How can that f150 be from 1979? Ford trucks didn't even look like that until the 80's. Look at a '79 Ford truck vs an '80, and you see what I mean. A '79 is what's on a Traxxas high trail. Just sayin.
Hello there good sir. May I ask for some RC shops in Northampton area? I'm visiting my brother next week and I was wondering if there's a good place around there to pick up some parts for my cara back at home? Much obliged@@TomleyRC
You and I share the same story. I myself am 56 and had the Frog. Now I share the hobby with my daughter. Who maybe because of my love of rc ,3d printing and Curiosity and building. She is now going to school for Mechatronics. I thank you for your Chanel. I may be across the pond in America. Nice to see we are all kids at heart.
I'm a Tamiya fanboy, and I have no trouble letting people tell me why we love Tamiyas. There's a real sense of community in it :) We know they suck, but we love what they represent, and the machine spirit in each and every kit
@@chrisprice6405 We learned that we could get more RPM out of the basic 540 motors by cutting the tabs on the can, turning it & changing the timing! Maybe it was a picture of the Technigold motor with its timing marks that alerted us!
as a kid I somehow scored a hornet with a unusual set up, was a kyosho 480 gold with a massive old elec speed control, it had the turnable end like you mention, after that we used to do the same as you with the stock motors
56 here. My first was The Frog with a red bell end Black Motor. Once ran it under a passing car. It was run over by a rearwheel, just across the middle of the spaceframe. No damage! Only had to pop the tiny Lexan body back, at the roof part. Later also had a Superchamp, Hornet, the B2B racing sidecar, an F2 and some F1 racers, not forgetting the Mazda and Nissan group C's. Still love (and build) their static modelkits. I got bitten good by the Tamiya bug. 😄 Great memories.
I didn't get into RC until I was 29 years old just a few years ago. One of my first cars was a Tamiya tt02 with the mustang gt4 body. I felt so proud of myself when it was finished. I remember just sitting there looking at it in awe thinking "I built that myself". I'll have a love for these "cheap beginner kits" for the rest of my life
Bought one off a friend for £40. Needed a new gear casing that I replaced with a new one from an academy road runner and a ball joint that had been replaced with a woodscrew.
The Hornet was my first car, still remember how excited I was to get her built and ready to run, unfortunately it was at Christmas and I didn’t have a battery so had to wait a few days until the shops reopened! This is back in the 80’s! I wasn’t disappointed when she finally hit the road and gravel!! Keep up the great work on the channel 👍🏻
Had my first Tamiya when I was born in '85, a Grasshopper. Build it with my dad when I was around 8 years or so. Drove a lot of RC until my mid teens, but the memory of that first one always stuck with me. This year, I'm 39 now, I got myself a new one and fittet a Sports Tuned motor with appropriate pinion, Quickrun 1060, 2S LiPos, oiled shocks, good bearings and paired it with a FS-GT3C. And, I still love it.
My mate had a Hornet and I had a Frog. We did epic 10 minute tops races after school on the sports oval. The constant repairs and rebuilds as well as the near useless hopups… great times.
My first RC was a Tamiya Frog in the mid/late 80s. Loved that car and ran it until the wheels literally fell off. Because as a child of the 80s, cars had to take big jumps. I got the ReRe a couple years ago. Still my favorite.
My first RC was the Tamiya Hornet in 1984. I was 9 and have been in the hobby since. I really want to pick up this Hornet EVO. It fixes several issues that were super annoying about the original kit.
Im 44, and always will be a Tamiya lover. My very first Hobby Grade RC was also a Tamiya. I have couple original ones still, and have bought the recent re-release versions of some of them. Still have my Lunchbox, Grasshopper and my shelf queen JUGGERNAUT!!!. Im hoping they do a re-release of the juggernaut. Tamiya had me hooked from my first one which was the Stadium Blitzer back in the early 90s. Had a Stadium Lightning / Thunder came out late 90s. As of the last decade and half Ive been going through Tamiya's TT-01's, an absolute favorite platform. DId the TL-01 prior to the TT, and man the gears couldnt hang long even with a 10 turn 540. definitely not a 7 Turn. Wow memories. All those hours spending building them and getting finger blisters and blood clots from slipping pliers and pinching fingers from slipping on balljoints. LOL. And Ive always wanted a TR-15. Still looking. HAHAHAH OMG the fast charging NICAD batteries back to back, heating up, running em hot and charging them hotter. Packs lasted a week like that. BAHAHAH!!! I spent majority of the money I saved up from bdays and christmas on batteries mostly till NiMH batteries came out. They lasted longer. I got into Nitro just cuzz of the battery expense, lol. But then, found out u could buy the cells in bulk and solder up your own packs. Im so glad LIPO technology came out and blessed us now days.
Happy days! I've been at it since I was 11, saved up pocket money for a Sand Scorcher and loved it. My Brother have the Hornet. Many memories made. This year I even made my own full kits of an icon, based on Tamiya chassis, 100 of them. A challenge and and a great satisfaction. Now I'm a Tamiya dealer and custom parts maker. If only that 11 year old me could see. :)
Bro just wanted to tell you, and not kissing anyone's ass, but I really think you are doing exactly what you were meant to do in life. For real. I feel the love you have for rc. For someone that loves the hobby, I need to be able to trust a person that has not only the knowledge but that can be completely honest about the product . There is so many people that do these types of videos but you really stand out from the others. But you do a really good job in editing and putting your videos together ,very entertaining, funny , and knowledgeable. So thank you bro. Keep doing what you do
Some folks are negative on tamiya. I stuck a hwing max ten in a TA-08. Solid basically stock build. No gyro, but gps on. I shit my pants well beyond 50mph. It will blow the tires of blipping the throttle. No reason to hate on tamiya.. unreal. Not to mention the xv’s, xm etc. Solid rigs
I was born in 72. My father brought me a Tamiya R/c from Beaties (I had the blue bag). I got a Ford F150 (like the one you have the box for). I still have it, assembled and painted by a friend of my father’s, painted to the box-art spec.
My first Tamiya was a Rough Rider that I bought around '83 when I was in college. After adding some hop-up parts (Kyosho shocks, Thorpe differential, Aluminum pan, etc.), I started racing it at a local RC track. One of the very first races I remember had Tamiya Grasshoppers, Hornets, and Frogs running around the track. My highly modified Rough Rider won or placed in 2 or 3 races. Then Associated came out with the RC10 and it was history for my Rough Rider. Never won a race again, and I ended up getting a Frog which was not competitive against the RC10, but did allow me to race in something like a "fun" class without having to spend a lot of money (which I didn't have at the time).
Back in the 80's I had a Grasshopper, Audi Quattro Rally and The Frog. I hadn't thought about RC cars since about 1988 and got back into the hobby in 2024. My mind was blown away at all of the advancements in 40 years.
