Jump to content
Saito2

Passion, does (can?) Tamiya still have it (in RC)?

Recommended Posts

I imagine the RC market is a tougher one for Tamiya than it was back in the 80's. Its been noted that a lot of the unique designs we saw from that era was down to not having "the formula" worked out as it is today. It was an era of experimentation but I'd also say for Tamiya (and others) it was an era of passion. Looking at the creativity on display in Tamiya's back catalog for that era leaves little question. Some could argue that some of that passion is gone what with all the rebodied TT02s and basically DT03s and TT02Bs shouldering much of the newer model market. The rereleases aren't new,  just a reminder of what Tamiya was once capable of. The flip side is its possible those rereleases wouldn't really fly today as new products without the nostalgia to back them up. With a tougher market, it might not even be possible to be as bold or passionate as they once were. Also, unique things here and there like the T301 and the SW01 means there's still some creativity rolling around. I don't really have a hard opinion on it, but I can see both sides and maybe we can be a little too hard on them in these more difficult times for the hobby. 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I buy Tamiya as ive loved them since the 80s but everyone I know only buys things like Traxxas, Hpi & Carisma now days.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been feeling that, and who starts the right thread? @Saito2. A leader can change a lot of things in a group.  

Say that the room is filling with smoke. Without a leader saying one thing or another, 90% of people call the fire department. If a leader says "it's nothing," only 10% calls the fire department. (By then it might be too late)  So, if the leader loves on-road, off-road would be out of sight, out of mind.  

If Tamiya had the 80's zeal, we would have seen T3-01 in the 90's.  Tamiya 3 speeds would have been 5 speeds in the 90s.  Tamiya would have had an amphibious car in the 2000s. Gearboxes would had CVT by 2010.  By 2020, Tamiya might have made Mars Rover that could walk up the stairs. 

ZxODkYc.jpg

Well, that's kinda uncool looking. This looks better. 

anuaLt1.jpg

zO4h3E0.jpg

At least, we've got Konghead in 2018.  

When it comes to off-roaders, I think Tamiya's passion has been missing for like 20 years.  I really hope that Konghead, Dynahead and T3-01 means that Tamiya might have a new team leader for off-road department.  

 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes it does, other than mid - top end buggies. The onroad lineup is complete and has plenty of innovation. TA05 was ahead of its time and competed with the best (look at all the mid motor TC now that are all the rage), TA06 was weird and not successful, but it was quite different, TA07 with its skeleton frame and multiple motor positions and single belt was a big change (although people often say its just a rip off of an old Losi design). TB04 has the transverse motor, TB05 has multiple motor positions etc. TC01 came out of nowhere and is another interesting one. And they also constantly develop their cars and provide a decent upgrade path.

Then there are the new releases that aren't TT or DT cars, like the Konghead, Dancing Rider, Comicals etc which are certainly different. 

While new TA/TB models are infrequent, those others have been released at a good rate. Not 80s fast, but still quickly

I'm not a fan of the TT cars for me, but can see the attraction. Who else supplies a kit that just needs radio gear to complete and had a top quality body, wheels, tyres etc for the price? And they can be repaired. They are a great entry to the hobby and many clubs use them as a spec class to encourage new members, which in my experience are well supported.

They also have a full onroad racing lineup which can compete with the best from others.

So I would say they still have it

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm reasonably certain that I'm getting a King Yellow for my birthday next week. I'll let you know after I build it and run it a bit if they've still "got it."

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Being a 95% off-road RC hobbyist I would say the Tamiya appeal to me at this point is 100% nostalgic.  Tamiya is still by far my favorite RC brand, but that's all based on what they have done in the past and I'm OK with that.  I still hold out hope that one day they will get back to it, but even if they don't I'll always appreciate them. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cool thread. Second the previous post on Tamiya. They were super detail -oriented and even now I love the un-matched realism of the vintage SRB and Truck models with the all-metal chassis  - and not just because they were my first RC experience.  I drove a Honda Civic as my frst car but I'm not giving up my modern Lexus for an 80s hatchback. I'm not a big fan of racing buggies now just to race them as I was 30 years ago so to me it's either you go for detail and realism which is vintage Tamiya and their On-Road lineup which is stellar, or you go for Associated and Kyosho for innovation, speed and quality racing with little attention to 1:1 references. Associated started with the RC 10 Sp-1 and that became the foundational standard or grandfather of modern racing buggies. Tamiya went the way of the Denisovans with anything post-frog in my opinion in either realism or competitive racing categories. They abandoned realistic 1:1 inspired off road designs and never caught up with their off-road competitors in my humble opinion. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

They definitely have more of a passion for the Japanese market, which I'm getting is somewhat different from Europe/The Americas. I've never personally been to Japan to check out the R/C side of things in person, but based on the videos that Tamiya, Kyosho, and Yokomo put up on Youtube and social media, On-road is king and most off-road racing is on AstroTurf/carpet and buggies seem to be the most only thing that is ran from an outsiders perspective. ,

Overall I'd say that at least in North America, R/C models are becoming much more scale for anything not primarily used on a racetrack, and have began to expand beyond the crawling world as well. Even hardcore bashing companies such as Arrma and Traxxas have been producing more scale-realistic models, with Arrma having the Felony and Infraction, and Traxxas with the UDR and Bigfoot variants of the stampede. Losi has embraced high-performance models that look killer as well for the last few years, and have been killing it with the Baja and Rock Rey along with the super variants, Lasernut U4 buggy and lastly the LMT which I think could be TLR 22 levels of revolution for that class. 

While I'd love for Tamiya to do something along those lines to appeal to the same customers that purchase the aforementioned models, and they are absolutely capable of pulling it off, I don't think they will at all or properly, at least based on the CC-02. They had a chance to finally break into the scale crawler market with a modern vehicle, but they totally blew it IMHO. I'm ok with the smaller size relative to an SCX-10 or TRX-4, but the fact that they have done next to nothing with the chassis makes me think that they really do not want to compete in the modern off-road market. As for suggestions for what they could have done with the chassis, they have an amazing catalogue of bodies that could easily fit on the CC-02, since it is the same size as the CC-01. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...