Gentle Ramblings of a Tamiya Addict...

[Grumpy pants 2049]

Just pondering and wondered what you would do...I have a Blazing Blazer in my wardrobe it has been there since December 2015.

A superb undamaged and original survivor that’s needs light restoration imo, no body damage and 100% complete. An absolute gem 💥
 

I have had other BB’s all nice, but I sold them on and I kept the best one for myself, so ok on with the pondering....

It’s worth at least 1k imo probably and a bit more at the moment, I could sell the BB and buy almost all the kits on my wish list, except maybe 1 Tamiya and a Kyosho or 2 😉

I would need to buy bearings, paint, servos, ESC’s etc separately.

Once the BB is sold it would be highly unlikely I could ever buy back in, with 5 kids who all want to go to Uni I will be pretty  much be bankrupted,  if there is anything left of me or in my bank it will be only due to divine intervention 😂

What would you do? Fill ya’ boots with Tamiya excess or keep a Holy Grail model for you viewing/ownership pleasure? 

There is no right or wrong answer, I know it’s down to me and it’s an emotive decision,  but I’m intrigued!

[Robert5000 632]

As I'm a buggy type of person and haven't got a single nostalgic reference towards the Blazing Blazer I'm not sure my answers would do anything for you, but: 

Since it's been sat in your wardrobe for six years it might not be all that hard to let it go? On the other hand, you call it an absolute gem and predict you won't be able to source one in the future, let alone one that meets the standards of the one you've already got. That sort of nixes the sales completely. 

Will you in time be able to buy the other kits on your wish list one by one without selling the BB? If so I'd gone for the slow slug and chipped away on the other kits whilst enjoying my pride and joy as you put it. 

Third option: relocate your family to Norway. Uni costs about £100 a year. More money for kits! 

[mud4fun 1689]

I'm same as @Robert5000, if it is sat in a wardrobe not being used or even on display then I'd sell it and buy something you can enjoy.

However, like Robert5000, I'm biased as I prefer buggies.

I do have a crawler, I built it myself for £100 and it is far more capable than a 3 speed so is more fun anyway.

[Grumpy pants 2049]

5 minutes ago, Robert5000 said:

As I'm a buggy type of person and haven't got a single nostalgic reference towards the Blazing Blazer I'm not sure my answers would do anything for you, but: 

Since it's been sat in your wardrobe for six years it might not be all that hard to let it go? On the other hand, you call it an absolute gem and predict you won't be able to source one in the future, let alone one that meets the standards of the one you've already got. That sort of nixes the sales completely. 

Will you in time be able to buy the other kits on your wish list one by one without selling the BB? If so I'd gone for the slow slug and chipped away on the other kits whilst enjoying my pride and joy as you put it. 

Third option: relocate your family to Norway. Uni costs about £100 a year. More money for kits! 

Booking Norwegian Air right now x 5 ONE WAY 😂

Yes I could go the slow but sure route but the reality is I’d probably never get there as it would at a glacial pace.

The other things I am always mindful of quite how much money I have tied up in my Tamiya and whilst it’s not a fortune it soon adds up 😳

[Wez-li 1660]

Sell it now and buy the kits you want, before you have to sell it later to pay for something boring like kids University fees or driving lessons 

[futureworks 409]

Take some really great pictures of it, add it to your showroom, then sell it and buy stuff you'll use :-)

[Robert5000 632]

17 minutes ago, Grumpy pants said:

Booking Norwegian Air right now x 5 ONE WAY 😂

Yes I could go the slow but sure route but the reality is I’d probably never get there as it would at a glacial pace.

The other things I am always mindful of quite how much money I have tied up in my Tamiya and whilst it’s not a fortune it soon adds up 😳

Since you've owned a few of them, could it be that you've had that experience and the memories and knowledge of owning it would suffice? If so I'd surely sell it on if I were you. 

And I'm totally in sync with @futureworks, take a bunch of photoes before you let it go .

+ you can't really fault @Wez-li's logic  

[Matt_G40 99]

I've never had one, but I'd say keep it. There's a reason it's sat in your cupboard for 6 years .

- I'd rather have one epic kit/model than loads of average ones
- If for some reason you don't buy the other kits/models then you'll be left with boring pile of money
- BB might rise in value more
- Try put other money aside to gather other wanted kits, then you get to have them all 

 

[Morinstal 53]

If it have sentimental value, keep it

if it doesnt, sell it, then buy the best shelf queen u want and another 1 or 2 (same/different) kit for daily use

[Busdriver 2023]

Keep it and dare I say run it even if only a couple of times a year on nice dry surfaces. What ever you do get it out of the cupboard. I think it’s the best looking Tamiya of all time. If I had the 1k I would buy it off you this minute!!! 

[Nikko85 62]

I don't suppose selling one of your children is off the cards?

 

[Badcrumble 2226]

Given that you commonly have a 'catch and release' policy towards RC (was in 10x Lunchboxes in your RC history? How many Wild Willy?!) but have kept this one back, I would keep it back.

If you sell it and you don't think you'll be able to find / afford one of equal standard then you might regret it.

I sold a mint TL01LA and then replaced it with a worse one! Fail!

If you sell it and buy all those other models, you'll then turn them over for more uni funds and be left with...

