TD-2 - New Astute

[whahooo 465]

It's looks way better than the Avante.

 

But they have could moulded in the Sidevents. The Sticker looks very poor and the nose is a little bit too round. I think a sharper nose would have looked nicer. 90s F1 Style.

[Saito2 6686]

I know I'm going to get hate for this but its only my opinion on aesthetics (which means nothing). While I'm ecstatic with Tamiya moving forward with these new and interesting designs, it doesn't help to see the footage of the gorgeous originals (Avante and Astute) spliced in with the running shots of the new versions. I know, I'm an idiot stuck in the past and wear nostalgic glasses (thick!), but the originals still look so good to me.

[nowinaminute 2815]

Now I've seen both properly, I prefer the Avante tbh.

[Wandy 1527]

Yeah this one is a must-have for me. Confused about the name though. Is it just getting the Astute name? ie not Astute Mk2 or anything like that?

[Kol__ 3377]

1 hour ago, Saito2 said:

I know I'm going to get hate for this but its only my opinion on aesthetics (which means nothing). While I'm ecstatic with Tamiya moving forward with these new and interesting designs, it doesn't help to see the footage of the gorgeous originals (Avante and Astute) spliced in with the running shots of the new versions. I know, I'm an idiot stuck in the past and wear nostalgic glasses (thick!), but the originals still look so good to me.

Agree mate, although I did love seeing the original Astute on the track there. Tbh I'm not a big fan of the aesthetics of either of these new cars, they look a bit like a bubbly sort of alien craft, possibly a bit Manga-ish. But they do have a certain charm and I'm liking the Astute over the Avante. All that said, I echo the thoughts of many that this is all good move from Tamiya (not sure about tapping into the old names, but at least it gives them some more life in a way) and I shall patiently wait for a new model that hits the spot for me

[toyolien 4682]

I really like this. As for the name, I guess it will be known as the TD2 Astute? Loved seeing the old Astute on the track too. Wonder if they'll re-release it. Stands a good chance as we got another run of the original Avante to coincide with the Super Avante. 

[Tex76 43]

I like these more than the Super Avante (or I rather dislike it less than the SA), but the most important thing I got from the video is how good and cool the original Astute looks, a model I'm not familiar with and which I've never considered, being the 2wd slot in my collection very finely occupied by a RC10 Graphite...****, another one to consider...

[matisse 1581]

the view of the shock on the side is v interesting, new front end there for sure.

Placement of the spur gear looks to be very similar to the TD4, so be interesting to see how much cross over there is at the rear gearbox, if any.

wheels and fenders look worse here than on the TD4 IMO, and they look terrible on that.

 

[Fruitfly01 596]

I quite liked the video, although I'm anxious to see under the bodyshell.  It is nice to see the old Astute running too, something I don't see much of.  It was hard to tell, but it looked more like a Super Astute dressed up to look like the original buggy.  Still good though.

I'm not sure how I feel about the styling of the new car.  The bubble cockpit reminds of WWII aircraft and the fenders do nothing for me, on this or the new Avante.  I'm glad they kept the original paint scheme this time, instead of getting loud and lairy with the dayglo colours.  It could be finished off with some yellow CVA dampers and a yellow AWESOME! sticker on the wing.  Maybe it''ll be an option in the kit.

As for the name, I think Astute 2021 is alluded to in the video.

[GermanTA03Guy 1327]

I agree on the original astute looks and design. But you also have to say that the balance of the old astute in terms of understeer /oversteer and the front wheel whobble looked a lot worse than on the new one! 

[Blista 1519]

I like it but I don't know if I could paint it red and slap the Astute stickers on it after seeing it next to the original.

[kiasukid 52]

I’m curious to know if the TD-2 would be any quicker than eg. a DT-03 or Zakhak on the same bit of track.

I assume the TD-2 has the same issues with fitting brushless motors as per the TD-4.

In terms of looks, I’d pick the TD-2 over the TD-4, but that’s like saying I prefer a bull terrier over a bulldog. They’re both dogs…

[Fruitfly01 596]

5 minutes ago, GermanTA03Guy said:

I agree on the original astute looks and design. But you also have to say that the balance of the old astute in terms of understeer /oversteer and the front wheel whobble looked a lot worse than on the new one! 

I'm sure the new model will outperform the old one in many ways.  I saw in the video how the original sagged and dug it's rear in under power.  The new Astute certainly seemed to corner very well, even with those ribbed front tires.  Being mid engine, with the bulk of it's weight directly over the chassis, it will probably be better balanced with far fewer extreme driving characteristics found in 2WD models with their motors slung out beyond the rear wheels.

[Collin 1956]

Am I the only one who is in a worry noe about a probably upcoming Dyna Storm Re-Release? I hope it will not be a freshness coure like on this ones.

I really like that they dropped a new chassis, no matter about details.

But what the h... does it have common with an Avante or Astute?!

[toyolien 4682]

12 minutes ago, Collin said:

But what the h... does it have common with an Avante or Astute?!

I'm not sure it needs to have anything in common with the original Avante or Astute. In the same way that Team Associated use the "RC10" on almost every buggy release. Same as Schumacher using the "Cougar" name etc etc...

I'm just glad for new releases.

[Collin 1956]

I understand what you mean but BigT had always one name for each Project, as much I rember. (Not counting alphanumeric codes).

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

Still liking it. I even like the body

 

[toyolien 4682]

Looks like they fitted the newer star dish wheels to the old Astute.

 

[Zealot 397]

13 minutes ago, toyolien said:

Looks like they fitted the newer star dish wheels to the old Astute.

Didn't want to wreck those original unobtainium wheels, maybe. Wish they would have re-re'd those for this new Astute.

[vodka 35]

[offtopic] why does Tamiya videos generally suck? [/offtopic]

[RichieRich 685]

The bubble canopy is not my favorite. But, it's 1000x better than these cab forward monstrosities that are on most race buggies. My Tamiya want list keeps growing. *sigh*

[Howards 457]

^ yes, this 

[whahooo 465]

I like it more and more.

 

That F1 Look is nice. I really hated the striker back in the day, but now it slowly grows on me,

[SlideWRX 785]

9 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I know I'm going to get hate for this but its only my opinion on aesthetics (which means nothing). While I'm ecstatic with Tamiya moving forward with these new and interesting designs, it doesn't help to see the footage of the gorgeous originals (Avante and Astute) spliced in with the running shots of the new versions. I know, I'm an idiot stuck in the past and wear nostalgic glasses (thick!), but the originals still look so good to me.

To me, the nostalgia is for further back items, like the Hornet.  The original Astute doesn't look bad to me, but the bodyshell isn't anything special to me.  'Course, the new one doesn't look bad, but doesn't get me excited either.  I'll have to see what kind of color/patterns get my attention, or shop around for a different body altogether.  I'm definitely stuck on the more upright, 'could be real' style of buggies from the 70's/80's.

I don't mind them continuing the name.  Coming from 1:1 cars, that is what virtually all of them do; find a name the public likes, and stick with it. Porsche 911, Corvette, Mustang.  Heck, even Escort, Civic, Accord. Cars that have kept the same name over many generations of cars that changed significantly.  Naming every new thing a different name generates short term excitement, but long term people loose track of which is which.

 

I'm gonna watch that video again.  

[BelknapCrater 179]

This car looks like it’s more locked in as far as servo placement goes. By pausing the video, it’s clear that the front shocks are mounted lower and closer to the rocker arms, taking up potential free space for the servo. 
With the elevated shock placement to make room for a longitudinal battery, the TD4 seems to actually free up room for different electronics layouts if a transverse shorty LiPO is used.