Baddon 860 Posted January 4, 2019 3 minutes ago, Saito2 said: I remember that day. The sunrise was beautiful and the air coming off the water was nice and cool. That's funny! Good thing I had just put my tea down. A stick in the mud, I can be at times. Guilty as charged . I was there too, TBH I am not interested in any of the new stuff OR even most fo the vintage stuff after I quite the hobby in my later teens. For me its all about the nostalgia. Tamiya kits are not as robust as others out there so I understand if Tamiya have found a niche in the market they may as well exploit it. BUT surely our 40+ wallets mush make us a better target with yet more re-re (PLEASE??) My first Tamiya in over 30 years was a TT02B (please bear in mind my old school kits were Boomerang and Thundershot with a Pumpkin for the truck/wheelie craze which gets thin REAL quick) and it was ....boring. I want to jump and the higher the better. BUT I doooooooo soooooooo want all the cars I wanted back in the day. So whilst as a kid I had 1 car ever 2 years as an adult I have ........a few in less than a year (may need another display case soon! where I am going to put that one??? I do like to see the new versions of this as Tamiya would be nuts not to milk the tree once they have set up all the tooling as there sure seems to be a demand. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S-PCS 568 Posted January 4, 2019 From a purely statistical point of view, Comical Grasshopper is a mandatory prerequisite for the statistically inevitable peak in re-res in 2019. In order for the Absolute Statistical Order Of All Things to take its, um, statistically inevitable progression smoothly and unhindered, it is therefore necessary to overcome one's aesthetical objections to it once and for all. For the greater good, so to speak. It's time to ask what you can do for re-re, not what re-re can do for you. Unless you're not interested in re-re Falcon. Then you can dislike Comical Grasshopper all you want. 1 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baddon 860 Posted January 5, 2019 12 hours ago, S-PCS said: From a purely statistical point of view, Comical Grasshopper is a mandatory prerequisite for the statistically inevitable peak in re-res in 2019. In order for the Absolute Statistical Order Of All Things to take its, um, statistically inevitable progression smoothly and unhindered, it is therefore necessary to overcome one's aesthetical objections to it once and for all. For the greater good, so to speak. It's time to ask what you can do for re-re, not what re-re can do for you. Unless you're not interested in re-re Falcon. Then you can dislike Comical Grasshopper all you want. Not interested in either. Did not want a Falcon back in the day so very unlikely I would want one now, hold on Taxi better leave quickly!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S-PCS 568 Posted January 5, 2019 You know, I didn't want one back then, either. It's just something that happened to me. One day I woke up and had to have one. Somebody had a theory about how this happens now that so many buggies have already been re-re'd... You just start wanting the stuff that hasn't been done yet, just because it hasn't been done yet. I think it's the about the same with Comical Grasshopper... At some point you're just ready to accept anything they give you, as long as it's vintage themed, and maybe, just maybe, deep down if you'll ask yourself "Just WHY do I like this?" you'll find that you really... don't. You like the basic idea of "vintage" and you just need something to project your affection on until that next "real" re-re comes along... Thruth is, I don't like Comical Grasshopper all that much. But it kinda fills the void. (I think I might be ready for Tamiya therapy). Having said that, it's actually quite a funny and likeable car, and, as somebody said, actually not too far away from the original Wild Willy principle. Now if it would only stop manipulating me by cunningly appealing to my inner vintage enthusiast despite being not vintage at all, maybe we could get along... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
max69vk 708 Posted January 5, 2019 I think the comical series is being misunderstood for what it is - There are are plenty of manufacturers producing buggies, a lot of which all look a bit ‘samey’ to the eye for the intended audience; Kids being introduced to the hobby. It’s worth considering what it was about Tamiya that made most of us choose them over the likes of Associated, Losi, X-Ray etc which were all much more accomplished racers? I’m guessing it was the way they looked, the comical series is just the modern way to appeal to the kids. