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Whats next on Tamiya's Re-re agenda?

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Does anyone know what Tamiya's next Re-release plans are? So far I think they have done a great job with these re-releases and hope to see more soon. I have heard rumors of a Rough Rider and Sand Scorcher re-release for 2006. Does anyone have info on this?

Thanks,

Bob

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oh boy, here we go! just kidding. I too am psyched about the re-res so far. I'm sure thousands of people, myself included, would love to see those cars reissued.  But there appears to be no official word yet.

Like Elvis and UFO sightings, rumors abound about the next possible re-re, if there is any at all. When I see it on Tamiya's website is when I will believe it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that is for sure.

Long live the Tamiya classics!!

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Some fuel for the fire.

The last best guess I heard was for the Hot Shot.

James/

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I heard it would was to be an SRB three speed...[;)] Will be called a "Sand Bruiser"...Re-hybrid-issue...Or would that be the first hybrid issue..

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I'd be surprised if they rereleased a sand scorcher type car or a 3 speed.  Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against them, but when you look at them, they have a load of cast metal parts  and non-plastic bits which may not prove as easy or as economic to reproduce as plastic.  While I personally would love to see them reissue the 959, Gr.B or Avante , I just can't see it happenning for the same reason - there are many difficult-to-produce parts.  When you look at what they have rereleased so far, in the main, all they've really had to do is plug the moulds back in and pour in the plastic. Which is cheap and easy by comparion.  A re-re Hotshot would be great though. I think we could all use some parts from them!!

Just my two-penneth!!!!

Rob

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 I was  just looking at the vehicle list on show at the German toy fair,and they mention a

metallic special edition Midnight Pumkin.NOW THAT IS ONE I MUST GET!!!![:D]

Geoff,gad32.

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 NOW THAT IS ONE I MUST GET!!!![:D]

Geoff,gad32.

Give Merv, "Mervin" an email, he had a bunch of nib Pumpkins and Chrome WWII, May sill have a few rat holed if I know Merv....

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I'm Amazed that No-one mentioned the Holiday Buggy / Sand Rover. Fully plastic cars, so Easy to reproduce. Could do with stronger front suspension mounts, gear box cover and maybe a Diff [:)]

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I would love to see a re-release Subaru Brat, since the frog is already out, then I could relive my childhood with my first Tamiya RC car!!!!  And now I could actually buy a few of them and run em!!

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I would love a Brat too. And a Monster Beetle, Audi, etc, etc. Yeah, it really would be a good idea to make more with the Frog chasis but maybe Tamiya is going on the more popular sellers from the 80's to maximize profits which they may not be  right for. Maybe not.

But then again, even if they do a re-re and it doesn't sell well it's not like they need to make as much revenue back as if they did a whole new design with R&D costs. The Hornet re-re can make profits even if it sells less than a newer more expensive time design.

As for all the talk that they wont release others because they have a lot of metal: I do agree with that to a certain extent. But look, metal/steel is one of the biggest resources in the whole world. Steel is in practically everything. It is abundant. Sure it costs more than pouring plastic, but just how cost prohibitive is it anyway? I mean does tamiya have to make an obscene profit on these things to warrant them? Just raise the price some for the metal cars. Sure they did some mods on the re-re Frog so they need to make some money back for that but the Hornet is exact except for the ESC. Hornet sales are all gravy. None of us here know the business and market considerations and decisions of Tamiya management, but yeah we all know companies exist to make money. But if it is possible for Tamiya can do a metal re-re easier than it appears and not doing so only because they have to really squeeze every last cent then I wouldn't like their approach. If all the tooling and equipment already exists for the srb, then I dont see how being metal it makes it soooo more expensive like everyone go on about. More expensive yes, but not through the roof like I hear said here. I guess I am naive in thinking that more people would love a Super Champ, Bruiser, Holiday Buggy, Sand Scorcher, etc. Those things have stylish and cool looks, new off roads look bland and lame.

As for what I see from Tamiya today with new cars, I mean a Super Shot looks so much cooler and tougher than the 4wd off road electrics today. The SS doesn't look old either, it's only because it is old that makes it that way. The newer from tamiya look soooo much less cool than practically anything from the 80's classics. But then again, what the heck do I know!

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I have to agree. The SS, RR, FR, SC and 3 speeds are most definitely not only cheap enough to make but would be even cheaper today than back in the 80's. The buggies were nothing more than cheap cast aluminum and the 3 speeds used nothing more than corrossive steel parts. The only pure aluminum parts on these vehicles were the shock absorber cylinders, roll bars, body mounts and a few other miscellaneous tiny parts. It would be even cheaper today due to supply and demand and being Tamiya still has all of the required molds and machines to make these vehicles costs would be significantly less than it was years ago.

I can't see any reason at all for them not re-releasing them other than if Tamiya just feels there just won't be enought interest in them. Due to us and all of the rapid growing interest in vintage Tamiya and these being the most desirable by vehicles to enthusiasts, I can't see where it would be a bad idea at all to re-release these vehicles.

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These re-re threads seem to happen about every week.  There is no doubt that Tamiya could if they wanted to produce a re re srb or three speed.  It truly comes down to whether its a viable profit producing venture.  Metal part will always cost substantially more than their plastic counterparts.

Scorcher Champ, how do you know they still have the molds?

 

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If Tamiya are going to continue with the re-re's this year I would think the most obvious one, considering the frog chassis base, would be the Monster Beetle closely followed by the Blackfoot if they have the rights from Ford to produce the body.

