The worse Tamiya kit/chassis that every true Tamiya fan needs to build?

[Mechanic AH 581]

Is there such a thing? What's the worse kit/chassis that a true Tamiya fan owns or has to build? I'm looking for an interesting challenge/initiation as long as it's still attainable for a relatively affordable price.

[djmcnz 754]

You're unlikely to be able to get one of these but in my experience this is a best/worst vehicle, the TRF501X.

Wonderful engineering but so fiddly to build and a nightmare to maintain, all fixed with the TRF511. The original titanium screw set used to bind into the chassis after a few hours use and had to be drilled out... drilling Ti is, understandably, quite the challenge (and very expensive, requiring diamond tipped bits).

Not an experience I'd recommend.

 

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

A tractor truck or High Lift - there’s a LOT of parts to keep you busy for many evenings.

[markbt73 5316]

I would suggest the original Hotshot (or re-re thereof). Iconic car, but awkward as all get-out. But a good involving build, and you can't really understand how that silly rear suspension works until you see it in person.

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

The Fox/Novafox. Its a fantastic buggy, until you need to do anything to it. You pretty much have to disassemble the whole thing.

Otherwise, its a great build, fun to drive and one of the quickest around in stock form. Its also something of an orphan with nothing else sharing the chassis.

[rwordenjr 1890]

3 hours ago, markbt73 said:

I would suggest the original Hotshot (or re-re thereof). Iconic car, but awkward as all get-out. But a good involving build, and you can't really understand how that silly rear suspension works until you see it in person.

but does the suspension work ? 

[djmcnz 754]

4 hours ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

A tractor truck or High Lift - there’s a LOT of parts to keep you busy for many evenings.

I must say that I enjoyed my High-Lift build, very involved as you say but it's a rewarding exercise, especially when you get that 3 speed gearbox tuned in. Lot's of tiny screws though which I always find annoying.

[Tamiyabigstuff 832]

1/14 Volvo recovery truck probably has the most bits in the current range.

Not cheap though...

[Saito2 6686]

Not that its the worst or toughest to build, but the CR01 (which has a ton of holes and optional mounting locations all over the place) requires you to pay very close attention to the manual to make your installing parts in the proper places.

[Fuijo 880]

I would say the Sand Rover and Holiday Buggy are by far the worst, but of course they are expensive and hard to obtain.

Next up I would say would be the SRB's. For me these are the most amusing and enjoyable to drive and are my favourite RC cars by far. But in terms of getting one around a high-grip track they have to be up there with the worst of them.

On the plus side they are a joy to build and are beautiful objects when completed, and are mostly modified for cosmetic reasons rather than performance ones, which makes a nice change.

Should every Tamiya fan build one? Well, not if they don't want to obvs. But on the plus side if you take a lot of care over the finish it may be possible to sell it on without losing much if any money if you decide it isn't for you.

[alvinlwh 5895]

In my limited experience, I find all Tamiya RC easy to build. Try building a 1/700 scale Yamato with PE parts, now that is difficult! 

Painting PC bodies is a different story for me though. 

[Sir Crashalot 235]

6 hours ago, Mechanic AH said:

I'm looking for an interesting challenge/initiation as long as it's still attainable for a relatively affordable price.

I see you've built the Mk2, Egress, Super Astute and Blitzer Beetle. Anything else?

[Cynan 520]

A 3 speed for sure.

[No Slack 454]

Try to rebuild a Tamtech Gear GB03 Hotshot with only an exploded view of the chassis.

[Silverado 281]

M06, I really dislike everything on it. really bad design imo.Still... i want to get abc nissan body on one.really cool look.

 

 

[DeadMeat666 1675]

41 minutes ago, Silverado said:

M06, I really dislike everything on it. really bad design imo.Still... i want to get abc nissan body on one.really cool look.

 

 

I dunno buddy, I think it ends up pretty nice after you've thrown everything AND the kitchen sink in hopups at it 

[Willy iine 18806]

I’m with Saito2 regarding the CR01 as far as complexity.   It required many little dishes to keep screws separated while building.   It wasn’t difficult, just took some patience.  But not sure if it's a must have.. it's special in its own way, but probably not interesting for everyone especially if you're not a crawler kind of guy which I am not either. 

It kind of reminded me of when I built the big remote control excavator Technics Lego..

[Juhunio 6830]

There are some very different interpretations of 'worst' here...

Most complex...now, I love the building, so to me this interpretation is actually 'best' . So presumably something like a truck or a tank would fit this bill, not that I've ever built either (hmmmmm!!)

Most difficult to maintain...as pointed out above, the Hotshot and Novafox are both a bit of a PITA if you need to work on them after running. 

