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Top force evo!!! Thunder dragon !!! 2021

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5 hours ago, nel33 said:

i just noticed Tamiya USA has listed a MSRP price for the TD as $259 USD, before today it was listed for the perfectly low price of $0.00 and now its $259, i wonder if they will lower it to $181 USD or not. in any case im just glad of the price i paid for my order and hope to see my TD in within 2 months...

Tamiya USA normally prices kits fairly high supposedly to protect hobby shops. They are meant a as a "last chance" when all other options have been exhausted. They only seem to drop prices when they have an overstock of a kit they seemingly can't move.

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4 hours ago, Saito2 said:

Tamiya USA normally prices kits fairly high supposedly to protect hobby shops. They are meant a as a "last chance" when all other options have been exhausted. They only seem to drop prices when they have an overstock of a kit they seemingly can't move.

Thank you for the reply, so it's their SOP pricing mantra to go high first and consider lower prices later. That explains the difference I see here. Maybe it's a tactic to dissuade those turds that buy up every kit in stock and resell online. Buying a ton of kits from a LHS is a bit easier to stop than then going through Tamiya USA and potentially cutting their profits from hoarding kits.

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10 hours ago, nel33 said:

Thank you for the reply, so it's their SOP pricing mantra to go high first and consider lower prices later. That explains the difference I see here. Maybe it's a tactic to dissuade those turds that buy up every kit in stock and resell online. Buying a ton of kits from a LHS is a bit easier to stop than then going through Tamiya USA and potentially cutting their profits from hoarding kits.

I don't think it's that in depth. TamiyaUSA is the distributor and they don't want to alienate all the lhs (what few are left) that carry Tamiya kits.  It's also probably contractual.  I don't think people hoarding kits is really an issue. Nobody knows how long they will be available or when they will be discontinued so I don't think it's a sound investment flipping Tamiya kits.

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37 minutes ago, A-Baum said:

I don't think it's that in depth. TamiyaUSA is the distributor and they don't want to alienate all the lhs (what few are left) that carry Tamiya kits.  It's also probably contractual.  I don't think people hoarding kits is really an issue. Nobody knows how long they will be available or when they will be discontinued so I don't think it's a sound investment flipping Tamiya kits.

Maybe I'm reading a bit too much into it but it sort of does have a mild effect of spreading the LHS sites with better prices instead of just targeting Tamiya USA. It wouldn't be much more work for them to add a few more sites but the higher price would dissuade it a bit from tamiya USA atm.

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On 2/14/2021 at 1:35 AM, Rb4276 said:

Aluminum motor mount, ceramic diff balls, aluminum shock mount support and gearbox covers. The gearbox covers im not sure i will use. That sucks about not shipping outside the US but i still have my doubts about March especially after talking to my local shops telling me tamiya usa has no clue

Had no idea the Evolution needed an aluminium motor mount as well. As luck have it I've got a spare DF01 aluminium motor mount, so might as well designate that to the TFE. 

It would be strange if Tamiya USA got them two months before Europe, so it might just as well be them throwing darts at a calendar. 

 

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6 minutes ago, Super ally said:

My pre order for thunder dragon from time tunnel models is now july.

Assuming this will be across the board in the UK. Shame but I don't mind the wait so long as we get them ;)

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Sweet jebus, rcjaz has the TFE up for preorder at an excellent price (280 euro)and expected delivery date of 31.3, close to two months earlier than Tamico. The only problem is that the shipping cost is absolutely astronomical at 110 euro. So I both want and don't want to press the preorder button. Best get a pint in each leg so I'm cleared for important decision making. 

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On 2/5/2021 at 10:24 AM, moffman said:

I must admit it baffles me when people (not just in rc) horde in our case kits to sell them on and probably give themselves a few extra £

Especially when they get irate about re-res "destroying" their resale value. They aren't intended to be investments.

If you want to horde them away and try and sell them on later then go for it but don't act like an entitled child when it goes wrong.

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On 2/16/2021 at 9:22 PM, Super ally said:

My pre order for thunder dragon from time tunnel models is now july.

I noticed Fusion pulled their cheaper no ESC option too.

I was pretty much 100% going to get it but I'm stuck on furlough at the moment and I don't even know what my situation will be by July. I'll have to re-assess nearer the time.

It's not just restricted to Tamiya. I noticed the same with the new brushless Kyosho van. Sites like Al's hobbies showed it coming into stock in Feb but now showing June.

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32 minutes ago, nowinaminute said:

Especially when they get irate about re-res "destroying" their resale value. They aren't intended to be investments.

If you want to horde them away and try and sell them on later then go for it but don't act like an entitled child when it goes wrong.

Yeah if your going to buy a kit or two I can understand people who like to keep them unbuilt and I can understand the people (who I'm one) who build but not necessarily use I do use a few but the likes of my avante black special it's a shelf queen because its just a stunning looking piece of miniature engineering as is the standard avante IMO? but to buy to make a profit on something which primarily is a hobby/pastime I just don't understand because the return is not that brilliant 

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Barring financial trouble or the total loss of interest in the hobby I can't understand how someone is able to sell a kit. They're so beautiful and fascinating and hold the promise of hours of fun building and then driving. I've pleaded insanity and confessed to buying multiple of pretty much every kit I buy, but this is solely a mental defect and not in the hopes of reselling them at a higher value. That's what stocks and bonds are for in my world, not devices for pleasure. I've given some kits to mates as a way of luring them in and having someone to share this interest with, but actually selling. Not sure how I could do that. 

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2 hours ago, nowinaminute said:

I noticed Fusion pulled their cheaper no ESC option too.
 

