The point of collecting oldies?

[stulec52]

I would just like to hear some opinions on the point of bothering to look for oldies anymore.

If the rumours are to be believed, then it is only a matter of time before Frogs, Hotshots, all their related cars, and then probably all the original 100, will be available to buy new again.

This really, really, really, takes all the fun out of collecting for me.

I could care less about values, I just really like to hunt down old cars, but what is old now? Just go to the local model shop and buy one off the shelf.

Just no fun in that at all for me.

But, I might also be getting old and cynical !![:0]

[Shodog]

They can't re re them all.

[DeeMiller]

Well, the clones are somewhat different to their original ones.

And for a good reason, thanks Tamiya!

You just can't beat age and origin, if you know what I mean.

In 10-20 years it'll pay, promise.

Don't get fooled, it'll all settle down.

Grtz Dee

[Tipsy]

I collected as I had them or wanted them back in the '80s (plus got a little carried away!). I too were not bothered about the value thing. The re releases were a good idea for one or two kits, especially when they were better (Lancia), but now they are just rereleasing lots more, the excitement of having a 20 year old kit still in box to stare at, will not be the same. I will probably buy the re re's myself (bought Hornet, Grasshopper and Lunchbox), just from the runner point of view for the more expensive kits, as parts will be easier to come by.

[vintagejack]

As already mentioned the re re's are never exactly the same as the originals, the honet for example is very close but for me the way the kit is presented is very important and the modern Hornet is just bundled in the box, not presented with the vacume formed bits like the old....

Plus a large part is knowing you own the real thing, at least for me, knowing that those bits of metal and plastic were actually around at the time I was wanting them!

[netsmithUK]

I think its a bit of a leap to assume all 100 will be rereleased and even if they did at the rate they are doing it now its still going to take 20+ years.

I guess for me the rereleases don't change anything, I collect what i like for various reasons.

But I agree the thrill of the hunt and the fun of trading was a big bit of what i get out of the hobby. With each rerelease it one less thing to hunt for and one less bit of fun. Imagine the buzz of going into some sort of dusty back street toy shop and spotting a NIB Lunchbox and then being told £50.00!! A few years back that would have been a dream and a no brainer in terms of buying, buy it now or lose it forever. Now days the decision has to be more justified for some reason - Should i spend £50 for this toy car or pay my electricity bill and maybe get it another month? And for me I then probably end up never getting it

[tamiya_89]

I'm not really a collector but i like the look of some of the older cars like the wild one. For me it is impossible to buy a wild one and then restore it with expensive parts and then run it and not being able to buy cheap parts. i really hope they rereleas the wild one and fav. Although i understand the collectors point of vue too. What i like the best are rereleases that arent true 100 % origional like the wild willy 2, those have the looks of old cars but the handeling of a newer car!

[mark_biddle]

I think it all depends why you are doing it in the first place. I am building a Cobra kit car replica. It has the same looks as the original, has modern suspension/brakes etc. I can take it on a track and have fun in it without worrying about replacing hard to find parts. I would love an original Cobra, but would I get as much pleasure from having it sitting in the garage and be scared everytime I took it out ? Same with the R/C cars I think. It is nice to have the original, but the re re's are usable and look the same, but are ultimately replaceable.

[topforcein]

i think it is one of tamiya's best ideas to re release some of the classic kits. i can once again baske in the fun and pleasure of playing with a old scool classic and not worry about breaking something and never being able to get parts for them unless i want to pay extorsinant prices which i dont want to and cant afford. i used to collect kits then when i got out of the hobby for a while i sold every thing. then about 6 years ago i got back into it and i know have a original top force and hornet witch i got for nothing off a friend. not long ago got my hands on a manta ray. and last week i got the one i have been after for at least 8 years and that is the lunch box, now every time i found one of these baby's i always just missed it as i am sure this is the case with a lot of others also so i brought 2 to make sure i have one to use and one to keep.

i hope tamiya will carry on re release'ing all the old scool classics as i will buy the ones i am after. i will be waiting for the monster beatle next. i also have a few other rc's but they are not tamiya. now going back to tamiya re releasing kits and the original prices going down well this can and will happen but you can not substatute the old for the new at least this way many collectors can restore all there old scool rc's cheaper than before.

