Gotcha.
Luckily, Banzai sent a member here a new unit for a defect, not that I would expect that all the time.
I'm pretty sure the Tamiya policy isn't official anyway, I've always considered it more of a courtesy since RC products are subject to a certain amount of abuse.
I know Horizon Hobbies official warranty on planes, etc is it'll work when you get it home, but they have sent me so much stuff, no questions asked, even if I didn't ask for it. If I called tech support because a servo hung up, they would talk me through the reason (grit from the ball field landings I was doing) and then send me a new one free. They even replaced my son's planes and parts after crashes.
Big companies that can afford it should do that, it goes along way towards peoples loyalty. I still look to Horizon for stuff first based on my past experiences.
Tamiya charges enough for their products, they shouldn't care where you bought it. I've always had a love/hate relationship with them and every time I open a Full Option box and stare at the Tx shaped void or read the manual that includes the Radio setup that I didn't get because I'm in the US, I cringe.
Lucky for them, they make a good product. As a static modeler, it took me a long time to justify the $550 I dropped on the original Tiger I. It's funny that now I'm used to it and consider $800 fair. My first car was $200 (a '69 Impala SS with a 396 and 411 gears, stock) and I drove that longer and harder than all my Tamiyas combined.
