Your first new Tamiya experience

[xzenonuk 79]

1 hour ago, Killajb said:

First new Tamiya..   

 

Well, first Tamiya was a used Falcon.  Purchased without a radio from another kid in middle school when I was 12 years old.  Mowed lawns and washed dishes throughout my teenage years to purchase other used  rc's as they were all I could afford.  Oddly enough, they weren't Tamiya.  An old Team Associated RC12 pan car..  An AYK Pro Radiant (why on earth did I ever let that go!!!) were very used and abused when I bought them.

Finished high school, and headed for the military and at 19 years of age found myself in Japan.  I went to the local shopping mall on my first break from duty and saw kids racing mini 4wd around a track and immediately bought one, assembled it on site and had a go.  Dead last finish on my first race!!  I was the only foreigner (and only adult for that matter) racing and all the kids came to help me, digging around in their parts boxes to donate foam tires, old bearings, and using plastic cutters to cut unnecessary pieces out of the frame to lighten it up.  I was amazed at not only how bright these young lads were, but how they all worked together to help a big oaf like me so readily.  Went back to race and still got spanked.. but not by nearly as much that time.  I didn't understand a word of Japanese back then but had so much fun.  

The first Tamiya RC kit I could afford new from the shop was actually purchased as a gift for someone else.  A Stadium Raider.  He's not an rc guy at all , but I think he still has it actually.

 

 

 

dang that sounds amazing, i had a rc 10 gold tub before i got the tracker, gave dad his rc10 back to him when i got the tracker, the tracker could actually burn off the rc 10, slower of the mark but it's 550 motor made up for it with it's masive wheels

the rc10 was actually 3rd hand, a local older kid had one second hand and then sold it to dad who gave it to me, my biggest rc regret was throwing it out.....

 

[markbt73 5315]

I've probably told this story before, but...

I didn't actually want a Tamiya model for my first. I was all about the Kyosho Pegasus and Icarus. But the proprietor of the local hobby shop convinced my dad they were "junk," owing to the living-hinge suspension pieces, and they convinced me to look at Tamiya. I wanted a Wild One, but would settle for a Grasshopper or Hornet.

But I had to pay for it myself. So I spent the entire summer of 1986 mowing lawns and painting fences and doing whatever other chores our neighbors would pay me for to save up money, dreaming of what to buy, trying to figure out how much I would need for the various options. When I hit $150, the price of a Grasshopper combo deal from a mail-order house in California, I could wait no longer and made the call.

The  things I remember most vividly about that first kit were:

1. I ordered the kit COD, and completely forgot about shipping. I had my cash stashed in a drawer, and I was heartbroken when the package arrived and I came up short. My dad chipped in $10 to cover it, but held my battery pack and charger hostage until I had mowed the lawn that week.

2. My mom, upon seeing the Grasshopper body sitting on the kitchen table, remarked that it was shaped like Robin Hood's hat. To illustrate her point, she put it on her head and pantomimed shooting an arrow. My little brother laughed so hard he fell off his chair.

3. My first test run was in the launrdy room, followed closely by my first crash, into the front of the dryer, with a loud "BONG!" and shouts from my parents to "take that thing outside to drive it." I was thrilled and delighted to see that I had left a skid mark from one of the tires on the laundry room floor. I was less thrilled when they made me scrub it up before I drove any more.

[Carmine A 2046]

...... All my stories seem to run LONG! So I'll be short but sweet. 😉 

My first new Tamiya Kit was The Frog. Got it in late 1984, it caught my eye while I was shopping for Model Trains. Got it home, built it....  And two days later, STRIPPED both Hex Drives!! 😠  

That could have ended it, but I went and bought a Grasshopper!! 😜  A few years later, Thorp came out with a HD double U-Joint Driveshaft Kit for what I didn't know then was the ORV Chassis. Bulletproof!! 

I ended up falling for the idea that these could be MODIFIED, similar to real Cars. I was hooked!! 😁

..... ALRIGHT! Not too short. 😖😉

[Manix92 121]

To this day I have no idea what model of 2WD Tamiya buggy I first had.

I bought it off a mate at school for about £40 in the 80's. All I can remember is that it had a aluminium bathtub chassis, it wasn't a Grasshopper or Hornet, a beetle ran over it on the road and flattened it (managed to bash the aluminium out to use again and no plastic parts got broke - go figure) and it ended up in a big pond which was the final thing before I sold it.

Oh also remember getting in trouble for flatening the battery of next doors fiesta which we charged it off.

[xray mark 213]

Well my first car was a thunder shot which I still credit to this day for making me the driver I am

 one day I was visiting a school friend and had taken my Sega master system to his house to play Mickey Mouse castle of illusion
 Whilst there my mate pulled out a completely new built box art vanquish . I guess his dad used the kit build service at  Beatties Model shop in woodley, reading in Berkshire 

it even came in the black and yellow bag you hit free when buying a rtr deal. The bag contained a 30 min fast charger and a spare black ni-cad pack

i remember getting it home and sitting staring at it for hours listening to “fascinating rhythm ” by Bass-o-matic on repeat 

 the truly annoying thing is that I cannot for the Life of me remember what happened to it. I can’t even remember driving it much. 
my best guess is that I must have swapped it for a sky way bmx or an Atari lynx. One of the two!

anyway.. I will have  other one soon in a few months so will look up Bass o matic on YouTube while building it!. 

 

[xzenonuk 79]

2 hours ago, xray mark said:

Well my first car was a thunder shot which I still credit to this day for making me the driver I am

 one day I was visiting a school friend and had taken my Sega master system to his house to play Mickey Mouse castle of illusion
 Whilst there my mate pulled out a completely new built box art vanquish . I guess his dad used the kit build service at  Beatties Model shop in woodley, reading in Berkshire 

it even came in the black and yellow bag you hit free when buying a rtr deal. The bag contained a 30 min fast charger and a spare black ni-cad pack

i remember getting it home and sitting staring at it for hours listening to “fascinating rhythm ” by Bass-o-matic on repeat 

 the truly annoying thing is that I cannot for the Life of me remember what happened to it. I can’t even remember driving it much. 
my best guess is that I must have swapped it for a sky way bmx or an Atari lynx. One of the two!

anyway.. I will have  other one soon in a few months so will look up Bass o matic on YouTube while building it!. 

 

i loved that game on the master system

[xzenonuk 79]

On 8/19/2020 at 5:40 PM, Manix92 said:

To this day I have no idea what model of 2WD Tamiya buggy I first had.

I bought it off a mate at school for about £40 in the 80's. All I can remember is that it had a aluminium bathtub chassis, it wasn't a Grasshopper or Hornet, a beetle ran over it on the road and flattened it (managed to bash the aluminium out to use again and no plastic parts got broke - go figure) and it ended up in a big pond which was the final thing before I sold it.

Oh also remember getting in trouble for flatening the battery of next doors fiesta which we charged it off.

only model i remember back then with a tub chassis and all alloy was the rc 10, sure it was a tamiya?

 

also need to hear more about the shennanigans with a fiesta batt