TOPIC:

Got my first buggy when I was twelve - a Tamiya Grasshopper 2. But got frustrated quickly at the damage resulted from a really good run. So got myself a Tamiya Dirt Thrasher with ESC, Technigold motor & pistol grip radio transmitter. Was a much more reliable buggy provided I could stay clear of bad luck & stupidity. Once I finished high school the buggies was shelved for over a decade while I worked on the education, career & eventually a family. It was thanks to my young son (7 at the time) I was drawn back into the hobby. I restored the two buggies to their former glory, gave the 4WD to my son & sold the grasshopper. It didn't take long to realise that there was money in restoring old Tamiya RC vehicles. Which helped subsidise my own hobby & we all have a fleet of Team Losi RC vehicles. I stopped restoring when the govt messed up the import laws & increased the import costs. All they really achieved is killing off many of the part time hobbies around the country. Still have a few vintage shelf queens - Jrx2 & XXXB G+ buggies, fluorescent green RC10 team buggy, Optima Mid & Scorpion buggies. Then there's the Tamiyas - Hilux 4x4 highlift, Super Champ, Boomerang, Super Sabre & a re-release Super Hotshot. Also have a NIB re-release Buggy Champ kit with all of the aluminium upgrades they made for this model. Was going to be a father & son build but he insisted on Team Losi like the rest of the family & I can't blame him. I've recently got into air brushing & with practice hope to be able to do decent graphic paint schemes but need more practice doing the masking. Have a wee stash of vintage new/used parts & will help if can. So hello everyone, my name in s John.

Welcome on board chap, I'm sure we'd all like to see some photos of your collection

I can't help thinking "It's too orangey for crows" when I see/hear the words "Kia Ora" though

Welcome to the forum, John.

I tried & failed to load a few pictures. Are guessing there's a file size limit so have sussed it out & resized the pictures. Hopefully it works this time.

Hi, and welcome!
Max file size for upload is 4MB.
Just hit "Insert" after you have used the "Add File" button, and the images will be shown in big size in the forum.

larbut wrote:

Hi, and welcome!
Max file size for upload is 4MB.
Just hit "Insert" after you have used the "Add File" button, and the images will be shown in big size in the forum.

Thanks, I think the iPad pictures are normally 6+MP at least. Have found a nice easy app to not only change the size/resolution but it offers some cool picture editing options. Will have to take more pictures & have a play. I had some really nice pictures of the Super Sabre but did a Homer Simpson & accidentally deleted them. But like all of the Tamiyas I've kept its a true shelf queen & it would be safe to say that I'm mostly into offroad buggies. There must be a huge amount of collectors out there these days as it's become a lot harder to get anything decent at a reasonable price. One thing that has always really puzzled me about eBay USA is why so many put absurdly insane massive prices on things listed on eBay? Are they just "get rich merchants" or have the drugs have muddled their brain so much that they have a poor grasp on reality? I regularly do a "vintage Tamiya" search & some of the results really make me laugh. Does anyone here (especially if you're American) have any thoughts or wisdom regarding this?

The wing on the Super Hotshot has been changed back to the original as I like them box art.

Welcome on board John,
PM sent

Haere mai, Where about's in Aotearoa are you? Couple of nice cars you have there

andyaus wrote:

Haere mai, Where about's in Aotearoa are you? Couple of nice cars you have there

I'm in Taranaki on the coast.

rcmadkiwi wrote:

andyaus wrote:

Haere mai, Where about's in Aotearoa are you? Couple of nice cars you have there

I'm in Taranaki on the coast.

I'm from the Manawatu originally, I remember heading over to New Plymouth to race the nationals in the late 90's. Wow that seems an eon ago