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bromley 681 Posted January 5, 2019 55 minutes ago, max69vk said: I think the comical series is being misunderstood for what it is - There are are plenty of manufacturers producing buggies, a lot of which all look a bit ‘samey’ to the eye for the intended audience; Kids being introduced to the hobby. It’s worth considering what it was about Tamiya that made most of us choose them over the likes of Associated, Losi, X-Ray etc which were all much more accomplished racers? I’m guessing it was the way they looked, the comical series is just the modern way to appeal to the kids. I agree in part. The comical series could be a good starter car for a youngster, but as for the looks they are aimed at the parents of those kids. A nostalgic looking body is lost on someone who doesn't remember it 1st time round. The cutesy looks are still there to be appreciated by everyone. But the nostalgia element will sell these vehicles. Get the kid a comical buggy and Daddy gets the rere version. Without the vintage appeal of these cars they would be a very hard sell against a more modern higher performance SCT for example. If I was 10, I know which one I'd go for. The fast one that jumps higher and longer. Not to say the vintage childish looks don't appeal to me now! Bromley aged 42 and 1/4 years old. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfdogstinkus 1893 Posted January 5, 2019 Bromleys right I'm afraid. Kids want faster, If I got the CB the first thing my 7 year old would say is " can we make it faster daddy?" We have a wr02 a clod, mad bull, lunchbox and 6x6. He always wants the fastest ones. The 6x6 or mad bull ( both brushless, silly fast) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bromley 681 Posted January 5, 2019 I like to see variety in the RC market place and to be fair we've never had it so good. Just look at all the different types of vehicles available. Back in the day it was Buggys, Monster trucks and pan types/early mini indoor racers. Nitro was a thing in the 70s then faded and came back, then died again. Modern lipo/brushless tech will probably keep it that way! I do wish Tamiya would at least try to get up to speed with the current market place. I don't mean try and dominate 'cos they won't. But at least try and hit the sweet spots. A CC02 is way over due, lets have a proper scaler/trail truck chassis out there. A decent SCT in the Traxxas Slash arena would be nice, it'd get those pesky kids on side. And maybe it's time for 4wd stable mate for the DT03. A tough, fast, entry level buggy, that's more than a tweaked touring car chassis. Lot's of plush suspension travel and those nice flexy plastics used in the DT03. Again, appealing to youngsters. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yalson 514 Posted January 5, 2019 On 1/4/2019 at 12:42 PM, Saito2 said: You're not alone @78Triumph. I mean, they're "cute" and all, but they don't particularly do anything for me. Its odd considering the original Wild Willy is in my top 3 favorite Tamiyas, but that's where my interest ends. I guess I preferred it when the Wild Willy (and to a degree, the Willy's Wheeler) was an outlier in the Tamiya line up rather than part of an actual line within the Tamiya line up (that's a lot of "lines"). A comical Wild Willy would be an odd idea. Perhaps it would just be a perfectly standard Jeep with an overscale, confused-looking driver? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterbok 1282 Posted January 5, 2019 Three weeks after I ordered the shell on eBay, Tamiyablog announces the release at the Nürnberg toyfair. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WillyChang 1814 Posted January 6, 2019 8 hours ago, Yalson said: A comical Wild Willy would be an odd idea. Perhaps it would just be a perfectly standard Jeep with an overscale, confused-looking driver? T already made a "comical" jeep for the Wild Willy junior Ah well, at least that settles the 58666 debate comical Hornet with a sting in its tail vs re-re-re-re Devilish Kingfisher MantaRay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S-PCS 568 Posted January 6, 2019 9 hours ago, waterbok said: Three weeks after I ordered the shell on eBay, Tamiyablog announces the release at the Nürnberg toyfair. If that's how it works, could you please order a repro Falcon shell from somewhere? Like, right now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterbok 1282 Posted January 6, 2019 I did actually about two month ago, fingers crossed 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markbt73 5316 Posted January 6, 2019 I thought they already did a couple of "Comical Hornets." One had purple tires and cow spots, and one had flames, as I recall... 1 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
max69vk 708 Posted January 11, 2019 Looks like they’re becoming more readily available Comical Hornet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterbok 1282 Posted January 16, 2019 darn just got mine and they forgot the decals, shell is a nice quality. Wing is same size as the original Hornet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mokei Kagaku 2706 Posted January 16, 2019 1 minute ago, waterbok said: darn just got mine and they forgot the decals, shell is a nice quality. Wing is same size as the original Hornet. The decals were apparently not ready at the time I ordered in early November, so mine came without too, but Baja 5b decals were included and also shown in the auction! Maybe the same reason in your case? