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Ferruz

What's your favourite box art picture?

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I assume this has been talked about already and apologize in advance if there's another thread or if the topic is redundant.

The allure of our RC cars comes in big part from the way they are presented in the box cover (this may have counted more as kids, but I bet not only).
 Beautiful paintings depicting them in action played a big role in our imagination and eventually in the choices of many of us.

What's your favourite box art picture?

-I mean only buggy/offroad cars and trucks, no on road cars for now
-doesn't have to be necessarily Tamiya
-only picture paintings or drawings, no photos.
-choice to be made based on criteria such as the picture themselves or what they evoke, regardless of the performance of the cars portrayed.

It's a hard choice as so many are awesome, but as for me my all time favourite buggy art is the Marui Shogun.
The usual three quarter view is gorgeous, but there's just something about how the car is pictured, so shapely and captivating, and that stance! It reminds me of a buffed up bear leaping forwards, confident and tough.
I think whoever drew that did a miracolous job.  I don't own the model, but from what I could see from the pictures the actual car -while still absolutely gorgeous- doesn't really have the imposing stance suggested in the box art. Sometimes I dream that if I'll ever own one I'll maybe try to replicate it! 
Anyway here it is

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But besides the Shogun, there's a bunch of other box art pictures that I like almost as much.


The Thunder Shot! For some reason I always loved this one, probably my favourite Tamiya box art. Looks intimidating and mysterious, I know it's nothing special but it always struck me. I find its proportions very convincing  somehow


Tamiya-Thunder-Shot.jpg

 

The Frog, great perspective, so dynamic, quite perfect


tamiya-frog-box-vintage.jpg

 

The Sand Scorcher, delightful in its curves and simplicityTamiya-Sand-Scorcher-4x3.jpg

 

The Samurai: once again it's something about the stance... just glorious.

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The Nichimo Exceed! So outrageous, with what always looked to me like double rear wheels. 

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And what about this guy? The Nichimo Midships looks more like a squashed toad on steroids, but still it's very impressive and weird, total odd-ball buggy. Awesome drawing really

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Last but not least, the Hornet! This box art just stuck to me since the first time I saw it as a kid, and is probably the first image that comes to mind if I think the word "RC"

tamiyahornet0012.jpg

I often wondered how the Kyosho buggies would have looked had they been portrayed on box art paintings like their cousins instead of just a photo. Too bad it didn't happen, I'm sure they'd look jaw dropping.

So, what's your favourite of all the box art pics out there?

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For me, it is a toss-up between the Hornet and Grasshopper. Not the most impressive models I know, but the dynamic way they are depicted on the box makes for a great look.

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I put the Frog, Grasshopper and Hornet all together, all dynamic and just ignited my desire when I saw them at toyworld all on the wall, while watching the promo video's on an old small TV. I could just hang there for hours admiring them

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For me any of the 3spds especially Blazing Blazer looks very powerful. Cheetah is also nice and now that you mentioned, Thunder Shot does really look cool.

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I always liked the more dynamic box art where there's a bit of dirt.  I was a bit let down by the Stadium Blitzer chassis compared to my King Cab at the time, but I loved the artwork.

box_58106_01.jpg

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Grasshopper is a good shout! That leaping buggy. I remember just staring at it for hours in the page of a Littlewoods catalogue. Rather predictably the Thunder Dragon still captivates me as it always has. 

tamdragon1.gif

I love the corning stance and the driver looking into the corner. As a side note, the photos on the manual are reay exciting driving shots too. 

 

 

 

tamiya-thunder-dragon-manual-wheelsacademyinfo.jpg

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For me it's the TB01 Ford Focus Rally Car. That was my 1st 'proper' RC. Not got the box anymore but still got the car from 2000.

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All good suggestions, it would probably be easier to say which ones should have been better??

 

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5 hours ago, Ferruz said:

The allure of our RC cars comes in big part from the way they are presented in the

For me, that allure was best shown in these Tamiya caricatures. 

The character of each vehicle was far more exaggerated than any realistic pictures.  They kinda accentuate the smallness of them too.  

Maybe that's why I liked these "Moko Chan" panels and arts better.  

 

sfTLx6p.jpg

l3AddRS.jpg

 

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Also, I like Grasshopper's box art.  

But it's a lie. (For those who played Portal...the cake is a lie!!)  

KOTi8cS.jpg

 

We all know how much ground clearance it really has...  

