58056: The Falcon from Dirt-540 showroom, Falcon I (BEFORE)

Model: (Click to see more) 58056: The Falcon
Status: New built
Date: 15-Feb-2014
Comments: 21

Support the site and get your own showroom and more!

Subscribe for just just £1.25/mth!

My latest purchase and my case for the Falcon…

THE ONE:

Wanted one of these for a long long time, have been waiting patiently for the right one to come along. It’s a time warp example, nearly perfect and mint except for a few rough cut edges on the body in places. Its like it was bought and built then put away in a vacuum environment for 25 plus years. None of the painting has been done. Came with complete period electrics, an Acoms Techniplus Mk3 consisting of the transmitter, 2 servos, receiver, MSC, and onboard battery holder. Even has a period black-end 540 motor fitted. This has not a single scratch on chassis, never ever been run me thinks.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:

Also came with a Tamiya/Beatties bag like brand new, 2 boxes of brand new unopened oil (hard and soft in both). A set of tyres, front and back, unsure what Tamiya these are for? possibly the Fox.

CASE FOR THE FALCON:

In the beginning I didn’t really take much notice of the Falcon. But the more and more I learnt about Tamiyas the more I realised what a classic it is. A bit like the BMW E36, the falcon in my eyes, is a misunderstood-masterpiece.

Yes it has its foibles as nearly every Tamiya does but forgive these or work your way around them and you’re rewarded with a very nice buggy indeed. 1) It is possible to reinforce the front end; brass plates. 2) The shocks should be adjusted; a) Adjust spring preload correctly so as vehicle sags under its own weight. b ) Internally limit the rear shocks extension so as to help keep those dog-bones well within their cups; they usually pop out during crashes and vehicle rolls. 3) Keeping your driving skills and terra-firma choice within the scale of the vehicle; oversized out of scale jumps and off-road terrain with stones as big as half the size of the wheels is scale suicide! Don’t Do It!
Now your Falcon should give you much longevity and run trouble free, especially as it performs very well from engineering alone; it was one of Tamiya’s first all plastic rear 2 wheel drive buggies, with full independent oil suspension. To aid performance further try weighting down the front end, putting a Sport tuned motor in and let that plush CVA suspension soak up the hits. It’s just beautiful to watch and it’s made for donuts!

The engineering is just one facet of the Falcon, but I also think this buggy is the look of the 80s, how garish and flared is that paint job! Yellow??? But yes it was the 80s and the Falcon has carried it very well into the 21 century, a time piece in itself. The body design at the time was deemed modern; I still deem it that way now, however it looks retro at the same time now, go figure. Aesthetically it’s a sin not to give this 80s icon some well deserved tyre lettering; it’s the cherry on the cake.

One of the last things that makes this a great must have is that they’re getting pretty rare, especially in good nick. But the one bonus is… should I dare utter it? Mr Tamiya has yet to re-release it. That should be enough in itself to make everybody want one….

Tweak it for performance and longevity, rarer by the year, 80s iconic looks… I rest my case.

Comments and opinions welcome, cheers.

UPDATE: NEED 3 DECALS! 1 x frantic freddie that goes below the windowscreen on the bonet, and 2 of the driver/name decals that go below either side of the drivers side windows. Anyone?