It's never not an option, if it's not showing because of them listing incorrectly or update, just ask........it has always been an option to remove the esc, even if the option has been forgotten!

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1 hour ago, taffer said:

It's never not an option, if it's not showing because of them listing incorrectly or update, just ask........it has always been an option to remove the esc, even if the option has been forgotten!

I just mean it was on their site but now they only have the regular version listed. But either way, I won't be buying one just yet with such a long wait. I'll see what state the world is in come June.

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It's back as an option (well it was an hour ago)

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3 hours ago, moffman said:

Yeah if your going to buy a kit or two I can understand people who like to keep them unbuilt and I can understand the people (who I'm one) who build but not necessarily use I do use a few but the likes of my avante black special it's a shelf queen because its just a stunning looking piece of miniature engineering as is the standard avante IMO? but to buy to make a profit on something which primarily is a hobby/pastime I just don't understand because the return is not that brilliant 

I think Tamiya (and probably others) have created anxiety in their customer base that when a kit is released, everyone wants one whether they 'really' want one or not, because they don't think that 2 months from now they will be able to get it.  I totally get that Tamiya has had manufacturing issues. Totally understand.  But this whole "here today, gone tomorrow" model we are seeing is frustrating and causing a run on every single kit they produce.  What blows my mind is resellers haven't jacked the prices up on us.  They have to know that if someone doesn't get a fire dragon for $175 that folks will happily pay $300 for it on ebay.  Good on them for not gouging us.

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2 hours ago, A-Baum said:

I think Tamiya (and probably others) have created anxiety in their customer base that when a kit is released, everyone wants one whether they 'really' want one or not, because they don't think that 2 months from now they will be able to get it.  I totally get that Tamiya has had manufacturing issues. Totally understand.  But this whole "here today, gone tomorrow" model we are seeing is frustrating and causing a run on every single kit they produce.  What blows my mind is resellers haven't jacked the prices up on us.  They have to know that if someone doesn't get a fire dragon for $175 that folks will happily pay $300 for it on ebay.  Good on them for not gouging us.

They might just wait a few months when stock gets harder to find. Jacking the prices can happen any time but they are holes if they chose to sweep all stock upon release. They might just have a sliver of honor in their bones.

If I let the thought wander too much, a fire dragon is a pretty decent idea but then it's pretty much the same deal as buying a 2nd TD in my case. I can't justify a fire dragon just to have a different body and front shock setup to my collection when I'm at my reasonable kit limit... I pray to God the Manta ray isn't rere'd anytime soon as I can't guarantee my actions will be logical.

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Are these two models worth buying and pre-ordering? I guess thats a loaded question! I have no affinity with the model or style, but they are cool! Are they good models to add in to start an eclectic collection? Hold their value?

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15 minutes ago, TheGizmodi said:

Are these two models worth buying and pre-ordering? I guess thats a loaded question! I have no affinity with the model or style, but they are cool! Are they good models to add in to start an eclectic collection? Hold their value?

Maybe this is just me, but 'holding value' plays absolutely no part in my buying decisions and I don't think it should in yours, at least if you're talking about buying run-of-the-mill kits.  If you pick up a NIB original Avante or 959 or something....then maybe that's a concern.  But a Fire Dragon?  It's a toy grade electric RC car.  It's not an investment. It should never be considered an investment.  Buy it if you like it and if you either plan to drive it or have it as a shelf queen because you like looking at it...then by all means buy one.  I would never buy one of these kits thinking I'm gonna flip it.  But that's just me.

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That's fair, I was thinking more along the lines of not being gouged at launch prices as opposed to making money on them in the future as an investment. As I don't have an affinity with them i don't want to pay a premium at launch only to have them drop, but then again I also don't want the opposite to occur either.

Appreciate the note.

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10 minutes ago, TheGizmodi said:

That's fair, I was thinking more along the lines of not being gouged at launch prices as opposed to making money on them in the future as an investment. As I don't have an affinity with them i don't want to pay a premium at launch only to have them drop, but then again I also don't want the opposite to occur either.

Appreciate the note.

I haven't seen much indication that the rere kits are at premium prices.  Heck I think I bought my fire dragon in 1989 for $125.  And now it's $175?  Seems like a steal.  The only bad part seems to be some of the premium kits, like the TFE are missing some of the quality/parts that made them premium kits in the first place.  Like the TFE lacking titanium screws.  If they included those, it'd probably tack another $100 to the kit, which at $399 (before coupon) is pretty reasonable.  I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't see Tamiya lowering their prices once the pandemic is behind us.  

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3 hours ago, taffer said:

It's back as an option (well it was an hour ago)

Yes I see it now. A few weeks back it was £148 minus esc though. 

It's only £5 less than a Terra Scorcher now.

Ohhh what to do lol. I prefer how the TD looks but you get an extra shock and some goodies with the TS.

Seems to be happening all over though. The aforementioned brushless Kyosho van was up at 255 preorder at Al's hobbies and is creeping up. 268 at the moment.

I'll have a look at the state of play nearer the time I suppose.

Does a Thunder Dragon body fit if it's a dual front damper chassis? Maybe I could get the TS and a TD body and alternate.

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It's better value to get the ts because of the bearings, you can dual shock on td, with TD front mount it looks a little odd but better with ts shock mount

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3 minutes ago, taffer said:

It's better value to get the ts because of the bearings, you can dual shock on td, with TD front mount it looks a little odd but better with ts shock mount

Taffer, will the TD not come with bearings? Not disputing that the TS is better value for money but I'm half expecting the same upgrades to the TS including the alloy motor mount

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TD I bet will have the mount and that will be it

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