Qln3HRg.jpg

 

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6 hours ago, Juggular said:

Maybe that's why I liked these "Moko Chan" panels and arts better

Looks cool, I don't think I've ever seen these. Are there any more of these comics and arts?

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For me will always be this one. Although YEAH there's many that are absolutely brilliant, the Midnight Pumpkin boxart is totally awesome!

https://tamiyabase.com/images/stories/boxart/box_58070_01.jpg

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Lunchbox for me...it's the one I always wanted as a kid. I just love the distorted goofy look of the thing. This image still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.😁

post-2771-1207037929.jpg

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Favorite Tamiya box for me is the Bigwig.

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My favourite is this version of the Sonic Fighter, much better than the 'normal' box art

Tamiya-57002-Box.jpg

 

Lovely bit of motion, wheel up with the driver struggling for control learning into the turn. I really hope to own one someday, even if it's ah empty box!

I agree with @Blista on the stadium blitzer. I even framed mine! 

qxAUiYK.jpg

 

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Hot Shot and Frog.   I loved he little technical things about them, and the stance and the colors on the HS was just awesome.    Iconic, looking back on it.  

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Special award to the shogun for looking so much better on the box than in real life, where I find it rather lumpen.

The best box art really is ‘more’ than real life. Not always better, but something extra that you can never replicate in a model.

 

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6B6E6C48-C1ED-45B2-914C-369934CA1E93.jpeg

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One of the most intricate box arts has to be the Porsche 959

I don't know who the artist is, but it's an amazing piece.  

I don't know what the reason is for box art being replaced by photos, but I can only guess that the artists of the 1970's, 80's and 90's have either retired or passed away.  I would also imagine that taking a digital photo is easier, quicker and cheaper than paying for and waiting for an artist to produce a work that could many days or weeks.

tamiyaoperations2.JPG

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3 hours ago, Bwaaatch said:

The best box art really is ‘more’ than real life. Not always better, but something extra that you can never replicate in a model.

Yeah that's it. And it's probably what the marketing strategy of using art instead of a mere photo was about: a picture drawing is a much warmer impression that lasts in time, grows in you and triggers the imagination.

Still I would try to figure out how to get closer to that look with the Shogun if I had one. Interesting to see the real one and box art together, the tires seem so much smaller in the real model.

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14 hours ago, Ferruz said:

Looks cool, I don't think I've ever seen these. Are there any more of these comics and arts?

It seems "Moko Chan" was all over the place back in the 80's. 

The name could be from "Mokei," meaning model or miniature.  Tamiya's full name used to be "Tamiya Mokei," I think.   

TC has a member @Mokei Kagaku, I believe that's the same mokei?  

She was featured in calendars, magazine illustrations, etc. 

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But most notably, she was in colored guide books explaining stuff.  Like how to paint.

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History of static model kits. 

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Basics of static kits. 

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How to build static kits. 

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Painting guide book. 

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RC guide book.  

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And random illustrations. 

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In the spirit of re-release, I wish Tamiya re-released Moko Chan guide books. All in one book or something.  

 

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My favorite box(es) art and why...

My dad's first RC car

Rough Rider

box_58015_07.jpg

My eldest brother's first RC

Ford F150 - uses the same chassis as the Rough Rider (and Sand Scorcher, Super Champ)

Tamiya-Ford-F150-Ranger-XLT.jpg

Subaru Brat - My other brother's first RC which became mine two years later when he handed me down. It was my first RC. 

box_58038_01.jpg

I loved this until I started racing and found out that it wasn't a track worthy car. Then I learned that the chassis can be converted to a Frog. It took me a lot of savings from my weekly allowance and months to accomplish that. Changed so many parts from differential gear (Brat had no diff), to all bearings, aluminum racing shocks, body posts, new set oh buggy wheels, body set, etc. Then I was happy how the Frog performed compared to the Brat. It was controllable on track. It also didn't flip at corners and fish tails like the Brat does, ALL THE TIME!

box_58041_01.jpg

Then I regularly raced with a couple of my friends and we visited several local tracks. I realized again that the Frog couldn't keep up with the real 2wd racers like the RC10 and Ultima. But those two kits were really expensive and it would take me forever saving my allowance just to be able to buy either. So I dreamed of having a Wild One instead...

box_58050_01.jpg

But unfortunately, none of the local hobby shops had this kit. It wasn't available locally. I only see it in magazines and catalogs but I really liked the way it looked. The only way to get it is to buy it from Hong Kong. My dad's and two brothers' RC were all bought from HK during out trips in the early 80s. We had no plans of the next trip yet so I became really frustrated waiting, of when will I ever get a new kit. 

