Being a relative latecomer to the hobby, I have no childhood memories to relive or youthful longings to satisfy, so I won't be getting one for sentimental reasons. I therefore have to ask - are people excited about this re-re because of sentiment, or is it really a good model that is worth buying on merit alone? I seem to recall reading that it was considered a bit big, heavy and fragile the first time around?

At the time, it was Tamiya's best race effort. That's not saying much as an Optima or MIP 4x4 RC10 would eat this thing for lunch lol. It was heavy even in the day and had a few parts that would break as a result. That being said, nothing looked as cool and it ushered in the 8.4v batteries.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I always wondered if the bigwig's aero style body could effect driving characters a bit better,
and wondered if the rack and pinion steering could do rather effectively.
I would buy the one of these re-re surely.
 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, mtbkym01 said:

Seems to have disappeared from Metro's website now

yeah...what happened?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 05/11/2016 at 7:51 PM, TurnipJF said:

Being a relative latecomer to the hobby, I have no childhood memories to relive or youthful longings to satisfy, so I won't be getting one for sentimental reasons. I therefore have to ask - are people excited about this re-re because of sentiment, or is it really a good model that is worth buying on merit alone? I seem to recall reading that it was considered a bit big, heavy and fragile the first time around?

In terms of pure status symbol collectability I would say that only an original NIB or new build would be worth having. An original issue Bigwig will always be the true 10th anniversary model, made special due to it's Technigold motor and 8.4V Tamiya "Gold Power" battery. Not forgetting that it has the MSC of course....as well as the real world sponsor decals.

However for those who just like the look of the buggy and want the opportunity to build a brand new one fresh out of the box then a re-release will be more than good enough. And even a brand new Technigold is still available to buy as it is still actually in production....just without the Tamiya/Mabuchi branding. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MFA-RX-15-Plus-Electric-Motor-for-Tamiya-Radio-Controlled-Cars-Technigold-/221365322695

It definitely is not worth buying for it's performance ability though. It is cumbersome and has various weak points, including a ridiculously fragile front end, due to the brittle front bumper and slim front wishbones. Have a reasonably heavy front end collisIon and you are going to need replacement parts, that is for certain. It has a toy-like feel to it and even creaks and groans as you pick it up off the shelf due to that large body sitting on the chassis.

Getting that out of the way though, the buggy still is a mixture of cool & weird and that is definitely part of the appeal. It has a strange design mixture of buggy & F1 car and part of the appeal of it is the amount of effort that Tamiya made in designing it, through their collaboration witn Takuya Yura.

I have always thought they should have made a "Street" version of the Bigwig, replacing the wheels and oval block off road tyres with some wide wheels and low profile road tyres, or even racing slicks. Maybe now that the kit is seemingly coming back they may consider doing something fresh with it along those lines.

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
16 minutes ago, skinned said:

yeah...what happened?

Someone at Tamiya HQ had a little word in their ear, no doubt!

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well I just wonder how many critics have driven a Big Wig ?

I used to say the same to until I re built one and added a 13T brushless combo.  It went way better then I expected against a heap of Re re Super Shots with the same combo.  It just felt more stable and planted.  I can understand why they weren't popular due to the weight back in the days when battery cap was only 12000 to 14000 mah .

Only reason I don't run it more is the rack & pinion set up gets little stones in it all the time. A Re re would be popular at Boondal no doubt

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, Wandy said:

Someone at Tamiya HQ had a little word in their ear, no doubt!

Oh I hope this isn't some sort of stupid rumour!<_< can't wait to get my hand on a new bigwig (wonder what type of motor will be in it?) I never owned one back in the day I had the boomerang after my hotshot but I had the independent front shocks and a technigold in it my cousin had the bigwig and racing them in the school hall together with a mix of optima's and rc10's was times that I will never forget! "Pure fun":)!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, Wandy said:

And even a brand new Technigold is still available to buy as it is still actually in production....just without the Tamiya/Mabuchi branding. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MFA-RX-15-Plus-Electric-Motor-for-Tamiya-Radio-Controlled-Cars-Technigold-/221365322695

And you can plug it directly to the battery (picture taken from the link privided by Wandy):

 

s-l500.jpg

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Dangerseeker said:

And you can plug it directly to the battery (picture taken from the link privided by Wandy):

Hehe,

Cut out the middle man!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had a feeling something was coming.  My first indicators of a new re-release is EBay. Since I'm active on Ebay I pick up on trends pretty easily and I don't have the opportunity to visit this forum as much as I would like.

Everytime Tamiya announces a new re-release Ebay gets flooded with people dumping their originals. Seems that there are a large number of people out there that purchased as an investment and are fearful of the re-release diminishing the value of the originals. When the MB was announced there were hundreds maybe more that hit the auctions all int he course of a few weeks. Of course this flood effected the selling price so I took the opportunity to pick up a couple of very nice originals.

Same thing happened with the Hotshot, SS and most recently the BlackFoot.  Currently there are 5 BigWigs on Ebay which is more than I can ever remember seeing at one time along with tons of parts. 

