TOPIC:

Jonny wrote:

Remember it's Lars' website, he does all the architecture & is responsible for the overwhelming majority of the database content, and pays for all the bandwidth

That is true, now where was that PayPal donation link ..

That was a very thoughtfull reply

I do not mind if it takes a long time before I have all parts, but I would like to know if say something like 959 wishbones where last seen for sale around 2001 at 100USD a piece .. that would probably put me off that particular model

It's not only the build/restoration I'm looking forward too, but also the parts hunt, the trading, the learning process, the online warstories, the agony and the joy

I'd rather not use re-re parts or anything not made by Tamiya. I'm pretty good at restoring things in general and have a decent workshop. I could also make several parts (like metal brackets) but that would allways bug me until I get the proper part

It can be fun to make your own parts sure and one day I will also try to make something completely scratchbuild

I do not mind signs of wear (I actually like that), it will be run anyway. But for something like a 959 I'd probably get two bodies as it's a rather big job to get it good looking so it would be nice to have one to trash

Yeah, forgot about the Bruiser! After the BigWig the buggies started to look too sci-fi and too technically correct if that makes sense?

They all had shocks placed the right place, all 4WD, all centermotor and no visible tube/frame (like on the Hotshot/Frog) ... in short they became much butter but also much more boring

I do not know much about older cars like Sand Rover, Super Champ, Rough Rider, Blazer etc, those where a bit before my time

I may also pick up something cheaper and easier to start with. I really like the Falcon and since it hasen't been re-re'd I would have to get an old one

Hmm ...

So many cars, so little time!

Cheers,

Ole

Jonny wrote:

If that's your budget then I think getting a "new in box" (NIB) example of any of those is easily in reach, possibly even two even at the most expensive (older) end.

Bigwig parts are drying up, for example there used to be a reasonable supply (both in quantity and price) of the "sub chassis" (the part that clamps the battery in & adds stiffness to the tub, but I don't remember the last time I saw one (although I don't need one & haven't looked recently). Thing is, they've got popular and the finite supply of parts is being/has been used up, so what is left is getting increasingly expensive. The body is no problem if you don't mind a reproduction, decals too if you don't mind an "under the counter" transaction It'll cost a lot more and you might need to wait if it all has to be genuine.

The 959 has got increasingly popular so the same thing is happening, ditto body & decals, can't really comment on the rest as it's not a car I'm that in to, the Avante a bit less TBH.

The other cars you listed I've really no interest in TBH, anything after 1989 or so is a "plastic whizzy buggy" to me ... I guess it comes down to what interests you - and what was around whe you got in to RC in the first place. I remember seeing Holiday Buggies, Sand Rovers & Sand Scorchers, but the first car I had was a Grasshopper, I upgraded that to a Hornet, friends had those, Frogs, & maybe the odd older car like a Super Champ, later things like the Fox, Hot Shot, Bigwig, Wild One, later I also had (on sale cheap as it was an "old" kit at the time) a Willy's Wheeler, so that & the Wild Willy also make it to my list, but the the pinnacle at the time was considered to the Bruiser - it was so out of reach you only saw it in Tamiya catalogues, I don't remember the local hobby shops (LHSs) having one on display, I don't remember seeing it in magazine adverts either.

You also need to think about what you consider a restoration, your tolerance for used, repro, home made, reconditioned or re-release parts is, and what techniques/tools you have, for instance for instance I'm quite happy to do extensive stripping, rebuilding & filling of hard bodies + repainting, I'm quite happy to use small parts I've made myself where they'd be otherwise difficult or expensive to get, ditto for repro parts, I don't mind seeing the odd bit of wear/damage, I'm ok at refinishing plastic & metal parts ... and so on. I don't have a problem with that because I never try to pass anything off as original when it's not.

Other people might only be happy with using only brand new parts so their car looks in just built, time warp condition - or it could be they don't have the tools, skills or whatever to do anything else, or lack of time, or they like the chase for parts, or they like recreating the building from new experience they had as a youngster ...