A year later, the new pro buggy from Tamiya was released and surprisingly, a local hobby shop near from where we live (less than 2km away) had one in stock. I bought it.

box_58080_01.jpg

This gave my first podium experience (3rd place) and a couple of trophies and medals racing against the real ones (RC10, Ultima, Schumacher). I was very happy with this kit but never satisfied because I just had to do something which led me to convert this to a semi Super Astute which wasn't even announced yet. I changed the plastic CVA shocks to aluminum gold (same as the shocks set of the Avante) and re-positioned the battery to longitudinal like in the SA. When the SA came out, I also upgraded the gearing and spur casing, rear suspension turnbuckles. But I had installed an upper deck on my Astute using some surplus upper deck from Kyosho Optima Mid pro (from my friend who wrecked his kit). I also changed the wheel to SA and bought a new SA body as well because I liked the stickers that came with it. It was powered by Futaba MC116 and Dynatech 01R and replaced the rotor with a 17t. It was fast and stable on the track. 

d34af20e48d177b3679e53d4c62ef9aa.jpg

Then I retired from RC in 1992 because I got so crazy about DJing when I started in 1990. Then a few years later, I missed it but I wanted on-road this time because our favorite local track where we used to race off-road was converted to an asphalt track. So in 1996, I bought the FF-01 with Renault Clio body.

box_58138_01.jpg

and my dad bought a Pajero CC-01

box_49490_01.jpg

Which is up to this day, both kits are still with me. But the Clio have been scratched badly and been damaged already. I had to get a body replacement.

In 1998, the Corolla WRC was released. I loved that car so much and surprisingly, Tamiya released it with the TA-03F. I had upgraded the FF-01 with the FRP chassis, all aluminum racing shocks and full ball bearings. It was good to see that the chassis' wheel base can be adjusted. So I bought the Corolla body and fitted in the FF-01 which sat perfectly.

box_58218_01.jpg

Then I retired again from RC and I never thought of going back. My FF-01 with this body now sits on the shelf. Still beautiful especially now it's installedwith a new TRF shocks set even if it's just a shelf queen.

In 2004, I saw a new on-road car outside the window of a local Tamiya hobby shop. It was like a magnet pulling me closer to it and it read on the box, "TA-04".

It just blew me on how the RC cars have evolved. I didn't buy it right away but it kept hunting me everyday. I spoke to me friends who were still active and asked for advice. I wanted a kit that I can run on the track and for bashing as well with minimal spending on upgrades. So they advised me to get the TA-04R. The best upgraded TA-04 without the lower carbon fiber deck and still uses tub. So it was perfect and went to the store and buy it.

tamiya-ta-04r-chassis-roller-spares_1_5c388b7e6342698ba1c8d1f9b50f2210.jpg

I was impressed with this kit. Handled very well on the track and on the parking lot/street. I raced it but the higher breed of race cars were just too fast. TA-04TRF, TRF-414 and the...

HPI Pro4. It was the car to beat. So in 2005, for the first time I bought a non-Tamiya RC. I got a slightly used/almost new kit from a friend who had it as a spare. I upgraded this kit fully with every hop up part available for it. Gave my TA-04R to my eldest son who eventually wrecked it.

img15959_28052009022001_1.jpg

In 2007, I retired again. I regret selling all of my RC stuff including the Pro4 (except for my tool box and 20A power supply).

Here's are pics of my Pro4

9aFnc85h.jpg

P6jEDHKh.jpg

Aqg65DEh.jpg

u9bnAJah.jpg

Very, very impressive car. 

Anyway going back to box art, this was my eldest brother's 2nd RC when he upgraded from the Ford F150 in 1985

Audi Quattro

box_58036_01.jpg

While my other brother had this after the Subaru Brat was handed to me.

box_58037_01.jpg

Other kits on my wish list at that time were these...

Avante

92282f123398cc71c709db3ba7be193f.jpg

and Egress

2cdd479deda71c9ec800bd19932ba90b.jpg

But I couldn't afford to have multiple kits back then because I was still in school. Although my friends had them so I just drooled. 

In 2014, I started RC flight with a 4-channel 100 size heli, then got a 300 size a month later and a 450 size 6 channel 3D heli six month after. The helis are still with me but I rarely fly due to time and space. 2018, I went back to the RC car again. I hope it stays for good. Haha!

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