Top Force RacerMember since:16-October-2003

I think the year was 1986 when I saw my first Tamiya R/C vehicle. It was a Boomerang upgraded with an RX540VZ Technigold motor and full ball bearings. Perhaps it was the bright yellow CVA shocks or the satisfyingly complicated name of the motor, but I was hooked. I had to have a Tamiya buggy. Despite my determination, I was only ten years old and was told by my parents to stay away from these 'dangerous toys' as I might 'lose a finger or get shocked to death'. In 1990, I bought my first Tamiya kit--a Madcap. The following year, I bought 2 more kits--an Avante and a Vanquish--for 99 U.S. dollars each. I followed them with an Astute and a Nissan King Cab, but then quickly veered off the Tamiya path by buying an RC10, a Kyosho Optima Mid SE, and various HPI products when the touring car hit the scene. Sadly, I no longer have most of my older Tamiyas. In 1996, I picked up a TA02 Special Racing Chassis kit and a TA03F Pro kit. However, I put R/C on the back-burner yet again for a few years after that. Recently after visiting this site, nostalgia re-ignited my passion for R/C, especially older (1980's 4WD in particular) Tamiya vehicles. My latest project involved stripping the front and rear gearboxes from my TA02 (rear ball diff and front one-way) and attaching them to a Manta Ray FRP double deck chassis. I added suspension arms from a Manta Ray, black CVA shocks, and topped it off with a Top Force body and wing. I was also recently given an old Frog that I will restore when time permits.

I lost interest with R/C because almost everyone (hobby shops and hobby enthusiats) around me were totally geared towards products from Associated, Losi, Traxxas, and HPI. Although those companies make quality products, they don't appeal to me like a Tamiya kit. There is a certain magical aura that surrounds a Tamiya product. It sometimes makes your heart beat faster as you open up the box and it sometimes calms you as you admire the box art or the blister packs within. For me, it always feels like Christmas morning when I hold a Tamiya model. Whatever your feeling is, I'm sure it is undoubtedly good. I'm so glad to have found this site, and with the help of other online resources like eBay, I know I'll stick with R/C until the day they pry my pistol grip radio from my cold dead hands!