My earliest memories of R/C cars were the corded New Bright models you would see at Christmas time. I kept asking for R/C cars, and eventually got a Tyco Scorcher 6x6 and drove it until the wheels broke off literally. As a high schooler I still kept asking for R/C cars for gifts and my father eventually relented and got me one of the early RTR Traxxas Rustler with the mechanical speed controller, and I still have this car to this day. I love the old RAM style bodies!
Im 34, have owned had Hobby grade RCs since I was 6. I never owned a Tamiya until earlier this year, I bought the XV02 Chassis kit. Had lots of fun building it. First RC was a Kyosho stadium truck. Then with my dad we got into Nitro, and I had a Losi XXXNt (Stadium truck). There was a long hiatus in RCs, but buying a Axial SCX10.2 used brought back the desire to get into RCs again.
Losi XXXNT; what a nitro truck! Although original kits around Y2K had initial parts issues, you should see what I came up with, I removed all hop up parts, the blue aluminum ones, all graphite arms, shock towers, etc., stock chassis, replaced with aftermarket model. Only hop up is ti brake rotor, and swapped rotary carb with slide carb from Mugen Seiki .12 on road engine. Add Ron Paris modified Nova Rossi .12 engine, Adam Drake hard anodized brace for chassis, Lunsford ti turnbuckle and Losi ti rod ends, RB X-12 pipe and Associated header pipe, what a truck! Keeps up with RC-10GT ! 😊😊
@fordmasters4352 yea, mine would have been late 90s, maybe 2000. I had a O.S. Max in it, forget if it was a .12 or .15, but something tells me it was a .15. Had some aftermarket muffler. It was a ton of fun. I haven't had it in a long time.
When I was a kid My dad had a hornet and my brothers had grasshoppers. I was too young to remember seeing them drive. All of them broke before I was old enough to drive them. I didn't know Tamiya was still around till I found this channel. I always wanted to fix my dads hornet but it was missing a big screw that was not common.
I gotta say Tamiya when they put their heart in something it ends up being something special. Thank you Tamiya for giving me some amazing memories. Great vid Tomley with great history of your luv on this amazing company.
I'm 52 and my 1st car was the holiday buggy ...my brother had the ford ranger... Then when I was older and Hornet then the Escort Cosworth.. Great times
Haha, I bought my first Tamiya a Mini, which came as a complete kit with everything inc radio etc., that was from Beatties in Trafford Centre, Manchester, this was December 1994, to put into perspective, I was 36 when purchased & I still do RC today, a kind of born again RC'err 😁
I was 10years old. My first proper RC was a Tamiya Grass Hopper 2, built it with my dad on Christmas day, broke it boxing day and repaired it with meccano. Friend of mine had the Monster Bug, and lad along the road had a Monster truck. I still have my Grass Hopper, put a 1080 in it couple months back to run it on the street, massive smile on my face.
Yup, in my 50’s, born in the seventies, had a Tamiya Falcon, and loved it. I remember. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, and the vocab lesson on how to say, Tamiya. lol
I know you have heard it before. But every time I watch this channel I think of the movie A Christmas Story. Tomley looks exactly like an adult version of the kid that plays the main role in the movie. Now that I got that off my chest, I love this channel and all the info.
My first hobby grade RC car was a Tamiya Rough Rider which I bought in 1980. I was in the Navy at the time and going to sonar school in San Diego. For many years the sole importer of Tamiya into the United States was MRC (Model Rectifier Corporation), in fact for many years, I thought the proper name of the company was MRC/Tamiya. It’s funny, I bought this awesome RC car and cheaped out on the battery and charger. The battery was a ni-cad pack done up by the hobby store and the charger was two wires, one of which was a resistor wire, that you clamped to your battery and used a stopwatch to time the recharge. I have great memories of that car and just recently bought a rere of the Rough Rider, or Buggy Champ as they call it now.
The unmistakable sound of the Hornets tyres on tarmac, they have a certain bass sound to them. The Hornet was the first what I called real radio controlled car I was introduced to when my brother told me that sisters friends older brother was driving it on the street round the corner. We both rushed out to see this spectacle, waiting for his next drive for what seemed like an eternity, he emerged and set it down the street, that tyre sound was what I remember and that car seemed rapid!
Great video bro. My first Tamiya was Thunder dragon QD. Then I graduated to a Boomerang kit which I bought at 12 years old. That was 1992. Im 44 years old and still love Tamiya’s to this day. I got a collection of 10 cars with beatties bags. My pride and joy are 2 boxed vintage Top force evolution which are built and mint never driven. Keep up the great work Tomley. 😄
I had an original Hornet as a kid. I upgraded it with bearings. Those studded tires were burned off really quickly. I had a blast with it. I had to use a piece of aluminum I made from a soda can to keep the battery compartment closed as the cover would fly off all the time. I really lusted after some of the AWD vehicles like the the HotShot back then, but the Hornet ended up being my only hobby grade RC car. Finding girls as a young man put a damper on the RC hobby.
As a kid in 80's, I used to go to the local toy store and just stare & dream at the Hornet and other off-roaders from Tamiya! I never got one (did get a Jet Hopper though) ... But that's about to change. Put some money down for the Hornet Evo kit to build up with my 8 year old daughter as a Christmas present this year - she's super excited too! BTW, in my youth I bought and built up a Porsche 911 GT1 like yours, but with the Nitro engine. Never having had a glow engined RC, I couldn't get it started (lol) ... So I brought it back to the store on a Saturday to see if they could help. Well, it wasn't an issue for them and it started up more or less instantly in a crowded store, which sure got a lot of attention. Fun times!
I certainly did enjoy that video, Phil! Yeah, great memoroies of Tamiya back in the day and getting started in the hobby. The new Evo looks and runs awesomely well. Wasn't sure at first but now you got me tempted, especially with that BZ motor in the back! 😎👊👍
All my special memories are the Tamiya buggies from back in the day… I know all you serious guys build and run some amazing kit nowadays but the Tamiya’s were and are still just great fun.. simple
Fighter FX as my first Tamiya! It started a love. It got trown out after 2 decades during 3 consecutive moving homes. It had a 550 tin can and a mechanical 2-speed control with a heatsink. Later it had a 25.000 RPM F1 motor in it.
Totally they take me back to my best times, being a child had a manta ray growing up in Kenya. Now as a middle aged kid my collection exceeds 55 models..love em
I love a good nostalgia video! This brings me back to the early 80's when I was 13ish and pouring over RC catalogs to decide on "the best" RC car I could ask for and keep the whole package as cheap as I could. I researched the hell out of those things, and the Hornet, while looking cool, was out of the running straight away for that solid rear axle and motor mounted on it. I'm glad to see they did a redesign and gave the hornet a decent suspension. In the end I chose the Rough Rider and had a blast with that car for a year or two before getting an RC-10 for my 15th birthday and going racing.
My first car as a child was a Taiyo Mini Hopper shortly followed by a Tamiya original Monster beetle and I loved it. Been looking (after getting back into the hobby a few years ago) at doing my first build and have my eye on the Escort Mk2
Great video. This year will mark the 38th year that I got into the hobby. It all started with my Hornet. I still have that car today. 7 transmissions, 4 chassis, 3 MSC, 3 motors, 12 sets of tires, etc. I will be getting this 40th and will be putting it next to my original. The second 40th will be going to my 4 year old son..
