It all began when my mother bought me my first remote control car for my 10th birthday. It was a Tamiya 1/24 Tamtech Porsche 962C complete car kit. As the time went, I gradually jumped into bigger scale RC's so I never thought I would go back to small scale cars. When we finally got pets in the house, I wanted something that was able to run inside my house during the winter and also chase my cats around. hehehe.
A trip took me back to Hong Kong in the year '93. My sister gave me some cash one day, so I headed out and bought myself a second Tamiya 1/24 Tamtech. I got the Ferrari Testorossa this time and immediately replaced the body for the one from the Tamiya Honda NSX plastic model. After a while I finally got tired running the Tamtech, so I decided to chop up my Tamtech and build something of my own creation. I picked up a 3mm fibre glass sheet, and fabricated a fibre glass chassis at tech class. After a few classes, I finally ended up with a miniature monster truck from my amputated Tamtech along with parts from a Tamiya 1/32 King Cab (damn, I wish I took pictures).
I managed to fry the electronics on it's maiden run. The current got very weak, too weak for it to brake when I got the thing moving. I remember I got the thing running and saw it slam into the wall at my friend's place and fried the CPR. I was still using the same gearing designed for the small Tamtech tires to haul big monster truck tires! I sent the CPR unit to Kyosho and got it back 4 months later. After I got it back, everything was fine but the brake wouldn't function any more. I thought, that's alright, cause I was just happy I got it back.
After I got the CPR unit back, I decided I didn't wanna fuss with the monster truck anymore as I don't wanna blow my CPR again. My sister's bf (at the time) picked up a toy 1/32 wire control tank hauler from Can Tire (which was a mini rendition of the Tamiya 1/16 King Hauler with tank trailer) for 10 bucks to which I ended up converting into wireless rc. After months of pounding the mini hauler, the plastic where the rear drive shafts spin were rubbing away. I had no way to fix it. So I took out all the electronics and trashed the tank hauler.
I went back to the monster truck chassis again, but this time I replaced the monster truck wheels with the orginal Tamtech set. I had something else in mind. I started by shaving the rear wheels to make them narrower and slapped on the body from a 1/32 Tamiya Isuzu Mu (Amigo) kit. This thing kicks ass!! Well, at least my cat's! Currently, I have replaced the previous body with one from a new kit, but have yet to paint it and finish off my project. The chassis itself has undergone changes as well. I have replaced and upgraded the electronics from time to time.
This is an RC car I bought when i revisited HK in '99. A simple, ready to run car with single speed but full functions. I paid 230hkd for it.
There used to be a small hobby shop at Pacific Mall called "Option Hobbies." While consigned my HPI RS4, I notice they had a scrapped Tamtech in a small box. I intended to pick it up for my friend, but ended up keeping it. When i went home, I found out that the Tamtech i just got for 10 bucks was very much complete (but without electronics). The chassis was cut in some places and modified by the previous owner. A short while after, I went to my nearby hobby store and the owner gave me an ABC Honda Beat body for free! The guy initially bought the body for his ABC DTM, and decided to have the open top option on the Beat. He painted the body and put everything together only to find that it didn't have enough room for the electronics. He went back, and demanded to trade for another body, because the Beat "didn't fit" the DTM (what an idiot). The storekeeper had no use for it, since it was painted and done relatively bad, so he offered it to me. So now, my tamtech cost almost peanuts. The electronics ended up costing helluvalot compared to the cost of the car. I set up the Tamtech with a Hi-tech micro reciever and an FMA mini 5s to handle and used the reciever pack from my 1/10 scale nitro car. I then used 320 grit sandpaper to shave the wheels so I could cap Tamiya 1/24 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) plastic model rims on it. This thing drives alright, and the speed of the original motor is still in pretty good shape. I have since took out the electronics and shelved it until I can replace the chassis (12/19/03)
I got this kit on my 20th birthday. I took my friend to the store and he only paid 80CDN for it! I setup the M-24 with the Futaba MCR2C CPR unit I got from HK. Then I topped it off with an ABC NSX GT body I got a year ago, (oringinally intended for the Tamtech). I airbrushed the body in Castrol livery, all with Pactra polycarbonate paint. I have recently took out the electronics and shelved it until I can figure out what kind of combo I'm gonna drop in.
