Can you tell me what this is or anything about it?
 

A guy gave this to my dad, and then he passed it on to me. It had been in his attic forever. Looks kinda cheap to me, but I'm no expert either. It might just be that its old. It came with 2 battery packs, and a quick 15 minute charger too. I actually have 2 complete cars minus back shocks on one of them. Any info is appreciated. Im getti8ng ready to see if it works. Everything seems to be intact.

Dave

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...Picture016.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...Picture017.jpg

Well, this thing still works, actually like new, as I just got through testing it.. Does anyone know anything about it????? Anyone????

Wow, that thing looks ancient...kinda like a Tamiya Frog suspension design in the back with a Tamiya Hotshot mono-shock type suspension in front.

Never heard of that car / manufacturer before though.

Ask Darryn at http://www.darrynsretrorc.rtox.com/ ...maybe he can help you ID it.

I'll give that a try. Thanks. Everything on the box except where it says "Doberman", and "Completely Assembled", is written in Japanese, so reading it for me is out of the question. I did test it out and this little sucker will fly. The controller is some kind of old "stick" hi-tec, with a set of old hi-tec servos, and reciever. I didnt realize that they had RTR's back in the day like this.


Dave

I wouldn't run it anymore if I were you. Until I email Darryn.

Because it might be worth big bucks, and unless you're a collector, maybe you could use the big bucks, especially if that thing is really rare.

Either way, good luck!

EDIT: Do a google on "Playtron Doberman" and a few things will pop up. I didn't read them, but thought maybe you might be interested. :)

I remember going into Hobbies Emporium at the mall here and staring at that thing. I wanted one so bad. Then my parents did alot of research on R/C cars before buying one for my birthday. Thank god they did cz they got me an RC10 instead. This was around '85-'86 so this should give you a reference to the age.

be careful, you cant get replacement parts easily... drive gently, NOT on cement or asphalt. looks like a old car... with a Msc...

Yes, it is quite rare.

Playtron only made 2 electric buggies in the mid 80's, the 2wd Doberman, and the 4wd Lynx (I have a Lynx)

The Doberman is basically a 2wd version the Lynx, sharing the same chassis, suspension, body, gearbox etc.

Only the front wheels/tyres and a few other bits on the front end are different.

Most 2nd hand editions always seem to have the front bumper missing, as it usually was the first thing to break!

Your car has the bumper in tact which is excellent. If you are not a collector and want to put it on ebay I'm sure you'll get a decent price.

For more info, go to the tamiya club website here

This company (Playtorn) made a couple cars - the Lynx and the Doberman One two wheel drive and one 4wd as mentioned above.. They pretty much rode on the back of other companies designs - although they are very different to some of the more direct clone cars like the Panda and rockbuster (Grasshopper/hornet clones). Playtron were one of those flash in pan - "me too" R/C companies - which jumped on the massive wave of the off road craze in the eighties.

Never were that big here in Australia or Asia - however they were pretty popular in Europe. On the grand scale of things though the cars were pretty rudimentary. Nonetheless, this is a nice find in good condition.

Hopefully I will be able to give you more later - just "family duties" with a new baby at the moment!

I dont think it is worth a fortune - as you need to find someone that wants one, that being said - ebay is the place to find that person!

Cheers

Darryn

Not sure if I mentioned it in my post above, but I actually have 2 of these cars, The other on is also complete, and in great shape. The only thing it is missing is the rear shocks. Thanks for all of the info. I would like to get rid of it, so any takers with cash or trades, let me know.


Dave