At 47 I find myself envious , I build the tamiya display models ,have done for years. In the 80’s all my mates ran the petrol style kits , but my parents couldn’t afford them that’s how I went the other route but after recently discovering your channel (excellent by the way) I may start looking at the rc’s . With battery tech now I bet they are up there with the old fuel ones .
I have great memories of the late 80s when I was 9, I had a Kyosho Raider and my best mate next door had a Hornet. Great days bashing in the street, only had 1 battery each so waited ages for our NiCd’s to charge and went again. It’ll always be TAM-iya to me too, don’t worry about it! 👍👍👍
This clip put a very nostalgic smile on my face. I've only just got back into the hobby now with a Kyosho MP10 Nitro but I started as a child in the mid 80's with a Tamiya HotShot. Thanks to my dad I updated it with better shocks, a 540 Tamiya kit motor and full ball bearing kit. Had the 15min quick charger which I ended up melting haha. Sub earned!
Yeah good ol Tamiya! Around the same time you traded your gameboy, I had gotten my first hobby grade RC for Christmas. Was a Tamiya Super Blackfoot. And I was one of the coolest kids in the neighborhood! Man I miss those days.
One of the best videos you have ever put out Phil! Really enjoyed that! Would love more Tamiya content from you (and Gav tbh) now Glenn at Tamiya Legends isnt so active. Great video and lovely to hear a nostalgic story
The Monster Beetle was my first “real” RC car at maybe 11 or 12. I got it because it had oil-filled shocks. I upgraded the motor and battery. I vividly remember building it. It was so fast and I loved it dearly.
I have never owned one but I have seen many over the years. the history behind Tamiya rc is so cool I used to see them in old hobby shops as a kid Maybe one day I’ll get one
I bought a TT01 with a Subaru Impreza WRC body from a junkyard in northern Japan. I guess someone left it on a vehicle that was sold to them. It was complete including battery and transmitter. It came with street tires and i lifted it slightly and put knobby tires on it, put a Reedy 540 mod motor on it and a dynamite NIMH pack. Talk about a blast! Wish i still had it
OMG, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw your T-shirt at 2:45 because I had the exact same one. I did have a different Tamiya though - I had the 'Grasshopper'. Keep up the good work 👍
The nostalgia:) I had hornet, grasshopper, bigwig, midnight pumpkin, hours of fun. Still love rc cars now. My dad is fanatical about rc planes, but I always liked the cars :)
My first tamiya in 84 was a subaru brat bought from beatties in romford essex , between my son and I we have a rising fighter , rx fighter buggy , hotshot 2 and my favourite is a chrome edition lunchbox . The hotshot 2 has never been run and is coming up to about 16 years old . Happy times
Loved the 80's grainy television filter footage. It felt a bit like a commercial that would run during Saturday morning cartoons filling the brains of little children with pure Santa Claus wishes😂
I grew up in California playing with RC's in the 90's. My experience was pretty different. We had one hobby shop in our town and they had a few Tamiya's but nobody bought them. Losi, Traxxas, and Team Associated were the popular brands. Losi in particular. JRX Pro's and LXT's were killing it when they came out. Tamiya's at the time didn't have a lot of interchangeable parts. My friend had a Grasshopper 2. No oil shocks. I remember when we dinged part of the front suspension and the car was just cooked because it wasn't replaceable. I'm kind of shocked that people loved these so much.
Born in 1976. Tamiya dominated my childhood. As did the A-Team and Airwolf. I've got A Hornet, Avante, Fox and High Lift Hilux on my shelves and an original Rough Rider in a box somehwere. I'm never really sure where to bash them though 🧐
Ahh, memories! I got my first Tamiya in 1981, I was 12, it was the Ford F150. Put it together in boarding school in lovely Taunton, and there were about a dozen of us at school lucky enough to have Tamiya's. I'd love to find an original sand scorcher.
I have been restoring my original Fox. I have been doing my best to use new old stock parts. In the process of getting the parts and items I need, I now have enough parts to build multiple buggies. I have one that's modern with brushless and carbon Fibre chassis that does wheelies!
Ahh the memories!!! I started with a Riko buggy which was ssome form of scaled-down cousin of the grasshopper, in black. Then, for Christmas one year I got my first kit: Vanessa's Lunchbox! Objectively a bit rubbish, but I loved it!! Next was the Porsche Celica GrB! How I wish I still had that, as they're worth a small fortune. I then moved to Kyosho, for a beautiful Optima Mid Turbo SE. The carbon and gold anodising were amazing! 20-odd years later, and having sold all my old childhood buggies, I got into 1/8 nitro truggies and buggies, and then 1/5th gas, with Losi and HPI Baja 5SC, 5B SS and other variants. These days planes are my thing, but RC runs deep in the blood!!
I built Kyosho 1/8 nitro buggy MP-6 with OS .21 RZ- V99B racing engine, cut crank and all other good stuff. Only reason I could fix it was a brand new con rod marked $21.99! Every part was a different color aluminum, rainbow effect. Guess what? Kyosho skipped a year while track promoters got lazy and did away with jumps and bumps! New buggy was Yucci Kanai 7.5 buggy, total redesign with smaller lowered diff's, SG one piece engine crank, all aluminum was gold anodized parts. That was the end for me, I quit radio control racing and took up NASCAR stock car racing. First year was a joke, 2nd year with new car (74 Camaro) won first race! EVERYBODY hated my team(my R/C buddy was driver)
I lived in Hemel Hempstead through the 1980s and 90s and remember visiting the RIKO shops and warehouse getting parts for my Falcon and dreaming of one day owning an Avante.
@TomleyRC Yeah, definitely. My friends and I also bought the Tamiya Jr.'s from there. I looked online recently for a Falcon Jr. and couldn't believe what they wanted for it. I wish that I'd kept mine.
My first buggy was a Hornet, acoms radio, riko charger, 7.2volt hump pack on green crystal.. from Beatties, Birmingham had a blue bag.. when it first came out and getting it for Christmas and building it with my dad 😊❤ good days and memories. I’m 51 now 😊 love Tamiyas still.. Pete 👍👍😃
Thunder shot was my dream RC car as a kid... but my family were far from well off enough. I did get a QD version for Christmas though and I played with it for years until it finally gave up the ghost. Loved it even though it wasn't the big kit version.
I still have my Grasshopper from 1987. Unlike that original hornet, the grasshopper rear end had hard mount pivots for the rear end and did not have the sudo-independent rear suspension. I had bought the upgrade kit later and added the sliding pivot mount for mine.
