RC Models
The Frog, released in 1983, was an improvement on the previous year's Brat release. It featured an updated differential, ball bearings, oil shocks, and a lighter polycarbonate body. The Frog was very popular and marked the beginning of Tamiya's use of animal themes to draw inspiration for its vehicle designs and colours – an idea that proved extremely popular and which was continued through a number of kits. The Frog kit was also re-released in 2005, though with a few alterations such as more reliable dog bone type universal shafts and an Electronic Speed Controller. The Frog's lower price and weight (compared to the earlier Rough Rider), began the 1/10 scale offroad racing phenomenon. However, its role in racing was limited with the release the following year of the Team
Associated RC10.
The Grasshopper, released in 1984, was a two-wheel-drive off-road radio-controlled buggy. It was very rugged and featured a simple construction and was Tamiya's most affordable buggy. It featured a bathtub chassis holding a simple rigid axle in the rear and single wishbone front suspensions in the front. Its 380-sized motor meant it was among Tamiya's slower models at the time, though its lighter ABS plastic bathtub chassis helped put its speed only a little behind that of the earlier, heavier Special Racing Buggies. It was also much more economical on batteries and overall it was the ideal off-roader for the first-time hobbyist which also made it very popular. The Grasshopper kit was re-released in 2005 with a few alterations.
The Hornet, released in 1984, was a two-wheel drive off-road radio-controlled buggy which was quite fast and rugged. It shared most components with the Grasshopper, though it was faster and lighter due to a polycarbonate (lexan) body. It would go on to become one of the most popular R/C kits of all time and was re-released in December 2004 with a few alterations. There was also a sequel, the Super Hornet, which was released in 1994 and was still being manufactured exclusively for the Australian market until 2006, making it one of the longest running Tamiya kits in history.
The Hotshot, released in 1985, Tamiya's first four-wheel-drive off-road buggy. It broke new ground for Tamiya and also enthusiasts, and was the car to beat in 1/10-scale buggy racing when it was released. It featured four-wheel independent double-wishbone suspension, a unique mono-spring suspension that used only two springs for the entire four wheels. For its time, the car was light, rugged and upgradeable. In the years that followed parts of the Hotshot were evolved and reused in several other 4WD buggy models including the Hotshot 2 (which was identical aside from simpler direct rear suspension), the Boomerang, the Super Sabre and Tamiya's 10th Anniversary car, the Bigwig. In 2007 the Hotshot was re-released. An ESC is included instead of a mechanical speed controller and the body has a metal patch functioning as a heatsink to dissipate heat from the ESC, dog-bone shafts are simplified, hexa bolt and hexa cup universal for connecting front and rear gear boxes are discarded and a simpler dog-bone shaft is adapted. Because of ESC the original heatsinks on resistors for the mechanical speed controller are no longer necessary, but are included as dummies as they are unique to the Hotshot. Other parts and designs are identical. Unfortunately there remain some minor problems with Hotshot: bump steer, the front wishbones rubbing on the inside of the front wheels and the front spring's attachment point to the lower wishbones being weak.
The Bruiser 1/10-scale radio-controlled pickup truck, released in 1985, had a working three-speed transmission which could be shifted via radio control, a high-torque RS-750SH motor and an ultra-realistic Toyota Hilux body with sleeper cab and interior detail. The steel frame, leaf suspension, front and rear axle and steering were patterned after their full-sized counterparts. This complex model has since become one of the most collectible of all Tamiya R/C cars. It featured a mechanically shiftable 3-speed transmission, using a 3rd radio channel. It would run in 4x4 mode in the lowest gear only. No other RC car or truck of the time offered shiftable mechanical transmission making it highly realistic.
The original Blackfoot monster truck kit and its variations, first released in 1986, was credited with much of the hobby's growth. The Blackfoot line included the original Blackfoot, Super Blackfoot and King Blackfoot, all sharing the same ORV spaceframe chassis first used in Frog but featuring some improvements. The Blackfoot Extreme used the chassis from the Wild Dagger. The Blackfoot was a Ford F-150 despite its inspiration being drawn from the real Bigfoot monster truck which was a Ford F-250. The Monster Beetle, now a very collectable model, was nearly identical to the Blackfoot with the addition of gold wheels, oil filled shocks and of course the Volkswagen Beetle bodyshell.