 

I welcome the re-release of the BigWig but I sure hope that price is not correct.  Seems a bit on the high side to me.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There's mention of it as a rumor on Big Squid RC main page which is pretty big considering. ...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The cost on the website is less than £200 which is a good price. I am tempted to get one. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bigwig does not and never had done it for me I am afraid. Just not a fan at all. And as has been mentioned I do hope that price is an error, £200?? Really!! Jesus that right now would get me a re-release blackfoot and a re-release Hotshot both nib.

James

:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
42 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

I imagine it to be Supershot priced.

 

Hope not super shot price because I've not seen one in the uk for less than £220 but I think your probably right could even be more look at the price difference between the monster beetle and Blackfoot?:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5.11.2016 at 9:20 AM, Wandy said:

Also I generally agree about the short-sightedness of companies not allowing free advertising of their brand on model cars.

I don't at all want to hijack this thread by turning it into a discussion about licensing, but this morning, I again stumbled over the ad that more than anything makes me think free licenses for toy/model-cars is much more profitable for the car industry in the long run than charging for licenses is. It's too good not to share, even in a thread about the Bigwig. The title says this video is funny, and I reckon it is. To me however, it's primarily deeply touching. I'm supposed to be a man, but I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes every time I watch it. (And just in case you shouldn't know, the toy car in the video is a Subaru 360)

 

 

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, moffman said:

Hope not super shot price because I've not seen one in the uk for less than £220 but I think your probably right could even be more look at the price difference between the monster beetle and Blackfoot?:)

Back when the Supershot and Bigwig were released, the Supershot's official price was JPY29.800, whereas it was 25.800 for the Bigwig. I of course don't know the cost breakdown of these two models and the prices were probably influenced by other factors too, but I think it's rather safe to assume that the costs of the re-re Supershot and re-re Bigwig are somewhat closer than they were for the originals:

1. The Bigwig didn't come with full ball bearings, the Supershot did. Ball bearings were a lot more expensive back then. Both re-res are "full ball bearings" => moving prices closer together and in my humble opinion, possibly the largest contributor.

2. The Bigwig has quite a lot less metal parts than the Supershot and this very likely means significantly higher manufacturing cost. This "metal content" of the re-res are about the same as for the originals, but metal parts manufacturing cost is possibly a bit lower now as Tamiya is manufacturing a lot more in countries with lower labour cost than Japan. Again, I of course don't know any exact data about the split in manufacturing costs.

3. I haven't counted the number of parts in the Supershot and Bigwig, but I'm pretty confident that the Supershot has a significantly higher number of parts => Higher logistics and manufacturing costs. Rather unchanged for the re-res?

4. As the Bigwig was released after the Supershot, tooling and design costs  for common features and parts were spread on a higher total production volume (better degree of amortization for the Bigwig at SOP), something Tamiya possibly took into consideration when setting the price. This is probably of no or very little significance for the re-res => cost calculation and thus possibly prices closer together for the re-res.

5. Now the MSC'es are gone, and it's rather likely that the manufacturing cost of the Bigwig MSC was quite a bit higher than for the Supershot MSC. The lack of MSC'es in the re-res should contribute to more similar kit prices. In theory at least.

6. More?

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If Metro Hobbies' listed prices are anything to go by then the Bigwig will be available in stores for a price roughly 16% cheaper than the Super Hotshot. So that means a price of US$165 from Stella, €200 from Tamico and £175 from Fusion Hobbies. 

So, when also taking into account the postage costs of buying from overseas, for UK buyers it looks like buying from a UK hobby store will be the best option.

 

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi all, Metro Hobbies is a bricks & mortar shop  in Boxhill, and been my  local hobby shop for some 30 years, so I thought I'd give a little run down on them for those who think they may be a hoax or recent pop-up shop.These guys have always sold Tamiya product, and at one stage were apparently the biggest seller ofTamiya in Australia.. The old owner was  proud of that. 

From all I know about them the notification of the Big Wig re-release will be legit. They obviously scewed up though and gave the info to the dude who maintains the site (a fairly new set up for them) who then just put the information into  release for the puplic .. OOPS!! 

The price will be what they will need to charge off the shelf in their store.  So I would'nt pay too much mind to it unless you intend to pop into the shop and by one over the counter. 

Not affiliated with them, just havebeen  buying from them for a while now. 

 

Cheers, Michael

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Mirrorman said:

Hi all, Metro Hobbies is a bricks & mortar shop  in Boxhill, and been my  local hobby shop for some 30 years, so I thought I'd give a little run down on them for those who think they may be a hoax or recent pop-up shop.These guys have always sold Tamiya product, and at one stage were apparently the biggest seller ofTamiya in Australia.. The old owner was  proud of that. 

From all I know about them the notification of the Big Wig re-release will be legit. They obviously scewed up though and gave the info to the dude who maintains the site (a fairly new set up for them) who then just put the information into  release for the puplic .. OOPS!! 

The price will be what they will need to charge off the shelf in their store.  So I would'nt pay too much mind to it unless you intend to pop into the shop and by one over the counter. 

Not affiliated with them, just havebeen  buying from them for a while now. 

 

Cheers, Michael

Yep, the information is legit, that they posted the info (in error it seems) was the problem, and as far as price goes, that's cheaper than a Blackfoot in Australia from a bricks and mortar hobbyshop

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...