When I joined the Air Force back in 84, my first duty station was Okinawa,JA. I purchased my first RC in early 86 and it was the Bruiser. Now I used drive a fully decked out 1980 Toyota 4x4 so that was my passion at the time. The price for Tamiya kits (in yen)used to be on each box on the side just below the Tamiya logo from the factory. If I remember right the Bruiser was listed for 39000 yen and the exchange rate in Japan was awesome back then…it was around 240-245 yen/dollar so yeah…I bought it for around $163. I kept the truck until 2021 when I moved back overseas and needed to downsize. I should’ve bought a few more but my focus was rc racing so I moved on with Kyosho as their kits were more competitive. Tamiya kits have their place an are fun to start off on.
I had the grasshopper back in the day. I waterproofed it with balloons and would go mudding with it. Super fun memories. Id love to find one to put on a shelf in my workshop
I miss the old Tamiya catalogs. My local hobbyshop had these and I was able to browse them and see all the rc models, and all the setup tips pages. New catalog each year with fantastic pictures. Premium stuff. I just bought the Celica tt02 yesterday , and have ordered some castorl decals for the rally version and other bits :-)
I started getting into the Rc hobby since 2013 when I was 16 years old. My very first Rc was the HPI Racing Sprint 2 Flux and it was quite expensive for a very first rc car especially when I was getting into rc 11 years ago. I feel like I made a mistake the time when I was 16-17 years old cause I remember Tamiya was there and I remember they were cheap, but there was one problem I had with them. They were meant to be kits only and you have to built them on your own. I didn’t have that skill to built one and I didn’t have anyone who knew how to built an rc car. I was more into RTRs at the time cause it was much easier to setup and just drive it around for fun. 11 years later for me at the age of 27, I bought myself a Group C Mercedes-Benz C11 Group C that came out 2 years ago as a pre released and I tried to built it myself. I was happy and excited and I now realized how much fun is building a Tamiya rc car really is! I ended up buying a TT02 SRX and then bought myself a F104 Pro 2 and started building those. I can’t believe I missed out so much on Tamiya kits and I slept on all of them for 11 years. As me growing older nowadays, I’ll be getting into building Tamiya kits or at least I will try to.
I definitely love the odd video of UA-camrs doing content about Tamiyas (old & new) so thanks for this one Phil, excellent stuff! I recently got back into RC cars with a TT-02 Impreza. It was great to be back into it but did not quite hit the spot. The full Tamiya experience HAS to be the classic huge box with beautiful painted art, bubble packed tech bits on show & the classic buggy styling! And of course, getting a set of bearings as an extra to substitute the plastic kit bushes...... I feel an Avante or BBX landing soon (no bearings to buy though 😜)
I just bought a comical hornet, and it's so much fun to ride. A small 3300kv brushless, 2s Lipo, 20t pinion and that's enough to keep you smiling for 30 minutes
I got my first RC kit for Christmas 1980, was the original Holiday Buggy that I ended up building after Christmas lunch, and was driving it on boxing day 😊 It became my career from 1988 to 2000 when I joined Beatties at the young age of 19. I ended up building the cars for the Christmas catalogues too.
A year ago I created this Hornet using the dt04 rear. The Hornet was my first car in 86 but always hated the rear bounce. Who knew Tamiya would steal my idea!😅
Tamiya was my and my brothers induction into the hobby r/c world,we started with a blackfoot,moved up to clodbusters,kyoshos,into rc 10.good times,stay up all night building then the firs5 drive the next day.good stuff
My first was the FOX in 1986 had it hopped up with bearings,Trinity Joel Johnson and Monster Stock, Front Sway Bar, Dropped Suspension, some MRP goodies and a Futaba ESC.
One of my earliest and fondest memories is seeing my brother run his Blackfoot around and me being mad because my little toy grade buggy couldn't keep up lol. Think it was actually a Niko of sum sort??? Really making me feel old Phil!
Brilliant video. I had a tamiya hornet for my for rc when I was 9..... I still have it too.... but it sits with approx 60 more vintage tamiya in my collection. Love your content. Always great watch! Cheers Bruce Swallow New Zealand
Awesome video about the history of Tamiya, thank you so much! My first Tamiya was a Mad fighter buggy, just bought a never build kit for the nostalgia!😍
Turned 50 this year ,got the tamiya bug about age 14 in 88 with a grasshopper ,got about 25 tamiyas today lol all time fave is the escort cosworth pilot ❤
My first was a Frog! (mainly as someone else had ths Hornet, and i didnt want to get the same)... The endless video loop, of them bashing (?) in the dunes got me hooked 😁 Glad to see they're improving on the basic design, just could do with a slipper......
How can that f150 be from 1979? Ford trucks didn't even look like that until the 80's. Look at a '79 Ford truck vs an '80, and you see what I mean.
A '79 is what's on a Traxxas high trail. Just sayin.
You are absolutely correct... it was released in 1981. It was the Sand Scorcher & Rough Rider that were 1979. Thumbnail changed.
Hello there good sir. May I ask for some RC shops in Northampton area? I'm visiting my brother next week and I was wondering if there's a good place around there to pick up some parts for my cara back at home? Much obliged@@TomleyRC
great video tomleya rc
You and I share the same story. I myself am 56 and had the Frog. Now I share the hobby with my daughter. Who maybe because of my love of rc ,3d printing and Curiosity and building. She is now going to school for Mechatronics. I thank you for your Chanel. I may be across the pond in America. Nice to see we are all kids at heart.
The frog was the best I had the fox
Awesome to hear she has an interest in engineering. Not enough females in that industry 👌
But it's been her passion since she was young and robot wars locked her in
I still have my Tamiya falcon, and my OG rc10
I'm a Tamiya fanboy, and I have no trouble letting people tell me why we love Tamiyas. There's a real sense of community in it :) We know they suck, but we love what they represent, and the machine spirit in each and every kit
Suck? are you deluded?
I mean if you compare them to an RTR of today’s standards then they are certainly not on the same level…. but that’s not what Tamiya is about
The most pleasure you get is from the build in my opinion. Love it.
its a nostalgic thing now..first rc cars have a special place
Tamiya is more about being closer to scale realism instead of 3 digit speed runs or bashing. I wouldn't say they suck. They do break easy.
Also, I remember the absolute joy upgrading from a 360 motor to a 540 motor!!!!!
And that stuff you sprayed into motor to supposedly speed it up........not sure if it worked or not though!
@@chrisprice6405 We learned that we could get more RPM out of the basic 540 motors by cutting the tabs on the can, turning it & changing the timing! Maybe it was a picture of the Technigold motor with its timing marks that alerted us!
as a kid I somehow scored a hornet with a unusual set up, was a kyosho 480 gold with a massive old elec speed control, it had the turnable end like you mention, after that we used to do the same as you with the stock motors
@@reubroper1427 Great to hear stories & experiences similar to ours. Obviously no internet back then so it was all word of mouth & reading magazines!
Yes!!! I did 540 upgrade on my OG Hornet and it was fantastic! Still have that beast on my shelf 😁
I’m 55 now, my first Tamiya was a SRB Ranger in’83, the joy of charging for 15 hours for 8? minutes of running with the NiCd hump pack. Happy days 😎
30 minutes i believe. Not bad for the 80s.