Vanessa's Lunchbox, actually a 1/12-scale kit due to its monster truck design and short wheelbase, was released in 1987. It made use of the strong Grasshopper/Hornet gearbox and had an exceptionally detailed hard body shell of a Dodge van, heavily inspired by the real monster truck Rolin' Thunder. It was a "fun" vehicle, having poor stability and performing long wheelies, and in many respects was therefore similar to real monster trucks of the (then) future. This also made it one of the more popular models and it was re-released in 2005 with only minor modifications. A metallic gold edition followed in 2007. Midnight Pumpkin is a sister truck to the Lunchbox that used the same chassis, gearbox, suspension and tyres. It was also based on a real monster truck, Frankenstein, although the model was mostly black instead of the yellow worn by the real truck. In early 2006, a metallic chrome edition was released.
The Clod Buster 1/10-scale radio-controlled monster truck was released in 1987 as the first Tamiya R/C monster truck with two drive motors, four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. Each of the front and rear axles were identical, and the motor is attached to the axle itself, making it a very simple design. This simple design allowed the axles to be used in modified vehicles. The Clod Buster spawned an aftermarket industry of its own which catered to those who wished to modify their models to "crawlers", specialized vehicles designed to climb steep and rugged surfaces. The Clod Buster has remained popular since its introduction and produced the Super Clod Buster. The Clod Buster was also released with a detailed semi truck body, as the Bullhead. The Clod Buster still has a large aftermarket following with many companies designing parts for rock crawling as well as trailer pulling and racing. The main reason for its contunied use is its ultra-strong gearboxes.
The Avante, released in 1988. This was a car specifically designed to return Tamiya to the forefront of R/C racing. Its unique design featured an FRP chassis, aluminium components everywhere and almost limitless adjustments. Unfortunately it was somewhat over engineered – The car was too heavy, too fragile, dynamically inept, and uncompetitive. However it is still a highly desirable model to a Tamiya collector because of the unique and uncompromising engineering that went into it.
The Egress is the follow-up to the Avante, with material that was advanced for the time. Unlike the Avante it has simplified suspension and a longer wheelbase arrangement that was seen in Vanquish/Avante2001. Avante drivetrain is carried forward except with balldiffs F/R and one-way bearing in the middle. Like the Avante it was a no expense is spared car, it even came with Platinum hi-cap dampers, a full set of blue-rubber-sealed bearings, graphite chassis plates and towers, alloy hardware and titanium screws.
The Astute was Tamiya's first attempt to build a serious 2WD competition car. The car came equipped with everything that was needed to make the car competitive including ball diff, ball-raced gearbox, oil-filled dampers at each corner, front anti-roll bar and an all adjustable suspension geometry. The unusual step of installing metal bushes in all suspension pivot points was taken, which reduces the amount of slop in the suspension due to flexing and slows down the rate of wear in these joints. Although fully adjustable this did add extra weight and complexity and it may be for these reasons that it was never very widely used on the racing scene. Jamie Booth did win the European championship in 1991 with a modified and simplified Astute with parts from Tamiya Madcap. Some of his modifications were later found on the Super Astute which addressed many of the faults of its predecessor.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo was a TA-01 chassis kit (packaged with an R32 GT-R body) released in 1991. The TA-01 chassis was derived from the Manta Ray buggy with shorter arms, narrower wheels and radial tires. This kit wasn't the first TA-01 kit (which was the Toyota Celica GT-Four Rally), nor was the TA-01 the first chassis to be designed to be fitted with a touring car body (as there had been body kits that were designed to fit into buggies). Due to its popularity this Skyline GT-R kit was credited for creating the touring car craze during the early 1990s as well as the chassis introducing the one-make low-cost racing known as the Tamiya Racing Championship.
The TR-15T was one of the first gas-powered stadium trucks to be released on the market. Unfortunately the TR-15T was not a commercial success and was discontinued quickly. Nowadays the car is one of the more collectible RC models commanding over $450 in a mint boxed unopened condition.