TBH I think you can do what you like & it be a valid approach to the hobby ... but like most things, if you can throw money at a problem, life is a lot easier



One more thing - budgets can be a problem, it that you never know what something is going to cost until you add it up at the end & (sometimes) wish you hadn't - for instance, "upgrading" from a Super Clod Buster to an older model, complete with period radio gear & alloy wheels, refinishing the body & new genuine decals cost me less than 50 GBP, but that was very lucky - the Super Champ I finished recently after getting it "cheap" came to nearly what an NIB example would have cost, and probably 3 times what a release would have cost, and it still has flaws. if you can afford it (and I really can't in one hit) NIB kits hurt (badly) once, restoring a used car just spreads the pain out.

stingray-63 wrote:

Jonny,
Lars, you and Andy are the running trio. Without you, I think that it wouldn't be a so good forum.

And of course Edou

Ole,
You can buy a lunchy for 185€ and the rere is very similar to the original. Only the stering rods are bigger

Personally I have never spent more than £50 (about US$80) on buying any of my cars
Part of the fun (for me) is finding undiscovered bargains and doing things "on the cheap" (probably why I have so many unfinished projects).
$1500 is, as many have said, a generous budget and should allow you to find any of the cars on your list. I suppose it depends what you want. I would be too scared to drive a $1500 car! I'd rather have ten $150 cars

The Bigwig etc were a bit after my time. I prefer the early 80's stuff.
Sorry, I'm not being much help with my rambling, am I? I think Jonny pretty much summed it up.

Well, whatever you decide, it should be interesting!

P.S.

... restoring a used car just spreads the pain out.

...but makes it easier to hide the cost from the other half

I paid my last NIB oldies 500 french francs.... Some long times ago... (Delta HF, CClass D2, and TA02RS)Now, I'm like Martin. No more than 70 or 80€ per cars. But it is just because I haven't enough budget

Yeah, I'll do that (buy a Lunchie), I have no problem with re-res and will choose them over an original one

No BigWig/959 re-re though

Forgot about the Lancia Rally! I'm a big fan of Group B ..

Cheers,

Ole

Looking at the list of cars you made, I would give the following comments:

BigWig - Fun and futuristic looking model. Maybe not the most advanced to restore, but should be affordable to do.

959 - Just finished mine. The restoring is good fun, the chassis is high tech and the body is hard to finish nicely. Be prepared to fork out quite a lot of money, depending how "new" you would want it to look. Suspension parts are hard to find, as they are know to break.

Avante - Excellent chassis (for restoring) also easier to find parts if you don't mind reissue parts. Still among the more pricey ones to restore. The Avante was known for breaking easily, so be careful if driving it.

Vanquish - Haven't done my yet, but it's close to the Avante design-wise, but still a lower spec. Not reissued yet, so harder to find parts. More durable than the Avante, I've heard.

Terra Scorcher - In my view a quite basic model, but one of the best performing runners, I'm told. The chassis is also durable. The chassis has been reissued so parts should be easy to find cheap.

Egress - Has been reissued, but vintage models are still expensive. Chassis is in the Avante family, only featuring more hop-ups (carbon, etc). Should be good fun to restore and drive, if you dare, but probably pricey.

Thundershot - Same as the Terra Scorcher, but the entire model was reissued some time, so even the body should be easier to replace.

Thanx for the list. That is also what my research says ..

Yeah, the BigWig is not super advanced, but it looks so cool. I drooled over it back then

Looking at your 959 thread I think it may be a too big task to start out with and the other cars mentioned doesn't really get heart pounding and I'd also rather not restore one that can be bought as a re-re

So I guess it's the BigWig for me

Cheers,

Ole

I restored 1 terra scorcher wich was in a enough good state and I had cleaned up the bloody thundershot. To have a future runner wich is 97% complete. I paid 70 and50€ for them. The only problem on the chassis are the upper screws holes wiches maintains the front gearbox