just a thought about tamiya....
 

when I look at the 2 main segments of rc that are popular right now....SCT and scale crawlers, I can not help but think that Tamiya had both of those WAY before anyone else did.

The ford and hilux trucks are scale trucks which can do some fairly impressive offroading. Sure, they wont go where a scx10 will....but they have a frame, solid axles, 4wd ect.

And then there is the toa2t ford f150 Baja (a kit which I just bought) which is basically a 4wd SCT. Its more scale in appearance than a slash/sc10 and thus does not jump as well or handle as well....but it will do jumps which are to scale.

and you really have to give credit to a company which can sell models which they originally released 20-30 years ago!
My next Tamiya will likely be a Fast Attack Vehicle (shark mouth version) which is another example of realistic scale model that they did.

Have you ever read Master Modeler - Creating The Tamiya Style? Great book and explains why Tamiya is such a great company!! Tamiyas products are clutch because they put soul into them unlike a lot of companies.. Tamiya gets thrown under the bus a lot but they are arguably the best rc/model company of all time!

I have to agree, there is not a single Tamiya model that doesn't have a soul, whereas I could say about certain large manufacturers, that not one of their products has a soul.

i would say tamiya is like nintendo in a way. they have stuck to something they believe in.

Tamiya invented crawlers... And the craze for aftermarket parts. It all started in 87 with the realise of the clodbuster. 26 years later its still cab be a impressive comp crawler. There are a few companies that started off just making parts for the clod, and nowadays are making there own kits... RC4wd is one of manny.

And no matter how much people mock either their merchandise still brings smiles to peoples faces (if they want to admit it or not)

some of them smiles come from people with the play station. if it wasn't for Nintendo sony might not of ever released the PS1 :eek:

How the clodbuster is the only vintage tamiya, that I know of, that can take a standard 2s lipo with out any mods.
it actually has a square hole....

my only complaints about tamiya kits.... The fragile plastic....and basic ESC.... Kingpins.... Servo savers...

Will admit the TEU104BK is a complete turd of an ESC, seems its being phased out though for the TEU105BK in the newer releases of the older kits like the newer DF-02 release has the 105bk

Servo savers also can't argue with, but I find the plastics far from fragile (at least on the models I own) will admit there are some design issues, but most can be worked out.

I think most of the plastics are decent.
My lunchbox takes a 2s 5000mah pack without mods. I just finished building my ta02t and it has the rounded battery tray....will require some trimming to fit a 2s. and some of the models you cant really trim stuff away.
I have a super hornet which fits a 2s 3200mah hardcase...Just.

I have to agree that for the price of some of the kits they should give us a better ESC and BALL BEARINGS. I mean, you can buy a ECX torment RTR with a battery, 2.4ghz radio and ball bearings for $150. But my tao2t kit was $170 and has plastic bearings. so add another $20 for bearings it should have had in the 1st place.

Other than the plastic bearings, most of their kits hold up well considering how long ago they were designed.
You can really beat on a tao2, tl01, hornet, df02 and probly others (those are just the ones I have had luck with)
And many of them...even with their plastic gears can take brushless systems...ie, the lunchbox and hornet.

Tamiya has always made neat, high-quality kits. Where they fell apart, though (figuratively speaking) is on the race track. They just never made anything that could compete with the likes of AE, TL, HPI and others.

That said, nobody makes a better scale crawler, IMO. I like my Axial for performance, but there's definitely a cool factor to the Tamiya kits that, given the proper background and perspective ratio, look friggin' real. A Tamiya kit is still in my future, probably a Hi-Lux kit topped off with a Jeep YJ body (gotta have the leaf springs!).

I just wish Tamiya would put out a scale M35A2. I have a 1:35 model, and I have a 1:1 truck (hence my user name), but I would love to have a 1/10 or 1/12 scale RC deuce!

Don't really have to guess which make you're referring to, Foxy.

I get what you mean generally speaking (most of their models aren't track monsters), but their TRF line is quite adept at racing - TRF 801xt, 801x, 511, 502x, 416, 417. Not that they're cheap (they aren't!), but they do well.

In the US I don't think their racing line is quite as common to see, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
http://www.teamtrf.com/index.php/trf-products/kits

The 801x is still in the tamiya scratch and dent for 250. Pretty cheap if ya ask me!

Funny you should mention that, as I am seriously considering an 801XT at $200 brand new for a kit. Nice looking truck, way more affordable than the $550 RC8T.

I was really more referring to past ventures, such as the grasshopper and other buggies or trucks that look the part (sort of), but got absolutely spanked on the track by RC10s, Losi XX, etc.

You took a grasshopper to the track? He he. My db01 would smoke other 4wd buggies when i used to go. But its really about the driver not the car.

grasshopper...why not. I ran the lunch box on the sct track.
I cant wait to try my ta02t f150.

I've never owned a Grasshopper. I go to the track with AE and OFNA vehicles.

As for "it's about the driver, not the car", yeah.......gonna have to disagree with that one. The best equipment will not make an amateur a pro, but if the equipment isn't up to the task, the best drivers will exhibit lackluster performance. If you really believe it's "all about the driver", then why not show up to race against modern 4WD SCTs and buggies with a Tyco Bandit or something?

We go over this on the gun boards, too. Buying a Sako TRG-1 will not make you a world-class rifle shooter, but a world-class rifle shooter will not give world-class performance with a $300 Savage bought at Walmart.

I say its more about the driver.....Not the car, Generally speaking.

because we are talking very generally the "drivers" would be racing 2 similar vehicles... Well u would think so?
say something like a losi 8ight vs HB D8
When my self and other people say that, wouldn't u just assume we are talking about similar vehicles? That are commonly raced? On a race track? With general racing setups.

I defiantly see ur point and it's a good one,
a good vehicle will make a amateur faster, and a bad vehicle will slow down a pro. Providing we assume that they have no major setup issues.

Get the 801xt - you'll love it. I have one (see my avatar) and did a build thread here with lots of pics (which got deleted due to an RCU snafu, but I added them again later in the thread).

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-t...ld-thread.html