The Juggernaut was an attempt to create a true monster truck, bigger than any previously attempted in the R/C world. It featured 4×4 and four-wheel steering with a tire diameter of 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) and weighing one pound (0.45 kg) each. It remains as one of the biggest and failures in Tamiya's history. It featured two rigid axles but, unlike Clod Buster, two motors were located in the central gear box in tandem. From the central gear box two universal shafts connected to front and rear axles. Its massive weight of 4.5 kg, combined with low gear ratios necessary to provide enough torque to move the monster, would simply destroy the bevel gears in the axle in one run. Tamiya quickly revised many parts: The bevel gears in the axle received reinforcements of more bearings and lower gear ratios. Released in 1999 Juggernaut would have received a prominent feature in the 2000 Tamiya Catalog signaling that Tamiya was back in monster trucks after the 13 years since Clod Buster. Due to its catastrophic failure Juggernaut is not featured in any of the yearly catalogs at all. Instead the revised and re-colored Juggernaut 2 appears in the 2001 catalog along with the Mammoth, a Juggernaut 2 based Mammoth Dump truck. Juggernaut 2 and Mammoth both retained the complex link suspension and leaf springs that did not allow adequate articulation, giving them a very bouncy ride.
The TXT-1 (Tamiya Extreme Truck) 1/10 scale radio control monster truck was released in 2002. The axles and gears are almost entirely identical to Juggernaut 2, with slightly bigger diameter universal shafts. With TXT-1 Tamiya engineers shifted attention from simply building a massive monster truck to a very capable rock crawler. This truck, which is still in production, was designed as a factory response to aftermarket Clodbuster upgrades. Four wheel drive, and cantilever multi-link suspension allow for the axle articulation featured in third party kits such as the Clodzilla series. The new truck dispensed with the unreliable four wheel steering of Juggernaut 1 and 2's single under-powered servo sat in the center of the vehicle. Instead the TXT would mount one servo to steer the front wheels only. As an option the rear axle can also mount a servo allowing all 4 wheels to steer. Tamiya engineers attended USHRA monster truck events in order to improve the scale appearance of the TXT and duplicate full-size suspension designs. Having fixed all the Juggernaut's suspension problems and with improved chassis and steering it remains one of the most capable crawlers.
The TRF414 series radio-controlled cars was holder of the 2002–04 IFMAR ISTC 1/10-scale electric
touring car world champion title. The TRF414 was created in response to Tamiya's customer demands for a more adjustable and efficient touring car than the TA03. It was the first Tamiya touring car to depart from the previous gear-driven layouts used in the TA01/02 and TA03, instead employing two unequal-length belts to transmit the power to all four wheels with only one geared step. The TRF414M2 was a popular touring car due to its low cost relative to other cars in its class.
The TRF415 holder of the 2004–06 IFMAR ISTC 1/10-scale radio-controlled electric touring car world champion title.
The TA01/TA02 chassis series from the early-mid-1990s were sold with various body shells. The TA01 was based on Tamiya's Manta Ray buggy and was one of the first kits on the market to be sold with a realistic body coupled with a capable, easy-handling 4WD chassis. Some of these body shells are among the most realistic and detailed lexan bodies ever made by any manufacturer. Models worthy of note are the E30 BMW M3, W201 Mercedes 190E 2.5–16 Evolution-II, Ford Escort RS Cosworth and the Lancia Delta Integrale. Tamiya re-released the bodies recently, either sold separately or bundled with a TT-01 kit.
The TL-01/TL-01LA/TL-01B/TL-01RA chassis, released from the mid-'90s to the late '90s, was an innovative shaft-driven 4WD touring chassis with a narrow three-piece vertically sandwiched chassis design. Its characteristics include high durability and low cost, making it an excellent starting car for beginners. Like the TA01/TA02 it was released with many different rally, touring and sports car bodies and incorporated various minor modifications throughout its production run. Tamiya released the TL-01 with modified with long arms and buggy size wheels to as the TL-01B marketed as the Baja Champ and later Baja King buggies. The TL-01 remains one of the more popular Tamiya chassis today.
