Should one meet their heroes?

[Saito2]

Ever been in the scenario where you lusted after a particular Tamiya from your youth and finally get the chance to own it? The re-release program has obviously made this possible for many folks now. Ever been disappointed by it when you finally get a chance to run it after all those years? So, should someone meet their heroes? I have an new-built Egress I've been planning on running for about 3 years now...and there it sits on a shelf. I feel torn by the concern of breakage which I addressed in another topic and the fear of a possible big let down. The Egress was just the pinnacle for me as a kid, so there's a lot riding on it. Maybe too much, lol. If I break a Hotshot its no big deal but if I break an Egress, at nearly $500, it somehow hurts more. Some days I wonder if just selling it off would be better. So would you let it go in this scenario? Its probably not helping my wife is riding me about having too many cars. Is the owner of a lonely heart so much better than the owner of a broken heart? I'm sure others have similar stories.

[markbt73]

Well, the answer to your last question, I suppose, has to be "Yes"...

[Juggular]

If I spent $500, I would hesitate running it too. That's a dilemma I try to avoid. 

I always liked XR311.  By the time I was getting my first RC car, I was about a decade too late.  Ebay didn't exist either.  Fast forward 30 years, I didn't want to pay the full price for re-issued, knowing I would not be able to run it.  So I waited years until I could get lightly damaged one for $140.  If you get a second hand RC, you would run it. 

Is it the childhood hero I expected?  No, XR311 is a feeble grandpa now.  It's like dreaming of meeting Rambo, but meeting old Sylvester Stallone instead.  But for the right price, meeting the old hero is fun.  I like its suspension.  It's important not to expect a 41 year old RC car to compete with Traxxas Slash, though.  

 

 

[ACCEL]

The Avante 2011 has a looooooooooooong story, but i was glad when i finally replaced the trani, some times too fast is not good. long story short CC will melt Tamiya parts.

did fine for about 2 sessions. there's a silver lining to that can. 

[Juls1]

For me, my first car was a Fighter buggy RX when i was 12, I longed for a Madcap with it's fully independant suspension. 

Forward 23 years I picked up a restored one. Looked at it, put it on the shelf, decided I know it's not going to be anything compared to everything I've owned and driven between the fighter buggy and now. But i still needed to have one, and it sits there in the rc room looking at me every time i step in there. 

[moffman]

I know exactly were your coming from! When I was a small boy on a Saturday me and my mum (God rest her soul) used to go to our nearest city because she was a seamstress (that's how long ago this was) she would go into a shop that sold clothing patterns etc and I always asked while she was in their could I go into the brilliant model shop next door (Beattie's) and I would sit a just watch the tamiya video and the star of that video was the Toyota hilux roll on now! Old man bit of spare cash found a good priced Toyota hilux watched it in my back garden bouncing all over the place body rattling of the body mounts my rose coloured glasses were definitely smashed that day! 

[Grastens]

I had a similar experience with the Tamiya Avante Black Special. I saved up for one, went for it, loved the build, and then realized I did not have the resources to keep it running the way it should. Regrettably, I sold it off - never to be seen again... I think that tri-colour body shell I worked so hard on even got discarded by the new owner 

There is a twist to the classic "meet the heroes" story, though for me it approaches an on-off relationship with an attractive partner, with a bit of insanity mixed in: I am convinced it will work out if I try again, and am already saving up for another Avante... It might even end up being a Black Special again, since for some reason they are cheaper than the 2011 re-release in places 

[Pablo68]

I think this must be pretty common.
Loved the Wild Willy as a kid/teenager, when I got to run one though, I preferred my Hornet.
I have pretty much every vintage tamiya buggy  I ever wanted now. Albeit with modern electronics and in most cases set up how I like, still.
The ones that stick out to me, The Fox, one I really wanted BITD, feel quite meh about the way it drives.
The Wild One sticks out cause of the opposite, I love it. Technically probably not supposed to be very good, but I think it's brilliant. Really composed and fun to drive.

Possibly the biggest disappointment I've had though is the Monster Beetle OG I had back in the day. So **** problematic and the performance wasn't that good. Got sick of fixing it all the tie and sold it on cheaply, to a friend who knew a lot more than me and got it running much better than I did.
My current MB (re-re) was built with that past experience in mind, and 20 years more experience of RC cars, AND forums/advice from the web. It runs awesome and I love it.