@@cutterbaconMore like 15. 20 minutes at best, with the RS540 motor.
56 here. My first was The Frog with a red bell end Black Motor.
Once ran it under a passing car. It was run over by a rearwheel, just across the middle of the spaceframe. No damage! Only had to pop the tiny Lexan body back, at the roof part.
Later also had a Superchamp, Hornet, the B2B racing sidecar, an F2 and some F1 racers, not forgetting the Mazda and Nissan group C's.
Still love (and build) their static modelkits.
I got bitten good by the Tamiya bug. 😄
Great memories.
@@GTfour01 30 mins charging time ,not the 15 hours quoted.
@@GTfour01 I had a brand new brat and the chassis all failed before first run out.
I didn't get into RC until I was 29 years old just a few years ago. One of my first cars was a Tamiya tt02 with the mustang gt4 body. I felt so proud of myself when it was finished. I remember just sitting there looking at it in awe thinking "I built that myself". I'll have a love for these "cheap beginner kits" for the rest of my life
The original Hornet was my first RC Car back in 1987!
Tamiya Fanboy for life!
Bought one off a friend for £40. Needed a new gear casing that I replaced with a new one from an academy road runner and a ball joint that had been replaced with a woodscrew.
The Hornet was my first hobby grade RC too. Even stock, it was so much faster than the Tyco Turbo Hoppers that my friends were stuck with.
My first was a second hand grasshopper.
Later I built a boomerang.
Me too!!!!! And I'm getting an EVO! FOR XMAS!!!!!!
Same
The Hornet was my first car, still remember how excited I was to get her built and ready to run, unfortunately it was at Christmas and I didn’t have a battery so had to wait a few days until the shops reopened! This is back in the 80’s! I wasn’t disappointed when she finally hit the road and gravel!! Keep up the great work on the channel 👍🏻
Yes, it was different back then. Can you imagine kids having to charge a battery over night now!
Had my first Tamiya when I was born in '85, a Grasshopper. Build it with my dad when I was around 8 years or so. Drove a lot of RC until my mid teens, but the memory of that first one always stuck with me. This year, I'm 39 now, I got myself a new one and fittet a Sports Tuned motor with appropriate pinion, Quickrun 1060, 2S LiPos, oiled shocks, good bearings and paired it with a FS-GT3C. And, I still love it.
My mate had a Hornet and I had a Frog. We did epic 10 minute tops races after school on the sports oval. The constant repairs and rebuilds as well as the near useless hopups… great times.
I think I can watch videos with Tamiyas 24/7 and never get bored ^^
My first RC was a Tamiya Frog in the mid/late 80s. Loved that car and ran it until the wheels literally fell off. Because as a child of the 80s, cars had to take big jumps. I got the ReRe a couple years ago. Still my favorite.
Similar story hear.
My first RC was the Tamiya Hornet in 1984. I was 9 and have been in the hobby since. I really want to pick up this Hornet EVO. It fixes several issues that were super annoying about the original kit.
It’s a great update. They have also strengthened the front towers 👌
Yes they were the battery door especially 🙄 and crappy front shocks
Im 44, and always will be a Tamiya lover. My very first Hobby Grade RC was also a Tamiya. I have couple original ones still, and have bought the recent re-release versions of some of them. Still have my Lunchbox, Grasshopper and my shelf queen JUGGERNAUT!!!. Im hoping they do a re-release of the juggernaut. Tamiya had me hooked from my first one which was the Stadium Blitzer back in the early 90s. Had a Stadium Lightning / Thunder came out late 90s. As of the last decade and half Ive been going through Tamiya's TT-01's, an absolute favorite platform. DId the TL-01 prior to the TT, and man the gears couldnt hang long even with a 10 turn 540. definitely not a 7 Turn. Wow memories. All those hours spending building them and getting finger blisters and blood clots from slipping pliers and pinching fingers from slipping on balljoints. LOL. And Ive always wanted a TR-15. Still looking.
HAHAHAH OMG the fast charging NICAD batteries back to back, heating up, running em hot and charging them hotter. Packs lasted a week like that. BAHAHAH!!! I spent majority of the money I saved up from bdays and christmas on batteries mostly till NiMH batteries came out. They lasted longer. I got into Nitro just cuzz of the battery expense, lol. But then, found out u could buy the cells in bulk and solder up your own packs. Im so glad LIPO technology came out and blessed us now days.
Happy days!
I've been at it since I was 11, saved up pocket money for a Sand Scorcher and loved it. My Brother have the Hornet. Many memories made.
This year I even made my own full kits of an icon, based on Tamiya chassis, 100 of them. A challenge and and a great satisfaction.
Now I'm a Tamiya dealer and custom parts maker.
If only that 11 year old me could see. :)
Bro just wanted to tell you, and not kissing anyone's ass, but I really think you are doing exactly what you were meant to do in life. For real. I feel the love you have for rc. For someone that loves the hobby, I need to be able to trust a person that has not only the knowledge but that can be completely honest about the product . There is so many people that do these types of videos but you really stand out from the others. But you do a really good job in editing and putting your videos together ,very entertaining, funny , and knowledgeable. So thank you bro. Keep doing what you do
Some folks are negative on tamiya. I stuck a hwing max ten in a TA-08. Solid basically stock build. No gyro, but gps on. I shit my pants well beyond 50mph. It will blow the tires of blipping the throttle. No reason to hate on tamiya.. unreal. Not to mention the xv’s, xm etc. Solid rigs
I was born in 72. My father brought me a Tamiya R/c from Beaties (I had the blue bag). I got a Ford F150 (like the one you have the box for).
I still have it, assembled and painted by a friend of my father’s, painted to the box-art spec.
I’m 53 and my first was the Frog - inspired by a mate who had that F truck and a hornet 😀
My first Tamiya was a Rough Rider that I bought around '83 when I was in college. After adding some hop-up parts (Kyosho shocks, Thorpe differential, Aluminum pan, etc.), I started racing it at a local RC track. One of the very first races I remember had Tamiya Grasshoppers, Hornets, and Frogs running around the track. My highly modified Rough Rider won or placed in 2 or 3 races. Then Associated came out with the RC10 and it was history for my Rough Rider. Never won a race again, and I ended up getting a Frog which was not competitive against the RC10, but did allow me to race in something like a "fun" class without having to spend a lot of money (which I didn't have at the time).
1:14 the original Tamiya Holiday Buggy was my very first venture into RC in the 80’s! Loved it!
Me too
Back in the 80's I had a Grasshopper, Audi Quattro Rally and The Frog. I hadn't thought about RC cars since about 1988 and got back into the hobby in 2024. My mind was blown away at all of the advancements in 40 years.
Yes… things have gone crazy the last few years!
When I was young, the first hobby grade rc I ran was the hornet, and I was hooked.
