Tamiya Drops Another Rerelease Bug!

The Tamiya Blitzer Beetle. This was the third and final chassis for this body. It was originally the Sand Scorcher then it was used for the Monster Beetle. The Blitzer chassis was a really sweet one. Very durable and a good amount of suspension travel, two things you didn't necessarily find on a Tamiya chassis back then. I never wanted one. Back then I was all about lexan bodies because polystyrene looked awesome and cracked real good when you crashed.

Team Atlas Beat Bodies 2

Last time I brought you the amazing Lancia bodies that Team Atlas makes. Today it's more awesomeness in the form of the legendary Autobianchi A112 Abarth and the cult classic the AE86 Corolla. Take a look.

Tamiya Sand Rover 2011

I think entry level cars are the most important segment of our hobby. They serve a very important purpose. They must introduce newcomers to the hobby of RC. Back in the day a friend got a Tamiya Hotshot as his first car. I never knew he had it until I traded an NES for it. It was my third or fourth car so I was experienced enough to know he was in way over his head with this one. Consequently it was his only car. Entry level cars must be simple enough to understand, robust enough to survive, and fun enough to be interesting. Tamiya hit the mark with this one.

Team Atlas Beat Bodies 1

Team Atlas has some nice bodies for their Beat chassis. Top Gear voted Lancia as the "Greatest Car Manufacturer In The World". I would agree. They make amazing little cars filled with awesome. Their brainstorming sessions went like this: 

Engineer 1: "We have to make a really fast rally car."
Engineer 2: "What do really fast cars have?"
Engineer 1: "Turbos, Superchargers, All Wheel Drive, Mid-engined..."
Engineer 2: "Great then that's what we'll do?
Engineer 1: "Which one?"
Engineer 2: "All of them."

I've included a video of that car, the Killer . I've nicknamed the Delta S4 killer because it has killed more than it's share of people. Take a look at these awesome bodies, the Lancia Stratos Turbo Group 5 and the Group 5 Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo, then enjoy the vid.

SPICE Has a Drift Chassis!

I really like SPICE. They are literally the spice in our RC food. The part that makes things yummy. Now they're doing something else yummy. They have a drift car. Guess where the motor is. Yup you're right. It's in front. I can't complain because SPICE is the RAUH Welt Begriff of RC. Ok I would like to be the RWB of RC so maybe they can be the Tra-Kyoto those guys are cooler anyway.

4WD Tamiya Hornet

The Tamiya Hornet is one of the founding fathers of RC as we know it. That car has brought an easy to assemble, durable, and fun car to millions of people for over 20 years. People have recently been digging out their old buggies and enjoying them once again. Unfortunately the engineering of modern RC cars has advanced about 100 years compared to the Hornet, making it a little boring. Some enterprising people in Japan have taken it upon themselves to re-engineer the Hornet to bring it up to 21st century standards. How you ask? By ripping out the Hornet stuff and adding some touring car 4WD components!

Spice Mitsubishi Starion Body Is AWESOME

I was digging for info for what will become tomorrow's article when I found this. OMG love, rainbows, unicorns, and ice cream! A Mitsubishi Starion Body. To put this in 80's nostalgia terms, this is the SDF-1; A giant alien space fortress that does everything awesome and a couple super awesome things. If you don't know what a Mitsubishi Starion is look at this then get all kinds of excited. Where can you get it? Japan. How much? Your first born. Seriously though, you are going to have to look for it until I can get my hands on some.

Tamiya's New Buggy Will Attack, Fast!

I hated the Tamiya Fast Attack when I was a kid. I didn't like the friction shocks, trailing arm suspension, or the fact that the entire kit was molded in beige. Not one kid in our area had one. Now in the future those things are worth their weight in gold because they look so realistic. It still goes like crap probably. I am torn on this one; on one hand I like old RC stuff, on the other I still don't have much love for this buggy. I know with my adult skills and money I could make one of these pretty awesome. On the other the Kyosho Scorpion I bought for $25 on craigslist (don't hate) needs some attention. Look at this buggy, drool, dream, and make plans.

Tamiya Vaj-What? Vajra Sholud Be Called Avante Truck

The Tamiya Avante was unobtainable gold to me as a child. I had lust in my heart for this buggy. I never got one of these fragile rides. That was probably for the best. It would have broken and I would be able to afford or find parts for it. Now I'm old. With age comes patience and money so now I can wait and afford to repair one of I break it.

Tamiya's Latest Drifter

People love RC drifting. I think RC drifting is the most popular segment of RC touring cars. You don't need the latest and greatest equipment. You can build your cars to look more realistic. RC drifting can be done anywhere you find a patch of pavement. I've been offroading lately, YEEHAW (RIP Vance Duke), so I don't really have a bunch of RC drifting under my belt. I do have a lot of cheeseburgers touring car stuff under my belt so I know a good chassis when I see one. This one right here is a sweet one.

Tamiya TT01 FIA GT1 GTR

I am one of about seven Americans that watch FIA GT1 racing. Some obscure cable channel must have the broadcasting rights here in the US because I have to watch the races the next day instead of live streaming. I still watch because I love racing. My favorite car to watch is the Corvette. I think the Corvette C6R is one of the best looking race cars the United States has ever produced. Those who follow GT1 know that my favorite car usually gets punted to the back of the field by a bully Aston Martin. One car that has been standing up to those British bullies is the GTR. This car has a presence like Shaq. Look at the crowd; do you see the huge guy standing above everyone else? That's him. One of the main reasons I love skylines, is because of their size. They are the Robbie Morales of the racing world, big guys that ball like the little ones.

Tamiya Will Soon Release a Monster Pajero Rally

When I first discovered Tamiya was re-releasing the Pajero Rally I was beyond elated. That was one of the cars I wanted but went out of production before I could get it. As an adult they became quite elusive and that means pricey. Of course you know I am cheap, so I didn't get one. My excitement turned into doubt when I remembered the original used Tamiya's 7.2 hump pack battery. That battery had five cells side by side and the sixth on top forming the "hump". A modern stick pack battery won't fit in that chassis without serious modifications.

Tamiya Renault 5 Turbo Rally - M05Ra

As a child I never understood the passion the "old guys" had for old race cars. Their technology and performance had been outdated for decades and the styling was dreadful. Cars back then weren't rolling billboards so there was room for graphics and artistic expression. Now I'm an "old guy" and I love old race cars. These old race cars represented the highest evolution of cars from that period. Sure modern cars can do more with less but they don't make you feel like a kid remembering those old contrived racing scenarios you used to create in your head. You know what I'm talking about, you do the same thing when you're playing Gran Turismo. No? Only me? Well fine. I have recreated "The Most Dangerous Race" 700,000 times with my Hot Wheels cars, Legos, The Game of Life, and anything else with about six cars.

HPI AE86 Corolla Coupe

The Hatchi-Roku. That's Japanese for eight six. Eight six means AE86. AE86 is the chassis code for a certain 1983-1987 Toyota Corolla. Toyota made many different Corolla models back then but the most important one was the AE86. That little car was an economy car and didn't try to hide it. It also had the soul of a squirrel. Tough, quick, agile, and fun on top of fun with a little fun on the side. It came in hatchback or coupe version and two trim levels over here in the U.S.A., standard SR-5, and hopped up GT-S. The GT-S had better brakes, interior, engine, suspension, and other stuff. It was by far the better of the two but the SR-5 still had the undeniable charm that was built into the Hatchi's DNA.