Good News! The Bruiser is Back!

Tamiya gets it. They really really do. They understand that the majority of the people in the hobby started in the 80's. Yep we're old dudes that can't put away our childhood fun. But since we're grown we have jobs, now we can afford to just buy any new kit that catches our eyes. Tamiya has given us some treasures before, but this time they did it. They brought back the Bruiser.

Tamiya Knows how to Wrangle up Customers

There are so many reasons why I love Tamiya. They are releasing another. I think they have plans to run all of the vintage collectors/hoarders/resellers out of business. Who wants to pay $500 for a vintage kit when Tamiya will rerelease it in a few months? This time they are killing it (slang phrase that I don't fully understand). They are rereleasing the famous Jeep Wrangler! Everybody and their mother really wants this highly detailed body for their scale 4x4 project. I've seen them sell for absurd amounts of money. Now you can score one for probably less than $200.

Tamiya RX-7 is Rotary Goodness

I've been hanging on to an M04 chassis for a while. I want to build a slick mini with it but I can't decide what body to use on it. Tamiya has just made things even more difficult. This has to be the most detailed first generation Mazda RX7 bodies available. If you've never driven a real one do yourself a favor and try one. These little cars are so much fun. They combine go-kart like handling, a smooth buzzy rotary engine, with a pretty comfortable interior to give you an experience that you will not find in any other car. In my area people are buying these up and restoring them. I had an opportunity to get one but the lack of pistons and my previous experience with bad apex seals on an FC3S RX7 convinced me otherwise.

Tamiya Does the CRX

Tamiya has done it again! There are very few RC CRX's in the hobby. I have spent many years and probably too much money gathering the pieces to complete one of these . Pretty awesome right? I decided I wanted one when I was 12 but they were hard to come by back then. Now Tamiya has released this beauty. Look at this car, it is gorgeous. It comes on the standard M05 chassis as far as I can tell and it will be a kit. I am in love. If Santa Claus brings me this and the RX-7 for Christmas I will be super stoked. I better start saving now!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Tamiya and the TA06-Pro

Tamiya is gearing up to drop the latest in their long line of touring cars. I was a mere schoolboy when the TA01 chassis revolutionized on road racing. It didn't make a very big splash right away. Stadium trucks were in the middle of their assault on our dirt tracks and oval racing had begun to collapse so there was little interest in these cars. I wanted one badly though. I liked the idea of a tunable independent suspension, realistic looks, and rubber tires. My Kyosho Testarossa at the time was immensely fun and that was simply a lowered Ultima 2 with street tires. I just couldn't afford the $160 they were asking for the Tamiya R32 GTR (TA01). Fast forward over twenty years and the Tamiya TA series is still going strong. The TA02 is my favorite but I was in love with the modular layout of the TA03, while the TA04 was Tamiya's slick entry into the dual belt touring car market. For a while I thought the TA05 would be the final entry in the TA saga but apparently I was wrong. I like it. I am not sure about the shock layout but as with most Tamiya innovations it will probably grow on me. These are just preliminary photos and I will be doing a real report when it gets released in May.

Tamiya's Soupped Up Dune Buggy

Tamiya is doing a superb job at being Tamiya. What do I mean? Kyosho doesn't sell mechanically stunning RC models any more. Traxxas went from "American racing icon to challenge Associated and Losi" to RTR's at Pep Boys. Losi went from a family of racers to cheap RTR's. I can't continue, it's too depressing. You get the idea. So meanwhile Tamiya is still producing charming, good looking, durable, and fun kits. That's why when you see my Tahoe you know it's mine by the big Tamiya decal on it. For those of you that feel like I do about RC, kits, and Tamiya take a look at what they are giving us this summer. It even comes with a driver figure! With no official press release I had to dig up these old crappy, watermark-removed-with-mspaint images. While preparing for publication I noticed the screws in the shocks. I really hope these are CVA's and not yellow friction shocks. "Coil spring damped" means friction shocks in Tamiya =(.

Tamiya Brings Us The Honda CR-Z FF03

What do you consider an awesome kit? Is it easy to assemble? Is it the most high tech design? To me an awesome kit is one that when you finish building it you are torn between driving it and staring at it for hours. I find myself staring at this CR-Z not because it is so gorgeous but because it is so almost gorgeous. Tamiya did a tremendous job replicating this Honda. Unfortunately the car itself is iffy. When tuned it can look aggressive but stock it looks as exciting as oatmeal. Of course the FF03 chassis is sweet enough to make up for the bland body.