I think a lot of people has the Hornet 👌
man i love these tamiya videos! all the footage from the tamiya hq/museum was just awesome
My earliest memories of R/C cars were the corded New Bright models you would see at Christmas time. I kept asking for R/C cars, and eventually got a Tyco Scorcher 6x6 and drove it until the wheels broke off literally. As a high schooler I still kept asking for R/C cars for gifts and my father eventually relented and got me one of the early RTR Traxxas Rustler with the mechanical speed controller, and I still have this car to this day. I love the old RAM style bodies!
Im 34, have owned had Hobby grade RCs since I was 6. I never owned a Tamiya until earlier this year, I bought the XV02 Chassis kit. Had lots of fun building it. First RC was a Kyosho stadium truck. Then with my dad we got into Nitro, and I had a Losi XXXNt (Stadium truck). There was a long hiatus in RCs, but buying a Axial SCX10.2 used brought back the desire to get into RCs again.
Losi XXXNT; what a nitro truck! Although original kits around Y2K had initial parts issues, you should see what I came up with, I removed all hop up parts, the blue aluminum ones, all graphite arms, shock towers, etc., stock chassis, replaced with aftermarket model. Only hop up is ti brake rotor, and swapped rotary carb with slide carb from Mugen Seiki .12 on road engine. Add Ron Paris modified Nova Rossi .12 engine, Adam Drake hard anodized brace for chassis, Lunsford ti turnbuckle and Losi ti rod ends, RB X-12 pipe and Associated header pipe, what a truck! Keeps up with RC-10GT ! 😊😊
@fordmasters4352 yea, mine would have been late 90s, maybe 2000. I had a O.S. Max in it, forget if it was a .12 or .15, but something tells me it was a .15. Had some aftermarket muffler. It was a ton of fun. I haven't had it in a long time.
When I was a kid My dad had a hornet and my brothers had grasshoppers. I was too young to remember seeing them drive. All of them broke before I was old enough to drive them. I didn't know Tamiya was still around till I found this channel. I always wanted to fix my dads hornet but it was missing a big screw that was not common.
I gotta say Tamiya when they put their heart in something it ends up being something special. Thank you Tamiya for giving me some amazing memories. Great vid Tomley with great history of your luv on this amazing company.
I'm 52 and my 1st car was the holiday buggy ...my brother had the ford ranger... Then when I was older and Hornet then the Escort Cosworth.. Great times
Haha, I bought my first Tamiya a Mini, which came as a complete kit with everything inc radio etc., that was from Beatties in Trafford Centre, Manchester, this was December 1994, to put into perspective, I was 36 when purchased & I still do RC today, a kind of born again RC'err 😁
You’re never too old for a Tamiya!
I was 10years old. My first proper RC was a Tamiya Grass Hopper 2, built it with my dad on Christmas day, broke it boxing day and repaired it with meccano.
Friend of mine had the Monster Bug, and lad along the road had a Monster truck.
I still have my Grass Hopper, put a 1080 in it couple months back to run it on the street, massive smile on my face.
I was so hoping they'd re-released the Ford Ranger when I saw the thumbnail. My Mum and Dad bought me a Falcon. I've loved Tamiya ever since.
Yup, in my 50’s, born in the seventies, had a Tamiya Falcon, and loved it. I remember. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, and the vocab lesson on how to say, Tamiya. lol
I used to race Tamiya cars and use back in the 90s,and had a few,2 Hornets,Beetle,Thunder Dragon,and still have my Mini Cooper R/C.
I know you have heard it before. But every time I watch this channel I think of the movie A Christmas Story. Tomley looks exactly like an adult version of the kid that plays the main role in the movie. Now that I got that off my chest, I love this channel and all the info.
My first hobby grade RC car was a Tamiya Rough Rider which I bought in 1980. I was in the Navy at the time and going to sonar school in San Diego. For many years the sole importer of Tamiya into the United States was MRC (Model Rectifier Corporation), in fact for many years, I thought the proper name of the company was MRC/Tamiya. It’s funny, I bought this awesome RC car and cheaped out on the battery and charger. The battery was a ni-cad pack done up by the hobby store and the charger was two wires, one of which was a resistor wire, that you clamped to your battery and used a stopwatch to time the recharge. I have great memories of that car and just recently bought a rere of the Rough Rider, or Buggy Champ as they call it now.
The unmistakable sound of the Hornets tyres on tarmac, they have a certain bass sound to them. The Hornet was the first what I called real radio controlled car I was introduced to when my brother told me that sisters friends older brother was driving it on the street round the corner. We both rushed out to see this spectacle, waiting for his next drive for what seemed like an eternity, he emerged and set it down the street, that tyre sound was what I remember and that car seemed rapid!
I love the tree connection with tamiya.... I've been climbing and cutting trees for the past 28 years... great video too...
Great video bro. My first Tamiya was Thunder dragon QD. Then I graduated to a Boomerang kit which I bought at 12 years old. That was 1992. Im 44 years old and still love Tamiya’s to this day. I got a collection of 10 cars with beatties bags. My pride and joy are 2 boxed vintage Top force evolution which are built and mint never driven. Keep up the great work Tomley. 😄
I had an original Hornet as a kid. I upgraded it with bearings. Those studded tires were burned off really quickly. I had a blast with it. I had to use a piece of aluminum I made from a soda can to keep the battery compartment closed as the cover would fly off all the time. I really lusted after some of the AWD vehicles like the the HotShot back then, but the Hornet ended up being my only hobby grade RC car. Finding girls as a young man put a damper on the RC hobby.
Nothing better than a touch of wistful nostalgia and misty eyed Mills and Boonery
As a kid in 80's, I used to go to the local toy store and just stare & dream at the Hornet and other off-roaders from Tamiya! I never got one (did get a Jet Hopper though) ... But that's about to change. Put some money down for the Hornet Evo kit to build up with my 8 year old daughter as a Christmas present this year - she's super excited too! BTW, in my youth I bought and built up a Porsche 911 GT1 like yours, but with the Nitro engine. Never having had a glow engined RC, I couldn't get it started (lol) ... So I brought it back to the store on a Saturday to see if they could help. Well, it wasn't an issue for them and it started up more or less instantly in a crowded store, which sure got a lot of attention. Fun times!
I certainly did enjoy that video, Phil! Yeah, great memoroies of Tamiya back in the day and getting started in the hobby. The new Evo looks and runs awesomely well. Wasn't sure at first but now you got me tempted, especially with that BZ motor in the back! 😎👊👍
Cheers Mark. My first ever Tamiya ‘Stock’ motor. I think it’s a great option if you don’t want to go brushless. It ran nice and cool as well on 2s
All my special memories are the Tamiya buggies from back in the day… I know all you serious guys build and run some amazing kit nowadays but the Tamiya’s were and are still just great fun.. simple
The two Tamiya models I always wanted as a 1980's kid were the " bigWig" and the "Boomerang" !! loving the channel, keep up the great work 👍
Richard Konstam is synonymous with Tamiya in the UK - my dad worked next to their offices in Hemel and got my Thunder Dragon from a ‘mate’
Fighter FX as my first Tamiya! It started a love. It got trown out after 2 decades during 3 consecutive moving homes. It had a 550 tin can and a mechanical 2-speed control with a heatsink. Later it had a 25.000 RPM F1 motor in it.
