How do Tamiya do it/get away with it?

[300bhp/ton]

I've been looking at the Tamiya re-issues and I have to say I'm staggered at the pricing vs the spec. How on earth do they get away with it? Is nostalgia really that big in the RC world?

 

Just a bit of background, I started out with a Tandy AWD buggy, before proceeding onto Traxxas, then Losi, Schumacher and some other dedicated RC makes. I started racing RC's back in the early 1990's and have owned RC's since the late 1980's. Tamyia was of my era.But even when I started out racing Tamiya was seen as inferior and under performing even back then one could almost call them a bit of joke in terms of ability and speed.

 

I admit when younger I did sort of lust after some of their kits and indeed had a friend with the 959 and my brother later on got a very nice looking Mini and my cousin a 4wd buggy of some kind, that was so slow it was unbelievable.

 

But when time came for me to get a 'proper' RC car I opted for a Traxxas SRT (2wd race truck) with a 14x2 Trinity motor, Mtroniks ESC and some nice 1700 race spec NiCd's. It was fast, fun, capable and durable. Fully adjustable, ball diff, fully ball raced, double deck chassis, alloy oil filled shocks and independent suspension all round. The key thing, it wasn't a Tamiya and Tamiya wasn't even in the running.

 

So in 2013 how can Tamiya still sell the exact same kits in pretty much the same spec and performance as they used too? Who buys them?

 

For fun I thought I wondered if they still sell the Bullhead...

 

And sure enough they do: 

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-bullhead/rc-car-products/369407

 

 

For a rather staggering RRP

[Matt Donalds]

Is nostalgia really that big in the RC world?

Have you seen how much some of the early Tamiya kits sell for? Pretty much answers this question.

 

Matt

[chewbacca]

I'd happily stump up 300 quid for a re-re Clod Buster. Prob gonna cost that much to resto my vintage one anyway. 

[Nitroholic]

The fact that they DO get away with it says a lot for their reputation, the nostalgia market, and the 'safety' element of buying one. Been around for years...will be around for years to come.

 

As for the actual cars....well....

 

Basic brushed motors

cross head screw fittings

no guarantee of bearings.....just plastic/brass bushings

all plastic gear trains...

friction dampers on the shocks

 

On the plus side...the body shells on them are great.

 

You have to go to the top of the range gear to get what even the cheap Chinese makers supply as standard.

 

But people love them, people buy them, and people use and enjoy them.

 

I mean.....take the Lunchbox as an example.

 

AWFUL car. Absolutely terrible.

 

weedy motor, no bearings, solid rear axle, friction damped shocks, spindly plastic front uprights, flexi plastic chassis, high C of G, poor ground clearance, rubbish handling, and not even that cheap to buy.

 

But.....it's been a steady seller for as long as I can remember, and people get a kick out of driving and owning the things. If you look at it in a black and white, pure design and engineering way, Tamiya should be closed.

 

But I think it's a good thing they are still going strong

[300bhp/ton]

Maybe I just research stuff to much. Too be honest, had the Lunchbox have been

[jake1*2011]

I bought the tamiya m05 and to be honest its the most fun ive had with an rc car. for

[tonysmini]

A lot if Tamiya's appeal is reliving your child hood.

Other than the TRF kits, it 's all about fun, building and improving as well as running them, and they make some of the best looking kits going IMO.

[oodboo]

Oi! stop dissing the lunchbox! I love mine. I had mine out at the bash last sunday at a skate park and had great fun. Ok it's not standard but it's built to work. Pretty fast, stable as a lunchbox can be but not keeping pace with the brushless 8th scale cars or jumping as high but I still got a lot of enjoyment out of it.

 

I've got other tamiya cars as well, had a thundershot running with a brushless motor and that was pretty fast, keeping pace with a 5ive, didn't handle well at all on the grass but quick and fun. A lot of fun can be had when there's a few of you racing minis (m03 and m05) round the car park.

 

I like tamiya cars because for me a lot of the fun is in the building of the car, painting the body etc. I've never been a racer and can clearly see why they don't appeal to racers but that's not the market they are going for (unless you look at the TRF cars which are supposed to be pretty decent).

 

When my kids are a bit older I plan to build and run some tamiya cars with them.

 

Tamiya have a huge following for a good reason. If they're not for you then fair enough, your opinion isn't going to change mine.

[QRC]

I have three Tamiya's in my collection, would not be without them, great fun !. Their instruction manuals are one of the best in the market.

Two more will be purchased just for winter projects this year.

[300bhp/ton]

I guess I'm sad as I wanted to like them and had high hopes they'd some how upped to bar to be at least competitive with the 1990's offerings, let alone still be behind and stuck in the early 80's.

 

The thing is, if I drop

[atom3624]

It's all in the detail, and the build!

I learnt a lot building a few Tamiyas - including 2 tanks.

 

I was stunned when I went from the Juggernaut 2, to the (1st edition) E-Maxx - going from a twin 540 powered heavyweight that'll perhaps touch 10mph to a twin 550 powered medium weight with shocks that (relatively speaking!!) worked and would knock on the door of 30mph - YIPPEEEEEEE !!!!

 

I remember buying an F360 for ~

[Si Coe]

Tamiya have a major edge in the market beyond just the name - they still do kits. The vast majority of non-racing models these days are supplied RTR and for a lot of people thats kind of defeating the point of a MODEL car. So if you want a kit - it has to be a Tamiya.

