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3 tamiya kits every collection should have.

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I don't know about every collection but mine has three Dual Hunters.

Hang on, that wasn't the question, was it?

1. Hornet

2. Something else

3. Something different

Despite owning / having owned a TL01, TT01, M01, M03, M04, M05, XV-01T, CC-01, ORV, M38, WR-01, the Dual Hunters, a Hornet and a Hotshot I don't think that I have experienced enough Tamiya to answer the question!

Can anyone buy me an SRB, a GF-01, an F103 and anything else they think I ought to try so I can make a stab at an answer? :D

 

  • Haha 2

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I'll add my 3. I know I'm being wishy washy by not naming an specific model for two of them, but I think they cover the bases. ;) 

ORV

Bruiser

TA02

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I think it's a tricky question because there's so much interpretation.  Which 3 Tamiya kits for every generic RC collection?  Which 3 Tamiya kits for every Tamiya collection?  Is the collection to be driven, or admired?

If we're talking about enjoying the cars as often as possible and in their best element, I'd be hard-put to pick any specific cars but would say at least:

  • Wheelie truck
  • 2wd buggy
  • 4wd buggy

That covered most of the bases.  Depending on preference, wheelie truck could mean Wild Willy, Lunchbox/Pumpkin, Dump Truck or other derivative of those chassis.  Or, you could stretch it to Monster Beetle etc because they'll wheelie with the right power but also give that bigger monster truck experience too.  The King Blackfoot / Bush Devil would probably be the best all-rounder.

2wd and 4wd buggies could be vintage or current, but if I had to pick, I'd say Manta Ray / Top Force and DT-02 or DT-03 for a good mix of character, performance and reliability.  The Fox, Avante, Falcon, SRB, Hotshot etc all have their plus points but have their significant drawbacks too.  You could also substitute the 2wd buggy for a big-wheel alternative (Blitzer Beetle, Aqroshot) if you preferred that stance.

Touring cars make up a huge part of the 1:10 RC sector and M-chassis are brilliant fun, but they'll only run on the appropriate terrain, which makes them less easy to enjoy unless you live near the a good car park that's closed on Sundays, or something similar.  But if you wanted your Tamiya collection to get you into racing, a TT02 or M07 to start at the club level or a top-end TA, TB or TRF if you really wanted to stay with the twin stars (although it's a false economy IMO).  Big rigs and tanks are far too niche to be part of any big collection.  Quirky stuff like the G6-01 or the T3-01 is cool but doesn't make up the core of the runnable stuff.  Big monsters like the Clod are TXT are impressive but not that many people are into them around here, so they can become a heavy ornament, plus they're so much harder to store or display.

Now, if this was more of a collection for the die-hard Tamiya fan then you'd probably have to have an SRB and an Avante and an original 3-speed.  If more of a vintage racing fan, then a period-modded Hotshot and a Top Force Evo and a Super Astute or Dyna Storm.  An eclectic Tamiya fan should own a CC01 and an F1 and probably a big rig but neither should in the essential top 3.

If we were to exclude the Tamiya limitation entirely and ask "what 3 types of vehicle are essential for the RC car enthusiast" then it would be somewhat different, and there would have to be a big, fast, indestructible bashable truck from the likes of Traxxas or Arrma, just because you can run these any time and place, and a crawler for enjoying quieter moments - especially since crawling has become so popular and it's an easy way to get into a local group.  There are 2-3 groups near me who arrange friendly evening / weekend crawls all the time.

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On 9/29/2021 at 8:02 AM, Juhunio said:
  • A buggy
  • A touring / rally car
  • An M chassis

Too safe??

Dear @Juhunio

I am working to finish my first kit and already dreaming about my second build. My first build is a TT-02 99 Subaru Monte Carlo.

Thinking of a M07 for the second build.

I think your list makes a lot of sense.

Cheers    

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To stay on topic, I'll give my 3 first. I'm assuming the question is "what 3 Tamiyas must every Tamiya die-hard own":

4wd buggy: Egress OR Top Force

2wd buggy: SRB chassis car (they're just so iconic "Tamiya")

Monster Truck: Bruiser/Moutaineer

Edit: It really seems like I need to get me a Bruiser already. Several members here have put it on the list, including me lol.

Now on to another thing:

On 9/30/2021 at 2:10 PM, Mad Ax said:

... a TT02 or M07 to start at the club level or a top-end TA, TB or TRF if you really wanted to stay with the twin stars (although it's a false economy IMO). 

False economy? Please explain.

Edited by DeadMeat666
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4 minutes ago, DeadMeat666 said:

False economy? Please explain.

Things may be different in other regions or at a higher competitive level, but where I race, nobody runs Tamiya touring cars once they've progressed from the entry-level TT02.  There may be one or two who run Tamiya just to make a statement, but generally not to be competitive.

The reasons I advise people not to go with Tamiya (at least locally) is:

  • nobody at the club will be able to share specific setup tips
  • nobody at the club can advise on what hop-ups to buy
  • nobody at the club will be able to share spares

Last time I was racing locally, most people were running Schumacher cars.  I'm not sure if it's still the same, there's been more Xray activity recently.