[Big Al(2)]

I agree that the re-releases are not the same as the originals. One of my favorite things about the vintage kits is the blister packs! You will probably never see them again in the re-release kits. The Dyna Storm was an exception, but I don't think they will use them in the future. Blister packs always made the kit look really nice. Just my 2 cents!!

[Yangtao]

It's a debate also in most Far East BBS...bothering as it is, personally I don't think it's a problem in the long run, as you can see, that the classics had different serial number and released date..and it's totally different stories to own a #58063 Lunchbox and #58347 Lunch box though, to any serious collector..

[topforcein]

yet but i have noticed that most of the plastic parts are date stamped 1987 on my re released lunchboxs.

go figure that out

[Yangtao]

if you noticed, that Midnight Pumkin was also released in 1987 (6 months after), and never been discoutinued...they shared the same chassis parts....probably that explained

[Big Al(2)]

Well, there is no sense in wasting money to make a new mold if they still have the old ones laying around with the original dates stamped on them. Besides the re-releases are all a bit different from the originals in some ways. The Lunch Box re-release uses different parts for the tie rods and different decals. I think that they are very distinguishable from eachother.

[DeeMiller]

Me still lucky with the Cheetah's and the 3 NIB Bodyparts.

It's still a challenge to find cars with the original torsionbars and the lexan protection guard (very hard to find).

So far I can make 3 Cheetah's in mint condition by now.

Not very valuable in money, but for me it's a challenge to complete each and every chassis (11) that I own.

I think that's what it makes it all worth.

By the way, I soon am the owner of 3 Gepard Flakpanzers.

Now that's a REAL challenge to get the tanks complete! (1 is already in excellent condition).

I love this hobby!

Grtz Dee

[InetRC]

I won't put a re-release my collection of cars and trucks. *period* I'd rather have the original or not at all. Now maybe if I ran the cars to the ground I'd consider a re-release for running. But I would never admit owning it or dropping a picture of it in my showroom. LOL!

[JTWTravill]

I think the real bummer is when you have collected all the parts to build a newbuilt tamiya, then there is a flood of parts that aren't original. I wish they could have added a little stamp to the parts in the mold to distinguish each part as new. There are now going to be loads of hybrids passing off as new built originals from now on and hitting the value of the originals. I have built a new bear hawk and i think i'm safe with this as it wasn't very popular. But I have collected all the parts to build a new monster beetle it has taken me over 2 years to get all the parts in absolute mint condition often selling on new ones again that were slightly scratched. What do i do now? sell all the parts before the mb comes out and buy a new one to build, using original parts to change anything that differs in the re-release?

I have built a rerelease lunchbox and built it new and now i don't know what to do with it. It doesn't seem right putting it on the shelf but i don't want to use and spoil it. It feels like a cheat and the only rereleases i will buy now are ones i want to run. There is just something not right about rereleases.

[jocktheglide]

whats even funnier is that we are gonna say the same thing for the re-releases in 15 to 20 years and wonder, "why are they re-releasing the re-re-release" darn it now my kit I saved up through those times as a investment has gone down....

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by stulec52

I could care less about values, I just really like to hunt down old cars, but what is old now? Just go to the local model shop and buy one off the shelf.

Just no fun in that at all for me.

But, I might also be getting old and cynical !![:0]

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I'm with Jim. [|)]

Loss of rarity/value ain't a big concern as

I didn't get into this crazy hobby to make money.

Yes its good to be able to buy a newie off the shelf... but as

mentioned above, there's really no compulsion to get one asap.

(more time to think = less buyers remorse post-purchase?)

My biggest concern is... say 5 yrs down the track

one finds a used Grasshopper at a flea sale.

Is that a 20 (25 by then) year old example?

Or just a newie just 5 yrs old.

Would I still buy it?

Would I bother restoring it?

The only sure way to counter that is, I'm guessing, savvy RC collectors will soon

- go only for the less-likely Tamiyas to be re-released eg Hilux

- start collecting the more esoteric brands, especially the ones that aren't with us anymore today eg Marui, AYK etc

[stulec52]

WOW

Lots of great points.

To respond to some of them.

Sho - that's not the point, they re release enough to make it no fun to bother with any of them.

Tipsy - " the excitement of having a 20 year old kit still in box to stare at, will not be the same. " SPOT ON !

Jock - Too Funny mate !

