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Old-fashioned Tamiya Remote Control Cars Are Still As Good As Their Present-day Counterparts

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by: geofftaylor
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Word Count: 600
Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2011 Time: 7:03 PM

There's a lot more to these kits than just sentimentality. They really are brilliantly mass-produced in view of their age and compared to scores model cars available at this moment, made by other brands, they appear to be a great deal more robust. I recall all the way back in the 1980s believing that other brands like Kyosho and Schumacher machined much higher quality built radio controlled cars and to be honest, that was true but they did come at a superior cost. The cost of running a Schumacher CAT for example would be much more then that of a Tamiya Grasshopper. If you where not bothered about serious racing at professional race clubs, you could have equal amounts of fun with either. Obviously the wealthy kids would take part in the national race meetings with their parents money behind them, and if we where ever to come across each other down the local track, us Tamiya owners would receive a beating.

The downside to these better spec cars was after all, that a lot of racing meetings I visited you would realise that the 4 wheel drive finals would be all Schumacher CATs, Kyosho Optima Mids and the single PB Maxima. Not much variety then and unquestionably not a realistic driver shape in sight. These rc cars all apppeared the same and lacked character. Back at the park however, there was a mixture of Frogs, Hornets, Wild Ones and Rough Riders and as a show, it was a much more affectionate and happy place to be. Each rc car had its individual driver figure, and they even had there individual names. The design of these cars was so different it was favorable on the eye. Diversity is the spice of life after all. I'm sure the CAT fans would stand in awe at what their top end cars could achieve, but did they really generate that relationship that only a child who has aspired to owning their dream toy and finally got one for Christmas could possibly have?

I use the word gadget very loosely as Tamiya kits in the 1980s where loads more than just that, They where something we would in the end know on a component level and we would infinitely try to advance them with upgrades and more powerful motors which we would save for with our spending money and install individually with a tool stolen from Dad's shed.

Stop by your regional Tamiya outlet today and you will discover it full of mid thirties to mid fourties men, as is usual accompanied by a most bewildered and uninterested wife in toe, looking and drooling over a grasshopper or a Hornet kit on the shelves. There can't be many toys that have had such an impact on a generation of men, that thirty years on, they are comprehensively drawn back to them.

Have you ever got your ancient Commodore 64 or Spectrum out of the garage and plugged it in? Despite the fact I have a devotion for these also, they are always a bit disappointing and after the primary fond memories had gone, you will in due time find yourself bored stiff, packing it away again. But not with Tamiya kits though. They are as superb today as they have forever been and with more and more retro re-releases being announced apparently by the day, their popularity is as big as ever. Those of you who tried in vain to get their hands on the present incarnation of the Fast Attack Vehicle will comprehend what I'm speaking about.