Most 'quirky'...that Hotshot suspension, the Bigwig steering. I love my Bigwig 

Most 'meh'.....I agree with the comments on the M06, out of the box it's pretty dreary 

Most 'iconic'...entirely subjective, but the SRBs seem to get a lot of votes

My personal experience of the 'worst' Tamiya I have built and run is the Monster Beetle. The chassis is big, clunky, ugly and agricultural, the gearbox seems to operate on blind faith rather than precision, personalisation (eg wheel choices) is really limited, and it feels like a heavy sponge. If I look through my fleet, it's the only one I would sell. Iconic or not. 

I accept that all of the above is 100% subjective 

[Frog Jumper 3662]

10 minutes ago, Juhunio said:

My personal experience of the 'worst' Tamiya I have built and run is the Monster Beetle. The chassis is big, clunky, ugly and agricultural, the gearbox seems to operate on blind faith rather than precision, personalisation (eg wheel choices) is really limited, and it feels like a heavy sponge. If I look through my fleet, it's the only one I would sell. Iconic or not. 

I was wondering when someone would mention the ORV…

[Mad Ax 9329]

What exactly do you mean by "worst"?  I immediately think of 2 that have already been mentioned and 1 that hasn't: Hotshot, SRB and Lunchbox.  IMO these are the quintessential Tamiya RC kits, the ones that between them embody Tamiya's quirkiness, attention to detail and innovative design features, as well as the solid fact that every one of their chassis is flawed.

The SRB is an involving build and different to almost anything else with a twin star logo.  A fun thing to play around with when built but avoid high-grip surfaces if you like your paint job, best kept for the beach IMO.

The HotShot was one of the most funnest builds ever for me, from the steering balljoints to the crazy suspension arrangement, not forgetting the chassis-moulded driver who needs to be painted before you can start the build.

The Lunchbox because, well, it's quite rubbish, from the build to the drive.  It's a brilliant first build for a youngster but for an experienced kit builder it can be done in an afternoon, so offers little of interest.  When it's done, it's terrible.  It bounces and wheelies, and that's about it.  That might be considered mildly entertaining in itself, but compare it to the WR-02 or GF-01 and you find it's not even very good at being rubbish.  But, it looks fantastic, and rubbish as it is, it had an appeal that's lasted since its release, it still draws a crowd, it still turns up at every bash and still had a huge following who will never be without one.  If you've never had one, you owe it to yourself to buy, build, drive, then keep it forever or give it away to a younger relative as their first foray into the world of RC.

If you're looking for a long, enjoyable build with lots of attention to detail, I recommend a 6x4 big rig, but if you aren't into driving around slowly or you don't want to go down the rabbit hole of 4-figure trailers and custom light and sound systems, walk swiftly away.  Also beware the euro rigs need various chassis parts painting before assembly, which can hold up your build if you don't have a heated paint room and it's the middle of winter.

One of the 3-speed pickups it probably just as good to build but at least offers the pretence of being able to wobble it around the garden when it's done.

[DeadMeat666 1675]

Upon careful examination of the question, I must conclude that the 'worst' Tamiya to build, but every true Tamiya fan must build at some point, would have to be the Lunch Box.

As popular as it is, it's really a toy-grade monster truck that takes absolutely no skill (nor any time) to put together, it drives really badly, pretty much on every surface, and it makes toy-grade clicking and clunking sounds the whole time you drive it. It's also probably Tamiya's best-selling kit lol.

[Dakratfink 967]

24 minutes ago, DeadMeat666 said:

Upon careful examination of the question, I must conclude that the 'worst' Tamiya to build, but every true Tamiya fan must build at some point, would have to be the Lunch Box.

As popular as it is, it's really a toy-grade monster truck that takes absolutely no skill (nor any time) to put together, it drives really badly, pretty much on every surface, and it makes toy-grade clicking and clunking sounds the whole time you drive it. It's also probably Tamiya's best-selling kit lol.

My wife occasionally drives different cars in my fleet. The G6-01 King Yellow bus is “technically “ hers .On more than one occasion when she’s asked me if I have any batteries charged and I ask her back, “which one do you want to drive “

her response has been 

“Not the Pumpkin”

The LB/Pumpkin chassis IS terrible , and yet that’s part of why I love it. 
I don’t know if my argument supports “worst” or “essential” , however . Lol 

[Gazzalene 171]

Grasshopper and Hornet,sorry had to be said

[Frog Jumper 3662]

1 hour ago, DeadMeat666 said:

Upon careful examination of the question, I must conclude that the 'worst' Tamiya to build, but every true Tamiya fan must build at some point, would have to be the Lunch Box.

As popular as it is, it's really a toy-grade monster truck that takes absolutely no skill (nor any time) to put together, it drives really badly, pretty much on every surface, and it makes toy-grade clicking and clunking sounds the whole time you drive it. It's also probably Tamiya's best-selling kit lol.

 

The body is the only thing worth keeping...

Terry

 

[Willy iine 18806]

1 hour ago, Gazzalene said:

Grasshopper and Hornet,sorry had to be said

I think you just lost like 1000 friends.