Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
zdanm

Back, after a brief 27 year interlude...

Recommended Posts

Hi folks. New to the forum. My story starts in 1982, aged 13, with my first RC car, a Tamiya Sand Scorcher. This one. 

6B542A40-CF63-4D62-974A-0A3547A63A7C_zps

Not perhaps the best paint job of my youth, but this sparked the start of rather more talent in building, modifying and racing. Over the years to circa 1987 I owned (too) many cars, trading with others at school and making a buck here and there to allow me to expand my entourage. Sadly mostly lost in the mist of time, although a few old photos survive...D72E917B-8D0D-4066-9394-57F7584F954F_zps

 

BED430F4-A4BD-4739-8E12-2F37FA61BA31_zps

 

53D580D5-5833-4D42-A71C-BC318D9D0AC7_zps

 

6D950E72-9B9D-497C-9FB8-C1147531CBBF_zps

 

0A60371F-222B-49B1-9C66-0D2BD8D50035_zps

 

FB5F2432-D48F-4F7C-9069-7D55463A9F18_zps

 

C6F93F41-041C-445B-8E0F-ACCDCF7215F3_zps

 

Did some racing late 80's and very early 90's both 1/10 and 1/8 IC, and then sold everything. One advantage however of now having children aged 11 & 14 is that I had a good excuse to get another car. So I got them a Tamiya Hotshot 2007 which we built together. I also then saw Tamiya had re-released the SS, and that had the nostalgia of my youth flooding back. The Hotshot is great for the kids, but of course far better to have 2 cars so we could race. Not one to be beaten by my children, I felt it wise to get something a tad faster.

91046A49-65E6-4C5B-AF36-8A0B4621803C_zps

Spares not being the cheapest I then found another to pillage when needed. Rude not to. 

 

1E8FFE97-71FB-4FF0-A717-29B3B2C54153_zps

 

By this time I was on a roll and had wasted far more money than was sensible or necessary. However, the thought of my Tamiya from 34 years earlier persisted and amplified. And as a result I now seem to have acquired this. 

58AE94D1-C1F4-4091-A1D2-4304A75CC94D_zps

 

IMG_3091_zpsmlegj2p4.jpg

 

IMG_3089_zpsdqjhiqbk.jpg

 

IMG_3088_zpsxkqmzf4k.jpg

 

IMG_3085_zpsuzv4hter.jpg

 

986F23B1-2C69-4856-BD46-76E5E8E90356_zps

 

Honesty, the smell of the kit immediately transported me back through the decades and I was 13 again. It will be a challenge to resist building this, and I might have to get a SS re-release to satisfy that yearning. Let's hope my painting skills have improved.

Dan

  • Like 11

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Welcome back to the fold :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice PB Alpha!

(PITA with the wing mounted onto rear hubs, extra 2 screws before body comes off)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the welcome guys.

WillyChang, , yes, I'd forgotten about the wing on the PB being a PITA! I raced it quite a lot mind and it was a monstrously good car. Other than my first SS (of course), my other enduring memory was that 1/8 Yankee though. An absolute beast of a car and seemingly unbreakable.  

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Are you British? PB & Yankee not that common in US...

Our PB Alpha didn't last long... it was an early production unit (didn't have front shock, only 2 toothpicks with a nut & Spring) and the plastics were too fragile to survive our racing. Had the PB9 International previously.

Alpha was probably too complicated. They simplified it into the Mustang (buggy tyres, Ford Escort mk1 shell, o-rings instead of chain drive) and when I did get my mitts on the TX to one... wow off-roading a gas 1/8th was big fun!! 

Subsequent Nova was heaps better, that was one strong battletank with its alu box channel chassis.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yup, I'm in the UK. 

And yes, I also had a Nova, the X4 as I recall? Also chain drive though rather than belt. I just remember the rear tyres were enormously wide! I'm not sure Yankee was that common in the U.K. either. I'm sure they were (despite the name) a French company.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We weren't racing 1/8th onroad by the time cars went 4WD :unsure: Nova was bought by a family friend, first batch was 2WD. Wasn't bad, didn't disintegrate & he could kinda keep up with our (World Champions!) Serpent Quattro ^_^

Yankee still around today I think, they're into largescale onroad? Along with Lauterbacher (sp?)... they must be Swiss.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just googled Lauterbacher as I'd never heard of them. 1/5 is huge but they look insane. Still prefer 1/10 though! Can fit more of them in the garage!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah they're ridiculously big, huh? They're getting to the size that, if they were just a tiny bit bigger, *i* wanna be in there driving it myself :lol:

But even in the early era there were some giants, there was a Jac Rabbit (have only seen in magazine ads). 

I didn't get tempted until HPI showed their Baja :unsure:

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
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...