After the Frog chassis the next obvious one is the Hotshot....a mostly plastic affair and a design that had no major structural problems when bashing about. Sure, we all know where it's flaws were on the track but that is irrellevant when considering a re-release. The fact that it was Tamiya's first serious competitive car makes it an even more attractive reason to relive a bit of nostalgia and give it the re-re treatment.

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^ I concur, Well Said Wandy!

 

And lets hypothesise, if the MB were to be Re-Re'd the prices for the NIB shells might drop a bit :)

 

Mike

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Just wonder are all the re-releases Tamiya has put out so far making the numbers?  (did some or most TC member when out and brought a the hornet, grasshopper or the frog?)If all the numbers surpassed expectation, Tamiya would no doubt re-release some serious model given a NIB 3 spd is going for over US$2Gs and the RR or SS in good condition is hitting the $1G mark.  Who knows maybe some Chinese or Korean toy mfg will stamp out some 3 spd from the 1/14 truck parts. 

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Shodog, why would they get rid of them? After all, i'm sure they spent alot of money to produce them, so why destroy them with the remote possibility of re-issuing that car again one day? Think about it.

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Just wonder are all the re-releases Tamiya has put out so far making the numbers?  (did some or most TC member when out and brought a the hornet, grasshopper or the frog?)

We aren't exactly rushing out to buy the rereleases. Here's the statistics on total numbers in everyones showrooms.

58336: The Hornet 98 cars

58346: The Grasshopper 45 cars

58347: Vanessas Lunchbox 61 cars

58354: The Frog 28 cars

58360: Manta Ray 4 cars

58361: Thundershot 11 cars

58362: Top Force 13

That totals 260 buggies bought by all TC members. Not exactly good news for Tamiyas marketing department if they are expecting us all to rush out and buy a rerelease Scorcher or 3 speed.

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I suspect there are more members out there who haven't put their re-res into their showroom.  I haven't put my Frog up yet.

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Shodog, why would they get rid of them? After all, i'm sure they spent alot of money to produce them, so why destroy them with the remote possibility of re-issuing that car again one day? Think about it.

Why would Tamiya keep them, considering land (and therefore storage space) in Japan is very expensive and the range has been replaced by much better models? Think about it. The SRBs got a lot of people into the hobby but they were never great cars, just about every hobby R/C car at the end of production was better. Are you suggesting they keep the moulds for the Baja Champ on the off chance a bunch of collectors in 2025 are demanding the rerelease?

By the end of production the moulds would be worn out and only fit for scrap.

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I have a re-re Top Force, two re-re Hornets, two re-re Frogs and two re-re Lancia 037s you can add to the list.

Seriously, I'm more than happy with the re-releases we've seen so far especially now that The Frog is back - in fact, I think they might be giving us our candy too fast. It does sound a bit like they've pushed a bit in the last round of re-releases to catch as much of the retro RC nostalgia popularity as they can. I am sure there are more re-releases coming, but being pleasantly surprised from time to time by a retro re-release is enough.

I'd like to see them re-release one or two classic kits a year from here on, as well as some new stuff that's not just a clone of some other existing touring car model.

- James

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For the brat all they have to do is release the body, body mounts and wheels and tires.

I'd be happy with that.

 

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The Brat body was re-released in Japan a year or so ago - they may still be available.

I am with you Terry - cant see why they would keep the moulds.

As for the popularity of the re-re's - several have been very dissapointing in terms of sales.....this has been discussed several times over though.[^o)]

Cheers

Darryn

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We aren't exactly rushing out to buy the rereleases. Here's the statistics on total numbers in everyones showrooms.

58336: The Hornet 98 cars

58346: The Grasshopper 45 cars

58347: Vanessas Lunchbox 61 cars

58354: The Frog 28 cars

58360: Manta Ray 4 cars

58361: Thundershot 11 cars

58362: Top Force 13

I think that shows two things - 1: A lot of people don't put things in their show rooms & 2: Maybe Tamiya shouldn't take too much notice of what's said on these boards!

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Shodog, why would they get rid of them? After all, i'm sure they spent alot of money to produce them, so why destroy them with the remote possibility of re-issuing that car again one day? Think about it.

Why would Tamiya keep them, considering land (and therefore storage space) in Japan is very expensive and the range has been replaced by much better models? Think about it. The SRBs got a lot of people into the hobby but they were never great cars, just about every hobby R/C car at the end of production was better. Are you suggesting they keep the moulds for the Baja Champ on the off chance a bunch of collectors in 2025 are demanding the rerelease?

By the end of production the moulds would be worn out and only fit for scrap.

Exactly, plus molds get worn and are often exchanged during different production batches run.

Cheers

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Don't get me wrong I really hope they bring out some new metal based models - and if they rerelease the SRBs etc I'd certainly be inline to buy them.

I was talking to the main man at Tamiya UK last year and he told me the moulds for the original body at least was now long gone. I also think that the end of the production runs is sometimes driven by simple economics, if sales are dropping and one of the tools or molds fails then they way up the costs of replacing it against what sales they think they will get out of it.

I think wether they have the original molds or not is a bit immaterial though as the machines that used them and the production methods from 30 years ago will be long gone. Resurrecting them machines/systems for a 'short run' would just not be viable. 

That said I would expect they have all the technical drawings etc to produce new molds, and I'm sure that because of the efficiency of the new machines, costs of doing this has probably dropped drastically since the originals, so if they wanted to go into production again even from scratch I'm sure they would do it if they thought the market was there.

I hope they decide it is.

Chris

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