 

 

 

 

OR NOT

 

 

Because the other kits I mentioned earlier are meant for racing but these days they aren't really much more expensive (if at all) than Tamiya's. You can get TC's like Schumachers Mi1 or buggys like the Durango 410R as kits cheaper than the equivalent Tamiya. Their manuals aren't as nice, but in terms of engineering they are actually easier to build due to superior screws, better materials and more advanced design. Which means the finished product is better too. OK, so the MI1 doesn't come with the beautiful shells Tamiya makes for their TC's, but because its the same scale you can actually fit Tamiya's bodies. The result is much better than a TT01.

And because Tamiya insist on that weird plastic only they use, even a race built car is just as robust, so its not like there is a strength advantage for the TT01.

 

BTW - Whilst some TRF cars have been great, even they aren't that special. Most TRF's have been more expensive than the competition for little or no advantage. Nobody buys a TRF because its just better than the rest - you buy it because its a Tamiya, it just happens to be competitive.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Si Coe

[chewbacca]

I love my Tamiya DT-02 chassied Miper. Yes the original Holiday Buggy it was built from was slow at first but I had fun adding upgrades and increasing the performance. It's taken some major bashing over the almost 2 years I've had it and has always made me smile. 

 

 

The fact is that very few of the members of this or any other forum have fully standard models regardless of the original purchase price. Tweaking, modifying, tuning and improving are the main sources of enjoyment in this hobby be you racer or basher. 

 

No-one is pointing a gun to anyone's head here, buy it, don't buy it, it's all the same to me. 

[PraetoR]

I have a soft spot for Tamiya, I think the word "fun" is always considered in their design briefs. My Lunch Box is easily the most fun RC I've ever owned.

 

However...

 

I completely agree with what you're saying. The quality of plastic on my 2 Tamiyas is TERRIBLE!! And they have very poor spec until you upgrade them, which means they eventually cost in the same region as a Losi or even maybe a Traxxas.

[XV Pilot]

To me, that is a big part of the fun of Tamiya. Most of their designs are solid but slow out of the box. Modifying them to go faster is an appealin challenge. Sure, you might end up spending enough money to have simply bought a faster car to begin with, but where is the fun or challenge in that?

To put it in fullsize terms, sure you can go and buy a high-end sportscar that can do 200 mph, but how much more impressive and satisfying would it be to do it in a Ford Focus that you modified yourself?

[BigBadJFly]

They also have great parts support (even for older models) and lots of hop ups available - both of which most cheap RTR cars don't have

[Si Coe]

But you can get parts for 20 year old Schumachers direct from them, and I never had issues keeping 2 25 year old RC10's going before Associated re-released the car and made a bunch more parts. Tamiya aren't unique in parts support.

 

When it comes to hop-ups it is true that nothing has the range that are available for some Tamiya's but half the time its just to fix flaws in the original. One look at my Durango 210 should which has virtually no stock parts left shows you can get hop-ups for lots of cars - the difference is that for the 210 its really just window dressing cos the stock car was good to start with. Modifying a car to make it better is great - but its still better to start with a good car and make it awesome than to start with a heap and just make it not suck anymore. 

[Pistonhead]

I don't find the vast majority of Tamiya stuff appealing, but that's probably down to me not being into the hobby when alot of their stuff was first released, so there's no nostalgia for me. All i see is dated designs, cheap plastics, no bearings and poor suspension.

That said, i do have a huge soft spot for the hgv's/big rigs, with these i can see what Tamiya is about - being as much about the building experience and attention to detail as it is running them, and that is why i'll be owning one at some point over the next 12 months...

[Noj]

Tamiya FTW

I take tamiya kit out for the cooling off periods when bashing largescale, absolute hoot to own and drive, and get as many people watching as the big stuff.

Worth every penny of their asking price IMO, bearing sets cost nowt,the shells are some of the best looking on the market and you always smile when driving a tamiya.

The re re kits have, in some cases, more modern engineering and parts over the originals, making them more durable for the modern basher.

[J.K]

There are still far too many RTR's around for my liking. Tamiya's TA03 was my first "hobby-grade" RC, bought for my 12th birthday. There's nothing better at that age than spending a couple of evenings sitting with your Dad and building your first RC together.

Would I buy another Tamiya? Probably, but not until I've got a nipper of my own....regardless of cost!

[chewbacca]

I'll be buying a Sand Viper (DT-02) as soon as funds allow, along with the full ball-race kit and other hop-up parts. I also want a Mad Bull, Gravel Hound and the aforementioned Clod Buster. 

 

As for the cross head vs hex head debate, I've got 3 1/10 RCs and the only one that's given me a headache when stripping it was the hex equipped Carnage. Yes, it might be down to my tools but even so it was a major pita.

[300bhp/ton]

Well ok, maybe I've been won over. Have seen the Lunchbox minus ESC for

[chewbacca]

Just remember that it is what it is and you shouldn't be disappointed. 

[Noj]

Exactly as the Welsh Wookie said. Pure amusement inducing, and one is never enough...a pair (or more) of tamiyas hooning about, chasing and racing each other is a visual treat

[bigoggy]

I'll be buying a Sand Viper (DT-02) as soon as funds allow, along with the full ball-race kit and other hop-up parts. I also want a Mad Bull, Gravel Hound and the aforementioned Clod Buster. 

 

As for the cross head vs hex head debate, I've got 3 1/10 RCs and the only one that's given me a headache when stripping it was the hex equipped Carnage. Yes, it might be down to my tools but even so it was a major pita.

Sand Viper is ball raced right out of the box.