RC Honda CR-Z - FF03 Item #58490

The 2010 3-door hatchback sport hybrid coupe Honda CR-Z comes equipped with a 1.5 liter SOHC 16-valve i-VTEC engine which produces an excellent economy of 25km/l. The Honda CR-Z is also the first hybrid care to include a 6-speed manual transmission whereas its predecessor the CV-T had a paddle-shift transmission. The CR-V won the "Japan Car of the Year for 2010-2011" and now comes accurately reproduced as a 1/10 R/C car loaded on the FF-03 chassis.

Specs and Features:

• 1/10 R/C assembly kit model of the Honda CR-Z.
• Polycarbonate body.
• Horizontally-mounted motor is installed at the front of the chassis-Full ball bearings, front ball differential, and CVA shock units.
• Short reversible suspension arms with inboard front suspensionTA05 V2, TB03, TRF416 and TRF417.
• Front wheel drive .
• Full independent, double wishbone suspension system.
• Sticker sheet and masking seal included.

Tamiya MP4/6 Retro F1 Beauty

Everybody loves Ayrton Senna. I didn't. I was a huge Alain Prost fan. Senna and Prost defined the term epic with their battles. Prost was the master technician while Senna was the visionary that could see and walk the fine line between death and glory. I was originally a Mclaren Honda fan. I was turned off to Senna's style when I saw him in too many incidents. I didn't know much about racing but Senna looked dangerous out there while Prost seemed always in control. Here's a few more reasons why I liked Prost better. This car is a new release from Tamiya. You are all aware of Tamiya's self imposed ban on tobacco advertising. that means you will need to seek out a third party decal maker to have correct livery. You may also notice the photo below isn't of the actual kit. There are no press photos yet so I used a pic of the old one and some pics of the real car. Now enjoy this blast from the F1 past.

PS If they start revolting in Australia I am going to be all kinds of pissed.

The McLaren MP4/6 was the first McLaren to be powered by Honda's V12 engine which was controlled by the H-pattern manual gearbox. The 1991 F1 season saw team driver Aryton Senna win the season's first four races including the Brazilian GP. The MP4/6 went on to earn McLaren their fourth straight constructors' championship and also saw Senna claim his third and last drivers' championship.

Specs and Features:

• 1/10 R/C assembly kit model of the 1991 McLaren MP4/6
• Length: 413mm, Width: 200mm, Height: 98mm.
• The F104W chassis features a longitudinal battery layout .
• The F104W chassis incorporates F103 front arms to mimic the wider dimensions of earlier F1 machines.
• Durable polycarbonate body
• Transmission: RWD-2WD, Direct Drive, Solid Axle
• Ball bearings included for rear axle, with bushings in the front
• Friction rear damper with coil spring
• Front king-pin coil spring independent suspension
• Foam tires
• Spur gear with built in ball differential
• Friction pads for chassis roll adjustment
• A resin bumper is equipped under the front wing to protect against shocks and crashes.

Nitro Tamiya Lunchbox Conversion

This is pretty cool. I love this type of project. It's amazing when someone builds a project vehicle just to do it. I'm pretty sure no one has driven a lunchbox and enjoyed the handling so much that they wanted to build a nitro version. It is more than easy enough to simply drop in a hotter electric motor for insane speed. Modeling for modeling's sake is what it is all about. I have no details but I do have a video and some pics so enjoy.

Engine is O.S. MAX-12TG-PX.(TAMIYA OEM Version)

RC Videos Are Radical

So I've been debating adding a video page to this blog. I have a lot of cool video's but I don't want to get a cease and desist letter or even worse, a bill. Of course while my peers were watching Sesame Street and Electric Factory I was watching Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run so I do what I want until I get caught. I need some more HD space before I can edit and upload, that is on it's way from China so we'll see what happens. In the mean time check out these pretty cool promotional videos from Tamiya.

The Tamiya TA04IFS

Tamiya created their IFS system to clear low slung bodies. What if you want to put a low slung body on a chassis that is not a TA05 or FF03? You use a little ingenuity and adapt an IFS system to your existing chassis. I saw this in a Japanese magazine before and thought it would be worth sharing. It would be nice if someone made an IFS conversion for the TT01 chassis but for now these home made versions are cool.