The TLT-1 is a small truck of about 1/15 scale. It is a scaled-down version of TXT-1. Light weight and TXT-1 style suspension system makes it a very capable little climber. It has quickly became widely known as one of the most versatile RC cars for projects for scale rock crawling, a hobby that is starting to make itself noticed by the general RC market. Like the Clod Buster, its axles are highly desirable.
Nitro Thunder is a 4×4 buggy powered by a .15 glow engine. It utilizes an off-road racing buggy chassis called NDF-01. Just as TNX has shown promise in racing circuits the NDF-01 is a smaller 1/10 sized off-road racer. Use of a resin tub chassis, instead of aluminum, and a frontal impact control system that absorbs shocks from a collision indicate that Nitro Thunder is built with young racers in mind. Adjustability of the suspension, rear exhaust and full ball bearings are features often found in models for experienced racers. Just as Kyosho offers scaled-down 1/10 buggy of their 1/8 buggies for inexperienced racers Nitro Thunder is Tamiya's entry into the 1/10 buggy market. Nitro Blaster is an identical buggy with different exterior.
The TA05, released in spring 2005, is the replacement for the TRF414-derived TA04 line of touring cars. The chassis is a clean-sheet design featuring a twin-belt drivetrain utilizing two equal-length belts, a center-mounted motor and a low layshaft, resulting in a nearly 50/50 front–back weight distribution. The car is very popular with touring car racers due to its ease of set-up and its relatively low-maintenance drivetrain. Tamiya marketed the TA05 with various sports and racing car bodies and Tamiya also released the TA05-IFS (Inboard Front Suspension) along with the limited-edition TA05MS (Maezumi Satoshi), and the hopped-up TA05R (containing the most popular TA05 upgrades) in spring 2007. The IFS features an inboard front suspension with pushrod-activated laydown shocks (as opposed to standup shocks attached directly to the suspension arm), which is a first for a 1/10 scale electric mainstream touring car. The chassis can be bought with various low-slung bodies such as the Vemac RD350 body in Ebbro Team Nova's livery (who participated in the GT300 class in the 2007 JGTC), the GT500 Lexus SC430 (in various liveries), and the 2007 Raybrig NSX.
Tamtech
Tamtech, released in 1986, is a series of smaller radio controlled cars which can be quickly assembled and driven, powered by a 7.2v battery. The first two cars released were the Porsche 962 followed shortly by the Lancia LC2. Seven 1/24 cars have been released with the other five being: BMW GTP, Ford Mustang Probe, Ferrari Testarossa, Porsche 961 and Lamborghini Countach 5000QV. Tamiya turned next to 1/14 F1 cars releasing only three: Ferrari 643, Lotus 102B and McLaren MP4/6. Finally one 1/18 monster truck, Max Climber, was made before the Tamtech line was dropped in favor of the QD ready to run cars. In 1988 Tamiya released a scale model of the Porsche 962 using the Tamtech body, however accurate, many modelbuilders and enthusiasts of the Group C/IMSA GTP racer cited the rear bulk of the engine hatch is bigger than that of the full-sized counterpart. Much of the car's lack of real success was because the popularity of the large sized counterpart meant that there were very little demand for small-scale RC cars. The Tamtech cars would later influence other RC car manufacturers including Kyosho to build miniature RC cars, such as their own highly successful Mini-Z series and RadioShack's popular XMODS.
RC Gliders
Tamiya offers a couple of Radio Controlled gliders with wingspans around 6 ft. (2 metres). Peak Spirit has a foldable propeller that can be deployed when necessary. Alt Stream is an unpowered RC glider.
Quick Drive
The QD (Quick Drive) Series are 1:14 scale pre-built and simplified versions of Tamiya's 1/10 scale RC cars and trucks. This series was introduced in 1988 with the Thunder Shot QD aimed at bringing the joys of RC racing to children. The models were pre-assembled and supplied ready-to-run with radio gear, batteries and charger all included and featuring a two-speed gearbox. The range included versions of the Midnight Pumpkin, Manta Ray and Monster Beetle.
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