Totally they take me back to my best times, being a child had a manta ray growing up in Kenya. Now as a middle aged kid my collection exceeds 55 models..love em
I love a good nostalgia video! This brings me back to the early 80's when I was 13ish and pouring over RC catalogs to decide on "the best" RC car I could ask for and keep the whole package as cheap as I could. I researched the hell out of those things, and the Hornet, while looking cool, was out of the running straight away for that solid rear axle and motor mounted on it. I'm glad to see they did a redesign and gave the hornet a decent suspension. In the end I chose the Rough Rider and had a blast with that car for a year or two before getting an RC-10 for my 15th birthday and going racing.
I had a Blackfoot and a Grasshopper as a kid, 50 years old now, wow time flies! Still have the Blackfoot too.
My first car as a child was a Taiyo Mini Hopper shortly followed by a Tamiya original Monster beetle and I loved it. Been looking (after getting back into the hobby a few years ago) at doing my first build and have my eye on the Escort Mk2
Great video. This year will mark the 38th year that I got into the hobby. It all started with my Hornet. I still have that car today. 7 transmissions, 4 chassis, 3 MSC, 3 motors, 12 sets of tires, etc. I will be getting this 40th and will be putting it next to my original. The second 40th will be going to my 4 year old son..
Awesome… it’s a really nice update to complement the old one
At 47 I find myself envious , I build the tamiya display models ,have done for years. In the 80’s all my mates ran the petrol style kits , but my parents couldn’t afford them that’s how I went the other route but after recently discovering your channel (excellent by the way) I may start looking at the rc’s . With battery tech now I bet they are up there with the old fuel ones .
I have great memories of the late 80s when I was 9, I had a Kyosho Raider and my best mate next door had a Hornet. Great days bashing in the street, only had 1 battery each so waited ages for our NiCd’s to charge and went again. It’ll always be TAM-iya to me too, don’t worry about it! 👍👍👍
This clip put a very nostalgic smile on my face. I've only just got back into the hobby now with a Kyosho MP10 Nitro but I started as a child in the mid 80's with a Tamiya HotShot. Thanks to my dad I updated it with better shocks, a 540 Tamiya kit motor and full ball bearing kit. Had the 15min quick charger which I ended up melting haha. Sub earned!
Haha cheers dude. It took me a while to try and get the voice over to sound similar to the 80’s ones
I've been busy building 80 or so Nitros, I have quite a few Tamiya kits to build. Always have a place in my heart for those things.
My mother is spanish and I remember in the early 80s being bought Tamiya model cars (non RC) for Xmas presents and building them over in spain
Yeah good ol Tamiya! Around the same time you traded your gameboy, I had gotten my first hobby grade RC for Christmas. Was a Tamiya Super Blackfoot. And I was one of the coolest kids in the neighborhood! Man I miss those days.
When I was a kid loved these Tamiya kits never had the money to purchase them when really young but finally got some in my teens.
One of the best videos you have ever put out Phil! Really enjoyed that! Would love more Tamiya content from you (and Gav tbh) now Glenn at Tamiya Legends isnt so active. Great video and lovely to hear a nostalgic story
The Monster Beetle was my first “real” RC car at maybe 11 or 12. I got it because it had oil-filled shocks. I upgraded the motor and battery. I vividly remember building it. It was so fast and I loved it dearly.
I have never owned one but I have seen many over the years. the history behind Tamiya rc is so cool
I used to see them in old hobby shops as a kid
Maybe one day I’ll get one
I bought a TT01 with a Subaru Impreza WRC body from a junkyard in northern Japan. I guess someone left it on a vehicle that was sold to them. It was complete including battery and transmitter. It came with street tires and i lifted it slightly and put knobby tires on it, put a Reedy 540 mod motor on it and a dynamite NIMH pack. Talk about a blast! Wish i still had it
I started with a rc10t, that my uncle have me. He switched to rc airboats and gave me the truck. 30 years later, I'm still a huge fan of RC
OMG, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw your T-shirt at 2:45 because I had the exact same one. I did have a different Tamiya though - I had the 'Grasshopper'. Keep up the good work 👍
Really cool video! I had my first Tamiya in a beatties bag like that. It was a Mad bull.
The nostalgia:) I had hornet, grasshopper, bigwig, midnight pumpkin, hours of fun. Still love rc cars now. My dad is fanatical about rc planes, but I always liked the cars :)
Fell in love with Tamiya as a kid running those mini 4WD back in the 90s at the local hobby shop.
My first tamiya in 84 was a subaru brat bought from beatties in romford essex , between my son and I we have a rising fighter , rx fighter buggy , hotshot 2 and my favourite is a chrome edition lunchbox . The hotshot 2 has never been run and is coming up to about 16 years old . Happy times
Loved the 80's grainy television filter footage. It felt a bit like a commercial that would run during Saturday morning cartoons filling the brains of little children with pure Santa Claus wishes😂
I love the editing and style of this video! Definitely feels like you’ve put a good amount of care into this video!
I grew up in California playing with RC's in the 90's. My experience was pretty different. We had one hobby shop in our town and they had a few Tamiya's but nobody bought them. Losi, Traxxas, and Team Associated were the popular brands. Losi in particular. JRX Pro's and LXT's were killing it when they came out. Tamiya's at the time didn't have a lot of interchangeable parts. My friend had a Grasshopper 2. No oil shocks. I remember when we dinged part of the front suspension and the car was just cooked because it wasn't replaceable. I'm kind of shocked that people loved these so much.
Born in 1976. Tamiya dominated my childhood. As did the A-Team and Airwolf. I've got A Hornet, Avante, Fox and High Lift Hilux on my shelves and an original Rough Rider in a box somehwere. I'm never really sure where to bash them though 🧐
Ahh, memories! I got my first Tamiya in 1981, I was 12, it was the Ford F150. Put it together in boarding school in lovely Taunton, and there were about a dozen of us at school lucky enough to have Tamiya's. I'd love to find an original sand scorcher.
I have been restoring my original Fox. I have been doing my best to use new old stock parts.
In the process of getting the parts and items I need, I now have enough parts to build multiple buggies. I have one that's modern with brushless and carbon Fibre chassis that does wheelies!
Very enjoyable watch. Made sure I waited to watch this longer video when I could relax and watch it all in one go without distractions
Ahh the memories!!!
I started with a Riko buggy which was ssome form of scaled-down cousin of the grasshopper, in black. Then, for Christmas one year I got my first kit: Vanessa's Lunchbox! Objectively a bit rubbish, but I loved it!! Next was the Porsche Celica GrB! How I wish I still had that, as they're worth a small fortune. I then moved to Kyosho, for a beautiful Optima Mid Turbo SE. The carbon and gold anodising were amazing! 20-odd years later, and having sold all my old childhood buggies, I got into 1/8 nitro truggies and buggies, and then 1/5th gas, with Losi and HPI Baja 5SC, 5B SS and other variants. These days planes are my thing, but RC runs deep in the blood!!