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Ax 9313 Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/4/2019 at 11:05 AM, 78Triumph said: I must be the only one on this forum that doesn't understand the appeal of the comical series of cars. Late to the party again as usual, but kinda the same for me, in a roundabout way. I already have a Honda City Turbo; I won't be buying a Comical-series car because in my mind I already have one. That said, I think the idea is a great one. While it doesn't appeal to the part of me that wants everything to look realistic and awesome, it does appeal to the bit of me that wants things to look original and fresh. Nothing out there looks like that. I'm only slightly annoyed that I didn't think of it first. I converted my Honda City Turbo to off-road spec with WW2 wheels and tires, and I sold the body, wheels, tyres and decals before they came out the pack. I didn't know what body to put on it - at the time genuine bodies to fit the chassis weren't cheap, so I cut the arches out of an old and battered Tamiya Mini Cooper body. TBH it's never looked quite right but it's been on there so long now that it kind of belongs. It's also covered in stickers from so many events so it's got history. This may seem like a terrible digression from the point, but I did fit an unpainted Baja King body to it before I settled on the Mini. It was too long and would never have looked right, but if I could have shortened that body so it matched the wheelbase, well... I could have been there 3 years before Tamiya. We do wheelie races at big open bash events, or during the lunch break of vintage race meets. It's the highlight of the day. It doesn't matter what body you've got - 50s Ford pickup, Dodge van, super-SWB jeep, VW bus, Hornet or Grasshopper - what matters is that you put your car on the starting grid and join the chaos. Last one driving wins. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterbok 1282 Posted January 16, 2019 4 hours ago, Mokei Kagaku said: The decals were apparently not ready at the time I ordered in early November, so mine came without too, but Baja 5b decals were included and also shown in the auction! Maybe the same reason in your case? mmm good point, no idea if it showed decals at all when i ordered, it came with a sheet of funny decals that i couldn't quite place. well did send an email if they can send the correct ones, lets see how that works out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grastens 2795 Posted January 16, 2019 5 hours ago, Mad Ax said: We do wheelie races at big open bash events, or during the lunch break of vintage race meets. It's the highlight of the day. It doesn't matter what body you've got - 50s Ford pickup, Dodge van, super-SWB jeep, VW bus, Hornet or Grasshopper - what matters is that you put your car on the starting grid and join the chaos. Last one driving wins. Forget autocross; I just found my new race series I wonder if Tamiya will sanction its own race series... unless the WR-02 event is already a thing, in which case we will undoubtedly see fresh entrants. I suppose that if Tamiya goes through with more Comical releases and creates an event for them, it would be quite a sight - "Tamiya buggy club racing never went away; the cars just got shorter and wider!" 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Ax 9313 Posted January 17, 2019 12 hours ago, Grastens said: Forget autocross; I just found my new race series Honestly, it's the highlight of any race weekend. Iconic RC used to arrange open bashes at various tracks around the UK, and at some unspoken moment everybody would line up their wheelie cars on the grid and a race would ensue. We'd start out with maybe 30+ cars on the grid - so many that even some 2.4GHz radios struggle to operate - and we wouldn't stop running until only 3 or 4 remain. Having a reasonably low-powered WR-02 with a scrappy lightweight lexan body and a high-capacity LiPo meant I was usually among the last to stop. Even so, I'd usually lose a step screw out of an upper suspension arm somewhere so I'd finish the event with one wheel flopping around. They still do the wheelie race during the lunchbreak at the Revival. I fare better in that than in any of the buggy classes. If there were trophies I'd get one every year IMO this kind of racing is so much more fun than buggies, stadium trucks and the like. Not just because the cars are bouncy and daft but because nobody takes it seriously, so everybody goes crazy with their cars. If the Comical series spikes a new interest in wheelie car racing in the UK then that's all for the win, IMO Here's the 2017 race video (there's a 2018 vid on the same channel but bad weather impacted grid numbers ) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1793 Posted January 25, 2019 Doesn't look like the eBay body is a copy of the Tamiya one - check the boxy bit (intake?) near the wing mounts - far bigger on the fake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grastens 2795 Posted January 25, 2019 A new driver figure? Curiosity piqued! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1793 Posted January 25, 2019 Didn't the 2nd 'Dancing Rider' release have a similar figure? Found it - chin guard and peak look detachable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
