Tamiya Tamtech Hornet Mini Clone

[Pintopower 1456]

Has anyone seen this? I snagged one for $6 plus shipping and got it today. Didn't actually work when I got it but taking it apart, looking inside and reassembling seemed to have fixed it. I could not help myself when I saw a baby Hornet.

There is a link to a video where I get it working if you want to see how it runs. 

https://youtu.be/1YVXNh2SEQ4

[GregM 1109]

Yes, I saw these Hornet design knockoffs two or three years ago at the Alexa shopping mall in Berlin. I was curious, but eventually didn't bother buying one... Couldn't compare against the real thing and I was hesitating to give money to people who ripoff Tamiya designs, honestly.

Thanks for sharing!

[Hibernaculum 933]

I think I saw something very similar to these in Sydney 4-5 years ago... little Hornet and Grasshopper clones from China. Similar to these, but different again. These may just be the latest in a litany of Chinese toys that prove they are so lacking in imagination, they are still copying a 33 year old design from Japan. 

Frog and Manta Ray have also been subject to strange clones in past 10 years. 

In a funny footnote - I'd also say they "don't make clones like they used to". Back in the 1980s, there were those un-branded clones of the Supershot and Fox kits that were mindblowing in their disregard for copyright - entire blisterpacked kits, made from cloned molds, just lacking the Tamiya logo, materials quality, and other fancy bits (like Technipower).

Then there were the efforts of other actual (fairly legit) brands that might be considered "clones", like the "Academy" brand from Korea who released a Grasshopper kit clone.

These days, all the cloning is done by slaves in China, pumping out $6 oddities.

[GregM 1109]

Here's an article about the Fox "Killer" knockoff:

http://tamiya101.com/article_tamiya_fox_killer.asp

[WillyChang 1814]

18 hours ago, Pintopower said:

Has anyone seen this? I snagged one for $6 plus shipping and got it today. Didn't actually work when I got it but taking it apart, looking inside and reassembling seemed to have fixed it. I could not help myself when I saw a baby Hornet.

They've been out for a while.

(preSmartphone era!)

Are the tyres same size as GB01 TTG? 

[werewolf 72]

There's also a company called Aleko that put out a mini Fighter Buggy RX / Rookie Rabbit clone 

[GregM 1109]

Number 2 (blue) looks like a Keen Hawk to me, while Number 4 (green) seems to mimic a Desert Gator or Astute.