I built Kyosho 1/8 nitro buggy MP-6 with OS .21 RZ- V99B racing engine, cut crank and all other good stuff. Only reason I could fix it was a brand new con rod marked $21.99! Every part was a different color aluminum, rainbow effect. Guess what? Kyosho skipped a year while track promoters got lazy and did away with jumps and bumps! New buggy was Yucci Kanai 7.5 buggy, total redesign with smaller lowered diff's, SG one piece engine crank, all aluminum was gold anodized parts. That was the end for me, I quit radio control racing and took up NASCAR stock car racing. First year was a joke, 2nd year with new car (74 Camaro) won first race! EVERYBODY hated my team(my R/C buddy was driver)
Building a Hornet at 10 years old in 1985 as my first hobby grade RC was the best experience!
I lived in Hemel Hempstead through the 1980s and 90s and remember visiting the RIKO shops and warehouse getting parts for my Falcon and dreaming of one day owning an Avante.
Things were much cooler back then I think
@TomleyRC Yeah, definitely. My friends and I also bought the Tamiya Jr.'s from there. I looked online recently for a Falcon Jr. and couldn't believe what they wanted for it. I wish that I'd kept mine.
Im 44 years old, the Hornet was my first proper RC. Good times
My first buggy was a Hornet, acoms radio, riko charger, 7.2volt hump pack on green crystal.. from Beatties, Birmingham had a blue bag.. when it first came out and getting it for Christmas and building it with my dad 😊❤ good days and memories. I’m 51 now 😊 love Tamiyas still.. Pete 👍👍😃
Thunder shot was my dream RC car as a kid... but my family were far from well off enough. I did get a QD version for Christmas though and I played with it for years until it finally gave up the ghost. Loved it even though it wasn't the big kit version.
I still have my Grasshopper from 1987.
Unlike that original hornet, the grasshopper rear end had hard mount pivots for the rear end and did not have the sudo-independent rear suspension.
I had bought the upgrade kit later and added the sliding pivot mount for mine.
When I joined the Air Force back in 84, my first duty station was Okinawa,JA. I purchased my first RC in early 86 and it was the Bruiser. Now I used drive a fully decked out 1980 Toyota 4x4 so that was my passion at the time. The price for Tamiya kits (in yen)used to be on each box on the side just below the Tamiya logo from the factory. If I remember right the Bruiser was listed for 39000 yen and the exchange rate in Japan was awesome back then…it was around 240-245 yen/dollar so yeah…I bought it for around $163. I kept the truck until 2021 when I moved back overseas and needed to downsize. I should’ve bought a few more but my focus was rc racing so I moved on with Kyosho as their kits were more competitive. Tamiya kits have their place an are fun to start off on.
I had the grasshopper back in the day. I waterproofed it with balloons and would go mudding with it. Super fun memories. Id love to find one to put on a shelf in my workshop
I miss the old Tamiya catalogs. My local hobbyshop had these and I was able to browse them and see all the rc models, and all the setup tips pages. New catalog each year with fantastic pictures. Premium stuff. I just bought the Celica tt02 yesterday , and have ordered some castorl decals for the rally version and other bits :-)
I started getting into the Rc hobby since 2013 when I was 16 years old. My very first Rc was the HPI Racing Sprint 2 Flux and it was quite expensive for a very first rc car especially when I was getting into rc 11 years ago. I feel like I made a mistake the time when I was 16-17 years old cause I remember Tamiya was there and I remember they were cheap, but there was one problem I had with them. They were meant to be kits only and you have to built them on your own. I didn’t have that skill to built one and I didn’t have anyone who knew how to built an rc car. I was more into RTRs at the time cause it was much easier to setup and just drive it around for fun. 11 years later for me at the age of 27, I bought myself a Group C Mercedes-Benz C11 Group C that came out 2 years ago as a pre released and I tried to built it myself. I was happy and excited and I now realized how much fun is building a Tamiya rc car really is! I ended up buying a TT02 SRX and then bought myself a F104 Pro 2 and started building those. I can’t believe I missed out so much on Tamiya kits and I slept on all of them for 11 years. As me growing older nowadays, I’ll be getting into building Tamiya kits or at least I will try to.
I definitely love the odd video of UA-camrs doing content about Tamiyas (old & new) so thanks for this one Phil, excellent stuff! I recently got back into RC cars with a TT-02 Impreza. It was great to be back into it but did not quite hit the spot. The full Tamiya experience HAS to be the classic huge box with beautiful painted art, bubble packed tech bits on show & the classic buggy styling! And of course, getting a set of bearings as an extra to substitute the plastic kit bushes...... I feel an Avante or BBX landing soon (no bearings to buy though 😜)
My first Tamiya was the Sand Rover and yes I remember the fast charger off the 12v car battery :)
I just bought a comical hornet, and it's so much fun to ride. A small 3300kv brushless, 2s Lipo, 20t pinion and that's enough to keep you smiling for 30 minutes
I got my first RC kit for Christmas 1980, was the original Holiday Buggy that I ended up building after Christmas lunch, and was driving it on boxing day 😊
It became my career from 1988 to 2000 when I joined Beatties at the young age of 19.
I ended up building the cars for the Christmas catalogues too.
A year ago I created this Hornet using the dt04 rear. The Hornet was my first car in 86 but always hated the rear bounce. Who knew Tamiya would steal my idea!😅
Tamiya was my and my brothers induction into the hobby r/c world,we started with a blackfoot,moved up to clodbusters,kyoshos,into rc 10.good times,stay up all night building then the firs5 drive the next day.good stuff
My first was the FOX in 1986 had it hopped up with bearings,Trinity Joel Johnson and Monster Stock, Front Sway Bar, Dropped Suspension, some MRP goodies and a Futaba ESC.
One of my earliest and fondest memories is seeing my brother run his Blackfoot around and me being mad because my little toy grade buggy couldn't keep up lol. Think it was actually a Niko of sum sort??? Really making me feel old Phil!
Brilliant video. I had a tamiya hornet for my for rc when I was 9..... I still have it too.... but it sits with approx 60 more vintage tamiya in my collection. Love your content. Always great watch!
Cheers Bruce Swallow
New Zealand
Awesome video about the history of Tamiya, thank you so much! My first Tamiya was a Mad fighter buggy, just bought a never build kit for the nostalgia!😍
Turned 50 this year ,got the tamiya bug about age 14 in 88 with a grasshopper ,got about 25 tamiyas today lol all time fave is the escort cosworth pilot ❤
I still have my Manta Ray in the garage, in it’s Beatties bag! 😂🤣
Memories 🤘
My first was a Frog!
(mainly as someone else had ths Hornet, and i didnt want to get the same)...
The endless video loop, of them bashing (?) in the dunes got me hooked 😁
Glad to see they're improving on the basic design, just could do with a slipper......