If you keep it you could reduce your remaining  fleet and continue to buy, build, run, sell, buy, build, run, sell with minimal outlay when times are tight.

If situations change, I think that is the model I will follow with a heavy heart.

Of course, feel free to ignore the words of this borderline hoarder...

[DeadMeat666 1261]

Unpopular opinion:

If it does not have sentimental value, sell it now. Soon enough the potential customers that would find nostalgic value in the BB will age, their budgets will shrink, and the market price for it will start falling.

If it does have sentimental value, then keep it.

[Fabia130vRS 1684]

Depends... will it be worth more over time.

 

I have a M02 Abarth condition is like build now. From the 90s.

my idea is to keep it either for life or to sell in lets say 10-15years? Now it has a value about 250-300€ on ebay. 
 

I would keep it if it does not justify the price of sentimental value. I think sentimental value has a price ?

[jonboy1 1478]

@Badcrumble took the words out of my mouth - the surest sign of a professional horder

The fact you've had 10 Lunchboxes, several WW2s, Wild Ones plus other Blazers but hung onto this one all that time says to me you really don't want to sell it.

I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity - so I'd much rather have one real classic rare piece of history than lots of regular buggies everyone has got. Think of it like a classic Mercedes or something  - would you rather have that one gorgeous classic you take out on beautiful sunny days and get a huge grin from, along with those stolen moments when you pop into the garage for something and are found an hour later by your wife just staring at it - or 5 Dacia Dusters - that not only can you never drive at once, but you see everywhere and never give you that thrill.

Based on how quickly you turn over your collection and the fact you've been selling off and reducing your collection lately because you don't have time for them all, I think you've answered your own question.

 

[mud4fun 1689]

Some interesting points here. For me, I have zero interest in what the cars may be worth, I'm not a collector or investor. I just buy what I fancy having some fun with. I don't have space to store stuff that is not being used. I sold off just about every one of the fifty cars I had that I didn't use frequently, limiting us to 2 or 3 cars each for me and my kids. 

The only exception to that was my SRB Sand Scorcher that was kept for sentimental reasons as it was my first Tamiya RC car and was a Xmas present on the best Christmas that I have had so it is a reminder of a very happy period of my life. Not that my life has been unhappy but that particular Xmas when I was 11 years old was extra special for numerous reasons.

So it is very difficult for anybody to give advice on what you should do really because we all have different aspects of enjoyment within the hobby itself and there are sometimes external factors that may affect your attachment to a particular model.

 

[SuperChamp82 514]

Keep it !

The Blazer you sold me restored beautifully sir 👍

And it will probably put your youngest through a year of Uni if you change your mind by then 😂

[Grumpy pants 2049]

2 hours ago, SuperChamp82 said:

Keep it !

The Blazer you sold me restored beautifully sir 👍

And it will probably put your youngest through a year of Uni if you change your mind by then 😂

Yeah I know you and all those that said keep it are probably right 

It was a gorgeous blue as well, it was quite peachy so I'm guessing it turned out a treat with your skills.

The littlest one is 14 next month and won't get any cheaper to run for another 10 years 

[J@mes 1687]

Badcrumble Jonboy1 & Superchamp82 are right, you should keep it. If you don’t it will be the one that got away & one day you’ll be lamenting the day. Collecting (hoarding) Tamiya is a complicated affair. NiB, new built, runner, shelf queen, resto, rere, Frankenstein etc etc. All of it (for the majority) stems from those childhood memories, that Blazer would stay my wardrobe, although my wardrobe doesn’t have any more space due to being full of Tamiya RC stuff 

[Re-Bugged 4150]

I would keep it myself, I’ve never had one, but as you say you would never get another like it.

From experience of Uni costs, my second is also about to start this month, so if your selling to pay for that, I wouldn’t as it won’t even scratch the surface, you would need to sell at least 20 BB’s to make it worth while.

Your BB will probably only ever go up in value  from here 👍🏻
 

There will always be a wish list, it never ends 😉

 

[Super ally 216]

Keep it as its better to have a mint rare tamiya than 20 average ones.

[Grumpy pants 2049]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:19 AM, mud4fun said:

I'm same as @Robert5000, if it is sat in a wardrobe not being used or even on display then I'd sell it and buy something you can enjoy.

However, like Robert5000, I'm biased as I prefer buggies.

I do have a crawler, I built it myself for £100 and it is far more capable than a 3 speed so is more fun anyway.

This is a fair take on things, sat in the wardrobe getting overlooked is not nice for anybody 

May last year I bought a NOS servo cage and NOS front roof with the never to be found underside lip  and then back in the wardrobe it went.

If my wife new how much it is worth then the decision will be made for me...

 

[Grumpy pants 2049]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:29 AM, Wez-li said:

Sell it now and buy the kits you want, before you have to sell it later to pay for something boring like kids University fees or driving lessons 

Great shout, already on the hook for 1 @ Uni and 2 learning to drive....

I'd have about 8 NIB kits sitting in the wardrobe then 

[Grumpy pants 2049]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:35 AM, futureworks said:

Take some really great pictures of it, add it to your showroom, then sell it and buy stuff you'll use :-)

I've got some nice pics in my showroom of the 3 BB's side by side.

I'll add them to this thread at the weekend 

[Grumpy pants 2049]

Pictures of the 3 side by side from Jan 2016 ish...

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=128142&id=40536