for some reason i have been looking at model cars and obviously sooner or later i would end up here 😀
by the gods i was like a kid in a sweet shop when i was looking at some of their models (a kid at primary school had a one of these i was not jealous of him at all) he even lent me the instruction book which i drooled over (the diagrams were awesome). every time i went to the toy shop in town i drooled over those lovely tamiya boxes (they were like crack to me 😳
i ended up getting one of these many years later unfortunately i never used it much 🙁 and it was sold.
even though i wouldn’t use it (have nowhere i could use it/am now 38) i still started lusting after the models again as soon as i saw the pictures of them on the tamiya site (the boxes must be made of msg i reckon).
Saved forever to get a Grasshopper, the cheapest and most basic they did, bloody loved it! Even if I did take it out in my works van to play with (like I said, took a long time to save for/justify 🙂 )
I must admit to having a look at Schuacher Cats the other month to see how much they’d moved on. I was very nearly tempted with the current model, but then realised that I’d never actually use it.
Lancia Beta. Number 40 up there. Same as the Grasshopper with an even heavier, more breakable plastic body. Completely uncontrollable with a fully charged 7.2v battery and the ubiquitous demon ’27 single’.
Looked like this for all of 10 minutes until the first, inevitable car/kerb interface.
i had a brat, loved it.
had a 12 turn motor in it so it was rapid, but battery life in those days was like 3-4 minutes!
modern batteries are a world away from that, as well as bodies being lexan and a lot lighter.
i recently bought a schumacher mission rolling chassis off ebay, 4 sets of wheels and tyres and a somewhat battered body, but i only paid £25 for it.
fitted some old radio gear i had lying around, and a 9 turn brushless motor also off ebay, a LOT faster than anything ive had before.
top fun for about £130 all in.
brilliant fun with drift tyres.
Had a Vanessa’s lunch box , a monster beetle and a kyosho raider ,i used to race at pendle model club and got a trophy in 2 wheel drive class(they were the hardtail of the rc car world )i wanted one again but could not justify it to the wife and she bought me leather gloves for christmas that year,great hobby that ?
I had a few of the small Tamiya monster trucks Midnight pumpkin, Toyota HI LUX and the like. They just had an on/off switch and ran in straight lines but had stunt gear for wheelies and running on 2 wheels. Also had buggies possibly Super Astue?
Propper RC stuff I had and still have some
Tamiya Mini Cooper
Tamiya TL01 Imprezza
Tamiya Juggernaut 2
HPI RS4 pro2
HPI RS4 pro3
HPI Mini Pro
Schumacher cat 2
And a Carson 1/8 nitro focus wrc
Never had a Tamiya – started racing with a Mardave Meteor, then raced Schumacher CAT’s – did indoor and outdoor races with Worksop Radio Car Club and loads of regionals for about 10 years.
the more i’m looking at pictures of rc cars (tamiya/other brands) the more my mind is trying to get me to save up for one even though i have
1. not so much as 2 pennies to rub together
2. wouldn’t use it very much
3. places to use it are too far for me (have a bike).
still the temptation is there though 😉
p.s don’t google any of the classic r/c cars like alfa romeo e.t.c they are lush 😳
i have used these guys s couple of times mail order, no problems at all.
i have also visited the shop in stevenage, very helpful guys who know their stuff. clicky
Always wanted an Avante. Realised that was way outside the realms of possibility, so settled on wanting a Boomerang or a Super Sabre.
This was also outside the realms of possibility too it would appear….
Never got a ‘proper’ r/c car. A mate of mine had a Kyosho Optima Mid that was really nice.
Tempted to buy a Boomerang a while back seeing as they re-released them, but they are even more expensive now & I think you could get a better buggy for the money….
If I bought one, I think it would be mainly about the assembly and it wouldn’t really get used after a few weeks of playing…