Willy - might be time to hunt down the old Radio Shack stuff then.....

and Chris - do us ALL a favour, pay your electricty bill, with no power, T.Club would be offline and that would never do !

I'd love to hear other opinions on this, has made for loads of great reading already !!

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by stulec52

and Chris - do us ALL a favour, pay your electricty bill, with no power, T.Club would be offline and that would never do !

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Server won't be in Chris' bedroom, surely. [8)]

But usually in a blackout ... hmmm, hmmm, hmmm...

Chris' bedroom ... "like on Discovery Channel". []

[jonny_bravo]

For me the fun of old Tamiyas is in the finding and restoring processes, Nothing can beat that 'heart in the mouth' feeling of walking round a flea market/boot sale and stumbling across one.

Or like what happened to me a few months ago - having a reply to my newspaper ad and ended up standing underneath some blokes loft hatch in Derbyshire while he handed down 4 (yes 4!) old Beatties bags each containing treasure - like netsmith says getting one off the shelf just isnt the same [V]

Scoring the parts from ebay is fun also (albeit sometimes expensive[:I])

I have a Frog runner, luckily I got it for peanuts , though had i spent a lot on a minter I would be seriously thinking about putting it on the bay - yes there would be the worry of future value but also and more importantly its lost its OLD appeal.

[Shermanator2]

For me re-issues are not a bad thing. As discussed before I am all for re-releases as it gives me the opportunity to own a r/car that I wanted back in the days my parents couldnt afford it. In this day in age where kids a motivated by computer games, PS2's, Xbox's and mobile phones, it is about time we see some decent toys on the market that makes kids and adults alike use their heads. The joy of constructing models and r/c kits of the bygone area was really appealing to me back then and as a father I like to pass this onto my own kid. I have said it before- but to me most collectors collect for major monetory value in the hope one day to pass it off to a poor ****** for an absurd price, thats why you see these collectors getting all hyped up when a re-release comes along. I collect because I like the r/cars and I don't collect for the sake of collecting to rip someone off at later date.

If you a a true blue collector then it shouldn't worry you as most re-releases that come along are usually with ESC's and ever so slighlty modified for the newer market. ultimatly it is your decision if you buy a re-release or not. I would never discourage Tamiya from not re-releasing these kits for a later generation of children or individuals to enjoy. Its humourous to see this topic spring back to life time and again when a hint of a re-release comes to knowledge and when it is actually released. Bring on the Re-releases!![]

[Shodog]

quote:Originally posted by Shodog

They can't re re them all.

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What I meant to say is that there is no way Tamiya will re-release all of the hot cars. Many of the chassis's have too many problems and won't be much like the original if they do. Which brings me to say that all of the re-re's have minor changes which sets them slightly apart from the originals. and really what is wrong with the re-re's? They are still made by Tamiya to their high standards. I's not like some third party rip off with shoddy quality.

Man I am so happy that I have been able to score another Lunchbox body becuase I have been aching to do a repaint of my lunch box because I was unhappy with the orange peel. This will allw me to make different stuff to my hearts content.

[topforcein]

quote:Originally posted by Shermanator2

For me re-issues are not a bad thing. As discussed before I am all for re-releases as it gives me the opportunity to own a r/car that I wanted back in the days my parents couldnt afford it. In this day in age where kids a motivated by computer games, PS2's, Xbox's and mobile phones, it is about time we see some decent toys on the market that makes kids and adults alike use their heads. The joy of constructing models and r/c kits of the bygone area was really appealing to me back then and as a father I like to pass this onto my own kid. I have said it before- but to me most collectors collect for major monetory value in the hope one day to pass it off to a poor ****** for an absurd price, thats why you see these collectors getting all hyped up when a re-release comes along. I collect because I like the r/cars and I don't collect for the sake of collecting to rip someone off at later date.

If you a a true blue collector then it shouldn't worry you as most re-releases that come along are usually with ESC's and ever so slighlty modified for the newer market. ultimatly it is your decision if you buy a re-release or not. I would never discourage Tamiya from not re-releasing these kits for a later generation of children or individuals to enjoy. Its humourous to see this topic spring back to life time and again when a hint of a re-release comes to knowledge and when it is actually released. Bring on the Re-releases!![]

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i could'nt agree more with you [^][^][^][^][^]