TOPIC:

Ever since I first found out about the new releases of the vintage vehicles, I've been thinking about the names. Why did TAMIYA call them differently from the originals? I mean, the Super Champ for instance, it is called "Fighting Buggy" today, and Rough Rider is "Buggy Champ" Why? Such cheap and nonsence names!? Why not just call it "Super Champ 2014"? It was re-released 2014. The Sand Scorcher name hasn't changed. Why?

It would make much more sence to simply call it what it was originallny named. That way there will never be any missunderstanding.

What do you guys think? Would you mind terribly if I called my Buggy Champ "Rough Rider 2009"?

AFAIK "Rough Rider" and "Super Champ" were what the originals were called only in western markets, in Japan they were originally the "Buggy Champ" & "Fighting Buggy", so the re-releases are named "correctly" after the original Japanese releases.

In some ways calling the re-releases "Buggy Champ" & "Fighting Buggy" can be helpful - although on the surface they look to be faithful recreations, in close up a lot of the details are quite different & it does avoid confusion in a slightly more subtle way than "Sand Scorcher" vs "Sand Scorcher 2010" ... if you want to call yours a "Rough Rider 2009" is still obvious what it is, so if it makes you happy, why not


On a similar note, I wonder what the inevitable "Ranger" SRB re-release will be called ... The original was "correctly" called the "Ford F-150 Ranger", but even that was wrong as the "Ranger" part referred to a higher trim level, when the body clearly had "Custom" (meaning supplied as poverty spec, but with a list of options available) moulded in. Later incarnations of the body have changed the grille, removed the "Ford" and "Custom" references, so who can tell ...

Thank you for your thorough reply Jonny. It makes total sense, Tamiya simply named their re-releases in the japanese original names correctly translated. Ok, but now I'm even more confused, in a happy way, but still it is kind of unsettling. I'm not really comfortable yet, maybe I will get used to it. I will certainly try.