When Tamiya gets weird...

[Ferruz 1795]

We all know Tamiya can get pretty weird and random sometimes, which is one of the reasons why we love it. Conflicting instructions and information, doubtful or missing indication about where to apply grease, overengineering (and at times underengineering), quirky stuff of all sorts.

Thought I'd start a thread where we can share all the strange things regarding our favourite brand.

When did Tamiya get weird on you?

I'll start with this: the AG threadlock. 

While I can live with the fact that, as stated on the label, it's not edible, why they gave it that appealing colour AND that cherry smell truly is beyond me.

If you want to prevent people from eating threadlock, then why make it smell yummier than a Haribo gummibear? It bemuses me. The AG didn't end up on my morning toast so far, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold back.

[markbt73 2927]

Are you sure it's Tamiya who's the weird one here?

[topforcein 1270]

and how many kids eat the pva glue in school so i would say this is the next step for them

[Gazzalene 79]

Slight different tack BUT I bought a electric heat gun / paint stripper.

The supplied manual said not to be used as a hair dryer, do not use as a toy and do not heat water with this item! Plus many more STUPID things.

One warning it did not say was "do not place hands in front of " !!!!!!!!!

[Lee76 536]

2 hours ago, Ferruz said:

If you want to prevent people from eating threadlock, then why make it smell yummier than a Haribo gummibear?

Thanks, I now have to stop browsing the web so I can go and sniff thread lock, all in the name of fact checking of course.

Edit.. Nope.. I think someone needs to check the authenticity of their Haribo supplier.. That does not taste like cherry gummy sweets. AW grease however is keeping the tea stains off my teeth.

[Lee76 536]

29 minutes ago, Gazzalene said:

One warning it did not say was "do not place hands in front of " !!!!!!!!!

How else are you supposed to check how hot it is?  

[mud4fun 985]

I love the smell of threadlock......

OMG, was I meant to admit that in public? 

[Juggular 3296]

Ooh, that just gave me an idea.  

Couldn't we use jam to "jam" bolts and nuts?  It's sticky enough. And you can lick it too!  

[Biz73 549]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

Couldn't we use jam to "jam" bolts and nuts?

Perfect logic Now to decide, strawberry or grape...

[Killajb 309]

Live in Japan for awhile and you'll understand exactly why Tamiya get's weird..

[Mad Ax 2704]

16 hours ago, topforcein said:

and how many kids eat the pva glue in school so i would say this is the next step for them

PVA is a gateway drug...  I once got threatened with expulsion from school for having a large bottle of PVA glue.

Long story short: I wasn't eating it, I was selling it.  I was selling it legitimately to a friend who made balsawood aircraft, because it was cheaper to buy a large bulk tub from my mum's art shop than it was to buy small tubs from the LHS.

I was threatened with expulsion because naturally, in the eyes of the school, the only place I could possibly have got a large tub of PVA was to have stolen it from the school's art cupboard...  My repeated protestations of "but I bought it from my mum's art shop" fell on deaf ears.

It took a long time for the underlying issue to come to the surface: the glue was branded Consortium.  Consortium only supply to educational establishments.  So, naturally, I could not possibly have bought it from my mum's art shop.

If they had explained this to me right away, I could have explained that my mum runs an art shop in a college.  However my failure to explain this within the first 30 seconds of the interrogation was evidence in the eyes of the interrogator of, if not my guilt, then my incredible stupidity.

I wish the rest of my school memories presented the teachers in a better light, but...

[Re-Bugged 3360]

12 hours ago, Juggular said:

Ooh, that just gave me an idea.  

Couldn't we use jam to "jam" bolts and nuts?  It's sticky enough. And you can lick it too!  

Next thing you know you'll be putting Peanut Butter in your Diff...

[Carmine A 1169]

.... And lube our Bearings with Olive Oil. Before long, our RCs can smell like a Picnic!! 😂

[wolfdogstinkus 936]

Strap a bit of bacon on the back to exercise your dog..

Everytime the lunchbox does a wheelie, a flap opens and a soft drink falls out the back..

[wolfdogstinkus 936]

3 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Next thing you know you'll be putting Peanut Butter in your Diff...

You didn't see the peanut butter thread??

Smooth for a limited slip effect and crunchy for a bit more bite.

[Carmine A 1169]

3 hours ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

You didn't see the peanut butter thread??

Smooth for a limited slip effect and crunchy for a bit more bite.

..... And the Jam for when you need less bite. 😜

[TurnipJF 4737]

You speak in jest, but in the late '90s there was a real-world fad that involved using food products such as olive oil, syrup and various condiments as a more environmentally friendly alternative to shock oil. 

So peanut butter and jam as diff lube is perhaps not as farfetched as one may think!

[Mad Ax 2704]

5 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

You speak in jest, but in the late '90s there was a real-world fad that involved using food products such as olive oil, syrup and various condiments as a more environmentally friendly alternative to shock oil. 

I can see the race reports now.

"The temperature dropped for the second final so I rapidly switched to Extra Virgin in the rear shocks and that gave me just enough rear traction to steal a victory from Car #3"

I might have to add "Olivio Shock Oils" to my list of fake sponsors  

[wtcc5 535]

On 9/30/2020 at 3:06 AM, Killajb said:

Live in Japan for awhile and you'll understand exactly why Tamiya get's weird..

😂 That is because it is normal for chinese to do it the „wrong“ way.

[Mad Ax 2704]

In a lot of east Asian countries it is normal for toilet paper to go into a bin instead of the toilet, also.  I have never been 100% sure why but have assumed it is something to do with the drains not being able to cope with paper waste.

[Ferruz 1795]

Yes, that's why. Besides east Asia, I've also experienced it in a bunch of Latin American and Middle Eastern Countries. When the water pressure in weak and the sewage system is delicate, it's crucial to avoid disposing of toilet paper in the actual toilet as it would clog it almost instantly, got to put it in a bin instead. Apparently it makes a dramatic difference -and it also makes the experience more exotic for anybody coming from a country with a more effective waste system. Never take things for granted!

I think that with these funny instructions Japan is just trying to tell the foreigner that it is not one of those countries.

Ps. There's some tolerance though, I forgot to do it right sometimes but luckily no nasty clogging or eruption followed lol

[berman 3055]

On 9/30/2020 at 11:01 PM, Re-Bugged said:

Next thing you know you'll be putting Peanut Butter in your Diff...

In my 40+ years experience, peanut butter comes out your diff 

And my 3yo does the reverse number 2s, and I am pretty sure he isn't Chinese...

Well if this thread wasn't weird before... what were we talking about?

[Pablo68 570]

When did Tamiya get weird?
They kind of always have been. That is to say, they have their own idiosyncratic way of doing things.
Look at their kit designs. They have produce a few kits over the years that more or less follow what other manufacturers have designed, pretty much for racing.
The rest, the vast majority of their designs are a panoply of strange things that no other manufacturer would do/go down that route.
 

And it gets stranger because after all that, they still produce kits that very precise and go together with a minimum of fuss and have some of the best assembly manuals in the business.

Having lived in Japan a few years I tend to put it down to being a very Japanese company.