there is nothing wrong with tamiya. my first kit was a tt-02 about 14yrs ago. i still have it and it runs and operates like the first day i had it. been through hell as well.
EDIT: sorry for the confusion. it was a ta-02 not a tt-02 as stated above.
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/ite...oduct-id=58137 wish i still had the shell.