TOPIC:

Hi Folks,

First post here as a new member, firstly I would like to say I hope I am in the right place to ask these questions and secondly I thanks anyone in advance for your replies on my questions. and sorry a about the long spiel and questions

Brief background, I have owned when I was in my teens a Mud Blaster and a Porsche 959 4WD, just runners at that stage but now I have the appreciation for restoration and or vintage RC. I remember very well going into my Local Hobby Store as a kid and looking up at the Sand Scorcher/Super Champ, Wild Willy etc and saying wow I would love to own something like that.

So I am looking at the following cars as either restorations or NIB builds, I like the new stuff but I would much prefer to build original vintage and all new or as mostly new and original as possible.

So the Cars I am looking to do initially are:

CAR A: Sand Scorcher
CAR B: The Frog
CAR C: Super Champ
CAR D: Rough Rider
CAR E: Wild Willy

Folks, My questions are:

1. If there were a NIB of any of these cars, is the this best way to buy and build over purchasing individual parts in terms of cost, I would only buy the NIB to build the vehicle anyway?

2. For the most part CAR A and the availability of original parts sold separately would it be cheaper to buy the original parts separately than a NIB?

3. CARS A,B & D have the Re-Release Versions now available, is anything considered the same as the Vintage versions of these vehicles so I can maintain 100% Vintage Originality. Ok what I mean is, if the Wheels are exactly the same as they were 30+ years ago to ones made today. This could be a general list of things that have not changed at all between the original back in the day to today, I hope this question makes sense.

4. Can someone recommend apart from ebay the best place for classifieds if I need to buy something specific that is hard to find?

5. What should I expect to pay for for the following cars NIB

CAR A: Sand Scorcher
CAR B: The Frog
CAR C: Super Champ
CAR D: Rough Rider
CAR E: Wild Willy

6. 5. What should I expect to pay for for the following cars made up of original parts not re-release or remakes?

CAR A: Sand Scorcher
CAR B: The Frog
CAR C: Super Champ
CAR D: Rough Rider
CAR E: Wild Willy

7. In terms of parts, is the best place to get the FULL list of original parts is from the back page of each Manual, it doesn't seem to List larger Parts of each car, please correct me here but is this my best source for a complete List if I am building from parts?

Thanks so much in advance for anyone being able to take the time to read my post and to respond, with regards Mat.

Welcome, Mat.

Let me try to answer some things of which I know I can give a decent reply...
I suspect that if you get all the seperate parts, you'll end up spending more than buying a NIB.
And there is something special about building it from the original kit...

The rereleases are all very close to the originals.
I would say there are only minor differences.
I know of the rear window in the Scorcher being different for example.
Other guys will be able to tell you much more.

Local sites and garage finds (!) would be the best alternative for eBay - when it comes to vintage cars.
For rerelease parts there are many other options.

And yes, the data sheet at the back of the manual is usually the best source for info.
But Tamiyabase is being developed so data sheets, individual parts info and possibly exploded views can be found.

Hope that was helpful.

Hi Edou,

Many thanks for that, I suspected this would be the case and I guess its just a waiting game to see when they may appear around, not that I have that sort of money to do all at once but certainly I would like to start with a Sand Scorcher.

I will start looking around here for some more info and thank you also for the details about the parts, very handy to know.

Edou many thanks again for your information and welcoming me to the site also, it's much appreciated and you have pointed me in the right direction.

As a photographer by trade, I look forward to the photo opportunities coming up even though they will be shelved and never run, again many thanks Edou for your assistance

With regards

mat

Welcome Mat. I am fairly new here too, so don't have the same experience as some of the other guys here. However, you may be interested in my opinion as I am currently sourcing parts for my Sand Scorcher.
1. The "best way" to build a car is up to you really. Vintage NIB models fetch a lot of money, so (IMHO) are not the way to go if you want to build a car. As soon as you take it out of the box, you slash the value. On the other hand some people like to build vintage kits - in which case go for it!
I would say a good way is to look for complete secondhand cars on ebay (or similar) - however there is a lot of competition for these so be patient. Buying individual parts will always work out more expensive that buying complete models - just look at the number of people making money on ebay by buying "shed find" cars and breaking them into individual parts
If you can afford it, I would say buy several "basket case" models and take the best parts from each, then sell the remaining parts. This will be cheaper in the long run, but may present short term "cash flow" problems.

2. Depends what you mean by "NIB"? If you mean a new-in-box, ORIGINAL 1980's kit, then no. A NIB Sand Scorcher will be worth maybe GBP

Hi, Welcome on board

There

Hi folks, wow, thank you all so very much for your detailed and very helpful replies, I think I should start by saying I am after Brand new Cars which I will shelf, I wont be putting any electronics into these particular cars, maybe others down the track but not these ones.

And to clarify I was after NIB as I thought this would be the only way to get a new Car that is original and Vintage, I mean the box and its contents of packaging would end up in a cupboard somewhere.

If it is possible to find an original specimen unused and a shelf queen all of its own then I would opt for that.

I am truly after original and original box art to the tea, no modifying from the original I want to keep them 100% faithful to the model.

So in some opinions and this is where this becomes my own personal preference at the end of the day, I would like to build the original vintage, but buying in bits is more expensive and the additional value is in the box so I don't think I will win out either way lol.

But that is ok, so if it is best just to go for the NIB or Maybe after someone's shelf queen which is also faithful to the original I would go that way. The only downer there is I would be building anything but I am actually happy with that with these models if it is a way I can get them.

If there were a list of parts again that I could use re-re I would do that, maybe another thread to ask that question on each particular car.

I am hoping to start with the Sand Scorcher or Super Champ.

Folks your all legends with getting back to me, really appreciate it heaps and boy now lots to think about and decide, bottom line original and faithful to the car and keeping its appearance in every way.

Cheers Mat

Jonny wrote:

... (this is NOT the same as the average eBay seller thinks of as

hi Martin,

Thanks for he links, awesomely impressive and very inspiring. I guess what is great to know is I have already established a community here that is serious about the hobby and clearly more than enough help if I need it down the track if resto work is required.

Lots to look at here, thanks Martin and thank you other guys also, cheers and have a great day