Jump to content
Retro_

Newby, sort of.. Calsonic Primera

Recommended Posts

Hi 

Probably the wrong place to post so sorry and please delete if necessary.

So, Tamiya. Bought my first one aged around 14, an XR311 Jeep. A friend had a Cheetah which was similar except his had variable speed and mine had about three forwards speeds. Needless to say, we had a huge amount of fun with them, tbh though, the memory is a little hazy as I'm 52 now, it was a long time ago.  Attached is my Loft bound Calsonic Nissan Primera, bought on impulse back in the mid 90's from a model shop on a trip to Milton Kynes. it's not run in a while so I expect all sorts of issues if I tried to being it to life, plus the tyres were a little crusty last time I looked. It's complete though if a little beaten up, perhaps more than a little.

So, I'm toying with getting something to go along with it. I prefer something Vintage, but who knows what I'll decide upon. 

Thanks for getting this far and yes, I suspect my Primera is the wrong colour !!

:)   

calsonic Primera.png

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's a really cool model and reasonably rare nowadays, I think you'd be surprised how little it needs to get going, maybe a quick re-grease, some new tyres and maybe get some newer 2.4ghz radio gear for it. Check for any split plastics and if you do find some, you will definitely be able to find some replacements on ebay or on here for it, but I bet most of it is sound. Tamiyas are built to last....

If you don't fancy running it, and want something newer, bearing in mind you owned an XR311 you might enjoy one of the new rock-crawler style trucks. Tamiya offer an affordable CC-01 chassis with various different body sets for you to pick from or you could get something more capable from another brand.

Rock-crawling seems to be very popular nowadays, they are slower paced and more technical than more traditional 'off-road' models and you can do it in your back garden without putting a hole in the fence!

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, I was looking at a rock crawler earlier today. I'll bear it I'm mind. I had a feeling the Primera was uncommon as the sticker set on ebay is silly money, always a sign!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well it runs just fine, well, obviously needs new tyres (Genuine replacements ordered) and the camber was (and still is to a certain extent) out. Have noticed it's the wrong colour too so might have to address that. 

The old servo assisted speed controller was not playing ball so fitted a more modern one and battery, sadly the original 1400MAh appears dead or at least, I haven't been able to coax any life into it yet.

The body is somewhat worse for wear at the front and I seem to have lost the wing mirrors!! So I'll be scouring the interweb for replacements, is there a wanted section in here?

:)

IMG_0107.jpg

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
22 minutes ago, Kevin_Mc said:

Lovely. Is that an FF01 chassis?

Yes,

Sadly, finding parts is a pain and do you think I can find a replacement polycarb shell? No ! Actully, thats not true, there's a new Primera JTCC kit on Ebay but it'd cost £900 to buy and have it imported from the US !  Are they really worth that kind of money?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Retro_ said:

Aha, It's allowing me to post more pictures today ! :)

Most people use third party image hosting such as Flickr.  You just upload the picture to their site and then copy and paste the image address into the message and hit enter.    

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a new in box primera that I’ve for years it’s even got a tin of the correct paint in the box.

Was going to build it but never had the heart to start! So I have a couple of others I run 

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/12/2019 at 7:12 PM, Disco said:

I have a new in box primera that I’ve for years it’s even got a tin of the correct paint in the box.

Was going to build it but never had the heart to start! So I have a couple of others I run 

That's fantastic, I'd love to own a new one, to build would be even better as I'd take my time with it. If you ever want it to go to a loving home, I'm your man :)

 

On another note, I've opened up my profile, I'm not a closed book :D 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Primera body and FF01 chassis have long been discontinued. Tamiya has rereleased a whole bunch of bodyshells from that time, but never the Primera. Finding a replacement will be difficult and/or expensive as they are rare and sought after. There are plenty of other nice FF shells you could use (or even something 4WD or RWD if you don't mind) that will fit your FF01 chassis. Tamiya rereleased the Honda Accord and Civic, Toyota Levin and Corona, Renault Clio, HKS Vectra and many more :)

FF01 replacement parts are both easy and very difficult depending on which part. It shares most of it's DNA with the Tamiya TA02 that has been rereleased countless of times so parts are very easy to find. The main chassis, all of the suspension and most of the gears are the same. If you need something FF01 specific it's more difficult, but there's plenty of collectors on the forum here or on Facebook you can get parts from.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 hours ago, Retro_ said:

That's fantastic, I'd love to own a new one, to build would be even better as I'd take my time with it. If you ever want it to go to a loving home, I'm your man :)

 

On another note, I've opened up my profile, I'm not a closed book :D 

Sorry I’ve no plans to sell it right now, I was hoping to find a Castrol Primera to go with it.....

  • Like 1

Share this post


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

The Primera body and FF01 chassis have long been discontinued. Tamiya has rereleased a whole bunch of bodyshells from that time, but never the Primera. Finding a replacement will be difficult and/or expensive as they are rare and sought after. There are plenty of other nice FF shells you could use (or even something 4WD or RWD if you don't mind) that will fit your FF01 chassis. Tamiya rereleased the Honda Accord and Civic, Toyota Levin and Corona, Renault Clio, HKS Vectra and many more :)

FF01 replacement parts are both easy and very difficult depending on which part. It shares most of it's DNA with the Tamiya TA02 that has been rereleased countless of times so parts are very easy to find. The main chassis, all of the suspension and most of the gears are the same. If you need something FF01 specific it's more difficult, but there's plenty of collectors on the forum here or on Facebook you can get parts from.

I've just picked up the HKS OPEL Vectra Polycarbonate Shell, transfers and plastic trim kit from Germany, it wasn't exactly cheap and the Primera Wheels won't be a match but close enough, plus it'll look good.

Good to know regarding the closeness between FF01 and TA02 parts, I'll bear that in mind, thanks :)   

Share this post


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

Sorry I’ve no plans to sell it right now, I was hoping to find a Castrol Primera to go with it.....

There's a new one on Ebay but it's crazy money.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Retro_ said:

There's a new one on Ebay but it's crazy money.

Yes saw that but over £700 shipped with the import duty makes it @£850... too rich for me. Remember when they could be had  easily for just over £100, but I guess as they get rarer it’s to be expected.... sort of!

The Calsonic Primera has a couple of option parts included (motor heat sink, coloured springs) with the kit whereas the Castrol one is standard I think.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
22 minutes ago, Disco said:

The Calsonic Primera has a couple of option parts included (motor heat sink, coloured springs) with the kit whereas the Castrol one is standard I think.

That's right Not sure if standard but it came with two blue and two red wheel nuts instead of the usual silver.

So does anyone know how many Calsonic Primera's were produced? 

IMG_0144.JPG

IMG_0146.JPG

IMG_0145.jpg

IMG_0143.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, Retro_ said:

That's right Not sure if standard but it came with two blue and two red wheel nuts instead of the usual silver.

So does anyone know how many Calsonic Primera's were produced? 

IMG_0144.JPG

IMG_0146.JPG

IMG_0145.jpg

IMG_0143.jpg

Mine has the red / blue wheel nuts and sport tuned motor supplied in the kit

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I they were a limited edition, I have the same one. I bought it with a friend in the mid 90's who wanted the body so we split cost. I then I got a JACCS Accord that made friend jelly. Hehe!

 

 

 

DSC00205.JPG

EC7cWVMVAAAAYja.png

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...