I'm sure a skilled racer who knows how to set up a car could get great results with a TRF or a TA, but if I went back to racing, I'd buy what everybody else is running, and it almost certainly wouldn't be Tamiya.

When I briefly dabbled in Frontie racing last year, I bought an Xray T4F 2019, because that's what everybody else was running.  I could have been a Tamiya maverick and bought an FF04, but I wanted to be sure that my slow pace on track was down to me as a driver, and not a car setup problem.

This stems from my experience running a TA05 over a decade ago - I was the only person at the club running a TA05, I had to experiment with hop-ups to find out what worked and what didn't, I had to keep my own big stock of spares (a few times my night was over early because I broke a part and didn't have a spare, if I'd had a Schumacher I probably could have borrowed a part from another racer), and when I couldn't get the car set up right, nobody could offer any concrete advice.  If I'd had a Schumacher, I could at least have gone with the basic setup that everybody uses as a starting point, and fine-tuned it from there.  There was a running thread way back then about my inability to get the TA05 working on carpet - it didn't matter what we tried, it just had a fundamental lack of traction.  I'm sure the TA05 isn't a bad car and I'm sure it should have worked on carpet with the right setup, but because I was not (and still am not) experienced in car setup, I was never able to make it work.  In the end I swapped it for a Team Magic E4JS (basic plastic version) which the previous owner had set up well, and my times improved straight away.

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2WD classic buggy so you understand Tamiya heritage….

So Grasshopper or hornet or a wild one if feeling flush

monster truck for the fun of that….

So Lunchbox or monster beetle or clod if feeling rich

4WD classic so hotshot or terra scorcher or Avante if you want to be the most popular kid on the block 

 

JJ

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I came into the hobby circa 1986. So for me :

 

1) Hotshot

2) Clodbuster

3) 959

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Mine would be:

Wild One, XV-01, Egress...

or

Super Astute, FF-03, Bruiser/Mountain Rider

or

DT-03, TRF-420, TB Evo7

or

:lol::D:P

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A Hornet because everyone should have one.

A Top Force because it could Race.

A cc Crawler because you can detail it as much as you want and it can climb.

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8 hours ago, whahooo said:

A cc Crawler because you can detail it as much as you want and it can climb.

Well not not until you get a crawler from Traxxas, MST, RC4WD, or Axial. Then you'll realize how the CC chassis is such a let down in terms of crawling/climbing. Plus the money you'll spend on upgrading this chassis just to make it perform decently but still won't be at par with a box-stock MST or Traxxas.

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If I were looking from the outside for the first time in R/C cars, imo it should be ....

Sand Scorcher

Grasshopper

An M chassis car (preferably with a mini body on it) 

3 cars that scream Tamiya imo.

James.

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3 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Then you'll realize how the CC chassis is such a let down

I didn't knew that.

I thought all crawlers are good climbers :D

 

I don't own a cc Tamiya. I just own a wpl Toys Toy with metal tire inserts and that littke thing can climb better than i thougt.

If the Ground is rough enought i think 100% steep Hills are possible.

But it is just for playing around, i'm not really into crawling....

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21 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

False economy? Please explain.

Just a different experience from @Mad Ax. I understand where hes coming from as my TA07Pro was the same at the start. I had no idea how to set it up which was most of the problem, and it needed some hop ups. However, setting up a traditional style TC is very similar across brands, so I was able to get a base setup from an experienced racer. Avoid Awesomatix etc if you can't set up a car, they are very different, but an xray, TRF, Yoko (at least to BD9) are all similar.

I have now modified most of the car, to the point where i could build another TA07Pro cheaply from leftovers. Now the car can hang with anyone, and there are 5 of us who run Tamiya. Parts are an issue but there are no shops at the track so everyone has to carry spares. I probably have about $60 of spares, arma, uprights, c hubs.

My driving and setup ability have both improved so while I'm not at the front I don't crash too much and generally run clean laps (I just need to find a second or so...) which helps a huge amount.

My advice is the same as Mad Ax, anyone looking for a new race car would be to see what everyone runs at the club and buy one of those. Its the easiest and least frustrating way to get into it. I would happily buy a TRF420 to race now, even if I was the only one running one, as they will keep up with the best from any manufacturer, but when starting out I should have bought a secondhand car from a good racer

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@Mad Ax

At my local track, everyone runs Xray. For every 20 X-rays, 1 drivers knows how to set up the car and the rest just copy and follow. It’s very convenient and safe. 

I am that person at the track that runs Tamiya to make a statement, because they are every bit as competitive as Yok, Mugen, Xray and AMX.  It really comes down to your ability to set up the car and how you drive. 

I was recently pushed to racing with the experts and for now I finish mid to bottom, and it’s not my TRF419XR, it’s me. 

Im sure many of you has heard of Exotek? The owner won last weekend at the 1up Cup with his TB04 based Exotek conversion, car that is 7 years old. 

B494ED62-BF61-4371-9096-BE7633478317.jpeg

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