I got this from my (ex) girlfriend as an anniversary present. I love this toy! I painted the body the color of my girlfriend's choice, which was yellow. This thing is the most incredible mini RC car ever. The car takes four AAA's, and I use 500 mAh Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. The transmitter is actually a common entry level radio made by JR Propo called the Python. Compare it with Kyosho's transitter, the Perfex, you can see it is almost identical. The only differences are the brand name and the steering wheel.
I use to have a blue Dodge Ram with white stripes, but I got rid of it after I got the S2000 from a visit to the States in November '00. I bought a New Beetle for my (ex) girlfriend since she likes the real car so much. The Canned Heat (Radi-Can) series is a push button full funtion RC car that comes in a can (the package). You can buy them at any Toys'R Us (they have a larger selection) or Radio Shack and it's inexpensive, around 35CDN taxes in. I can say it's a good piece for the casual RC'er because it economical and basic, but lacks differential, suspension, and multi-step speed control. This car is almost the same size as the Kyosho Mini Z but it operates on only 4 AA's; two for the transmitter, and two for the car itself. If you are able to narrow the track of the Mini Z, you can mount these bodies on it. I don't drive this car too often because of the limited control and the speed does not awe me. Yet it does sport tremendous quality and detail, that's why i keep it on the shelf for show.
My (ex) girlfriend's brother gave this to me when he left the country. Before the Mini Z came out, this was THE mini RC car. It sports full functions with multi-step speed control, a gear differential, and functional suspension. The Transmitter was of a pistol grip type. The car itself operates on 4 AAA's while the Transmitter takes a 9V type battery. The downside of this car was the lack of a ball bearing option. The whole car rides on bare plastic and stainless steel axles, but later I modified the rear gearbox to take two brass bushings from a Tamiya 1/32 mini 4wd kit. I run this car on my ceramic tile hallway and it hurts the car alot. After a few months, I found the rear gearbox had cracked into pieces and the rear wheel broke in half. When you get one of these, be sure NOT to run them on bumpy surfaces as i did. The gap between the tiles were overkill for the rear suspension, causing the damage. I think Mauri should have used a flexible grade of plastic to make this kit. But overall, aside from the problems, I think it's a great car with lots of control and lots of detail for the body. Just remember to drive on smooth surfaces that's all!
This is my '00 xmas present! I love this thing, cause it's small enough that you can gun it inside a small room. And it's fast too! if you like it you can check them out at the Epoch site.
I got this little guy from my (ex) girlfriend. She saw this toy in a HK magazine and got her friend to pick one up and send it to me. This little car is pretty amazing for it's size. The transimitter is actually a watch that you wear over your wrist. Functions includes all the 7 functions like brake, reverse, etc. On the watch, there are two extra buttons, a honk button and a button that turns on the headlights. By pressing the 'honk' button, the car would sound a 'honk' like a real car! The other button, turns the headlights on and off. When you move the car in any direction and let go of the accelerator, it would automatically apply the brakes and gives a simulated "screeching" sound. These sounds are produced by a miniature speaker mounted on the back of the chassis.
This thing's pretty fun to mess around with house pets. With the sound effects, it always attacts my cats. The other plus side of this car is, you can drive in the dark. You just gotta turn on the headlights! The downsides are the lack of suspension, a rear differential, and proportional controls. The car itself takes four AAA's (not included) and the watch transmitter, takes three button style batteries (AG13) which are included in the package. If you like to have one, you don't have to go all the way to HK anymore. I found out recently you can buy these watch rc cars at your nearby Sears department stores, or at Toys'R Us' for around $40 CDN. The styles they supply includes the Nascar that I have, and a GT LeMans car that looks like a cross between a Panoz GT and a McLaren F-1 GTR. See more photos and specs in the watch RC Nascar page!
